Toy Story Sketchbook (The Disney Sketchbook Series)

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For people who like pictures....

Toy Story Sketchbook (The Disney Sketchbook Series)
Disney Studios , and Disney/Pixar
Manufacturer: Applewood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1557093407

Customer Reviews:

For people who like pictures...........2002-02-25

A very insperational book! It doesn't have much to read, but the illustrations tell a thousand tales (sorry if that was cheezy.) As a student animator myself who would like to someday work at Pixar, it's nice to get a behind the scenes glimpse at the creative process behind their works. I would like to thank Pixar for making this book and also my girlfriend for getting it for me.

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Mindless is right.

Better than the original

A brisk and stimulatingly funny read! Not to be missed!

Blank: The Power of Not Actually Thinking at All (A Mindless Parody)
Noah Tall
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060875763
Release Date: 2006-02-07

Book Description

A smart, hilarious parody of Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling Blink.

Stop! Don't think! You already know what this book is about. That is the power of Blank: the power of not actually thinking at all. Using what scientific researchers call 'Extra–Lean Deli Slicing' (or would, if they actually bothered to research it), your brain has already decided whether you're going to like Blank, whether its cover goes with your shirt, and whether it will make you look smart if somebody sees you reading it on the train.

Chances are you and your shirt are both liking it a lot, you're going to buy several copies, and you don't even know why! That's why you've absolutely got to read Blank: to find out why your brain keeps doing these wacky things without your permission. In Blank, a hilarious parody of the No. 1 bestseller it looks eerily like (and sort of rhymes with) and that your brain wisely advised you to just read a review or magazine excerpt about while avoiding the actual book itself, the brilliantly impulsive and slightly irresponsible Noah Tall explains how people as diverse as General Custer, Roy Rogers, a semi–famous rock star, and the entire New York City Police Department either won big or lost miserably as a result of their minds going completely blank.

Customer Reviews:

Mindless is right........2007-05-10

Another good example proving that anyone can publish a book. Completely humorless.

Better than the original.......2006-04-17

Some parodies are far better than what they spoof. One example is the pieces James Thurber wrote to send up self-help literature in his wonderful "Let Your Mind Alone." I also found the Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings" far more entertaining than the soporific and tedious works of Mr. Tolkien, which delighted some of my classmates, all of whom are now dull and philosophically confused yuppies. "Blank" is another such book. I laughed, I cried, the bed shook as I chuckled while reading it. This is truly funny stuff. The author is identified only by his (her) alias and a list of epithets: he claims he belongs to "Names," the dyslexic section of Mensa, etc. Using wild stories that show an acute awareness of modern idiocies (like the one about the dozen cops who fired 246 bullets at a bagpiper they had already run over in their single Crown Victoria, only 193 of which actually had the intended effect), he provides a wild farrago of great ways, like "extra thin deli slicing," to disorder your brain and enjoy the absurdity of life. He wants to be sure you realize that stopping to think will only cause you problems. "Blink" was a silly book - it wasn't supposed to be but inevitably such pop lit generates more cash than light. "Blank" succeeds. Don't stop to think - just buy it or borrow it and enjoy a good laugh.

A brisk and stimulatingly funny read! Not to be missed! .......2006-02-17

Fans of Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" may still find plenty of room in their admiration of the author to admit the possibility that his work is subject to affectionate parody. This amusing send up of Gladwell's book is a perfect companion piece to his thought-provoking effort, in that this one provides no provocation for thought at all -- in fact, it exhorts the reader to stop thinking altogether. When you come to think about it, that's a pretty good prescription for laughter. The author, whoever he may be (the pseudonym is almost translucent) also displays a deep understanding of deli meat, always a strong element in any truly satisfying work.

Blink. Think. Blank. Bunk. Solid snap judgements are deeply grounded.(Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking)(Think: Why Crucial Decisions Can't ... review): An article from: Education Next

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Blink. Think. Blank. Bunk. Solid snap judgements are deeply grounded.(Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking)(Think: Why Crucial Decisions Can't ... review): An article from: Education Next
Diane Ravitch
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Education Next, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2007. The length of the article is 1190 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: Blink. Think. Blank. Bunk. Solid snap judgements are deeply grounded.(Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking)(Think: Why Crucial Decisions Can't Be Made in the Blink of an Eye)(Blank: The Power of Not Actually Thinking at All)(Book review)
Author: Diane Ravitch
Publication: Education Next (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Page: 72(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Macromedia Flash delivers sound, interactivity, graphics, and animations across multiple browsers and platforms. It enables developers to create interactive interfaces and distinctive Web applications. ActionScript is the behind-the-scenes programming language that offers greater control and functionality in Flash programming.

