John Constable: The Man and His Art

Average customer rating:

A Nice, Standard Biography

Well done Ronald Parkinson

John Constable: The Man and His Art
Ronald Parkinson
Manufacturer: Victoria & Albert Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 185177243X

Customer Reviews:

A Nice, Standard Biography.......2007-05-03

The Parkinson is a nice, standard biography, by no means definitive. I only rate it at 4 stars because the plates are mostly half-page rather than full. Constable is an artist for whom you want to see LARGE plates. There are also a number of nice, small drawings. It's not the only Constable book to have, but worth finding for an overview of his work.

Well done Ronald Parkinson.......2002-05-07

I found this book to be a very insightful look into the work of John Constable. Ronald Parkinson, the author, shows remarkable restraint by resisting the urge to transform Constable into a mythic misunderstood genius from the glorious history of English painting. The book reads like a good biography. It tells us what Constable was up to, what artists he was looking at, and the images of what he was painting at that time. What more could you ask for.

My only qualm with the book was its lack of information on Constable's contemporaries. A few hints at what Turner was painting was not enough. I would have liked to have seen more examples of English painters dealing with the landscape even if it meant details from the backgrounds of uninspired portraits.

All in all this was a wonderful book, even if you have little interest in English landscape paintings.

Average customer rating:

THE JOES LAST MISSION...BUT JUST FOR A BIT

G.I. Joe - Frontline Volume 1: The Mission That Never Was
Larry Hama , and Dan Jurgens
Manufacturer: Devil's Due Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1582403007

Book Description

The Real American Hero makes his triumphant return to comics in a top-selling new series! They're all here: the Joes, Cobra, Snake-Eyes, and all your favorites. These all-new stories by legendary G. I. Joe writer Larry Hama are designed to appeal to old fans of the TV show and toys as well as brand new fans of all ages. One of the most successful toy lines in history comes to life on the printed page. (***Additional Text***) It's 1995 and the G.I.. Joe strike force has been officially disbanded... but the JUGGLERS have put together one final mission for the reduced team. It's up to HAWK, DUKE, SNAKE-EYES, SCARLET, STALKER, & GUNH-HO to escort a top secret device to New York City. Danger is waiting for the team, however... the JUGGLERS have tipped COBRA off to the mission. believing that the device can amplify their already threatening BRAINWAVE SCANNER into a weapon capable of controlling the world, COBRA will stop at nothing to obtain it.

Customer Reviews:

THE JOES LAST MISSION...BUT JUST FOR A BIT.......2005-06-23

G.I. Joe Frontline: The Mission that Never Was, tells the story of the final Joe Team mission before the team was disbanded, and, of course, later reinstated. The Joe team is given their final mission by the secretive, high-ranking group of Generals known as the Jugglers. It doesn't seem like much of a Joe mission but they will carry out their orders. They are assigned to escort a new targeting control module for a new rapid pulse particle beam weapon, from Florida to New York. Assigned is a group consisting of Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Gung Ho, Stalker, Duke, and Hawk. But Cobra has been able to place a spy within the Jugglers and she has placed a listening device within the hat of one of the generals and Cobra is made full-aware of the Joe's plan and their whereabouts.

While aboard a train, the Joe's find themselves ambushed by Cobra forces, including Zartan and his Dreadnoks. The Joes manage to fight off the ambush and escape to the Georgia coast where they commandeer a river patrol boat and hug the coast to New York. But again Cobra is a step ahead and they are there to greet the Joes as Destro takes the module and returns to a Cobra base. The Joes launch a mission on the base to retrieve the module, creating a diversion so Snake Eyes can get inside, using Ninja techniques to pretend he is dead. This eventually leads to a one on one one face-off between Snake Eyes and rival Storm Shadow that even Cobra Commander cannot help but watch as the two ninjas battle blow for blow.

This story was written by long-time Joe scribe Larry Hama with art by the always dependable Dan Jurgens. This story reads like an old-fashioned Joe story...small wonder since Hama wrote it. The emphasis is on action and more action, in an attempt to appeal to longtime Joe fans as Devil's Due took over the Joe title. It's a good story but I prefer what Devil's Due has done with Joe in their more recent stories with giving these characters some much needed background and personality. Hama keeps things pacing along but there's not much interplay between the various characters. As a straight action story it's very good. Dan Jurgens isn't as flashy as some of today's younger artists but he always does a solid job. Interesting to compare this early story to the stuff that Devil's Due is doing currently. Call it 3 1/2 stars.

