Visual Piety: A History and Theory of Popular Religious Images

Book Description

This fascinating study of devotional images traces their historical links to important strains of American culture. David Morgan demonstrates how popular visual images--from Warner Sallman's "Head of Christ" to velvet renditions of DaVinci's "Last Supper" to illustrations on prayer cards--have assumed central roles in contemporary American lives and communities.
Morgan's history of popular religious images ranges from the late Middle Ages to the present day and analyzes what he calls "visual piety," or the belief that images convey. Rather than isolating popular icons from their social contexts or regarding them as merely illustrative of theological ideas, Morgan situates both Protestant and Catholic art within the domain of devotional practice, ritual, personal narrative, and the sacred space of the home. In addition, he examines how popular icons have been rooted in social concerns ranging from control of human passions to notions of gender, creedal orthodoxy, and friendship. Also discussed is the coupling of images with texts in the attempt to control meanings and to establish markers for one's community and belief. Drawing from the fields of music, sociology, theology, philosophy, psychology, and aesthetics,Visual Piety is the first book to bring to specialist and lay reader alike an understanding of religious imagery's place in the social formation and maintenance of everyday American life.

Customer Reviews:

Great photos and easy to understand text.......2000-11-03

This book finally showed me how to shoot nudes using infrared film. The text is clear and easy to understand, so that I could apply what I learned to shooting the nude with this unique film. The author details exposures, filters,lighting, focusing, developing and precautions. The stunning portfolio of infrared nudes truly inspires one to emulate the author's results. I congratulate Mr. Paduano on writing a book on infrared that photographer's can put to use and on the brilliant work he does in b&w infrared!

great text and infrared photos.......2000-02-23

Totally enjoyed this book! Takes the reader through all the necessary steps to create and print infrared images of the nude figure. Easy to understand text, covering exposure, filters, processing and printing. Expert advice on how to control this wonderful film and adapt it to shooting the nude. Also a stunning collection of infrared nude images that truly inspire. Highly recommended!

Waste of money.......1996-12-18

You can get the same technical data that is in the book from the info that comes with the film. The photographs are not that great either. Don't waste your money on this book. Any other book on infrared photography is surely better than this.

Book Description

Dear Stupid Idiots,

A lot of you have been saying that I don't know anything about REAL ninjas. But that's a bunch of bull crap! You dummies don't know anything. And maybe YOU should get a life. I bet a lot of you have never even seen a girl naked! You idiots believe that ninjas had some "code of honor." Yeah right! If by "code of honor," you mean "code to flip out and go nuts for absolutely no reason at all even if it means that people might think you are totally insane or sweet," then you are right. But if you mean a "code to be nice and speak nicely while sharing and not cutting off heads," then you're the biggest idiot ever!!!!!! So if you have any brains, you will shut up and get a life. So go shut up, you stupid idiot.

No thank you,

Robert Hamburger

Customer Reviews:

funny at first.......2007-10-02

at first it started pretty funny... ninjas are cool...yada yada yada... and i admit i like silly humor. then chapter 4 comes around, and theres nothing witty...its basically the same joke repeated over and over.

Love it.......2007-09-25

Warning: This book has nothing to do with real ninjas.

If you can't take a joke, this book ain't for you. If your a woman, this might be for you but might find some things offensive. This book has absolutely nothing to with ninjas but it is hilarious. It is a book that feels like it has been written by a 13 year old boy with his babysitter as his editor. Just by looking at the name, Robert Hamburger, and the fake reviews, this book is one of the best toilet readers I've had since "The Alphabet of Manliness"

Down the middle.......2007-07-19

You are either going to LOVE this book or HATE this book. If you go to his website and look at that for a little bit, that will tell you whether or not you will love or hate this book.

Yawn.......2007-06-25

There were funny parts to the book, but they were all on the website, too. Save your money, go to the website, and see the good parts. The rest of the book is just boring.

Tedious.......2007-06-09

Don't get me wrong. It's funny. However, if you've seen the web site, the book offers little that is new, and it gets old fast. This might be a good book to have as a conversation piece, or in the bathroom, but let's face it, people will probably think less of you if you own it.

