Playful Pin-Ups (Artist Archives)

Book Description

ARTIST ARCHIVES is an extraordinary series of treasured artworks from the golden years of illustration. These collections are valuable references as well as nostalgic reminders of glamorous periods. Each book showcases 14 carefully selected reproductions of artworks with attention to historic significance and artistic merit. Whether just trying to run their errands or lounging leisurely, these beauties are all caught in revealing predicaments. The surprised blush on their cheeks will transport you back to an era of coy playfulness.

Book Description

With astonishing acuity and a dazzling array of images, Rapture surveys the collision of two glamorous worlds, art and fashion. Modern icons and iconographers—supermodels, fashion designers, artists, and photographers—have increasingly been crossing boundaries to create new and seductive images for a sophisticated audience.

From Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin's inspirational photography of the 1970s, through Kate Moss's recent collaborations with yBas and Nan Goldin for Vogue, to the use of reworked catwalk footage and mutilated magazine images by young artists, this crossover is fertile ground for the creative and the original. Whether covering an art installation in a SoHo boutique, Cindy Sherman's complicity with the tools of mass-media, a Keith Haring image advertising vodka, the use of street-art graffiti on a Louis Vuitton bag, or Tracey Emin as a Vivienne Westwood model, author Chris Townsend shows how the alluring, illusory faces of fashion and art are fused in the new mix.

Raising questions about identity, style, culture, commerce, and beauty, this book reveals the ambivalent relationship between art and fashion and shows the spectacular visual results as artists succumb to fashion's powerful lure and at the same time recoil from it. 165 illustrations and photographs, 160 in color.

Book Description

Whether you are new to the 3D environment or are porting your skills from a different 3D graphics program, if you are a hands-on learner, Maya 4.5 Fundamentals is the book for you. In this revision of the bestselling Maya 4 Fundamentals, authors Jim Lammers and Lee Gooding get you started with a straightforward conceptual framework, then launch into a series of well-developed tutorials designed to move you from being a rank beginner to a confident Maya user.

Maya 4.5 Fundamentals includes:

In-depth coverage of how to use Maya 4.5 Complete's tool set
New chapter on character animation and updated chapters including coverage of smooth proxy
Professional training through well-constructed tutorials
14 hours of movie files (on the CD), providing step-by-step demonstrations of every tutorial
Exploration of such topics as lighting, materials, particles dynamics, character animation, smooth proxy, rendering, and using paint effects
Custom marking menus and hotkeys to enhance your efficiency

Be sure to visit the Maya 4.5 Fundamentals web site at www.mayafundamentals.com for more downloadable tutorials and updates on using this book with Maya Personal Learning Edition.

Customer Reviews:

Great book. With video clips tutorilas too, wow!!!!!.......2003-11-15

This book come with a cd in which you can find all chapter in window media video files,is like the instructor is rigth there with you teching a lesson to you,great simple idea,the video clips are for each chapter of the book,so what I do is complete a chapter,then I play the video and BINGO,very good book to help anyone with zero experience or someone with some experience in 3d software,I never use a 3D software before,now I can said,I LOVE THIS BOOK,and Maya is not hard to learn,compared with other
3D softwares.

Thanks Mister Lammer and company.

Manuel.
ps.
All the tutorials are easy to fallow
Even for me,with a english as a second lenguage,ji ji..
Manuel.

Great for someone with absolutely no experience at all.......2003-08-29

I used this book in my first Maya modeling class. I believe that the book is good because it takes you step by step on very basic concepts. On the other hand, the CD files for modeling polygons is weak, not well explained. The approach is pretty general for the topics discussed. I should say that the book is good to have an overview of the software and some of the tools, but not to have a strong base to start building advanced skills.

Excellent Book.......2003-07-21

This book is excellent. The book was written so well that the book itself should teach you maya alone. AND the CD was done so well that the CD itself should teach you maya alone. Basically the first 4 chapters teach you all of maya and if you have some experiance you don't really need to go on. But the rest of the chapters are great also because they go into extreme details over all the different parts of maya. The authors did an excellent job with this book and the cd that comes with it. A lot of parts of the book can be used for future reference also. This book is worth a million dollars (in my mind).