Book Description

Once you find yourself in Oysterback, you may never want to leave. Nothing beats Desiree Grinch's corn soup at the Blue Crab Tavern. There's never a wait at The Curl Up 'N Dye Salon de Beaute. In season, you can buy your produce (as you pay your respects) at Dreedle's Funeral Parlor. There's bingo every Tuesday at the V.F.D. The Mosquito Festival is next week. And when the moon hangs over Widgeon Marsh as full and yellow as one of Miss Nettie's oyster fritters, you'll know you're in a place like no other.

Since 1988, readers of the Baltimore Sun have delighted in regular visits to Oysterback -- Helen Chappell's mythical town on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Chappell's stories capture the unique charm of rural life on the Shore, and her memorable characters typify the folksy strength and eccentricity of the natives. "In Oysterback," as the town's Captain Saloman observes, "we have characters we haven't even used yet."

Customer Reviews:

A delight to read.......2006-10-05

I loved it. The stories about the village of Oysterback are a joy. Any time I drive past Red Toad Road in the future I will think of her delightful stories. I started her second compilation right after finishing this one, and all I can say is that I wish she would come out with more.

fabulous!.......1998-12-17

Helen Chappell's great genius is in her characters and her sense of magical realism.

Average customer rating:

The Oysterback Tales

Manufacturer: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0801848164

Book Description

Approx. 4.5 hours
3 cassettes

Willa Joe is up on the roof at Aunt Patty's house. She went up to see the
sunrise, and Little Sister followed her, like she always does. But by
mid-morning, Willa Jo is still up on that roof, and she knows it wasn't just
the sunrise that brought her there. Audrey Couloumbis has perfectly
captured the pervasive feelings that can take hold when tragedy strikes--and
the slow, subtle revelations that come when one can finally get near to the
source.

Customer Reviews:

Great book for young girls, or any young reader.......2007-06-23

I liked this book a lot. Willa Jo and her sister are spending time at an Aunt's house after the death of their baby sister. They refuse to come off the roof. The youngest won't talk at all. The story is about the young girls learning to deal with loss, and healing and realizing love's healing power. It's a great book for a young reader.

Dealing with Grief.......2007-03-09

This story opens with Willa Jo sitting on her Aunt Patty's roof with her little sister, simply called Little Sister. When Aunt Patty realizes they are out there, she becomes very angry and tries to get them to come back inside. Willa Jo refuses.

The story goes on to explain the events that led up to Willa Jo sitting out on her aunt's roof. First of all, her very little sister, Baby, died recently. After Baby died, Little Sister stopped speaking altogether. Willa Jo and Little Sister lived with their mother; their father left to find work and never came home again. When Aunt Patty visited them after the death of Baby and found that their mother wasn't taking very good care of them, Aunt Patty took the two girls to her home for the summer.

Many things happen over the course of the summer that pit Willa Jo against her Aunt Patty. They are both stubborn and can't seem to agree on anything, from clothes to friends to what should be done about Little Sister's reluctance to speak.

Willa Jo is a very strong character, who stands up for herself and takes good care of Little Sister. I admired her for that. I like the unraveling of the mystery of Baby's death. I also really liked the Fingers characters, especially the friendship that forms between Little Sister and Isaac.

I didn't like how Willa Jo's mother allowed her two children to go with their aunt for the whole summer. It seems the grieving family would have helped each other more by staying together.

Getting Near to Baby.......2007-01-12

The book I read was Getting Near To Baby by Audrey Couloumbis. This book is a realistic fiction book. It is a good book and I recommend it.
In this book there is a girl named Willa Jo, a girl named "Little Sister", and a girl named "Baby". At the beginning of this story baby had died from drinking bad carnival water. Willa Jo, Little Sister, and their mom were very sad and didn't really keep up with their regular lifestyle. One day their Aunt Patty came and took Willa Jo and Little Sister till their mom got her life back on a regular schedule and had found a job. Willa Jo and Little Sister loved to sit on Aunt Patty's roof, which made Aunt Patty nervous, but they said that it made them feel closer to Baby in heaven.
I liked this book a lot. It was a sad book in parts but by the end it was better. This book is best suited for kids of the age 11 and up. I think this because you have to think of yourself in this situation and how you would feel. I put the age this way because this book has some flashbacks in the middle of the book so it is not a continuous story

