Googie Redux: Ultramodern Roadside Architecture

Book Description

A thoroughly revised and significantly expanded edition of the popular 1980s original, Googie Redux is the authoritative history of the mid-20th century icon that ignited an architectural revolution: the coffee shop. Emblematic of Southern California car culture, stylized eateries and other roadside buildings built from the 1930s to the 1950s were dismissed as lowbrow stylistic folly in their heyday. Yet, as Alan Hess points out, in many ways they were the realization of modern architecture's grand promises. They were populist, employed new materials, and captured their purpose, place, and culture as vividly as any great architectural style. The influential original edition helped to spark a robust preservation movement and kick-started the reappreciation of mid-century architecture and design. This latest edition features extensive up-to-date research and dozens of rarely seen and newly found photographs. Googie Redux is the definitive document of a style born in California that has spread to all corners of the world.

Customer Reviews:

Achingly Beautiful.......2007-08-24

Googie was fading by the time I came along, but even in the remote area of the Midwest that I grew up in, its influence was felt. As a child, I didn't know what those slanted roofs and skewed-ball sign spires were called or where they came from, but I found their spacey, cartoonish vibe appealing (if increasingly worn and ill-maintained as the 70s wore on). This book, "Googie Redux," puts "ultramodern roadside architecture" in historical context and tells the stories of the commercial architects who invented Googie, primarily in Southern California. There's also an excellent section on automotive design of the postwar era, the ideas which inspired it, and its relation to Googie architecture. Fans of Americana, architecture, capitalism, and pop culture in general will adore this thick compendium of intelligent analysis and, in many cases, superb photographs documenting the glorious heyday and painful decline of this once-dominant style. Though Googie was shunned by the architectural establishment in its time, it is now given its due in this beautiful book. Buy it, read it, and catch a glimpse of an era in which roadside architecture was more than just the series of bland, inoffensive, lookalike boxes dispensing burgers, burritos, and coffee that we must suffer today. This book will feed your postwar fantasies and break your heart when you realize how homogenized commercial architecture has become.

A True Gem in My Library!.......2004-10-21

I can start off this review by stating pretty much any book Alan Hess writes will find its way to my shelf. Googie Redux is an incredible update to the original which was a masterpiece in itself.

The new photographs and line drawings are a very nice touch along with the updated text. Mr. Hess has proven himself again as the leading authority on this genre of architecture.

The insight and presentation of the information is what this architecture truly deserves. To ignore this style and consider it a joke is something that will bite us back in years to come. By then most of these places will be torn down and we'll be left with only this book as a resource. But, oh what a resource it is!

Now, if only Mr. Hess could fly over to the East Coast and write a book about the architecture in the seaside community of Wildwood, New Jersey. Then the circle would be complete. Many of these motels were built around the same time as the West Coast structures and would make for a very interesting comparison. Same style and philosophies, but with different architects, locales, and climates. Very interesting indeed.

In summary the equation is simple...great author plus great architecture equals doubly great book!

Book Description

Profusely illustrated guide covers geometric basis of design, implements and their use, borders, textile patterns, nature study and treatment. 383 illustrations include many diagrams, designs for title pages, border patterns, allover patterns, textile patterns and historical examples from many cultures and periods. Clear and well written, this volume will be an invaluable resource.

Customer Reviews:

Abstract?????.......2007-02-17

I am an abstract painter and I had to return this book as soon as I received it. All it shows are patterns of some kind of designs. No color throughout the entire book.

Nice Little Book.......2000-01-17

The back cover says it all: "Students, designers, and craftspeople who want to create their own abstract patterns and designs will find this profusely illustrated guide one of the best books availabe on the subject. After an introductory chapter dealing with the geometric basis of design, the author goes on to discuss implements and their uses, borders, textile patterns, nature study and treatement."

"Over 300 illustrations include many diagrams, designs for title pages, border patterns, allover patterns, textile patterns and historical examples from an extraordinary number of cultures and periods...Thorough and comprehensive, [this book] will be an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to learn the principles and techniques of creating nonrespresentative designs."

To which I will add, the illustrations are nice as they include a little block showing you how it was drawn, and sometimes giving variations (positive vs negative, simple vs complex, etc). A large part of the book is spent showing textile patterns. I think maybe that was the original bent of the author. But there are also lots of lovely border designs, too.

Well worth the price!

