Customer Reviews:
Delightful.......2006-01-07
"News from Nowhere" is a Utopian fantasy in strong reaction against the Industrial (factory) Capitalism of the time (1890s England).
It's like a cross between "Rip Van Winkle" and "Gulliver's Travels." William, the hero, goes to sleep in 1890s England (the powerhouse of rapacious Industrialism and Imperialism) and wakes up in a post-2000 England, where Industrialism is gone, and life is like heaven.
How has all this happened? Simple. People have given up the Ethic of Scarcity mentality, which says "Let him who does not work not eat"--which turns life into never-ending toil. And they have turned to an Ethic of "Follow Your Bliss."
This, naturally, has destroyed Industrial (factory) capitalism.
Morris believed that Industrial (factory) Capitalism, with its fierce division of labor and assembly-line techniques--although very efficient--was grotesque and dehumanizing. Like Marx, he believed that such a system turned workers into mere components of the machine--mechanical and highly expendable.
For workers, it made life repetitive and soul-killing (and body-killing) drudgery. And for consumers, it turned out floods of shoddy assembly-line trash--"goods" that were hardly good at all but unesthetic, cheap, throwaways.
Morris realized that Industrialism had traded quality for quantity, and it had given the wrong answer to Jesus' question, "What profiteth it a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?"
(Sound familiar? It is precisely what we have now.)
He wanted to change all that. And unlike the Marxian socialists, Morris did not see the factory system as inevitable.
He favored a more anarchist type of socialism.
In "News from Nowhere"--in the TRULY brave new world he envisions--there is no government (because people and quite capable of governing themselves and reaching mature agreements), there are no schools (because people instinctively learn what is useful and what interests them), and most of all there is no work, in the sense of toil and drudgery (because people do what they like, out of their own artistic gifts and interests).
As a result, people like their lives and they like other people. They are happy, and as a consequence healthy. They make things and do things not for profit but because they like doing them--and in the grand scheme of things, all necessary and beautiful things get done.
This is a marvelously charming book, and presents the (quite achievable) Anarchist Paradise in simple and concrete terms.
Artist and Socialist.......2005-05-13
Yes, I mean that with a capital S. The title story, "News from Nowhere", is a Socialist Utopia like Bellamy's "Looking Backward." In fact, Morris wrote an intro to Bellamy's brief book, and criticized it (gently) for not going far enough.
Morris' view of that happy future occupies about half of this thick compilation. It is an incredible Eden, where hale, hearty, and lovely people swing into everything with the greatest gusto. Morris' character, the Guest, arrives just when everyone is falling over themselves to row upstream for the privelege of baling hay. Through some Socialist magic, everyone has become beautiful, intelligent, and youthful. In fact Ellen, who takes a shine to the Guest, has such "beauty and cleverness and brightness" (her own words, p.223) that she lives out of town to avoid causing a ruckus among the young bucks there.
Outside of everyone's passion for good, hard labor (with the fear of some future shortage of sweaty work to go around), 'Nowhere' is most notable for the changes it has wrought on the English countryside. Since government no longer serves a Socialist need, the old trappings of power have been torn down. The one exception is the old Parliament building, which now serves as the transfer station between the producers of manure and its consumers - with a clear implication that little has changed.
Exchange of manure is about the most sophisticated social interaction, since Morris declares that "this is not an age of inventions. The last epoch did all that for us," (p.192) and they let more of the old knowledge slip away every year. Instead, his healthy and pastoral people work for love of work, and infuse some vague sense of art into whatever it was they were going on about. Issues of medical care are waved away under their general shiny health, despite the fact that pastoral, non-technological people filled their graveyards with women dying in childbirth.
The other half of this book is divided between a number of essays and lectures, most of which extol the Socialist ethos. About 120 pages of "Lectures" discuss design, and some few - with gritted teeth - acknowledge that science may deserve to exist. Yes, he tolerates those people in whom the desire to know burns most brightly. Mostly, however, "science" is something good for cleaning flue gas so the rural colors may shine more brightly.
