Book Description
In this book, artist and art historian Michael Harris investigates the role of visual representation in the construction of black identities, both real and imagined, in the United States. He focuses particularly on how African American artists have responded to--and even used--stereotypical images in their own works.
Harris shows how, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, racial stereotypes became the dominant mode through which African Americans were represented. These characterizations of blacks formed a substantial part of the foundation of white identity and social power. They also, Harris argues, seeped into African Americans' self-images and undermined their self-esteem.
Harris traces black artists' responses to racist imagery across two centuries, from early works by Henry O. Tanner and Archibald J. Motley Jr., in which African Americans are depicted with dignity, to contemporary works by Kara Walker and Michael Ray Charles, in which derogatory images are recycled to controversial effect. The work of these and other artists--such as John Biggers, Jeff Donaldson, Betye Saar, Juan Logan, and Camille Billops--reflects a wide range of perspectives. Examined together, they offer compelling insight into the profound psychological impact of visual stereotypes on the African American community.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful scholarship!!.......2006-03-16
Excellent scholarship by Michael Harris. A sensitively written history of visual stereotyping and its effects. The book interweaves and points out the importance of Yoruba and other African philosophical heritages and their positive affects on artists, images in the U.S. Really excellent!!!!!!
Outstanding analysis of the power of images.......2003-10-28
The book is as intellectually stimulating as it is visually captivating. Anyone interested in giving serious thought to the history and power of images depicting persons of African descent should read this book. It's thoughtful and thought provoking. A topic that should interest any American, no matter what their race or ethnicity!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from African Arts, published by The Regents of the University of California on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 2148 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: Colored Pictures: Race and Visual Representation.(Book Review)
Author: Dubem Okafor
Publication:
African Arts (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: The Regents of the University of California
Volume: 38
Issue: 3
Page: 6(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Colour in Art and Advertising (The Wonderful World of Colour Series)
Sally Morgan , and
Adrian Morgan
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square
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Binding: Hardcover
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Selecting Colour for Print
Eric Paxton Danger
Manufacturer: Gover Technical Press
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ASIN: 0291397158 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Photo Marketing, published by Photo Marketing Association International on December 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1066 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: Half a century of business: this year, Colour Centre, a London-based pro lab, celebrated 50 years of business and marked months with expansion into new services. (Feature).
Publication:
Photo Marketing (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: Photo Marketing Association International
Volume: 77
Issue: 12
Page: 35(3)
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This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on September 21, 2000. The length of the article is 1608 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: "José Pagés Llergo 2000".(premio periodístico; uso de colores en la publicidad)(TT: José Pagés Llergo 2000.)(TA: journalism award; use of colour in advertising)(Columna)
Author: Luis Arrache
Publication:
Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: September 21, 2000
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: 47
Issue: 2466
Page: 80
Article Type: Columna
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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This digital document is an article from Photo Marketing, published by Photo Marketing Association International on August 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1341 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: Photosav attains quick success; 5-year-old Nigerian photo lab faces unique challenges. (Photo & Digital Retailing).
Author: Ken Beer
Publication:
Photo Marketing (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2002
Publisher: Photo Marketing Association International
Volume: 77
Issue: 8
Page: 18(2)
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Amazon.com
Reading The GIF Animator's Guide can turn a Web and graphics novice to a GIF-animation expert in a surprisingly short amount of time. This full-color guide first teaches you the basics of creating and editing images, explaining file formats, transparencies, color selection, design principles, and other issues involved with creating an image that you want to animate. Then the author explains how to plan an animation (you focus, for example, on the first frame); choose the effects and techniques to produce the look you want; and insert your animation in an HTML document. Then she delves into using a variety of Windows and Macintosh programs for doing your work: Microsoft Image Composer, Microsoft GIF Animator, Paint Shop Pro, GIF Constriction Set, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, CorelDRAW, and GifBuilder. The author explains each product's interface, provides tips on achieving various effects, and offers shortcuts and potential pitfalls. Appendices on the history of animation, traditional animation techniques, and computer-based animation round out your knowledge of the field of animation. The hybrid CD that comes with the book includes demo or full versions of the discussed software programs, other GIF animation programs, and a gallery of GIF animations.
