Isabella Ballerina

Book Description

Isabella Ballerina Paper Doll wears six beautiful original costumes of her favorite storytime characters. She is 9 1/2 inches tall and comes with a stand. This deluxe paper doll book includes a full color fantasy backdrop, castle screen and dance floor to delight every ballerina.

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Ballerina Fairies Paper Doll

Ballerina Fairies Paper Doll
Tom Tierney
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Accessory

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ASIN: 048629045X

Book Description

One charming doll and 8 imaginatively styled costumes glitter, dazzle and delight the eye. Includes fanciful dresses for the Lilac Fairy and the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain in The Sleeping Beauty, for Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, for the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and 4 other enchanting sprites.

Customer Reviews:

Ballerina Fairies Paper Doll.......2007-08-31

While the stickers worked well, the book was very little (only a few pages) and the only figure to put the stickers on was on the front cover

Book Description

Award-winning illustrator and graphic designer Nigel Holmes depicts the things we do every day like you've never seen them before.

Pruning a rose or building a sandcastle might seem like common activities, but when you see them visualized on paper in wordless, step-by-step diagrams, you'll discover them anew. From how to tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue to how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, from how to carve a turkey to how to change a diaper, Nigel Holmes's striking diagrams will entertain and educate. Wordless Diagrams will win you over without saying a word.

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing approach.......2007-05-13

This book presents information in a very interesting way. I bought it to see how the technique worked but was amazed to see how much I learned from the various demonstrations. It was very interesting and informative.

Felt a little tricked..........2006-07-21

The two page description of CPR tells all anyone would need to know as a lay person to do what they could to keep air and blood moving for a few minutes. So, the book may be worth having for that very clear description alone.

The picture-hanging diagram was also useful (I never could figure out how to put the nail in the right place so that the frame hung at the height I wanted).

Felt a little tricked by the tie-the-cherry-stem-with-your-tongue diagram. It simply shows the stem go in and then the mouth swish around (from the outside) and then the knotted stem emerge. Absolutely no explation is given. I've read good explanations and saw one diagram on line but hoped to see something more clear to recommend.

On the otherhand, he gives a wonderful inside-the-mouth view of how to blow a bubble with bubble gum.

Overall a fun book. I liked the fact that none of the diagrams are labeled with what they're explaining (so you can flip through the book and try to deduce the point of the diagrams--some are easier to deduce than others). No worry though, the table of contents describes the point of the obtuse.

good.......2006-04-26

I guess some of you had hard time figuring out one of those instruction manuals without any pictures, something like "connect the supplied cord with three yellow and 1 green connectors to the rear port of the front panel on your VCR, while pushing middle round button on the left side of the right operational panel..." and so on. Don't you hate it? This book is not an attempt to explain you how to operate your washing machine or VCR. It's a good collection of "instructional manual" illustrations, which don't require any words. Almost all of the illustrations are "manuals" how to: "to propose", "to lasso a steer", "to parallel park your car", "to fold a T-shirt", and 154 of others.
I would recommend this book as a fun read and a good present, although i found it very inspirational.
also you might find useful a similar book "Open Here: The Art of Instructional Design" ISBN: 1556709625.

An entertaining form of design education.......2005-09-08

I've been a fan of the work of designer Nigel Holmes, the former Graphics Director for Time magazine and principal of the firm Explanation Graphics, for many years. His 1985 book "Designing Pictorial Symbols" was very helpful in teaching me, early in my career, to distill concepts down to their simplest forms. With his newest book, "Wordless Diagrams" from Bloomsbury Publishing, Holmes continues the entertaining form of education for which he is known through his publications and public speaking engagements. While not directly related to the practice of identity design, this volume is an excellent creative concepting tool for any designer interested in the creation of logos. Actually, any designer could benefit from the included lessons - and have a few chuckles in the process. The book reinforces the old K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle of design I learned in college three decades ago. In simple graphic forms, chronologically numbered for ease of use, Holmes clearly illustrates nearly 100 tasks such as how to wave like a Royal, how to make a snowman, how to pierce a tongue, and how to cremate a body. In addition, readers will also learn how to milk a cow, pour a beer and keep a low-cut dress in place as they are taken on this wordless, visual adventure. "How to train for and then eat 53 1/2 hot dogs" immediately reminded me of the lesson in simplicity, visually and verbally conveyed by Holmes, in a past HOW Design Conference presentation: "Always line up your sausages." - Jeff Fisher, "Logo Notions" column, CreativeLatitude.com

it's ok.......2005-05-07

overall an entertaining book. but i have a dilemma on where and when exactly to "read" it. it's too small to be a coffee book table; it's not something you'd read in bed. but it's a nice addition to a non-conforming books collection.