Book Description

Trash proudly assembles more than 150 masterpieces of twisted brilliance: lowbrow graphic poster art from the sickest, sleaziest, sexiest, and weirdest films from the 1950s through the 1980s. A feast for the eyes and other visceral zones, Trash rolls in the mud with graphic art of such questionable aesthetic quality and social worth that it practically redefines the poster as advertising medium. Chapters each define a key Trash topic (Sex Trash, Action Trash, Sick Trash, Race Trash, Groovy Trash, Docu Trash), collecting the most zombified, oversexed, lethal pest-infested, and tasteless posters from each genre. With plagues of frogs, meteors headed straight for earth, sex-starved zombies, and explosion after glorious explosion, Trash gleefully crawls across the underbelly of both the cinematic and poster arts.

Customer Reviews:

Good, but not great........2005-04-02

All fans of exploitation cinema will find this a mandatory purchase, but with only 150 images I was a little disappointed. Another drawback is the absence of such exploitation classics as MARK OF THE DEVIL, PINK FLAMINGOS, FREAKS, REEFER MADNESS, MOM AND DAD, MOONSHINE MOUNTAIN, MS. 45, EVEN HITLER HAD A GIRLFRIEND, MANIAC, STREET TRASH and any and all nunsploitation and nazi films, but yet the inclusion of mainstream movies like MAD MAX, THE HOWLING and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.

Still despite all my complaints it's worth buying. Here are some of my favorites: KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, SIX PACK ANNE, TRIP WITH THE TEACHER, SCUM OF THE EARTH, DEATH IN SMALL DOSES and THE PUSHER.

A good poster book.......2004-09-18

A good poster book for those who like exploitation cinema. The posters (and some lobby cards) are presented as they have them, flaws and all. (I have met the authors--Besides being collectors, they run a screening room in San Francisco where they show exploitation films off of prints, some quite battered, but that adds to the pleasure.)And fortunately, since this book was published, some of these films have surfaced on DVD as well(although I would love to see Skidoo appear on DVD).

Not 'Trash'.......2002-12-23

I've thumbed through many a poster book at my local bookstores but this one I just had to own! Probably because 'exploitation' movies are my favorite guilty pleasure cinema. Assembled here is some great art, when movie posters actually leapt off of the paper they were drawn on--to get in your face. New movie poster artists should get this book as a reference for their ad campaigns (and you can tell some are starting to...) In an age of such: passiveness in film, where everything is rated PG-13, it's nice to reflect on this golden age of poster art for films, that mostly, delivered what they advertised. A worthy purchase for the film fan.

It is TRASH!.......2002-11-08

part of the appeal of trashy exploitation films are their "smear" campaigns, one-sheets full of bosomy women, firing guns, cars in collision and whatnot. On this level the book is very enjoyable -- HOWEVER, I find the grouping of the posters haphazard (what is CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS doing in "Groovy Trash?"), many of the posters are in poor condition and the brief introductions to each chapter are highly irritating. The author trips all over himself trying to sound clever and fails dismally. Still ... where else are you going to see a four-color poster for SIX-PACK ANNIE?

Trash- Pick it Up.......2002-09-10

For those of us who have wished for a book that featured nothing but beautiful color reproductions or horror, sci fi and exploitation art this is our answer.

While I love books such as "Immoral Tales" and such, sometimes I just want to look at the art of these one sheets for refrence -design ideas, painting styles, etc... and many books will have only a dozen or so nice color plates while the rest of the book is filled with the authors interpretations of the films.

Trash's focus is on the art and aside from an introduction, (where the author does explain why they chose not to airbrush out the flaws and creases of the posters in the book) there is nothing but photos.

For those who want in depth movie reviews and director profiles, there are several books and web pages out there, but for those of us who also admire the long lost poster ART, this book has fabulous images.

My one complaint is that instead of changing genres each chapter (horror, exploitation, sci fi, etc..) this book should have been a series of books, each catagory being a seperate volume! I hope they print a volume 2.

If you liked this book, check out "Blood and Black Lace" (might be out of print) which has is the definitive book on Italian Giallos, and has many color reproductions of the rare onesheets.

Average customer rating:

Amazing!

Exploitation Poster Art

Manufacturer: Aurum Press, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Advertising | Commercial | Graphic Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Graphic Arts | Graphic Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Posters | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Trash: The Graphic Genius of Xploitation Movie Posters

Horror Poster Art

Science Fiction Poster Art

Attack of the 'B' Movie Posters (The Illustrated History of Moves Through Posters Series Vol. 14)

Film Posters of the 90s: The Essential Movies of the Decade (Film Posters of the Decade)

ASIN: 1845130995

Book Description

This collection presents the crème de la crème of schlocky movie posters—from Sexploitation to Blaxploitation, High School Hellcats to Fritz the Cat. The movies may be tacky, but the posters are masterpieces of innuendo—vivid, often comic reminders of the taboos of yesteryear.

