Basic Perspectives for Artists: A Guide to the Creative Use of Perspective in Drawing, Painting, and Design

Melvin Sokolsky: Seeing Fashion
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Delicious,first rate fashion Photography and Icons

REAL fashion- the good old days

Through the Eyes of a Genius

Instead of 'Seeing Fashion' simply 'Seeing' would say it all

Timeless...

Melvin Sokolsky: Seeing Fashion
Melvin Sokolsky , and Martin Harrison
Manufacturer: Arena Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1892041367

Book Description

At the age of twenty-one, photographer Melvin Sokolsky joined the prestigious staff of Harper's Bazaar, whose art department was then led by legendary art director Henry Wolf. Sokolsky's unique take on fashion was quite different from fellow photographers like Hiro, Irving Penn, and Richard Avedon. His work took the mundane and transformed it into the marvelous, in a style that today seems ethereal and otherworldly. Women in bubbles floating across the Seine or flying uncontrollably through the air, rooms constructed as to appear upside down, household objects magnified to colossal proportions-these are all elements of the bizarre universe of Sokolsky's memorable fashion photographs. Covering the years 1959-1971, these images have a distinctly 60's "look," but they also point to the work of current photography stars like David LaChapelle and Bruce Weber. Among the fashion and screen personalities included are Mia Farrow, Ali McGraw, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Dustin Hoffman, Chet Baker, Lena Horne, Natalie Wood, Shere Hite, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, Suzie Parker, Julie Christie, Lee Remick, and numerous others. This book, bound in simulated pink fine grain leather, is the first retrospective of Sokolsky's fashion photography, and represents another major rediscovery of one of America's finest image-makers.

Customer Reviews:

Delicious,first rate fashion Photography and Icons.......2005-01-07

I have seen those groovy bubble pictures before, but never realized who the genius was that took them! Mr. Sokolsky's range was unbelieveable in it's scope and visual surprise. Twiggy, Verushka, Jean Shrimpton, are just a few of the fashion goddesses that he photographed. The women he photographed were literally flying either in rooms or outside, wearing the latest fashions, or were photographed in such a close-up heartbreaking way, that you felt as though you could touch them. If you love the 60's and early 70's like I do run , DON'T walk to get this cool treasure. You won't regret it!

REAL fashion- the good old days.......2001-12-08

Back when Fashion photogs shot 8x10 and retouching was done by hand. These prints are fantastic. Every shot is a work of art - unlike the fashion created today. This is Composed, settled, undefinable beauty.

Through the Eyes of a Genius.......2000-10-11

I have been a fan of Mr. Sokolsky for quite some time. His work is always fresh and inventive. Whether the photos are 20 years old or were shot yesterday, they are timeless. He is so much more than a fashion photographer. He is the eye of an artist. He sees a world of emotion and beauty, he captures the essence of the spirit. When I look at one of his photos I am drawn into a world that only he knows. His pictures move me into a place of pure pleasure. Mr. Sokolsky's love for women and his appreciation of beauty that is real, not perfect but real beauty is what distinguishes him from any other photographer. I only hope that he will publish another book soon. I wish he would photograph me the way he did Ali Mcgraw or Mia Farrow. Such a beautiful, soft, and sensual tribute to his models. Wow! The man is truly a GENIUS!

Instead of 'Seeing Fashion' simply 'Seeing' would say it all.......2000-10-10

I could begin by highly recommending this photography book with all the superlatives that it certainly deserves, but this still would not describe these photos adequately or do this publication true justice. For as the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words and all the brilliant photos in this book one would need thousands upon thousands of words and even then one could never say enough about this extraordinary collection of photograph. I will say this much, rather than having called this book 'Seeing Fashion' --- 'Seeing' would have been enough and a far more appropriate title. For it is about seeing and seeing in a way (or fashion to play on words) that is unique, inventive and an utterly original in the sense that no one takes and took (because much of these photos were taken more than 30 years - a point I will return to a bit later) picture then or now quite like Sokolsky. Photos that first reveal in spite of the fact that were for the most part taken to illustrate the haute couture fashion of the day for Harper's Bazaar, that they are photographs that stand alone for their technical virtuosity but more than this they are work of great inventiveness and a truly personal sense of composition and use of space. They are unique works of art that transcend their time and in turn are timeless in their vision. A vision that still influences photographers in general and the fashion photographers of today. One need only look at today's magazine to see the repetition of his original 'flying' pictures, the use of lighting and also the physical way models pose -- before Sokolsky models simply repeated the poses that had become so common, and yes even boring, from the fashion house's runway. Sokolsky changed all that by posing them in graceful angular articulation that represented a contemporary idiom that could be called sensual cubism, that is a cubism combined with a highly charged sexual aura permeated by the psychological impact of freedoms from social and spiritual oppression and conformities which in its way anticipated the women's lib movement that followed. And again as I looked at these photographs it was difficult to realize that they were taken more than 30 years ago and were indeed taken to illustrate fashion, for these photographs,that also include many portrait of celebreties as well as unknowns and assorted photographic studies, stand on their own merit as extraordinary works of photographic genius and art.