Getting Near to Baby .......2006-05-07

Getting Near to Baby by Megha

I read Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis for my third book. In this book the main character Willa Jo and her little sister go to live with their Aunt Patty. They go to live with her because Willa Jo's Mom had a baby and later on the baby died. The main conflict throughout this book was getting over the loss of baby. The baby died from drinking bad water at a carnival. Willa Jo her mom and little sister all had a very hard time getting through the death of baby. Little Sister has not talked since baby's death and no one knows why she won't talk. So when Aunt Patty comes over, their house is a mess and they all are very thin because they have not been eating very much. Aunt patty decides to take Willa Jo and little sister for the summer so their mom could have some time to her self and find a job. During there stay at Aunt Patty's house they get home sick and miss their mom. When Willa Jo and little Sister were still at home they would watch the sunrise together with their mom, this would always remind them of baby because they believed that baby is with the angles. Willa Jo and little sister would climb on to the roof and watch the sunrise. Aunt Patty gets very frustrated with them so she sends their Uncle Hob to get them down. In the end every thing works out and little sister finally says they were up on the roof because they were "getting near to baby" and that's where the title comes from.
This book was usually exciting to read there were a few slow parts in the book which made it boring at times. I was able to feel like I was in the book a points because they lived basic lives. I think that the main conflict was interesting because it is hard to get over someone that you love. I think that all of the characters in this book could be real because this story was realistic. I think that this books ending was satisfying because everything turned out to be all right even when many bad things happened in the book.
Audrey Couloumbis had a very unique writing style throughout the book little sister's real name was not mentioned neither was the mom's, or baby's. I think this is because this book was written from Willa Jo's point of view. The author's voice was clam. There was some challenging vocabulary in this book. The author used description very well to describe what was going on which made you feel like you were in the book. Dialogue was also used well you could always tell when someone was talking even if there wasn't any quotation marks. Another unique characteristic about the author's writing style was that the story was written in a unique order. You didn't find out how baby died until the middle of the book and then the story went back to where it was I liked this but, this made the book confusing to read.
I would rate this book an eight out of ten stars because I liked the story but, the book got boring and slow at points. I liked how the story was realistic and the author's unique writing style. I didn't like how the book was slow paced and long. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a unique story and a long, slow paced book.
I liked this book and from it I learned that you have to move on with your life. This book was written in a very unique way and had a great story. This book has won a Newberry Honor medal I think it disserved to win for the unique writing style and great story. Overall Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis is an amazing book and has an inspiring story.

Getting Near to Baby.......2006-01-10

i really like this book it is the book of the mouth in my book club so no i have not read all of the book but sofar it is good

Cosmo Girl Magazine, September 2005, Mischa Barton Cover

Average customer rating:

Cosmo Girl Magazine, September 2005, Mischa Barton Cover

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PQPKQ8

Product Description

CosmoGIRL! was launched in 1999 by Hearst Magazines. Hearst publishes many other magazines including Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and Good Housekeeping. Readers will enjoy all the latest celebrity gossip as well as the season must-haves. You can get answers to all of your tough friendship question in addition to crazy love stories. Read all about makeup, fashion trends, and what the celebs are wearing in the CG Look section. Each issue includes embarrassing moments, sent in by other readers. The Get Real section will give you information on dream jobs and real-life issues. You will enjoy the adventures of Cover Girls and the calendars found in each issue. Other similar magazines include Teen Vogue, Teen People, and Seventeen.

ELLE Girl Magazine: Mischa Barton (October 2005)

Average customer rating:

ELLE Girl Magazine: Mischa Barton (October 2005)

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NVMSD8

Average customer rating:

Getting Near to Baby UNABRIDGED
Audrey Couloumbis
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: B000K3VW86

Harper's Bazaar Magazine October 2006 : Mischa Barton

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Harper's Bazaar Magazine October 2006 : Mischa Barton
Vogue
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V9T95W

Harper's Bazaar October 2006 - Mischa Barton

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Harper's Bazaar October 2006 - Mischa Barton
Harper's Bazaar
Manufacturer: Harper's Bazaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JWDTQ6

Stuff Magazine, Girls of the Oc, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Samaire Armstrong, Bonnie Somerville, May 2004

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Stuff Magazine, Girls of the Oc, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Samaire Armstrong, Bonnie Somerville, May 2004

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000F9JUOI

Average customer rating:

Mischa Barton
tbc
Manufacturer: Artnik
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1903906903
Release Date: 2006-03-01

Product Description

Biography. First-ever, packed with pictures book on this actress.