Book Description

"A stunning sequel to the James Ageeâ€“Walker Evans' classic, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. It is at times astonishing, at all times deeply moving."-Studs Terkel

"A book that reaches into this country's heart of darkness. . . . A tragically human story more telling than a thousand polls. The photographs by Mr. Williamson are eloquent."-Herbert Mitgang, New York Times

"Mr. Williamson's photos are spellbinding and should become instant classics."-John Elvin, Washington Times

In this paperback reissue, an author/photographer team returns to the land and families captured in James Agee and Walker Evans's inimitable masterwork Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, extending the project of conscience and chronicling the traumatic decline of King Cotton. In 1936, during a brief window of national attention to the topic, Fortune magazine commissioned from Agee and Evans a story on poverty among tenant farmers in Alabama. Agee was famously ambivalent in his role, calling himself a spy and ultimately delivering a book-length manuscript unpublishable in magazine form. With this continuation of Agee and Evans's work, Maharidge and Williamson not only uncover some surprising historical secrets relating to the families and to Agee himself, but also effectively lay to rest Agee's fear that his work, from lack of reverence or resilience, would be but another offense to the humanity of its subjects.

Williamson's 90-part photo essay includes updates alongside Evans' classic originals.

Dale Maharidge (Homeland, Journey to Nowhere) has been a visiting professor of journalism at Columbia University and Stanford, and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1998.

Michael Williamson is a photographer for the Washington Post who won a second Pulitzer for his coverage of the war in Kosovo.

Customer Reviews:

Honors the legacy.......2007-01-31

For readers of the original Agee/Evans collaboration, "And Their Children" is well worth the time. The reporter and photographer tracked down the 116 living offspring of the pseudonymous Gudger, Ricketts, and Woods families, as well as those who were part of the original book (12 of 22 who appeared in "Let Us Now" were still alive when they began their research in 1986). Not all were willing to be interviewed or photographed, but many were.

As with the first book, the tale here is not a particularly happy one. The author begins by recounting the suicide of Maggie Louise Gudger, age 10 in 1936, a particular favorite of Agee's, and dead at age 45--the same age at which Agee himself died from drink. And yet there are varying degrees of hope in many of the stories, such as that of Maggie Louise's daughter Debbie and her children.

The structure of the book follows each family through different periods: 1936-1940; 1940-1960; and 1960-1986. The author also includes sections on one of the local landowning families (which was far from rich!) and an African-American sharecropping family. Along the way, we learn surprising things about the evil (and Faulknerian) Fred Ricketts, the fate of Clair Bell (she did not die at age 4, as Agee had feared she would), the struggles of George Gudger, and the families' views on Agee, Evans, and the original book. About the children and grandchildren, we find out about those who ran away (and usually came back) and those who stayed; marriages; children; the end of farming; attempts at succeeding at school and at work; closeness and bitterness. It's all grippingly told. And the photographs that allow one to compare the state of things in 1936 and 1986 are excellent. Several photos exactly re-capture the originals.

Quibbles: Naturally, I think, the sections on the two families who did not appear in the first book are less interesting. They could have been abbreviated. Also, the author's (negative) take on the state of America in 1986 is garden-variety journalism for that time. These sections are easily avoided, however, and do not detract from the writing about the original families.

Counter to the author's gloomy opinions, his stories indicate that many of these descendents of share-croppers emerged from the Depression to enjoy a slow but steady material progress. Maggie Louise's grandchildren, now in their thirties, should do even better over the course of their lives. One hopes that another writer-photographer team will venture to Hobe's Hill in 2036 to test that proposition.

Quite interesting........2005-07-25

While I have Let Us Now Praise Famous Men on deck to read as well, the friend who loaned me the books explained she found And Their Children After Them first, and actually liked reading them in reverse order. So, I chose to follow her lead.

The book, even standing alone, is an intensely personal and touching look into the lives of people who many of us who enjoy the luxury of writing reviews on the Internet can never really understand. The backgrounds, upbringings and challenges were so vastly different, and the book does a good job of showing us something different, something very real.

I can understand the retiscence of some to participate in the book -- while reading passages in this book I often thought to myself what it would feel like to be the person being written about and to see the things about them in print. Like our society, there is a great deal of judgement in the book -- while they try to avoid it, it is there, and it's painful at times.