Fantastic beginner's book.......2003-07-04

I wanted a book to help me thoroughly familiarise myself with Maya basics when i moved to Maya 4.5 from lightwave, and not only does this book deliver excellent video tutorials and well written entertaining information, but it actually has a chapter dedicated to familiarising lightwave and 3dsmax users with Maya. This book has been in my bag ever since i got it, and i am truly grateful to the authors. My productivity with Maya skyrocketed after the first 10 chapters. However, it should be noted that this book does not cover subdivision modelling. It does have a tutorial involving smooth proxy modelling, but a subd tutorial would have been nice.

Awesome Book.......2003-05-25

Haven't finished all of it yet, but it is really really good. I like it a lot more than the Learning Maya beginners book.

Book Description

Maya 4 Fundamentals will takeyou from a review of 3D fundamentals to a working knowledge of creating content in Maya 4. Topics covered include the interface and primary tools, modeling with NURBS and polygons, applying materials and textures, lighting, using modifiers and deformers, animating scenes, using cameras, rendering stills and animations, and using particle systems, dynamics, and paint effects. Special appendices also cover making the change from other software like 3ds max or LightWave to Maya. Video-captured movies on the accompanying CD supplement the tutorial foundation of the book.

Customer Reviews:

Bets I've seen.......2004-04-07

This book is by far the best I've seen of its kind. I have read reviews that say the tutorials get lost in the long paragraphs, but those reviewers obviously didn't open the CD, because every single tutorial is presented in a step by step video that is shot from a first person perspective. How much easier could it be? This book is perfect for those new to Maya 4, because once you've finished this book, you can model a character from scratch, apply textures, set camera shots and various other activities and for those who have intermediate experience will find this book useful as a refresher and possibly learn short cuts to their work flow. The best thing about the book is that if the reader chose to, he or she could simply pop in the CD and learn all that this book has to offer. I am actually looking for other books written by these authors, becasue I haven't seen anything close to the way they teach.

tutorials are of little help.......2003-09-12

I am not certain how many users praising this book my have used an older version of Maya to work through the tutorials. While I do not have any difficulties with any tutorials released by Alias Wave-front, the exercises in this book do not match Maya 4.0. Windows that according to the book are supposed to pop up do not, and if they do, they look entirely different from the images in the book. I suspect that Maya 3 looked like this and the book was released without a thorough update, to match number 4. This does render the book quite useless.

Best of the best.......2003-07-14

This book is by far the best instructional book I have ever purchased and I don't just mean in the field of Computer Animation. Although I have bought several books for Lightwave, 3dMax as well as one other book for Maya, I could only recommend this one. Not only is the text informative and understandable, but with the CD Rom that comes included, you don't even need to read the book: Every tutorial is demonstrated by one of the two authors of the book and they follow along with the text verbatim. If I buy another animation book, it will be by these two guys.

excellent jump start.......2003-05-27

This book made the conversion from other software very easy. I would recommend this book to anyone coming over from another package. The movies on the cd make following the steps very simple. I am in full production mode using maya with some time spent on the tutorials of this book.

Beginners to Maya... Look no further!!!.......2003-04-14

Maya 4 Fundamentals---

So you want to learn MAYA... well this is a GREAT place to start...

This book and CD does not only cover the basics in writing... but they take it one step further and go step by step on CD... Jim Lammers is extremely understandable and makes learning MAYA fun... They walk you through designing a haunted house...and much more...

I did have a hard time understanding Lee Gooding... but he only covers 2 or 3 of the 14 chapters. I found that reading those chapters thoroughly and then watching the movie helped...

I would recommend this book for any beginner to MAYA. This book is not intended for the Intermediate to Advance MAYA user...

Average customer rating:
Maya 4 Fundamentals
Jim; Gooding, Lee Lammers
Manufacturer: New Riders Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mayan | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OFL0QY

Average customer rating:
Music and the Reformation in England 1549 - 1660
Peter Le Huray
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CNMHP

Average customer rating:
Music and the Reformation in England 1549-1660

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GSQCY4

Average customer rating:
Music and the Reformation In England, 1549-1660
Peter Le Huray
Manufacturer: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKFYH0

Book Description

Here are more than 150 stunning portraits of Florida's birds in all their habitats at water's edge, from the hushed and hidden swamps to th eopen shores and beaches.