Sex, drugs, delinquency, Black Power, rock `n' roll: these are just a few of the themes that have inspired B-movie makers over the past 80 years. A few of the films have become cult classics, but not many of us would want to sit through two hours of Hot Rod Rumble. The posters created to promote these movies, on the other hand, are fantastic period pieces that evoke all the taboos of bygone eras. Before the Hayes Code of 1934, Hollywood had few inhibitions: the poster for Girl Without a Room, for example, left little doubt as to how the young woman would find accommodation. In the 50s, Beats and juvenile delinquents attracted teens to the drive-ins; in the 60s and 70s came Blaxploitation films like Shaft and the first of Russ Meyer's mammary- obsessed epics, Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill. The posters for these films—from Albert Vargas' venture into the genre for Ladies They Talk About to Alan Aldridge's photomontage for Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls—are masterpieces of visual innuendo, offering, in most cases, far more than the movies themselves actually delivered.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing! .......2005-11-23

Another great release from Tony Nourmand. I just received this one today in the mail, and it was hard to put it down. If you are a fan of movies you should look into all of the collection from Nourmand. I have discovered many movies i had never heard of just by seeing the poster in these books. This book covers a great part of cinema, Exploitation movies. Next time you are in a book store you should check these titles out if not just go ahead and make a blind purchase from Amazon, you will not be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Exploitation Film Posters: Exploitation

Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Posters | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Exploitation Poster Art
Tony Nourmand
Manufacturer: Aurum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HZ3G9U

Book Description

The Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Concise Edition includes professional recordings (many brand new) of selected works in the anthology in a six-CD set. These CDs are for use with The Norton Anthology of Western Music and A History of Western Music.

Average customer rating:

basic and solid

STud is dead

Good Book...

One Stop 7 Card Stud Education

Winning 7-Card Stud - A Winner in it's own right!

Winning 7-Card Stud: Transforming Home Poker Chumps into Casino Killers
Ashley Adams
Manufacturer: Lyle Stuart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Poker | Card Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Gambling | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players (Advance Player)

How to Beat Low Limit 7 Card Stud Poker

7-card Stud

Omaha Poker

High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advan (Advance Player)

ASIN: 0818406356

Customer Reviews:

basic and solid.......2007-08-11

this book contains a lot of basic info, but, particularly for a poker book, is very well written. it is not only tight, but, as an apparent rarity for poker authors, atrocious grammatical errors are also largely absent.

there are a few basic concepts, well explained, that even the somewhat strong player may benefit from relearning or considering. the beginning of the book is very basic, but is still perhaps a good review for most but very experienced stud players. for beginners,the next third of so of the book may be mildly helpful, but otherwise the descriptions of casinos and how to play there, manage buy in amounts, keep one's emotions in check after a so called "bad beat" (or bad play by the reader, which should, frankly, be a lot more upsetting than this silly idea than one should be upset because someone "sucked out" chasing with poor odds) etc., will only be read by the avid player with the expectation that this section will end soon(although his idea of getting up from the table when upset may be a good one for some players). it doesn't.

but when it does, the last portion of the book is well worth it. while some intermediate and advanced stud is left out, the author does lay out, on top of the earlier basic foundation, some of the more important next step concepts, and a few advanced plays in largely clear and logical fashion, with strong examples. on some of them one may disagree with the author's conclusions, and a consideration or two may have been omitted, but basically the material seemed reasonably solid, and his reasons are usually well stated. while the author's own experiences are somewhat over prevalent, they again read well, and at times are relevant when related to the play of hands.

while it is not overly ripe with material, anybody learning stud should really buy this book, and any other player who is not overly immersed in the game, looking to improve, should benefit as well. combine that with the tight read and cogent explanations, and it is a worthwhile purchase for many stud and horse players as well as those looking to play those games or broaden their horizons into a game that is really well worth learning, even for hold 'em fanatics.

STud is dead.......2007-08-05

I have no idea whether the book is good or not, but Stud Poker is a dead game. why would you want to learn it?

