American Signs: Form and Meaning on Rte. 66

Book Description

The roadside sign has become an American icon: a glowing neon symbol of the golden age of the open road. Yet signs are complex pieces of design, serving not only as physical markers but also cultural, political and economic ones. This book reveals the rich vernacular traditions of motel sign making in five eras, spanning from the late 1930s through the 1970s. The motel signs of the early 1940s, for instance, reflect vernacular traditions dating back at least a century, while examples from the later years of the decade reveal a culture newly obsessed with themes. America's fascination with newness and technological progress is maifested in 1950s motel signs. Finally, in the 1960s, a turn toward simplicity and the use of new, modular technologies allowed motel signs to address the needs of a mass society and the begennings of a national, rather than regional, aesthetic for motel signs.

Customer Reviews:

Signs of the times..........2007-10-01

This book illustrates, with some technical form, the artful, whimsical commercial signage of days past. If you're wistful or nostalgic about the wild neon and bright painted signage you saw or like from the golden ages of the fifties and sixties, this book is for you! It's chock full of signage, specs and discussions of the form and substance of fanciful advertising. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the imagery found all along the Mother Road..and beyond!

Read this and learn how to look at and think about a sign.......2006-08-25

Every once in awhile someone from the high culture descends into a part of the low culture, studies it, and comes up with interesting findings. That Lisa Mahar is from the high culture there can be no doubt for she has won numerous awards from AIA, NEA, the NYS council on the arts, etc. That she has come up with another subject of interest (her book on grain elevators being a classic) there can be no doubt. In this instance, a book about motel signs, she gathered from her vast collection (500+) of pictures and old post cards the most interesting motel signs on route 66. She culled the ones that showed best her ideas of the evolution, and development of motel signs in terms of form, materials, orientation, symbols, content, and context. When you finish reading her book, you'll recognize streamline from art deco and colonial from international styles. You will know the possible deep embedded meanings in angled forms, irregular shapes, abstract symbols (like the Holiday Inn signs with that shooting star) and the artistic significance of asymmetry. Some of these deep meanings are frightening, if true as claimed by her, especially the crowns, turrets, shields, arrows, and crests in the context in which they appeared, the 1965 Watts insurrection and the 1967 Newark rebellion. Once you have read and reviewed this book, you will never be able to just look at a road sign again. Instead you will think about them - who made them, when, why, and out of what, as well as the overt and covert meanings. Most importantly, you will think how the sign fits in and reflects the place, culture, and tenor of its time.

Questionable on many levels.......2005-11-29

I'm a professional designer and one of my favorite books on the popular cultural environment is "Main Street to Miracle Mile" and I imagine many who seek reviews of this book would say the same. This is not the book for you.

First, the illustrations are small and often not helpful. The author is of a school of design communication that is thankfully fading rapidly, turning up increasingly in the remainder bins. Recall the last time you picked up a 90s era book on, say, deconstructionist architecture and were stupefied by page after page of arid photos and obscure diagrams. This book isn't as bad as most but it clearly comes from that same camp.

Second, her whole point is that signage is an indicator of social change. Like many schooled in modern French criticism (also turning up in remainder bins these days) she frequently asserts without proof, as if an elegant sentence is somehow enough. The example that most irritated me was her statement that in the 60s regal motifs in signage became popular as a result of racial tensions and a yearning for authoritarianism. Aside from the fact that regal motifs were widespread through much of the early 20th century--as even cursory research will reveal--the assertion is made without any real attempt to prove this outrageous point. My sense was that she was writing within an intellectual milieu, of a type that afflicted us all during the 90s, that simply accepted certain cultural issues, like racism, as givens that required no evidence even in their particulars. Not exactly what we called scholarship and now again call scholarship. The book has that preaching-to-the-choir quality that was all too common with socio-politicized academic publications. Thankfully, we seem to be growing out of that phase.