Also another point that I will not elaborate on, besides this publication being long overdue, some elements about this book will make it a collectors items one day.

Timeless..........2000-10-08

I was reading last weeks New York Times Magazine Section and saw Melvin Sokolsky's series of photographs called "The Dream". I was very impressed and taken by their mystical and ethereal beauty. It wasn't until I reached the last picture that I realized that this was a fashion spread.

After buying his book "Seeing Fashion" I saw that, despite the fact that he was primarily a fashion photographer, he was first and foremost an amazing photographer with tremendous inventiveness and great range...from portraits to still lifes to fashion. Even though these photographs were done more than thirty years ago, I see them as contemporary, but even more, they transcend the sixties to become timeless.

What a delight to discover him for myself after all these years!

Midnight: Forge of Shadow: A Sourcebook for Steel Hill [d20 system]
Average customer rating:

The Forge is Good

ANOTHER FINE MIDNIGHT SUPPLEMENT

Not much to work with

An excellent detailed view of an entire city

Izrador, or Isengard?

Midnight: Forge of Shadow: A Sourcebook for Steel Hill [d20 system]
Iain J. Brogan , and Eric Olson
Manufacturer: Fantasy Flight Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Under the Shadow (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Midnight Setting)

Midnight: Sorcery and Shadow (Midnight)

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Midnight: Minions Of Shadow

ASIN: 1589941438

Product Description

The dark lord Izrador has conquered the free lands of Eredane with merciless magic and savage steel. At the heart of his army is a dark forge where slaves and sorcerers labor day and night to equip the orcish hordes with weapons, armor and equipment. It is called Steel Hill, and it is the Forge of Shadow. Despite their overwhelming numbers and their dark spells, Izradors forces are not all-powerful. No matter how many orcs the dark lord breeds, he cannot keep his enemies in check if his soldiers bear no weapons and their backs are unarmored. This makes Steel Hill one of Izradors most valued strongholds, and one of his few weaknesses. Will the PCs be brave enough to sneak behind enemy lines and sabotage its precious products? Can they free the enslaved blacksmiths and kidnap or kill the dark enchanters who enhance the weapons? If they can take Steel Hill, will they destroy it from within, or will they try to capture it in a desperate attempt to gain an armory for the forces of good? In the battles ahead, many eyes will turn toward the Forge of Shadow.

Customer Reviews:

The Forge is Good.......2007-07-08

Foge of Shadow is a supplement for the excellent Midnight setting about a small, yet very important, city: Steel Hill (or Cruach Emyn). The main purpose of the book is to describe the city of Steel Hill, but in doing so the authors also give us dozens of possible adventures ideas.

Art: The cover art is as dark and brooding and fits well with the book and its contents, and the interior art is excellent as well. The maps of the different wards and of the whole city are nice and clean, and not overly complicated.

The book has four chapters:

Chapter 1 divides the city into three general areas, with each area containing several wards. Each ward is mapped and detailed, with enough distinct and interesting locations such as the Jolly Orc Taver, Ironhammer Foundry, and the Garden of Death, and personalities to go along to provide any DM with enough ideas to run his party through the dirty and dangerous streets and alleys of Steel Hill.

Chapter 2 goes outside the wall and describes the immediate surrounding area. Chief among these places are the iron mines (ever hungry for more slave labor) and Tarish (the town at the base of the mines catering to those who can), with the authors describing the politics of the Great Mine and Tarish (and their relations with the authorities in Steel Hill) as well as giving ideas on possible adventures in the mines. I also love Morgatha's Cave (and Morgatha herself is excellent as well), and the Ancestor Stones.