Average customer rating:

The Go-To Guide

Excellent for Beginners and Experienced Nonprofit Directors

Excellent book buying experience

This is an exceptional read

A good introduction

Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the Twenty-First Century
Thomas Wolf
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Consulting | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Nonprofit Organizations & Charities | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

How to Manage an Effective Nonprofit Organization: From Writing and Managing Grants to Fundraising, Board Development, and Strategic Planning

Managing the Non-Profit Organization: Principles and Practices

The Complete Guide to Nonprofit Management

Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations, Second Edition

Managing the Nonprofit Organization

ASIN: 0684849909

Book Description

Since this classic work was originally published in 1984, there have been major shifts in the nonprofit world -- the growth of more profit-oriented ventures, the overhaul of accounting rules, new partnerships, and an emphasis on customer-oriented service and leadership. In easy-to-understand language, Thomas Wolf explains how to cope with these changes and deal with the traditional challenges of managing staff, trustees, and volunteers.

Customer Reviews:

The Go-To Guide.......2007-09-21

This book is used as a text in my Arts Administration class. Some of my classmates find the writing very dry but most of us agree that the straightforward and thorough advice given is this book is very useful. If only everyone involved in nonprofits could read this book, then we'd all be 'on the same page!' We all need to read it once and keep it on our shelves for reference!

Excellent for Beginners and Experienced Nonprofit Directors.......2007-02-23

As the Co-Founder of a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, I would recommend this book as a "must have" for all Board Members or for someone considering establishing a nonprofit organization. It is quite complete and also makes for a great primer about the structure of nonprofits.

Excellent book buying experience.......2006-03-27

Whether buying directly from Amazon, or from a reseller, my experiences are always fruitful and first rate. Keep up the good work!

This is an exceptional read.......2004-07-29

Thomas Wolf gives a clear and detailed view on the corners and tidbits behind starting a Non-Profit organization. I STRONGLY recommend this book before you even think of plunking down the money for your own nonprofit or file the 501 c(3). Too many mistakes can avoided by just reading the basic 101 in this book. Wolf uses a lot of examples to explain, but make sure you have a dictionary nearby. If you don't know the ins and outs of the IRS, etc., you need to start here. Good stuff that is too important to miss, or allow yourself to go bankrupt over.

A good introduction.......2003-09-26

I also use this book as a text for an undergraduate class in non-profit management. It is an excellent primer on the key issues in the field, particularly those areas that differ from the management of for-profit businesses. I use Drucker's "Managing the Non-Profit Organization" with this book to add a somewhat higher level overview of the strategic issues and principles in the nonprofit field.

Book Description

"A stunningly beautiful new memoir…a near-perfect work of literature."—Stephen Elliot, San Francisco Chronicle

"Sometimes I'd see my father, walking past my building on his way to another nowhere. I could have given him a key, offered a piece of my floor. But if I let him inside the line between us would blur, my own slow-motion car wreck would speed up."

Nick Flynn met his father for the third time when he was twenty-seven years old, working as a caseworker in a homeless shelter in Boston. As a teenager he'd received letters from this stranger, a self-proclaimed poet and con man doing time in federal prison for bank robbery. Nick, his own life precariously unsettled, was living alternately in a ramshackle boat and in a warehouse that was once a strip joint. In bold, dazzling prose, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (a phrase Flynn senior uses to describe his life on the streets) tells the story of two lives and the trajectory that led Nick and his father into that homeless shelter, onto those streets, and finally to each other. With a new postscript for the paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

Having lived on the streets of Las Vegas..........2007-10-14

I can tell you that this author has embellished little. I avoid four letter words in my books simply because I think they distract. Nevertheless, I understand Flynn's reasoning here, and at last for me, the language in this book was palatably. What I found most interesting about this work was how different street living is in Boston compared to Las Vegas and East Los Angles. Then East LA is a 24/7 war zone. While Boston and Las Vegas are similar in the fact that it's the police in these two cities you had better be weary and respectfully of, in East LA, as bad as the police are; badges are a welcome sight compared to MS-13. Mr. Flynn didn't mention having any problems with this organization, and believe me, MS-13 members are organized, but that doesn't mean he didn't honor their territorial rights. Had he not, we wouldn't be privileged to his story. I was extremely fortune. I just might have been the only red neck in East LA who was given a pass. In return I honored their rules, and most of all, I kept my hands off of their ladies. If you're ready to get down and dirty in the safety of your own home, give this book a try.