Sams Teach Yourself Flash ActionScript in 24 Hours offers a clearly written, well organized introduction to programming Flash with ActionScript. The reader will be taught basic programming techniques while creating their own interactive Flash movies.

Download Description

A clearly written, practical introduction to programming Flash with ActionScript. The hands-on tutorial approach is ideal for illustrators, animators, and Web designers who don't have a background in programming. Covers the latest version of Flash and ActionScript, expected March or April 2002. The author, Gary Rosenzweig, is a well-known Flash developer and writer. Sams Teach Yourself Flash ActionScript in 24 Hours offers a clearly written, well organized introduction to programming Flash with ActionScript. The reader will be taught basic programming techniques while creating their own interactive Flash movies. Most Flash users are illustrators and animators who have embraced Flash as a way to create animations for the Web. They have little or no experience with programming, but know that ActionScript is a powerful skill and want to learn it. Gary Rosenzweig is a multimedia software developer, entrepreneur, and writer. He is owner and developer of FlashArcade.com, a site of Flash games that pushes the edge of Flash programming. His business, CleverMedia, does consulting and Internet publishing and creates games, applications, and utilities using Flash and Shockwave. CleverMedia's Web site contains the world's largest collection of Shockwave applets made by one company.

Customer Reviews:

this book is not very good.......2006-01-24

I bought this book 3 months ago and after reading it and playing along with the programming, I found myself very confused about simple things that I learned in the first chapter of 'Foundation Actionscript for Flash MX 2004,' by Sham Bhangal.

'Foundation Actionscript for Flash MX 2004' is a MUCH better learning tool than 'Sams...' After reading both books, I would NOT recommend buying 'Sams...'

'Foundation...' gives the reader a strong foundation in understanding the framework of actionscript (going into details about the use of variables, arrays, and functions right away), but 'Sams...' focuses on making flashy, but underexplained flash files.

I made some neat flash files using the 'Sams...' book, and it didnt hurt to read it, but after comparing it to 'Foundation...' I wish I would have bought 'Foundation Actionscript for Flash MX 2004' first.

wonderfull.......2005-12-01

Buy it. Its great if you want to read it from start to finish or just if you need to look up information. Great for people who never did actionscript.

Best of Three.......2005-08-16

I tried 2 other books on ActionScript; with GR's, I finally understand the essential basics to progressively advance with confidence and assurance; and that, without the frustrating headache of feeling pushed to fast and leaving important concepts floating at a midstream point. The solid foundation gave me the courage on pg. 98 of his book to try something on my own; something simple but I felt rewarding. Great teacher, great book on a not too easy subject.

Ashmith.com Web Designer / Developer Review.......2004-08-18

I bought this book to learn Actionscript. But, all I learn't is how to write basic actionscript in flash mx. The chapters are boring and will want you to pay real close attention. I had to read 2 times for each specific actionscript tasks. The introduction is good but I was not able to understand anything after hour 5. So it is waste of time.

I would give this three and a half stars if I could.......2003-08-23

THE BAD:
First of all, there are indeed so many errors in this book, it is ludicrous. For example (page 75, number 4) , one script tells you to use "gotoAndStop" but then in the code it has written "gotoAndPlay". If you type in the code as given, the movie doesn't work properly, but if you then figure out that the author really _meant_ to put in the code what he intially said - ie: "gotoAndStop" - the movie works fine. It's that kind of thing that can really drive you nuts.

THE GOOD:

That said, I did learn (or re-learn) some programming concepts from this book and it has gotten me started in ActionScript . I'm one of those poor schmucks ( aka: "a designer") that has been trying to learn programming on my own for six years and until recently, couldn't tell a function from a variable. So the fact that this book got a few programming concepts through my thick skull made it a worthwhile read... in spite of the errors.

