Book Description
For nearly 40 years, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has honored illustrators through the Hans Christian Andersen Awards and supported the growth of illustration for children worldwide. In honor of IBBY's work and to support its future endeavors, many of the world's greatest illustrators for children have donated art based on a text of their choice drawn from their childhood and culture. The result is a stunning book of illustrations featuring the contributions of illustrators worldwide, including Marie-Louise Gay, Rosemary Wells, Vera Williams, and Ange Zhang. Texts are presented in both the original language and English. Groundwood Books will donate 15 percent of all sales to the International Board on Books for Children.
Book Description
A best-selling resource for men's style and clothing, The Indispensable Guide to Classic Men's Clothing answers hundreds of questions about classic articles in a man's wardrobe, from ascots to wingtips. It describes, in practical language and through dozens of illustrations, the rules of attire that every man should know for occasions ranging from Casual Fridays to Black Tie.
Customer Reviews:
One of two indispensable titles for a menswear library.......2007-01-17
After reading other reviews of this book, I requested it for the 2006 holidays and received it. I have read it cover to cover and am highly pleased overall. I offer the following plusses and minuses:
+ This book's advice is direct and concise without losing completeness. In a short paperback, the authors give advice on suits, sport coats, shirts, socks, shoes, outerwear, accessories, business casual, and personal style.
+ Closely related, the authors offer salient historical details without lapsing into narration of major style arcs through the evolution of menswear. The rest of their writing offers advice and rules. Lest you be frightened by rules, know that the authors presents rules that you should follow first, understand second, and break creatively third.
+ The authors present opinions of many fine men's clothiers, including Burberry, J. Press, and more.
- There are precious few photographs in this volume, and most photos are of poor reproduction quality. The next best are the drawings and sketches that, while competent to good, do not substitute for photography of men's style icons.
The other indispensable title for a menswear library is "Dressing the Man" by Flusser. It solves the minus above and is the perfect companion to this title.
For the small price of this paperback, you cannot go wrong in adding it to your cart.
The Indispensable Guide to Classic Men's Clothing.......2006-08-28
A must read for anyone who regards their business clothing as an investment. Also an excellent guide for men who do not have a firm understanding of what classic/traditional business clothing is due to their female companions taking care of their clothes shopping needs.
Good Menswear Addition.......2006-05-13
Great book and a must have for any man that has even the slightest interest in what he is wearing (whether an expert or not). The book is written in question and answer form with the topics ranging from neckwear / collars to shoes. An excellent place to start if a man is interested on dressing better (or if one is already experienced with menswear)
The book goes into depth on all aspects of men's clothing and is a great resource. It leans towards traditional wear (one won't find a discussion on premium denim / hip hop styles / mixing denim jeans with sport coats) but this book still covers the basics. And, if one doesn't know the basics of style, one can't be advanced, no matter what style of clothing one wears.
There are no pics, just drawings (which worked fine for me). All of the drawings accurately described the topic being discussed.
However, if one wants a truely beautiful book with illustrations and a very deep, rich history of men's clothing, Flusser's "Dressing the Man" is the way to go.
A must have for every man!.......2003-10-15
Very short, succinct, yet informative book on gentleman's wardrobe. The authors' have managed to cover the basics (e.g. suits, shirts, shoes) in a very readable prose, which can be read by (and understood and liked) by shoolboys.The book answers so many questions, which we are often ebarrased to ask, so as not to show ignorance (and instead write to the Style Guide at GQ).
Not bad at all..........2002-07-12
This book is not an exhaustive 10 volume work on the history of men's tailored clothing, but it doesn't purport to be one. It accomplishes what it sets out to do, very well. With clear and concise writing, and tidbits of information from acknowledged experts (the likes of representatives from J.M. Weston and Turnbull & Asser), this book serves as an excellent primer on choosing high quality and classic tailored clothing.
Book Description
All-new adventures of the hero from the classic film Army of Darkness, collected here for the very first time! Features a complete cover gallery, including all photo covers, and art covers from: J. Scott Campbell, Marc Silvestri, Ben Templesmith, Greg Land, Richard Isanove, Nick Bradshaw, Aaron Lopresti, Micheal Avon Oeming, Ale Garza, Tim Seeley, and Kaare Andrews!