But it's all worth it, in my opinion, to uncover the many thought provoking things that relate to our world today, and that give me a better understanding of history and people's place within it.

Poignant and thought-provoking.......2000-10-19

This book should be read right after reading James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Mem. Unfortuantely I read it over four years before I read Agee's work. When I read this book--in Feb 1996--I wrote to myself: This is a book Newt Gingrich and the crazy House freshmen should read--people who are so intent that those who cannot make it on their own should not make it.

A "Must Have" for Anyone who liked "Let Us Now Praise....".......1999-03-20

First introduced to "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" by James Agee and Walker Evans through a PBS Documentary, which inspired a dash to the library to read the book iteself, it wasn't until years later I went back to the library to see if anyone had ever followed up on the story. Confronted with the then new computerized "card catalog" system, I wondered how I might search for any related writings when it dawned on me what a perfect title would naturally evolve from the verse the first book title was taken: ..And Their Children After Them. Imagine my amazement when I tried that title, and there it was! Maharidge and Williamson have followed in Agee and Evans footsteps to give readers "the rest of the story" of the tenant farmers' families and grandchildren, as well as the stories of Agee and Evans themselves. I congratulation them on an excellent book, and offer thanks to the families and their descendants for sharing their lifestories. Their lives did not take the path predicted for them by Agee: life refuses to be harnessed by prediction. Some went farther than anyone could have anticipated, while others came to a place, if possible, even worse than expected. As a second generation American, descended from Polish and Prussian immigrants who lived comparable lives, but who were blessed to own their own land, I identified closely with these stories, from the first page of "Let Us Praise" to the last page of "And Their Children".

Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction 1991.......1997-05-02

Unfortunately, the synopsis left out that this book won the Pulitzer for Non-fiction in 1991. Maharidge and Williamson followed the footsteps of James Agee who had profiled sharecroppers during the Depression. They found their decendants, and showed that while cotton and sharecropping had died, rural poverty for these families had been passed down to new generations. The front section of the book is a series of photographs by Williamson, and they are tremendous. Moreover, in their reporting, they filled a gap left by Agee by finding a black family of sharecroppers to add to the others profiled. This is a tremendous book. It works on multiple levels, giving both the sweep of Southern social and economic history and bringing it down to individuals. Beyond that, the book is a metaphor for our own time. "If we understand the death of cotton," Maharidge writes in this book, "we understand many things about modern America." This is a tremendous work, highly readable and moving. The recognition these two craftsmen received for it is well-deserved

And Their Children After Them The Legacy of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Average customer rating:

And Their Children After Them The Legacy of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Michael Williamson Maharidge Dale
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDI3EC

And Their Children After Them: The Legacy of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee, Walker Evans, and the Rise and Fall of Cotton in the South

Average customer rating:

And Their Children After Them: The Legacy of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee, Walker Evans, and the Rise and Fall of Cotton in the South
Dale; Williamson, Michael Maharidge
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OFJOI0

Customer Reviews:

Revenge served cold... and hot.......2005-05-14

Everybody has some skeletons in their closet -- and it's not surprising that alien princess Lum's are a little crazier than normal. In Rumiko Takahashi's "The Return of Lum: Urusei Yatsura," the extraterrestrial gets a nasty shock from her past, which threatens to affect her "darling."

A very enthusiastic young teacher comes to Tomobiki High, and receives a shock when the new transfer student has horns and can fly. Lum soon joins the girl's volleyball team, not knowing that the captain LOATHES all men. Not to mention the parent-teacher day, when the cast's assorted strange moms arrive. Ataru's love for all things female pops up when a pretty female ninja, Kaede, desperately tries to get a secret document from him. He continues pursuing her when she leaves her job and is pursued by a number of inept ninja.

And then a new girl, Ran, arrives at the school -- and turns out to be an old pal of Lum's. Unfortunately, she has a split personality -- one side is sweet and cute, the other is completely insane and vengeful. And because of some unfortunate childhood incidents (involving bedwetting and ice cream), she plans to get revenge on Lum, by stealing Ataru's youth. Since she does that with a kiss, Ataru is all too willing....

Ran is one of the most entertaining characters in the "Urusei Yatsura" series -- she's completely insane. As a result, Takahashi's stories with her are among the most entertaining (with the exception of Rei, whom Ran has a "thing" about). When you have someone who's out for revenge and comically crazed, expect fun.