Chapter 3 is all about politics and intrigue: who's against whom, who's betraying who and who is working with whom (at least, until they get what they want). And that's just the Shadow's minions. Also described are several resistance forces and local legends that could be real... or not. As with every book in Midnight, everything is left purposefully gray in order to allow the DM to run amuck.

Chapter 4 gives us a more detailed look at the important characters in Steel Hill including their stat blocks and personalities. This chapter goes hand in hand with the previous chapter, since it describes some personalities that were already discussed, but goes more deeply into their reasoning of why they act in certain ways. Also provided here are the forces that are in order in (and around) Steel Hill including numbers and examples of a typical individual from among the ranks.

The Appendix includes two new Prestige Classes (both for evil characters), one of them created especially for the forces of Steel Hill: the Blood Rider; a new monster; and a template for a Shadow Servant, those evil individuals who have given their souls to Izrador.

The book is very well written, and the authors have managed to capture the dark spirit of Midnight and put it into this book. It's interesting how every time I read it I get new ideas for adventures to run. Intrigue plays an important part in Steel Hill as the various factions vie for control and power giving DMs plenty of ground to play around in, fertile with mistrust and paranoia (exactly what a Midnight adventure should have).

In short, this is another very good supplement for Midnight. And as another reviewer has written, with a few modifications Steel hill could be dropped in another campaign and easily provide a dangerous and gritty city to run around in.

ANOTHER FINE MIDNIGHT SUPPLEMENT.......2005-10-28

Forge of Shadow is a sourcebook/slash adventure novel for Fantasy Flight's outstanding Midnight RPG setting. I've raved in previous reviews about how outstanding the Midnight setting is and Forge of Shadow is no different. This sourcebook takes the players to Cruach Emyn, known as Steel Hill. Once the site where great weapons were forged in the battle against the hordes of the Dark Lord Izrador, it has now been corrupted and fallen under the control of the Shadow. The former ruler, Lady Eden, found herself betrayed by her own subjects led by Aushav Falan, now known as the Traitor Prince of Steel Hill and the new ruler.

Steel Hill is an important location for both the forces of the Shadow and those free peoples struggling against his tyranny. Slaves now work day and night in the mines to supply iron to equip Izrador's legions of orcs and other minions. The free peoples of Aryth will do anything to wrest control of the region or, at the very least, do what they can to hinder the mining and forging operations. Steel Hill and its surrounding areas, including the mines are described in great detail. Individual maps of each city ward are included as well as entire area maps. The maps detail the important buildings and locations that PCs can visit if they come to Steel Hill such as Inns, Taverns, Guard outposts, brothels, etc. Notes are also included on the system of law and justice, such as it is, in Steel Hill. Justice usually comes at the point of an orc-held sword in the city and visitors are advised to not step out of line. Other buildings are placed on the map as blanks allowing the DM to create Steel Hill in their own way.

The source book also provides large number of adventure hooks and details on areas that the DM can uses to create their own adventures. Enough detail is given in the book to provide weeks of adventures in and around Steel Hill. Notable characters and troop types are described in full. As in their other products, the characters in Steel Hill are well designed and fleshed out for the DM. Among the new material in the book are two new prestige classes although they are designed for the forces of shadow and thus would work best as NPCs. There is the Blood Rider prestige class. The Blood Riders are the elite forces of Steel Hill who are mounted forces that have such abilities as the Deadly Charge allowing them to do triple damage with this mounted charge. The other prestige class is the Sword Brothers, those who wield unholy blades and protect the temples of Izrador. There are also few feats, spells, and a new monster.

Steel Hill is another well-written sourcebook for Midnight. Midnight's unique, wholly evil and desperate setting continues to set the bar high for fans of fantasy RPGs. When you read through the Midnight material you truly feel immersed in the setting the writers/designers have created. The art throughout the book is very good as always. Another wonderful supplement!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Not much to work with.......2005-02-08

I don't find this book worth the cover price, especially not with a new edition coming out soon. The authors try to portray gritty reality, but it comes off sounding like some sort of dime store novel. I found it to be overly dramatic, and very limiting on the GM. The NPCs are pretty much unbelieveable, and the product itself is lightweight. At least it's not as overpriced as some of the other products. Not reccommended.

