Art of the Pencil: A Revolutionary Look at Drawing, Painting and the Pencil

Art of the Pencil: A Revolutionary Look at Drawing, Painting and the Pencil
Average customer rating:

A superb text

Masterly and inspirational.

Total ...

scattered - evasive - deceptive - misleading

Determined to help, this author knows how.

Art of the Pencil: A Revolutionary Look at Drawing, Painting and the Pencil
Sherry Camhy
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Pastel | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Drawing | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Pencil | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Pencil Box: A Treasury of Time-Tested Drawing Techniques And Advice

Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil

The Drawing Book: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist (Watson-Guptill Materials and Techniques)

Colored Pencil Solution Book

Pencil Magic: Landscape Drawing Techniques

ASIN: 0823013731

Customer Reviews:

A superb text.......2005-06-25

The author first examines the nature visual perception -- how we see. 3 dimensional rendering, light, color, depth, shadow are discussed before working with various combinations of materials and techniques. This is a wonderful book. Few drawing texts address the nature of seeing -- Carolyn Bloomer's Principles of Visual Perception, Bert Dodson's Keys To Drawing and Douglas Cooper's Drawing and Perceiving. Anyone can learn to draw but few people try to help us see.

Masterly and inspirational........2005-03-14

I bought the book for the cover which to me was a gorgeous example of painterly drawing. The book delivers in this vein. Anyone whose sat through a lecture in college about drawing versus painting can find proof in this volume that "it ain't necessarily so". The illustrations and discussions are inspirational and her work is stunning. This is not a book for a beginner or someone looking for a "system" to make drawing or rather creating visual imagery easy and predictable. It is a book for someone who wants to see deeply and create images of beauty and substance that serve both the linear aspects of drawing and the plasticity of painting.
She is right, it is revolutionary to view traditionally linear tools from the perspective of a painter. The samples in this volume speak beautifully to this idea.
Again it is not for beginners unlesss they are daring and love a challenge and it is not formulaic: but it is a marvelous tome to the joy of creating images and the means to do so.

Total ..........2003-05-13

Far from being "revolutionary", this book is a total .... It teaches absolutely nothing practical about working with graphite. It's just a conglomeration of generalizations and useless facts. Don't be fooled by the title. Don't waste your money.

scattered - evasive - deceptive - misleading.......2003-04-08

The book skims over various aspects of drawing, never focusing on anything in parlticular, never dealing with any subcategory (animals, portrait, media, black and white or color).
Everything is mixed up. This is another of those books where the author tried to do everything at the same time in one volume, but in so doing never dealt with anything very clearly.
It lacks organization, definitely not a learning tool, but rather a rambling on a mish mash of unrelated examples.
The title is very very misleading:
The ART of the Pencil: that is not what Wallerstein discusses at all.
A REVOLUTIONARY Look at Drawing, Painting, etc: there's ABSOLUTELY nothing revolutionary in this approach, believe me.
I really regret having bought that book.
The 2 * go to the drawings, not to the writing.

Determined to help, this author knows how........2002-11-24

Too many books of art instruction sell high but deliver low, cynically layering truncated photo-demonstrations accompanied by inadequate captions over puny discussion of materials and technique. Sherry Camhy's book belongs to a rarer kind, the sort that is determined to help and knows how.
Ms Camhy is a much-honored artist. Her resume, unobtrusively included in the book, offers evidence of how she has developed the ability to produce the many masterly drawings that also appear in it. On well-designed and well-printed pages, they are a pleasure in themselves. And the accompanying advice, discussion and extensive information are informed by an unfailing artistic sensibility and an impressive talent for teaching. There is vital information here, much of it not easily found elsewhere. And all of it is communicated with conviction and an elegant clarity. You sense that this detailed, wide-ranging advice, which majors on the pencil but covers almost all drawing media, is the McCoy that makes a true difference. It stirs both ideas and ambition. That goes, too, for the vivid and cogent demonstrations from which, having studied the preceding pages, one is well equipped to benefit.
This is a fine, intelligent book, a delight for any reader interested in drawing, and one that will certainly enhance the enjoyment of those keen to improve their skills.

