Amazon.com
The business behind creating and producing comics, cartoons, or, specifically, animation is nothing short of fascinating. More than a "behind the scenes" book or a "tell all" expose, Serious Business is a great find for this reason: it places an emphasis on the creative people in the industry. To quote the dust cover: "The history of animation is the story of its geniuses. Serious Business disperses the clouds created by decades of received wisdom, bogus myth-making, and corporate propaganda to reveal a cast of characters whose entertainment value exceeds that of their creations."
Book Description
First time in paperback: the behind-the-scenes story of the cartoon business from its silent-era beginnings to today's computer-generated animation-and how these 'toons reflect America's values and dreams
As Roger Rosenblatt put it, "What makes Serious Business a special treat is that it is like the best of the cartoons itself-funny, touching, and infused with thoughtful joy." This generously illustrated history of animation looks at the creation and celluloid careers of such American icons as Felix the Cat, Jiminy Cricket, Mickey and Minnie, Popeye and Olive Oyl, Goofy, Yogi Bear, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Daffy Duck, Tom and Jerry, and the Pink Panther. Art and commerce collide again and again as Stefan Kanfer wittily probes the origins of such diverse cartoon families as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and The Simpsons and looks at the phenomenal success of feature-length animated films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Lion King. Serious Business is itself a classic of animation, bringing to life an art and an industry whose creations have now worked their way into every corner of American life.
Customer Reviews:
No Betty-Boop.......2006-02-02
Amazon search indicated this was all Betty Boop so I bought this especially for a Betty Boop nut. Betty Boop was on the cover but nowhere in the index! So now I am reading it to see if I wasted my money.
A mixed bag..........1999-10-26
"Serious Business" is generally a good book, though with a few major flaws. It distinguishes itself by providing not only an overview of the history of cinematic animation in the US, but also places the rise and fall of animation in a historical and cultural context. It gives a clearer picture of how the politics and economics of the times influenced and steered not only the creation and content of animated pictures, but also the business aspects as well.
On the plus side, Kanfer does indeed delve beyond the standard name-and-dates syndrome of other animation histories. He attempts to provide a broad overview of the early years of animation and how non-Disney studios were to eventually fall to the Mouse. When focused, Kanfer's writing is extremely engaging and his accounts of the various political maneuverings are facsinating.
Unfortunately, Kanfer attempts to squeeze too much into to little space. One could easily see this book being twice the size it is now. As such, the very aspects one wants to explore most - how such things as economics, war, race and politics in America effected animation - are never really fleshed out for any given studio/cartoon beyond a few pages, or paragraphs. Significant space is given to Disney's story (perhaps deservedly so), but I would've liked to learn more about 'outsider' studios as well.
Kanfer also has a habit of not staying focused in his chapters and bouncing suddenly from place to place. It doesn't make the book unreadable by any means, but it does distract from the over-all flow of the narritave.
All in all though, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a general historical overview of animation.
A good book, but not a great one........1997-09-06
A good read, but not the great book it could have been. It could easily have been twice as long. Early chapters are strongest. Strong on Disney. Would like to have seen more on Looney Tunes
Great intro to American animation history!.......1997-07-12
Well written, concise survey of American animation history. The only slights are that he doesn't have much to say on non-Disney animated efforts of the past decade, especially television animation, and that too many pages praise the horrendous UPA 'toons. Otherwise, this is a great intro to a neglected sector of American culture. If you want to learn about cartoons without buying a separate book on each major company, this should be your choice
Brilliant and stunning!.......1997-04-24
I believe in the every growing rate of sophistication in our country and I'm sure with books like this we can take our government more seriously
Average customer rating:
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Fashion Illustration - The Fundamentals and Knacks
Manufacturer: Korinsha Press & Co ,Japan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 477130209X |
Book Description
A puddle-plumbing denizen of Walden Commune, Harris spent his formative years as a bodaciously freaked-out college student. His innovative decoding of the rites and rituals of the burgeoning counterculture put him on the cover of Time. Forced by a strategic oversight to graduate from college, Harris blazed a path to glory on the pro tanning circuit. His triumph in the George Hamilton Cocoa-Butter Open set a high watermark for the sport.