Rather than being useful book on signage in America (that book still needs to be written) or even a useful book on social and cultural change, this is more an Exhibit Z of 90s-era intellectual and academic style, a trendy, obscurantist, frequently sloppy, and sometimes strident style I believe future historians will not mention favorably. From what I do understand about French-school criticism, that's, ironically, what it's supposed to be, a reflection of its times.

what a great book........2005-01-24

It is very possible that this book was actually written for me. As designer, it talks about nerdy things that I actually care about. Shapes, construction, and typography of signage.

Interesting and informative, but book design is annoying.......2004-04-25

Anyone interested in the history of roadside signs will learn much from this book, but what a chore it is to read it. The main text is in bright red type with minimal margins. Captions and diagrams are in black type (thankfully) but far too small to be read easily. In many diagrams the type is not only tiny but is also in all-caps, which might not be a problem if the diagrams weren't so wordy. Some of the photos are so small that we just have to assume that they illustrate the author's points.

I recommend the book because of its content, but be sure to get a good reading light and a magnifying glass to get the full benefit.

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Award winners: A visual arts registry
Jane Stangl Alvero
Manufacturer: Peso Book Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006F9SWK

Book Description

Emmet Gowin has been taking aerial photographs of the landscape in the United States, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, Asia, and the Middle East for over twenty years. In his most compelling photographs, one witnesses how man's footprint has visually scarred and continually altered the earth's surface. This extraordinary book, published in conjunction with the first major touring exhibition of Gowin's photographs in over ten years, focuses on images created after 1986. That was the year Gowin began to extend his aerial photography explorations in America by recording images of military test sites, missile silos, ammunition storage and disposal facilities, coal mining, pivot irrigation, offroad motor traffic, and more. The book also surveys his more recent works, which focus on other regions of the world, including the battlefields of Kuwait, new golf courses in Japan, and the chemo-petrol industries of the Czech Republic. Gowin's richly toned black-and-white images have been characterized as "immorally gorgeous," since at a distance even his most disturbing images can appear to be beautiful. In this exquisitely produced volume, Jock Reynolds provides an overview of Gowin's aerial photography and places it in the context of his earlier work and that of such photographers as Carleton Watkins, Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, and Frederick Sommer. Philip Brookman illuminates Gowin's recent work in the Czech Republic, while Terry Tempest Williams discusses Gowin's images from the American West, especially his Nevada Test Site series.

Customer Reviews:

Changing The Earth.......2007-01-09

`Changing the Earth' is a collection of beautiful and compelling aerial photographs that were taken over 14 years. Where Adams has shown us the beauty of the land before man has stepped upon it, Gowin shows us what the land looks like after man has used it. Gowin is one of the best printers (photographic) in the world and quality of his work is very obvious in this book.

Stunning beauty.......2003-04-25

This book despite it's somewhat horrific subject matter has a beauty so deep and profound it restores my faith in interest in Black and White image making. Beautifully printed it is a book that any budding black and white landscape photographer should own.

Documenting Ruinous Relations With The Land.......2002-06-05

Like a great deal of aerial photography (Bradford Washburn's naturalistic mountain work immediately comes to mind in this connection), Emmet Gowin's meticulously detailed portfolio depicting man's ambition writ large upon the surface of our planet can often be 'read' as much as abstract art as documentary record. As art, this series of images of a wounded planet is so deceptively compelling it is easy to become lost in the sensuousness of the aesthetic moment Gowin repeatedly creates and forget that the subject matter being systematically explored is intrinsically disturbing and of concern. Indeed, the experience of finding so much beauty in landscapes of man-made desolation and ruin is unnerving. Yet it is undeniable that from a distance the patterns on the Earth made by irrigation pivots, toxic chemical ponds, missile burial trenches, mining pits, and numerous other manifestations of human 'development' without limits are endlessly unique and dramatic. Paradoxically, it is precisely this nexus of visually stimulating, geometrically intricate imagery generated in the context of wanton exploitation and destruction of the land that sustains the narrative and aesthetic power of Changing The Earth. One is absorbed in the beauty of the photography just long enough to catch sight and become painfully aware of the pervasive, intensely consequential, problem that demands attention and thought. Thus lessons for the future abound in the pages of this volume! One day our way of taking the Earth for granted by first depleting its resources for immediate gain and then dumping what is no longer wanted or useful wherever is convenient, will be seen as the opulent conceit and obscene luxury that it surely is. Until that day, studies like Changing The Earth bare witness to our collective folly, greed and irresponsibility.

