Irving Gill and the Architecture of Reform: A Study in Modernist Architectural Culture
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A visionary way ahead of his time.
  • Irving Gill
  • Irving Gill
Irving Gill and the Architecture of Reform: A Study in Modernist Architectural Culture
Thomas S. Hines
Manufacturer: Monacelli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1580930166

Book Description

During the first third of the 20th century, the work of American architect Irving Gill radically redefined the architectural landscape of Southern California--especially San Diego, where his practice was based--and set the stage for a later, more widely celebrated generation of modernists who would continue his experiments with new forms and construction techniques. This first definitive study of the architect traces his journey from native Syracuse to a Chicago apprenticeship with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to the development of his career as an early modernist and his singular role in the genesis of the modern movement.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A visionary way ahead of his time........2000-10-24

To look back at the work of Irving Gill is a revelation. His buildings could come out of the architecture studio of today with their pared down facades, sparse oranamentation, and uniquely angled roof lines. His hotel in Torrance, Ca looks like something that a circa 2000 urban planning commission would commend--with its pedestrian friendly entrance, and urbane appearance.

If Gill were alive today, he would throw up at what is being built in Southern California. The infantilization of buildings--with needlessly narcissistic angles, jarring colors, and arbitrary roof lines calls out for discipline of Gill. [For more nonsensical, solipsistic and soccer mommy design architecture of today, check out the new Studio City Library on Whitsett and Moorpark]

Gill opened up buildings to their surroundings, united interiors and exteriors. He built in a way that did not diminish the occupants of his buildings, but enhanced their lives. So little ego, so much concern for the client. This book is a remarkable look into one of the early geniuses of architecture in California.

4 out of 5 stars Irving Gill.......2000-06-25

FINALLY a new book on the great works of Irving Gill!

4 out of 5 stars Irving Gill.......2000-06-25

FINALLY a new book on the great works of Irving Gill!

How to Draw a Cup of Coffee and Other Fun Ideas for Home and Garden
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Boredom buster
  • I can guarantee that this fun book can drive your imagination engine into hyper-speed mode!
  • Delightful surrealist romp
  • A delightful and quick read
  • A wonderful book
How to Draw a Cup of Coffee and Other Fun Ideas for Home and Garden
Joy Sikorski
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

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  3. Squeaky Chalk : And Other Fun Things to Draw (And Do) When There's Nothing to Do! Squeaky Chalk : And Other Fun Things to Draw (And Do) When There's Nothing to Do!
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ASIN: 0811819027

Book Description

The outrageous sequel to the best-selling How to Draw a Radish (55,000 sold!), Joy Sikorski's newest is the perfect stay-at-home passport to fun. Turning her curious creativity to the fertile territory of home and garden, Joy offers a host of essential crafts and useful suggestions: how to turn an overgrown lawn into a mystical maze, transform a dull cement sidewalk into a fancy brick path, make edible Louis XIV furniture, and much, much more. In between easy home improvement projects, readers can learn to draw an octopus, a rolling pin, a flying saucer, and a zigzag dog, in addition to other satisfying methods of amusing yourself chez vous. So toss those stuffy decorating manuals out the door! Don't pull up another weed! How to Draw a Cup of Coffee is the antidote to domestic productivity.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Boredom buster.......2007-03-09

I really enjoyed this book and it's what I turn to whenever I'm having a "blah" moment. The drawings are easy to follow, the writing is short and brief and there are tons of little extras throughout the book (stickers, punch outs, etc). It's more of an activity book than a drawing book and even if you have no interest in drawing, you'll enjoy the wit and whimsy of the words and illustrations. A great buy at the original price, but a fabulous bargin at anything less!

5 out of 5 stars I can guarantee that this fun book can drive your imagination engine into hyper-speed mode!.......2006-10-19

How to Draw a Radish: And Other Fun Things to Do at Work
How to Draw a Cup of Coffee and Other Fun Ideas for Home & Garden
How to Draw a Clam: A Wonderful Vacation Planner
All three books, by Joy Sikorski

I have owned these three wonderful books since the late nineties & have re-visited them many times.

In the field of what I would like to term as 'deliberate doodling', I consider these three books to be the best in the genre. Unlike the common doodles, which seem whimsical, 'deliberate doodling' involves some form of structure & purpose. I am very impressed by what the author has done in the three fun books of hers.