Customer Reviews:
Love The Evil Dead Series .......2007-03-15
Just have one thing to ask though. What comics come in here is it all of the Ashes 2 Ashes or is it half?
A Deadite Treat.......2005-11-20
This is a really well done follow-up to the Raimi films. If you are a fan of the films, you probably will not be disappointed with this graphic novel as it stays quite true to the films.
The artwork is quite good too. The slightly cartoony look of the drawings works far better than an ultrarealistic rendering would have done.
A nice deadite treat.
Sweeeeeeeeeet justice!.......2005-03-16
This thing is sweet! Ive wanted a sequel to "Army of Darkness" for sooooo long, and this collection has eased my suffering! The animation is terrific, and its a pretty fresh new story. Though, lots of the one liners and things are taken from the film, but they still manage to turn them around and make them funny again. And there are definately some new quotes and awesome scenes to look at! Totally worth the purchase. I can't wait until my "Shop 'til you drop Dead" collection comes in the mail!
Book Description
The writers of the tremendously popular Web site CollegeHumor.com have prepared a hilarious, entertaining guide that dares young readers to make college the best and funniest four (or more) years of their lives.
CollegeHumor.com is the National Lampoon of its generation. Since its creation in early 2000, the Web site has grown to become the nation's most recognized comedy brand for young people. With eight million unique visitors a month, quarterly revenues surpassing $1.2 million, and a successful line of merchandise (from T-shirts to novelties)—not to mention a deal with Paramount to create and brand movies with CollegeHumor's imprimatur—CollegeHumor is truly a franchise in the making.
The CollegeHumor Guide to College is a laugh-out-loud depiction of the college experience. Written primarily by two of CollegeHumor's most popular columnists, Ethan Trex and Streeter Seidell, this guide features all-new material not found on the Web site. It also includes helpful advice—the kind you probably won't hear from a college counselor—on an array of subjects, such as food, clothing, parents, dating, sex, drinking, and roommates. Filled with outrageous illustrations, this edgy and irreverent book will be indispensable to all present and future undergraduates.
Customer Reviews:
The realest!.......2007-06-03
This is such a funny book and even though things are said in a humorous way, most of what is said is true. I have laughed out loud several times while reading this book. But besides being so funny it also has a lot of useful stuff in it. There are a lot of tips in it like what is important to pack for moving to a dorm, some quick and easy recipes for those that don't cook, the fastest, neatest way to fold a shirt. What can be better than a book that makes you laugh AND help you out? Anyone that is in, has been in, or is planning to go to college will love it. This book is great!
This could be the greatest book of all time.......2007-05-14
I am a high school senior, who hates to read. but let me tell you, this book is probably one of the greatest book EVER written. It explains the entire college experience from the last days of high school all the way through college graduation and everything in between. This book is a must have for any high school senior. Hands down. Basically if you are getting ready to go to college, buy this book because it is as important as your freshmen orientation.Hope you enjoy the book as much as i do.
Oh, what little did I know.......2007-05-13
College life planned in a book and mixed with all the drugs you could do.
Love The Site, Love The Book.......2007-03-28
I thought I'd already written a review for this but I hadn't! How bad is that? It's because I mixed some of the potent drinks described on the book and on the site. This book is very funny. It has two of the key writers from the site on it, Sarah and Streeter, who do most of the writing for the site or at least used to, and that helps keep it up to the high standards of the site. Some others have come on, some of who just aren't as good. It has alot of funny concepts and comments on college and college life. It's clever and original and in your face. The new book from the site Faking It isn't as good, but it's an okay read. God is a Woman - Dating Disasters is really good, too, Sarah and Streeter reviewed it with high marks. I also started this new book Schmucks by Jackie Mason and its very funny, too, talking about all the crazy stars of today and their behavior, like Mel Gibson. Anyway this book gets you to ask "What am I doing here?" about college in a fun way. If you think about it, the whole idea of college is really kind of bizarre, but a really fun bizarre that keeps us from having to face life for another 4 years - or 5 - or 6 - or, Jesus, just how bad are your grades?