Book Description
With easy step-by-step instructions for desktop applications including Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop, this book will teach you how to create and edit GIF89a animations to enhance your Web site. Whether you are a beginner or experienced Web developer, it will answer your questions about creating and animating GIFs.
The GIF Animator's Guide is designed both to be easy to use and to provide all the important information about creating good-looking graphics and animations using a variety of popular programs -- freeware, shareware, and commercial -- for both Windows and Mac computers. The book includes valuable information about animation, computer graphics, and GIF standards so that you can easily create animations for your Web page.
You'll also learn how to optimize animations by using the 216-color palette, planning for transparency, offsetting images, and setting time delay.
The CD bundled with
The GIF Animator's Guide includes Microsoft GIF Animator, Paint Shop Pro, GIF Construction Set, GIFBuilder, Ulead GIF Animator, and save-disabled versions of Photoshop 4 and Illustrator 7. It also includes a large gallery of unique and copyright-free GIF animations that you can plug into your own Web pages.
Customer Reviews:
Couldn't be happier........2002-12-14
The book and the CD look brand new to me, and the shipping was maybe a couple days longer than I had expected; but, I have no complaints, everthing was like advertised.
Little useful content.......2002-01-21
Don't be seduced by the high quality of the printing of this book and its large glossy pages full of colour. It makes a great coffee table book but the content is typical of so many web oriented books - a great deal of padding and an approach which says, "Why use 1 word when I can use a dozen?" Chapter 2, pages 13 to 26, covers the useful content, which is a pretty poor percentage of the over 300 pages in the book.
Most of the book is devoted to explanations of how to use various drawing packages: Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop etc. If you have any of these packages the original manuals offer a much better source for how to use them. The text does not even orientate itself specifically to GIF creation when discussing the drawing packages. Indeed, these pages are purely descriptive rather than guiding you through how best to create an animation.
A web search on "How to create GIF animations" returns more useful information than you will find in this book. As an alternative, I would recommend "Effective Web Animation" by J. Scott Hamlin - covering Javascript and Flash in addition, Hamlin manages to devote over 140 pages to GIF Animation, providing much more in the way of technique and ideas.
The Gif Animator's Guide.......2000-04-22
It's a helpful tool for making gif animation files.
Customer Reviews:
I'd rather do chemo than clean out the garage.......2007-08-07
I did not find as funny. It'e more about taking advanage of family and friends by chemo as a vehicle.
The book title is too harsh.......2007-06-22
I can understand the point of trying to bring smiles and laughter to a difficult situation. But the fact of the matter is that everyone one of us WOULD RATHER clean out the garage instead of doing chemo. I wish the title was different and then this book could be given as a as a "pick-me-up" gift to someone who is going through cancer treatment. BUT with the title as it is and some of the strong sarcastic comments in the book, it leaves you feeling uneasy about passing this book along to someone going through a life or death situation.
Not worth it.......2007-03-08
I purchased this shortly after being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36. After hearing devastating news like, "You have cancer," I bought tons of books - informational, inspirational and this one. With the warning, "Do not read this book in the immediate postoperative period due to risk of popping a suture or staple closer," I thought this would be one of those "pick-me-up" books helping me to add laugh-therapy to my experience.
What I didn't expect was to be so appalled at this "Chemo Prima Donna" and using her chemo experience and cancer to guilt friends into bringing food and gifts to buying her artwork as part of "sympathy sales". Chapter 2, "Milking it for All It's Worth" about said it all. She even states, "You may declare me a shameless hussy and accuse me of abusing my friends..." Yes, that is exactly what I thought.
Were there parts of the book that made me laugh? After chapter 2 I kept reading hoping to find something that would have justified the $16.95 pricetag. After putting up with 3/4 of the book and finding only one or two very small things that were slightly funny, I decided it wasn't worth my time to finish reading it.
