Raymond Pettibon: A Reader

Book Description

An eclectic mix from Charles Baudelaire to Borges and Charles Manson to Mickey Spillane. "There is something in my storyteller's art that wants to put the reader and the writer on equal footing in the role of the creator."--Raymond Pettibon

Customer Reviews:

I didn't even know he'd become this famous..........2001-10-15

As someone who first encountered Raymond Pettibon's alarming artwork on the covers of Black Flag and Minutemen LPs I'd bought in the late 80s, I sort of assumed that, by now, he'd sunk back into even more obscurity than he was subject to then. Imagine my surprise when I picked up this thing in a secondhand bookshop in Dublin - an anthology of various writings over the last few thousand years (the oldest extract is from the "Wisdom of Solomon", the most recent is a truly scary extract from Charles Manson's trial testimony), interspersed with Pettibon drawings, and with a good handful of critical essays on the man's work from, like, Serious Critics. The whole was published to coincide with an exhibition of the man's work organised by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Renaissance Society of the University of Chicago. I mean, this man did the cover for "Slip It In". Something very odd is going on.

But Pettibon has truly paid his dues, what with years of turning out small handmade zines and what can't have been especially remunerative cover artwork from that least MTV of bands, Black Flag. So if he's suddenly become a major American artist, good luck to him.

The extracts are a fascinating lot. There are some old favourites like Borges' "The Library of Babel" and Walter Benjamin's fond account of being a book collector, "Unpacking my Library." There's a gory bit of Mickey Spillane and a beady-eyed extract from Cornel Woolrich's "Rear Window". There are also Swift, Johnson, Coleridge, Robert Burton, Henry James, Marcel Proust, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Catullus, Mary Baker Eddy, Hart Crane and many, as they say, more. If nothing else, this is a splendid companion for a medium-length train journey through purgatory.

The Pettibon drawings range from his sardonic early work to his more enigmatic recent stuff, and are all excellent. The critical essays are mostly very good, too, although there's a characteristically obtuse piece by Benjamin Buchloh in which the art-mag jargon seems not so much written as stamped out of tin. (To balance this, there's also a gruesomely funny piece by someone called "Bernard Welt" that could stand as a good short story, and for all I know really is one.)

Pettibon is notoriously prolific, and it's a shame that there's a lot more other-people's-text in here than his drawings, but this is still a great book, and stakes a good claim for his "status" in the "art world", whatever that means. Hardcore is alive and well and selling for hundreds of dollars to private collectors in Zurich, apparently.

under false pretenses.......1999-12-06

OK... So I didn't actually read this book. I just thought I would write to say that I really enjoy Pettibon's artwork, and I recommend customers to buy the book, even if it's just for some cool visual material. Enjoy! Maybe one day I will too!

I am a fan.......1999-09-11

In the gray mist in Reykjavik I found this book by pettibon in the Mál og menning bookstore I was very happy to get it and i treasure it for a comfortable and inspiring reading.

Average customer rating:
Pictures on a Page: Photo-Journalism, Graphics and Picture Editing
Harold Evans
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0030131316

Average customer rating:
Pictures on a Page Photo-Journalism, Graphics, and Picture Editing
Harold; Taylor, Edwin Evans
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8Y7PW

Book Description

In this wickedly funny guide, professional astrologer Hazel Dixon-Cooper casts off sugar-coated astrology in favor of exploring the maladjusted side of the universe. If you want the inside scoop, the real deal, the lowdown on each sun sign, then look no further.

It's time to forget those traditional astrology books where Sagittarians are gregarious, Capricorns are ambitious, and Pisceans are dreamers. Instead, enter a world where Archers are loud-mouthed bores, Goats are pompous social climbers, and Fish are chronically helpless. Dixon-Cooper debunks the myths, reveals the flaws, and examines the dubious virtues of each sun sign. Discover how to use your own inner brat to outwit bullies, outmaneuver manipulators, and win those endless games that lovers play. Learn how to deal with those dysfunctional people you encounter every day, including how to:

contain a Ram's oversized ego
calm a raging Bull
keep a fickle Twin faithful

Irreverent, biting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Born on a Rotten Day exaggerates the bad, exorcises the good, and puts a new spin on the age-old question -- what's your sign?

