The Open Studio: Essays on Art and Aesthetics

Book Description

Poets often have responded vitally to the art of their time, and ever since Susan Stewart began writing about art in the early 1980s, her work has resonated with practicing artists, curators, art historians, and art critics. Rooted in a broad and learned range of references, Stewart's fresh and independent essays bridge the fields of literature, aesthetics, and contemporary art.

Gathering most of Stewart's writing on contemporary art—long and short pieces first published in small magazines, museum and gallery publications, and edited collections—The Open Studio illuminates work ranging from the installation art of Ann Hamilton to the sculptures and watercolors of Thomas Schütte, the prints and animations of William Kentridge to the films of Tacita Dean. Stewart's essays are often the record of studio conversations with living artists and curators, and of the afterlife of those experiences in the solitude of her own study. Considering a wide variety of art forms, Stewart finds pathbreaking ways to explore them. Whether she is following central traditions of painting, drawing, sculpture, film, photography, and printmaking or exploring the less well-known realms of portrait miniatures, collecting practices, doll-making, music boxes, and gardening, Stewart speaks to the creative process in general and to the relation between art and ethics.

The Open Studio will be read eagerly by scholars of art, poetry, and visual theory; by historians interested in the links between contemporary and classic literature and art; and by teachers, students, and practitioners of the visual arts.

Book Description

In Work, At Home provides a valuable introduction to the issues and debates surrounding homeworking and explores the meaning and experience of this type of employment by covering a wide range of issues including social relationships, current research methodologies, and the statistical analysis of global labor markets.

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Understanding Cottages
John Constable
Manufacturer: Capall Bann Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1861631782

Amazon.com

Scott Adams's latest work is not a collection of Dilbert cartoons (though recycled strips are liberally sprinkled throughout); it's a dialogue between the man and his fans disguised as a tongue-in-cheek guide to surviving the corporate life. There are chapters on "Office Pranks," "Surviving Meetings," and "Managing Your Co-Workers," with enough weird stories and practical jokes to make any middle manager nervous, especially as many of the tricks and tips come from e-mails sent to Adams by his fans (one tip: never let anyone else use your computer). If these messages are any indication, the creative tide has turned, and now the corporate world is following Dilbert's lead. In the office blocks of America, life is imitating art imitating life, creating a pleasantly postmodern working environment. The final chapter of The Joy of Work, "Handling Criticism," includes a response to Norman Solomon's The Trouble with Dilbert, which accuses Adams of selling out and supporting the corporate hierarchy that he claims to satirize. Adams's response is thorough and convincing, with just enough nastiness (jokes about Solomon's hair, for example) to demonstrate that although Dilbert may not have a mouth, he certainly has teeth. --Simon Leake

Book Description

"I cried because I did not have an office with a door, until I met a man who had no cubicle."
Dilbert

A message from Scott Adams:

I think the next wave of office design will focus on eliminating the only remaining obstacle to office productivity: your happiness. Happiness isn't a physical thing, like walls and doors. But it's closely related. Managers know that if they can eliminate all traces of happiness, the employees won't be so picky about their physical surroundings. Once you're hopelessly unhappy, you won't bother to complain if your boss rolls you up in a tight ball and crams you into a cardboard box.

As soon as I noticed this disturbing threat to workplace happiness, I did some investigative work and discovered it wasn't confined to the issue of office design. Companies were making a direct frontal assault on employee happiness in every possible way! I knew there was only one thing that could stop the horror.

It was time for another Dilbert book.

It might sound corny, but I felt an obligation to society. People told me it was time for me to "give something back to the community." This scared me, until I realized that no one knows I furnished my house with street signs and park benches. So I interpreted the "give something back to the community" message as a plea for me to write this book and then charge the community to read it.

In the first part of this book I will tell you how to find happiness at the expense of your co-workers, managers, customers, andbest of allthose lazy stockholders. The second part of the book teaches you my top-secret methods for mining humor out of ordinary situations, thus making it easier to mock the people around you. The third part of the book is made entirely of invisible pages. If the book seems heavier than it looks, that's why.