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Wordless Diagrams

Manufacturer: DUCKWORTH G
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GRQ8XK

Book Description

A paperback guide to 100 of the FUNNIEST Bad Movies Ever Made, THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE MOVIE GUIDE is written by RAZZIE Awards Founder/Creator John Wilson with tongue decidedly in cheek. Covering a wide range of hopeless Hollywood product, from THE OSCAR and VALLEY OF THE DOLLS to BATTLEFIELD EARTH and SHOWGIRLS, and also including rare RAZZIE ceremony photos and a complete history of EVERYTHING ever nominated for Tinsel Town's Tackiest Trophy, this is one GUIDE every Lover of Truly Bad Movies simply MUST read!

Customer Reviews:

One BERRY Funny (and Fun to Read) Book!.......2006-05-24

If you appreciate movies that "rank" as So-Bad-They're-Good, this book is a MUST. Razzie creator Wilson names his 100 favorite amusingly awful movies, listing cast and credits, original (often hilariously vicious) reviews for each, as well as a pithy essay on what makes each one such fun to watch. For once, someone has written a bad movie book that's about enjoying bad movies, as opposed to just trashing them. For titles available on DVD, Wilson even gives "Choice Chapter Stops," for those who can't wait to go straight to the crux of each clunker's most laughable low-lights. At the back of the book, there's a listing of where and how to buy, rent and/or catch on cable the 100 films listed -- As well as a complete history of The Razzies' first 24 years. Anyone who loves laughing at bad movies will love this book!

Pretty good, lots of movies- Mike Nelson (MST3K) is much funnier, though.......2006-04-06

If you have ever had a friend who tells you stories that should stand on their own, but instead must continually prop them up by reminding you how funny they are and how funny other people thought they were, then you have an idea of this book. You are told in each synopsis that each movie was so bad it was funny, but rarely does it come across as to why this is so. This may be more a fault of the format than the author, but as someone else stated- you're expecting something livlier from the creator of the Razzies. Still, I enjoyed it, and would give it a nod because of the sheer number of bad movies it lists, and the information it gives. However if you are looking for less of a reference book and more of a humor book, you'll probably want to keep looking.

Hilarious and informative.......2005-07-14

My previous favorite trashy movie guide "Cult Flicks and Trash Pics" by the Videohound (see listing elsewhere) has just been superseded by Wilson's Razzie guide. Written in tongue-in-cheek fashion and filled with lots of juicy tidbits about each film it discusses, this is a great read. The originator of the Raspberry Awards IRazzies) given to the worst movies of the year, at around the same time as the Oscars, got his start in 1980. Although not all Razzie Award nominees are covered here, for that matter not even all the winners are represented, Wilson does a great job with the ones he does cover.

He even goes back into Razzie pre-history, digging up such wonderful gems as 1977's mondo horror joke "The Car", and several exploitation films from the drive-in scene of the 1950's, "Glen or Glenda?", High School Confidential", etc. And Ed Wood, that maven of bad movies is represented here on more than one occasion (although "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is missing...too easy a target?)

There are even a couple of Oscar winners that get the Razzie treatment. Ubiquitous Easter movie, "The Ten Commandments" is torched, and deservedly so. Not because of it's message, its just that some of the character actors and actresses in that movie are just plain ridiculous. (Why does Edward G. robinson play every character the same way in every movie?)

To my shame, I saw some of these movies when they first came out, originally thinking they were great movies, but to my credit I was young and naive. I have seen "Xanadu" and "The Jazz Singer" in recent years and wondered "What the heck was I thinking?" I intend to see more than a few of the movies in this book now just for the laughs.

All-in-all a very good read. Besides any book that manages to mention the greatest drive-in movie critic of all time, Joe Bob Briggs, deserves a look. Anybody with that kind of taste gets my vote.

Takes The Torch From The Golden Turkey Awards.......2005-03-14

I have been a dedicated bad movie aficionado for a long time now, and always pride myself on finding obscure and utterly wretched movies to roll my eyes at. As such, I have seen many of the films in this book, and generally am in wholehearted concurrence with the author and his appraisals of these movies. My favorite bad movie book has always been "The Golden Turkey Awards" by Harry and Michael Medved, and it still is-but just barely. This book is certainly more up to date than The Turkeys, and is of the same general ilk and demeanor.