The blurb doesn't live up to the contents.......2007-10-05

The assertion a life worth writing about by an individual who can write well proves to be simply that, an assertion. Flynn's talents (?) are mediocre, the book tiresome, repetitive and unfortunately like most of the other 'my childhood was the pits' by which I mean it may self serve the author.

None of the characters were likeable despite being deeply flawed (which often makes the person likeable).

I doubt Flynn's daddy was worth writing about.

It's done now.

Do yourself a favour. Spend your money on a more worthy book - that's just about any other book so the choice is massive.

As for Flynn being a poet, that is still open for debate. If his prose is at all similar to his poetics, his poetry would suck.

Good memoir.......2007-09-21

Good, effective memoir/story of the author's father's struggle with homelessness and alcohol and drug use. Very well-written and compelling. A good read.

I really liked this book!.......2007-08-30

I was very interested in the title of this book and when I picked it up, on further examination, I had to read it. It was a fast read for me.

A fascinating take on fathers & sons.......2007-08-23

I was directed to this strange book because of another recommended work here at Amazon. Much to my surprise, I absolutely enjoyed this strange twilight or maybe it's--"permanent midnight " ? view of a mixed-up and gifted son looking at his life from all these bizarre angles.

One being the fact that the son, (here the author himself) as a young adult, ends up taking a job at a homeless shelter and in a voyeuristic vision into his own possible future, sizes up the very man who brought him into the world as he wanders his bleary-eyed way into that very shelter one late, inebriated evening.

Chilling depictions like this, along with Flynn's dark-humored view of his father in all of his guises (house-painter, check-forger, would-be writer, etc.) keeps you turning the pages. At its core is the fact that all this grit is true. And as a memoir, it is so beautifully rendered and it's one that's so worth reading. (surpasses the James Frey, Augusten Burroughs fare by a long-shot!)

Another Bullshit Night In Suck City a memoir

Average customer rating:

Another Bullshit Night In Suck City a memoir
Flynn Nick
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UI7WEY

Book Description

"The Forgotten Battle" has remained alive and vivid in the mind of its thousands of participants. This necessary and brilliantly crafted work examines the battles of Overloon and Maas Salient, the "other" side of WWII in Europe-a bloody slugging match between equally skilled opponents that comprised the reality of the "broad front" strategy.

Customer Reviews:

Keep a Map Handy.......2004-11-20

THE FORGOTTEN BATTLE: OVERLOON AND THE MAAS SAILIENT 1944-45, tells the extremely interesting story of the battles adjacent to Arnhem, Hell's Highway, Aachen, Huertgen, and the Ardennes. Even some of the best military history narratives available today would give you the false impression that after British XXX Corps cut a swath through to Nijmegen that the remaining Germans disappeared from the Netherlands. FORGOTTEN BATTLE completes this long overdue chapter of the battles along the Maas.

The initial setting is September 1944. The German front has collapsed and the Allies are simultaneously pushing the Germans back in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In an attempt to level a death blow to Nazi Germany, British Field Marshal Montgomery pushes his plan forward to seize a series of Dutch bridges and wheel into Germany. A combined paratroop and armored assault slices into Holland, only to be stopped at the Neder Rijn. In the meantime, the Germans rush to reinforce their bridgehead along the Maas and cut the Hell's Highway corridor.

Meeting with only limited, and short-lived, success, the Germans pull back along the Maas and rebuild a cohesive front line blocking the Allied advance into Germany until 1945.

FORGOTTEN BATTLE is very enjoyable reading. Personal accounts are interwoven with meticulous research. The military operations along the Maas have never really had an official name. "Overloon and the Maas Salient" fits perfectly. Indeed, the present day military museum at Overloon, a superb facility, is often overlooked by military history tourists.

If you are a student of the period of time between the Arnhem operation and drive into the Reichswald, this book is for you. The only recommendation I have is that it is helpful to have a map of the Netherlands handy. There are map graphics scattered throughout the book, but sometimes the author sprinkles geographic names about so casually in the narrative that you might find yourself confused as to the location and direction of the action.

Pretty good, confusing in parts.......2003-09-12

The Maas salient is truly a forgotten battle. With responsibility of the sector switching from British to US hands, it fell to the Dutch to write the book about the battle. As you might expect, they focus some on the hardships undergone by the Dutch civilians in the area. The book keeps a fairly tight lens on the battle, but it sometimes looses perspective. It's easy to get lost and wonder "why are they attacking again?" All in all, it's an interesting book, and recommended for the WW2 history buff who needs another book.

