Childproof: Cartoons About Parents and Children

Amazon.com

New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast aims her cartooning wit toward the familiar subject of being a parent. She does so with the kind of open-eyed reality that makes this book of cartoons read like a how-to manual, or at the very least, a view of what new parents can expect. Chast's sense of humor is apparent in her popular cartoon, "Bad Mom Cards": a series of mug shots of moms gone wrong, like the mom who "ran out of orange juice and served kids orange soda instead." The book's nice design and handsome size make for a great gift.

Customer Reviews:

Terrific even for the childless.......2007-01-30

I've had this book for years and still cannot bring myself to pass it on to Goodwill. It's somehow perfect both from parents' and kids' perspectives. One of my favorite cartoons is the contents page from Understanding Your Parents: one listing is Why Do They Not Know Anything?

One of My Favorites.......2003-10-04

Just reread Childproof for the dozenth time and it still makes me laugh out loud. Roz Chast is always surprising and always hilarious.

Really funny.......2002-05-27

This is a really funny book. All of the cartoons are funny. Great for anyone who has kids or just wants a good laugh.

Very Funny..........1998-11-21

A collection of Roz Chast cartoons about parents and children, featuring, for instance, "bad mom" trading cards, and America's Ten Most Wanted babies. You may even learn a few things, such as games to play during a long road trip with children- suggest the "quiet as a mouse" game - the first one who makes a peep loses. Great gift for parents and/or Roz Chast fans.

Childproof. Cartoons About Parents and Children

Average customer rating:

Childproof. Cartoons About Parents and Children
Roz Chast
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JYN1LW

Book Description

A reprint of the original 1886 catalog of bronzes from the House of Barbedienne is reproduced with original selling prices in French francs and dimensions plus the line drawings which depict many of these famous works. Barbedienne was one of the foremost French foundries for the production of bronze sculptures in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century.

Customer Reviews:

Sex, magic, nationalism: a story of love and war.......1999-09-04

The first ElfQuest story to be set in the far future, "Jink", a 12-issue series first published between 1994 and 1996, follows the adventures of the title character, an exotic woman of strange powers and questionable parentage, and her lover, Ensign Kullyn Kenn. The first half of the series, covered in this book, describes the couple's effort to stave off a catastrophic space-war between the humans of their world and a mysterious, warlike race called the Neverending. (The second half of the series will be published as the book "Mindcoil" in September.)

First, let it be known that Jink is the most charismatic new ElfQuest character in many years. She is a study in opposites - godlike foresight and amusing improvidence; hard street wisdom and a soft heart; sophistication and innocence - that make her seem at once both most adult and most childlike. The contrasts between she and Kullyn Kenn - hapless and too laid-back by half, yet uncommonly brave and clearheaded - is continually fascinating.

As vividly as the protagonists are presented, the real masterstroke is the portrayal of the "enemies", the Neverending aliens. Wendy Pini, who conceived and co-wrote the story, hints in the Afterword that the culture of the aliens is heavily based on that of the Japanese Empire of the 1930s, a regime then openly committed to world domination. Ingeniously, she presents the aliens as a symbol of the perils of nationalism, and especially of the futility of conquest as a way of life; the plot turns on Jink's revelation to the Neverending warriors that their campaign of space-conquest has not empowered their people, but has instead virtually destroyed it. This leads to a climax as sobering as the early chapters are lighthearted.

Married to this ingenious story is high-quality artwork; though the original color illustrations are presented here in black-and-white, the clarity and precision of the line-art come through. In all, _Jink_, a tale far more than skin deep, points to a fascinating new direction for the ElfQuest saga.