Office Prank #44: Sounds That Drive Co-workers Crazy

You can produce sounds in the office that will drive your co-workers insane. That can be very entertaining. Every co-worker is different, so you might have to experiment to find the sounds that are most annoying to your cubicle neighbor. It's worth the effort.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing but not too bad.......2007-09-12

His other text-heavy books are much better; this one felt either too mean spirited or too forced.

Just like my job!.......2007-04-10

The book has great ideas to keep you happy at work, at the expense of others. Adams gives his justification for why you need to be happier at work, and flashes a glimpse of that cynicism many white collar workers share when working for a big corporation. One of my favorite parts of the book was his explanation for what makes things funny, the 2 of 6 rule. If you have any interest being funny, it's a helpful recipe for concocting humor that I found to be helpful and accurate.

This book rocks!.......2007-03-20

Very funny and comprehensive collection of interesting and amusing commentaries, observations, cartoons, emails and evil take-over-the-world plans! Great for lightening your heart if you're in a high pressure job. I loved this book. Even bought it for friends.

Mischievous stories and humorous take on workplace stress.......2005-05-28

This book, by the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, offers tips on surviving the workday. The author includes mischievous stories from other professionals as well as some of his own. The book is an entertaining look at overcoming workplace stress and still funny five years after publication.

Good one........2004-09-17

I usually prefer the Dilbert strips by themselves, as opposed to a book containing strips and Adams' commentary. However, this one was funny. Adams' chapter on "Office Pranks" had me in stitches!

The Joy of Work - Dilbert's Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-workers

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The Joy of Work - Dilbert's Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-workers

Manufacturer: Harper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GTRMC4

Amazon.com

"Lights, cameras..." and if you get this book, very likely "Action!" This is a great resource book for anyone who wants to get into any aspect of the movie and TV business--especially in Los Angeles. Written by two prominent entertainment attorneys, it spells out the nature of jobs in the business, legal matters (such as protecting your creative work), and the Byzantine machinations behind movie and TV deals.

Book Description

From getting the necessary training and understanding the intricate responsibilities of everyone behind or in front of the camera to getting your first break and avoiding career-specific pitfalls, All You Need to Know About the Movie and TV Business leads you topic by topic through

* A breakdown of job descriptions, from casting directors and key grips to stunt coordinators and film editors

* What kinds of deals actors, directors, writers, and producers make when they start out and when they hit the top

* How to protect and sell your creative work

* How movie deals are put together at studios and by independents

* The nuts and bolts of a boilerplate contract

* The notorious and mysterious world of profit participations, with a detailed explanation of why there's never any profit "net profit" deals

The entertainment industry can be an exciting, challenging landscape to negotiate. Having some valuable insight into how to make the most of your career in the movie or TV business can put you on the surest path to success.

Customer Reviews:

Very Informative...sheds some light on how the system works.......2005-12-27

I would say that overall this book is an excellent reference for anyone thinking of getting into the Film and TV business. This book breaks down and provides samples of contracts, terms, negotiating points, how to break into the industry, and plenty of other information in regards to Hollywood. I'd say the "meat and potatoes" of the book lie in the last few chapters about negotiating and where the money goes, but it's great.

The only issues I have with this book is that 1) It's mostly directed towards actors. I am an up and coming producer/director, and even though much of the content was still relevant to my interests, the authors are primarily writing to inform actors. 2) The book is for the most part LA-centric. The authors make sure you know this from the book's foreward. I am a New Yorker!

I would definitely recommend this for anyone interested in an above the line position on a movie production.

Great, simple and informative book........2005-08-13

I usually don't write reviews but I was very happy with the information in this book and the flow of everything. Not a lot of non-useful information and fancy writing skills - just the facts in plain english and to the point. A great overview and understanding of the movie and television business for beginners.
Just what I needed.
Thanks,
Howard Gatch

He is Awesome! I met Scott Trost!.......2002-07-01

I wentto a model convention and he was ur monologue teacher. Well he gave me a callback andi talkedto h for about an hour. He is a very sar andawsome man and writer. I definately would recommend this book. Im actually an actor becaue of his help and others. Thanx Scott.