Back To College.......2007-03-08
My original review for this never posted. I have no idea why not. This is the last fratire book I have read and it is great. It's not just for college students. Read this and it will take you back to college. It's amazing all the things your forget and this book makes you laugh out loud while you remember them. Good read. Other great books in the genre (soon to be on my listmania) include GOD IS A WOMAN: DATING DISASTERS, I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL (by Tucker Max who started the genre, wise man that he is), and THE ALPHABET OF MANLINESS.
Average customer rating:
- Videohound: Best resource book ever
- Excellent!
- Necessary for any movie buff.
- Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2004 by Craddock
- Best and most complete movie book ever.
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Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2004 (Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever)
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Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2005 (Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever)
ASIN: 0787673129 |
Customer Reviews:
Videohound: Best resource book ever.......2006-02-24
Love it! Someone asks "What was Casablanca's rating?" and the answer is at your fingertips! Looking at woofs is so funny, I reread them hundreds of times. Best book to read when you have finished the latest New York Times Bestseller and are waiting for your next book to be mailed. Fabulous!
Excellent!.......2004-09-14
I love this book! I find myself agreeing with almost everything they have to say about a movie. (Unlike my experience with Maltin's guide-- can you believe he didn't like "Dead Again"?)
My only wish is that they'd put it out on CD-ROM!
Necessary for any movie buff........2004-09-04
Since I am a movie buff, I LOVE this book, and read it in bed! It's a good read for anyone wanting to know what kind of movies they would like to see. It's a lot better than anything Leonard Maltin has ever done, and it's also better than Roger Ebert's I hated, I hated, I HATED this movie, which is good, but it contains mostly B-movies.
Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2004 by Craddock.......2004-09-01
This guide covers movies, video and high quality DVD. Titles are set forth alphabetically with meaningful descriptions of each
movie/presentation. Samples of rated movies are as follows:
o Castle of the Living and Dead
o Diamonds Are Forever
This volume is updated each year to reflect new acquisitions.
It is a good value for the price charged.
Best and most complete movie book ever........2004-07-04
Anything you want to know about movies, awards and stars can be found in this book.
Average customer rating:
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Mel Bay presents 6 Neapolitan Songs for Solo Classic Guitar
Kathryn Scheldt
Manufacturer: Mel Bay Publications, Inc.
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Product Description
Instructor, arranger, performer and songwriter Kathryn Scheldt gives you two versions of each song included: 1.) Solos for classic guitar intermediate to more advanced; including "Torna a Surriento" (Come Back to Sorrento). 2.) Chord accompaniments for guitar; melody for voice and/or treble instruments; original Neapolitan lyrics with English translations.
Book Description
Finally - the product gamers' campaigns have been waiting for! The BESM d20 Monsterous Manual deconstructs the major fantasy monster races to reveal their true point-based abilities and power levels. Additionally, combat tactics are presented for each monster, give the GM and players insight into the creatures instincts and methods.
Customer Reviews:
Waste of Money.......2006-05-12
All that th elazy author did was convert a few dozen D&D monsters and not bother creating any anime-specific creatures. An utter waste of money!
Book Description
Selling is the second oldest profession, often confused with the first.
The notion of selling carries a lot of baggage. As it has developed, sales has often become a fear-based relationship. Customers are afraid that they will be "sold" a bill of goods, or that a salesperson will talk them into something that doesn't help them succeed.
On the other hand, salespeople fear they won't make the sale. If they "lose" enough sales, they won't make quota, and they won't personally succeed. In their quest to "close the deal," even some of the world's largest, quota-crazed organizations have, at times, developed a reputation for salespeople who are illusive, ignorant, and arrogant.
Buyers don't trust sellers. Because they aren't trusted, sellers have to guess, and often guess wrong. Buyers prove themselves right and create higher hurdles. And so it goes, with neither client nor consultant achieving success.