Book Description

It's all here: the story of the phenomenally successful primetime TV soap Dallas. The only book to take readers behind the scenes, it covers the pilot; all thirteen seasons of the series; the prequel, reunion, and twentieth anniversary TV movies; and the 2004 cast reunion, The Return to Southfork. Filled with fascinating stories, it showcases:

• An episode guide complete with producer and cast information

• Interviews with more than forty-five Dallas stars, including Larry Hagman, Victoria Principal, Linday Gray, and Patrick Duffy

• Photographs from Steve Kanaly's personal collection and the Southfork Ranch Event and Conference Center

• Dallas trivia that will satisfy new and old fans alike

• And much more

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2007-03-08

This truly is a COMPLETE synopsis of the entire series. There are interviews with the actors and each episode is described. This is a must have for any Dallas fan!

A Truly Complete Resource for Die-Hard Dallas Fans.......2006-02-18

Barbara A. Curran did a phenomenal job putting together Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Prime-Time Soap.

For starters, this book is THICK and packed with information. It is a timeline of Dallas, beginning with concept development by producers, selection of cast and development of the characters, and selection of filming locations. What I found exciting about the presentation is that in addition to the full history of the show season by season, this book includes trivia facts as well as personal notes from the cast/crew/producers.

This book did an excellent job of giving me the "complete" story about the show and I enjoyed it immensely. I have found it especially entertaining to read corresponding seasons in the book as I acquire the DVD's and watch them. Very insightful.

The only thing I would change is perhaps expanding on the photo section, including some color photos and some larger-sized photos so you can see the details better.

I would strongly recommend this book as an important addition to any Dallas fan's collection.

not like the soap.......2006-02-17

I thought this was going to be the story of the soap "Dallas".

I returned the book as soon as I saw it wasn't what I thought it
was ging to be.

BUY THIS BOOK!!! It's even better the 2nd time around!!!.......2005-11-16

First of all I purchased the FIRST edition when it debuted and was so impressed, amazed and overwhelmingly satisfied with the content. When I heard about a 2nd edition with added features, I was little skeptical about buying another book of the same (despite the fact that I am a tremendous DALLAS fan). WELL! thank goodness I picked up a copy because the 2nd edition is even better than the first (how's that possible, right!). Just having an opportunity to read an Introduction written by Victoria Principal was worth every single penny. Do you know how exciting it was to finally hear VP's feelings on her whole DALLAS experience and how she finally clears the air about the 'distance' she's maintained from the series all these years! Personally, I've always associated her with DALLAS and any interest I'd have in any of her work/projects would be as a result of her DALLAS relation. I really dislike when actors insist on ignoring what brought them to the top. Please don't misunderstand, VP is extremely brilliant & talented in her own right but who would care about her skin care line if she wasn't PAM from DALLAS! Most people wouldn't even know who she was! But with the new edition, any bitterness a 'Pam' fan may have is all laid to rest when you read her introduction and also read her quotes from the Return to Southfork chapter on the reunion.

Let me tell you that the DALLAS fan is very fortunate someone decided to do a second run of this book by including The Return to Southfork chapter, VP's intro and a foreword by the DALLAS creator David Jacob's as well as additional photos. There is also mention about the future DALLAS movie. Let's hope the powers that be don't screw it up and keep it true to the original!

I cannot stress enough how the 2nd edition of this book was worth every single penny. There are not enough accolades to describe how Barbara Curran perfected a masterpiece!

One further note, in the Return to Southfork chapter, any curiosity that you may have as to how the reunion show was perceived, i.e. success or failure, is answered. The reader is provided with a variety of quotes & opinions from media outlets on the reunion show. There was one in particular about it being too overdone and how the cast members turned on the waterworks!....that really disgusted me! What a pity that in our society you are unable to appreciate a cast's genuine love & affection for one another (these cast members what a class act...they don't make em like they used to)! Like they say dirt sells so I'm to assume if they were all talking trash amongst each other.......the ratings would have been better??? Puhleeze!!!

Wonderful and unique book.......2005-10-24

This is really one of the best books I own about Tv shows. I'ts really complete and interesting, this is the final word on the Dallas show. Only one fault: black and white photos on bad paper. But really the book is fantastic.