Product Description

This book contains the authentic bass tab for all the songs on Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II. Led Zeppelin I includes: Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You * Communication Breakdown * Dazed and Confused * Good Times, Bad Times * How Many More Times * I Can't Quit You Baby * Your Time Is Gonna Come * You Shook Me. Led Zeppelin II includes: Bring It on Home * Heartbreaker * Moby Dick * Ramble On * Thank You * The Lemon Song * What Is and What Should Never Be * Whole Lotta Love.

Customer Reviews:

Great book, great music........2004-12-29

Now that the posts made it aware that it was for bass, which it doesn't specify, I'll give it a full five.

I'm a relatively new bass player and it's done great for me. Dazed and Confused and The Lemon song have some of the two coolest bass lines ever, and what you hear from sources other than the official book will always be atleast partially inacurate.

If you're a BASS player and you like Zeppelin, buy it. It's that simple; how could it be any other way?

Bass book.......2003-01-13

since it isn't clear on the site, I just wanted to let everyone know this is a bass book, not guitar. I tried to order it around christmas 2002 and they couldn't get it from the supplier so i don't know if its any good or not, i would assume so since both the albums are great. The site forced me to give it stars so i just picked 5.

This Is A Tab Book For Bass !.......2001-08-02

I purchased this item thinking it was a tab book for guitar. When I got it, I found out that it was for bass guitar. I'm mad because Amazon didn't state that it was a tab book for bass plus paid $30 for it. I'm not buying anything from Amazon again.

Led Zeppelin Classic Album Edition Box Set (I, II, III, IV, Houses Of The Holy) Authentic Guitar Tab Editions

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Led Zeppelin Classic Album Edition Box Set (I, II, III, IV, Houses Of The Holy) Authentic Guitar Tab Editions
Led Zeppelin
Manufacturer: Alfred Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0739046160
Release Date: 2007-01-17

Product Description

Arranged for Guitar Tablature & Standard Notation With Lyrics, Chords & Chord Frames. This set comes with 5 books with accurate transcriptions of the first 5 Led Zeppelin albums. All of the solos, fills, mandolin, alternate guitar tunings, and in some cases organ/synth parts are transcribed as well. From album III - V (Houses Of The Holy) there are detailed notes on each song in the beginning of the books that give insight into how the band recorded the song and sometimes some pointers on how to play the song when there are guitar parts being played through several tracks at once. This collection comes in a beautiful slip cover box. A true value and must have for all Led Zeppelin fans!

Book Description

BradyGames’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Official Strategy Guide includes the following:

A comprehensive walkthrough of the entire adventure.
Detailed information on unique combat skills, weaponry and special moves of each character.
Expert boss strategies to defeat every boss monster.
In-depth bestiary.

Platform: PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA and DS

Genre: Action/Adventure

This product is available for sale in North America and Europe.

Customer Reviews:

Skilleter's art is a part of Doctor Who's success!.......2002-03-25

As someone who collected Dr. Who videos and novelizations, including the New Adventures, I'm familiar with Andrew Skilleter's work. An entire book devoted to his Who stuff (well, most of it, anyway)? Wow!

I never got any of the early calendars, of which material from the hit 1986 calendar is sampled. No, my first step into Who came in 1988. But the calendar art included is a treasure. Sil, with his marsh minnows beside him is just adorable. And check out the exploding Dalek from the 1986 calendar. He is strong in rendering all Who-related subjects, nothing weak in ANY of them. I must say that of the Doctors, he does Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy the best.

Speaking of 1988, the shot of Tom Baker for the calendar that year includes a space-station shaped like a birthday cake for the 25th anniversary. Well, that kind of fulfills Baker's suggestion of pulling out a cake for The Stones Of Blood, the 100th story in the series.

Of the Profile Print posters I bought, I hung the Cybermen and Sontaran ones in my dorm room at NMSU.

His portraits of each of the then-six Doctors in the Kevin Judd Collection are masterpieces. Love that celery to the right of Peter Davison. Gouache is his preferred medium and perhaps it's because it's the same medium used by Olivia de Berardinis that I took to the art on the videos and books.

Now here's the trick. I'd bought the two books he'd done before I bought Blacklight, and that was The Cybermen with David Banks and The Monsters with Adrian Rigelsford. That cover of the Cybermen book is simply awesome! It didn't sink in until I bought Blacklight that that guy who drew the art in those books was Andrew Skilleter. Sure, his name was written on the books' spines but I was too absorbed in the text to find out. Now though, I have a special appreciation for the artwork.