Family values led Harris to devote considerable time to helping his stunned parents refill their empty nest. Extended-family values propelled him into a career as a professional nanny, in which capacity he has indeed taught the children well-especially Sam, who was surfing the long board while still in diapers. Later, leveraging his political cluelessness, Zonker served on the disastrous Duke2000 presidential campaign. A devoted foot soldier in the war against AIDS suffering, Zonk is held in high regard among SoCal's medical marijuana community for the efficacious potency of his magic brownies. Unfazed by worldly success, he remains a true and gentle freak. "After all," he humbly notes, "I am but one dude."
Customer Reviews:
"The energy we bring to our endeavors will light our country! The glow from that fire can truly light the world!".......2006-06-05
What a surprise ,when I spotted this latest Doonesbury book. I have been a fan of this strip ever since it started and it gets better all the time.I have almost all the books that have come out over the years and in some ways this is the best yet.
Rather than cover a span of the strip over a period of a year or so;this book takes a radically different approach. It takes one of the main characters,Zonker, and follows his journey through life from the earliest days of the strip up until his friend ,B.D.,returns from war,missing a leg; and is finally resorted to getting a job. As expected, his job doesn't work out and he must decide what to do with the rest of his life. What do you know;he decides to go back to college;"to retool for the future".
When snapshots from the strip are all gathered together like this;it brings back many fond memories.
I've always enjoyed the stories and issues in the strip;but I have also been intrigued by the growth and changes that have taken place in the illustrations and the artwork.
I have also followed the strip "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould and those who continued it;ever since I was a kid.Way back in the days of Mumbles,Gravel Gertie,Junior,Tess,Pruneface, and all.
Both of these strips are a real study in the improvement in the artwork.Without a doubt, Comic Strip Art has developed into an important artform.
As you go through this book,pay attention to the art and see how it progresses from a very simple form of sketching to a greatly sophisticated art form.If there is any place where this book falls short,it in that most of it is in Black& White and doesn't reproduce much of the outstanding color panels of recent years.
In spite of that: I thoroughly enjoyed this latest addition to my Doonesbury collection.
Customer Reviews:
Accurate.......2007-06-02
This book is a classic! My husband is from a rural midwestern town and the section on waving etiquette is so true.
You bet, it's real good reading.......2006-08-15
Hot dishes, walleyes, how to wave, pancake feeds, and appropriate Minnesotan grammar, it's all there even though my relatives in Minnesota would beg to differ. "So, what gave you the idea that we talk like that then." How to Talk Minnesotan is one of those type deals you can pick up, open to any page and have a good laugh while feeling as though you're right there in Bemidji. Yeah, good deal. You could do worse.
Loved it!!.......2006-02-28
I was raised in Minnesota and this book reminded me of the things I used to say and hear. Great book that will have you laughing to the end!
Hysterical cultural study.......2005-10-04
This book is a wonderful tongue-in-cheek cultural study. Probably better to read if you are a bit familiar with Minnesota and can imagine someone with the accent actually saying the classic lines or serving you hotdish. Even if you aren't familiar with the accent it's a funny read - if you don't get it you probably aren't feeling so good. And you'll have to read it to understand that.
Dat guy who didn't get it must be from New Jersey.......2005-10-01
I read this book once, 12 years ago, and still laugh when I think about it. Anyone who is from Minnesota (especially from a small town), or moved there from somewhere else, would appreciate this book... because it unwraps the cultural norms that we grew up with not thinking twice about them until we left (or moved in).
The reader who didn't get it must live in Dinkytown, the glorious place that will be forever remembered as the hang out and career beginnings of Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dillan). If you can't laugh about yourself, you must be dull... or perhaps a bit too Minnesotan in your outlook, the perpetual underdog, Minnesota, the Mondale State.
There's a saying in Minnesota...'40 below keeps out the rif-raf.'