Book Description

Notes from the Last Testament, by veteran reporter Michael Deibert, is a riveting narrative account of the events leading up to and including the overthrow of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A fearless correspondent and a meticulous researcher, Deibert traces the rupturing of the social-democratic coalition that originally brought Aristide to power and that had been the fruit of years of opposition to the dictatorships and military juntas. From chaotic scenes of frenzied mayhem on the streets of the bidonvilles of Port-au-Prince with their armed gangs and burning intersections to heated debates in the halls of power, these dramatic events throw into stark relief the obstacles facing the world's nascent democracies, the trend of first world military intervention in third world affairs, and the dual legacies of slavery and colonialism.

In a remarkable and deeply humane synthesis of on-the-ground perspectives and exhaustive research, Deibert sets vivid personal testimonies alongside an analysis of the country's rich history that reaches back to Haiti's first days as a colony, to the time of the rebellion led by the former slave Toussaint Louverture, and extends to the present, ultimately exploring how Aristide, once a beacon of populism and democratic aspirations, came to embody brutality and misrule in the tradition of his predecessors. Along the way, Deibert introduces us to the real heroes of the Hatian people's struggle for a just and independent society free from violence and corruption.

Customer Reviews:

Sympathetic and Troubling.......2007-05-07

The mainstream and alternative media in the US present a remarkably uniform picture of recent Haitian history, with former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide starring as a wildly popular leftist leader who challenged the US and the International Monetary Fund, and, rightly or wrongly, was removed from office for his hubris.

The reality is more complicated. It's true that Aristide came out of the radical grassroots movement of the 1980s, won the presidency in 1990 as a left populist, and was overthrown in 1991 by a coup in which the US role was unmistakable. But it's equally true that he returned to power in 1994 accompanied by a 20,000-member US occupation force--an action not exactly in the tradition of Jacobo Arbenz and Salvador Allende.

It's this more complicated reality that's the focus of Michael Deibert's Notes From the Last Testament, an often disturbing study of Haiti after Aristide's 1994 return. Deibert, who covered the country for Reuters from 2001 to 2003, presents a rich panorama of views from the ground--from the left and from the right, from Aristide's supporters, from his detractors, and, tellingly, from his disillusioned former supporters. What's most striking is Deibert's reporting on the so-called "chimè," the young Aristide supporters in Port-au-Prince's most impoverished neighborhoods. While others debated whether the chimè were dangerous gangsters or a genuine grassroots movement, Deibert interviewed them in their homes in Cité Soleil, socialized with them, and made them his friends. The result is a unique, sympathetic, and troubling portrayal.

People who want a simplistic morality tale should avoid this book; but for people with a real desire to understand Haiti and Latin American social movements Deibert's account will be an indispensable reference.

If we only knew.......2007-03-23

I am a Haitian, born and raised. I supported Jean-Bertrand Aristide. I fought for him. My family suffered. Some lost their lives. If I only knew then what Michael Deibert has now so clearly laid out in his book. Just the facts. Most of which I did not know, or perhaps chose to ignore, as did so many of my friends and countrymen. I wanted so badly to believe that the little priest from Cite Soleil was the prophet we had prayed so long for. We were all looking for a new Toussaint Louverture, who would free us once again, this time from our own self-imposed bondage. Through Deibert clear and dispassionate writing and his careful, on the spot research, I have now come to realize that Aristide (our Titid ) was just the last of a long series of corrupt tin-pot dictators whose sole objective seems to have been to retain power by any means, including through his murderous thugs, and to plunder from the poorest of the poor.
I find one jarring flaw in Deibert's book however. He should have written it years ago. Perhaps I would not have chosen to ignore the facts, perhaps the long agony of my people would have been shortened. We will know next time though, thanks to Mr. Deibert. No more thieves, no more murderers. My country has had enough of those!