What I love about this book (and the Razzies in general) is the ability to skewer not only small, insignificant films like "The Creeping Terror" and "Devil Girl From Mars", but to take on hugely bloated yet unspeakably bad tripe like "Glitter", "Exorcist II: The Heretic", and "Spice World".

Truly, this is a treasure trove of bad cinema and has given me many good (bad) suggestions for future viewing, as well as helping me plan future gifts for fellow movie lovers.

If you have any interest in movies, especially if you love the bottom of the barrel so-bad-it's-good film, this book is a must.

To #ell with the OscarsÂ™!.......2005-03-01

That's right, I said it... or wrote it, rather. All it is, is a buncha pretentious & self-important actors, producers, and directors who take themselves too seriously givin' out awards to other pretentious & self-important actors, producers, and directors who take themselves too seriously. Then there's alla the hullabaloo over who's wearing what, and the puff-piece red-carpet interviews that I could give less than two doots about. The whole overdressed, softball-question-slinging, self-congratulatory affair can stick it where the sun don't shine! And why the #ell did Chris Rock agree to sign up as the emcee of this year's sad affair?! Thanks to the U.S. government's crackdown on their fuzzy definition of "indecent broadcasting", combined with most of the attending celebrities' general lack of a sense of humor `bout themselves (like Sean Penn's response to Rock's cracks about Jude Law, for example), it was a given that the SNL alum's little spiel was gonna be very watered down, inoffensive, and without any b@lls whatsoever... and who wants to see that! On the upside: considering the string of turkeys he's been in over the years, this event's probably the closest Chris Rock will ever get to holding one of those little naked statues...

But I digress. All I can say is, thank God there's an "awards" show that showcases the kinds of movies I like: monumentally bad ones that are oddly watchable in spite of their absolute hokiness! And the RazziesÂ™, which celebrates 25 years of "The Best of Hollywood's Worst" this year, is the awards show that wallows in the same pool of cheesy goodness that I like to dive into from time to time. Nowadays, however, I don't usually take the plunge before I leaf through this "navigation guide"-- authored by Razzies creator John Wilson-- to find just the right bad movie to spend my evening with. Between the covers are synopses of the 100 most watchable cheeseball flix (according to the Raspberry Awards Academy chairs) ever made, along with a DVD chapter stop to each movie's best bad part (if the movie's available on DVD of course), as well as a bit o' "Dippy Dialogue" from each awful offering. Each of Mr. Wilson's synopses lets ya know what to expect (bad acting, plot holes, implausible moments, unintentionally humorous moments, etc.) in a somewhat acerbic yet oddly gentle manner, layin' out more'n a few witty put-downs and/or beautifully smart-@$$ remarks here `n' there that got me laughin' like a mental patient off his meds. One of his best shots he takes is at the "soft-lensing" techniques in "Xanadu" that "was so soft that many audience members may be concerned they've suddenly contracted glaucoma." Another is his recommended Chapter Stop for "Showgirls", where the flick's big star "reenacts a sex-ed film for dolphins"(and how!)...

Needless to say, this book is a quintessential read for the refined (?!) cheeseball cinema connoisseur. It's also a fairly compelling advertisement to check out a few hokey mo-pics I haven't yet gotten to... like "Battlefield Earth" (the 2000 Worst Picture winner; a Terl (John Travolta's character) action figure "accepted" the award), "Anaconda" (don't know why I haven't gotten to this one yet), "Xanadu" (that "soft-lensing" crack got me curious), "Barbarella" (er, for its artistic merits, `natch), and several other ill-fated titles. Oh, my aching Blockbuster Video rental card...

BTW: Also included is an appendix showcasing a year-by-year listing of all the Razzie winners & nominees (Including "Worst Movie", "Worst Actor", "Worst On-Screen Couple", etc.) from the ceremony's inception in 1981 all the way through to 2004. One of my fave "winners" is Pauly Shore, the 1992 "worst new star" for his performance of "Encino Man". Talk about a harbinger of Shore's scary-talented film career, hmm? Heh...