Color Combination Charts
Average customer rating:
Color Combination Charts
Nagumo
Manufacturer: Graphic-sha
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 4766111168

Legend to color chart of Navaho mask combinations
Average customer rating:
Legend to color chart of Navaho mask combinations
Berard Haile
Manufacturer: St. Michaels Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Native American Studies | Special Groups | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007FWQB4

Book Description

Description: "This body of work began seven years ago, by chance, with a photograph the duration of whose exposure coincided with the length of a kiss...The ensuing photographs were all taken on full moon nights after darkness had fallen on landscapes I had already seen."

Book Description

Graham Taylor was sitting in his kitchen one morning, contemplating the universe over a bowl of cold cereal, when he noticed a squirrel outside the window-the same squirrel he'd seen countless times before. How nice it would be, he thought, if that squirrel could be my friend. So he jotted down a few lines to that effect and displayed his creative endeavor on the fridge, which is where his friend Graham Roumieu spotted it. Roumieu illustrated these meandering thoughts and urged Taylor to do more. The rest, as they say, is history.A Really Super Book About Squirrels is a quirky little humor book that combines art and words into a collection that will appeal to both the squirrel lovers and squirrel haters among us. It's a tongue-in-cheek tribute to that backyard rodent that we really want to like. Throughout these pages, the author considers the great chasm between humans and squirrels:Sometimes while walking I see you cross the street. You run to the middle and then stop as if you've forgotten something. What is it, I wonder. You look back and forth to see if it is safe to continue, or if you should go back. Just run, I think, a car is coming. You decide to go and make it this time. This whole procedure strikes me as strange. I was taught to look both ways before I cross a street.A Really Super Book About Squirrels will be the ideal gift for anyone who's ever had a relationship with a squirrel-good or bad.

Customer Reviews:

good squirrel book.......2007-08-06

this is a good squirrel book. keep it near your
books about the Cosmos. I'd say keep it about 3
feet from those other books. if i wrote it i'd give it
5 stars. i guess i'm stingy that way.

It is about observing and being open.......2007-05-07

This outwardly appears to be a humor or children's book, and while it is that, it is also a lesson about actually paying attention to the world around us. Squirrels are everywhere, but we often don't think about their lives, even though they often share space with us. This is why there is a notes section at end -- the author is encouraging us to take notes on squirrels.

I have bought two copies of this book, one for me and one for a friend. This will be my third.

Ah, you are Super, you Book about Squirrels.......2007-04-13

This book makes me smile every time I open it, and also when I think of it.

An adorable and humorous book........2007-01-10

I have a friend that really loves squirrels and I bought this for her for Christmas. I gave it a quick read before giving it to her and found myself wanting to keep the book (I did not, however, because I'm not grinchy like that). I love the illustrations and the writing made me laugh outloud.

Ah what a lovely book........2004-05-21

This is a very sweet and joyous book. Reviews are normally detailed but I can't think of much else to say aside from the fact that its gentle and rewarding, richly illustrated and beautifuuly written.

Book Description

The clown imagery gathered here ranges from beautiful to touching to funny to just plain disturbing. Find all kinds of clowns, from the most famous to the most obscure, in photographs, film and television, paintings, and graphics. The insightful text will enlighten you about the history of clowns throughout the world and is complemented by a list of America's clowns, a clown filmography, and the "Eight Clown Commandments."

Customer Reviews:

"Clowns work as well as Aspirin, but twice as fast" Groucho Marx.......2006-12-23

This book gives a very good sample of the clowns' wide appearance in America and art in general. The author writes one or two pages (in English, German, and French) about each of the topics of the book, including: Photography, Film & Television, Paintings, Graphics, America's Clowns, Clowns in Movies, and Clown Code of Ethics. The author's view is very interesting and unique, and the pieces chosen to appear in the book are wonderful. An excellent book on the subject. See below a quote from the introduction.

"Those with curious minds seek to decipher the soul that inhabits the body of the clown behind the facade of grotesque face makeup and colorfully outlandish costume. In equal parts comedy and tragedy, joy and pathos, practical joker and devilish prankster, the clown has long been a fixture, both embraced and feared, in American entertainment."

"The Fool Is The Mask The Wise Man Wears".......2005-10-11

Jim Heimann and H. Thomas Steele's definitive 1000 Clowns: More or Less: A Visual History of the American Clown (2004) offers abundant evidence that professional clowning may represent the ultimate in alternative lifestyles.