Desappointing overall with many important omissions.......2007-01-31

It is a disappointing book. Deibert gives the impression that Aristide was no more popular when pushed out of office and that everybody in Haiti was happy to see him out. Wile many intellectuals and members of the
elite who hated Aristide were indeed happy, the reality is that if they were elections held in 2004 Aristide would have been elected again by a wide majority. Besides, Michael Deibert does not refer to the massacres against Aristide supporters in Citei Soleil perpetuated by the HNP or the UN forces after February 2004, the hundreds of political prisoners or the massive crowds that gathered to support Aristide on February 7 and before that. Very little is said about the constant obstacles put on Aristide's path by the opposition and the international community since Aristide came to public life in Haiti. This coming from an experienced journalist is rather disappointing.

Haitian Professor Robert Fatton and Michelle Montas, Jean Dominique's widow (two personalities that Michael Deibert refer to often) said the following about Aristide during and after the coup:

Montas quote #1- January 5, 2004 Miami Herald

"I did an interview recently and was asked if I thought President [Jean-Bertrand] Aristide was a dictator, and I said, `No.' And after the interview came out, some people in the opposition were angry with me,'' she said. ``But to say Aristide is a dictator is to say he has control over what is happening in Haiti. He doesn't have the tools to be a
dictator. Chaos rules Haiti. And that scares me very much.''

Montas quote #2- January 5, 2004 Miami Herald
``There can be something worse than Aristide.'' ''Who
we haven't heard from is the peasantry, which has always been very loyal to Aristide,'' Montas said. If the poor in the country were to abandon Aristide, then
nothing would be able to keep Aristide in power. For now, though, their loyalty appears intact. They legitimately fear a return to the Duvalier-style dictatorship they lived under for so long and are leery of the motives of opposition leaders, such as Andy Apaid. Haiti may well be on the verge of a civil war, but the best course for Haiti would be for all
sides to work toward fair elections."

Fatton quote # 1- March 8, 2004 Counterpunch magazine:

"In spite of all of that, I'm convinced that Aristide is still the most popular individual in Haiti. And that tells you something about the opposition. If you had elections--so-called "free and fair" elections--I'm sure that he would win, in spite of all the corruption and all of the problems that he has, because the opposition, even though they used to support Aristide, have essentially merged with very conservative business groups. I think those are the groups that will ultimately take over now".

"What is clear to me is that Aristide would never have been toppled had it not been for the armed insurgents. I don't think that the civil opposition, although it became larger and broader in its appeal, was in any way capable of forcing Aristide out of power. It's only when you had the armed insurgents that you have the opportunity for the so-called "civil society" to force the issue."

What were the real benefits of the coup? This would be an interesting question to ask to Mr. Deibert and others who share his views. What we know for sure today is that a thousand or more of innocent haitians died as a result of it!

The truth can be embarassing.......2007-01-30

Michael Deibert's account of Haiti's entropy under the Aristide regime occasioned the spleen of the "true believers" because many had also become the beneficiaries of his version of the kleptocratic state. As someone who visited Haiti several times in the past 15 years, I can attest to the fact that a motivating sentiment among the Lavalas cohort was "It's our turn." i.e. It's our turn at the public trough. They do not want to admit that Aristide was just the latest in a long line of "gwo neg" who were driven by or (to put it more charitably) succumbed to the temptations of power. Deibert's account of the workings and machinations of power reinforces from the ground level, the same conclusions reached by Robert Fatton's Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (Lynne Rienner, 2002).
People who condemn Deibert as a lapsed leftist should remember that he is not alone. Less publicized exposes were the recantations of former Lavalas party members, popular organization dirty tricks artists, ex-gang enforcers, government officials, etc. who were driven by their revulsion with zero tolerance teams, chimeres, corrupt policemen, political fixers, and corrupt judges to denounce Aristide and his schemes. It wasn't just former embassy DCM Luis Moreno who believed that "Aristide wasn't ruling a country, he was running a crime syndicate." (410). Haitians who once considered themselves Aristidistas, especially those who knew too much, realized that they were "disposable." This was made perfectly clear both by the assassination of Amiot "Cubain" Metayer, leader of the Gonaives Cannibal Army gang in 2003 and the subsequent disappearance not long after of the hit man, Odonel Paul. Why else would a motley crew of ex-FAd'H and hangerson be able to sweep the people's choice out of power--the people were no longer willing to go to bat for him.
In sum, Deibert has covered the waterfront in a compelling fashion.