`Late

Book Description

Record-setting ticket sales. Heated controversy. Sold-out viewings for church groups. And feuding critics. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ has grossed over $500,000,000 in the US alone, and it is still going strong. In Re-Viewing the Passion, experts from diverse backgrounds explore the film, its success and its controversy. Exploring The Passion through lenses such as film, history, feminism, art and literature, and incorporating viewpoints from Catholicism, Judaism and Protestantism, this is a must-have guide for discussion groups, film buffs, and anyone interested in the issues surrounding the film. The Passion has provoked millions to ask questions of their faith, the faith of others, and the movie itself, and this book is the tool that can help them find the answers.

Book Description

Verdi's Requiem is one of the most frequently performed works of the choral repertoire, and one of Verdi's most important nonoperatic works. In this new handbook, David Rosen discusses the work's composition and performance history, and analyzes each of the seven movements, considering Verdi's interpretation of the liturgical text, with reference to settings by Mozart and Cherubini. Rosen also considers the work's coherence and the controversial issue of its generic status--the degree to which it is "operatic."

Giuseppe Verdi - Messa da Requiem: Full Score

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Giuseppe Verdi - Messa da Requiem: Full Score

Manufacturer: Ricordi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0634079123

Book Description

With a colorful cover from Ricordi's Historical Archives, and an introduction in English, including a plot synopsis.

La Messa da Requiem di Giuseppe Verdi: Guida all'ascolto

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La Messa da Requiem di Giuseppe Verdi: Guida all'ascolto
Virgilio Prosperi
Manufacturer: Calosci
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Entertainment | Italian | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

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ASIN: 8877850914

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A TALE FROM THE DARK SIDE...

The TereziÌn Requiem
Josef Bor
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

A TALE FROM THE DARK SIDE..........2006-03-21

This is an intriguing and powerful work of holocaust literature. Set in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, a unique camp in which many of the great Jewish artists of Europe were assembled. A young conductor, Raphael Schacter, decides to undertake Verdi's Requiem with the motley crew of artists available to him. This monumental work becomes Schacter's passion, and his struggle to perfect it is set amidst the backdrop of the horrors of concentration camp life, as he loses many of his performers to the inevitable. This Catholic ode to the dead, with a Latin text and music written by an Italian, would now be played and sung by unbelievers with a true and a deep appreciation of the balance between life and death. Schacter's efforts culminate in a performance before the architect of the concentration camps, Adolf Eichmann himself. The ending of the book will sear the reader's soul.

The author, Josef Bor, was a Czechoslovakian Jew and lawyer active in the Jewish community. In 1942, he and his family were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in the town of Terezin. Although not an extermination camp, Theresienstadt was a way station for other camps. Many of the transports out of Theresienstadt were sent to extermination camps. The author survived Theresienstadt, as well as Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Buchenwald. He was the only member of his family to survive the rigors of the camps. His book is based upon a true story.

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Cordans:Messa Da Requiem/Brani Per
Andrea Cdrls 026 Faidutti
Manufacturer: REAL SOUND (ITALY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 6306105239

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Messa Da Requiem / Quattro Pezzi Sacri
Giuseppe Verdi; Fritz Reiner (conductor); Zubin Mehta (conductor)
Manufacturer: Decca: UK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM
ASIN: B000J67C4W

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Sgambati:Messa Da Requiem
Philharmonic Choir H Cd7575 44764
Manufacturer: QUALITON IMPORTED LABELS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 6306829571

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Terezinske Rekviem (Edice Scarabeus)
Josef Bor
Manufacturer: Academia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 8020005412

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Verdi:Messa Da Requiem
Alain Cdteld 17918 Lombard
Manufacturer: TELDEC RECORDS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 6305430217

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Verdi:Messa Da Requiem
Elisabet Cdopd 1314 Schwarzkopf
Manufacturer: OPERA D'ORO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 6306571051

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nonograms and cross sums

Now here's something to keep you outta everyone's hair !

Penguin Sudoku 2006: A Year's Supply of Sudokus and Some Nonograms and Cross Sums, the Fiendish New Japanese Puzzles
David Bodycombe
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Puzzles | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Sudoku | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Higher Sudoku: New Challenging Variations from Japan

The Essential Book of Japanese Puzzles and How to Solve Them

ASIN: 0143037463

Book Description

Containing a year's supply of Sudokus and some fantastic new Japanese puzzles, Penguin Sudoku 2006 presents 365 brainteasers, ranging from easy to mind-bogglingly difficult. It provides a daily fix for the hardened Sudoku fan and sets an addictive challenge for novices.