Customer Reviews:

The adventures of Lennon-McCartney as told by a Quarryman.......1999-02-09

I've always been interested in the Beatles early days so this book was a must. Fellow (Quarrymen)bandmate Len Gerry does a good job documenting the first gigs, run-ins with Teddy Boy gangs, and the significance of Penny Lane. I could have done with less of Garry's personal biography, but I mourned along with him as he told of the loss of his friend John Lennon.

Average customer rating:

Incredible Campaign Setting

Harsh revision to WOG

Greyhawk Adventures: From the Ashes/Boxed Set (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd ed)
Tsr
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Entertainment | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
ASIN: 1560763418

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Campaign Setting.......2000-08-07

This boxed set picks up where the Greyhawk Wars boxed set left off. The year is 585 CY and the wars have ended between Iuz and the lands of good. From the Ashes includes two 96 pg booklets, three maps and 20 card sheets.

Two of the maps are replicas of the world maps supplied with the original boxed set produced in the early 80s. The third is a zoomed in map of Greyhawk City and the surrounding lands. The card sheets outline many different topics including important NPCs, 6 short adventures, wandering encounters, and much more.

The booklets are the Atlas of the Flanaess and Campaign Book. The Atlas of the Flanaess covers and updates all of the imformation is the original boxed set. This includes info on history of the Flanaess, the people, languages, money and trade, all the lands and countries of the Flanaess, mysterious places and rumors which can be developed into adventures, and details about the gods which includes some specialty priests. The Campaingn Book details the areas displayed in the third map around Greyhawk City. This book does not go into the details of Greyhawk City, but does update information found in The City of Greyhawk Boxed Set(582 CY). The detailed information on the surrounding lands is for the most part completely new and quite interesting and well written.

This boxed set in truly a great piece with lots of new information that could be used to enchance an old Greyhawk campaign or start a new one. If you can find this set, it is definitely worth it even though a lot of this information will be updated in the new Living Greyhawk campaign being developed by the RPGA.

Harsh revision to WOG.......2000-08-04

This boxed set recast the World of greyhawk as a Dark Fantasy setting after wars that saw evil triumphant across most of the gaming continent. It includes speicalty priests and spells for 2nd edition greyhawk gods and lots of in depth world and area info.

Average customer rating:

little book of fluff

Salon Startup

Great book for the novice!

Start Your Own Hair Salon and Day Spa (Start Your Own . . .)
Eileen Figure Sandlin
Manufacturer: Entrepreneur Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Beauty & Fashion | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Spas & Resorts | Stress | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Fun, Creative & Profitable Salon Marketing: 67 Ways to Grow for Salon Business

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Successful Salon Management, 5E

Accessories:

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 1932156879

Customer Reviews:

little book of fluff.......2007-03-12

I have been considering opening a salon for several years and have now decided to take the next step and actually do it. I was excited to see this book because it looked like exactly what I needed but overall I was disappointed. The material in this book is VERY basic. It would be appropriate for someone with NO knowledge of the beauty industry or business in general. Anyone who has any industry knowledge or who has done even the most basic research will find nothing new here. Much of the information is basic business knowledge that I hope most people contemplating opening a business would already have. There are a few helpful hints but they are buried in the fluff that constitutes the majority of this book - and it isn't even a big book.

Salon Startup.......2006-03-06

I am in the process of starting a business and this book was a great resource. It helped me get right to the point. I also used in conjuction with this book Six-Week Start up by Rhonda Abrams. Both of these books made great complements to each other in making the right moves in the early stages of starting my business.

Great book for the novice!.......2005-07-02

This book addresses topics and answers questions that those starting out for the first time may not ask during schooling.

Average customer rating:

Not complete!

A most unusual TV series companion book

Fun Details

WOW!!!

Digging up the backstories on the Fisher clan

Six Feet Under: Better Living Through Death (Paperback)
Alan Ball , and Alan Poul
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Reading Six Feet Under: TV to Die for (Reading Contemporary Television)

Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends

Six Feet Under - The Complete Fifth Season

Six Feet Under - The Complete Series Gift Set

ASIN: B0002X1JPU

Book Description

Six Feet under: Better Living Through Death is a history of the Fishers and their extended family. From Nate and David's childhood to the disappearance of Lisa Kimmel, major events and daily routines are revealed through the characters' personal photographs, correspondence, and memorabilia. The book includes Nathaniel's letters to Ruth from Vietnam, Claire and Billy's instant messages, excerpts from Charlotte Light and Dark and Nathaniel and Isabel, and more, offering readers an intimate view into the world of Six Feet Under, a one-of-a-kind companion, Six Feet Under: Better Living Through Death is sure to enthrall fans of TV's most riveting drama.