In closing, I've no beef against the designs of the video releases since the E-Space Trilogy, but to me, part of owning a Doctor Who video collection is Andrew Skilleter's rich and imaginative cover art. Check out Blacklight and see what you're missing.

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Dr. Who - Blacklight : The Doctor Who Art of Andrew Skilleter

Manufacturer: Doctor Who Books/Virgin Publishing Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Doctor Who | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000HKJUCC

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More than history of art

Art is the Air That I Breathe

Matisse - He Shocked the World Yet He Pleases The Eye of the Individual!

See New Dimensions of Matisse's Work

Inspirational

Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour: 1909-1954
Hilary Spurling
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Matisse, Henri | ( M-O ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0679434291
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Book Description

“If my story were ever to be written down truthfully from start to finish, it would amaze everyone,” wrote Henri Matisse. It is hard to believe today that Matisse, whose exhibitions draw huge crowds worldwide, was once almost universally reviled and ridiculed. His response was neither to protest nor to retreat; he simply pushed on from one innovation to the next, and left the world to draw its own conclusions. Unfortunately, these were generally false and often damaging. Throughout his life and afterward people fantasized about his models and circulated baseless fabrications about his private life.

Fifty years after his death, Matisse the Master (the second half of the biography that began with the acclaimed The Unknown Matisse) shows us the painter as he saw himself. With unprecedented and unrestricted access to his voluminous family correspondence, and other new material in private archives, Hilary Spurling documents a lifetime of desperation and self-doubt exacerbated by Matisse’s attempts to counteract the violence and disruption of the twentieth century in paintings that now seem effortlessly serene, radiant, and stable.
Here for the first time is the truth about Matisse’s models, especially two Russians: his pupil Olga Meerson and the extraordinary Lydia Delectorskaya, who became his studio manager, secretary, and companion in the last two decades of his life.
But every woman who played an important part in Matisse’s life was remarkable in her own right, not least his beloved daughter Marguerite, whose honesty and courage surmounted all ordeals, including interrogation and torture by the Gestapo in the Second World War.

If you have ever wondered how anyone with such a tame public image as Matisse could have painted such rich, powerful, mysteriously moving pictures, let alone produced the radical cut-paper and stained-glass inventions of his last years, here is the answer. They were made by the real Matisse, whose true story has been written down at last from start to finish by his first biographer, Hilary Spurling.

Customer Reviews:

More than history of art.......2007-01-19

Superb! Not only one of the best biographies I've read, it get's into the mind of the artist. This is not an easy thing to do. I read it as I would a novel, it was very hard to put down.

Art is the Air That I Breathe.......2006-11-21

"Artists are like plants whose growth in the thickets of the jungle depends on the air they breathe, and the mud or stones among which they grow by chance and without choice." Matisse's words coupled with his life as proof of what van Gogh said about the love of art making one lose real love make the reader feel the pain, the joy and the rich colours of his life all that much more. He made us understand.

Hilary Spurling's masterpiece (savoured by me for endless months, days and hours) has been an extraordinary experience I never wanted to end - both volumes. And now her biography is all locked in my mind - hopefully, to be recalled again and again in painting after painting and life experience after love experience - thanks to all the years of her hard work and research.

I am now filled with the colours of the Master - just as he'd installed 'The Tree of Life' in "a change of key that brought an extraordinary clarity, serenity and stillness to the music of the chapel." If the student of art, the student of life might only read pp. 455-456, he/she would be amazed at one whose talents were mocked ("any child could paint better than Matisse." ... "...his inventions seemed not simply monstrous but blasphemous as well.") and would ache to have had the chance to be a simple fly on the wall in those last years of his life when the many energies swirled about his taxi beds and many wond'rous studios ever-changing, metamorphosing, revealing and displaying, nurturing, teaching... revolutionary!

Let us not forgot his bedrocks - the women who made all his successes possible are miraculous and astonishing... Lydia, Matisse's remarkable genius manager (we should all be so lucky to know such a dynamo); Amelie, his extraordinary wife and her 'nine lives'; of course, Marguerite, his daughter, whose amazing vitality and strength of character resounds on almost every page of his life story; she was one (by her great courage) who humbled him more than anyone else could; and the countless models and interns...

