The Regime of Visibility

Book Description

Camiel van Winkel, the longtime editor of Archis: Magazine for Architecture, the City and Visual Culture, examines and interprets key interfaces between visual art and other forms of culture, and argues that our continuously expanding visual culture makes it necessary to reconsider the relationship between art and mass culture, between forms of autonomous and applied art. Van Winkel examines specific cases, from Rotterdam's sculpture terrace to the Netherlands Architecture Institute's national architecture plaque, to the behavior of politicians on the campaign trail*as well as film posters, reality shows, and films like The Matrix.

Fog and wind regimes of the Eureka-Arcata coastal region of northern California (DPG-FR-M600P)

Average customer rating:

Fog and wind regimes of the Eureka-Arcata coastal region of northern California (DPG-FR-M600P)
Carl A Bower
Manufacturer: U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Weather | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Stereo view collectors will be delighted to see this book on the shelves!

The second edition of the most authoritative book on Stereo Views—the only one to offer a detailed price guide—features nearly all new photographs, updated and expanded price listings, as well as new sections on foreign views, Internet dealings, and more!

This book includes an expanded, detailed history of stereo views, photographers and publishers as well as information on collecting, evaluating, and organizing a collection. Also features a special chapter on Tru-Vues, View-Masters, Novelviews, and other modern 3-D visual collectibles, including the newly discovered True-Views of England—not mentioned in any other book.

John Waldsmith is a full-time dealer in antique graphics. He is co-founder and vice president of the National Stereoscopic Association and has written extensively on antique graphics for a variety of periodicals.

• Features more than 500 photographs for easy identification

• Includes a detailed history of this fascinating collecting genre

• More than 3,000 listings of classic stereo views with updated prices and detailed descriptions

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommended.......2005-11-14

This is a "must-have" book for the serious collector of stereo views and those just now getting interested in this fascinating subject. Waldsmith really knows his stuff. Highly recommended.

-David Burkhart, author of Earthquake Days: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake & Fire in 3-D.

Superb Book on Stereo Views - and Viewmaster reels.......2005-09-30

This is an excellent history of the 19th and early 20th century phenomeon "stereo views" in which two copies of a photograph were produced on a letter-sized card and viewed through a hand-held viewer to see the picture in 3-D effect. You still see these old photo cards occasionally at flea markets and antique shops and they have been avidly collected for generations although this form of entertainment died out around the 1920's. Mr. Waldsmith gives us detailed listings of many of the stereo view cards, price value, and information on many photographers. A wonderful bonus for the baby boom generation is the inclusion of the history of Viewmasters, the "updated" version of SVs a fond memory for children for over 50 years and still being issued today. Waldsmith includes a complete list of Viewmaster photo reels and packets issued up through the book's publication as well as the less popular rivals of Viewmaster in the past. Highly recommended even if you don't collect either stereo views or viewmaster reels and invaluable if you do.

Stereo Views: An Illustrated History and Price Guide.......2003-04-23

The revised edition is excellent, apart from forming a useful catalogue of stereographs to seek out, it is also a wonderful history of the many subjects photographed in 3-D over the years. I rated it at 4 stars rather than 5 because I consider the reduced content of the index to be a retrograde step. Having said that it is a 'must have' for all stereographers.

Great Reference.......2002-07-14

There are prices listed, as well as tips about how to grade collectibles. While prices are always debatable, it is still a great reference. With more than 300 photos on a total 336 pages it is also a wonderful book to browse.

A true "must have" book for any stereo collector!

A Super Updated Stereo Reference Work.......2002-06-01

This is a brand new, year 2002, 336 page book with over 3,000 detailed listings of stereo view collectibles. It has more than 500 black and white photos with a wealth of useful and interesting text on this popular collectible. Chapters include care, condition, and dates of views, evaluating views, leading photographers and publishers and much information on modern era 3-D visual collectibles, including Tru-Vue, Novelviews, View-Master, GAF and more. The volume is completely indexed for easy location of items. Very comprehensive updated value guide. This updated edition is a must for stereo view enthusiasts. Add it to your library.