Customer Reviews:

Not complete!.......2007-02-08

While this is a great book for the Six Feet Under fan - which I just became as of 2006-2007 - after renting the discs - and then finally buying the complete set (for only $95!), I just looked thru this book last night and while it's a fascinating and a more "complete" look at the Fisher clan (and also fills in a few things you might haven't known while watching the show), my only complaint is that they should have put this book out after the show is over, since it pretty much covers only up to season 4 - when Lisa disappears. So much more happened after that, and it would have been nice to have a "complete" book that covered EVERYTHING up until the last episode - including "momentos" of things that happened in their future.

A most unusual TV series companion book.......2006-08-21

Completely dispensing with the usual behind-the-scenes profiles and interviews that fill book companions to popular TV shows, this one stays completely in character as an amalgam of what might have been bits of scrapbooks from the characters in the show. Well worth getting now at the bargain price for those who came in late, but please watch the first three seasons first, or you'll have some events spoiled for you.

Fun Details.......2005-09-07

This book is so much fun for the 6 feet under enthusiast. Complete with childhood photos of the "Fishers" and stories/journal entries from the characters- it really feels like you have an inside window into the Fisher clan.

WOW!!!.......2005-08-31

This is a wonderful scrapbook of the Fisher family - including pictures of Ruth and Nathaniel dating to pictures of their children growing up. I would definitely recommend this book to any Six Feet Under fan.

Digging up the backstories on the Fisher clan.......2005-05-09

Since "Six Feet Under" is an unusual television series, set primarily in the Fisher & Songs Funeral Home, 2302 West Twenty-fifth Street, Los Angeles, Calif. 90018, it would make sense that what would be labeled the official companion guide to the show is decidedly offbeat as well. "Six Feet Under: Better Living Through Death" does not recount the episodes from the first season, provide biographies of the cast members, or interview the show's creator reviewing mental health issues. As Alan Ball explains in his brief forward, in which he touches on his first encounters with death, this book is a collection of the relics of lives that no longer exist (yes, Ruth says that in an episode). Ball argues that such relics are essential because they are the only means by which we really remember someone, by touching something they once wore, made or wrote. True, these are all fictional relics left behind by fictional characters, but para-social interaction with television characters is hardly a 21st century phenomenon.

Through the book there are quotations on death from the likes of Carlos Castaneda the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as well as quotes from the show. But the prime attractions here are the relics themselves. Correspondence Nathaniel and Ruth when he was serving in Vietnam, a letter from guidance counselor about Nate, David's fan letter to Matt Dillon, and Clare and Russell's IMs. There is Claire and Nathaniel's car contract, an ad for Fisher & Sons, Federico's alumni profile, Lisa's column in Co-op newsletter, Brenda's novel in progress, and Billy's psychiatric release form. You will also find an invitation to the O'Connor-Fisher wedding, a note Ruth wrote to a babysitter, an article about the Chenowith fire, Claire's college application, Nate's Life-Skills Inventory questionnaire and letter from teacher expressing concern, and, as most of you were hoping, the story of "Nathaniel and Isabel" and excerpts from "Charlotte Light and Dark."

If you were expecting lots of input form the show's creator, Alan Ball, then know going in that his sole contribution is Claire's short story (but if he had to pick one thing that is a good choice). Ball and Alan Poul edited the collection so there is a cohesive vision for this madness. There are also lots of photographs of the sets and cast (including the photos Billy asked Claire to take of him), along with other illustrations. The cast has gotten into the spirit of the effort by contributing contributed shots from their personal collections of when they were younger, so you get baby pictures of most of them. Consequently, for fans of the show who are inclined to let Ball get away with this conceit, this is a fascinating look at the backstories of the Fishers and the other characters caught up in their lives. It might be providing depth without true insights, but then such things are left to the mind of the reader, but it is a different way of looking at a different series.

