Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity, and Deathliness

Book Description

Recent experimental fashion has a dark side, a preoccupation with representations of death, trauma, alienation, and decay. This intriguing book looks closely at this strand of fashion design in the 1990s, exploring what its disturbing themes tell us about consumer culture and contemporary anxieties. Caroline Evans analyzes the work of experimental designers, the images of fashion photographers, and the spectacular fashion shows that developed in the final decade of the twentieth century to arrive at a new understanding of fashion's dark side and what it signifies. Fashion at the Edge considers a range of cutting-edge contemporary fashion in unprecedented depth and detail, including the work of such current designers as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, and Viktor & Rolf. Contrasting images by photographers like Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, and Juergen Teller are also reviewed. Drawing on diverse perspectives from Marx to Walter Benjamin, Evans shows that fashion stands at the very center of the contemporary, and that it voices some of Western culture's deepest concerns.

Customer Reviews:

gorgeous inspiring book.......2006-03-26

The photographs, stories of design history and research in this book are phenonmenal. This is a great book to inspire, shock and mesmerize. It is my most recent favorite in my costume research collection.

Definitive account of 90s cutting-edge designers.......2003-11-10

Caroline Evans has written an important book that explores the work of cutting-edge designers of the 1990s such as Martin Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Viktor & Rolf. The book's subtitle - "Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness" - sums up the author's focus on the underside of fashion. Evans acknowledges that much of the fashion featured in this book was "economically negligible", arguing that its cultural import is of greater significance. She explores how designers of the 90s consciously or unconsciously explored the dark history of the 20th century through their work, with death, trauma, cruelty, and horror as recurring themes.

Where is this all leading? The conclusions are doom-laden but fascinating. British designers, with their focus on "gothic fashion", may represent the ghost or shadow of rational American designers. Creatively, Evans posits a bleak future for fashion "doomed to ricochet between modernist experimentation and dark despair." In a memorable line, Evans writes: "Now, more than ever, everything new and beautiful seems to arrive already haunted by its own demise." The financial insecurity of many of these designers in their early days may have fuelled their creativity. They were, as designer and teacher Fabio Piras put it, "fashion desperadoes". This book is full of illuminating insights that put fashion design at the core of our culture, expressing our deepest concerns.

Outstandingly researched, beautifully illustrated, and thrillingly authoritative, Fashion at the Edge may prove to be the definitive book on the generation of designers from London and Antwerp who came to prominence in the 1990s.

Book Description

From understanding the basics of human anatomy to capturing the grace of the female nude to accurately depicting a person’s figure and form, this covers it all: choosing and using tools and materials, capturing both still poses and motion, and completing exciting, skill-building projects. “Detailed and engaging projects. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal.

Customer Reviews:

It's overpriced.......2006-06-20

"The Beginner's Guide to Drawing People" by Patricia Monahan

It is way overpriced. Besides, offering a drawing book that offers FEMALE nude studies, and neglects entirely, MALE nude studies, does not make the book a bargain, especially when it is titled "Drawing PEOPLE". If a book is about drawing PEOPLE, shouldn't there be MALE people as well?

This book has 216 pages. That's twice the number of pages that most figure drawing books have, and the FOUR authors still limit it to nude female anatomy? Is that sexist, or merely neglectful?
The best "instructional" books always come from the singular vision of one author. Sure enough, this book has a "fractured" feel.

Average customer rating:

Instructive and Productive
Great

The Beginner's Guide The Female Nude
Ian Sidaway
Manufacturer: New Holland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Drawing | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1859741665

Book Description

“A fine addition to the genre...gets you working immediately and rapidly develops your skills in a wide array of mediums. Students will become acquainted with equipment and with what each medium...can do....Capture the body in three classic poses....Twelve projects take the student through every step of the process, while showing how a professional might take on the challenge.” —Arts Materials Retailer.

Customer Reviews:

Instructive and Productive.......2003-11-01

'The Beginner's Guide' is an excellent book for artists and those wanting to improve their technique. The female nude is a beautiful subject for developing line and texture, and Sidaway explains how to achieve a level of expertise in easy to follow steps. As a beginner myself, I found the advice invaluable.