All three fun books are spiral bound, each with almost two hundred pages of inspirational doodling techniques, on top of various other discovery games & paper crafts for professional & personal entertainment. Each is sturdily constructed with two pockets for special projects, organised with ten card-board dividers & yet small enough to fit into your briefcase.

From my personal perspective, they are wonderful toys for grow-ups: playful, instructive & absolutely worthwhile!

The author has actually written another similar book, entitled 'Squeaky Chalk : And Other Fun Things to Draw (And Do) When There's Nothing to Do!' but for some strange reasons, I did not lay my hands on it.

For the benefit of readers, let me share this personal experience of mine: I have combined the 'deliberate doodling' techniques from Joy with the 'rapid viz' techniques from Kurt Hanks, & integrated them into the 'private writing' processes as formulated by Mark Levy in his wonderful book, 'Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing .'

I use what I often like to term as my 'scratch pad', the type artists use, foolscape size, spiral-bound, 100 pages per pad, 100 gms weight, in conjuction with a multi-colour/multi-utility pen from Rotring. At one point in time, (for about 3 years) I used the Bienfang spring-bound note/sketch pads until the only local supplier went out of business unexpectedly.

On many occasions, I have astonished myself by being able to wrestle with the valuable business & life insights from my own seemingly disparate "private writing"/'deliberate doodling'/'rapid viz' pages. The doodles & illustrations often add a perceptive visual dimension to my seemingly random thoughts on paper. My scratch pad is always a visual smorgasbord of relatively heavy text, mystical doodles & logical illustrations (thanks & no thanks to my engineering training!). I have translated many of my valuable insights into pragmatic projects. One of the sideline projects is writing reviews on amazon website.

To all readers: If you really want to use both sides of your powerful brain to generate valuable insights, I can guarantee that these three books can drive your imagination engine into hyper-speed mode.

5 out of 5 stars Delightful surrealist romp.......2006-05-15

I simply love this little book. I found it on clearance and thought "Hey, what can it hurt?" It didn't hurt at all, obviously. I love the whimsical flow and little extras like the herb labels and "postcards." It's also very informative, teaching you how to doodle things like cups of coffee, mice and peanuts, and the ever-honorable peccary. This would make an excellent gift for those who like a little silliness in their everyday life.

5 out of 5 stars A delightful and quick read.......2006-03-09

A delightfully silly and surreal book. I enjoyed the drawing lessons most.

5 out of 5 stars A wonderful book.......2000-07-31

If you are looking for a fun gift look no further! this book is an exellent peice of work from people of all ages! It is fun and creative and never boring! Read it and give it a try!
Draw Interiors (Draw)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • In a nutshell
  • excelent instructional book
Draw Interiors (Draw)
Mary Seymour
Manufacturer: A&C Black
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0713662379

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars In a nutshell.......2006-02-08

This book was recommended reading during my studies on interior design, so I bought it without really looking into it. I was disappointed. Maybe I expected too much, maybe the title misled me, but it seemed very much based on thumbnail sketches and it wasn't what I was looking for. It is a thin little book full of rough pencil sketches that you could easily lose down the back of the sofa! (in a nutshell). I wanted to know the more indepth technical ways of doing perspectives and this book left me in the dark.

5 out of 5 stars excelent instructional book.......2000-06-13

Practical and highly visual instructional book that discover step-by-step the excitement of drawing.
Heat Transmission Through Boiler Tubes  Dept. of the Interior Bureau of Mines
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Heat Transmission Through Boiler Tubes Dept. of the Interior Bureau of Mines
    Henry (J. F. Barkley) Kreisinger
    Manufacturer: Government Printing Office
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
    ASIN: B000VW0PM0
    East meets western architecture: the Gulstrom and Kosko Group draws on its innovation and flair to design Restaurant Row's first and only two-story eatery. ... the East): An article from: Hawaii Business
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      East meets western architecture: the Gulstrom and Kosko Group draws on its innovation and flair to design Restaurant Row's first and only two-story eatery. ... the East): An article from: Hawaii Business
      Gemma Guillermo
      Manufacturer: Hawaii Business Publishing Co.
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Digital

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      ASIN: B0008KMB86
      Release Date: 2005-07-28