An excellent detailed view of an entire city.......2005-02-08

Forge of Shadow is an incredibly detailed look at a whole city. Filled with gritty details of a conquered city, this book allows you to generate dozens if not hundreds of plot hooks and storylines. It is complete with descriptions of city districts, organizations, locations (`The Burning Elf' is my favorite) and personalities. In some ways it reminds me of the Freeport setting- dark and gritty, but under a unified oppressive yoke. While meant for the Midnight setting, I don't see why this can't be adapted to any other setting. If you want dark brooding city adventures, this is a must-have.

Izrador, or Isengard?.......2005-02-05

This is the second release of this line since it's come under a new developer, and frankly, I think FFG needed to end the line if they weren't interested in producing it in house. The writing is flat and listless, and the feats and prestige classes are unbalanced. The authors seem to be trying to create a whole book out of what should be a small area in a main book, and I'm wondering why the push for all these new books, if a new edition of the main book is forthcoming. This information could have easily been put in there, instead of a freestanding item. A waste.

Average customer rating:

Midnight: Forge of Shadow
Fantasy Flight Games
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU4K04

Is Martha Stuart Living?
Average customer rating:

HILARIOUS

Too Fab!

Hilarious! Great Fun!

Funny, biting, clever, sarcastic, and absurd!

Is Martha Stuart Living?
Tom Connor
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060951826

Amazon.com

There's no middle ground on Martha Stewart: you either love her or you loathe her. Martha's minions would be advised to skip this one, but anyone who thinks the Connecticut-based tsunami of prepster style is an overbearing, soulless nightmare will love Is Martha Stuart Living? Here's a sample: "Now, using a protractor, steel T-square, and a 12,000-watt professional heat gun, construct four precise, 90-degree hospital corners.... You might not sleep very well, since corners this perfect require that you lie flat and stay still, but I never said this would be easy. I never said it would be fun. All I said was that it must be done."

Is Martha Stuart Living? is filled with the meticulously staged photos that have become this team's trademark (they also did Martha Stuart's Better Than You at Entertaining and Smyth & Hawk'em). The sumptuous shot of Calamari Gelato and the spread on how to make your own condoms are highpoints among the many laugh-inspiring tidbits. Is Martha Stuart Living? is a juicy parody, admirably skewered.

Customer Reviews:

HILARIOUS.......2002-09-28

Uhh....it's almost TOO well done!!! The subtlety, the sarcasm. Martha herself would be proud of the ideas and craft concepts presented. You will find yourself laughing out loud. Fits perfectly on my coffee table next to my real "Living" magazines. HAHAHAHAHAHA

Too Fab!.......2002-07-02

Get it before it goes out of print! This is a collectors item of great writing!

Hilarious! Great Fun!.......2000-07-04

I like Martha Stewart and yet this book had me laughing out loud. I'm ordering extras for my relatives. In this parody, Martha makes water from scratch, and there's also an article on how the Homeless, don't have to be gardenless.

Funny, biting, clever, sarcastic, and absurd!.......1999-10-22

This parody magazine will get even Martha devotees to laugh. The authors have taken Martha Stuart's well known love of detail to the nth degree - and then twisted! The tongue-in-cheek articles are so close in style to articles in the authentic magazine that you'll forget for a moment you're reading a parody, until suddenly the absurdness hits you - right between the eyes.

Italian Opera in English: Cinderella, Adapted by M. Rophino Lacy, 1831, from Gioachino Rossini, La Cenerentol (1831)
Average customer rating:
Italian Opera in English: Cinderella, Adapted by M. Rophino Lacy, 1831, from Gioachino Rossini, La Cenerentol (1831)
John Graziano
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0815313721

The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to Raising $1,000 Gifts By Mail
Average customer rating:

Mal Warwick is the Best!

very useful book!

Mercifully brief and right on the money!

Combined Tutorial and Examples

Reviewed by Stephen Thomas, Chairman & Creative Director

The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to Raising $1,000 Gifts By Mail
Mal Warwick
Manufacturer: Emerson & Church
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to Raising Thousands (If Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars With Email

ASIN: 1889102091

Book Description

Whoever heard of raising $1,000 gifts (not to mention $3,000, $4,000 and $5,000 gifts) by mail? That's the realm of face-to-face fundraising, right?

Not exclusively, says Mal Warwick, in his book, The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to Raising $1,000 Gifts by Mail.

And Warwick should know. He's spent the last decade perfecting the art of high dollar direct mail.

Take just one mailing Warwick cites (he's produced scores of them to draw from). Nearly $150,000 was raised from only 2,400 donors, many of whom had never given more than $100 to the organization sending the mailing.