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Extraordinary

Emmet Gowin: Photographs
Emmet Gowin
Manufacturer: Knopf : distributed by Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0394732499

Customer Reviews:

Extraordinary.......2001-11-07

The demand for this book is high and there is good reason for it.

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EMMET GOWIN PHOTOGRAPHS
EMMET GOWIN
Manufacturer: KNOPF
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S99D38

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EMMET GOWIN Photographs 1966 - 1983
Emmet ; Peter C. Bunnell Gowin
Manufacturer: The Corcoran Gallery of Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V9QR20

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Emmet Gowin: Aerial photographs
Emmet Gowin
Manufacturer: Princeton University, Art Museum]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Emmet Gowin: Photographs, 1966-1983 : September 17-November 13, 1983, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C

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Emmet Gowin: Photographs, 1966-1983 : September 17-November 13, 1983, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C
Peter C Bunnell
Manufacturer: The Gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006ECTT0

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Harry Callahan: Eleanor
Julian Cox , and Emmet Gowin
Manufacturer: Steidl/High Museum of Art, Atlanta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Portraits | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 3865214649
Release Date: 2007-11-01

Book Description

For much of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, photographer Harry Callahan's wife, Eleanor, was his most regular subject. She stares out of his acclaimed work, sometimes sharp and sometimes blurred, sometimes Classical and sometimes Modern, in public parks and city streets, at the beach, in a tent, in the studio and their home, nude and clothed, eventually pregnant and then mothering. The couple's longstanding collaboration makes up an intimate visual diary of their relationship and of Callahan's artistic exploration: these are seldom portraits in the traditional sense. More than studies of Eleanor, they are stages in Callahan's lifelong exploration of photography as a creative medium, showing his embrace of an array of materials and techniques, including highly detailed large-format negatives, distortions of movement and focus, silhouettes and multiple exposures. The subject was always Eleanor, but there were always new ways of seeing her.

The photographer's wife: Emmet Gowin's photographs of Edith

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The photographer's wife: Emmet Gowin's photographs of Edith

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0542057220

Book Description

Exemplified in the oeuvres of photographers Alfred Stieglitz, Harry Callahan, Lee Friedlander, and Emmet Gowin, the photographer's wife is a distinctive subject in twentieth-century American fine-art photography that fuses the domains of public and private life through the conflation of art and marriage. The transgressive nature of this juncture can be located in a confluence of gazes—the artist's, the subject's, and the viewer's—that are embroiled in constructing subjectivities. The phrase “photographer's wife” underscores an assumed imbalance of power reflecting a binary of active/passive, artist/model, and husband/wife. It is this study's contention that the complexity of the wife's role in the inspiration and production of her husband's creative output and the fluid nature of this interdependency are significant factors in images of her made by him and that they undermine the efficacy of this binary. A discursive examination of the subject, with an emphasis on Gowin's Edith series, will determine how perceptions of marriage affect the viewing of those images. Since the early 1970s, Gowin has guided the critical reception of his photographs with a distinctly anagogical reading of the works. This study contrasts Gowin's narrative with a discursive reading, allowing the works to be examined suprapersonally as a means of determining the larger dynamic traditions from which they derive. The subject implicates numerous discourses that are examined within the areas of gender and power, portraiture and self-portraiture, representation and identity, and viewer reception. Additionally, images in the Edith series often traverse the genre formations of photography. By defamiliarizing family, snapshot, documentary, and art photography, Gowin's images create intervals between genres allowing them to be viewed intertexturally as contained by the boundaries of genre formation and outside of it. This aspect of the work illustrates how images of the photographer's wife can be viewed at the interstices of the public and private worlds of art and marriage, as well as across photographic genres. Viewed discursively, the photographer's wife can be examined as a dynamic production of knowledge that is shaped and reshaped over time.