This book may be for some, but for many of us it's not. A good, fun, light-hearted book not cancer related is a much better investment.
Purchase with caution.......2007-01-11
I purchased this book for my mother, who is currently undergoing chemo treatments. Unfortunately, she had a very bad experience with her first cycle and is at a point where she sees nothing about chemo as humorous. After I received the book, I read through it and decided that it was not the right time to give my mom the book. In fact, she would much rather clean the garage than go through chemo. I had related a few of the insights to her, and she didn't appreciate any of them. As all caregivers know (now), each person has their own reaction to chemo - I believe my mom just wasn't at the right stage in her chemo to appreciate the intent of the book. I would suggest that persons purchasing the book seriously consider where the intended recipient is at emotionally in their treatment before passing it on.
A Good Start.......2007-01-10
This book was not side-splitting funny but there was at least one place where I laughed out loud. I read it when a loved one's battle with cancer was becoming overwhelming. I bought the book for him and suggested he read it but I doubt he has picked it up.
I think women will be able to relate to this book more that men because the author is fighting breast cancer and she tells humorous stories about dealing with her appearance, such as wigs, keeping her figure, and playing tennis with her "IV".
The message of the book is very good and the advice about staying positive and energizing oneself with laughter is right on.
Customer Reviews:
Rejoice: Judy and Liza for the ages .......2007-09-17
Schechter has done for Judy and Liza what Koeschel has done for Wolfgang. It's all here: the mood, the method, the magnificence, in two encyclopedic texts that detail the lives and good works of two of the most fascinating and talented women of our time and all the ages--the Fantastic Garland and her equally incredible Daughter Liza Minnelli. Schechter has not only written two great books, he has done the world a terrific service in collecting some of their TV appearances on DVDs that have given a permanent showcase to material that otherwise might have been gone and forgotten forever, to the great loss of all of us. Colorful, informative, and fascinating, these two books on Judy and Liza, as well as the DVDs that constitute exhibits A-Z, should provide fans and would be admirers alike with endless pleasure and information, as they make an incalculably important and significant archival contribution to our heritage. Not to be missed. Martin Kantor, MD. Author of My Guy: A Gay Man's Guide to a Lasting Relationship and Together Forever: The Gay Man's Guide to Lifelong Love
I've got a thing for Liza.......2007-03-17
and I would call that thing "a burning, selfless love." No, not the love you'd find between a man and a woman or a confused grad student... but the love and respect you might find between two bitter rivals who look at each other with a knowing nod and hint of a smile.
Liza's never been hotter than she is now and this scrapbook is just the thing you'll want to read to get you caught up on her deepest desires and secrets.
I know Liza is trying to put that awful David G. (I refuse to write the name "Gest") episode behind her and possible find love with someone who's less into getting bad plastic surgery and looking creepy.
I once met David Gest at a Rest Stop on the Jersey Turnpike. He was hitting the vending machine because his Fiery Habanero Doritos corn chips were stuck between the glass and that little spinny thing.
I was nice enough to help him out. I bought another bag of the corn chips and his dropped down. Unfortunately, my bag became lodged the same way his had. He didn't even say thank you. He just grabbed his chips and walked out. And I was the one the security guard yelled at! Can you believe it?
Great Liza Book!.......2007-01-10
If you are a fan of one of the greatest performers we have had, this book is for you. It includes many rare photos and a chronicle of her professional life over the last 40 (!) years. Schector, a long-time fan, has finally done the professional tribute to this star that needed to be done. You won't find what's in this book anywhere else!
A Loving and Brilliant Tribute.......2005-05-17
The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook is the most loving and complete biography available today. Mr. Schechter succeeds in revealing the TRUE Liza, an incredibly talented, charismatic legend in her own right.
Some Reviews by the Critics / Professional Reviews.......2005-05-05
Thanks to the Liza fans for all the kindness and support of the book.