An Actor's Guide to surviving Los Angeles.......2000-11-28

This book is definetly a beginning actor's guide. It focused primarily on the acting business for someone who is new to Hollywood. It was helpful in understanding some other roles in the movie business which are not as pretty,but overall I found it informative but lacking what it really takes to land a first job in TV or film. If you know nothing about the business...this book is for you.

Truly Everything You Need To Know.......1999-11-04

This is a phenomenal guide to the different positions in the film industry. From the small to the big screen, to the credits that roll by unnoticed and unregarded, this book covers every position with a description of each. There is a chapter on contracts. Another on directing. Another on acting. Another on producing. Virtually a plethora of information, and a must-must-read for anyone going into, or interested in television or movies.

Book Description

This volume covers a wide range of approaches to fundamental questions about music, such as: What is similarity in music? How do we recognize it? How can we program computers to recognize it? Topics include concepts and procedures, tools and applications, human melodic judgments, and online tools for melodic searching. The contributors draw on theoretical approaches and practical results from computer science and network models, folk-music archives and bibliographical collaborations, algorithmic composition, classical-music history, ethnomusicology and social psychology, and case law in claims of popular music plagiarism.

Contributors: David Bainbridge, David Cope, Tim Crawford, Charles Cronin, Ewa Dahlig, Dominik Hörnel, John Howard, Costas S. Iliopoulos, Andreas Kornstädt, Rodger J. McNab, Nigel Nettheim, Donncha Ó Maidín, Rajeev Raman, Helmut Schaffrath, Eleanor Selfridge-Field, Lloyd A. Smith, Ian H. Witten, Masato Yako.

Computing in Musicology 11

Melodic Similarity: Concepts, Procedures, and Applications

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Melodic Similarity: Concepts, Procedures, and Applications
Eleanor Selfridge-Field Walter B. Hewlett
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR5O82

Book Description

Simon & Schuster's Super Crossword Book #11

From the very first crossword puzzle publisher comes this megacollection of puzzles to lease your brain and bend your mind!

Here are 225 of the toughest crosswords culled from out -- of -- print books in Simon & Schuster's challenging series. You wouldn't expect any less from this collection's top constructors -- wordplay of Sunday Times caliber to taunt and tantalize you for hours. As an added challenge, some of the crosswords have bonus rewards for a solving job well done -- quotations and quips from a wide range of sources woven into the answers. Eugene Maleska and John Samson make sure that you are thoroughly challenged by -- and totally engrossed inthese completely revised and updated puzzles.

Book Description

Rod Serling's anthology series The Twilight Zone is recognized as one of the greatest shows of all time. Ostensibly science fiction, the show was that and much more; always intelligent and thought-provoking, it used conventions and techniques of several genres-science fiction, fantasy, Westerns, horror, and film noir, among others-to explore such universal human issues as violence, fear, prejudice, love, death, and individual identity.

This comprehensive reference work first gives a complete history of the show, from its beginning in 1959 to its final 1964 season. The authors then provide critical commentaries and incisive analyses of all 156 episodes, along with the most complete listing of casts and credits ever published. Biographical profiles of writers and contributors comprise the book's third main section. Detailed appendices-writers, directors, actors, genres, and a listing of all episodes in order of original airdate-are also included. An extensive bibliography and an exhaustive index conclude the work.

Customer Reviews:

They didn't DO anything at all to write this book!.......1999-02-26

I'll chime in here too. I guess from reading the "4 star" reviews below the authors aren't too lazy to promote this dog. They certainly were too lazy to do anything original. The #1 reason that I was so disappointed when I got this book, the AUTHORS WERE DOWNRIGHT LAZY!!! If this book is not a rehash, there has never ever been a book written that was!! While Zircee is often critized for the TZ Companion, Zicree did conduct his own interviews and gathered his own information. These guys didn't do JACK!! Presnell and McGee did not conduct even ONE interview. All of the information in this book came from other sources (and they relied HEAVILY on the Zicree TZ Companion throughout their book). Add the fact that it is all text based...not a single photo. They were too cheap to pay the publisher for any pictures. Now they want to charge you an arm and a leg for this really crappy rehash too....skip this one for CERTAIN!!