      Book Description

      This digital document is an article from Hawaii Business, published by Hawaii Business Publishing Co. on September 1, 1990. The length of the article is 1461 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: East meets western architecture: the Gulstrom and Kosko Group draws on its innovation and flair to design Restaurant Row's first and only two-story eatery. (Touch the East)
      Author: Gemma Guillermo
      Publication: Hawaii Business (Magazine/Journal)
      Date: September 1, 1990
      Publisher: Hawaii Business Publishing Co.
      Volume: v36 Issue: n3 Page: p67(4)

      Distributed by Thomson Gale
      Comparative analysis report, Texaco Stagecoach draw unit, revised proposed action (SuDoc I 53.2:C 73/3/REV.)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Comparative analysis report, Texaco Stagecoach draw unit, revised proposed action (SuDoc I 53.2:C 73/3/REV.)
        U.S. Dept of Interior
        Manufacturer: The Office
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Unknown Binding

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        ASIN: B0001114DA
        DRAW INTERIORS
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          DRAW INTERIORS
          SEYMOUR MARY
          Manufacturer: TAPLINGER PUBLISHING CO.
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000PGLY1S
          Draw Interiors
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Draw Interiors
            Mary Seymour
            Manufacturer: A & C Black Ltd.
            ProductGroup: Book
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            ASIN: B000OHGFNK
            Draw me after Thee, O Lord: A manual for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for confession and communion : adapted especially for persons who wish to lead an interior life
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Draw me after Thee, O Lord: A manual for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for confession and communion : adapted especially for persons who wish to lead an interior life
              Mary Theresa Stelkens
              Manufacturer: D.B. Hansen
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Unknown Binding

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              ASIN: B000884HMG
              GSLITH Version 1.0: A program to draw cross sections and plot plan views from regional-scale drill hole data using an IBM PC (or compatible) microcomputer, ... Department of Interior, Geological Survey)
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                GSLITH Version 1.0: A program to draw cross sections and plot plan views from regional-scale drill hole data using an IBM PC (or compatible) microcomputer, ... Department of Interior, Geological Survey)
                G. I Selner
                Manufacturer: U.S. Geological Survey
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Unknown Binding

                GeneralGeneral | Geology | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
                ASIN: B00070ZAXK
                GSLXY Version 1.0: A prototype program to draw cross sections and plot plan views from drill hole data on an X, Y, coordinate system using an IBM PC (or ... Department of Interior, Geological Survey)
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  GSLXY Version 1.0: A prototype program to draw cross sections and plot plan views from drill hole data on an X, Y, coordinate system using an IBM PC (or ... Department of Interior, Geological Survey)
                  G. I Selner
                  Manufacturer: U.S. Geological Survey
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Unknown Binding

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                  ASIN: B00071DSY2

                  Animal Wisdom : More Animal Antics from John Lund
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • Guaranteed to put a smile on your face!
                  • Hilarious!
                  • Very funny book
                  Animal Wisdom : More Animal Antics from John Lund
                  John Lund
                  Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover

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                  ASIN: 0740738496

                  Book Description

                  John Lund's first book, Animal Antics, literally let the cat out of the bag about what animals do when humans aren't looking. The animals are having a ball - and reading this book, you will, too. Dogs bowl, cats meditate, puppies make awesome pyramids, and, yes, pigs even fly! Behind this hilarious expose is veteran photographer (and Photoshop wizard) John Lund. Lund uses amazing digital sleight of hand to endow a menagerie of animals with eerily and uncannily human qualities. The text of the book is equally amusing, reminding us that the wisdom of animals lies in their ability to live uncomplicated, fun-filled lives. Many of the images in Animal Antics have been featured in a best-selling greeting card line of the same name.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars Guaranteed to put a smile on your face!.......2007-08-25

                  Whether you're an animal lover or not, you will love this book! The pictures are very creative and the short blurbs of text only add to the humor. This book would make a great gift!

                  5 out of 5 stars Hilarious!.......2005-12-23

                  Brilliant pictures and very funny text. This is a great gift for animal lovers or not. You must buy this book!

                  5 out of 5 stars Very funny book.......2004-08-17

                  This book will put a smile on your face. The photos are extremely creative, sometimes outrageous and very funny. They go really well with the lovely poetics of animal wisdom. If you're a fan of William Wegman or Judy Reinen you will appreciate John Lund's fantastic photos!