Morris was a visionary. He was also a brilliant and driven man, a skilled artisan, and eloquent writer. Unfortunately, he was born into a good-sized estate, so never had to pay all that much attention to the fussy bits of how people put the bread on their tables. The disconnect between his plenty and the majority's need is painfully apparent, but not to himself.
The best-reasoned essay of the lot was the last, on the founding philosophy of his Kelmscott Press. He explained, in concrete terms, how he decided on the principles of artisanship of printing, and goes into some detail about how well-made text should appear. Much of what he said made sense, and much of the rest could be confirmed or denied by printing up a few pages and seeing what worked - the essence of his reviled "science."
Morris had a fine and wide-ranging mind. This book shows many of its aspects, but also shows many of its failings. I was happier thinking of him only as the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement.
//wiredweird
William Morris' salutary alternative to industrial dystopia.......2003-11-14
This edition focuses primarily upon William Morris' influential utopian romance News from Nowhere, and contains some useful notes for the reading of the text together with several other of his pieces relating to the themes of Earthly Paradise, the arts and crafts and the nature of work.
If News from Nowhere seems unfamiliar to most people now, it is perhaps not so much due to its age than to the many successful novels written since that warn of the perils of striving blindly toward some Brave New World ideal. Yet News from Nowhere was itself written partly as a reaction to one such industrial utopia, namely Edward Bellamy's `Looking Backward', and is perhaps more relevant today than at any time since its original publication in 1890. William Morris offers here a prophetic anticipation of the concerns of today's growing environmental and `anti-globalisation' movements.
Although others have presented Morris' ideas as backward and Luddite, such labelling imparts a misleading picture of his views. Indeed, far from being a 'Luddite' Morris was quick to embrace the innovative Jacquard loom in his own workshops - a programmable punch-card system for automated weaving, and one of the precursors of modern computing. The irony inherent in such a label will not be lost on those familiar with the history of the Luddites.
Rather than denouncing technology News from Nowhere sees a world so technologically and socially advanced that it has surpassed any need for the industrial technology of Capital, ably providing for its own happiness and wellbeing without it. Progressive and sustainable technology is woven so seamlessly into its idyllic tapestry that if you were to blink you would easily miss it. And this is exactly the point Morris was making about the appropriate use of technology. Unpolluting, smokeless furnaces and silently powered barges drift by almost unnoticed as a group of friends make their way gently along the Thames by rowing boat - another technology perfectly suited to their own immediate needs and fancies.
The power and beauty of Morris' novel does not lie simply in the descriptions of the material environment of its imaginary society. Morris' vision is never so shallow. He is concerned above all with the quality of life of its inhabitants and the forms of social organisation that bequeath them its benefits, and how this contrasts so starkly with the forces of coercion and seduction that govern our own society. The inhabitants that Morris describes with such convincing lucidity are nurtured in a social environment founded upon a resurgence of vernacular values and an abandonment of institutionalised forms of control and exploitation. The fire of Morris' polemic being eloquently voiced through the dialogues of old Hammond in the heart of the novel.
If you are interested in a serious and profound analysis of our own society and the development of a saner view of the world then News from Nowhere will provide you with many pertinent insights. A testimony to the prescience of his vision, written as it was almost one hundred years before the environmental revolution in thinking that swept the world in the late 1980's and beyond, Morris provides us here with a very timely view of an alternative future to that promised by our own society, leading us as it is towards the brink of ruinous global turmoil.
This long neglected novel won't fail to move the hearts of a new generation of readers who may be disillusioned with a life of stifling employment and meaningless industrial consumption.