Stereo Views An Illustrated History and Price Guide Stereo Views Tru-Vue Films, View-Master Reels, and Other 3-D Visuals

Average customer rating:

Stereo Views An Illustrated History and Price Guide Stereo Views Tru-Vue Films, View-Master Reels, and Other 3-D Visuals
John Waldsmith
Manufacturer: Wallace-Homestead
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N5Z0DO

Book Description

Fancy Froglin is a cute happy little frog who's highly sexual yet purely innocent. And he loves bunnies. Most important, he's really really funny.

Customer Reviews:

twisted little story of a frog and his budding sexuality.......2006-01-26

Terrific book - consists of a series of little vignettes that are perversely funny.

Star of the show, Funky, is pleased to show off his "personal growth" to any and all beings that he encounters. When we finally encounter Uncle Funky (and his cane) the story takes a surprising twist. The Bunnies with Speetcsh Immpedwaments are perpetually clueless (sort of like a Greek Chorus, but fuzzier)

It is good that it promotes the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, because some knucklehead will probably sue.

Great art, in a wonderfully subversive, terrific book.

Being wrong never felt so right........2005-09-01

Fancy is a happy little frog who longs to share his sexual discoveries with all his forest friends. Of all of the comics on my shelf, I think this one received the most attention from friends and acquaintances. It's short, colorful, politically incorrect, and just plain HAPPY. Plus there's an interesting portrait of the artist at the end. Downright hysterical for those with an off-color sense of humor.

Hilarious!.......2004-02-14

Not just a one-trick pony, Fancy Froglin is much more!

Mitchell's View: Selected Cartoons by Bill Mitchell from 1989-1993
Average customer rating:
Mitchell's View: Selected Cartoons by Bill Mitchell from 1989-1993
Bill Mitchell
Manufacturer: Coconut Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0962574317

Customer Reviews:

Guild Repertoire.......2000-07-26

Contained a great selection of songs for my piano guild audition... reccomended!

Average customer rating:

Guild Repertoire: Intermediate C&D

Manufacturer: Alfred Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Guild Repertoire: Intermediate B (Summy-Birchard Edition)

ASIN: 0874876435

Book Description

Santos, or Hispano Catholic religious images, are an important expression of Hispano New Mexican culture, and have been since santos were introduced in the sixteenth century by Spanish colonists. Santos are also becoming more and more marketable to a growing audience of museums and private collectors. This interest is abundantly clear in galleries around Santa Fe and in northern New Mexico, especially at the annual Spanish Market each July.

In this first serious study of contemporary santeros working in northern New Mexico, amply illustrated throughout with beautiful color photographs, Laurie Beth Kalb examines the role and meaning of tradition in the work of a number of artists, both living and deceased, including Luis Tapia, Patrocinio Barela, Marco and Patricia Oviedo, Enrique Rendon, and many others. For each of these artists, the meaning of tradition varies, and the issues of self-representation, cultural expression, preservation, innovation, and market demands are all complex, powerful, and delicate. It is both troublesome and rewarding to be able to support a family on the sales of religious images to Anglo buyers. The mainstream fine art world, tourism, religion, and ethnic politics all play roles in the creation of traditional works in a contemporary world.

For all the santeros, the tangle of religious, commercial, political, and aesthetic forces requires complicated choices far beyond the basic relationships between themselves and their saints. Laurie Beth Kalb tells a fascinating and revealing story about a unique art form and its significance.