Customer Reviews:

An entertaining book!.......2007-08-01

Shows you the funny side and the bad side of your specific sign and how you relate to others around you and their specific signs.

Incredibly amusing!.......2007-08-01

I knew I was going to enjoy this book from the moment I got it. "Born on a Rotten Day" is everything the title-and the wonderful cover art-suggests. It's a humorous look at the less-than-lovely traits of the various Sun signs in astrology at their very worst. And it contains all the things those other books may be afraid to tell you about yourself.

Each chapter is divided into sections on men and women lovers, family members, bosses, and yourself, all under the sign in that chapter. The common patterns are translated into what it means in dealing with each of these people, and solutions to the best way to defuse bad situations are offered. The book is incredibly well-written, and takes the worst aspects of each sign for an entertaining trip.

Keep your sense of humor intact, though. This isn't meant to be taken 100% literally. What Dixon-Cooper provides is an exaggeration of the negative traits as a way of pointing them out. As a Scorpio, for instance, I may not be so bitchy that my "moods range from irritable to pissed off...on one of your good days". However, it's a good reminder for me to watch my temper and intensity, both when dealing with others and with myself. I got a good laugh out of that entire chapter, but I also learned a few things, too, that put me more into perspective for myself.

Of course, astrology (particularly when limited to the Sun sign) only goes so far. However, this is a great book to add to any astrological library. It's an amusing reminder of our quirks and flaws, and the fact that they're usually not as horrible as they could be (nor are they without counterbalances). I absolutely loved reading this, and I highly recommend it.

Accurate, but boring.......2007-06-13

This book is accurate, but boring. If you are not a serious astrology student, skip it. You can find better books if you just want a comprehensive book on sun signs.

I advise people who want astrology books to go to an actual book store & spend time browsing through what they have. Unless you know someone who has a lot of those books you can borrow, this is the best way to get a feel for astrology books.

Also, there are a lot of astrology books that are accurate but poorly written. I only recommend those books for hardcore astrology students to study and add to their collection.

astrology guaranteed to make you laugh.......2007-05-09

Bought as a gift, and was told, you'd feel better after reading all the pokes and jabs about your horrorscope..makes you laugh!

Loved it, and it is funny!.......2007-04-30

This is one of my 2 favorite zodiac books, and I have several.
Loved reading it, and laughed a lot.

Book Description

Cult film star Lee Van Cleef began his movie career in Hollywood, appearing as evil-eyed villains in such 1950s and '60s Westerns as High Noon, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and How the West was Won. But Van Cleef didn't achieve full-blown fame until he began starring in Spaghetti Westerns overseas. He played opposite Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More before becoming a tough-guy star in his own right. By the 1980s, Van Cleef was aging and in weakened health, but he still managed to give thrilling performances in such films as Escape from New York and in a weekly martial-arts TV series, The Master.

Film-by-film and show-by-show, this work fully details Van Cleef's career. Each movie entry includes cast and credits, studio, running times, year of release, a plot synopsis and a brief overview of Van Cleef's role. The background of the ABC series The Master is then given, followed by an episode guide that provides airdate, cast and credits, a synopsis and a comment on the episode. Comprehensive information on Van Cleef's other appearances in television concludes the work.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Actor!!.......2003-12-04

Lee Van Cleef was a great actor especially in the Westerns which should make this book most enjoyable!!

Book Description

Making Music Make Money will educate songwriters, as well as aspiring music business entrepreneurs in the basics of becoming an effective independent music publisher. Topics include a discussion of the various roles a publisher plays in the music business: collection, administration, protection, exploitation and evaluation. A major emphasis is placed on the exploitation process, and the importance of creating a sound business model for a new publishing venture. Eric Beall is a Creative Director for Zomba Music Publishing, as well as a former songwriter and record producer. In his role at Zomba, Eric has signed and developed top writers including Steve Diamond, KNS Productions, and Riprock and Alex G. and has coordinated and directed Zomba writers in the development of material for Jive Records pop superstars like Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears and Aaron Carter. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music.

Customer Reviews:

Well Worth Reading!.......2006-10-19

This book is a must read for anyone that's serious about starting their own music publishing business. It's full of good advice on how to become a music publisher and the roles that a music publisher fills. Eric makes you really think about the course you want your business to take.

I highly recommend it!