25 Years Of Dallas: The Complete Story Of The World's Favorite Prime Time Soap

Average customer rating:

a really Good Book
No wonder the "Dallas" stars and creator love this book!
Diasppointingly INCOMPLETE
A must-have for all fans of this classic American soap!
Better episode recaps would have been nice.

25 Years Of Dallas: The Complete Story Of The World's Favorite Prime Time Soap
Barbara A. Curran
Manufacturer: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1589395832

Book Description

25 Years of Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Prime Time Soap takes readers behind the scenes of TV's legendary Dallas. It includes interviews with over 45 Dallas stars, including Larry Hagman, Victoria Principal, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy, photographs from Southfork and Steve Kanaly's personal collection, trivia and more!

Customer Reviews:

a really Good Book.......2005-04-11

for any fan or person interested about the Tv show Dallas then this Book has alot of interesting facts&takes from season to season.you get a good season of how things were going on with the cast from this Book. this is One of my all time favorite shows&Every Friday Night back in the day was about what JR Ewing was up to.

No wonder the "Dallas" stars and creator love this book!.......2004-09-09

Barbara Curran's "25 Years of Dallas" captures perfectly the life and times of this 1980s cultural icon. Writing within the constraints imposed by Hollywood (viewer guides can no longer include episode synopses and studio photos without inviting litigation by the studio that owns the series), Barbara has managed to interview almost 50 of the biggest "Dallas" stars to tell the behind-the-scenes story of "Who Shot J.R.?" as well as Bobby in the shower, Jim Davis' valiant fight against cancer, and Donna Reed's ill-fated replacement of Barbara "Miss Ellie" Bel Geddes. No wonder Larry Hagman finds this book "fascinating," Steve Kanaly calls it "the most comprehensive and realistic account of the series that has ever been written," and series creator David Jacobs says this "amazing achievement" of a book "knocked me out."

Diasppointingly INCOMPLETE.......2004-08-14

Having read genre books covering other television classics ("I Love Lucy", "Hawaii 5-O", "The Outer Limits", "Gunsmoke", "Lost in Space", "Night Gallery", and "The Twilight Zone"), I purchased "25 Years of Dallas", thinking that it would be as concise and picture-filled as other books of this type.

Unfortunately, while Curran's does offer some interesting trivia, it inadequately summarizes each episode, has few photographs of the cast, and provides little on the contributions of the crew that was essential, along with the actors, to the show's longevity.

While the text does detail some of the guests and featured performers, more could have been spent on the principals and their lives after the show's demise.

A must-have for all fans of this classic American soap!.......2004-07-01

I bought this book because i'm a huge fan of this show. I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest, i was hoping it would be an interesting read and shed some light on certain issues that went on behind the scenes of the show.
What i got was that and tons more. This book is a fascinating read and it covers the entire Dallas saga, from when it started in 1978, right through all 13 seasons, and both reunion movies up until 1997/98. The book goes into great detail about how each year progressed, what went on behind the scenes in terms of the actors and how they were feeling about the show and how the scripts progressed. The book has a section on every single episode. For me the best part about this book is the trivia you get about each and every episode. The author, Barbara Curran, has clearly been busy researching this, because for each and every episode you find out who played who, not just main cast but every guest star and special guest star. I was amazed at how many actors in the show played different characters, and came back in various scenes as different characters, I never picked up on this and i've watched the Dallas "run" about 3 times, Just goes to show how good the author was at researching this. The book encorporates literally hundreds of interviews, its excellent because you get new information and quotes from all the main players and the secondary cast members, as well as people whow ere only on the show for a little while, i.e 8 or9 episodes perhaps. Each and every actor that was interviewed for the book talks honestly and openly about their feelings for the show and thier fellow-cast members.
So if your a big-time Dallas fan like me, or if you are a semi Dallas fan who watched the show back in the 80's and havent seen it since, my advice would be buy this book, you dont have to be a massive Dallas fan to enjoy this, as long as you've seen the show you will find this very very interesting indeed.
Another bonus is there are some nice photos of Southfork and some of the actors that you wont have seen before because they are from Steve Kanaly's personal camera.