Just as remarkable, the final fundraising cost for this effort was … eight cents! per dollar raised.

How do you do this? Must you tap a professional firm or be a prizewinning writer?

Absolutely not. Warwick touts self-reliance. He shows you - with carefully selected examples and illustrations - how to succeed on your own, walking you step by step through the process of identifying your prospects, crafting the right letter, the right brochure, the right response device, and the right envelope.

In this pioneering work, Warwick convinces even the most doubting Thomas. Commit to the strategies he outlines, and you'll be startled, if not astounded, by the results.

Customer Reviews:

Mal Warwick is the Best!.......2005-12-09

It's all been said - and better than I could.

Mal Warwick is simply the best results-oriented writer in the field of nonprofit fundraising today!

The genuis behind Mal Warwick's incredible success lies in his ability to marry tried and true marketing techniques with the oftentimes straightlaced field of nonprofit development. You simply can't go wrong with his approach.

very useful book!.......2005-08-24

This book was a little shocking, to be honest. I raise money through the mail practically every day, but this book lays out a completely different approach that I am definitely going to try. It takes a lot more work, and I think it should only be used for very special programs, but it sounds like the high-dollar approach promoted in this book could work for just about any organization.
The book, unlike most fundraising books, is very easy to digest and written in a breezy style that makes it easy to get through. You can finish it in one sitting, easily. There are a lot of illustrated ideas from successful campaigns, and the author makes it sound easy. It's not, I don't think, but the book certainly encourages you to try.

Mercifully brief and right on the money!.......2005-08-15

As someone who has been raising money for many years, I was dubious that this book would tell me something I didn't already know. I was right and wrong. Much of what Mal says in his latest book on fundraising is not new to fundraising professionals. BUT, the book presents everything you know in a new and useful way that is focused on high dollar fundraising. It is well written, easy to follow, and provides great examples and techniques that will challenge even the long-time fundraising professionals to rethink their fundraising programs. I'm making it madatory reading for my fundraising staff!

Combined Tutorial and Examples.......2005-06-29

Today we are inundated with so many ads and appeals by unknown non-profits (usually on the phone during dinner time), that it is remarkable that any fund raising efforts are successful.

This book, written by a professional fund raiser and head of his own fundraising and marketing agency since 1979, gives several examples fund raising efforts that have not only been profitable, but have raised large amounts of money from relatively few doners.

The book is a combination of tutorial with descriptions of various campaigns that have been successful. The techniques of raising high dollar amounts from few contributors requires a different mind set, different techniques than the standard #10 envelope, bulk rate, and mass mailings. Instead the appeal package is usually more expensive ($5 each - no not a typo), and the mailing list is very selective.

Not every organization is ready, or even capable of raising money in these kinds of appeals. But when the right appeal is made to the right audience, the rewards can be great.

Reviewed by Stephen Thomas, Chairman & Creative Director.......2005-06-07

Fundraising is an art and a science, and Mal Warwick is a master of both. Warwick has been helping non-profit organizations, charities and political parties raise, collectively, billions of dollars for more than 40 years. As Founder and Chairman of Mal Warwick & Associates, in Berkeley, California, Warwick helps clients raise money by mail and, through his other companies, by phone and the internet. He has authored 17 books on fundraising, and his most recent, The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to . . . Raising $1000 Gifts by Mail gives up the secret he has known since he started his company in 1979: charities can raise
gifts of $1000 or more through the mail.

Warwick stresses his methods are different than those of typical direct mail fundraising. High-dollar donors, as Warwick calls them, are well-educated, wealthy, rational thinkers who want to invest in solutions. Warwick has crafted direct mail packages for them that are masterfully written, with personalized proposals akin to those used in major gift fundraising. He invites donors to invest at a level that's higher than their previous gifts, in special projects that will have a significant impact on advancing the charity's mission.

He insists that charities, in turn, must do their part in adequately acknowledging, informing and engaging the donor in the cause. This special treatment and the initial higher investment in the smaller print runs of more specialized direct mail packages and information pieces pays off, big time, according to Warwick's results. The effort creates long-term, loyal donors, who will be ready and willing to make more generous major gifts and planned gifts in the future.

Raising $1000 Gifts by Mail is indeed mercifully brief - and non-technical. It is a must-read for fundraisers who know their donors deserve more than the standard ask that arrives in the mailbox. Warwick has done philanthropy and the charitable sector a great service by sharing the art and science of high-dollar fundraising my mail.