Amazon should look into the suspicious previous review!!.......2006-08-13

It's not cool to promote your book at another authors expense.
You be the judge. Check out the "interesting" reviews of the Ty Cohen book the previous reviewer is promoting.
But to be promoting that book here is inapropriate at best.

almost stands up to the standards of ty cohen but not quite!.......2006-05-27

if you wrere to pick this book ioff the shelf and ty cohens "Ty Cohen's Secrets to Making Money in the Music Industry (3-Piece Mega Audio CD Set)" you would drop the first instantly and rush home with it in your child like arms. why? because it is the best damn book known to man kind! and ty can show you this with his excellent pen manship!

Average.......2006-05-19

Everyone wants at some point in life to be independent and the master of his own destiny and if your destiny is the music industry then you're in for a big surprise. The music industry is a secluded and closed world, hard to get in and even harder to keep from getting thrown out. Many small record companies have tried and failed at hitting it of with quality products just because they didn't know many things about this world. The book in question here is a very good Bible for those who don't know all about the music industry and want to refine their tactics or learn some new ones.

Great book.......2006-03-04

Very good and clear book the title states it all. Its a perfect guide for anyone who is trying to become a music publisher

Making music: The guide to writing, performing & recording

Average customer rating:

Making music: The guide to writing, performing & recording
George Martin
Manufacturer: Quill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Business | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0688014666

Book Description

We are thrilled to bring you another volume of Sunday-size puzzles from the Chicago Tribune, edited by Wayne Robert Williams. The 50 crosswords in this book capture the essence of Chicago perfectly—some are contemporary, some are traditional, and most fall somewhere in the middle; the puzzle makers come to the Tribune from California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and many points in between. In other words, they're as delightfully diverse as Chicago itself!

Difficulty: Medium
Style: Middle-of-the-Road

Customer Reviews:

More doable than the NYTimes puzzles, but not easy.......2007-01-08

I'm a little obsessed with crossword puzzles, and this series of Sunday tribune puzzles is excellent, I have found, for my skill level. I don't finish very many of them, but I feel like I COULD do it, if I really tried. Ha. That's probably the way it's supposed to be, I suspect. When I try to do the NYTimes Sunday puzzles, I don't feel like there's must hope for me.

The Tribune puzzles feel modern, but not as hip as the Boston Globe puzzles. I like this. I wait for "them" to put out a new volume, and I pace myself, interspersing LA Times puzzles in between these.

I'm a fairly smart person, with an honors degree in literature, but I'm not clever enough, I fear, for the NYTimes puzzles. I wish I were, because I love the paper. Maybe I can sneak these Tribune volumes (that are nicely spiral bound) in between the pages of the Times?

Book Description

Born Dov-Ber Rasofsky to Eastern European immigrant parents, Barney Ross grew up in a tough Chicago neighborhood and witnessed his father’s murder, his mother’s nervous breakdown, and the dispatching of his three younger siblings to an orphanage, all before he turned fourteen. To make enough money to reunite the family, Ross became a petty thief, a gambler, a messenger boy for Al Capone, and, eventually, an amateur boxer. Turning professional at nineteen, he would capture the lightweight, junior welterweight, and welterweight titles over the course of a ten-year career.

Ross began his career as the scrappy “Jew kid,” ended it as an American sports icon, and went on to become a hero during World War II, earning a Silver Star for his heroic actions at Guadalcanal. While recovering from war wounds and malaria he became addicted to morphine, but with fierce effort he ultimately kicked his habit and then campaigned fervently against drug abuse. And the fighter who brought his father’s religious books to training camp also retained powerful ties to the world from which he came. Ross worked for the creation of a Jewish state, running guns to Palestine and offering to lead a brigade of Jewish American war veterans.

This first biography of one of the most colorful boxers of the twentieth century is a galvanizing account of an emblematic life: a revelation of both an extraordinary athlete and a remarkable man.

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating portrait of a Jewish tough guy.......2007-10-04

Every few years I stumble across a short, breezy biography that far better treats its subject than it would have at ten times the length. "Barney Ross" is one of these delights.

Douglas Century's story of Jewish boxer Barney Ross renders an evocative portrait of the forgotten, dangerous world inhabited by the ancestors of today's American Jews a century ago.

Ross's father was a Talmudic scholar, chased from the old country by pogroms, and murdered in the new one during an armed robbery. The family was scattered. Ross boxed for money to get the youngest brothers out of an orphanage, which he did.