Dan.

Better episode recaps would have been nice........2004-06-23

I was hoping for more in terms of episode recaps. Each show has a one line synopsis (sometimes as short as two words) such as "J.R. is shot." Otherwise, the book has plenty of behind the scenes info.

Amazon.com

Many histories of Broadway musicals are on the shelves, most of them taking the predictable path of chronological order, or by composer. Denny Martin Flynn's history follows a rough chronology, but instead examines the development of musicals in chapters divided by dominant personality ("Jerome Robbins and Oklahoma!"), by discipline ("Lyrics," "Bookwriters"), or by genre ("Revues," "The Rock Musical"). Though oddly apocalyptic toward the end, given the recent vitality of musicals, the book offers a useful, fresh perspective on the 20th-century history of a magical art form.

Book Description

MUSICAL! is a complete narrative history of the musical theater in the United States from the 19th century to the present day. Engaging, witty, and opinionated, this is a history that successfully navigates the course between academic lecture and entertaining survey.

Customer Reviews:

Poorly written and poorly edited but ..........2007-09-09

... it does contain some interesting material in amongst the dross; the problem is finding that needle in the strewn hay. Clearly Flinn loves the theater and obviously has done a lot of reading about the subject. Unfortunately, he included just about everything he had read about musicals in such helterskelter fashion that I found myself wanting to take out a blue pencil to tighten his prose and impose some organization on his material. There are factual errors, contradictions among his own opinions and plain illiteracies (e.g., 'wile away their time', 'both as dancer, choreographer and writer'). He goes on and on about the brilliance of Michael Bennett and how 'Chorus Line' pretty much is the end of the Broadway era, and then we note that he was a dancer in a Las Vegas company of 'Chorus Line.' He damns Sondheim with faint praise. He does lambaste the dumbed-down musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which I applaud heartily. There were some pictures of original casts and productions but often we were led to believe a picture is of the original production when it is obvious that it is of a revival.

I could not recommend this book as a basic text about popular musical theater.

Scott Morrison

History in a page-turning format.......2003-08-03

I found this book to be much more interesting than other histories out there on Musical Theatre. There are some errors, and I disagree with the idea that the American Musical ended with Chorus Line, but all in all I found the book to be very entertaining.

Great intro, but not much else.......1999-03-08

The introductory chapter on the history of musical theatre from ancient Greece to the 20th century is outstanding. I've never read any account that was better or more thorough. Unfortunately, that's the only strong part of the book. The rest of it is dull to read and contains many factual errors. Still, I'd recommend borrowing it from the library just to read the intro.

Somewhat enjoyable but where was Flinn's editor???.......1999-01-03

This book feels more like a collection of unrelated magazine articles than a book. A lot of the information is repeated (Funny Girl & Gypsy had the best overtures, pit bands are good, etc) and especially towards the end, the author goes from historian to strident critic.

Extremely miffed that I got slagged off.......1998-08-03

Denny Martin Flinn obviously has a great interest and love of musicals. I applaud this facet of his personality. Unfortunately my minor contribution to the genre has aroused nothing but his ire. Should I defend myself? Would it not be better to pretend I never saw his work?

Well, as he has based his attack on little more than 2 songs from one of my more successful efforts, a show about an Argentine lady called Evita, I feel I can speak out, albeit modestly. I shall refrain from using words he used about me like "drivel" and "illiterate" that clouded Denny's perspective. After all, he may hit it big one day (his writing shows great promise) and I would then be sorry I had offended him.

"Buenos Aires", the song that particularly upset him, is sung in the show by a fairly uneducated working-class lass of 16. I therefore felt that too sophisticated a lyric would not match her strident and unsubtle views of life. Eva Peron singing "You're The Top" would not be appropriate. DMF asserts (quite rightly) that someone using the word "coming" in a lyric should be aware of its other meaning - I agree, but in "Buenos Aires" the sexual interpretation of that word was the principal interpretation and the key to the song. DMF spotted this but thought I hadn't!