Helping Clients Succeed™ is fundamental to the success of any business. This program teaches you to become totally client-focused, break down the barriers of dysfunctional business development, and find rewarding, productive business relationships. With honesty, clarity, and authenticity, Mahan Khalsa cuts through the nonsense and focuses on getting results and helping clients succeed.
Customer Reviews:
Service professional's handbook.......2007-09-03
Don't start your own service business without reading this book. Mahan's insights into common consulting problems and how to address them is amazing. This is the second time I have started my own consulting practice and this time, I am armed with much better information on how to sell, bill, and propose jobs. I keep rereading the book so I can absorb all of the great information. It is easy to read and understand.
Good Sales Book.......2007-05-20
"Selling is the second oldest profession, often confused with the first" is the quote on the back of the book. True, many see sales as prostitution, but this book helps show how it is really elevated.
The book has great information on being client focused. The author does not miss anything, and every sales person will benefit from reading this book. I do have to warn the reader that is is a bit like a "text book", and not an easy read. However, it is worth it once you get through the whole thing, you will have a better appreciation for selling correctly.
A Welcome Reference.......2007-04-26
The intention of this review isn't to rehash all the reviews you see before you -- there are many detailed ones below and above that can give you some good details. I am hoping to shed some light on the reason I believe we have some who LOVE this book, and some who found it disappointing.
I will confess that I purchased this book because I had to: my consulting firm (the biggest of the Big 3) made this a required reading. I ordered it from Amazon and read it over the course of four short flights.
I loved this book. There is a lot of good common sense in here that is needs to be shared -- for some it's not news (and hence why maybe it didn't get a high rating from everyone), but unless we incorporate it into our thinking then we will continually be faced with either guessing what the client wants, or business development expenses that simply can't be justified.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone at a manager level or above in professional services. Absolutely.
Academic Sales at best and not for me ..........2007-02-21
I am sure many people love this book but man it is academia at its best if that's what you are looking for. Charts and graphs and decision matrix and everything but something real in my opinion. I see the world a little different than most but after thirty years in corporate America with Fortune 50's this is the last thing they need is more encouragment in the BS - but then that's just me. Obviously with the rating that is out here most dont agree so I'm still swimming upstream. I happen to have just read (see my review) The Best Damn Sales Book Ever and then this and go read it if you want to be a great sales person.
A Real Approach to Sales.......2007-01-16
I was introduced to this book, "Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play", about 5 years ago and it fundamentally changed the way I approach Strategic/Relationship based sales. If your role in your company is more "transactional sales" this book may be overkill. However, if you are looking for a sustainable and transferable methodology for Strategic/Relationship based sales - this book provides a solid platform that should help to enable marketplace success for you and your team.
Amazon.com
Gossipier than any tabloid, as scholarly as Vasari, luminously illustrated and illuminating as a lightning bolt, Stevens' and Swan's landmark biography is one of the most stunning art books I've seen in seven years of Amazon.com reviewing--a masterpiece that explains how the Dutchman de Kooning became the master painter of the American century. It's a page-turning tale: raised by a mom who beat him with wooden shoes, de Kooning escaped Rotterdam as a stowaway on a freighter and found a second family in New York's rampageous art bohemia. He subsisted on ketchup and booze, and broke through around 1950 with dazzling abstract expressionist canvases inspired by what was in the air: cubism, surrealism, jazz, and film noir. The careerist thing to do would've been to ride the Ab Ex tsunami, but de Kooning stubbornly defied purist abstraction with the startlingly quasi-figurative Woman paintings. Stevens and Swan artfully show how much went into these notorious works. De Kooning's Woman is "part vamp, part tramp," a Hollywood pinup girl with push-up bazooms, a dirty joke and a scary goddess based on a Mexican deity to whom hearts were sacrificed. She is also part Mom and part Elaine de Kooning, his artist/muse wife, and the numberless women he juggled. He called himself a "slipping glimpser," and this book helps us see what he saw. Nobody has ever made de Kooning's slippery meanings and painstaking techniques clearer, in every phase, even the mysterious late paintings evincing the artist's advancing Alzheimer's-like illness. Now I finally get what essentially distinguished de Kooning from his rivalrous pals Gorky and Pollock, and more. I also know what de Kooning was like in bed (loud), how he managed to cheat on five steady lovers at a time(different doorbell codes), why he slept drunk in gutters even after he got rich, and how deeply he loved and how coldly he used women. Stevens and Swan manage to do what no dame ever did: they pin down his oblique soul. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
Willem de Kooning is one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, a true “painter’s painter” whose protean work continues to inspire many artists. In the thirties and forties, along with Arshile Gorky and Jackson Pollock, he became a key figure in the revolutionary American movement of abstract expressionism. Of all the painters in that group, he worked the longest and was the most prolific, creating powerful, startling images well into the 1980s.