The book illuminates two colorful groups of yore: Jewish boxers and gangsters. Both groups - the one aboveboard, the other not - speak to a Jewish yearning for strength, as well as an ambivalence about it, after centuries of weakness. Judaism disparaged athletics, let alone criminal violence, from the time of the Greeks and Maccabees.

Tough guys - shtarkers, in Yiddish - weren't what their mothers wanted them to be, but had credibility on the Lower East Side and Chicago's Maxwell Street, where Ross grew up. Both gangsters and boxers stood up for their people when no one else would, defending their neighborhoods against interlopers.

Ross, who simultaneously held three titles in the 1930s, was definitely one tough boychik. In 81 pro fights, he was never knocked out. That includes the last one in which, over the hill, he was savagely beaten by Henry Armstrong. Virtually helpless, he took an estimated 1200 punches, but refused to go down and kept answering the bell. He never said "no mas" in any language.

He was just as tough at Guadalcanal, enlisting in the Marines at the advanced age of 33. He fought alone through a harrowing night to defend several wounded and cutoff men, firing hundreds of rounds and throwing dozens of grenades. They were finally relieved the next day. Around Ross's foxhole lay two dozen dead Japanese soldiers.

Hospitalized for three months, Ross began a morphine addiction which nearly killed him. He fought it just as courageously, turning himself in for arrest so that he could be sent to a prison specializing in drug addiction treatment. His drug addiction tainted his celebrity; a planned biopic was quashed and turned instead into a fictional story loosely based on his life. This is why most people today have never heard of him.

Ross worked to raise money and Holocaust awareness even as the Warsaw ghetto uprising raged. He smuggled guns to the Irgun for battles leading to Israel's independence. And he may have been one of the Jewish tough guys who terrorized Nazi sympathizers in Chicago in the 1930s. Another was Jack Ruby, a friend of Ross's; Ross last entered the public eye when he was questioned by the Warren Commission about Ruby's early entanglements with Chicago gangsters.

As Century notes, Ross was special. He retained religious ties throughout his life. He didn't have much of a mean streak, apologizing to his sparring partners for hurting them and showing little taste for putting away a weakened opponent. To Jews, boxing was a means to an end, a way out of poverty. When times changed, twenty years later, there were no more Jewish boxers. This little book is a reminder of what life was like for American Jews before they succeeded.