The Luddite lover of liberty?.......2000-06-24
I suspect that many people who come across this book will be art lovers, specifically admirers of Art Noveau and perhaps even recent visitors to the exhibition of this particular form of turn-of-the-century expression at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. And this is, notwithstanding the prominence of the title story and Clive Wilmer's introduction, which focuses on the political aspects of Morris's writing, a book about the author's vision of beauty, of craftsmanship not for its own sake, but with the aim of producing work of skill and magnificence, and, as a secondary but vital consideration, the satisfaction of the artist. Morris comes across as a brilliant man, devoted to his many crafts (he taught himself thirteen) and passionate about human equality, though the impression from his writing is that the quality of the artist's skill, and particularly in the field of the decorative (what he calls the 'lesser') arts, matters more to him than the egalitarianism he trumpets. The political pieces, such as the title story, which comprises almost half the book and portrays Morris's vision of an ideal society in the year 2102, are the weakest, speculating as they do about a population of uniform mind in its espousal of the superiority of the Mediaeval ideal of art and its fanatical rejection of progress and technology. Genetics, the evolutionary territorial imperative, the diversity of human imagination which has since spawned the Information Age, are all swept aside by the juggernaut of Morris's Luddite, Gothic world-view (and although I accept the context in which he writes, namely late-Victorian London, I can't ignore his failure to mention the benefits of the industrialisation he despises, such as the increased life-expectancy, the majesty of the scientific leaps within his lifetime). Nonetheless, Morris is an inspiring polemicist: his rejection of the State, his fierce and uncompromising belief in his ideas, his utterly convincing support for the rightness of the individual's potential for common-sense and ability to recognise what is good, what is true, in the face of the pronouncements of authority, mark him as a defender of freedom quite apart from many of his orthodox Marxist contemporaries.
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A star from nowhere and other stories and poems
Manufacturer: Thorold's Africana Books [distributor]
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ASIN: 1868401200 |
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Flores a la Acuarela - D.P.F. -
Varios
Manufacturer: Parramon
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History and practice of oil and bromoil printing
Luis Nadeau
Manufacturer: Atelier Luis Nadeau
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ASIN: 0969084110 |
Customer Reviews:
Best calendar around.......2007-02-08
As usual Amazon delivers what I want in perfect shape. Love these Dilbert calendars for my office each year. Of course...I'm in IT.
Book Description
Shanghai in the early twentieth century was alive with art and culture. With the proliferation of popular genres such as the martial arts film, the contest among various modernist filmmakers, and the advent of sound, Chinese cinema was transforming urban life. But with the Japanese invasion in 1937, all of this came to a screeching halt. Until recently, the political establishment has discouraged comprehensive studies of the cultural phenomenon of early Chinese film, and this momentous chapter in China's history has remained largely unexamined.
The first sustained historical study of the emergence of cinema in China, An Amorous History of the Silver Screen is a fascinating narrative that illustrates the immense cultural significance of film and its power as a vehicle for social change. Named after a major feature film on the making of Chinese cinema, only part of which survives, An Amorous History of the Silver Screen reveals the intricacies of this cultural movement and explores its connections to other art forms such as photography, architecture, drama, and literature. In light of original archival research, Zhang Zhen examines previously unstudied films and expands the important discussion of how they modeled modern social structures and gender roles in early twentieth-century China.
The first volume in the new and groundbreaking series Cinema and Modernity, An Amorous History of the Silver Screen is an innovative—and well illustrated—look at the cultural history of Chinese modernity through the lens of this seminal moment in Shanghai cinema.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 1574 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: An Amorous History of the Silver Screen: Shanghai Cinema, 1896-1937.(Book review)
Author: Shelly Kraicer
Publication:
Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 31
Issue: 4
Page: 91(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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- Berlioz Finest Soloist-Choral Work
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LA Damnation De Faust: Dramatic Legend in Full Score
Hector Berlioz
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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Customer Reviews:
Berlioz Finest Soloist-Choral Work.......2000-07-05
You will find in this book a very thorough writing of this magic 19th century masterpiece. The text is in both German (the original Goethe's) and French and all the Hector Berlioz indications are written down (French only). As nothing can be perfect it lacks at many pages the indication of which instrument is playing, although you can figure out who they are when you are reading music you have no time for this.
Book Description
Mason Malmuth was born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida. In 1973 he received his BS in Mathematics from Virginia Tech, and completed their Masters' program in 1975. While working for the United States Census Bureau in 1978, Mason stopped overnight in Las Vegas while driving to his new assignment in California. He was immediately fascinated by the games, and gambling became his major interest.