Customer Reviews:

Divine Inspiration.......2000-07-12

If you are interested in wood carving and the tradition of the wood carvers in New Mexico this is a must have book. The secular and non-secular images displayed are excellent and inspiring works of art. The book is easy to read and entertains in a quasi-sholarly way. The glimpses into the various artists featured are interesting as they share insights into the way of life of these Santeros. The various profiled artists are unique, diverse, deceased or living and extremely talented. The section on Patrocino Barela and his family is fascinating and worth the cost of the book alone as it features some of his works which are extremely rare. This is a book that you will enjoy reading but more than that you will love looking at the works of art. Add this book to your art or religious section of your personal library. Be warned, you may not shelve the book as you will want to look at it over and over.

Paraphrased from the Jacket.......2000-03-29

This study of contemporary santeros working in northern New Mexico is illustrated throughout with color photographs. Kalb examines the role and meaning of tradition in the work of a number of artists, both living and deceased. For each of these artists, the meaning of tradition varies, and the issues of self-representation, cultural expression, preservation, innovation, and market demands are all complex, powerful, and delicate. It is both troublesome and rewarding to be able to support a family on the sales of religious images to Anglo buyers. The mainstream fine art world, tourism, religion, and ethnic politics all play roles in the creation of traditional works in a contemporary world. For all the santeros, the tangle of religious, commercial, political, and aesthetic forces requires complicated choices far beyond the basic relationships between themselves and their saints. Laurie Beth Kalb tells a fascinating and revealing story about a unique art form and its significance

Crafting Devotions Tradition in Contemporary New Mexico Santos

Average customer rating:

Crafting Devotions Tradition in Contemporary New Mexico Santos
Laurie Beth Kalb
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press/Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J40TTE

The new business road test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (2nd Edition) (Financial Times Series)
Average customer rating:

Great product

Great book for testing your idea.

A Must Read before plunging into an Entrepreneurial lifestyl

For the novice and expert alike....

the New Business Road Test

The new business road test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (2nd Edition) (Financial Times Series)
John Mullins
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Systems & Planning | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Fast Second: How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets

The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship

Business Plans that Work

How to Raise Capital : Techniques and Strategies for Financing and Valuing your Small Business

Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table 57- Real Life Laws on Entrepreneurship

ASIN: 0273708058

Book Description

This book shows how to assess market opportunities. Building on lessons learned by studying numerous entrepreneurs, the book details the author's seven domains model for assessing new business ideas. The model is comprised of four market and industry domains and three related to the entrepreneurial team. These seven domains address the central questions in the assessment of any market opportunity: Are the market and industry attractive? Does the opportunity offer compelling customer benefits as well as distinct advantage over other solutions to the customer's needs? Can the team deliver the results they seek and promise to others? The book is practical and sets out how to run a customer-driven feasibility study that will guide the assessment of any new business idea or opportunity before any investment or time has been spent on the project.

Customer Reviews:

Great product.......2007-02-20

This book came when expected and was in great condition. Terrific seller!

Great book for testing your idea. .......2006-03-21

This book is the best of the business books I reviewed for ideas on how to help approach the research and analysis for my business idea. It's more aimed at folks with business ideas that are geared to being large scale enterprises rather than a small individual proprietiorship . This book is the best of the business books I reviewed for ideas on how to help approach the research and analysis for my business idea. It's more aimed at folks with business ideas that are geared to being large scale enterprises rather than a small individual proprietorship. Most of the "How to write a business plan" books are worthless. You can find the same information on the Internet for free - try the SBA website. This provides a nice structure for analysis outside those cookie-cutter books.

A Must Read before plunging into an Entrepreneurial lifestyl.......2005-03-24

Everyone likes their own ideas and everyone believes that their own ideas are fool-proof. There's no way to check and grind your idea/business plan before going to actual VCs. Till now the only way to analyze your idea was by going through the 3Fs (Famliy, Friends and Fools).
Here is where 'The New Business Road Test' comes in as a savior. This book has all the ideas/ procedures/ questions/ & guidelines to review and grill your idea to perfection before plunging into the real venture. There are many books out there to tell you HOW to write a business plan, but none to actually analyze your business plan.
The presentation of the book is quite simple to understand and refer to in future. The 'Seven Domain Analysis' diagram really makes it simple to review any idea/plan and term it as feasible or not-feasible.
I read the book before going into my first venture and it made me look at my business plan in a whole different way. I was not only able to identify the loop holes but also the ways i could improve my business plans. Even today while I am lookin at a new venture, I find myself always going back and refering to this book.
Once Read, this book will make a place in your entrepreneurial life. This is a must-read book for entrepreneurs as well as VC aspirants.