                  Suture Self: Cartoons for Doctors and Patients
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Suture Self: Cartoons for Doctors and Patients
                    Benita L. Epstein
                    Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Paperback

                    GeneralGeneral | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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                    ASIN: 078640731X

                    Book Description

                    Ever wondered why people don't walk up to an admissions desk and say, "I'm late, lied about my weight, and parked in a reserved space"? Have you ever found yourself standing in the lobby of a kleptomaniac clinic because all the seats have been taken? These two and other rib-tickling situations can be found in this collection of 100 cartoons featuring doctors, nurses, health professionals, patients, hospitals, doctors' offices, waiting rooms, and health care and insurance companies.

                    Henry Steele Commager : Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present
                    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
                    • The Historian as Scholar and Intellectual
                    • Disappointing treatment of a man who deserves better.
                    Henry Steele Commager : Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present
                    Neil Jumonville
                    Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Hardcover

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                    ASIN: 0807824488
                    Release Date: 1999-02-17

                    Book Description

                    Historian Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) was one of the leading American intellectuals of the mid-twentieth century. Author or editor of more than forty books, he taught for decades at New York University, Columbia University, and Amherst College and was a pioneer in the field of American studies. But Commager's work was by no means confined to the halls of the university: a popular essayist, lecturer, and political commentator, he earned a reputation as an activist for liberal causes and waged public campaigns against McCarthyism in the 1950s and the Vietnam War in the 1960s. As few have been able to do in the past half-century, Commager united the two worlds of scholarship and public intellectual activity.

                    Through Commager's life and legacy, Neil Jumonville explores a number of questions central to the intellectual history of postwar America. After considering whether Commager and his associates were really the conservative and conformist group that critics have assumed them to be, Jumonville offers a reevaluation of the liberalism of the period. Finally, he uses Commager's example to ask whether intellectual life is truly compatible with scholarly life.

                    Customer Reviews:

                    4 out of 5 stars The Historian as Scholar and Intellectual.......2000-05-11

                    In 1950, Henry Steele Commager was one of the best-known and most widely-read historians in the United States, and he would eventually be honored with over 40 honorary degrees. Today, he is virtually unknown to the public and, I dare say, is rarely read even by professionals in his field, American intellectual history. What a difference 50 years makes in the life of a historian's reputation and influence! The explanation may lie in part in a useful distinction, drawn early by Neil Jumonville, professor of history at Florida State University, between scholars, who write for professional audiences, and intellectuals, who write for the general public. Jumonville makes clear that Commager trained to be a scholar but, notwithstanding long appointments at New York University, Columbia University, and Amherst College, spent a good part of his career practicing as an intellectual. As a result, he was very popular in his own time but had relatively little lasting influence on scholars in his field.