This book -really- stinks!.......1999-02-24

DO NOT listen to the three "4 star" reviews posted by the same person (probably the author, the only person that could like this horrid work). If someone offered me a copy of this book for FREE, I would not walk 100 yards to pick it up. What a waste of paper..... SERIOUSLY!! I wish we had ZERO stars as an option, because that is what this deserves!

Actually, it hasn't been done.......1999-01-31

Must disagree with the 1 review of the Twilight Zone Book. While the Zicree "Companion" is incisive, it fails to mention the lost Zone episodes which surfaced on television in the 80s ... the Presnell book does ... and well. The "Critical History" is in-depth and well written. Rehash it isn't as it uses for its source the original scripts. Well worth a look.

Buy this one - A must have!.......1999-01-27

While this is not your typical Coffee Table picture book, it is a complete anthology of the famous TV series. The author uses a crisp writing style that cuts through the fluff and gets to the point. A style that i particularly enjoy. This is a comprehensive reference for the "zone-O-phile" who wants a concise summary of each episode along with all the details that fans of the show will enjoy. Buy this book. It is a welcome addtion to your TZ library.

A fine book to curl up with now that the show is back on air.......1999-01-27

Now that the show is back on the air and the Twilight Zone magazine is defunct, it is nice to have Mr Presnell's book as a watching companion. No photos, but the information is exhaustive (without being exhausting) and the writing is scholarly but accessible. This is a book clearly written by a fan. It's nice to watch the show nightly and then go behind the scenes with the book.

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Inspired another memoir

Not the story I expected

Beck is the best

I love this author's attitude!

Turned my life around

Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
Martha Beck
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith

Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live

The Four Day Win: End Your Diet War and Achieve Thinner Peace

Babies With Down Syndrome: A New Parents' Guide (The Special-Needs Collection)

Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey

ASIN: 0425174484
Release Date: 2000-08-08

Amazon.com

Expecting Adam is an autobiographical tale of an academically oriented Harvard couple who conceive a baby with Down's syndrome and decide to carry him to term. Despite everything Martha Beck and her husband John know about themselves and their belief system, when Martha gets accidentally pregnant and the fetus is discovered to have Down's syndrome, the Becks find they cannot even consider abortion. The presence of the fetus that they each, privately, believe is a familiar being named Adam is too strong. As Martha's terribly difficult pregnancy progresses, odd coincidences and paranormal experiences begin to occur for both Martha and John, though for months they don't share them with each other. Martha's pregnancy and Adam (once born) become the catalyst for tremendous life changes for the Becks.

Focusing primarily on the pregnancy but floating back and forth between the present and recent and distant past, Martha Beck's well-written, down-to-earth, funny, heart-rending, and tender book transcends the cloying tone of much spiritual literature. Beck is trained as a methodical academician. Because of her step-by-step explanation of her own progress from doubt to belief, she feels like a reliable witness, and even the most skeptical readers may begin to doubt their senses. When she describes an out-of-body experience, we, too, feel ourselves transported to a pungent, noisy hawker center in Singapore. We, too, feel calming, invisible, supporting hands when she falls. Yet, whether or not readers believe in Beck's experiences is ultimately a moot point. There is no doubt that Adam--a boy who sees the world as a series of connections between people who love each other--is a tremendous gift to Beck, her family, and all who have the honor of knowing him. --Ericka Lutz

Book Description

The "slyly ironic, frequently hilarious"(Time) memoir about angels, academics, and a boy named Adam...