For the novice and expert alike...........2004-11-10

Having launched several major ventures over the past decades, I have learned that careful advance planning and analysis cannot be over-emphasized. Through the years, I have struggled to develop a robust framework to analyze opportunities before investing time and money.

Mullins has beaten me to the task. Full of frameworks and anecdotes, theory and practice. Thorough, logical, insightful, and easy to follow. An excellent roadmap for the novice and expert alike. My three copies are already dog-eared.

the New Business Road Test.......2004-11-08

As an aspiring entrepreneur you are so convinced that your great idea will work that you want to go straight to the business plan. This book gives you the framework and discipline to force yourself to cut your emotional ties with your idea and pick it apart. If your idea still stands after having gone through the rigorous scrutiny described in the book then you have a very strong foundation for taking your idea to the next stage.
An excellent book that I strongly recommend to anybody who has a great idea for a new business, product or service regardless of whether as an entrepreneur or business executive

The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan

Average customer rating:

The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan
John Mullins, a veteran of three entrepreneurial John Mullins
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQQHKW

A Hungry Heart: A Memoir
Average customer rating:

Unbelievable good---Wow!!!

Understated

Almost 5 stars, but.....

The Hunger for More

A Hungry Heart: A Memoir
Gordon Parks
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Eyes with Winged Thoughts: Poems and Photographs

Learning Tree

Voices in the Mirror: An Autobiography (Harlem Moon Classics)

Choice of Weapons (Borealis Books)

Half Past Autumn: A Retrospective (Half Past Autumn)

ASIN: 0743269039

Book Description

Acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, composer, novelist, and memoirist, Gordon Parks has participated in, been witness to, and documented many of the major events in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries.

In A Hungry Heart, Parks reflects on the people and events that shaped him: from growing up poor on the Kansas prairie to crisscrossing the country on the North Coast Limited; documenting poverty and injustice in Chicago to doing fashion spreads for Vogue; photographing black revolutionaries to writing, composing the soundtrack for, and directing the Hollywood movie version of his novel The Learning Tree. More than a self-portrait of the artist, A Hungry Heart is a striking account of an American era.

Download Description

"Gordon Parks, acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, composer, and author of fiction and nonfiction, has participated in, been witness to, and documented many of the major events in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. He is first and foremost a celebrated photojournalist and fine art photographer whose work, collected and exhibited worldwide, is emblematic of American culture. In A Hungry Heart, he reaches into the corridors of his memory and recounts the people and events that shaped him: from growing up poor on the Kansas prairie to withstanding the unbearably cold winters of Minnesota to living on the edge of starvation in Harlem during the Depression. He more than survived the challenges and crises of his life; he thrived and has become one of the most celebrated and diversely talented figures in American culture.

Customer Reviews:

Unbelievable good---Wow!!!.......2007-05-04

It has been a long time since I started reading a book and could not stop until I had finish it. I started at 5pm on a Sunday and finish on Monday, the next day. The benadryl I had taken Sunday night did me in. What a man and what an extraordinary life.Every circumstance from the beginning of his life stated, he should have failed. Mr Parks was born dead, not alive but dead. His parents were great role models and taught him how to live. His father gave skin grafts to a burn child and told Gordon he did it for the child. Gordon had asked if the boys parents thanked him or gave him a gift. Before reading the first chapter, I said that I must meet this great man. It is not to be. Mr Parks accomplishments remind me of another great man, Dr. John Franklin Hope, the black historian. These great men were born only a few years apart, 1912 and 1915 respectfully. Please treat yourself and read this book.