Book Description

Anyone who has known-or been-a little girl dreaming of becoming a skater, ballerina, or professional athlete will love this comic, heartfelt memoir about what happens after those dreams come true. After years of intensive training, Bertine finally becomes a professional figure skater-and finds herself traveling through South America with 'Hollywood on Ice,' a portable ice rink and an international cast of odd characters in tow. At show time, the costume trailer is transformed into a bizarre half-Disney, half-Penthouse maelstrom of activity as the skaters apply false eyelashes the size of caterpillars and wriggle into ever more revealing costumes-from The Little Mermaid to Flashdance. Some performers dress as farm animals and others are the real thing: an actual cow, duck, and chicken take the ice in their very own skates. But the real show-stopper is the Michael Jackson number, starring a blond, middle-aged Canadian whose beer belly barely fits into his flashy spandex costume. When Bertine realizes that going pro means betraying all her athletic ideals, she plots a daring escape straight out of Mission Impossible-breaking into a safe to steal back her passport between the Barbie scene and the Flintstones on Ice number! A vivid and entertaining account of the darker side of showbiz, ALL THE SUNDAYS YET TO COME is also a poignant and utterly winning story of a female athlete's spirit and perseverance.

Customer Reviews:

Bertine nails it! Fascinating view of sport as self-transcendence.......2007-10-08

Confession: I wouldn't know the difference between a triple axel or a greased axle and wouldn't know a lutz from a klutz, a salchow from a mad cow. Regardless of whether or not you are a skater or a spazz like me, you may find "All The Sundays Yet to Come" an absorbing first-person account of Kathryn Bertine's skating career and its unusual twists and turns.

"All the Sundays .." is a sparking gem on many levels, including:
* The dream of professional figure skating versus the squalid reality of "Hollywood on Ice"
* The costs of chasing one's dream
* Athletic obsession with physical appearance and the descent into anorexia
* Growing up in a dysfunctional family
* Rechanneling athletic dreams from one endeavor to another coping with major life setbacks

I ordered the book after reading one of Bertine's blogs on ESPN.com on "So You Want to be an Olympian?" It was so well- written that I bought her book. The lady can fat-out write. "All the Sundays ..." is densely written, which I mean as a compliment. Her wry sense of humor will make you laugh and her struggle to find herself might make you cry. The book is a palette of strong emotions as Bertine morphs herself from figure skater to elite triathlete, coming to terms with her body, psyche and self-image.

One can only hope that Bertine will train her keen eye and skills on future endeavors. Enjoy this book and all her as yet unwritten books to come!

Muscles and strength DO equal beauty and grace!.......2007-06-18

I stumbled across Ms. Bertine's writing through espn.com's e-ticket series. I found her articles about attempting to become an Olympian through lesser known channels and events to be extraordinarily entertaining - to the point where I read five articles in one setting (Of course I was not at work when I was doing this... please!). I saw that she had authored a book prior to these espn articles and was able to obtain a copy through my university's library.

All the Sundays Yet to Come is as entertaining to read as her espn columns, if not more so. There is a tremendous sense of author's voice in her writing, which constantly shines through. The novel itself is part cautionary tale of the life of a professional figure skater, and part a memoir of growing up in the late 70's and early 80's. Anyone who went through childhood during this time will enjoy Ms. Bertine's recollections of her youth.

The bulk of the book deals with her experiences as a professional figure skater in the post Ice Capades era. This book is a must read for any parent whose child is chasing a dream of professional figure skating, or for anyone interested in coaching female athletes. The stories told could serve as a guide of what not to do with a female athlete. As a former athletic trainer and someone who has coached high school girls basketball, I literally cringed when I read some of the remarks made to Kathryn and by some of the policies of the coaches and choreographers of the organizations with which she skated and tried out for.

All the Sundays Yet to Come is a triumph of the human spirit through a female athlete's realization that muscles and strength are indeed beautiful.

Easy to relate to..........2006-12-14

As a skater for 22 yrs who has seen her share of ups and downs, I thought this book was excellent. It was great to read the story of someone who was "another skater"...not necessarially one of the "greats" whose name everyone would know, but someone whose experiences I felt were easy to relate to (so many times it was as if she were reading my or any skater's mind). The book was honest, insightful, funny, sad, and reminds me why we keep going in a sport that behind all the sequins and smiles can be so brutal.