This is one of the rare collections that has not a dud story in it -- Takahashi veers from strength to strength, be it psychotic ninja hags or a school play disrupted by Ataru and Ran. We also get the entertaining spectacle of Lum being joined to Ataru's hip even at school.

We also get introduced to new characters, such as Mendo and Lum's moms. One is snotty, autocratic and abhors machinery, and the other is an upbeat older version of her daughter. And despite only brief appearances by fan faves Cherry and Sakura, we get Kaede the job-seeking ninja, and Mr. Hanawa, the overenthusastic young teacher who speaks in cliches.

"Sweet Revenge" is indeed a sweet collection of "Urusei Yatsura" stories. And it introduces one of Takahashi's most memorable characters -- definitely not something to miss.

The story is good, but the design of the book..........2003-04-05

I won't review the story since others have done it for me. What I will do is talk about the design of the book itself.

For one, the binding on all of the Urusei Yatsura/Lum books is substandard. My copy of 'The Return of Lum' has the cover coming off of it, from the binding, like it's just peeling up. 'The Perfect Collection' is losing pages in the center of the book, and I have to replace my copy of 'Sweet Revenge' because it has lost EVERY SINGLE PAGE in it! There is just no excuse for this! I'm afraid to touch 'Trouble Times Ten' or 'Ran Attacks' for fear that they will come apart too!

I'm not saying that you shouldn't get the books; this is a wonderful series and everyone should read it, Takahashi fan or not. But just be warned that the books will fall to pieces on you.

Ran-chan's sweet revenge is sweet.......2000-08-27

Another day, another Urusei Yatsura book. Oh how I wish this series would never end... In this book we start by introducing a new teacher to the ranks of Tomobiki High school, then a nice two part tale of the girls' volleyball captain's love for Mendo (her and every other girl...ever), then move onto a long-winded multi-part story about a ninja. This is a nice story, and it contains the seeds of what eventually became Takahashi's popular series Ranma 1/2. After the ninja stories comes the main event.

Ran-chan

A sweet, demure red head with her heart set on Ataru.

No, wait.

An evil conniving alien from Lum's past with her heart set on stealing Ataru's youth so she can have revenge on Lum-chan. THAT's it. Ran is a fantastic character, who has two personalities, the sweet endearing Ran and the evil murderous Ran.

Ran works so well in the story because she adds another level of sheer twisted brilliance, she's totally insane and her plans are completely off the wall, resulting in more trademarked Urusei Yatsura slapstick.

Another book you need to own. But you knew that already.

So order it before I zap you all.

HYSTERICAL.......2000-05-31

I loved the pictures and the story line! I have four other Revenge of Lum books on hold for me (I didn't bring much money the day I got this book, so I ended up getting whichever graphic novel was thickest!) It was GREAT. A really fantastic book with captivating plots. I felt, however, that the Ninja chapters ended up slightly...unfinished. Oh well! Does anyone know what order this series goes in? Does it even have an order?

A hilarious look at high school and sci-fi.......2000-05-01

Of the three books in the 'Lum' series that I've read (The Return of Lum, Lum in the sun, Sweet Revenge), this one is the funniest. This book starts out with a new teacher to Tomobiki High school - boy is he in for a few surprises! Ahh, the foibles of a new teacher. The next story revolves around Kaede the ninja. Kaede is very cute, and the story is hilarious. Finally, the book ends with a meeting between Lum, and her childhood friend, Ran. The first too stories were funnier, but this one certainly provides plenty of fodder for laughs. This book, though not one of my all-time favorites, was still very funny. I recomend it.

Amazon.com

She had herself committed to an insane asylum, circled the globe in 72 days, and worked as an elephant trainer, all for a good story. Nellie Bly (1864-1922) was the most famous female reporter of her day, and a pioneering businesswoman (she started the first steel-barrel manufacturing plant in the U.S.). Journalist Kroeger's formidably well-researched book, based on legal and archival material as well as Bly's more than 600 newspaper and magazine articles, paints a compelling portrait of a woman who learned early not to rely on men, yet coupled her can-do spirit with a vivacious femininity that endeared her to readers during a 37-year career.