A national bestseller and an important reminder that life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Put aside your expectations. This "rueful, riveting, piercingly funny" (Julia Cameron) book is written by a Harvard graduate--but it tells a story in which hearts trump brains every time. It's a tale about mothering a Down syndrome child that opts for sass over sap, and it's a book of heavenly visions and inexplicable phenomena that's as down-to-earth as anyone could ask for. This small masterpiece is Martha Beck's own story--of leaving behind the life of a stressed-out superachiever, opening herself to things she'd never dared consider, meeting her son for (maybe) the first time...and "unlearn[ing] virtually everything Harvard taught [her] about what is precious and what is garbage."

"Beck [is] very funny, particularly about the most serious possible subjects--childbirth, angels and surviving at Harvard." --New York Times Book Review

"Immensely appealing...hooked me on the first page and propelled me right through visions and out-of-body experiences I would normally scoff at." --Detroit Free Press

"I challenge any reader not to be moved by it." --Newsday

"Brilliant." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Customer Reviews:

Inspired another memoir.......2007-10-13

As the mother of an inspirational young son overcoming a rare musculoskeletal condition, I first ran across Expecting Adam excerpted in Exceptional Parent Magazine. I went on to read Martha Beck's memoir, which I found intriguing, thought-provoking, and full of the consolations of humor. Beck's book prompted me to write my own son's story, a book endorsed by Isabel Allende, Anne Lamott and others known for chronicling life's twists and turns with humor and hope. I am hoping that readers familiar with Martha Beck's memoir might consider reading Finding Magic Mountain: Life with Five Glorious Kids and a Rogue Gene Called FOP, a book meant to share hope, faith, humor, and raise disability awareness.

Carol Zapata-Whelan

Not the story I expected.......2007-10-10

My wife insisted that I read this book. I would not have chosen it myself. Martha Beck tells a story about her son with Down's syndrome, a child that she was advised to abort. Her story is one that many will not believe. She has dreams that predict the future. She gets messages from her son through a medium. She receives aid from angels, or something very like angels. Through all of this, she remains down to earth, and freely admits the difficulty that she has with belief in such things. I, who am not inclined to believe in such things, believe Martha Beck.

Her writing style is fluid and clear. She is a good storyteller. This book is easy to read, and not easy to put down. She tells their story with tremendous verve, and with love. The description of life at Harvard is accurate. I spent four years there. She writes well enough to make me suffer flashbacks.

This is the story of a chance taken, a decision that the world disdains as foolish. In Beck's narrative it is a life affirming move. I responded to this book in an emotional way that surprised me. Her son teaches her more about living than Harvard ever could. If you read this book with an open mind, he will teach you too.

Beck is the best.......2007-09-11

She makes me laugh out loud - she is a fantastic writer.

I read this book while I was pregnant - by accident - it really got me into my pregnancy. Her experience "carrying Adam" was AMAZING.

I HIGHLY recommend all of her book. ALL OF THEM!

I love this author's attitude!.......2007-08-28

I know it sounds inappropriate to describe a book about a mother finding out she is carrying a Down's syndrome baby as hilarious - but there you are. Also heartwarming and spicy! And I would love to know Adam.

Turned my life around.......2007-06-24

I happened on this book while reading one of those women's magazine's book reviews. The moment I got it into my hands, I could not put it down. I am not a huge reader of books but this one I finished in a week. My daughter, who has Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis, was less than a month old when Divine intervention put this book into my arms. I was in a serious state of post partum depression on top of clinical depression that has been with me since college. Martha Beck does not glorify having a child with down's, and it does not paint a horrible picture of it either. What it does is take you to her experience of inner joys, struggles as well as her magical moments. She writes her experience with a hint spiritual happenings as well. She describes her transformation of a self proclaimed feminist who had tight control of every aspect of her life to a woman, mother with a sense of wonder on this magical journey. In the end, Martha Beck allows the unknown to be a open door that she enters freely without hesitation. As I read the book, I could swear that she was describing my life and the feelings I was feeling. I cannot recommend this title enough for everyone touched by the birth of a child.