Though playful behavior is, of course, found in some higher animals, the human activity of professional clowning is always a highly artificial process enacted within a specifically structured framework, thus making the clown a legitimate, knowing, and complexly-organized insider who nonetheless often essays the role of eternal outsider.

Clowns are 'betwixt and between' liminal creations whose behavior simultaneously reflects experience and innocence, callousness and sensitivity, seductiveness and repulsion, sincerity and deception. Whether performing in the center spotlight or merely acting as a diversion for another act, the clown is always on stage and constantly negotiating the space between the objective world of his audience and his own very private channels of perception, spontaneity, insight, and response. The truly successful clown becomes an autonomous personage, a "demigod of the sawdust" who subtly persuades his audience to forget the unknown human factor beneath the facade.

The gorgeous visuals in 1000 Clowns--which are categorized under "Photography," "Film & Television," "Paintings," "Graphics," "America's Clowns," and "Clowns In Movies"--underscore the fact that those clowns that appear bizarre, repulsive, and grotesque, such as those that appear on pages 114-116, are typically those with badly designed or haphazardly applied makeup. The stronger the design, artifice, and illusion, the more attractive and desirable the clown; some historical examples presented here include Lou Jacobs, Harry Dann, Felix Adler, Emmett Kelley, "Chucko the Birthday Clown," and baby boomer favorite Bozo.

1000 Clowns wisely focuses on the classic high period of the American circus, which, uncoincidentally, also coincided with the high point of Twentieth Century American culture.

1000 Clowns : More or Less.......2005-07-28

Brilliant. Easy and fast transaction. hope we can do business again.

Great visual history!.......2005-01-10

This book came out of left field for me, usually I keep abreast with current clown and/or circus offerings. But the pictures, photo's and images relating to clowns in America is well worth the price.

The author has done a wonderful job gathering a vast number of clown images from circus, film,TV and advertising to create a collection ranging from well-know circus legends like lou Jacobs and Emmett Kelly to TV clowns like Milton Berle and Red Skelton to obscure and unknown clown performers. The sections on clowns in media contain great retro grafics and a diverse number of related clown imagery.

The only downside would be the lack of ID on some of the circus clowns, and the inclusion of the clown creed, which seems unrelated to the images or the art form.

I'm looking foward to a second volume.

Book Description

King Crimson's 1969 masterpiece In The Court Of The Crimson King, was a huge U.S. chart hit. The band followed it with 40 further albums of consistently challenging, distinctive and innovative music. Drawing on hours of new interviews, and encouraged by Crimson supremo Robert Fripp, the author traces the band's turbulent history year by year, track by track.

Customer Reviews:

In the Court of King Crimson.......2006-03-05

One of the most enjoyable and in depth books on a musical group I have ever read. I could not put it down. Thanks you Sid Smith for this excellent review of one of Rocks greatest entities.
L.M.

a crimhead's delight.......2005-06-20

For anyone having some degree of fascination with the many permutations of the band called King Crimson, this little volume will be rewarding.

The book is at its best in chronicling the band's evolution. So many personnel changes occurred that the band became characterized as 'a workshop' under the direction of guitarist Robert Fripp, an idea which shortchanged many of the musicians involved.

Author Sid Smith is scrupulously fair to all the players involved in King Crimson. Grievances are not glossed over, and they are not presented in 'the official Fripp version.'

Of course, Fripp himself remains an enigma, and questions about this unquestionably great guitarist remain. King Crimson has again and again proved that Fripp is at his best when challenged by good players, rather than when he is just noodling around with tape loops. Why did he never "broaden his horizons" by interacting with people in the 'Downtown Scene' or by working in a different idiom besides 'Rock'?

If there is any knock on this book, it would be that the track by track descriptions of the albums are at times a little too florid. The compilers of the "Rock Snob's Dictionary' may have mined this book for fodder--yes, the ugly cliched phrase 'coruscating guitar solo' does raise its head.

In the Court of King Crimson comes in a nice glossy jacket with a beautiful design scheme. It looks like it would not be out of place in the 'Occult' section of your local bookstore.

Must Have for Crim Fans.......2005-06-17

Sid Smith has done a wonderful job in pieces together the story of King Crimson - a band that was as disjointed and frayed as perhaps any other in rock history. He does some nice track by track commentary of all King Crimson's studio songs, albeit he does seem to be trying a little hard to sound like Robert Fripp in the process...