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The drunk bible

One of my faorite books

Fantastic

Crying in my beer for you!

funny book

The Modern Drunkard
Frank Kelly Rich
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

The Alphabet Of Manliness

The Complete A**hole's Guide to Handling Chicks

Alcoholica Esoterica: A Collection of Useful and Useless Information As It Relates to the History andConsumption of All Manner of Booze

Look at My Striped Shirt!: Confessions of the People You Love to Hate

ASIN: 1594481423

Book Description

Attempting to deconstruct America's joyless obsession with sobriety, The Modern Drunkard offers today's befuddled drinkers a comprehensive and instructive manual on how to drink-and how to do it well. Through articles, anecdotes, cartoons, and illustrations, Frank Kelly Rich campaigns to revive the lost art of tippling and taps a deep vein of boozy lore and legend through the ages, uncovering etiquette and expertise from some of history's greatest guzzlers.

Customer Reviews:

The drunk bible.......2007-08-05

This is truly a great book for drunks. Well written, Funny, and Full of usefull info. Also a great website.

One of my faorite books.......2007-01-19

It's fun to read straight through, and it's good to show an article to a friend. Open to any random page and you will laugh. My favorite part was putting checks and double checks in the section about 40 things every drunkard should do before they die.

Fantastic.......2007-01-15

This is a compilation of a number of great articles from Modern Drunkard Magazine. It is highly entertaining and very well written.

Crying in my beer for you!.......2007-01-01

Frank has written a wonderful poem to that state next to nirvana that we all aspire to; totally freaking hold onto the carpet the worlds spinning happiness!

funny book.......2006-11-04

This book is great. For the alcoholic in all us perfect to just read on a train plane and laugh out loud.

Wise & otherwise.(device removes trichloroacetic acid)(restaurants lowering wine prices)(Canandaigua wine blenders)(Modern Drunkard magazine): An article from: Wines & Vines

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Wise & otherwise.(device removes trichloroacetic acid)(restaurants lowering wine prices)(Canandaigua wine blenders)(Modern Drunkard magazine): An article from: Wines & Vines

Manufacturer: Hiaring Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wines & Vines, published by Hiaring Company on July 1, 2003. The length of the article is 584 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: Wise & otherwise.(device removes trichloroacetic acid)(restaurants lowering wine prices)(Canandaigua wine blenders)(Modern Drunkard magazine)
Publication: Wines & Vines (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2003
Publisher: Hiaring Company
Volume: 84 Issue: 7 Page: 12(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The drunkard, or, The fallen saved: A moral domestic drama in five acts (Modern standard drama)

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The drunkard, or, The fallen saved: A moral domestic drama in five acts (Modern standard drama)
W. H Smith
Manufacturer: W. Taylor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

A modern miracle in religion and finance: [The life story of E. Howard Cadle, converted gambler and drunkard]

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A modern miracle in religion and finance: [The life story of E. Howard Cadle, converted gambler and drunkard]
Edwin Thomas Aldrich
Manufacturer: Published by Boyer & Stevens
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

Stories of the actors who gave voice to SpongeBob Squarepants, Beavis and Butthead, Bart and Homer Simpson, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and many more

The Magic Behind the Voices is a fascinating package of biographies, anecdotes, credit listings, and photographs of the actors who have created the unmistakable voices for some of the most popular and enduring animated characters of all time.