The first major biography of de Kooning captures both the life and work of this complex, romantic figure in American culture. Ten years in the making, and based on previously unseen letters and documents as well as on hundreds of interviews, this is a fresh, richly detailed, and masterful portrait. The young de Kooning overcame an unstable, impoverished, and often violent early family life to enter the Academie in Rotterdam, where he learned both classic art and guild techniques. Arriving in New York as a stowaway from Holland in 1926, he underwent a long struggle to become a painter and an American, developing a passionate friendship with his fellow immigrant Arshile Gorky, who was both a mentor and an inspiration. During the Depression, de Kooning emerged as a central figure in the bohemian world of downtown New York, surviving by doing commercial work and painting murals for the WPA. His first show at the Egan Gallery in 1948 was a revelation. Soon, the critics Harold Rosenberg and Thomas Hess were championing his work, and de Kooning took his place as the charismatic leader of the New York school—just as American art began to dominate the international scene.
Dashingly handsome and treated like a movie star on the streets of downtown New York, de Kooning had a tumultuous marriage to Elaine de Kooning, herself a fascinating character of the period. At the height of his fame, he spent his days painting powerful abstractions and intense, disturbing pictures of the female figure—and his nights living on the edge, drinking, womanizing, and talking at the Cedar bar with such friends as Franz Kline and Frank O’Hara. By the 1960s, exhausted by the feverish art world, he retreated to the Springs on Long Island, where he painted an extraordinary series of lush pastorals. In the 1980s, as he slowly declined into what was almost certainly Alzheimer’s, he created a vast body of haunting and ethereal late work.
This is an authoritative and brilliant exploration of the art, life, and world of an American master.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
A Flawed Hero.......2007-10-07
This is the best biography of Willem de Kooning that I have come across.
Eloquently written and well illustrated, it balances nicely the personal with the artistic. It shows how the deprivations and violence of his early life in postwar Rotterdam contributed to the characteristic independence of his subsequent artistic career. In parralel, it shows how the fraught early relationship with his his parents, especially his mother, resulted in his inability to achieve a sustained sexual relationship in his adult life.
It is also a fascinating depiction of the genesis and emergence of American Art- specifically, New York Art- as a dominant force in the mid Twentieth Century.
Creating the World.......2007-03-14
This volume, "de Kooning:an American Master" by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan is a masterpiece itself. The couple took ten long years to research and write this hefty biography of Willem de Kooning and along the way give us an inside look at the creation of the world of American contemporary art from the post World War II New York period forward. Before that revealling section of the book we begin in Rotterdam following de Kooning through his difficult childhood and adolescence, his leaving of Holland (as a stowaway) his life as an immigrant in the U.S. and his slow evolvement as a painter in the new York scene (which was only evolving itself). This is a New York without contemporary galleries, agents, dealers and reps. It's artists on the loose: de Kooning, Rothko, Gorky, Kline and Pollack all making their way as artists and on the way creating the world of American contemporary art. I marvelled how long it took de Kooning to actually produce a body of work. He was already quite famous before he accomplished any of his break through paintings. Then there was his wife, the irrepressible Elaine and the tumult of their life together. Stevens and Swan delve into all of the cracks and crevices of De Koonings life and yet by the end I felt there was still something inscrutible and unknown about him. This book, which is telling a much larger story than just the life of Bill de Kooning, is a stunning accomplishment. Highly recommended!