The other thing you'll take away from this book is amazement that Robert Fripp didn't get punched in the face more often than he did. He is rock's malcontent - an ageless talent with a five-year old's emotional level. But, as long as he keeps playing his guitar, we can overlook the rest!

There are lots of great quotes from all the major players, great stories from the road, and everything else you'd expect in a top-notch rock biography. A good purchase!

Made me curious about the older stuff.......2004-12-02

I latched on to KC in the 80s. Loved that trio of albums and the THRAK-era stuff. I've only heard a few odds and ends from the early incarnations of the band, but this book has DEFINITELY piqued my curiousity and I'll likely now dig into that material.

I gave only three stars because while the history of the band is very interesting, the track-by-track descriptions of each album -- I thought -- were not. The book's strengths are: A) its descriptions of the MANY folks who have been in or around KC and B) its delving into the -- shall we say -- unique personality of Fripp.

Great Book, Does the Story Justice.......2004-02-11

I really don't agree with any criticism of this book be it minor or major. I think that Smith did a tremendous job. He covers each era of the band in sufficient depth to understand the characters involved and the work they did. He benefits from Robert Fripp's detailed and (as always) well-thought out analysis of each phase of the band, but takes care to present the views of other members where they diverge from Fripp's. I did get a feeling from this book that all members had been heard from, and that I now posessed an understanding of each phase of this band. Really a great job of researching and writing.

And, the band has made a load of great music, which makes this a great book to read.

In the Court of the Crimson King
Average customer rating:
In the Court of the Crimson King
King Crimson
Manufacturer: Atlantic Recording Corp.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KYJ2JG

The Middlegame, Book 2: Dynamic & Subjective Features (Algebraic Edition)
Average customer rating:

Excellent Book

A tremendous instructional book!

The Middlegame, Book 2: Dynamic & Subjective Features (Algebraic Edition)
M. Euwe , and H. Kramer
Manufacturer: Hays Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chess | Board Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Middlegame - Book I : Static Features (Algebraic Edition)

Art of Attack in Chess

My System (Chess Classics)

Pawn Structure Chess

Chess Praxis

ASIN: 1880673967

Book Description

Max Euwe was World Chess Champion in the 1930s and he collaborated with International Master Kramer to write this great treatise on how to play chess middlegames. Book II of the series covers the dynamic features of the game of chess. This book also contain a fascinating section on the playing styles of the world's strongest players at the time of it's first publication, along with interesting insights on the psychological aspects of the game of chess. Thousands of satisfied customers have made this one of the most popular books on chess middlegames. Completely re-edited and translated to algebraic notation in this 1994 edition.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book.......2005-01-20

I just finished both volumes and feel I know chess a lot better.
I am currently rated 1800 and it took me over 2 years of off again on again study to complete both books. Sometimes I would play over the games twice but the time is worth it if you want to improve at chess. There are other great books on chess like My System by Nimzovitch or Chess Strategy by Pachman, but both are turgid and boring going compared to this modern classic. It covers the entire sweep of chess history and discusses most middlegame concepts like the minority attack or asymetric pawn structures or development vrs material advantage or the art of defense. I can go on and on. I would say you cannot go wrong with these 2 books. Also if you have chessbase the Ossimitz chess site has a good download site where you can download this whole book in chessbase format. Stydying chess could not get any easier.

A tremendous instructional book!.......2004-02-05

The last guy to review this book down below apparently meant to give it 5 stars, but instead gave it zero. Oops!

This book, along with Book 1 on Static Features, was a very big reason why I made it up to a USCF Expert rating.

Buy these two books. Study them. Watch your rating climb!

My Personal Best : Life Lessons from an All-American Journey
Average customer rating:

Secrets of Life

Wooden's Personal Best

revealing, pleasant read

Good for coaches

Short, but Very Good

My Personal Best : Life Lessons from an All-American Journey
John Wooden , and Steve Jamison
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Basketball | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Sweet's Directories | Architectural Engineering | McGraw-Hill Engineering Store | McGraw-Hill | By Publisher | Books
Similar Items:

Wooden Wooden

Wooden on Leadership

Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks for a Better Life

Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success

They Call Me Coach

ASIN: 0071437924

Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

For John Wooden's millions of fans--a heartfelt and revealing self-portrait about the people and events that shaped his life

Sports Illustrated declared: "There has never been a finer coach in American sports than John Wooden. Nor a finer man." ESPN selected him as the "Greatest Coach of the 20 ^th Century." From his birth on an Indiana tenant farm, to All-American honors at Purdue, to his historic record-setting UCLA dynasty, John Wooden is a towering figure in 20 ^th-century sports, and his experience and wisdom an American treasure. In My Personal Best, Coach Wooden tells how he did it and the lessons he learned on his remarkable journey.