As a side note... I remember in January 2006 when Hilary Spurling "scooped one of Britain's most prestigious literary awards," Whitbread Book of the Year prize, just as the big scandal exploded about Oprah's book club "author" protégé/scam artist James Frey was exposed. I thought to myself, "There is still a god!" What kind of mindless person would turn to Oprah for advice on what to read in the first place?! What does she know about literature?

I am humbled at Hilary Spurling's great accomplishment and would love to meet her one day so I could sing her the song I wrote about Matisse and the story of his blue butterfly. [...]

"The blue of that butterfly and Cezanne
made you more of a spiritual man."

Matisse - He Shocked the World Yet He Pleases The Eye of the Individual!.......2006-06-08

Such a wonderful book to read! After seeing his works of art at the museums in New York (MET - MOMA); in Maryland (BMA); and in California (San Francisco), it is a joy to the human spirit to read this biography. This book offers the reader all the underlying events contributing to each of his major works of art. It allows us to better appreciate his extreme and intense efforts to create; it allows us to recognize his unquestionable courage to be himself while many of the art world turned away from him; and one will learn of his life long love of the natural world (birds and plants) and his view of the importance of the spirit of man. Further, this book allows the reader to see his social frustration; one can learn of his powerful drive (so red hot) to create, and one will see in words how he commanded everyone around him to assist him in his zeal to achieve his personal best in art. As the book denotes towards the end even Picasso, the great competitor, stated in a discussion of one of Matisse's later works (the Chapel in Nice): 'Only Matisse could do this!' Read to learn, read to know, and read to be more deeply passionate in love with Matisse as I am!

See New Dimensions of Matisse's Work.......2005-12-27

Those of us who live today are spoiled in one sense that we don't realize: We can see Matisse's work on display and appreciate its evolution. That wasn't possible until just the last few decades. Until then, many of his most powerful works were locked up in the Soviet system and not on display or were in the hands of reclusive collectors.

That's an important point to remember when you wonder why Picasso has gotten so much more attention than Matisse, you could always see Picasso's work and Picasso courted attention.

Matisse, by comparison, found that it took all of his energies just to create art. There was very little time left over for his family and the rest of the world. He also wasn't inclined to seek out those who could explain and defend his work. As a result, he was widely misunderstood and underappreciated during his lifetime. This book corrects many of those problems.

Of particularly interest is the finding that although Matisse spent his life painting voluptuous nudes, he didn't indulge in having sexual relations with his models. Rather he used the sexual tension the models created in him to help inspire a better work. The models did become, ultimately, the undoing of his marriage . . . but not for the reasons you expect.

As fascinating as he is as an artist, he even more interesting as a creative person and head of a family. Matisse saw his family's role as being there to serve art. Although in a crisis, he would show up to encourage and aid family members and friends . . . usually he was off painting or sculpting by himself in sunnier climes. The rest of the time, they were doing administrative tasks, critiquing the works, staying out of his way and helping him enjoy a tranquil existence.

Anyone who wants a deeper appreciation of Matisse's work will learn from this volume. Although the book would have been better with more color plates, the pages are generously illustrated with black and white reproductions to give you a sense of his focus and development.

For artists, the book's many insights into the pros and cons of relationships with collectors and dealers will make the volume a "must have" item.

I didn't know the background of many of his best works, such as Jazz. It was a pleasure to better understand why he did them.

In particular, you will come away with a new appreciation for Matisse's use of color to capture emotion. Think of The Red Studio and the Conversation.

I seldom savor biographies as much as I did this one. I plan to go back now and read the first volume in the series, The Unknown Matisse.

Ms. Spurling's extensive use of Matisse's letters (and especially reproducing the funny little cartoons he liked to put in them) made the book a special joy.

Nice work, Ms. Spurling!

Inspirational.......2005-12-11

Being a artist sometimes one needs to see new the world around them. The pressures of family life and the ability to do what you do sometimes empties the soul. What I find the most interesting is the perspective given to the self appraisal and the internal struggle Matisse went through in his personal and business dealing. Anyone interested in the business aspect of the art world from the artist perspective will find this book helpful in both personal and professional dealings.