                    Jumonville takes Commager's life from birth to burial in this wide-ranging and solid, if not entirely stimulating, biography. The ultimate issue for any biographer of Commager is: Why did he become passé, even while he was still teaching and writing? (Commager died at the age of 95 in 1998.) Jumonville posits several explanations for Commager's quick descent from national authority to obscurity. The first is that much of Commager's scholarly work had encyclopedic breadth but lacked analytic depth; his opinions and judgments were intuitional rather than carefully deductive and simply have not withstood the test of time. Second and not unrelated, Commager clearly, if unconsciously, showed a preference for being prolific rather than profound. His insistence upon writing, lecturing, and speaking to a large audience, largely for financial reasons, enhanced his popularity but may have contributed to limiting the impact he made on his professional peers. According to Jumonville: "Commager as a popularizer was not a major influence on the direction taken by intellectual historians." Although Commager aspired to recognition for a high level of scholarship, "he was not a research scholar." Commager preferred anecdotes, biographical sketches, and narrative over searching analysis. According to Jumonville: "Many historians felt [Commager's] work lacked appropriate sophistication." Third, some historians clearly resented the "breezy manner" in which Commager wrote, although that was not necessarily a criticism. Commager believed that "history is a branch of literature," and even critics of the substance of his oeuvre tended to admire his style. Fourth and finally, I believe, is the fact that he lost his intellectual curiosity and ceased to read his professional peers, which is an essential activity for scholars in any field. In the middle decades of the century, Commager was nationally known as an activist in "liberal Left politics." In particular, Commager was an outspoken foe of McCarthyism, and this brought him into sustained conflict with conservative commentators. (William F. Buckley once inquired, puckishly if not maliciously, whether Commager's middle name was a tribute to Stalin. It was, instead, a family name.) Later, Commager was an energetic critic of the Vietnam War, and he tended to be sympathetic to the student protesters of the 1960s. One of the issues which Jumonville attempts to address is whether Commager was a consistent Jeffersonian liberal. In my opinion, Jumonville spends too much time attempting to locate Commager along the liberal-conservative political continuum, although, in fairness to the author, Commager spent a lot of time thinking about it, too. This exercise would be profitable if it were necessary to explicate hidden biases, but Commager was an outspoken liberal in most senses of the mid-20th century use of that term. Furthermore, it also must be noted that, although Commager enjoyed engaging in public discourse about contemporary issues, his scholarly books were not partisan. Is professionalism in the writing of history inconsistent with partisan advocacy in public discourse? Or, as Jumonville puts, it: Must there be a clear dividing line between "the role of the historian as a scholar and as an activist intellectual"? Commager's life indicates that the answer is: Not necessarily. But, in purely practical terms, there may simply not be enough hours in the day to perform both functions well. Time magazine criticized one of Commager's books for lacking in thoroughness and suggested that he was a dilettante. That was unfair, but the tendency to write and speak glibly, which punditry requires, does not serve the scholar well because depth of insight is what proves the professional historian's mettle. Jumonville's Commager is likeable, if somewhat eccentric. When friends were invited to his home to dine, his wife entertained them during the cocktail hour, while Commager continued to work, and, when dinner was served, Commager joined them for the meal and conversation, invariably with himself as chief conversationalist. Although he was an energetic teacher, he rarely learned the names of his students. And I especially enjoyed the anecdote during which Commager was arguing with a colleague about the author of a line of Scottish poetry; when Commager could not find the line in an anthology, he concluded that the book was incomplete and tossed it out a window. On the other hand, Jumonville's periodic discussion of Commager's long friendship and correspondence with historian Allan Nevins is interesting but not especially revealing. And Jumonville's frequent references to Commager's relations with the New York Intellectuals do little, in my opinion, to add to Jumonville's thesis. Some readers will not find this book very exciting. But to the extent that intellectual history is a spectator sport, it is more akin to golf than football. I believe this book is a major achievement, but I also suspect that there still is room for another, more searching intellectual biography of Commager, especially one which examines his scholarly output in greater detail. What I am suggesting may be the equivalent of "inside the Beltway" political analysis, and, were he alive, Commager might object to this narrow focus, but it is the standard by which every professional historian is ultimately judged.

                    3 out of 5 stars Disappointing treatment of a man who deserves better........1999-08-12

                    Flatly written and repetitive, this book misses many chances to illuminate the life and work of one of the most significant public intellectuals between the 1930s and the 1980s. Jumonville keeps calling Commager a Jeffersonian liberal but seems to have no idea about the difference between Jefferson's thought and the way that thought was understood in the era of the New Deal. Also, though Jumonville stresses that Commager used history to justify political arguments, he is silent on Commager's place in the 1960s controversy about historians writing contemporary history, on which Commager wrote extensively.

                    The sad thing is that this book is just scholarly enough to seem to occupy the field, but not scholarly enough to be the treatment that the subject deserves
                    Political Commentators in the United States in the 20th Century: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Political Commentators in the United States in the 20th Century: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook
                      Dan Nimmo , and Chevelle Newsome
                      Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Hardcover

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                      ASIN: 0313295859

                      Book Description

                      Devoid of technical jargon, this bio-critical sourcebook is a unique accounting of the careers of significant political commentators of the 20th century, including print and broadcast journalists, scholars, and political consultants. It offers insights into the rise and demise of political commentary, and future possibilities for an informed citizenry. In 40 separate bio-critiques covering 42 of the 20th century's most significant political commentators, this book traces the evolution of technical political commentary through four phases: the didactic phase of commentary via the newspaper columnist, 1914-1928; the interpretive phase associated with broadcast commentary during the golden age of radio, 1929-1948; the entertainment phase of the TV era, 1949-1980; and the opinionated phase ushered in by the diversification and proliferation of targeted communications media in the final two decades of the century. The volume describes in detail the achievements and failures of each communicator's career in contributing to the rise and demise of political commentary across the four phases of development.

                      My Renaissance: A Widow's Healing Pilgrimage to Tuscany
                      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                      • Like a warm, engaging talk with a friend
                      • the transforming power of the beautiful
                      • As beautiful a journey as the beauty of Tuscany
                      • Wisdom and optimism.
                      • Engaging and inspirational
                      My Renaissance: A Widow's Healing Pilgrimage to Tuscany
                      Rose Marie Curteman
                      Manufacturer: Capital Books
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Hardcover

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                      ASIN: 1892123916

                      Book Description

                      Rose Marie Curteman’s moving account of becoming a caregiver to her once vibrant husband as he battles and succumbs to disease is followed by an inspiring story of healing and renewal. My Renaissance is not just a book about illness. It’s a love story, a story of a woman’s creative aging, a story of loss and healing from loss. It’s a story of restorative travel in a sunny clime during a time of pain and grief.