Expecting Adam : A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic

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Expecting Adam : A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
Martha Beck
Manufacturer: Crown Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HMPIR6

Amazon.com

Susan Orlean, New Yorker staff writer and author of The Orchid Thief, has always been drawn to the extraordinary in the ordinary, so when her Esquire editor asked her to profile the child actor Macaulay Culkin using the title "The American Man at Age Ten," she insisted instead on writing about a "typical" kid. The result--one of the 20 profiles drawn from magazines such as Esquire, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone for this collection--is a vivid window into the life of an ordinary and endearing boy from New Jersey who grapples with girls, environmental destruction, and the magical childhood landscape "that erodes from memory a little bit every day." Orlean has two tricks up her sleeve that make her profiles irresistible. First, she's got a mean hook. Take this lead: "Of all the guys who are standing around bus shelters in Manhattan dressed in nothing but their underpants, Marky Mark is undeniably the most polite." Second, she has an uncanny way of drawing her subjects. Bill Blass "is a virtuoso of the high-pitched eyebrow and the fortissimo gasp," while a boxer (the dog kind) wears "the earnest and slightly careworn expression of a small-town mayor."

Orlean is a New Yorker herself, and most of her subjects hail from the Big Apple, including such unique personas as a real estate broker who can describe the inside of almost any apartment in the city ("Walking down a Manhattan street with her is a paranormal experience"); Nat, the new tailor at Manhattan Valet; her hairdresser; the city's most popular clown; an Ashanti king who drives a taxi; and the owner of the only buttons-only store in America. The author is keenly observant and always tries to walk in her subject's shoes, even when it's a show dog ("If I were a bitch, I'd be in love with Biff Truesdale"). When she does tackle the rich and famous, she uses these same talents to create portraits so intimate and zesty they're unlike any other. Orlean writes that her only justification for choosing a story is that she cares about it, and it shows. Her fondness for her subjects rubs off as she draws us into the tight and exquisite focus of their mundane and fascinating lives. --Lesley Reed

Book Description

The bestselling author of The Orchid Thief is back with this delightfully entertaining collection of her best and brightest profiles. Acclaimed New Yorker writer Susan Orlean brings her wry sensibility, exuberant voice, and peculiar curiosities to a fascinating range of subjects—from the well known (Bill Blass) to the unknown (a typical ten-year-old boy) to the formerly known (the 1960s girl group the Shaggs).

Passionate people. Famous people. Short people. And one championship show dog named Biff, who from a certain angle looks a lot like Bill Clinton. Orlean transports us into the lives of eccentric and extraordinary characters—like Cristina Sánchez, the eponymous bullfighter, the first female matador of Spain—and writes with such insight and candor that readers will feel as if they’ve met each and every one of them.

The result is a luminous and joyful tour of the human condition as seen through the eyes of the writer heralded by the Chicago Tribune as a “journalist dynamo.”

Download Description

In this vibrant collection, Susan Orlean introduces us to an extraordinary array of people, from the well-known (Bill Blass) to the unknown (a typical ten-year-old boy) to the formerly known (sixties girl group the Shaggs). Passionate people. Short people. Young people. And one champion show dog named Biff, who, from a certain angle, looks like President Clinton. Some of these folks are a bit eccentric, like the shopkeeper who has spent thirty years of his life selling nothing but ceiling fans, or the most-sought-after entertainer on the children's birthday-party circuit, a clown known as Silly Billy. Others are living unusual lives, like the bullfighter of the title, the first woman to become a matador in Spain; or the African king driving a taxi in New York City, who keeps his throne in his living room. Susan Orlean brings her wry sensibility, exuberant voice, and peculiar curiosities to a fascinating range of subcultures -- sports and music and hairdressing and real estate, among others. The result is a joyful tour of the human condition as seen through the eyes of one of America's most entertaining and original literary journalists.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing to get excited about.......2004-12-23

Susan Orlean, notable to most as a writer for The New Yorker, became the literary "It" girl in 2003 with the help of the movie "Adaptation" (the movie based on her book The Orchid Thief). In an attempt to capitalize on that book, "Bullfighter..." was released.