The Grime Beneath the Glamour.......2006-11-22

Talented figure skater Kathryn Bertine lands her dream job as a professional skater, but bares the secrets that this glorious sport tries so hard to hide: the pressure, the sometimes-demeaning demands of a pro career, and the really dirty little secret - eating disorders.

Ms. Bertine is now pursuing an athletic career in the triathlon, and I wish her well. She's see the highs and lows, the stars and shadows, and takes the reader with her on a moving retrospective through this book.

Every parent of an athletic hopeful should read this book as a lesson in what NOT to do. I also recommend Christine Brennan's "Inside Edge" and "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes."

Not just another skating book but one filled with life experience and more..........2006-09-27

I heard of this book called All the Sundays Yet to Come written by a figure skater about her skating experiences. From what little I heard, I assumed a middle-aged skater wrote about her experiences as an adult skater. Quite the contrary. This eye-opening memoir accurately depicts life as a figure skater right down to the snot flying out of the nose. Yet that is only where Kathryn Bertine's story begins. Humor and honesty just begin to describe the details Kathryn shares of her life--not just the figure skating-related parts, but also her figure skating dream that not only unraveled, but was turned inside out. She shares challenges faced by many, as well as personal struggles that are often left untold. All the Sundays Yet to Come is not just another figure skating book, but rather a story filled with life lessons and a journey--what a little girl wanted to be, to the woman she became as a result of her life experiences. It takes guts to write with such honesty and that makes her story all the more interesting. There is something for everyone in this book and I highly recommend it!

all the sundays yet to come - a skaters journey

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all the sundays yet to come - a skaters journey
kathryn bertine
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTNHHK

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Splendidly written, accurate history........1997-07-23

Bryan Perrett is not only an impeccable researcher, but also a writer skilled enough to bring you right into the action. This happy facility is displayed again in this work, encompassing thirteen "last stand" actions from Wellington's Foot Guards at Hougoumont to the U.S. Army on Pork Chop Hill (Korea).
These dramatic stories of outnumbered defenders are brought to life not only with clear and fast-moving narrative but also with the accurate details of units and equipment which are so important to the reader of military history.
With photos, bibliography, excellent maps, and thorough index, this work is highly recommended, as are all Perrett's other works.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

Against All Odds: More Dramatic Last Stand Actions

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Against All Odds: More Dramatic Last Stand Actions
Bryan Perrett
Manufacturer: Brockhampton Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U50XTI

Better Together: Restoring the American Community
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Good portrait of people working together

The answer is simple , admit it

Let's get "Better Together"

Better Together: Restoring the American Community
Robert D. Putnam , Lewis Feldstein , and Donald J. Cohen
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

1945 - Present | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community

Building Communities From The Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets

Democracies in Flux: The Evolution of Social Capital in Contemporary Society

Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future

The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community

ASIN: 0743235479

Book Description

In his acclaimed Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam describes the United States as a nation in which we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and in which our social structures have disintegrated. But in the final chapter of that book he detects hopeful signs of civic renewal. In Better Together Putnam and coauthor Lewis Feldstein tell the inspiring stories of people who are reweaving the social fabric by bringing their own communities together or building bridges to others.

Better Together examines how people across the country are inventing new forms of social activism and community renewal. An arts program in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, brings together shipyard workers and their gentrified neighbors; a deteriorating, crime-ridden neighborhood in Boston is transformed by a determined group of civic organizers; an online "virtual" community in San Francisco allows its members to connect with each other as well as the larger group; in Wisconsin schoolchildren learn how to participate in the political process to benefit their town. As our society grows increasingly diverse, say Putnam and Feldstein, it's more important than ever to grow "social capital," whether by traditional or more innovative means. The people profiled in Better Together are doing just that, and their stories illustrate the extraordinary power of social networks for enabling people to improve their lives and the lives of those around them.

Customer Reviews:

Good portrait of people working together.......2007-06-26

Robert Putnam dissected what might be the fraying of American community in "Bowling Alone". Here he and co-authors Lewis Feldstein and Don Cohen look at 12 examples of community.

It's quite interesting to see how, for example, branch libraries became social hubs in Chicago. The vignette of CraigsList is dated only a few years later and, in any event, it is difficult to accept CraigsList as as true example of community. It may have been in its earliest days, but is certainly not now. The depiction of Portland may be a bit blindsided in that Portland's activists seem to be against anything and everything, more like Babbit's than enablers of any kind.