                      Customer Reviews:

                      4 out of 5 stars Like a warm, engaging talk with a friend.......2003-08-06

                      I'm 32 years old with a young marriage and a new baby. Why would I pick up a book about grieving? Ahh--because I love Italy (especially Florence) and since I'm a new mom, I must do all my travel through books at the moment. Also, I'm no stranger to loss myself having lost my first love to a terrible accident 15 years ago. I know first-hand about Alzheimers as I was once a nurse's aid in my last two years of high school. This is a book for anyone--not just an older woman or a presently grieving woman--but anyone who is simply sensitive and interested in other people's stories. Although, I would highly recommend this book to someone recently widowed as it's a very positive touchstone and written without psychobabble. I vicariously relished going back to a university class in Florence with Rose--I miss those epiphonies of knowledge and a life in which the "river always flows to [you]" (wink wink).

                      5 out of 5 stars the transforming power of the beautiful.......2003-05-02

                      For the reader who has encountered tragic loss, Rose Marie Curteman in MY RENAISSANCE: A WIDOW'S HEALING PILGRAMAGE TO TUSCANY presents a genuine alternative to the talking cure of psychoanalysis or the silence of the Zen monastery. We follow her mid-life journey into Tuscany and are awakened to the transforming power of the beautiful to be found, for instance, in the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Florentine Renaissance, or in the lush and haunting autumn landscapes of Chianti, or in the exuberant celebration of life in Florentine kitchens and dining rooms, or in the expressive tunings and turnings of the Italian language. In a style which is remarably lucid and engaging, Rose Marie Curteman charts a path through memory and mourning into wonder and joy. In this incisive work it is death which comes to stand impotently before life, and not the other way around. The vibrant, playful, refreshing and healing energies of the beautiful as portrayed in Rose Marie Curteman's journey exert their transforming effect also on the reader. This book does not belong in the inflated genre of popular literature on visits to Italy. It is in a class of its own, marking a profound mid-life search for self after the tragic loss of a beloved spouse.

                      5 out of 5 stars As beautiful a journey as the beauty of Tuscany.......2003-04-01

                      Rose Marie Curteman's My Renaissance: A Widow's Healing Pilgrimage to Tuscany is as beautiful as the journey on which beauty was her guide. I haven't read many books all the way through lately and I did hers. Even when one knows the outcome, one wants to keep reading. She told the story with such gentle depth with just the right touch of humor. We know as we read that even in grief, we will laugh again. Great characterization and wonderful pacing. Well done, well done. I hope it sells tons. I mean to buy a few copies as gifts.

                      5 out of 5 stars Wisdom and optimism........2003-03-06

                      "Brevity is the soul of wit." And this book is a marvel of compressed wisdom and optimism. A unique read.

                      5 out of 5 stars Engaging and inspirational.......2003-01-02

                      One of the better first person accounts I have ever read. The
                      experiences of Ms. Curteman move along without side meanderings. Significant life issues are presented in a positive, life affirming manner. I was constantly going into my own insights regarding life, death and selfless service. The book left a vivid impression and I am looking at my life more carefully now.
                      I read the introduction first. Later I read the entire book in one sitting. It was too engaging and uplifting to set aside. A great primer on making one's life "new" again.

                      Books:

                      1. Jean Prouve: Compact Design Portfolio
                      2. Judith Miller Guide to Period Style Curtains and Soft Furnishings
                      3. Kitchens and Baths (Good Ideas)
                      4. LOT/EK: Mobile Dwelling Unit
                      5. Luxury Houses: Country (Luxury Houses)
                      6. Mediterranean Domestic Architecture for the United States (Twentieth Century Landmarks in Design, Vol. 9) (Acanthus Press Reprint Series. 20th Century, ... 20th Century, Landmarks in Design, V. 9.)
                      7. Minimalist Rooms
                      8. Mitchell Beazley: Wineries with Style (Mitchell Beazley Drink)
                      9. Modeling Messages: The Architect and the Model
                      10. Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review

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