As well as being a book focusing on technique, the author lightens the text with anecdotes. On pages 34-41, he recounts an incident involving me and two of my artist friends:

'Schwarz had been having private lessons in my studio and was beginning to blossom as a real painter. So I gave him my book and told him to study it at home. From what he told me later, he showed it to Sylvester Stallone and Woody Allen one night in his apartment, just before Goldie Hawn was to arrive. Woody was ecstatic and urged Schwarz to ask Goldie if they could paint her nude. Apparently Stallone emitted some sort of bovine bellow, rubbed his perspiring hands together and fetched a pencil from the phone stand. Not long after, Goldie arrived, beautiful as always, and after some small talk and tall cocktails, Schwarz gathered enough gumption to stammer, "Goldie, can Sly and Woody and I paint you in the nude?" Without hesitating, Goldie replied, "Sure, guys, but leave your socks on. I just adore argyles." So the three shed everything, including their inhibitions, and all went well till Goldie said that Sly's pencil was blunt through overuse and that Woody's name was a gross overstatement of his reaction. Fearing a similar assessment, Schwarz quickly covered himself with postage stamp.'

Ian Sidaway's book is a practical, easily read manual.

Great.......2002-02-15

This book is great. I used it to help me with my very first attempt at drawing the figure. But what's even better, it covers a range of mediums from charcoal to Pen and Wash. Photos of very nice models too.

How to Draw: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners Covering Still Life, Landscapes, Figure Drawing, the Female Nude and Human Anatomy

Average customer rating:

How to Draw: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners Covering Still Life, Landscapes, Figure Drawing, the Female Nude and Human Anatomy
Patricia Monahan , James Horton , Angela Gair , Ian Sidaway , and Albany Wiseman
Manufacturer: New Holland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Drawing | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1845370880

Product Description

This glossy coffee-table book is a veritable slice of Americana-- a brilliant collection of illustrations, political and social cartoons, and photographs, combined with quotations and profound statements from figures ranging from film and television personalities to famous politicos, literary iconoclasts, and religious personages.

Customer Reviews:

Go out and buy it now!.......2004-05-11

This is an awesome book with wonderful pictures and history. I suggest it to all whether it is as a gift or to keep on your coffee table for you and your guests to enjoy! Great buy.
There is something in the book for everyone.

Average customer rating:
The Complete Crumb: The Early '80s & Weirdo Magazine (Complete Crumb Comics)
Robert Crumb
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Fantagraphics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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The Complete Crumb: Some More Early Years of Bitter Struggle (Complete Crumb Comics)

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Complete Crumb: Season of the Snoid Vol. 13 (Complete Crumb)

Complete Crumb: We're Livin' in the Lap of Luxury, Vol. 12 (Complete Crumb Comics)

ASIN: 1560973641

Book Description

Vol. 14 covers 1980.

Book Description

A collection of Roadkill Bill cartoons. Roadkill Bill is a comic strip that looks at cars, technology and philosophy from the viewpoint of a frequently squashed rodent. Since 1998, the strip has appeared every week in the Twin Cities newspaper "Pulse" and has been reprinted in numerous other publications including "The Funny Times."

The Roadkill Diaries: Strange Tales from Key West and Beyond

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HOW LONG UNTIL YOU STOP LAUGHING?

The Roadkill Diaries: Strange Tales from Key West and Beyond
Bill Jabanoski
Manufacturer: Niawt Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0976262517

Book Description

Almost endlessly hysterical, but occasionally deathly serious, this collection of the best of the first "Roadkill Weekly" columns, published on the Internet between September of 1995 and July of 1996, cemented Jabanoski's reputation as one of the most, if not "the" most popular underground writer of his generation. It also laid the ground work for "Roadkill Weekly," to become one of the most popular Internet fiction columns in America, still thriving on the Net, now almost a decade after since the first of these columns were written.

While it can be argued that Jabanoski has only gotten better with time, these columns, especially for a lover of Key West and the wild "No, Dorothy. You're not in Kansas anymore," lifestyle of that magical island, are "Roadkill Bill" at his wildest, most over-the-top humor, and I challenge anyone not to belly laugh a minimum of a hundred times while reading this book.

There's a lot to laugh along with here, too. An oversize, 9" x 11" 352 page hard cover, with thirty plus stories included, it's a long read. It's also almost impossible to believe that someone could turn out work of this quality week after week every Saturday morning to his Internet subscribers.

If you've ever been to Key West and wished you could stay, you'll love this book. If you've never been to Key West, but simply love to have fun and laugh, you'll love this book. This is Key West from a true local's point of view, with all the over-indulgence in alcohol and other substances, casual sex and craziness, that make that Southernmost Island so different from the rest of America. The only people I wouldn't recommend it to are "Born Again" Christians or Islamic fanatics. You won't like it at all.