Must be good if it bothers so many people.......2006-12-04

Reading some other readers' reviews of Notes from the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti, I am reminded of nothing so much as the organized "denunciations" that authoritarian movements so often mount against "incorrect thoughts," "insults to the revolution," and so on. The careful student of history easily recongnizes these slanders for what they are: the scrabbling attempt of second-rate thinkers to prop up flimsy belief systems that barely support their own weight, much less withstand competition. But then, the careful student of history does not generally get involved with such movements; those who do are not thinkers but seekers, believers, looking only for evidence that will support their neatly organized world view and cherrypicking flaws -- ideological and otherwise -- in anything that contradicts it.

I finished this book this fall and find that, yes, it is not perfect. (Shall we page through the Amazon site and see how many books for sale here are?) But while it may be possible to prove Michael wrong on a detail here and there (I cannot say, being no expert on Haiti, and so I must take other reviewers' word for it), I cannot understand the stance taken by some on this page that this book is not worth reading. How could it not be? If you are curious about Haiti, how in good conscience can you pass up the opportunity to read a firsthand account by someone who was there, who speaks the language, whose dispatches have always been conspicuous for their heavy use of quotes from "the people" (obtained at considerable personal risk) rather than merely from generals, ministers and others who can be comfortably interviewed in the hotel bar?

Some reviewers here accuse Michael of being an "imperialist," or otherwise try to place him in an ideological category. This won't work, and it is precisely his post-ideological outlook that makes his book such a valuable contribution. The vitriol aimed at him by some of these commenters seem, as another commenter points out, the fiercer for the fact that Michael claims a position in the political left and yet dares to criticize others who do the same. Why does Michael's criticism of Aristide have to be ideological? Isn't it possible that Aristide was a great and visionary man who at the same time was not ultimately able to transcend the considerable pressures and temptations that act on any ruler of a nation like Haiti? Why does "the left's man" get a free pass; why is it impossible that he turned out to have human flaws? One can be the victim of unscrupulous action by the U.S. government, as Aristide seems to have been, while at the same time being an unsavory sort. Or is this sort of world view too complicated, not explicit enough about how to think?

If you are curious about Haiti specifically and about the struggles of oppressed peoples generally, you will find much to reward you in Michael's book.

Disclosure: I have been personally acquainted with Michael for a number of years. On the other hand, I've never knowingly published a lie. And why would I do so here? According to Amazon stats, 80 percent of the people who view this page buy the book. Michael's work clearly speaks for itself.

Average customer rating:

Good field guide, could use better organization

A field and patio guide that you will actually use.

Great pictures

Easy to Identify Birds and Great for Bird Watching with Kids

Birds of California Field Guide (Our Nature Field Guides)
Stan Tekiela
Manufacturer: Adventure Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

National Geographic Field Guide to Birds: California (NG Field Guide to Birds)

California Birds

Birds of Northern California

An Introduction to Southern California Birds

Birds of Los Angeles: Including Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange Counties (U.S. City Bird Guides)

ASIN: 1591930316

Product Description

Learn about and identify birds using Stan Tekiela's state-by-state field guides. The full-page, color photos are incomparable and include insets of winter plumage, color morphs and more. Plus, with the easy-to-use format, you don't need to know a bird's name or classification in order to easily find it in the book. Using this field guide is a real pleasure. It's a great way for anyone to learn about the birds in your state.

Customer Reviews:

Good field guide, could use better organization.......2006-11-06

This book is small enough for field work, yet contains a great deal of information. The full-color photographs have insets which show juvenile, seasonal, or sexually dimorphic plumage where appropriate, as well as showing some birds in action shots: a hawk soaring, a willet showing his colors, etc. The species information is concise, readable, and relevant, with color-coded range maps and bulleted information on size, weight, color, food, eggs/incubation/fledging, similar species, and migration information for hundreds of different species, all in a standard one-page per species format. The "Stan's Notes" contain interesting specifics are not included in the bullet points.

My only problem with this book is the organization of the species by color. If the reader sees a very small black and brown bird, for example, they will potentially have to thumb through dozens of black birds and then brown birds, some of them very large, or water birds, or birds of prey, or from a different part of the state. I'd rather not spend my time in the field poring through pages of ducks, owls, doves, and eagles trying to figure out what species of thrush i'm looking at. Also, if a species has enough sexual or seasonal dimorphism in the color of their plumage, it may fall into two or more different color categories. While this field guide does cross-reference these by page number, that makes for even more page turning.