Book Description

This collection of studies, based on an international conference at the University of Kent--the leading academic institution in the field of Media and Propaganda Studies--by leading academics specializing in disciplines ranging from military history to political science, with journalists, the military and civil service experience, is a unique cross-fertilization between academics and media professionals. It takes the story from the early 20th century showing the effect of the Boer War on British and German propaganda and World War I, through World War II, the Cold War and Vietnam, the more recent conflicts in the Falklands, the Gulf and Kosovo and finally, and most importantly 9/11 and its effect.

Book Description

In a series of feisty and ultimately hopeful essays, one of America's sharpest social critics casts a shrewd eye over contemporary culture to reveal the worst -- and the best -- of our habits of discourse, tendencies in education, and obsessions with technological novelty. Readers will find themselves rethinking many of their bedrock assumptions: Should education transmit culture or defend us against it? Is technological innovation progress or a peculiarly American addiction? When everyone watches the same television programs -- and television producers don't discriminate between the audiences for Sesame Street and Dynasty -- is childhood anything more than a sentimental concept? Writing in the traditions of Orwell and H.L. Mencken, Neil Postman sends shock waves of wit and critical intelligence through the cultural wasteland.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2002-04-03

I have admired Neil Postman ever since the days of Teaching As a Subversive Activity. It's thus with regret that I can't recommend this collection of essays. I found little insight, much condescension, and even more of what in his opening essay he sneered at social scientists for doing: stating the obvious as if it was profound discovery.

That opening essay, "Social Science as Moral Theology," in which he attempts - and fails - to show that sociologists, psychologists, and the like are "storytellers" rather than scientists, is a prime example. (Since my background is in physics, I should have been expected to be sympathetic to Postman's view. That I still found it so unconvincing should be an indication of how weak his argument is.) Just a few examples:

- He defines "science" in a way that excludes social sciences - an utterly invalid method by which anyone can "prove" literally anything.

- He derides as meaningless non-science studies linking TV viewing with aggressive behavior because they haven't come to any clear conclusion. (Astronomers still can't agree on how galaxies form. Are they not doing science?)

- He misstates scientific process and misdefines "empirical" as requiring "natural life situations," by which standard all of quantum physics and much of relativity physics are likewise non-scientific "storytelling."

- And frankly, anyone who gleefully writes about how he sprang a well-considered line of argument on a professor and brags that "it did not take me long ... to reduce her to saying" such-and so is not engaging in rational argument but ego-tripping.

What makes this all the more frustrating is that in subsequent chapters he does not hesitate to use some of the same methods he denounces as "storytelling" - demographic surveys, intergroup comparisons, etc. - when they will advance his argument.

Teaching as a Subversive Activity remains one of the most important books ever published about education. If you haven't read it, do. And do read Postman's works on the dangers of over-reliance on technology. But skip this volume in favor of another.

Not bad, but only if you're new to Postman........1999-08-19

The book probably is a good summary of Neil Postman's ideas if you're new to him, but if you've already read his major works there's not much here to recommend. In fact, some of the ideas and even the prose can be pretty slack at times. Should pique the interest of newcomers, however.

A Great Introduction to Neil Postman.......1999-04-12

This book contains essays and chapter excerpts from most of his other works (though not the later ones like Technopoly and The End of Education). Neil Postman is one of the keenest and most articulate of that species I call the "cultural hand-wringers". I'm very sympathetic to the arguments he makes, though sometimes I think he may be a bit too dire. I've read everything he's written that I can get my hands on, and all of it has been a total delight. (I'd steer any Postman fans to Robert Hughes _The Culture of Complaint_ for similarly keen, delightful, and refreshing take-no-prisoners denunciations) Since so much of his work is a complaint about how form (e.g. TV) has coopted function, I hardly think Postman himself would approve of this kind of recommendation, but he's so much fun to read even if you *don't* agree with him that it's worth the effort anyway. But watch out: he's so persuasive and passionate with his arguments, you'll probably end up doing so no matter how well-armed you are against it.

Two essays that have stuck in my mind: "The German Question" where he ponders what the Holocaust consciousness will mean to postwar Germany, and "The Small Screen" where Postman is invited to write something nice about television for once.

Average customer rating:
Conscientious Objections Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology, and Education
Neil Postman
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0E78C

Average customer rating:
Conscientious Objections Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology, and Education
Neil Postman
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0KP4C

Average customer rating:
Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble about Language, Technology, and Education
Neil Postman
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HZ1Q3I

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