Excavating de Kooning.......2006-09-19
The masterpiece `Excavation' (1950) was trumpeted as de Kooning's first major work to be recognized by a wide audience and win critical acceptance. The authors Stevens and Swan mine this metaphor effectively throughout the biography providing the foundation for understanding the artist. After all, aren't all biographies an excavation of a past life lived?
Although de Kooning's work is not autobiographical by nature, the artist's values, temperament and creative process are made apparent here. The idea of `creative destruction' as proposed by the economist Schempeter (1942) with philosophical roots going back to Nietzsche and Marx came to my mind throughout the book. De Kooning's creative process as well as his life had strong elements of 'creating by destroying' what had existed before. De Kooning destroyed artistic traditions, personal relationships and especially is own work - either completely or partially by scraping away the painted layers laid down in a previous day's work - in a search for a yet unseen truth.
The book for me was rather consuming and at times it left me bewilder at the extent of de Kooning's self-destructive episodes. There is little artistic romance during the bohemian years in Greenwich Village or little humor in his life or work. What is portrayed is a template of how an artist's lives.
My own motivation for reading this biography are my interests in art and drawing, my half-Dutch background and the memories of the powerful image of de Kooning's `Woman I' print we had hanging in our bathroom. `Woman I' seemed to be suffering from some kind of gastro-intestinal upheaval which I attribute to that cultural trait of Flemish lowland humor. :)
Excavating de Kooning.......2006-09-17
Writing the first customer book review on Amazon is a bit like confronting a `blank canvas'. - where to begin? The masterpiece `Excavation' (1950) was trumpeted as de Kooning's first major work to be recognized by a wide audience and win critical acceptance. The authors Stevens and Swan mine this metaphor effectively throughout the biography providing the foundation for understanding the artist. After all, aren't all biographies an excavation of a past life lived?
Although de Kooning's work is not autobiographical by nature, the artist's values, temperament and creative process are made apparent here. The idea of `creative destruction' as proposed by the economist Schempeter (1942) with philosophical roots going back to Nietzsche and Marx came to my mind throughout the book. De Kooning's creative process as well as his life had strong elements of 'creating by destroying' what had existed before. De Kooning destroyed artistic traditions, personal relationships and especially is own work - either completely or partially by scraping away the painted layers laid down in a previous day's work - in a search for a yet unseen truth.
The book for me was rather consuming and at times it left me bewilder at the extent of de Kooning's self-destructive episodes. There is little artistic romance during the bohemian years in Greenwich Village or little humor in his life or work. What is portrayed is a template of how an artist's lives.
My own motivation for reading this biography are my interests in art and drawing, my half-Dutch background and the memories of the powerful image of de Kooning's `Woman I' print we had hanging in our bathroom. `Woman I' seemed to be suffering from some kind of gastro-intestinal upheaval which I attribute to that cultural trait of Flemish lowland humor.
A job well done! .......2006-08-29
As a teacher and scholar of literature, I find it difficult to read many novels in my personal leisure time, and for purposes of escape and relaxation in the sense that some people prefer. For typically, I get into the literary analyst mode, or begin to think too much about the text's formal features and how I might take it to the classroom at some point. I have a lot of love and respect for autobiography and biography as genres, but rarely teach them, and so they educate me while offering a bit of escape. I am always happy to come across ones that are well written. I tend to read a lot of literary biography, though I read many other kinds. As someone who is also an artist, I enjoy reading biographies of artists. The Stevens/Swan biography of de Kooning is beautifully written, thoroughly captivating, and ranks among the very best biographies of all the ones that I have ever read, across various categories. I had a false start with it last year during a busier time, and got caught up in other things and so lost and stopped reading the story. I went back to it again this past spring. It was so clearly written, and I particularly admired this seamlessness and clarity given that it was a collaborative project. It was a work that made me sorry that I hadn't followed de Kooning more closely, and a true fan of his art and legacy. The authors draw us in, for instance, so that in one powerful scene, one can just hear all the verbal cadences of de Kooning telling a dealer asking for one too many paintings to just "take it," and the tone that thorougly registers all that was wrong with having been asked for it in the first place. This biography comes to life and lets his story gracefully unfold, page after elegantly written page. It was the kind of book that I was sorry to see end, that I didn't want to let go of. Of the biographies that I've read in recent years, I've particularly enjoyed and found most endearing the ones that have created characters to complement their main subjects. Often, they are charismatic ones that either shadow or centrally shape their main subject. While we get clear and engaging portraits of people like de Kooning's mother and Elaine de Kooning (an artist with her own story and talented and necessary to study in her own right), what is interesting in the Stevens/Swan biography is that de Kooning alone ultimately emerges as a character in the sense that I am describing. I am also inspired by how these two art critics/editors have used their amazing talents to produce such an admirable work of scholarship, too. In general, above and beyond its value for the story related to art that it tells so effectively, it's also a great immigrant story, even an exemplary and classic one. That is to say, it reveals how de Kooning came to America earlier in the twentieth century, built a home, adapted and contributed to an increasingly modernizing society, and in effect, became American, giving this term new meaning.