Good Book..........2006-03-21

The book is incremental in its teaching approach. The basic strategy first laid out will not make you money but it will limit your losses greatly. Then later in the book Ashley Adams covers how to play more hands. If you don't play more hands the antes will eat up the money you may make. But, this approach will keep the reader from going bankrupt while they develop a feel for the game. If the reader follows the author's program they will relearn some of the overly conservative strategies later....when they are ready. Coupled with real experience it is probably the only book you need to play lower limit cash games.

The book covers some good ancillary information regarding Casino play in general.

Then again I am not big on books being necessary for good play. Any book introductory would probably do well enough to get you started. The Roy West book is supposed to be good also.

One Stop 7 Card Stud Education .......2006-01-15

This book is fantastic. I went from having casual knowledge of stud poker to being extremely confident at the tables. I had read a number of Ashley Adams articles and he is not your average writer. He has an extraordinary ability to recognize the abilities of the reader and not give him or her too much to handle.

After reading the first 50 pages, I was quite disappointed at the starting hand requirements and put the book down. I started playing and had a winning session of 7 card stud. I had thought playing tight and waiting for good starting hands was boring, but tight is right. And winning is definitely not boring. I immediately finished the book and absorbed the advanced material later in the book and I am astonished at how great this book has helped me.

While the Harrington on Hold'em books are the best ever written for NL tournament poker, this book is the best you can get for your library in 7 card stud. You might eventually advance beyond the concepts of this book and need a higher level book, but I don't think the average casual player with be sitting at stakes beyond $3/6 or $5/10.

5 Stars, I highly recommend this book to everyone. Everything you need to know in one book to become a winner. You will appreciate the work Ashley Adams put into this book to help players understand the complexities of 7 card stud. He is truly one of the best at teaching poker that I have ever read.

Winning 7-Card Stud - A Winner in it's own right!.......2005-09-04

After the beginner has read 7 CARD STUD by Roy West he is ready for WINNING 7-CARD STUD which is the next logical step. It's well organized and in-depth in it's practical approach to introducing the novice to the finer points of 7 Stud. While Texas Hold'em is exciting and getting all the attention these days, 7 Card Stud is the thinking man's form of poker and this book will help you play it well.

Customer Reviews:

The "Quantum Leap" episode guide for the first three seasons.......2003-07-16

Since "The Quantum Leap Book" is "The Official Publication of the Television Series" the results are rather disappointing, especially for those of us who have been spoiled by "The Watcher's Guides" that serve as the official companion volumes to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." This is especially true since "Quantum Leap" is a series that lends itself to further exploration.

"Quantum Leap" aired on NBC from March 26, 1989 to August 15, 1993 and became a cult favorite, which mattered because it aired in nine different time slots (covering four different days and three different starting times). Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula), was a physicist who ended up "leaping" into the bodies of strangers in other times and places, where his only contact is with an observer, Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). Creator and executive producer Donald P. Bellisario set up a specific set of rules: Sam could only travel within his own lifespan, he appeared to the viewers as himself but to those around him as the person into whom he had leaped, and he could not leap into the next person until he had changed events (hopefully, for the better). If the idea was compelling, then the execution was often superb as proven in "The Leap Home."

The strengths of "The Quantum Leap Book" put together by Louis Chunovic are the conservations with Bellisario, Bakula, and Stockwell, as well as with the production designer and costume designer. The book covers the episodes from the first three seasons in two ways. First, there is a listing of the shows in the order they aired, consisting of the title, the leap, the heart story, and the kiss with history. Second, there are synopses of the leaps in chronological order from 1953 to 1999. Throughout the volume there are a lot of pictures, both in black & white as well as color, representing both the episodes and behind the scenes looks at the series.

If anything, the pictures tend to overwhelm the information and I have to admit to a preference for the latter, so I would have liked less pictures and more details on the background history, the guest stars, and the like. Also, there is the "problem" that this volume only covers have the run for the series, but for those who love the series and continue to catch it in syndication. this official publication is worth the trouble of tracking down.

a very good book about the tv series.......1998-04-25

this is a very good book about the tv series. for the fans of the show its a real treat and its very detailed also

Episode guide is lacking.......1998-03-06

The pictures, interviews and bios are great! However, the episode guide leaves much to be desired. The guide only runs through the 1990-1991 season (this book was published in 1993). There are also several errors in the episode summaries. Nowhere in the episode summaries does it list the guest star(s) for that episode. All in all if you want a book with some great pictures and interviews then this is the book for you. Otherwise, I'd look elsewhere.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books