Pairing never-before-seen photos from Coach Wooden's private collection with his personal stories and affirmations, this book encompasses the dramatic arc of Wooden's larger-than-life achievements and experiences. As he did in his perpetual bestseller Wooden, Coach offers a wealth of biographical details, personal reflections, and a lifetime of lessons. His millions of fans will cherish this definitive pictorial history of a living sports legend.

"John Wooden is a living legend because he practiced what he preached--the code of ethics which created America's strength."
--Phil Jackson, head coach, Los Angeles Lakers

"Most of what I know, what's made me a smart man, has come from John Wooden."
--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer

"A man of John Wooden's accomplishments and integrity would stand out in any era, but now, almost three decades after he coached his last game, he is in some ways an even more striking figure."
--Bob Costas

Customer Reviews:

Secrets of Life.......2007-06-09

John Wooden has figured out some of the secrets of life. And he passes them on directly, in a way that can be transformational for a reader.

John Wooden is a hero of mine. His own heroes include Abraham Lincoln and Mother Theresa. Like them, he is a treasure for all of us because his life and lessons demonstrate what it means to live to "our personal best" in a way that is simple, profound and so clear.

This book should be required reading in "Human Being 101".

Wooden's Personal Best.......2007-03-22

We grow up hearing about the importance of developing " good character", not always knowing what it is, or just how to obtain it. All of Wooden's books give his personal guidelines for developing character and living a decent life, whether we are athletes, musicians, teachers, or anything else.
Wooden's teachings have stood the test of time. His life and those he has influenced are proof of that.
I use his wisdom for myself, and I pass it on to all my students. They all know who John Wooden is. His life blesses us all.

revealing, pleasant read.......2007-01-05

John Wooden is one of my heroes. When I was growing up, his teams were dominant, but more importantly, they made the game beautiful to watch. After he retired at the peak of his game, he quietly stepped off the stage. With the rush of books on leadership in the 1990's through the present, it was inevitable, and overdue, that folks take time to examine Coach Wooden's approach to leadership. This has led to a cottage industry in Wooden books.

This book is short, personal and focuses on life lessons learned from the narrative of Coach's life. It doesn't attempt to be weighty, just a good read, that imparts wisdom without hitting you over the head with it. It touches on each chapter of Coach Wooden's life, and particularly shows the infuence of his father, his high school and college coaches and his growth thru experience

This is a fun, easy read that leaves the reader wiser. Highly recommend

Good for coaches.......2007-01-04

This is a great book to help any coach of any sport get a good feel for the right way to coach young players. Teach them good life lessons and skills. It gives an insight into a great coach and even greater man.

Short, but Very Good.......2006-05-10

I loved the book, but I would have liked for it to be longer. It is a very quick read but is full of wisdom from one of the best coaches of all time.

My Personal Best Life Lessons from an All-American Journey

Average customer rating:

My Personal Best Life Lessons from an All-American Journey
John with Jamison, Steve Wooden
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M3I7N2

Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and Stifling of Democracy
Average customer rating:

Brutally honest assessment of speech in Bush's America.

SHALLOW

Lao Tzu & Janet2

On Point

That conflicted feeling...

Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and Stifling of Democracy
Lewis Lapham
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Mass Communication | Communication | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Waiting for the Barbarians

Pretensions to Empire

The Politics of War: The Story of Two Wars Which Altered Forever the Political Life of the American Republic 1890-1920

American Protest Literature (The John Harvard Library)

Lapham's Rules of Influence: A Careerist's Guide to Success, Status, and Self-Congratulation

ASIN: 1594200173
Release Date: 2004-06-17

Book Description

From one of America's most important voices of protest, an urgent new polemic about the stifling of the American public's capacity for meaningful dissent, the lifeblood of our democracy, at the hands of a government and media increasingly beholden only to the country's wealthy few.