Understated.......2006-07-02

Gordon Parks was one of the first to transcend race in America, he was not a "Black" photographer, he was a photographer. He says it well describing his retrospective with photos of a high fashion gown the same color as the blood from a youth in a gang war he had photographed the same day.

Born in 1912 (a living icon before his death this year), Parks' work took him everywhere.. northern Canada, Paris, Rio and all over the US. He brushed with King Farouk and President Eisenhower and spent extended time with Malcom X, Mohammed Ali and Eldridge Cleaver.

This book is a once over lightly. He tells a lot through dialog, but it is not a satisfying substitute for description. I'd like to know more about how he got into photography (it reads like a fairy tale... but then he's remembering back 70 years). History needs more about the people and situations of his WPA and war work experiences... to name a few areas.

Some of the stories evoke nostalgia for a time when a spread in Life magazine would yield life changing contributions for a child in Brazil or a family in Harlem. Do today's photographers get body guards anywhere but Iraq? Do publishers still compensate those like the sharecropper who lose everything, due to the photographic spread?

This book reminds us, though, that these kindnesses and courtesies ran concurrent with overt and life taking racism.

Parks gives an outline that someone else should follow up on.

Almost 5 stars, but............2006-05-10

I would first like to say that this memoir was an excellent tour through the life a professional genious, good father, & well admired & respected man. His story takes us on a journey of reexamining ourselves, our dreams/achievements, black history, American history. He allowed us access to tour places abroad & at home & to see our government at it's best and worstlight. We were introduced to the real people beyond their stardom: from Marlon Brando to Muhammad Ali to Ingrid Bergman to Malcolm X. He focused on families who weren't fortunate enough to live the American DREAM; but for him were very much a part of it. He took a chance on people & stood up for what he believed in; even though the doors often times seemed shut in his face.

I felt that Mr. Gordon could have left out all the details of his many affairs with women: from wives, to mistress, to flight attendants, to his own editor (later to be wife ). I appreciate his honesty; because no man/woman can claim perfection and to do that would have been a lie. But, his detail and sense of "dat a boy" praise made me to give this book a 4.

The Hunger for More.......2006-03-15

When I first picked this up, I didn't know what to expect. All I knew about Gordon Parks was that he was a photographer. After reading it, I felt like a fool, because there was so much more to this extraordinary man. This book is well over 300 pages long, and I finished it in two days. There are many reasons for this.
For one, he has so many stories to tell, and, in a way, he has a way of placing you at the story he is telling. This book was published last year, and he does his best to reach back as far as possible to give the reader accurate accounts of his memories, good and bad. It tells of his humble beginnings, and some of the losses he experienced along the way. He talked about some of his earlier jobs, the undesirable conditions, but some of the people he came in contact with. At that time, he proposed to his first wife, and after constant opposition from her family, they later wed.
He also tells about the first camera he ever purchased. Not having much experience at all, he took some shots, and the rest was history from that standpoint. He never comes off as arrogant, cocky, or pumping himself or his talents up. He was always humble, and just enjoyed doing the things he loved: photography, literature, and music. He made the most of his opportunities when he was given them. His undying love and support for the poor and the less fortunate is well-chronicled, and his loyalty to fellow Blacks at the harshest of times put him in very compromising situations, but he was always able to adapt, sympathize, and relate to his subjects, and it showed in all of his work. He never compromised his beliefs for personal gain, and he was widely respected for it. He also tells of his times behind the camera, from his first film "The Learning Tree" to one of his more popular films "Shaft." To my surprise, his son wrote the screenplay and directed one of my favorite films of all-time, "Superfly", and he tells of how that came to existence.
There are so many lessons gained from reading this story that I do not have the time to list them all. For me, a 23-year-old black man, it was a blessing to be able to come across this piece of literature. I learned about a great man who made his mark on this world to the best of his ability and remained humble and down-to-earth from beginning to the end.