Average customer rating:
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De Kooning declined.(Book Review): An article from: New Criterion
Karen Wilkin
Manufacturer: Foundation for Cultural Review
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
De Kooning, Willem
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ASIN: B00096YDTE
Release Date: 2005-07-13 |
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Citation Details
Title: De Kooning declined.(Book Review)
Author: Karen Wilkin
Publication:
New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 23
Issue: 6
Page: 64(4)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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I Was a Communist for the F.B.I: The Unhappy Life and Times of Matt Cvetic
Daniel J. Leab
Manufacturer: Pennsylvania State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
"Based on exhaustive and creative research, this book is balanced, smart, and well written. The book-length Matt Cvetic that Leab paints is no less despicable than the miniatures to which we have become accustomed, but he is much more human and, therefore, more comprehensible than in any previous treatment." — Steve Rosswurm, Lake Forest College
"A fascinating example of the way in which heroes were made during America's scoundrel time. In this well-constructed book, Daniel Leab offers an excellent character study of Matt Cvetic and a useful case study of the Red Scare-Cold War era." — Philip Jenkins, Penn State University, author of The Cold War at Home
Who is Matt Cvetic? Hero? Scoundrel? Mole? The man who loosely provided the inspiration for the B-Grade cult movie I Was a Communist for the FBI had a life that was marred by alcoholism, damaged expectations, and greed.
Cvetic, at the request of the FBI, joined a Pittsburgh branch of the CPUSA in 1943. He became one of many plants in the Party during that decade and gained the nickname "Pennsylvania's most significant mole." However, because of his erratic behavior, the FBI fired him in 1950, at which time he surfaced and suddenly became a celebrity through his testimony before the HUAC hearing. Journalist Richard Rovere described Cvetic as a "kept witness," a term that fits those who "made a business of being witnesses," thereby "befouling due process."
Cvetic was the subject of a multipart series in the Saturday Evening Post. The articles bordered on fiction, but they gave Cvetic the national exposure he needed to secure a screen deal. Warner Brothers bought the story, made the movie, and enhanced Cvetic's celebrity as pop icon. In the mid-1950s, Cvetic was discredited as a witness by the courts. His career ended and he found a new niche on the Radical Right, yet he died in 1962 after years of fighting to uphold his image with the media. Today Cvetic's image is dimly remembered as he continues to fight "the Red Menace" on late-night television.
Leab juxtaposes Cvetic's real life with his reel life. He chronicles his fall from grace, yet admits that Cvetic's life offers fascinating and useful insights into the creation, merchandising, and distribution of a reckless professional witness. Leab also writes about Cvetic's life prior to his involvement with the FBI, his glory days, and shows that there is much to be learned from the story of an "anti-Communist icon."