Seeing it his way.(Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour: 1909-1954)(Book review): An article from: National Review

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Seeing it his way.(Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour: 1909-1954)(Book review): An article from: National Review
James Panero
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from National Review, published by Thomson Gale on November 21, 2005. The length of the article is 1362 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: Seeing it his way.(Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour: 1909-1954)(Book review)
Author: James Panero
Publication: National Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 21, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 57 Issue: 21 Page: 52(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Matisse the Master: a Life of Henri Matisse: the Conquest of Colour: 1909-1954

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Matisse the Master: a Life of Henri Matisse: the Conquest of Colour: 1909-1954
Hilary Spurling
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N66P1E

Book Description

The history of the Jeff Davis Artillery is the story of a company of Alabamians who fought with valor and distinction for the Confederacy during more than three and a half years of active service. As part of the Army of Northern Virginia, these soldiers played an integral part in most of the major campaigns of the Eastern Theatre, participating in the crucial battles at Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, and Spotsylvania, among others. Here, Lawrence Laboda tells the story of an artillery unit relatively unknown to Civil War enthusiasts, but whose performance on the fields of battle more than justified the honor of being named after the President of the Confederacy. After their recruitment in Selma, Alabama, we learn that the men of the Jeff Davis Artillery found themselves under many different commanders. It was only when First Lieutenant Robert F. Beckham, Captain James W. Bondurant, and Captain William J. Reese took command that the unit matured as a military organization, and provided its most efficient service on the field of battle. Even though unfortunate circumstances later in the war caused the company to be divided between two commands, the Alabama Battery's skill and determination carried through in all of the engagements that followed. On more than one occassion, the Jeff Davis Artillery received praise from the Confederate high command, including General Robert E. Lee himself. Within the Confederate Army, the reputation of the unit was no doubt one of the best, but after the fighting was done, the war record of this particular company, except for a rare article or mention in an obituary, never received proper recognition. It is only fitting, therefore, that the entire story of the gallant Alabamians finally be told. From Selma to Appomattox goes beyond the unit's combat record to explore its day to day challenges. Conditions on and off the battlefield were less than ideal at times, and from the beginning, the company as a whole fell victim to the horrors of disease. One glance down the roster list shows the extreme seriousness of the situation. Even disease was not their most immediate concern, however, as Laboda describes the unit's difficulties in finding food, horses, and even recruits while enduring the reorganizations of an army at war. With the assistance of numerous detailed maps, he follows the ever-proud Alabamians into their first fight at Seven Pines, through the major battles of the Peninsula, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and Cedar Creek, and ultimately to their surrender at Appomattox. Scholars and Civil War buffs alike will applaud the efforts of Lawrence Laboda in bringing to life the endurance and bravery of the Jeff Davis Artillery.

Customer Reviews:

From Selma to Appomattox.......2004-08-19

I purchased the hardback edition used and received it in excellent condition. I wanted it because it listed my gg-grandfather, his brother, and a cousin. I found that it describes actions, times, dates, locations in great detail that made it easy to understand the circumstances under which the cousin died (measles and pneumonia), how and why the brother was captured and where he spent the next several months (Ft Lookout), and how my gg-grandfather, who was then 18, came to be present at Lee's surrended at Appomattox Courthouse. For anyone interested in the Jeff Davis Artillery, it is VERY HIGHLY recommended.

Jeff Davis Arty. in the AoNVA.......2003-12-30

A serviceable Battery history of the Jeff Davis Artillery from Selma, Alabama, that while tells a good tale of an artillery regiment in the Army of Northern Virginia, it leaves you wanting more information on the unit.

The chapter on the Battery's involvement during the fight at the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania Court House in May of 1864, is the book's finest moment IMHO. Had to be the worst fight these men from Alabama were in during the Civil War, and in effect the outcome signaled the end of the Battery as those who survived and were not captured in the salient were shuffled to various commands in the Valley and in the Richmond area during the 1864 siege of Petersburg and its environs.

Lack of detailed footnotes are a big concern here, and the fact that the book is mainly based on the recollections of one soldier in the battery, who really did not leave behind a good retelling of the Battery's CW service. Will also add that the bibliography is not all that impressive, and feel many more places could have yielded research that would have made the story more fully developed.

That said, a good read on the Battery's service, and is an ok look at the service of these Alabamians in the CW, and is a good staring place for those who read it, and want to continue to research the unit.