- Jeff Winingham

Customer Reviews:

HOW LONG UNTIL YOU STOP LAUGHING?.......2004-11-05

Okay. I admit I am way behind the times here, considering this book has been in publication since 1996, but I only latched onto it when the big bookstores and online stores like Amazon started selling it. So tell me, all you people who were more in the loop and have had this book for years, HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO READ THIS UNTIL YOU STOP LAUGHING OUT LOUD? I'm on my fourth go around, and I think my wife and kids think I'm going crazy because I'm still sitting in my study and laughing like a fool. "Coming Down" "Trouble 101" "Serious Talk" and "Citizen Of The Day" are probably my absolute favorites, if I had to name a few, but EVERY STORY in this book is amazing. Like the Amazon review says, it's hard to believe ANYONE is this talented to have written these things week after week.

I also admire the occasional truly serious stories in the book like "Lisa" and "April 19, 1995" because they have real purpose and meaning and, like the rest of this book, are SO well-written. I didn't know much about Bill Jabanoski before I bought this, but now I'm catching up on his music and can't wait to read his novel SCARECROW, even though I know that's a much more serious book.

Average customer rating:

It's never going to be perfect, is it?

THOROUGH & READABLE

The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music

Manufacturer: Virgin Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

The Virgin Encyclopedia of 50's Music

The Virgin Encyclopedia of 60's Music (The Virgin Encyclopedia)

ASIN: 1852279478

Amazon.com

Organizing a series of music encyclopedias by decade has its benefits and pitfalls. Dream up some pop-music figure associated with the decade that gave us Charlie's Angels, Jimmy Carter, and the hustle and you're rewarded with a reasonably thorough bio and discography faster than you can say "Gilbert O'Sullivan." There are nearly 1,000 entries included in the 512-page book, many of them admirably opinionated, which is a big plus if you decide to make use of the discography ratings next time you shop for CDs. Unlike too many rate-and-review guides, the writers here aren't afraid to attach one- and two-star grades to subpar LPs. Songwriter and frequent Love Boat guest Paul Williams, for one, doesn't get anything but two stars. On the downside though, certain major performers who transcend the decade are excluded from the book. Elvis Presley died in 1977, but he's nowhere to be found. Bless Billy Swan, but is his impact on '70s music really worth a full-page assessment when Presley doesn't merit a word? --Steven Stolder

Book Description

From Joan Armatrading to Dionne Warwick, this is the ultimate resource on the most reappraised and revived decade in the history of popular music.

Packed with information on anyone who had a significant impact on the development of rock and pop music in those ten years, including bands, musicians, songwriters, producers and record labels.

- Totally comprehensive: from A Tribe Called Quest to ZZ Top
- 1000 entries distilled from the fully updated, critically acclaimed Encyclopedia of Popular Music

Customer Reviews:

It's never going to be perfect, is it?.......2004-08-21

An endeavour like this is bound to have its benefits and flaws. Some artists who in retrospect proved not as influential or heavy in importance wind up having extensive coverage while others might get no mention at all or very little of it.

It's all more a matter of perspective of course and having read other encyclopedias of the sort i know that this is the case with basically all of them.

With this then intentionally overlooked, this book is pretty darn good for what it offers. It has for the most part extensive histories of the artists it presents and -allthough not thorough-discographies that compliment these presentations. On that particular point comes the real miss, which is the behind the glamorous scenes look at things. The escapade element (and yes, im being ridiculously mild) is mostly absent, which is striking considering that the rock and pop world would not be what it was and is without it. Yes, there are mentions of the drug adventures as well as other "mishaps" but just mere mentions, in some cases these are omitted, and in any case less focus is given to issues as these than there should've been.
Granted, it would probably make the book double its size were it more detailed this way but then it would be more complete.

As a reference book though, or even as a starting point for those who are rediscovering or beginning to explore the 70s it's really, really good. It's perhaps too harsh to subtract a star on this review for what i mentioned above but then again i believe that a complete encyclopaedia is missing badly from the market.

If you're looking to pick one out of the many 70s music books out there you wouldnt be off the mark by choosing this one.