Book Description

Now in paperback--the acclaimed biography of Nellie Bly, the "thrilling account of a trailblazer" (Pat Morrison, Los Angeles Times Book Review). "Kroeger's biography of Nellie Bly moves at almost as fast a pace as did Bly's remarkable life."--Mindy Spatt, San Francisco Chronicle. Photos & illustrations.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

a biography for scholars.......2007-05-27

This is the only scholarly biography of Nellie Bly available. It is carefully researched and documented, and presents a nuanced and composite picture of Nellie Bly. It is not a splashy story, which is probably why the other reviewers found it dull and dry. For research purposes, however, that's a very good thing. An excellent bibliography points interested researchers to secondary and primary sources.

Bummer!.......2000-06-15

While Nellie Bly was certainly a compelling character, and the biography clearly well-researched, the author presents her subject in a dull, lifeless manner. After waiting for years to read a comprehensive work about someone I have always found so fascinating, I was terribly disappointed.

Fascinating Tale of a Remarkable Lady's Life.......1998-07-09

Nellie Bly (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran) was a very interesting lady. I chose her for my report, and this was the most helpful book. I didn't think I'd want to read the whole book through, but I did since Bly's life was so exciting!

Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter (Lerner Biographies)

Average customer rating:

Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter (Lerner Biographies)
Charles Fredeen
Manufacturer: Lerner Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0822549565

Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist

Average customer rating:

Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist
Brooke Kroeger
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P9ZR7M

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Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter
Ellen Hansen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1878668382

Book Description

In a woman's evocative solo journey around the world, readers are guided along a path of creative life-change and gifted with souvenirs of self-discovery --mementos of personal growth that awaken their passion and free them from habitual, unfulfilling lives. Weaving together an exquisite tapestry of dramatic foreign landscapes, mysterious coincidences, romantic interludes, and formidable undertakings, readers are encouraged to risk the unknown, break free from confinement, and stop settling for less than they truly deserve.

Customer Reviews:

Read it slowly - and over and over!.......2003-12-12

Part travelogue, part self-help guide, A Journey of My Choosing successfully bridges the two genres. Ms. Carrera's gentle, introspective tone welcomes the reader as a fellow sojourner on the "creative path of life." Her insights drawn from her solo world travel adventures invite the reader to gain perspective on his or her own life's journey. Not one to consume the latest self-help fad, I was thrilled to find A Journey of My Choosing to be neither prescriptive nor didactic, but rather an open invitation to explore my own creative path through vicarious enlightenment. Like a souvenir, this book is one I will keep close to my heart and to which I will surely return time and again.

Ms. Carrera employs an interesting literary technique. At the end of each chapter, she summarizes the lessons learned from each adventure with a "souvenir," a treasure she takes with her from each locale. Rather than load her backpack with tchotchke from each destination, she chooses to carry with her the far more valuable and enduring spiritual mementos. Her souvenirs, carefully selected and hard won, are presented to the reader as if they are the recipients of these delightful and inspiring gifts.

I tried to read this book slowly, savoring each adventure and allowing the insights to steep like a delicious brew. I so wanted to share my adventure as a reader and devotee that I immediately ordered ten copies for friends and family.

Music to our ears.......2003-10-22

There are many ways to sing our true heart's song, and not many brave enough to sing it. This tale of one woman's journey to new landscapes within and without strikes all the right chords to inspire readers to honor their own authentic voice.

Really, More Than a Journey.......2003-10-20

"A Journey..." is a book about traveling with body, mind and
soul. That's not in the metaphysical sense but one of
exploration and discovery of all those realms with meanings
often unexpected, but that's the nature of exploration, isn't
it? The stories are about courage and its revealing of itself
to the author as she pushed herself out of her structured and
orderly worlds into quite scary and unknown ones. The places
she left behind were no longer acceptable ones in which to
linger as her soul was being destroyed. The only path to the
new places involved jumping from a high cliff not knowing what
lay below. Frightening? To say the least.

Her struggles and growth are sometimes tense but always
interesting as the reader wonders what's next. The places
visited appear to be the main theme but the show is stolen by
lessons learned from each major segment of her journey. Often
brave and sometimes bordering on foolish, she searches for the
line between that makes sense for her. That is where her true
bravery emerges more than dealing with the environment itself.
She has a taste of love that may have required more bravery
than any other experience in the book. She says it is a
woman's book. Men can certainly find some insights here as
well.

Carrera is a person with great heart and she shares that with
us in this writing. She exposes a piece of her soul and that
always makes a good read for me. That is real courage.
Thanks, Phyllis.

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