This is a very good field guide, but a more granular organization, perhaps by general bird type (songbird, bird or prey, etc.) within geographical area (NorCal, desert, Sierra, etc.) would have made the look-up process more concise. As it is, plan on taking plenty of Post-it bookmarks along with this book.

A field and patio guide that you will actually use........2006-08-11

This is the BEST "bird book" for use in California. I have used the Audobon books (very good) as well as other guides but by far for amateurs like myself this is the one.

First off, quickly getting to the portion of the book is easy because things are color-coded. Second, the contents have pictures as opposed to drawings or worse small pictures with poor resolution. Third, the handy size of the book makes it practical to carry in one's cargo pant pocket. Fourth, the birds shown are common to California so one has to do a lot less wading through pages to find what you are looking for. Fifth, not all California birds are shown - this is good and bad. The good being less useless material the bad being you do miss some specimens.

All in all for the price this is a great value.

Great pictures.......2006-07-14

Good pictures and basic info on each bird. There was some birds that I was looking for that were not in the book. He does explain about that at the beginning of the book. Otherwise its a very nice book with good photos instead of drawings to find your bird.

Easy to Identify Birds and Great for Bird Watching with Kids.......2004-05-24

I stumbled on this book when I went to look at another bird field guide. I'm glad I compared guides before making a purchase. Needless to say I purchased this one over the one I intended to buy.

There are many reasons why I like this book: It's consise and it's easy to identify birds; this guide contains photographs not drawings; the book is compact.

Being true to its title, it contains only birds you'll find in California. You don't have to peruse through hundreds of birds to find the one you're looking for. A bird can be found either by its predominate color or an indexed listing of names. Each decription contains information about the bird's size, decription of male, female and juvenile, nest, eggs, incubation, fledging, migration, food, comparision to similar birds and additional author notes. So far I have been able to identify every bird I have looked up.

One of the best features is that the book contains color photographs and not drawings of the birds. I really do think this is why my 5 year old daughter can state with confidence which bird we're watching. For those birds that are sexually dimorphic, the author includes photos of both the male and female. Each is cross reference by color too. There are also inset photos of the juveniles. With the photos you can percisely identify each characteristic of the bird and takes much of the guess work out of identification.

The book is 4 3/8" X 6" X 7/8". About half the height of many other field guides and alot thinner making it much more portable.

Probably the most important reason to purchase this book is that you'll use it.

Average customer rating:
Birds of California: Our Birds (CD-ROM for Windows)
Peter W. Thayer , and J. David Diehl
Manufacturer: Thayer Birding Software
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1887148256

Book Description

Birds of California contains 356 species regularly seen in the state. This Windows CD-ROM includes color photos, songs for all species from the world-famous Cornell Lab of Ornithology, range maps, abundance maps, ID tips and more.

The CD-ROM includes an ID Wizard to help you identify the birds, even if you do not know the bird's name. Just enter colors, size, habitat and location. The ID Wizard will show you photos of all the birds that match your description. Petey the Parrot will pronounce each bird's common and scientific name for you.

Also included are over 300 quizzes, including Christmas Bird Count Quizzes for Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Long Beach, Monterey Peninsula, Redding, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Yosemite N.P. In addition, there are birding hot spot quizzes for Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Pelagic, Salton Sea, Southern California and Northern California. The CD-ROM lets you compare two birds side-by-side and shows you the similar species.

This CD-ROM can be upgraded to the #1-rated Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Guide to Birds of North America version 3, featuring all 930 species. The Birds of California CD-ROM is a "subset" of the full Guide to Birds of North America v3, so you do not need both CD-ROMs.

Average customer rating:
A contribution to our knowledge of the nesting habits of the golden eagle, (Proceedings of the California academy of sciences. 4th ser)
Joseph Richard Slevin
Manufacturer: The Academy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00086YJEY

Average customer rating:
Introducing Our Western Birds (California State Series)
Matthew F.; Wong, Herbert H. Vessel
Manufacturer: California State Department of Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000X0XE5A

Average customer rating:
A trumpet of our own: Yellow Bird's essays on the North American Indian : selections from the writings of ... John Rollin Ridge (Publication / Book Club of California)
John Rollin Ridge
Manufacturer: Book Club of California
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Native American | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006XTY30

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