The book takes some of Orlean's favorite and most popular articles and complies them into what appears to be a theme about remmarkable people. Orlean speaks candidly in the begining of her book about always wanting to be a writer and ironicly this introduction proves to be some of the best writing in the book. The rest of the books tends to be pretty much hit and miss. A fasinating story about a taxi driver who is in reality an African king somehow ends up being not so fasinating. Another story about a 10 year old is down right boring. My favorite ended up being about a store owner in New York that only sells buttons.

This is not to say that Orlean is a bad writer, she's not: however she writes with a sometimes akward detachment that made it hard for me to enjoy these "personal" articles.

vastly overrated.......2003-03-21

Look at the cover of this book and you'll see who and what it's really about. It's all about SO; her subject matter is irrelevant both to her and, consequently, to the reader. Worse, even her style, which seems to sucker in a lot of poeple, is not exactly her own. If you want to read what she's read, and cribbed from, track down a copy of Mr. Personality, by Mark Singer, also a New Yorker writer but a far finer one. Really, I don't see how SO can pass MS in the NYer's hallways and not hide her head in shame. Singer is by far the more human writer. He reserves his style for his short Talk of the Town pieces, drifting it to the side for his longer, more important pices. Unlike SO, he knows when to take it down a notch in order to add some real heart and feeling to his writing. SO's stuff, from one story to the next, is stylistically the same beginning to end. Half.com often has copies of Singer's book. When you find it, be sure to check out what's on the cover; it ain't a picture of Singer.

Non-fiction at its finest.......2003-01-31

Like her predecessor Joan Didion, Susan Orlean writes of the wide range of human experience--from a traveling gospel group in the South to a budding basketball star--and in doing so presents a portrait of America that is both comprehensive and engaging. What's even better is that she does it without ever being sentimental.

While I liked all of the essays in this volume, my favorites were ones that showed lives of the "average" American, like Heather Heaton, a young journalist covering the events of a small town, and, of course, "The American Male, age 10." Ms. Orlean has a way of following her subjects around & illuminating their lives, without ever getting in the way. Truly professional work, and I only have to say: give us more!

Outstanding.......2002-12-31

For anyone who enjoys reading profile pieces in major national magazines, you will love Orlean's superb writing! Her choices of interview subjects are far and varied, from the American Man, Aged 10 to the Female Bullfighter, hence the title of the book.
You will be delighted and most of all, impressed by her deft writing and wonderfully descriptive passages. You will not be disappointed!

Anthologies of interesting prople.......2002-04-13

When I had finished "The Bullfighter checks her Make-up", it had occured to me that many of the rich and famous are quite dull when you take away the riches and fame. You don't believe me? Read an issue of Vanity Fair. In every issue, there will always be some hot star featured that month. This person may sizzle on celluloid, sound great on CD, etc. but is boring as heck or so self absorbed that you go running to a preening, navel gazing 14 year old for some company. None of Ms. Orlean's subjects are in this category. Whether it's a buff Boxer(the dog) named Biff or the Ghanian King who drives a cab; these people are unique.
In fact Ms. Orleans seems to find the unique in the ordinary. Her first subject is the "American Man" aged 10. Somehow, when reading about this fellow you are paying attention. His interests seem to be no different than other boys at that time. Yet you read and want to finish this. And to think her bosses wanted her do a profile of the then 10 year old Macauley Culkin! Good thing she got her way.
Many of these vignettes, in fact, would not be what a typical editor would request from a writer. In the sport of Women's Tennis, for instance, she doesn't profile the prominent Williams sisters but the lesser known Maleev sisters. In the dog show world, there isn't a profile of the prize poodle, but a contender in the Working Dog Category. The choices are unexpected and always a treat.
I would recommend this book to most everyone. Even a subject in which I had no initial curiosity such as Best Working Dog caught my eye. As for the Bullfighter...she's there as well. Happy reading!

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup - My Encounters With Extraordinary People

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The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup - My Encounters With Extraordinary People
Susan Orlean
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JZW4Y6

Average customer rating:

Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters With Extraordinary People
Susan Orlean
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLMXR8

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