Drawn from dozens of personal interviews, the book features a unique look at thirty-nine of the hidden artists of show business. Often as amusing as the characters they portray, voice actors are charming, resilient people-many from humble beginnings-who have led colorful lives in pursuit of success. Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill's Mike Judge was an engineer for a weapons contractor turned self-taught animator and voice actor. Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson) was a small town Ohio girl who became the star protégé of Daws Butler-most famous for Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw. Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine) and Minnie Mouse (Russi Taylor) are a real-life husband-and-wife team. Spanning many studios and production companies, this book captures the spirit of fun that bubbles from those who create the voices of favorite animated characters.

In the earliest days of cartoons, voice actors were seldom credited for their work. A little more than a decade ago, even the Screen Actors Guild did not consider voice actors to be real actors, and the only voice actor known to the general public was Mel Blanc. Now, Oscar-winning celebrities clamor to guest star on animated television shows and features.

Despite the crushing turnouts at signings for shows such as Animaniacs, The Simpsons, and SpongeBob Squarepants, most voice actors continue to work in relative anonymity. The Magic Behind the Voices features personal interviews and concise biographical details, parting the curtain to reveal creators of many of the most beloved cartoon voices.

Customer Reviews:

Definitive history of the Cartoon voice.......2006-02-17

This is the encyclopedia of cartoon voice. Details beyond details. Not only does this tell the story of the voices behind the cartoons, but also the obsession of the author (from Central Illinois of all places) to track all of this information down over a number of years and put together a one book history of some of the best loved character voices from our cartoon memories.

Voice-Actor Guide Book.......2006-01-29

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover!!! I give the book 5 stars BUT they did leave out MANY voice-actors who i felt held higher precedence over others. There is the inclusion of several one show or one character voice actors in here, like Chris Sarandon and Wally Cox in favor of several legends that aren't discussed. Some of the legends missing are Stan Freberg; Hal Smith; John Stephenson; Howard Morris; and Henry Corden. However, the book is still 5 star material because the subject matter is rarely spoken about in many publications and since this book is a 2004 copyright, it's fairly recent. I was earlier complaining about some of the legends being left out which is a shame...BUT there ARE many other legends included in this book, too. There are also write-up's on current voice actors who have tons of credits under their belt already. The voice actors of whom i enjoyed reading about the MOST were my favorites to begin with: Mel Blanc; Daws Butler; Don Messick; Paul Frees; Paul Winchell; and June Foray. Bill Scott is spoken about in here...which is a rare treat. He is typically thought of as a cartoon writer and director instead of a voice actor BUT he gave voice to many characters on the Jay Ward cartoons with "Bullwinkle" and "Dudley Dorite" being his Top-2 popular roles. I learned a lot about Jackson Beck and Nancy Cartwright and i learned some things about Jack Mercer, Charles Adler, Dayton Allen, and several others. The bottom line is, the voice actor rarely gets time in the spotlight and THIS book and others like this go a long way in spotlighting cartoon voice actors. The book gets 5 stars on subject matter and 4 stars on it's not including several key voice actors who made the field into an art form.

The faces behind the voices!.......2005-08-14

My 13-year-old son loves this book. He had a blast thumbing through the pages and seeing the faces behind the voices of some of his favorite cartoons, both old and new. We were all blown away by a few of these incredibly talented people when we saw the vast array characters in their resumes! Really amazing talent ... would be fun to see a color version of this with more photos of the recording sessions.

AWESOME book!.......2005-05-03

TIM LAWSON's long awaited book on CARTOON VOICE ACTORS fills a void plain and simple! We needed this book to find out a little more about the talented cartoon voice actors of the GOLDEN AGE of cartoons and also to learn a little about today's artists. GREAT BOOK! Congrats TIM and ALISA! Rick

A fine survey of voice actors and their work.......2005-03-10

The biographies, anecdotes, credit listings and photos of actors who served as the voices for popular cartoon characters are packed into The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who Of Cartoon Voice Actors, making it a fine survey of voice actors and their work. Even a decade ago, many in the profession didn't even consider voice actors to be 'real actors': Magic Behind The Voices provides excellent insights from early cartoon voices down to the animation of modern times.