Dissent is democracy. Democracy is in trouble. Never before, argues Lewis Lapham, have voices of protest been so locked out of the mainstream political conversation: they are criminalized, marginalized, and muted by a government that recklessly disregards civil liberties and by an ever-more concentrated and profit-driven media, in which the safe and the selling sweep all uncomfortable truths from view. As a result, we face a crisis of democracy as serious as any in our history. Never has the public conversation been more in need of dissent, and never has protest been more effectively quarantined into zones where it has so little effect on the political process. Under the noses of a cowed and silenced populace, Lapham posits, the Bush regime is "assembling from the ruins of a democratic republic the corporate splendor of a precision-guided empire....What the Bush administration has in mind is not the defense of the American citizenry against a foreign enemy, but the protection of the American oligarchy from the American democracy."

Dissent has always had a hard time of it, Lapham shows in a bravura short tour of political dissent in American history, and an especially hard one in time of war. The more ill defined the conflict and the more invisible the enemy, the worse it is for civil liberties, particularly the liberty to disagree. And now, just when the electorate is most narcotized and apathetic, spoon-fed its infotainment by a small gang of gigantic media conglomerates, and the government is in the hands of a terrifyingly self-righteous crew, comes a conflict, the "war on terror," that makes the hunt for Communists in the 1950s look like the Normandy landings on D-Day in its clarity of aim and purpose. It's a witch's brew that is pure poison for a living democracy.

Gag Rule is a rousing and necessary call to action in defense of one of our most important liberties-the right to raise our voices against the powers that be and have those voices heard.

Download Description

From one of America's most important voices of protest, an urgent new polemic about the stifling of the American public's capacity for meaningful dissent, the lifeblood of our democracy, at the hands of a government and media increasingly beholden only to the country's wealthy few. Dissent is democracy. Democracy is in trouble. Never before, argues Lewis Lapham, have voices of protest been so locked out of the mainstream political conversation: they are criminalized, marginalized, and muted by a government that recklessly disregards civil liberties and by an ever-more concentrated and profit-driven media, in which the safe and the selling sweep all uncomfortable truths from view. As a result, we face a crisis of democracy as serious as any in our history. Never has the public conversation been more in need of dissent, and never has protest been more effectively quarantined into zones where it has so little effect on the political process. Under the noses of a cowed and silenced populace, Lapham posits, the Bush regime is ""assembling from the ruins of a democratic republic the corporate splendor of a precision-guided empire....What the Bush administration has in mind is not the defense of the American citizenry against a foreign enemy, but the protection of the American oligarchy from the American democracy."" Dissent has always had a hard time of it, Lapham shows in a bravura short tour of political dissent in American history, and an especially hard one in time of war. The more ill defined the conflict and the more invisible the enemy, the worse it is for civil liberties, particularly the liberty to disagree. And now, just when the electorate is most narcotized and apathetic, spoon-fed its infotainment by a small gang of gigantic media conglomerates, and the government is in the hands of a terrifyingly self-righteous crew, comes a conflict, the ""war on terror,"" that makes the hunt for Communists in the 1950s look like the Normandy landings on D-Day in its cl

Customer Reviews:

Brutally honest assessment of speech in Bush's America........2006-06-09

This book tells (in brutal detail) how this [pick your adjective] (as it's hardly an administration so much as a regime) uses, or better to say, misuses, the 'Patriot Act' and 'Homeland Security' to stifle, with the help of the people, and the media (especially), dissent in America. With emphasis on Bush and his people, Lapham tells it like it is. Hopefully, people will read this book and take notice, and create a "debate" in this nation, on the war, the economy, and other importance issues to replace the "monologue" coming from the right wing of the country. People share some responsibility in letting these people (Bush and others) suppress the free expression we are supposed to have, using 9/11 as an excuse. When someone like Ann Coulter can trash the widows and others who lost people on 9/11, but there isn't allowed a rebuttal, something is wrong. This is the kind of one sided and dictatorial view that's pervading the nation right now, and Bush and his people are attempting to suppress it. Lapham Rocks! A must read for most people (of course, right wingers, like Coulter, would vehemently disagree. She ought to be glad she's in a country, so far, that allows her right to be wrong, too bad she doesn't support it.