Here are some of the professional reviews the book has gotten to date :
From Booksoup.com :
Liza Minnelli has mesmerized her audiences with her remarkable talent and pure joy of entertaining for decades. Her appeal is universal and timeless. For those us who have had the pleasure of closely following her career, no other performing artist can compare. "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" is a comprehensive pictorial history. Schechter has done an amazing job of chronicling Liza's career accompanying his research with pictures both familiar and new to the avid Liza fan. For longtime Liza fans like myself, the book is treasure of Liza remembrances and certainly the ultimate Liza "reference" book.
****
From NYTheatre.com
http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/bookshop.htm
The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook
by Scott Schechter
Perfect for any fan, The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook is just that - a scrapbook of an almost five-decade career. With a fond foreword by Billy Stricth, this book chronicles Liza's life by decade. There are brief overviews of each ten-year span, and then details and at least a brief synopsis on every movie, television show, Broadway show, and recording Liza has ever done. Furthermore, as if that was not enough, there are billions of pictures - pictures with other celebrity friends, cameos from various television and movie stints, covers of playbills and recordings, etc. The book is so indubitably complete in its coverage of Liza's career that there is even a picture of Liza with Kermit the Frog from her episode on "The Muppet Show!" This is an incredible, cohesive, and all-inclusive record of Ms. Minnelli and is a must have for any fan because of its comprehensive coverage and plethora of pictures.
- Seth Bisen-Hersh
http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/bookshop.htm
****
From GENRE magazine, January-February 2005 issue, "The Feed" Column : "audio / film / PAGES," Editor (and reviews by) Michael Liebermann :
"The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" Scott Schechter, Kensington, Biography, 242 pages, $22
"If you're looking for objective criticism of Liza Minnelli's storied career in music, film and theater, or an expose of her latest missteps in love, then keep on browsing. But if you fancy a stroll down gay memory lane -- from growing up Garland through 'Cabaret'to the oft-forgotten 1980 TV spectacular 'Goldie and Liza : Together' -- you can't do much better than this true fan's scrapbook."
****
From OUT magazine, January 2004 issue; "OutFront" Reviews : "What's New and Hot" : "ETC" (Page 27) :
"A must-have for Liza fans, Scott Schechter brings us 'The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook' (Citadel, $21.95), a vibrant volume about her career, with over 200 rare and never-before-seen photographs."
****
Featured on November CNN "American Morning" Show
****
GREAT write-up on the InSightOUT Book Club's webpage :
CLUB REVIEW
From Cabaret to her recent stint on "Arrested Development," Liza Minnelli has never let the scandal that seems to run in her family's blood taint her dazzling career. And her life in showbiz, which spans five decades, is celebrated with this scrapbook of photos, facts, and diva pride!
"The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" takes you back to the beginning of the dynamic performer's life as the daughter of Judy Garland-and her first public appearance at age 2 1/2! From there, she launched a career that garnered her Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, and it's all covered here! Along with page after page of fantastic photos, the scrapbook looks at Liza's illustrious career: New York, New York, Flora the Red Menace, Liza at the Wintergarden, and The Act. There are essays about every major performance she's ever given, including her sold out appearance in Victor/Victoria. Plus, you get all the trivia and facts you could desire-and need! Everything Liza, including discography, videography, lists of awards and much more. Photos throughout. 242 pages, 8 1/2" x 11", softcover.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER -- Tuesday, November 16th, 2004
Reuters via Yahoo! News, Mon, 15 Nov 2004 4:13 PM PST
'SCRAPBOOK' DELIVERS THE GOODS (Headline)
By Robert Osborne NEW YORK
Liza Minnelli has certainly had her share of publicized woes of late, but something's on the horizon that should cheer her considerably.
Scott Schechter has compiled a magnificent book on the one aspect of L. M. that always seems to get short shrift or is altogether ignored these days, i. e.,her years of delivering the goods in front of cameras and on stages throughout the world. That work has won her, to date, an Oscar (1972), three Tonys (1965, '74, '78), an Emmy (1973), a Grammy (1989), two Golden Globes (1973, '86) and an ever-loyal fan base, something Schechter covers in monumental detail in "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook," in bookstores this month via Citadel Press, with a foreword by Billy Stritch.