On the whole, though, it's an interesting collection of community endeavors. Not truly a complement to "Bowling Alone", but rather a standalone effort.

Jerry

The answer is simple , admit it .......2006-06-13

( women have left the home and family and gone to work!)

((( Insert this every other sentence! )))

figuring out the problem is not hard, its admitting it.

( hint, dont kneejerk and yell hate and sexist, this is a woman writing, who stays home with the kids and whose own mom stayed home with the kids, rem those days? the 60's? oh gee why has everything changed?! you know the answer, just admit it.

A sense of community

We know all about the women who live along Wisteria Lane, but not what's going on with the people who live on our own street. We instant message with strangers around the world while hardly talking to the neighbor next door. We know the middle names of celebrity children, though we have no idea who the kid across the street is.

It's the American way, or perhaps the demise of the American way.

Fewer people know their neighbors, a decline that's been occurring since the late 1960s, according to the book "Better Together: Restoring the American Community," (Simon & Schuster, $15, 336 pages) by Robert Putnam and Lewis Feldstein.

( women have left the home and family and gone to work!)

Since that time, social clubs, civic associations, participation in public affairs and time spent with family, friends and neighbors have all dropped by 25 percent to 50 percent, according to the book.

( women have left the home and family and gone to work!)

And the average American has friends over to dinner about 45 percent less than in the 1970s, according to another of Putnam's books, "Bowling Alone" (Simon & Schuster, $16 paperback, 554 pages).

( women have left the home and family and gone to work!)

"It does seem to be the kind of thing we have lodged in the collective imagination where the Cleaver family has barbecues with the neighbors," says Kevin Wehr, an assistant professor of sociology at California State University, Sacramento. "That just seems to be not really the case anymore."

( women have left the home and family and gone to work!)

Busy schedules, a more transient society all contribute to declining neighborliness, experts have found.

( women have left the home and family and gone to work!)

Let's get "Better Together".......2004-04-24

No matter your interest, religious, political, environment, academic, left, right, or center, if you have interest in seeing things change (or stay the same), Better Together: Restoring the American Community by Robert Putnam and Lewis M. Feldstein, with Don Cohen (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003) is a must read.

Better Together tells the stories of twelve different groups: from a community organization to a church, as well as a dance group and a web site, from a union to a branch library, a Fortune 500 corporation and a neighborhood group, to name a few. The stories hold in common the building up of community, of social capital. It is the best book of general interest that I have read in more than a year.

Putnam addresses a critical aspect of how we are brought together as citizens and neighbors. I cannot stress enough how highly I recommend this book.

Better Together: Restoring the American Community
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Better Together: Restoring the American Community
Robert D. Putnam
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N76YUA

Book review: Better together: restoring the American community [A book review from: Museum Management and Curatorship]
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Book review: Better together: restoring the American community [A book review from: Museum Management and Curatorship]
R.R. Archibald
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR1K3M

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Museum Management and Curatorship, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Bowling Bags and Funny Hats.(Better Together: Restoring the American Community; Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life)(Book Review): An article from: Sojourners

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Bowling Bags and Funny Hats.(Better Together: Restoring the American Community; Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life)(Book Review): An article from: Sojourners
Amy Sullivan
Manufacturer: Sojourners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sojourners, published by Sojourners on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1039 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bowling Bags and Funny Hats.(Better Together: Restoring the American Community; Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life)(Book Review)
Author: Amy Sullivan
Publication: Sojourners (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: Sojourners
Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Page: 50(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Putnam, Robert D., and Lewis M. Feldstein, with Don Cohen. 2003. Better Together: Restoring the American Community.(Book Review): An article from: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology

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Putnam, Robert D., and Lewis M. Feldstein, with Don Cohen. 2003. Better Together: Restoring the American Community.(Book Review): An article from: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology
Peter T. Leeson
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, published by Thomson Gale on July 1, 2005. The length of the article is 975 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Putnam, Robert D., and Lewis M. Feldstein, with Don Cohen. 2003. Better Together: Restoring the American Community.(Book Review)
Author: Peter T. Leeson
Publication: The American Journal of Economics and Sociology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Page: 961(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

BETTER TOGETHER RESTORING THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY

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BETTER TOGETHER RESTORING THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Robert and Feldstein, Lewis M. Putnam
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5HSK6

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