SHALLOW.......2006-05-11

GAG RULE NEVER GETS BEYOND A SUPERFICIAL TREATMENT OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. ANYONE WITH A WORKING BRAIN CAN SEE THAT THE BUSHIES ARE THE BAD NEWS BEARS. BUT HASN'T IT ALWAYS BEEN SO? WHEN DO "WE THE PEOPLE" WAKE UP AND REALLY REFORM OUR GOVERNMENT?
CONSIDER:
ONE HUNDRED RANDOMLY SELECTED ADULTS, TWO FROM EACH STATE, ARE FLOWN TO KANSAS CITY EACH YEAR FOR TWO OR THREE WEEKS TO CONDUCT THE BUSINESS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THEN THEY GO BACK HOME AND
RESUME NORMAL LIVES. OFFICIAL WASHINGTON DC BECOMES A NATIONAL PARK WITH SOME QUAINT MUSEUMS AND A FEW TOUR GUIDES.

A WHOLE LOT OF BULLS**T AND HOT AIR GOES AWAY. ALL THE EXPENSE OF
THE PRESENT "SYSTEM" ALSO GOES AWAY. ALL THE ILLEGALITY GOES AWAY. LOBBYISTS. RENDITIONS. ALASKAN BRIDGES. WHITE HOUSE SEX...
HOW ABOUT IT? WANNA REALLY CHANGE THE "SYSTEM"?

Lao Tzu & Janet2.......2006-03-24

Thank God for Lewis H. Lapham and other voicesof dissent in these times. A good read.

On Point.......2006-01-30

Timely and incisive, but does anyone read this kind of book other than those who already agree with the author?

That conflicted feeling..........2005-08-02

Gag Rule is a well-written extended essay on the problem of fostering and nurturing dissent in American society, media, and, especially, politics. The end of the Cold War and beginning of the "war on terror" clearly has accompanied a marked a change in the tone and substance of American political life and here Lapham laments the replacement of substance and deep thought or debate with soundbites, substance-free news, and spin.

This is a deeply interesting topic, or at least it should be, and Lapham is no slouch. He writes a polemic and goes out of his way to identify the culprits in the matter--ranging from promoters of "PC" talk to Woodrow Wilson. Others have commented on his erudition and his command of facts (or "facts", depending on your point of view).

My problem with this book is twofold.

First, although I share a political viewpoint with Lapham in many cases, his writing is so thoroughly anti-Bush and anti-conservative that this book will have essentially no audience among the "red" crowd. Instead of seeking the middle ground where most American's used to live (neither Republican nor Democrat but rather "moderate"), he writes in a manner guaranteed to stir the blood of partisans on his side--and to be entirely dismissed by the opposition. Hardly a starting point for a debate about preserving the fundamental nature of political discourse.

Secondly, this book outlines the problem and the potential for disaster that exists in any democracy but it doesn't address the remedies that might be applied. Yes, Hitler did a good job of taking over Germany. What approach can stop a demagogue? How can the lap dog Democrats be turned into the pit bulls of individual liberty? (It is strange even to write that: since when were the Democrats associated with the libertarian movement?!?)

Still and all: this book gives you something to think about and a unique approach to thinking about it. If it sets some teeth on edge, well, perhaps that's all to the better. Allowing one side or the other to dominate the terms of the debate ultimately leads to very boring debate indeed. Maybe this is the start of a coherent position in opposition to the conservatives. That would be good for everyone.

Finally, I have to note that the themes and examples presented here have entered into the world of punditry as specific cases to hammer on: a kind of pundit's shorthand for various issues. For example, I read a conservative op-ed piece in the S.F. Chronicle just yesterday that cited Wilson, Thucydides (and the Athenian adventure in Sicily), Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, and several other items from this very book but presented exactly upside-down. It is bizarre to see an rhetorical war break out over the (rather too extensive) footnotes to the argument without tangling with the substance.

Christmas Critics.(Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War)(War and the Iliad)(Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling ... Review) : An article from: Commonweal

Average customer rating:

Christmas Critics.(Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War)(War and the Iliad)(Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling ... Review) : An article from: Commonweal
Robert Westbrook
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Commonweal, published by Thomson Gale on December 2, 2005. The length of the article is 1026 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: Christmas Critics.(Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War)(War and the Iliad)(Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling of Democracy)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
Author: Robert Westbrook
Publication: Commonweal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 2, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 132 Issue: 21 Page: 38(2)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and Stifling of Democracy

Average customer rating:

Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and Stifling of Democracy
Lewis Lapham
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QYBAD6

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books