Average customer rating:

Dirty Feet and Hungry Hearts
Jeanette E Gardner
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0595334644

Book Description

An excerpt from Dirty Feet and Hungry HeartsÂ— Why? This was the question my sister and I asked each other, over and over. Every time we started talking about our mother, it was always this unanswered question we were left with. Why was she so unhappy? Why was she so abusive to Daddy, who loved her with his whole heart and soul? Why wouldnÂ't she take care of herself? When I decided to try and find the answer, it was very hard to face those long buried memories from my childhood. But I did come to understand why.

Author Jeanette Gardner uses her deeply personal memoir to share the touching story of her mother PearlÂ's journey, from growing up the daughter of a wealthy family in Illinois to living in a shack in Wyoming.

A sweeping memoir chronicling the origins of the author's family and their subsequent struggle with poverty. After getting to know much-older Bowman Mercer through a pen-pal service, Pearl, the author's mother, eventually leaves her abusive brother and their inherited house to move to Wyoming as Bowman's wife. She weathers their paltry circumstances and survives Jeanette's grueling birth and a near-poisoning by a jealous woman. As a little girl, the author lived in homes with dirt floors and rarely bathed, which often made her and her familyÂ—her parents and sister, VirginiaÂ—an object of ridicule. Nonetheless, she lived a largely happy childhood, developing a resilient, stubborn nature, and benefiting from her indulgent but well-meaning parents and helpful townspeople. With poignant empathy, the author successfully traces Pearl's transformation from a pleasant, shy beauty to an unkempt grouch prone to hysterics. She also understands how to build suspense, but inexplicably sabotages her own groundwork by giving away key plot elements in the chapter titles. For instance, a new neighbor's spooky friendlinessÂ—skillfully brought to life on the pageÂ—is prematurely explained by the chapter's title, "Graduation, A Child Molester."

-Kirkus Discoveries

Download Description

An excerpt from Dirty Feet and Hungry Hearts

Omdurman, 1898: The Eyewitnesses Speak
Average customer rating:
Omdurman, 1898: The Eyewitnesses Speak
Peter and Frederic A. Sharf (editors) Harrington
Manufacturer: Greenhill Books/Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O8EZE0

Average customer rating:
Omdurman, 1898: The Eyewitnesses Speak

Manufacturer: Greenhill Books/Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GL889I

Book Description

Until the end of the Cold War, the politics of national identity was confined to isolated incidents of ethnics strife and civil war in distant countries. Now, with the collapse of Communist regimes across Europe and the loosening pf the Cold War'd clamp on East-West relations, a surge of nationalism has swept the world stage. In Blood and Belonging, Ignatieff makes a thorough examination of why blood ties--inplaces as diverse as Yugoslavia, Kurdistan, Northern Ireland, Quebec, Germany, and the former Soviet republics--may be the definitive factor in international relation today. He asks how ethnic pride turned into ethnic cleansing, whether modern citizens can lay the ghosts of a warring past, why--and whether--a people need a state of their own, and why armed struggle might be justified. Blood and Belonging is a profound and searching look at one of the most complex issues of our time.

Customer Reviews:

On a Good Politics Book.......2002-05-16

This is a great book for either the student or general public to educate themselves on some political "hotspots" of the past several years. Ignatieff illustrates his knowledge in easy-to-read vocabulary and it helps to create vivid pictures in your mind of these countrie's situations. If one thinks one knows all about the former-Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland than one might want to read this book. I learned things about Kurdistan in this book that I never knew before. In conclusion, talented writer, great book.