Book Description

Adults and children will love these original, easy-to-sing ,songs for all occasions. Chorded for guitar or autoharp. 8 1/2" x 11"

Customer Reviews:

simple and adaptable.......2004-08-10

Some of the songs were not rhythmically correct with the suggested 'piggyback' song, however, I am able to take most of these songs and adapt them to my own teaching style. This includes changing some of the words and most definitely using fewer English words when using them for Spanish class. Good to use for inspiration in creating 'jingles' of your own.

Spanish just for fun.......2003-11-29

This is a very easy to use songbook for families and homeschoolers who like to sing throughout the day. It is best used as a simple, fun addition to other Spanish activites, rather than as your only source.
It is especially appropriate for use with very young children because the songs are short and catchy and the vocabulary is at a very beginning level. My toddler likes to look at the simple black and white illustrations as we sing. He requests his favorites by remembering the picture that went with each song.
This songbook fit in well with our Waldorf perspective because it follows the seasons throughout the year with a selection of songs for each season.
I only wish there was music included in the back for each tune selected because we are unfamiliar with a few of them. Also, color illustrations would be a nice addition to make it less of a teaching manual and more readable for young children although my toddler son does seem to enjoy the black and white illustrations.

Too much English.......2003-11-24

Too many English lyrics. Not suitable for Spanish instruction.

Are you an Eng-speaking teacher with Spanish preschoolers?.......1999-12-05

I found this book to be a nice resource. Even if I only practice and use afew songs from it, I know it has made a big difference with my Spanish speaking preschoolers. For me, the phonetic pronunications were indispensible.

Too many English lyrics. Not suitable for Spanish inst........1998-03-09

This book seems geared to teachers who know little or no Spanish. I mistakenly bought it as a supplement to my Spanish classes and found that the lyrics were mostly English. The tunes did not fit well with the lyrics.

Average customer rating:

Fantastic, accessible, well-organized, readable, helpful

NOT RECEIVED

Great Transaction

Comprehensive Beginning Primer

Best Introduction to the Game, Ever.

Five Weeks to Winning Bridge
Alfred Sheinwold
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bridge | Card Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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Bid Better Play Better: How to Think at the Bridge Table

Duplicate Bridge

Watson's Classic Book on The Play of the Hand at Bridge

How to Read Your Opponents' Cards

5 Weeks To Winning Bridge

ASIN: 0671687700

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic, accessible, well-organized, readable, helpful.......2005-11-21

This is the book I foist on acquaintances who want to learn the game; it's a shame this thing is out of print. It's the best of its kind. Very logical, orderly, with a progression that really makes sense for the student; it's also well-written, enjoyable to read.

One of the nicer things about this book is, although it's a 5 week "course", you really only need about the first 2 or 3 weeks of it to be able to play ok in a social game or in internet communities. Not at "master" level, of course, but fine for a game with friends. It's a very quick way to get into the game.

Another thing to like about the book is it's very convention-neutral. It teaches a purely natural system, rather than being biased toward 5-card majors as most other intro books are, or toward more complicated and modern systems. It gives the reader a foundation in the natural game, which will make it very easy to pick up more advanced systems later on.

Some criticize the book for teaching the reader to open a 4-card suit, even if it's a major; but I think that's a strength of the book. "5 card majors" is a convention, not the natural game. Imagine a player who had to switch back and forth between 5-card and 4-card majors: it would be much easier for a player with a foundation in the natural game to adopt the 5-card-major convention, than it would be for someone who learned 5-card majors as a beginner to play with a partner who used 4-card.

Get this book and give it to the people in your life whom you want to have become players. And someone, please, GET THIS THING BACK IN PRINT!