After arriving in California, he discovered that poker was legal and began playing in some of the public cardrooms, as well as taking periodic trips to Las Vegas where he would play both poker and blackjack. In 1981 he went to work for the Northrop Corporation as a mathematician and moved to Los Angeles where he could conveniently pursue his interest in poker in the large public cardrooms in Gardena, Bell Gardens, and Commerce.
In 1983 his first article, "Card Domination — The Ultimate Blackjack Weapon," was published in Gambling Times magazine. In 1987 he left his job with the Northrop Corporation to begin a career as both a full-time gambler and a gambling writer. He has had over 500 articles published in various magazines and has authored or co-authored 14 books. These include Gambling Theory and Other Topics, where he tries to demonstrate why only a small number of people are highly successful at gambling. In this book he introduces the reader to the concept of "non-self weighting strategies" and explains why successful gambling is actually a balance of luck and skill. Other books he has co-authored are Hold 'em Poker For Advanced Players, written with David Sklansky, and Seven-Card Stud For Advanced Players written with David Sklansky and Ray Zee. All the "advanced" books are considered the definitive works on these games.
His company, Two Plus Two Publishing, has sold over 400,000 books and currently has 26 titles to its credit. These books are recognized as the best in their field and are thoroughly studied by those who take gambling seriously.
Customer Reviews:
A "must read" book.......2006-06-18
I have many books that tell me "what" to do. This is the only one that really explains "why" to do it. While not always easy reading, there are amazing and valuable lessons in here. The topics apply directly to poker but also to Life.
time for a revised edition...?.......2005-12-13
When this book came out it garnered a lot of respect within the poker world. Even today his section on the standard deviation and it's importance to poker players understanding how good or bad they can run just as a function of luck as well as "non-self weighting poker ideas" are still considered required reading by many players..
Unfortunately, much of the rest of the book is outdated and of little use to today's players: He discusses lowball and jacks or better draw, he discusses "bingo", he talks about the "new games" of PaiGow and Pan 9. This book is almost 19 years old now much of the original text is outdated or obsolete. Another section that seems a bit suspect is his discussion of tournaments. Although it contains some interesting mathematical ideas, it seems of little use in the "real" world of tournament poker. The fact that Malmouth chooses not to play in tournaments has stirred controversy over the years from those whose primary involvement in poker is tournaments. This text( with the noted exceptions in paragraph one) is in need of an overhaul in my opinion and is not much more than an interesting philosophical or theoretical overview of gambling. One other section that is actually of value is his review of many of the popular gambling and poker titles by other writers. A number of players I have talked with like this section the best as it gives them direction in their book reading and buying decisions.
Fundamental understanding of gamling.......2005-07-25
The book gives a understanding of how gamling works. It explains the fluctation that create illusions among players. Illusions about how good they are, what card that makes a profit. If you want to be a serious poker player, this book gives you a fundamental understanding that you fail to find in other poker books.
Great Book.......2004-08-19
This book helped me incredibly understand the odds and help beat the casino at their games. I recommend it.
Thought Provoking and Annoaying.......2003-08-03
While reading this book it forces you to think, which is excellent. However I found myself annoayed at some of Mason's comments as alot of what he says is semi-controversial and he seems to try to make everything over controversial, more so than it has to be.
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Gambling theory & other topics
Mason Malmuth
Manufacturer: s.n.]
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Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B00071OZPI |
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The Best of 60s TV
Michael McCall
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ASIN: 0792458311 |
Books:
- Nine Lives: The Birth of Avant-Garde Art in New China
- Old Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity
- Perspectives Arts of the Pacific Islands (Perspectives)
- Pictures from the Surface of the Earth
- Pierre Huyghe: Float
- Pop L.A.: Art and the City in the 1960s
- Public Displays of Affection
- Puzzles about Art: An Aesthetics Casebook
- Raphael and the Beautiful Banker: The Story of the Bindo Altoviti Portrait
- Reenchantment of Art
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