THOROUGH & READABLE.......2000-06-29

Here one may relive one's youth (or learn some history) from Abba down to singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. Sartorially the decade was one of extremes: compare the tartaned Bay City Rollers to the ridiculous hippieness of Wizzard, Kiss's comic-book style, Amanda Lear's disco leather decadence, Elton John's flamboyance and the austerity of the singer-songwriters. A particular pleasure is finding information on the more obscure hitmakers like R Dean Taylor (a solitary Canadian on Tamla Motown who gave us Indiana Wants Me & Gotta See Jane), UK experimentalists like Curved Air and East Of Eden, punk pioneers like X-Ray Spex and The Adverts. The more one reads, the more addictive this book becomes and the more you realize how rich and diverse the decade was. To think that side by side with the anger of the punk revolution there existed the hedonistic abandon of Disco -- the party of the 70s! Donna Summer, Boney M, MFSB, Sylvester and the P-Funkers are all here. There is also the Woodstock generation in the form of Matthews Southern Comfort, Don McLean, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Melanie. Other folk artists include Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention. Megastars like David Bowie, Neil Diamond and the Bee Gees merit their many pages but it is also heartening to see little-known reggae acts like Bob & Marcia (The Pied Piper) and Dave & Ansil Collins (Double Barrel) getting a mention. By the way, anyone wants to dispute the fact that Bowie produced his best work in this decade? Think of 1975's Young Americans, 1976's Station To Staion and the electronic cycle of Low and Heroes. But the 70s was also the decade of the teenyboper and you'll find them here: The Partridge Family, David Cassidy, The Osmonds nd Leif Garrett. For sheer variety and the essence of pop, the 70s cannot be rivaled. Nmes like Dawn (Knock Three Times)evoke tender childhood memories. The entries are informative and a pleasure to read. Perhaps there could have been more extensive discographies. All in all a fascinating read for nostalgists, the music researcher and music lovers of all ages and persuasions.

Book Description

Television has a powerful impact on our beliefs and can be used as a propaganda tool. Philo examines these issues by inviting groups of viewers to write their own news programmes, based on pictures from the 1984-5 miner's strike.

This title available in eBook format. Click here for more information.

Visit our eBookstore at: www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk.

Book Description

The Bosnian war is often explained in terms of ancient hatred or inability of post-communist society to go through a peaceful transition. Both arguments tend to omit a decade immediately prior to the war, which inevitably led to a bloody collapse of the society. The author covers this period, which was characterized by strong communist rule, beginning in 1972 and ending in the 1980s as a consequence of a series of political and economic scandals.
It was the "Agrokomerc Scandal" (uncovered in 1987) that brought down the political and economic elite of communist Bosnia. This changed the political scene completely, the economy deteriorated, and society that had been suppressed during communist rule, emerged. New, inexperienced and weak leadership - under conditions of unprecedented economic crisis - led to the liberalized Bosnia of 1989. A wave of nationalism from Serbia, and later from Croatia, found fertile ground, although it was mainly resisted by the single-party system: however, it was democracy that allowed nationalism to gain a foothold in Bosnia.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: the End of a Legacy.(Book Review) : An article from: Canadian Journal of History

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Bosnia-Herzegovina: the End of a Legacy.(Book Review) : An article from: Canadian Journal of History
Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski
Manufacturer: University of Saskatchewan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Bosnia and Herzegovina | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on August 1, 2004. The length of the article is 843 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bosnia-Herzegovina: the End of a Legacy.(Book Review)
Author: Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Page: 387(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Bosnia-Herzegovina; The End of a Legacy
NEVEN ANDJELIC
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU8PLE

Amazon.com

Futurist Daniel Quinn (Ishmael) dares to imagine a new approach to saving the world that involves deconstructing civilization. Quinn asks the radical yet fundamental questions about humanity such as, Why does civilization grow food, lock it up, and then make people earn money to buy it back? Why not progress "beyond civilization" and abandon the hierarchical lifestyles that cause many of our social problems? He challenges the "old mind" thinking that believes problems should be fixed with social programs. "Old minds think: How do we stop these bad things from happening?" Quinn writes. "New minds think: How do we make things the way we want them to be?"

Whether he is discussing Amish farming, homelessness, "tribal business," or holy work, Quinn's manifesto is highly digestible. Instead of writing dense, weighty chapters filled with self-important prose, he's assembled a series of brief one-page essays. His language is down to earth, his metaphors easy to grasp. As a result, readers can read about and ponder Beyond Civilization at a blissfully civilized pace. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

In Beyond Civilization, Daniel Quinn thinks the unthinkable. We all know there's no one right way to build a bicycle, no one right way to design an automobile, no one right way to make a pair of shoes, but we're convinced that there must be only one right way to live -- and the one we have is it, no matter what.