BARNEY ROSS AND BARNEY SUGERMAN WERE BEST FRIENDS.......2006-05-13

I KNEW BARNEY ROSS WHEN I WAS A YOUNG LAD GROWING UP IN THE SUBURS OF NEWARK NEW JERSEY. BARNEY SUGERMAN Z'L, MY FATHER AND BARNEY ROSS WERE CLOSE CLOSE FRIENDS. SUGIE AS MY FATHER WAS ALSO KNOWN WAS IN THE JUKE BOX AND GAME BUSINESS. HE CAME OUT OF THAT VERY SPECIAL WORLD OF PROHIBITION, ROARING 20'S, PROUD JEWS INCLUDING MOBSTERS AND PRIZE FIGHTERS. POP HAD HIS OFFICES AND BUSINESS ON JUKE BOX ROW, TENTH AVENUE AND 43RD STREET IN MANHATTAN. BARNEY ROSS WAS AT THE OFFICE TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK AND AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, THE TWO BARNEYS WOULD MAKE THE ROUNDS IN THE CITY. DOUGLAS CENTURY DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF CONVEYING THE TRUE PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER OF BARNEY ROSS. THE BOOK IS OUTSTANDING. IT CAPTURES THE TRUE SPIRIT OF BARNEY ROSS. I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN BARNEY ROSS WOULD SAY HELLO TO YOU, IT MADE YOU FEEL YOU WERE SPECIAL. HE HUGGED YOU, KISSED YOU, AND HE BLESSED YOU IN PERFECT HEBREW AND IN PERFECT YIDDISHE. HE WAS A REAL PROUD JEW AND HE KNEW THAT HE CARRIED ON HIS SHOULDERS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF JEWISH PRIDE TO A NATION THAT HAD NOT YET FULLY ACCEPTED THE JEWISH PEOPLE. IN FACT GROWING UP, ANTI SEMITISM WAS NOT A RARE OCCURENCE. BARNEY CARRIED THE CROWN OF JEWISH PRIDE WHEREVER HE WENT. I WILL TELL ONE STORY. IN THE MID 50'S I WAS A STUDENT AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY WHICH WAS A SCHOOL ASSOCIATED WITH THE BAPTISTS. IN THOSE DAYS, THERE WAS A LIMIT ON JEWS GOING TO BUCKNELL, WE HAD A 5% QUOTA. SO WE HAD ONE JEWISH FRATERNITY HOUSE. IN MY JUNION YEAR, 1958, WE HAD AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR THE ANNUAL SPORTS EVENING. ALL THE ATHLETES OF THE SCHOOL WENT TO THE ANNUAL DINNER. SOMEBODY KNEW THAT MY FATHER AND BARNEY ROSS WERE CLOSE FRIENDS, AND THE SCHOOL BOXING COMMITTEE ASKED ME IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO INVITE BARNEY ROSS TO COME UP TO THE SCHOOL TO GIVE A SPEECH. I CALLED POP. HE SPOKE TO BARNEY ROSS. BARNEY RIGHT AWAY SAID OF COURSE HE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO IT. THAT WAS BARNEY ROSS. THE WORD "NO" DIDN'T EXIST IN HIS VOCABULARY. I TOLD POP TO MAKE SURE HE WAS UP BY 4 OR 4.30 BECAUSE THE DINNER WAS SCHEDULED FOR 6 PM. POP PICKED BARNEY UP EARLY IN THE MORNING. IT WAS NO MORE THAN A 4 HOUR DRIVE UP THROUGH ROUTE 22 TO MAKE IT TO LEWISBURG PENNSYLVANIA. BUT NO SIGN OF THE TWO BARNEYS AND BY 5 PM. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE SCHOOL. FINALLY AT SIX PM ON THE DOT THE BIG BLUE FOUR DOOR CADILLAC PULLED UP AND OUT CAME BARNEY ROSS WITH BARNEY SUGERMAN. BARNEY ROSS SMELLED LIKE HE FELL INTO A BATH TUB OF WHISKEY. I ASKED POP WHAT THE HELL TOOK HIM SO LONG. POP EXPLAINED THAT BETWEEN NEW YORK CITY AND LEWISBURG PENNSYLVANIA BARNEY ROSS INSISTED ON STOPPING IN EACH TOWN AND HAVE A DRINK. AS SOON AS HE WALKED INTO A BAR IN THOSE LITTLE BLUE COLLAR TOWNS IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, GUYS IMMEIDATELY RECOGNIZED HIM AND BEFORE LONG, "BARNEY HAVE ANOTHER DRINK ON THE HOUSE, AND TELL US ABOUT THE FIGHT WITH TONY CANZONERI, WITH JIMMY MC LARNIN, ETC."

WE BROUGHT BARNEY INTO OUR SAMMY HOUSE FRATERNITY. HE WAS SURROUNDED BY ALL THE GUYS IN THE FRATERNITY WHO WANTED TO SAY HELLO TO BARNEY ROSS AND SHAKE HIS HAND, ETC. BARNEY ROSS HOWEVER WAS THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND. I WAS WONDERING HOW THE HELL HE WAS GOING TO GIVE A SPEECH AT THE SPORTS NIGHT EVENT.

WE WENT TO THE DINNER. THE PLACE WAS MOBBED WITH ALL THE JOCKS AT BUCKNELL. NATURALLY, THE VAST MAJORITY WERE NOT JEWISH. BARNEY GOT UP TO SPEAK. HE HUGGED THE MICROPHONE AND HE STARTED TO SPEAK. HE SPOKE SO QUIETLY, BUT SO ELOQUENTLY AND SO PASSIONATELY ABOUT HIS LIFE GROWING UP AS A JEWISH BOY IN CHICAGO, HIS FATHER'S TRAGIC MURDER, HIS ENTRY INTO BOXING, HIS CAREER, HIS FIGHTS, HIS WAR TIME EXPERIENCE, HIS DRUG ADDICTION AS A RESULT OF THE WOUNDS HE SUFFERED DURING THE BATTLE AT GUADACANAL AND HIS STUGGLE TO BEAT THE HABIT. THAT EVENT TOOK PLACE NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO. I REMEMBER IT LIKE IT HAPPENED TONIGHT. BARNEY ROSS WAS A CHAMPION AS A FIGHTER, BOTH IN THE RING AND IN THE BATTLEFIELD BUT THAT NIGHT HE WAS A CHAMPION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. KOLHAKAVOD TO DOUGLAS CENTURY. HIS BOOK IS A TRIBUTE TO THE TRUE CHARACTER OF BARNEY ROSS

Once we were warriors..........2006-05-11

...and it's a right pity so few Jewish youngsters have never even heard of the former champ Barney Ross -- the "Pride of the Ghetto."