A revealing and relevant work!.......2001-08-08

First published in 1993, Michael Ignatieff's work focuses on nationalism in the post-Cold War world and identifies a crucial trend that is still encompassing every continent: where new nation-states are being forged and born, nationalism is the driving force, the backbone of this trend. It is far from being outdated or irrelevant in any way, and although nationalism brings identity and belonging, Ignatieff argues, it also is a harbinger of bloodshed. To demonstrate, he has taken a personal journey throughout the world and homed in on six separate nations in which nationalism is an issue, perhaps a rampant one. Each of these six case studies is a detailed chapter, a portrait of nationalism in practice. To use Ignatieff's own definition: "As a political doctrine, nationalism is the belief that the world's peoples are divided into nations, and that each of these nations has the right of self-determination, either as self-governing units within existing nation states or as nation states of their own" (p. 3). Culturally, nationalism provides men and women "with their primary form of belonging" (Ibid.). Morally, it can serve to be an "ethic of heroic sacrifice, justifying the use of violence in the defense of one's nation against enemies, internal or external" (Ibid.).

In his Introduction, Ignatieff identifies two types of nationalism: (1) Civic nationalism, in which the predominant belief is that all those within a nation who subscribe to the nation's political creed should be its citizens; and (2) Ethnic nationalism, in contrast, holds to the idea that belonging and attachment to a nation is inherited, not chosen; "It is the national community which defines the individual, not the individuals who define the national community" (p. 5).

As the book is from Ignatieff's personal perspective, it becomes all the more interesting; part-memoir, part-journalism. His journey in examining and chronicling instances of nationalism in practice begins in the former Yugoslavia, where Croat and Serb nationalism is the backbone behind the creation of two new Balkan states, and a host of highly-destructive and de-stabilizing warfare, committed in the name of preservation and righteousness of Serbia and Croatia. From there he moves on to a newly-reunified Germany, and shows the reactions of a reunified East and West, two peoples that share a common blood and identity, yet were separated for nearly fifty years as two separate countries. In that time, separate growth of identity, outlook (and nationalism) entrenched itself on both sides...so what is the reaction of the two, who overnight, are back together again, after fifty dark years? Germany is confronted with either turning toward a civic nationalist future, or returning to its ethnic nationalist past while trying to contain a virulent nationalism known to many as Neo-Nazism. A similar scenario can be found in the Ukraine, Ignatieff's third destination, where for the majority of the 20th Century, its people lived under Soviet rule. What happens when autonomy comes, and there remain traces of the old order (ethnic Russian citizens) and the new nation (ethnic Ukrainians)?

In the fourth case study, Ignatieff leaves Europe and comes to Canada, where he examines the ongoing issue of separatism in the predominantly French province of Quebec. This example is more outstanding and noteworthy because it is different: Quebec is already part of a vast, highly industrialized nation and practices a great deal of autonomy within the Canadian framework. Why do the Quebecois, obsessed with cultural and linguistic self-determination and distinction, still press for outright autonomy from Canada, even though they face grave prospects, not to mention an existing Aboriginal national voice from within? For the reviewer, a Canadian, this case is all the more relevant because it is close to home.

Ignatieff turns to Kurdistan, an illegitimate nation-state where its ethnic group, the Kurds, fight constantly with neighbors and even themselves to create their own nation; what do they want, and what kind of nationalism is driving this desire? Ending off in Northern Ireland, a land infamous among newsgroups for pipe bombs and terrorists and constantly-rivaling nationalism (Republican and Loyalist), Ignatieff looks at these long-standing and fighting nationalists, Protestant Loyalists who want to remain British versus the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the most violent terrorist group in Western Europe today.

Ignatieff ends off with these words: "What's wrong with the world is not nationalism itself...What's wrong is the kind of a nation, the kind of home that nationalists want to create and the means they use to seek their ends" (p. 189). A revealing and rewarding book for everyone, it remains as relevant in this global village as it was almost ten years ago when first written. Once again, Michael Ignatieff has hit gold, and has created a masterpiece in the process.