"A compelling account of the grubby life behind the gleaming mask of the Communist-hunter Matt Cvetic. The maze of hysteria, opportunism, and deceit that made up Cold War America is freshly illuminated by Leab's study of Cvetic's career. This book stands as an eloquent testimony of the depths to which America sank in the 1950s and is a timely reminder of the dangers of the media culture of celebrity." —Nick Cull, University of Leicester
"Meticulously researched, scrupulously fair-minded, and consistently enlightening, Dan Leab's study of the strange and fascinating career of Matt Cvetic-communist for the FBI and professional anti-communist thereafter-is an invaluable contribution to American history. Drawing on newly available research materials and his own unmatched expertise in the culture of Cold War America, Leab paints a vivid portrait of a troubled man within the context of his no less troubling times." —Thomas Doherty, Brandeis University
Customer Reviews:
Seeing Red.......2001-06-22
"I Was a Communist for the FBI" is the story of Matt Cvetic, a man the FBI planted in the CPUSA from 1943-50 and about whom a B movie and bad radio serial were later made, both with the same name as the book. Apparently, Cvetic didn't really have many real stories to tell about the American communists he had met, so he started making them up. He got away with this for three or four years but, always a drinker, his habit got heavier and finally ruined him. It seems that Hoover didn't care much if his stories were fictional, but he couldn't bare having an obvious drunk running around bragging about working for the FBI.
The book is indeed meticulously researched and Leab tells the story very even-handedly. He takes pains to point out that the communists Cvetic rooted out really were communists, and their penchant for secrecy only served to help people like Cvetic paint them as evil people. This book is not for everyone, though. If you like American history and read lots of it, it will be a valuable addition to your collection. But if you only read history occasionally, and then only popular works, you may find this one heavy going as it is not organized to titillate or tell a story in the Hollywood fashion. So I drop a star to warn those who belong to the latter group.
Book Description
A stealth campaign to privatize American education, George Bush's "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) threatens to close more than 6,000 public schools, pushing dedicated teachers and disadvantaged children out of our neighborhood schools.
In Saving Our Schools, leading educators and researchers show how NCLB shifts control of every aspect of American public education to a faceless Washington bureaucracy while marginalizing successful methods, materials, teacher education, staff development programs, and curriculum. Saving Our Schools investigates the devastating results of forcing financially strapped schools to squander meager resources on highstakes standardized tests. It reveals how the government blacklists successful professors, institutions, methods, and materials that deviate from the NCLB party line. It exposes George Bush's top education advisors who call National Education Association members "terrorists" and would like to "blow up" teachers' colleges. A citizens' call to unite in defense of public education, Saving Our Schools urges every American parent and teacher to take action now— before time runs out.
Customer Reviews:
Left Behind: America's Public Schools.......2005-04-11
Would a loving parent willingly allow her child's school to be permanently closed? Many parents do not realize that this fate already awaits them. In Saving Our Schools: The Case for Public Education, Saying No to "No Child Left Behind," Ken Goodman and the other editors write about the effects of the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001. In this collection of research based essays, the editors argue that the act is a conservative movement which will lead to the privatization of the American school system. This book also covers the wide range of consequences the act will have on the public school system, the teachers, and the students. The editors also offer different methods of fighting against the act and its effects. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to read and understand, and the authors supported all of their facts. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what the real "No Child Left Behind" Act is all about.
An eye-opening social commentary.......2004-10-10
Saving Our Schools: The Case For Public Educaton Saying No to "No Child Left Behind" is the collective effort of Ken Goodman, Patrick Shannon, Yetta Goodman, and Roger Rapoport. It exposes the ugly side of President George Bush's "No Child Left Behind" mandate, which has threatened to close more than 6,000 public schools, to the detriment of dedicated teachers and disadvantaged children alike. Revealing how NCLB forces schools with strictly limited resources to teach its children test-taking skills in a desperate bid to pass high-stakes standardized testing, and how the government blacklists successful professors, institutions, and methods that balk the NCLB party line, and much more, Saving Our Schools warns of an immediate threat to the integrity of public education and urges the reader to take action. An eye-opening social commentary, of keen importance in determining the nation's future.
The war against children, teachers, and schools.......2004-06-01
Saving our Schools exposes what may be the most damaging action taken by the Bush administration: The war against children, teachers, and schools. No Child Left Behind is not just "underfunded." It is all wrong. It has the potential of ruining millions of lives and destroying the public education system. The contributors to Saving our Schools are among the most distinguished scholars in the field of education in the world. They understand the dangers and know what to do about them.
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