I'd first heard about Century's book over at the always insightful website, www.nextbook.org, where he was interviewed over a seven minute stretch about the life and times of the second- (of two) most famous Jewish pugilist of all-time, other than Benny Leonard.

Century demonstrates a deft skill with the pen and a remarkable savvy for the entire era and the relevant subject material. It clearly shines through in his compact historial narrative of the period.

I'd wanted to read over the reviews of this book before devlving into my own -- figuring that if you're really keen on knowing what the book's about, you don't need me to tell you that....the editorial reviews do more than an adequate job.

Within Barney Ross' pages, expect a raft of feelgood as you stream through fellow-Canadian Century's well-crafted prose. He collates what -- to this scribe at least -- seems to be a wealth of source material in order to carve out a delectable read. In what might otherwise be a biography of the late fighter, Century eschews the traditional format of "he was born in 1909..." and opts for a more 'filmic' approach -- I swear a camera could've been trained on any one of these scenes.

You'll breeze through the initial pages figetedly, reading of the shooting murder of Ross' Talmudic-scholar father in his tiny Maxwell Street fruit shop by a pair of Chicago street thugs, then you'll root for Barney -- ne Beryl Rasofsky -- as he vows to regain his family's fallen honour -- having lost his mother to a wellness sanitorium in Connecticut and his siblings to a local Chi-Town orphanage.

You'll pump your fists silently, as you sip your preferred beverage, reading about Ross' earliest victories on the canvas and in the ring, then rallying to the fighter's side as he continues to rise through the amateur -- then professional -- ranks, on his way to boxing lightweight and welterweight stardom.

When Armstrong clobbers Ross in their to the wire slugfest, ending Ross' illustrious career, it'll tug at your heartstrings, while it continues to thump on that same spot uncomfortably as you read about Ross' subsequent enlistment in the US Marine Corps then of his injuries sustained at Guadalcanal.

When you learn of his resultant addiction to morpheine, and then Ross' subsequent long battle to trump it, you're bound to be affected.

Thanks to Barney Ross, I'm super keen on having a look at Century's other stuff. I'm sure it's moving all the same.

Barney Ross bio.......2006-03-28

I highly recommend this book. I read for entertainment and was
thoroughly entertained. You do not have to be an admirer of the
great pugilists of the past to enjoy this book. God bless Barney
and what he left us.

Strong and compact.......2006-03-23

The book is a slender but effective biography of Barney Ross, a boxing champion whose life was a remarkable series of ups and downs. The boxing prose isn't a match for A.J. Liebling, but the author does a good job with the fight material, and he's just as adept in examining other periods in Ross' life (wartime heroism, followed by postwar heroin addiction).

There are two notable subtexts in the book - one that involves a search for a bygone world of immigrants and ethnic identification, and the other that deals with the uneasy relationship between the intellectual and the physical among 20th century Jews. That may seem like weighty stuff, but it's not - the author does a solid job of keeping the book constantly readable.

Average customer rating:

No.1: First Works of 362 Artists
Vito Acconci , Matthew Barney , Chuck Close , Vik Muniz , and Ross Bleckner
Manufacturer: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Contemporary Art | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1933045094
Release Date: 2005-10-15

Book Description

Sincere and ironic. Hip and stodgy. Academic still lifes and ready to hang museum pieces. When you ask over 300 artists, "What was your first work of art" the results are vast. An inspirational collection, No.1: First Works by 362 Artists showcases works by a variety of contemporary painters, photographers, sculptors, and filmmakers. The artists were asked to submit what they considered their "first" work of art--not necessarily the first piece they ever created, but the one that first successfully represented who they are as an artist today. Some of the works are first "mature" works, others are seminal or pivotal, others are catalysts, some are new beginnings. These submissions, along with written artists' statements, make up this fascinating look at the process of art-marking. No.1 is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in art and the process of discovery and creation.