No stone is left unturned in looking at the career of Minnelli and, for a refreshing change, no stone is hurled at her, either; here, it's strictly Liza's professional life and accomplishments that the author is emphasizing. And nothing goes unrecorded, be it a TV "Match Game" appearance on NBC in 1967, a 1987 concert in Stockholm, Sweden, or, this year, singing "Oscar" and "God Bless the Child" at a private party at the Ars Nova Theatre in New York. Besides being a dandy reference guide for anyone hunting for a Minnelli fact,"Scrapbook" also includes plenty of interesting info on
Minnelli projects that came close to happening but didn't. She was announced, for instance, in 1975, and again in '77 and '79, to star in the film version of "Chicago," playing Velma to Goldie Hawn s Roxie Hart (with, at one point, Allan Carr producing, Frank Sinatra playing the lawyer, Nancy
Walker as the prison matron and Carol Channing and Ann Miller as competing newspaper reporters); later, in 1992, it was rescheduled but with a
difference: Lewis Gilbert was to direct, with Liza switched to the role of Roxie and Goldie as Velma.
We all know how that turned out. In 1982, Liza tested for what was to be an "Evita" directed by Ken Russell; she sang "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," causing Russell to publicly comment, "We had found our Evita"; the entire venture, however, was KO'd until it was finally made 14 years later with a different leading lady. Schechter also lists dozens of other projects that
almost happened ("Sunset Boulevard," "The Carmen Miranda Story") and, carrying out the "scrapbook" motif, there are miscellaneous color photographs, candids and reproductions of Playbill and album covers and Liza-related ads. One thing comes through loud and clear: The lady may like
to play, but she has also worked.
****
The NY POST -- "PAGE SIX" -- Sunday, November 14th, 2004 :
HITS THE SPOT :
IT'S not all bad news about Liza Minnelli, who was just hit with a lawsuit by her former chauffeur. At the book party for Scott Schechter's "Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" tribute tome, the author announced Minnelli's first theatrical movie since "Stepping Out" in 1991. Liza will play an offbeat self-help seminar leader who helps Parker Posey on her quest to find her G-spot, in "The Oh in Ohio." It co-stars Danny DeVito and Mischa Barton.
****
The SECOND Review of "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" this one by Phill Hall of Boston's EDGE and also to appear in the NY RESIDENT paper in a few weeks :
"The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" by Scott Schechter
Grade: A+
by Phil Hall
EDGE Literature Critic
Monday Nov 1, 2004
Just from the title alone, "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" seems predestined to find a place on the coffee table of many gay homes. But forget the stereotypical gay worship of this show biz icon and zoom in on the rich contents. Scott Schechter's extraordinary tribute to Liza with a "Z" is brilliantly researched, lavishly illustrated and endlessly entertaining. It is impossible to come away from this book without possessing a deeper love and respect for Minnelli.
Schechter breaks down Minnelli's career in a neat manner: a decade-by-decade career-based mini-biography (all scandals are removed from print), followed by a chronological appreciation of Minnelli's theater, film, television, recording and concert careers. Schechter uncovers a wealth of long-forgotten facts and photographs which will delight Minnelli's fans: Minnelli dancing on stage with then-unknown Elliott Gould in a touring company of "The Fantasticks," her simultaneous Time and Newsweek covers for "Cabaret" (and you thought Bruce Springsteen was the only entertainer to accomplish that?)
The book is also rich with Minnelli trivia, including unlikely appearances such as a concert for the inmates of a Chicago jail (two months after she won the "Cabaret" Oscar). There is also an unexpectedly large amount of little-known data on projects which Minnelli either turned down (including the role of Daisy in "The Great Gatsby" opposite Robert Redford) or which fell apart before production began (including the film version of "Evita" under Ken Russell's direction).