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FROM SELMA TO APPOMATTOX: THE HISTORY OF THE JEFF DAVIS ARTILLERY
Lawrence R Laboda
Manufacturer: White Mane Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J3R9SE

Average customer rating:
FROM SELMA TO APPOMATTOX: The History of the Jeff Davis Artillery.

Manufacturer: White Mane Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICVTBO

Average customer rating:
From Selma to Appomattox History of the Jeff Davis Artillery
L.R. Laboda
Manufacturer: Oxford, 1994
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H22090

Book Description

In 2004, Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey Austin Sheehan in an ambush in Iraq. As information became available verifying that the war was based on lies and "cooked intelligence," she began speaking out and testifying in the halls of Congress. In August 2005, she went to Crawford, Texas, to confront President Bush, unexpectedly opening the floodgates of a renewed American peace movement. Ten thousand people joined her, and millions more worldwide followed. The founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, Sheehan here movingly recounts her first year of activism, sharing her thoughts and actions with readers for the first time in book form. Reflecting on war and peace, truth and accountability, she takes the Bush administration to task for its corruption and incompetence. Equal parts compelling memoir and call to action, Not One More Mother's Child tells in Sheehan's distinctive voice how historical events and personal tragedy transformed her from grieving mom to ardent activist.

Customer Reviews:

Why Casey Sheehan died........2006-09-03

Since Ms Sheehan seems still incredulous that her son Casey is dead, and seems to still want George to tell her why, I'll give it a go since clearly George won't. It is clear Ms. Sheehan knows nothing about the military or combat. Without doubt war is the very epitome of insanity which her son Casey CHOSE to dive into at a time when all the knowledge necessary to realize that George Walker Bush was not the elected POTUS, and that he had no support among intelligent people for this route in Iraq and Afghanistan. By her own statements, she begged him to reconsider this asinine decision, and even offered to drive him to Canada which he also refused. He was not an Infantry soldier but a Motorpool jockey. He had no business being where he was when he was killed. It is, without doubt, a tragedy when any of these people are killed in such a worthless war. But Specialist Sheehan chose this fate. He had a desire to go with his BUDDEEEEES! Well, ignorance cannot be feigned here. All of the necessary data to remedy his ignorance was present, and ignored. This reclassifies Specialist Casey as an idiot. After a tour in Vietnam, It was clear to me that the war was a lie, but it was no where near as clear as the phony nature of this catastrophe. Ms Sheehan and her junkets around the country and the world have done absolutely nothing to even slow George down. The damnable misery of it is that Ms Sheehan will no doubt be viewed historically as the "Joan of Ark" of the latest Bushwar when nothing is further from the truth. Ms. Sheehan and entourage are nothing more than a gadflyin this mess. They too, are not willing for whatever reason to take on the task of disposing of the Bush Regime. Human kind has yet to evolve to a point where peaceful nonviolent behavior is enough to stop people like Bush, Cheney, and the rest. So clearly Ms. Sheehan and entourage are engaged in an historically proven waste of time. By the time such behaviors actually have any effect, war will very likely be obsolete as a means of arriving at an agreement.

She's No Writer.......2006-02-02

Perhaps she should take some basic writing courses first. This was a complete and utter waste of time and I was so willing to give her a chance. I basically paid good money to read someone's goofy political thoughts. I'm sorry her son died and that is why I wanted to read this. However, I just could not get past the anger in her words. She has received a lot of publicity and help from ex-Vietnam protesters that one cannot help but believe they are all trying to relive some sick and twisted nostalgic trip. The war against terror is not Vietnam. We should not surrender to the terrorists and accept their terms of surrender. Part of the terms would dictate that we lay down arms, surrender our way of life, religion, and allow them to occupy our country. This, to me, would be worse than having a democrat in office.

read it base your own opinion........2006-02-02

poorly written and a slap in the face to all who currently serve in the military. Basically telling us we have no common sense and that we are evil becuase we love being in the military. Believe it or not being in the military isnt about politics even in war we dont give a crap about it only our brothers and sisters in arms. Read this book please then make your opinion.

Testament of Grief.......2005-12-13

"Not One More Mother's Child" is a relatively short yet deeply felt read. It is a testament of a mother's loss and anguish that out of heartfelt conviction, propelled her into a life of dissent and political activism against the Neoconspiracy.