Also I am misquoted: it's "shoot" not "shout me up with your blood..."

To be accused of not advancing the plot with my lyrics is a little unfair as there is no book in any of my shows. Therefore the lyrics are the book, and the plot. In fact I even won a Tony for the book of Evita! I said when I accepted the award that it was a bit ridiculous for me to win as there was no book as such, but reflected afterwards that the plot, told entirely thru sung words, must have qualified me.

Evita may be dire in DMF's opinion, but the terrible songs certainly advance the plot.

He also has a go about Christian Dior and Lauren Bacall references in "Rainbow High" having nothing to do with Argentina "just after World War II". Well, yes and no. Both Dior's New Look and the height of Bacall's fame ("The Big Sleep") took place in 1947, when Eva was desperate to make her mark on the world stage. Reference to two world-wide popular icons would have been quite natural to a wildly ambitious woman in the presence of her private dressers and promoters.

Anyway, I am suitably chastised as a "hackmeister" and shall avoid DMF at parties. Those who don't hate everything I've done might like to check out the following five attempts at a good lyric which I feel fairly happy with:

I Don't Know How To Love Him, One Night In Bangkok, Pity The Child, High Flying Adored, Circle Of Life.

There are a few others knocking around and a few singers from Elvis to Elton to Barbra to Elaine have had a go so they're not too hard to find.

I warmly recommend this book to all but Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber fans.

Book Description

Book Description

Staging Resistance interrogates political performance in a variety of cultural and national contexts. The book's essays examine work by artists ranging from the Bread and Puppet Theatre to Théatre du Soleil to Athol Fugard to lesser-known grassroots organizations across the globe. The contributors' broad survey of work, as varied as the contexts in which it occurs, indicates that older paradigms for the study of political theater may no longer be viable. As the essays show, a wide variety of theoretical approaches and political assumptions must be actively and self-consciously negotiated in order to make sense of the theater's relevance to the social sphere.

Focused studies of individual plays complement broad-based discussions of the place of theater in a radically democratic society. Staging Resistance is particularly strong in its concern with the intersection of gender and national politics; the collection specifically engages work by and about women in relation to broader geopolitical issues. Resisting the urge to be representative, the editors smartly highlight the divergent interests and concerns of authors who envision their work as an active form of cultural struggle. This consistently challenging collection of essays describes an art of change confronting the processes of change itself.

"Staging Resistance works and works well. . . . the essays cover a wide range of approaches to contemporary political theatre and produce a wonderfully rich engagement with those questions that predominate thinking in the postcolonial, feminist, and performance fields." --Susan Bennett, University of Calgary

Jeanne Colleran is Associate Professor and Chair of the English Department, John Carroll University. Jenny S. Spencer is Associate Professor of English, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Book Description

Television Drama offers an account of British television drama from its origins in live studio drama in the prewar and immediate postwar years, through the Golden Age of the single play in the 1960s and 1970s, to its convergence with an emerging British art cinema in the 1990s. It relates the development of television drama to movements which were going on within the culture. In particular, it is concerned with a series of arguments and debates about politics and form which centred around issues of immediacy and naturalism, realism and modernism in public culture. The book addresses contemporary television in the form of the television film and the classic serial, and raises new questions about such issues as adaptation and acting. The importance of the book lies in its attempt to place television drama at the centre of late twentieth-century British culture and to relate the criticism of television drama to a wider history of aesthetic debates and arguments.

Television Drama : Realism, Modernism, and British Culture (Oxford Television Studies)

Average customer rating:

Television Drama : Realism, Modernism, and British Culture (Oxford Television Studies)
John Caughie
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLMAQ2

Average customer rating:

Television Drama : Realism, Modernism, and British Culture (Oxford Television Studies)
John Caughie
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press(UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLIHP0

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