Schechter is uncommonly generous to Minnelli, to the point of presenting the most glamorous and flattering photographs available; later-life tabloid photographs which show Minnelli's problems with weight control are conspicuously absent. Yes, "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" is a love letter to the great star. And honestly, what's wrong with a love letter to someone who truly earned the love of her fans?
Citadel Press, $21.95, 228 pages
****
The FIRST REVIEW for "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook"
LIZ SMITH : NY Post -- Friday, November 5th, 2004
"DEDICATED TO Liza Minnelli's artistry." That's what it says on page one of Scott Schechter's "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" (Citadel Press). This is a glossy valentine to the great star, concentrating on her long, award-laden stage, screen and recording career. The sensation of her "private" life is not emphasized. Tons of previously unseen photos and plenty of Minnelli minutiae. (Her first reviews, even as an awkward teen, are a thrill to read; she had style from the start!) Flip through this and be reminded that Liza is an artist, one whose commitment to her audience never wavers.
****
Customer Reviews:
Very good however..........2005-04-18
It has been awhile since I read this book so I have to rely on my memory somewhat of the book's contents. Yes, it is a very interesting book and as a Motown fan, I certainly enjoyed it. Sometimes, though, I wonder about some of Mr. George's comments (and if you are reading this Mr. George I mean no disrespect).
Did he really have to describe the talented Kim Weston as a "dark skined woman with a tendency to put on weight?" Was she really laughed at when she got on stage? To me, Kim Weston was one of Motowns most talented female singers. Couldn't the author have spent a little more space on her vocal talents?
He dismisses the Supremes post-Diana Ross career in a few sentences. Did he ever listen to any of those records? The post-Ross Supremes made some wonderful music which is just now being rediscovered.
He writes off white singer Chris Clark as a "not very gifted singer". From the few songs I have heard, she may not be a virtuoso, but she's not that bad! I know of some rabid Chris Clark fans who would challenge Nelson George on that point.
He spends a lot of time on certain subjects such as Motown's post-70's decline, but seems to spend very little time actually analyzing the music.
A writer, of course, has a right to his opinions and I think, in all fairness, he does a very good job with the book. My biggest complaint is that he seems a little cynical about Motown. I know that not all was happy beneath the wonderful music people heard, but there is still something in his attitude that bothers me a little. Sometimes he seems a little bit mocking in his tone. He wrote a later book about hip hop (a music style I don't care for) and seemed to treat the whole subject with more respect.
I'm probably being a little too analytical about this book.
Anyway, this is still a good book. Put on some Motown music and enjoy.
A Must for fans of the Motown Sound.......2004-01-06
I found this book to be very informative on the music that I grew up with but it also revealed how Mr. Gordy has ruined the lives of talented but uneducated people.
The BEST Motown book.......2003-03-25
One of my smartest purchasing decisions was to pick up this work by Nelson George in June 1986 when it was still in hard cover. I've never let it out of my sight since. Time has proven it the precursor of a deluge: `Dreamgirl,' & `Supreme Faith' by Mary Wilson (1986, 1990), `Temptations' by Otis Williams (1988), `To Be Loved,' by Berry Gordy (1994), `Inside My Life' by Smokey Robinson (1989), `Dancing In The Street' by Martha Reeves (1994), and `Between Each Line of Pain and Glory,' by Gladys Knight (1997), among others. I bought them all and I read them all. By far the worst, was the October 1993 work by Diana Ross, `Secrets of a Sparrow,' which was quickly named the worst non-fiction work of the year by People magazine. I couldn't argue with them.
`Where Did Our Love Go,' on the other hand, proves a truth we discovered in the day of the very music it chronicles: no amount of tepid covers surpasses a towering original. Perhaps because Mr. George was not an insider at Motown in the 60s, his history of the company is so objectively good. I've read it many times in over 16 years, and haven't found a date or factual mistake.