Beyond Civilization makes practical sense of the vision of Daniel Quinn's best-selling novel Ishmael. Examining ancient civilizations such as the Maya and the Olmec, as well as modern-day microcosms of alternative living like circus societies, Quinn guides us on a quest for a new model for society, one that is forward-thinking and encourages diversity instead of suppressing it. Beyond Civilization is not about a "New World Order" but a "New Personal World Order" that would allow people to assert control over their own destiny and grant them the freedom to create their own way of life right now -- not in some distant utopian future.

Customer Reviews:

A book worth having, reading, and re-reading........2007-04-01

The fact that "Beyond Civilization" begins with a fable that captures the entire essence of what's wrong with our civilization is an absolute winner in my eyes.

I read this book with pleasure. Like Ishmael, Quinn's other winner, I could not help but experience the ambivalence of getting angry about our human backwardness, yet encouraged to keep myself from falling into the traps of "Mother Culture" and the thoughts of "old minds."

As a "new mind" I wrote two books: "The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere," and "Spirituality in the Workplace: What it is; Why it Matters; How to Make it Work for You" (the last one co-authored with Dr. Satinder Dhiman and Dr. Richard King)

Both of these books present ways to apply wakefulness in our lives, and with that, make a positive difference for ourselves and others.

Beyond civilization is a great and inspiring reader, and so are "The Awakened Leader," and "Spirituality in the Workplace."

Perspective on 'takers' concept.......2007-03-08

Mr. Quinn has, as have most Jeremiahs in earlier societies, engendered quite a lot of animosity for his calling out of our American (nee western) society as a 'taker society'. Here in Beyond Civilization Quinn puts his proverbial 'money' where his former books' mouths were and outlines what the hell we can do about the state of things we 'takers' have brought about. A good read, but not for those who are lazily comfortable living in 21st century America.

Confusion Abounds.......2006-07-27

I thought I finally had Daniel Quinn all figured out after reading the Ishmael trilogy, but after reading this, I have way more questions than answers. For starters, he has talked through his books about our culture being one of totalitarian agricuture and this being the downfall of our culture, that we force everyone to live this way and now there is no diversity left and our "civilization" will self destruct soon without a change. His change is an escape from civilization (going beyond civilization) by taking up tribal living again, albeit tribal living in a new way (basically by starting businesses that work on a tribal level with everyone contributing and playing just as equal part so that everyone feels valuable). The big problem is that he never says how this is going beyond our culture. Sure, he started a tribal business in New Mexico with his wife and two other people, but they still had to live in this culture, be supported by this culture, and rely on this culture to survive. He cannot think of any examples as a way of living outside of this culture, for all the times he advocates us doing it. I see what he means by the circus example and his small newspaper, but these are still dependent upon the larger culture to exist, couldnt exist without the support of the one culture that they are trying to escape. How do we escape this culture? He wants us to jump over the prison walls and forage out on our own, but doesn't address what seemed to be the big issue of our totalitarian agriculturalist society. I thought this was the problem, so it is hard for me to see how the two can connect: how to live in a new tribal way that also exists outside the culture of totalitarian agriculture? Is there an answer that I am missing? Or does Daniel Quinn simply not know (which I think he tries to make a point of in this book, that he probably doesn't know and that's ok to not know). Mostly this book rehashes everything from the trilogy but throws in some new stuff about tribes, very little, however, and it is clear I guess that he really doesn't have any answers here.

Beyond Civilization.......2006-07-17

Daniel Quinn has laid out the only reasonable solution to the seemingly impossible problem of an industrial/military domination of the planet. Using our inability to serve ourselves as the trap in which we seem to find ourselves, our servants are herding increasing portions of dependant mankind into the corral of mother culture. Becoming independent of the debilitating conveniences too readily provided, as individuals and as tribes, we can finally abandon a bad idea at its roots as exemplified by other civilizations whose machinery sits idle beneath jungle root and desert sand while their populations persist in more local organizations.

Quinn's best yet.......2006-07-02

In my opinion, this book represents Quinn's best book. At the same time, it wouldn't work unless I had read his other books. Here Quinn more clearly states his ideas for a better world, one where hierarchy no longer exists. It offers suggestions for how this can come about. The alternative is to remain "pyriamid builders". I would recommend this book to anyone, but I would suggest reading Ishmael first so one understands some of the concepts Quinn is using here.

Beyond Civilization humanity's Next Great Adventure

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Beyond Civilization humanity's Next Great Adventure
Daniel Quinn
Manufacturer: Three Rivers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000X6C6DK

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Beyond Civilization: Humanity's Next Great Adventure
Daniel Quinn
Manufacturer: Harmony Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6 (Mousebirds to Hornbills).

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