Customer Reviews:

nonograms and cross sums.......2007-03-21

I enjoyed doing the Sudoku puzzles and like how they were easy to hard in a 5 page cycle. Less boring that way. What I didn't like were the Nonograms as the resulting pictures were not very good, and the Cross Sums as 2 of the puzzles had mistakes in them.

Now here's something to keep you outta everyone's hair !.......2005-12-15

Penguin has published a doozer here.It gives you a puzzle to do for every day of the year.They come in 5 levels of difficulty,so that should give something for everybody.These puzzles were made by David Bodycombe who happens to be the fellow who has been creating various types of puzzles for years.
Just for a little change of pace, there are also included 10 pages of Nonograms,where grids are blocked in to make pictures.If you're not mad at this point ,there are 10 pages of Cross Sums that may just complete the job.
There is only the briefest of instructions or tips,so maybe this should not be the first Sudoku book one starts off with.Check out some of my other reviews,partically the other one I wrote today.
Good Sudokuing !!

Penguin Sudoku 2006 : A Year's Supply of Sudokus and Some Nonograms and Cross Sums, the Fiendish New Japanese Puzzles

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Penguin Sudoku 2006 : A Year's Supply of Sudokus and Some Nonograms and Cross Sums, the Fiendish New Japanese Puzzles
David Bodycombe
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Sudoku | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OJBKMO

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Book Is All Over The Trough!

At last, someone who knows what works!

A good read from Keating to 9/11

cliche-ridden

Doesn't make logical sense

Lipstick on a Pig: Winning In the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game
Torie Clarke
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743271165

Book Description

Torie Clarke, renowned and respected in political and business circles as one of the nation's most gifted communicators, offers a complete guide to the new age of transparency. Clarke's message is refreshing and straightforward: No more spin. Always a dubious proposition, spin has become increasingly vulnerable as information sources have proliferated; spin is simply no longer viable. Or put another way, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." Distilling her twenty-five years of experience and wisdom into eight concise rules, Clarke counsels that politicians and executives need to tell the truth early, often, and in plain language.

Clarke's experience is incomparable: She was the Pentagon's communications chief during the early years of George W. Bush's presidency and, prior to that, a high-ranking adviser to the first President Bush and to Senator John McCain. She illustrates her lessons with riveting behind-the-scenes accounts of some of our country's crucial moments over the last two decades -- for instance, as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, she was at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and she recounts her experience that day as Rumsfeld's office strove to inform, instruct, and reassure the public.

Clarke shows that a policy of transparency not only protects you, but that you even stand to gain from it -- because once you figure out that you can't put lipstick on a pig, you've actually learned something far more powerful: not to create a pig in the first place. Her lessons for getting your message out include:

Tell your own story -- especially if it's bad news -- on your own terms, before someone else tells it on theirs. It will allow you to survive controversy and will also enhance your reputation.

It's about one thing. Be ready and able to explain yourself to the proverbial man on the street in a clear, simple sentence or two.

Admit your mistakes, because the truth will out.

Entertaining, approachable, and full of crucial insight and practical guidance, Lipstick on a Pig will be indispensable for business leaders, public figures, and anyone working in media relations. With humor and savvy, Clarke's vision offers truly new opportunities for communications in the Information Age.

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Customer Reviews:

Book Is All Over The Trough!.......2007-04-19

Is this a "how to" book on corporate communications? Is it a tell-all book on government PR strategies and heartless spin? When halfway through, I still couldn't figure out what Clarke was getting at. From pages and pages of lite references to Starbucks and Saving Private Ryan...from bin Laden to the Bishops' Conference...from the Pentagon to Prime Cable, she's all over the board in a listless (almost boring) effort about media, government, corporate people and corporate places, all of which she apparently had some kind of hand in image-shaping.
-But it's less a step-by-step primer on "spinless" ways to embrace the public's good graces than a strangely woven tour of her own career successes. If the reader wants an extended resume about how one former government media-meister "made it," this cute (but surface) read's an excellent work. If, instead, the goal is finding riveting insight on slippery PR, tough opinion on the media, out-spoken analysis of crooked business and of failing government...plus solutions to the accompanying problems (something other than the continuous drone about her own vague public relations strategy of "transparency." "transparency," "transparency."), forget about it. I certainly tried to "get into" the beat of the book; but I could not, constantly expecting to find the book's real substance as the pages turned. One star, but that's generous. -For effort.