And it is balanced. The wonderful music of those glory days in Detroit is given the respect and affection it deserves, as well as the how-it-came-about details. Mr. George acknowledges as most of us do, that Motown's 60s sound is timeless, and is going to outlive Berry Gordy, the artists whose names appeared on the labels, and we baby-boomers who were weaned on it.
Yes, the who-struck-John stories of disappointment are delineated fairly too: the career declines and /or disappointments of folks like Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Chuck Jackson, Marvin Gaye and, especially Florence Ballard. But unlike the recollections of the authors listed above, `Where' is not told by a writer needing to come out smelling blameless or put-upon at the end.
All these years later, `Where Did Our Love Go,' by Nelson George remains the single most essential biography of Motown Records you can own. Buy it anyway you can manage to, even used - just don't ask to borrow mine. Beyond it, there are two companion works you should also seek out for some fair and detailed `inside' looks of Motown in those days: `Divided Soul,' David Ritz' account of Marvin Gaye's life, which appeared first in 1985, and might have been helped in its excellence by the fact that its subject was no longer around to censor it or `advise.' Finally, from 1989, J. Randy Taraborrelli's `Call Her Miss Ross,' could likely be a dozen times more factual and objective than the 1993 work of the former Supreme herself could ever be!
Best book on motown I've read.......2003-03-14
Although a little short on photos (it was obviously not the authors' intention to be another photo book), this is in many ways the best book for someone really interested in the subject of Motown to own,in that the author pulls no punches. Other books on this record company/hit machine of the 60s & 70s suffered from censorship by the record company's head and his people.
This book does not suffer that hinderance, and it allows us to read what really went on behind the scenes. It was not such a happy family with Berry Gordy Jr. as the paternal head as it is often depicted.
An excellent book, both readable and informative, and well worth getting hold of for all fans of the music who want to know what really went on as the records were made and the tours were run.
Get this book!.......1998-11-17
Part of the success of Motown lies in Berry Gordy's tight control over public relations. Put simply, he would not cooperate with reporters until and unless he knew, and approved of, the nature of their stories in advance. In "Where Did Our Love Go", Nelson George breaks the mold. This is an unauthorized biography of the Motown Record Corp. George managed to circumvent Gordy's media chokehold and, thereby, come up with a picture quite different from the common myths. This results in two marvelous types of revelations throughout this book: (1) The "dirt" on Motown; and (2) the good, joyful, and uplifting things that we never knew. Get this book!
Customer Reviews:
Good Book Very Informative.......2007-06-04
A very good book for those interested in the history of Motown. After viewing the movie "Dream Girls" I had a new found interest in Motown. This book is an easy read and appears to be well researched. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in some of Motown's history.
Average customer rating:
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Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall at the Motown Sound
Nelson George
Manufacturer: Omnibus Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0711910685 |
Book Description
It is generally agreed that one of the best ways for a chess player to improve is by studying tactics - and the best way to do that is by practicing. This book provides a wealth of puzzle positions to test just about every facet of your tactical skills. The puzzles in this book have been selected by analyzing games new and old in search of original puzzle positions (rather than simply trawling through previous puzzle books, as is all too often the case). It is therefore very unlikely that even seasoned solvers will recognize many of these positions. Emms, by allying his skills with those of powerful computers, has also made every effort to ensure that the solutions are sound, and that there are no unmentioned alternative solutions. The book begins with over 100 relatively easy positions suitable for novices, and ends with 100 extremely tough puzzles, which will provide a mind-bending challenge even for top-class players. The remainder of the book contains just about everything between these two extremes, including selections of puzzles based around particular tactical themes, and graded test, where no clues are given as to the type of ideas involved. Every now and then, there are positions where the correct solution is a positional move, rather than a tempting but unsound combination.
Customer Reviews:
Truly ultimate puzzle book!.......2007-06-26
Probably the best chess puzzle book I know.
It has lots of puzzles, for all levels - from amateur to GM.
Also includes self-tests, solutions, and also games reference - which is great. Its always good to solve quickly a move that some GM missed in a game...