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Big Bad Barney Bear
Tony Ross
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1842700588
Release Date: 2002-04-25

Average customer rating:

Fundamentals of boxing,
Barney Ross
Manufacturer: Little Technical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006APMMK

Average customer rating:

Jew In American Sports, Revised Edition
Harold U. Ribalow; Preface Barney Ross
Manufacturer: BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OJWZ6O

The Jew in American Sports, Revised Enlarged Edition

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The Jew in American Sports, Revised Enlarged Edition
Harold U. Ribalow Barney Ross
Manufacturer: Bloch Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VAUMKW

No Man Stands Alone: The True Story of Barney Ross

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No Man Stands Alone: The True Story of Barney Ross
Barney Ross; And Martin Abramson; Foreword Eddie Cantor
Manufacturer: J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1499027958

Average customer rating:

Incredible guts of a true champion
Barney Ross (Almost)Stands Alone

No Man Stands Alone: The True Story of Barney Ross
Barney Ross , and Martin Abramson
Manufacturer: Lippincott
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006AV6NO

Customer Reviews:

Incredible guts of a true champion.......2006-01-23

Barney Ross is one of the heroes of my childhood. He is one of the fighters who held crowns in two divisions. He was a role model for me , and other Jewish kids not simply because he was a Jewish fighter(There were lots of Jewish fighters in those days) but because he had incredible guts and was a true champion.
I saw quite a few of his fights including the fight mentioned in the fine review written on this website in which Ross took a tremendous beating from Henry Armstrong and refused to go down.
His autobiography tells the story of his hard-times orphan childhood, and his coming to be a fighter. It also tells of how he volunteered for service in the Second World War and received a Silver Star for heroic action on Guadacanal. It was on Guadacanal where he was severely wounded, and received huge doses of morphine that he became addicted, an addiction which would have disastrous consequence in the rest of his life.
He tells his story with modesty and frankness. This is the story of a true American - Jewish hero, and one of the great boxers of his time.

Barney Ross (Almost)Stands Alone.......2005-10-12

Of all the world's heroic figures,I've had the closest bond with
Barney Ross,who died of cancer at 58 in January,1967,the year of my Bar Mitzvah;in fact,he won the world's lightweight title on June 23,1933 by decision over Tony Canzoneri-34 years and a day before I read my Haftorah.I do not believe it is a coincidence that in 1933,the year Hitler came to power in Germany,
Ross won the world title;if The Torah had been written in the twentieth century,Ross would've had a starring role in it.Since it wasn't,we'll have to settle with 'No Man Stands Alone.'Aside from that,there was a horrible attempt at a movie about him called 'Monkey On My Back',starring Cameron Mitchell and sort of another attempt of a movie about him,which became 'Body and Soul' about a fictitious Ross,with John Garfield,who wouldn't play Ross because he didn't want to play a junkie;Ross sued and won in both cases.The fact is ,he became addicted to morphine after his experience at Guadalcanal in World War II,for which he probably should've won The Congressional Medal of Honor;he didn't have to be there-he enlisted in the Marines in his thirties after his boxing career,in which he was the first boxer
to hold titles in three weight divisions,retiring with a record of 72-4-3.He went into his last fight with Henry Armstrong on May 31,1938 with a not quite healed from one of his wars with Ceferino Garcia.He was 29,took an incredible beating,refused to go down-and rallied in the last round;when it was over,the crowd was silent.Armstrong later said
he was glad he didn't fight Ross in his prime.The former rabbi of my synagogue,Noah Gamze-then at The Loop Synagogue in Chicago,remembered Ross having to decline the honor of lifting The Torah because of broken hands.In fact,Ross,born Barnet Rasofsky was supposed to become a rabbi;this went out the window when he was 13 and his Orthodox father was murdered in his small grocery store
in Chicago.The family was split up-and for a time, Ross ran errands for Al Capone;Capone finally told him,"Here's a twenty.Buy your family something and go back to school or get a job...look I told you something.Now beat it before I get mad."Ross later tried to run guns to Israel in the 1948 war-19 years before The Six Day War,which ended days before my Bar Mitzvah;if anyone is looking to make an autobiographical movie-'No Man Stands Alone' is a unique and terrific choice.