Given the complexity and emotional magnitude of what surely must be the near paralysis-inducing pain of losing a child, Cindy sheehan's choice to act on her convictions is, I suspect, something that perhaps overwhelms the lives of many parents who suffer that most intimate loss, no matter what the circumstances. Being a parent myself, she has my admiration and sympathy. Within the political atmosphere which frames her struggle, it's painfully obvious that she has had to suffer what I'd find to be, again, given that this is the death of her child we're talking about, nigh unbearable instances of ignorance and cruelty from scores of thoughtless, unconscionable people. Shame on them. Shame on them. I believe that Nietzsche may have been onto something when he declared that the last *true* Christian was the one who died on the cross.
[...]

Had much higher hopes.......2005-12-03

As someone with a background in the social sciences and an interest in protest groups (particularly those in France), I had somewhat higher hopes for this book. Agree or disagree with Ms. Sheehan, she has become a national figure and is worthy of study for anyone interested in protest movements.

I've listend to many of her speeches and, to be frank, she doesn't give a speech well. At all. That said, this is to be expected - Ms. Sheehan is not a politician, not a polished public relations expert, and likely has little experience in front of large crowds when compared to a politician or academic. She lacks cohesion, tends to ramble, repeats herself, etc. I can accept this relatively poor performance in front of crowds - she doesn't have the experience and it's nerve wracking. Her message is largely driven by emotion, so it makes sense.

I expected Ms. Sheehan to be slightly more collected in this book. It is infinitely easier to structure an argument when putting it on paper - especially with the help of editors. Sheehan wants to make many important points, and I expected this to be the medium she could best use to make them.

The book failed entirely to live up to my expectations. Rather than taking a step back from the raw emotion of the podium and making calm, sensible arguments to support her views, Sheehan has published page after page of ramblings. I understand that Sheehan is not a political science professor or sociologist, but where is her research? Credible sources to support her point of view in the book are sparse - much as they are in her speeches. She lashes out randomly, stopping mid-thought to fit in a jab at her arch-enemies rather than attempt to drive points home with reasonable arguments. It is very difficult to take her seriously under these conditions.

This book simply isn't cogent. The content could have been compelling and the book could have helped Ms. Sheehan gain support for her views, but her lack of organization and constant attacks - some of which border on childishness - degrade any case she was trying to make. I'd really like to understand what Ms. Sheehan thinks - maybe she needs a better editor?

Try again, Ms. Sheehan. Get a better editing team and try again.

In the meantime, for those interested in learning about more negative views on the Iraq war I would recommend Rashid Khalidi's "Resurrecting Empire" or one of many other books on the war. Sheehan's book was not nearly ready for publication.

Book Description

It's a birder's heaven. With a lush, up-close, full-color photograph on every page, this calendar is like having the world's most captivating birds alight right on your desktop. Drawing on the extensive knowledge and experience of the National Audubon Society, 365 Birds brings us hundreds of species of shorebirds, birds of prey, songbirds, flightless birds, and more. Glimpse a breeding Gentoo Penguin. The Bronzed Cowbird, a "brood parasite" of the Southwest. Plus the Black-throated Finch from the Falkland Islands, the Common Loon, plovers, waxwings, raptors, and America's own "firebird," the Scarlet Tanager. Every day brings a new sighting.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful photographs.......2003-11-18

This calendar advertises 314 pages of color photographs. There is one photo for Saturday and Sunday, and a photo for every day, Monday through Friday. The photographs are professionally done, several by Arthur Morris of "Birds As Art" fame. Other photographers include Tom Vezo, Adam Jones, and many others.

The calendar is printed on recycled paper. Each calendar comes with a plastic tray for recycling past days' pages as note paper and directions for downloading a free online calendar. This calendar is not available online, but there are 40 other online calendars that are available.

Christian, Jewish, Islamic, U.S. and foreign holidays are noted as well as dates of interest to birders such as the beginning of the Great Backyard Bird Count on February 13, 2004. I highly recommend this calendar to any bird watcher or bird lover.

Not quite 365, but that's a nit... :).......2003-08-27

I've gotten this boxed calendar every year for many years, and the photos are quite excellent. I say it's not 365, because Saturday and Sunday share a picture, but that's a small price to pay for this wonderful set of avian photos.

There is a bit of text that goes with each picture, and while it's not detailed information, I'd rather have the largest picture I can get.

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