Another good thing I found missing in other such books, is the fact that only small part of the book is a mating problems.
Finally - almost all the problems here are brand new from the last years games.
bottom line - highly recommended for everyone.
A must have for chess lovers who want to master the game.......2007-02-12
The book provides clear instructions and you will be able to easily answer the puzzles as the initial sections of each chapter provides useful hints on how to solve them. At the later part of the chapters, there are no hints so you will be able to solve some of them on your own.
It covers all types of puzzles - from easy to very difficult so chess players of all levels can make use of this book. There are also some tests that will allow you to gauge your level in solving puzzles - just don't take the rating so seriously especially if you have already solved some of the test puzzles in the past.
I should have given 5 stars for this book but I just have a slight difference in opinion in puzzle #195. The solution in the book says 1. Bd5!! leading to mate but actually it only gains material and a comfortable endgame after 1... Qxb2 2. Bxg8 Qg7.
White should have won decisively after 1. Rxf5!! Qxb2 (1... gxf5?? 2. Qf6++; 1... Rd7 2. Rf7! Rxf7 3. Nxf7+ Bxf7 4. Qf8+ Bg8 5. Qf6++) 2. Nf7+ Bxf7 3. Rxf7 Qa1+ 4. Kf2 Qd4+ 5. Kf1 Qa1+ 6. Ke2 Re8+ (6... Qe5+ 7. Be4!; 6... Nd4+ Kf2!) 7. Be4!
But overall, this book will help you improve your game. Happy reading! :)
REALLY! This is the ULTIMATE Chess Puzzle Book!.......2006-12-22
It is all in the selection of the puzzles and their organization. No doubt about it book that teach you tactics that are well written and organized is key to improving to tactical pattern recognition. There are two ways to go about it. Getting books on short games containing traps in the openings (learning tactics and the ideas behind the openings at the same time while using complete short games). Actually that is my favorite way to learn tactics.
The other very good way is to have a book provide tactical problems for you to solve. "The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book" really has gathered over a thousand positions that contain the most important tactical ideas. They are arranged so that you progress logically. I found the organization and selection of the problems in this book by "Emms" to be far better that the massive "5334 Chess Puzzle" book that had so many problems simply insterted to make it "big". Too many, disjointed problems, not well organized in sequence" I feel is just confusing and is not an efficient way of getting what is important across to the student. Big doesn't mean better! And, around 1000 puzzles is just about the right size! Plenty of problmes, but not overwhelming the student with unimportant materal that is just filler. I recomment to improve your tactics get a good book on Chess Traps (opening tactics) and "The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book! You will have it all!
Nicely Choosen Puzzles.......2006-09-19
I am a firm believer that tactical work books, books on chess traps in the opening, and going over analysis of instructive games are the best type of books to improve your play.
There are one thousand nicely choosen problmes containing some of the more important tactical patterns that will prove helpful in actual play. I don't like problems that are composed and have patterns that you would never come across in real play.
A suggestion for improving most tactics work books. I would like to see a building of the same tactical pattern. Start of with a simple use of a knight fork, then make it so that the same type of knight fork must be found in two moves, then an even more complicated position that requires ideas to set up that knight fork in 3 or 4 moves!!! Are there any tactics work books that do that with at least 500+ problems? Yet to be seen.
This is the best puzzle book for improvement for players rated 1700-2000.......2006-09-13
Highly recommended, the best book for tactical improvement. So why do I only give it 4 stars? The reason for this is that some diagrams/puzzles are repeated in this book. For instance, puzzle 53 is the same as 113, 59 the same as 114. Not good, but I think not only Emms is to be blamed for this, but the whole staff at Gambitbooks. But this shouldn't keep you from buying the book; this is an excellent chess puzzle book for tactical training. My advice about books on tactical improvement depending on the rating:
900-1100 : Chess Tactics for Student
1300-1600: Winning Chess Exercises for Kids
1700-2000: The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book
2000-> : John Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book.
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