A redefinition of nationalism?.......2000-03-10

Ignatieff makes a clear difference between the ethnic and civic nationalisms. While praising the latter, the author explains the roots and the consequences of the politics of ethnicity and belonging. He rightly points out that ethnic nationalism is based on division, while civic nationalism is based on the union of different peoples (such as the case in the United States). But what Ignatieff fails to realize is that civic nationalism can be as dangerous, cruel and vicious as ethnic nationalism. Another weakness of the book is that its six examples, except Kurdistan, reflect conspicuously the purely European views and practices of nationalism. It is true that "nationalism" as a political ideology was developed by the German romantics, but the essence of nationalism has its roots since times immemorial. Finally, the book contains a couple of factual mistakes: Iranian Air Force does not have Mirages!

A must read!.......1999-10-06

It has been awhile since I have read this book so I will be unable to give too many details. The one thing I remember is the clarity with which Ignatieff writes and the myths he is able to dispel about some of these troubled countries. Despite the depth of the topic I believe that the book is accessable to the researcher and lay reader alike. His easy writing style makes this an easy book to sit down and enjoy. It was the first one that I had read by Ignatieff but I enjoyed it so much that I went on to read both his other ones.(The Needs of Strangers and The Warriors Code) This one is indeed a rare find. A book that has depth of topic yet easily understandable. An important read for anyone who is even remotely interested in these countries or the impact of modern day nationalism.

Blood and Belonging Journeys into the New Nationalism

Average customer rating:

Blood and Belonging Journeys into the New Nationalism
Michael Ignatieff
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OX2FK6

Average customer rating:

Blood And Belonging; Journeys into the New Nationalism
Michael IGNATIEFF
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MXIOW6

Average customer rating:

Blood and Belonging, Journeys into the New Nationalism
Michael Ignatieff
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H58VLS

Average customer rating:

Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism
Michael Ignatieff
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N74JCK

Average customer rating:

Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism
Michael Ignatieff
Manufacturer: VIKING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLJASI

Average customer rating:

Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism
Michael Ignatieff
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OXNBKE

Book Description

JUST WHEN YOU thought you could take birdwatching seriously again, those freewinging funsters Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill have taken another laugh-out-loud look through their bizarro binoculars. The world of ornithology will never be the same. This time even the birdwatchers themselves aren't safe. In Beyond Birdwatching, the Sills have turned their wicked wit on the entire world of birdwatching in a hysterical parody of your favorite birding magazine. Beyond Birdwatching offers the familiar magazine features, but with a twist: " a crossword puzzle in which every answer is "bird" " an in-depth look at ornipsychology, the latest silly psuedo-science (Type T birds are thrill seekers, including the Western Surferbird, attracted by the call "surfs up, surfs up" " ads and reviews of such wish-we-had-'em tools for birding as Insta-Insects (freeze-dried bugs for your birdies--just add water!), Avian Aromas (draw birds to you with specially designed pheromones), and bifocal binoculars

Customer Reviews:

Beyond Birdwatching:More Than There Is to Know About Birding.......2003-09-11

Took the recommendations and ordered this for a gift. What a HOOT! I plan on buying a copy for everyone in the family. All of us watch birds for fun. Ben Sill makes birding much more entertaining!

Laughing so hard, it's hard to hold your binoculars steady.......2000-10-09

Buy this book and laugh your head off or give it as a gift to any person you would wish to see with a laughed-off head. It's funny, actually... Plus, I can really recommend the one time magnification binoculars advertised in there, no more looking in the wrong side seeing everything so annoyingly small... Tea kettle tea kettle...

Average customer rating:

Birds Beyond Watching
A.J. Urfi
Manufacturer: Universities Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This book should acquaint birdwatchers, nature lovers, students of biodiversity with ecology, conservation issues, bird studying principles, and above all the methods of observing and recording. This book is a departure from the conventional books as it is written in a light, easy to read style, peppered with anecdotes. It includes several color photographs.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books