At last, someone who knows what works!.......2006-03-14

I read the other reviews of this book, and I must admit to being confused by the negativity in some of them. This is a really terrific book: honest, helpful, insightful. Torie Clarke has worked in some of the most difficult public affairs positions in this country--cable industry, Sen. John McCain, Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon--and she has learned her lessons well. What she says may not be totally original thoughts on how to represent your organization, but she has presented her observations lucidly and in entertaining style. Her advice to confront the bad news immediately is not often done here in Washington. We see every day politicians of every stripe who think it will just go away if they ignore it. Senator Trent Lott and his pronouncements on Strom Thurmond come immediately to mind, but there are many others. I was struck by Ms. Clarke's many tales of those who had owned up to their faux pas and the many others who did not. As a former public affairs officer myself, I can only echo Ms. Clarke's advice to get the principals out front and let them be the face of the organization. No one much wants to hear a flack speak for a group in a time of crisis. CEOs and generals and secretaries of cabinet agencies who hide behind their public affairs officers are never going to be as effective as those who don't, and Ms. Clarke has given plenty of reason for those high-ranking individuals to step forward and take the heat--just as they take the salary and prestige that goes with their position. This book is not big on theory; it is a very useful summary and guide for the practitioner.

A good read from Keating to 9/11.......2006-02-19

I enjoyed the book and I read it in three days. It was easy to read and the best parts are the stories she tells about her life in the Pentagon and other high profile jobs.

The story of Senator Mc Cain's actions around the Keating scandal were informative and the chilling recall of the events at the Pentagon during 9/11 kept me reading when I should have been working.

Clarke's style is irreverant (she says she is a "smart-ass" but this is after all a high class review) and she is direct. The stories of background on the process of embedding journalists in the military during the Iraq conflict are history that I'm happy to know about. The concept of putting journalists in combat and its effects are historical and this author was at the center of the decisions and the events.

The story of the Pentagon on 9/11 (Clarke was there) is told in an emotional manner. she brings home the destruction and the bravery and dedication of the Pentagon people. she brought it home to me, a guy from the Midwest who only watched the events on TV.

A fair amount of the book involves the author's work with Sec of Defense Donald Rumsfield (SecDef as she calls him in the book). She worked with him during pretty tough times and she still admires and respects him. Since the book was published after she left his employment, I think the opinions expressed are valid. Like Rumsfield or not, he is an important and powerful man and it was interesting to learn about him from someone who saw him function on a daily basis. Personally, I think he is pretty scarey on TV but he serves the country. He is not in the job for financial gain (I read he is loaded) and it is not a springboard to the Presidency or vice-presidency. He evidently works long hours because cares about the Country and the military. I like him a little better after reading the book but still don't plan on sending him a Christmas card (or getting one for that matter).

There are plenty of high ranking military people (actually men) mentioned in the book. Clarke has high praise for most if not all of them. I found it surprising that a woman serving in a high position in a men's world, during high stress times has such universal good things to say about the military and its leaders. She describes them as intelligent, talented and most of all dedicated.

Either she just wrote about the good ones or our military commanders are generally high quality. My guess is that if there was dirt to spread it would be in the book since it does help sell books and this is a Washington DC insider. Besides, she has no trouble taking dirty shots at lawyers in the book.

There are parts of the book that serve as advice for communications professionals and much of that was lost on me. I did understand the message of tell the truth and tell it quickly. Further, if you know you have to tell the truth when you mess up, you are less likely to mess up on purpose. She also advises people in power to stay in touch with the common person. Great advice and now we just have to import some common people out to Washington so that our leaders could get in touch with them.

Enough of my editorial. I like the book and I am glad I read it. In a sense of true disclosure, I read it because while I do not know the author, I have met her a couple of times. She was interesting and down to earth. In a true spirit of candor, the book is much better than I expected. I think you would enjoy the reading.

cliche-ridden.......2006-02-17

No spin era? Please. I supposed it's possible that this book concerns politics and media relations on a different planet. Maybe I should give Ms. Clarke the beneift of the doubt on that.

Doesn't make logical sense.......2006-02-14

As Torie's interview on the Daily Show highlighted, Torie has a logical dilemma. On one hand she calims that Spin is everywhere, yet she titles her book Spin is over. Which is it? The book never settles this basic point.

Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game [A book review from: Public Relations Review]

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Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game [A book review from: Public Relations Review]
S. Gibbons
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PC01GQ

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Public Relations Review, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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