NOT RECEIVED.......2005-09-14

This item was order and confirmed for shipment on 8/16/05 Today os 8/15/05 and I have yet to receive the book!!! Well=-- not good kimosabe!!!

Great Transaction.......2004-12-19

Received the book that I ordered in short order and was in new condition as stated in the ad. Highly reccomend this seller.

Comprehensive Beginning Primer.......2002-10-12

This book is excellent for someone who wants to get a full basic education in bridge bidding and play.

In addition to giving you the rules of bidding, it explains the logic behind the bidding, so the player can use the techniques to communicate fully within their partnernership.

It is laid out in a simple to use format and was terrific for bringing me up to speed as a Bridge bidder.

In addition, Alfred Sheinwold was the author of the daily bridge column in most newspapers, which has been taken over by Frank Stewart, so that the reader/player can practice on a daily basis, the concepts introduced with the same bidding system. After going through this book, I found I could usually get the newspaper quiz right, due to the knowledge gained from this book, which is not true for most of the people I play with, although they have years more experience.

Worth the time and effort for beginning players, and intermediate players who think they need to fill in gaps in their game.

Best Introduction to the Game, Ever........2002-03-25

Still the best introduction to the game of Bridge, ever, hands down. Laced with humor and common sense. Sheinwold is far superior to Goren as a writer and teacher. Teaches literally EVERYTHING a beginner needs to know. Once you've mastered this book, you're ready to learn about five card majors and you're not a beginner anymore. Read it and buy a copy for your favorite partner.

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Five Weeks to Winning Bridge
Alfred Sheinwold
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000MYI2NQ

Book Description

This comprehensive reference work first presents an historical overview of the program. Biographies of the show's performers are followed by "biographies" of the characters. An exhaustive episode guide for all 295 shows includes cast and credits, guest stars, plot synopses, original air dates, featured subplots, and quotations.

Customer Reviews:

Forget Pictures, This Book Rocks.......2002-02-11

Simply awesome. That best describes this literary tome. If you buy books for solid content, this is the greatest book available on the television show "Cheers". If you buy books for pictures, buy this book and read it while watching "Cheers". From cover-to-cover, you will be amazed at how craftily this book is written and how comprehensively it is researched. If you love "Cheers" you will love this book.

The Best Book on the Subject.......2002-02-10

I am a fan of many sitcoms, and take a keen interest in any books on the subject. "Cheers" is one of my all-time favorities. "Toasting Cheers" is the most well-written, comprehensive, and thorough book ever to grace the shelves of any library. Every section is inordinately detailed to give the reader a strong sense of knowledge about the show, the characters, and the actors. The author definitely knows the subject matter better than anyone else. The book is a must-buy for anyone who loves the show.

Simply the best!.......2001-11-24

Mr. Bjorklund's book celebrating CHEERS is the most comprehensive of its kind. Rich in history and very well written, its a must buy for any Cheers fan.

The author does an exceptional job of presenting the useful cheers information, without falling into sensationalism. I bought six copies to give to friends for christmas.

GREAT CONTENT, MEDIOCRE PRESENTATION.......2001-10-20

This book contains most anything you'd like to know about this TV show but I was very dissapointed that, with such a high price, there are hardly any photos (all are in B&W), the book is rather small and it doesn't even have a cover jacket. Anyway, the contents are as good as can be expected and the subject makes it a must buy (of sorts !) for fans of the show.

the holy grail for every devoted Cheers fan.......1999-08-29

This book is almost scientific in its construction. Not only does it provide accurate information about the lives and the careers of the series creators and actors (without turning to gossip), but also chronological stories of the fictional characters they portrayed on television, showing the narrative richness of Cheers. The episode guide comes in handy if you plan to impress your drinking buddy with quite useless but entertaining Cliffy style Cheers trivia, especially the notable quotes are of use. If you're a true Cheers fan, this book is a must.

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