Ross Barney Architects: Process + Projects

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Ross Barney Architects: Process + Projects
Images Publishing
Manufacturer: Images Publishing Group Pty. Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Project Planning & Management | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 186470229X

Book Description

This publication examines the evolution of Ross Barney Architects, and some of its most significant works, along with a discussion of the rigorous process that each commission goes through from initial ideas to final design.

Barney Ross: of body and soul.(Book review): An article from: Midstream

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Barney Ross: of body and soul.(Book review): An article from: Midstream
Maurice Wohlgelernter
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000MRA1NM
Release Date: 2007-01-18

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Midstream, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 4698 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: Barney Ross: of body and soul.(Book review)
Author: Maurice Wohlgelernter
Publication: Midstream (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Page: 36(5)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

Highest Praise.......2006-06-27

There are literally dozens of similar books to chose from when it comes to Civil War battle sites, and many of them are very good indeed, but I have found Angus Konstam's THE POCKET BOOK OF CIVIL WAR BATTLE SITES to be superior to all the others, though perhaps not quite as detailed as some. There is nothing I can say bad about this book.

The pictures are brilliant and plentiful. The book is divided into the eastern campaigns and the western campaigns. Each major battle is given a wonderful narrative. But the main thing that stands out with this book is all the other little details. Profiles of major figures at each battle, battle flags, detailed maps of troop formations and battle tactics, equipment and weaponry and much more.

The book concludes with battle site information and detailed directions on finding each battlefield, as well as websites featuring additional information. It all makes this a terrific little travel guide, but it is so much more than that.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

Book Description

No matter what your political persuasion, The One-Hour Activist is your guide to influencing lawmakers, candidates, and reporters. The One-Hour Activist reveals fifteen powerful, proven grassroots actions that persuade lawmakers and candidates to see things your way. Each action is designed to grab the attention of your representatives and build relationships that serve your issues over the long run. And each action takes less than an hour to complete, so you can make a difference without giving up your life! The One-Hour Activist is packed with insider advice from elected officials, professional organizers, lobbyists, and journalists who share state-of-the-art tips for getting your message across. Real-life examples of effective letters, e-mail, phone calls, public testimony, and news story pitches from concerned citizens just like you illustrate the actions.

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Useful and practical.......2005-08-09

I found this book to be a useful, practical "insider's guide", written by someone who clearly knows what they are talking about. It filled in some gaps in my knowledge, even though I live and operate within the political system in Australia (much of the book focuses on the American political system). It was not difficult to extract information and apply it to my own setting, and has really opened up a whole swag of ideas for me. It is well-written, succinct, and does not beat around the bush. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

Great if your issue isn't the system itself.......2005-06-26

For those of us who see the system as the problem being asked to cajole our elected candidates to our point of view seems useless to say the least, for instance how do you get a corrupt official consider reform, etc. Living in a state dominated by one party or the other tends to make these methods a bit moot, however if your issue(s) are simpler and offer the candidate less to lose, say getting funding for MS this book is immensely helpful.

Awe-Inspiring.......2004-06-09

This book was simply inspiring and a definite pleasure to read. I was granted the pleasure of attending a session that was facilitated by Mr. Kush, and reading his book is just like listening to his powerful words again; the book is really that great! The One-Hour Activist has content anyone can enjoy, whether you're a newcomer to grassroots activism or a longtime activist. I learned very much from this book and it kept me reading from front to back- Kush writes the book in such a way as if he were speaking to you. After reading The One-Hour Activist, I felt motivated and compelled to take this book's advice in action. Go out now and buy this book!

Democracy doesn't end with voting!.......2004-05-24

So many people think that all they can do is vote and then write angry letters or blogs after their candidates fail to perform as promised. This book is, first and foremost, about keeping the pressure on. Making legislators aware of your issues, aware of your story and aware that you aren't going away. There are so many avenues of communication available between constituents and legislators and so few get used (and, no, the email petition isn't one of them). This book will tell you how to get your voice heard!

Learning.......2004-05-14

I learned so much from this book, I would suggest it for anyone.

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Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan: Together with Those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka Volume 2: Megapodes to Crab Plover (Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan)
Salim Ali , and S. Dillon Ripley
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Ornithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0195612019

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