Average customer rating:
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How to Talk Minnesotan: A Visitor's Guide
Howard Mohr
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 1417702958 |
Average customer rating:
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Film Cartoons: A Guide to 20th Century American Animated Features And Shorts
Douglas L. McCall
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0786424508 |
Product Description
This work covers ninety years of animation from James Stuart Blacktons 1906 short Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, in which astonished viewers saw a hand draw faces that moved and changed, to Anastasia, Don Bluths 1997 feature-length challenge to the Walt Disney animation empire. Readers will come across such characters as the Animaniacs, Woody Woodpecker, Will Vintons inventive Claymation figures (including Mark Twain as well as the California Raisins), and the Beatles trying to save the happy kingdom of Pepperland from the Blue Meanies in Yellow Submarine (1968). Part One covers 180 animated feature films. Part Two identifies feature films that have animation sequences and provides details thereof. Part Three covers over 1,500 animated shorts. All entries offer basic data, credits, brief synopsis, production information, and notes where available. An appendix covers the major animation studios.
Customer Reviews:
SPARSE CONTENTS.......2006-03-23
Film Cartoons is not a complete guide to animated cartoons. This is a fact that the author admits in the preface. Still with listings of over 1600 feature length and animated shorts, it gives a pretty good showing. Author Douglas McCall begins with looking at 180 featured-length animated films and it is the meatiest part of the book in terms of content. McCall provides the year of release, running time, studio, credits and voice actors, notes, highlights, and a rating from zero to three stars. McCall is unfortunately overly partial to Disney films. Of the 180 features, 15 get his highest rating of three stars and all but one of these are Disney films. The only non-Disney film to make the cut was "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" While one cannot discount the fact that films such as "Dumbo", "Bambi", "Fantasia" and "Snow White" are indeed classics, there are certainly other films that I would not hesitate to give three stars to, especially since even modern Disney films like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" also received three stars. McCall also doesn't hide the fact that he has little use for more action-oriented, cutting edge films. Transformers the Movie gets ZERO stars, "Wizards", the 1977 Ralph Bakshi fantasy epic gets only a half star and "Heavy Metal" manages only 1 ½ stars.
Section two goes into some 57 live action films that had brief animated sequences. This section is very brief with a single sentence note on the film and thereby ends up being fairly useless. The final section covers about 1400 animated shorts. McCall has chose to concentrate only on the major studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Walter Lantz, MGM, Fleischer, etc. He has keys noting which of these were Academy Award winners or nominees and also lists the director and a few brief notes on each short. This section comes off greatly lacking. There is simply not enough information provided on these to provide any real value to the reader and since many shorts are omitted, it's not nearly comprehensive enough.
Bottom line is the book is rather superfluous, and at $30, a costly one at that. Not enough content to satisfy the true animation connoisseur.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
Average customer rating:
- Rolling Stone Lit at its best
- Rolling Stone Lit at its best
- Paint It Gray.
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Blown Away: The Rolling Stones and the Death of the Sixties
A. E. Hotchner
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0671693166 |
Customer Reviews:
Rolling Stone Lit at its best.......2003-01-11
This is an outstanding book that provides excellently written information on the world's greatest rock and roll band. Although i question some of the accuracy of the information, it is one of my favorite books.
Mick jagger ROX!!...
Rolling Stone Lit at its best.......2003-01-11
This is an outstanding book that provides excellently written information on the world's greatest rock and roll band. Although i question some of the accuracy of the information, it is one of my favorite books.
Mick jagger ROX!!!!!
Paint It Gray........2002-09-06
I really wanted to like this book. I saw A.E Hotchner on TV talking about Doris Day, and he just struck me as a likeable, earnest sort of guy. Unfortunately he didn't live up to his Tv-self in print. Most of the book is comprised of large chunks of interview material, both from Hotchner's own research and Rolling Stone magazine interviews you've probably already read. The rest is made up of highly subjective meanderings and vain attempts to link two ideas together.
It's hard to make this story dull, and some of the Marianne Faithfull stuff is good, but there are better books with less academic-sounding titles about the same subject. Or you could just watch "Gimme Shelter" for the condensed version.
Customer Reviews:
Useful, well written book, maybe a little lightweight in terms of improving your chess.......2006-02-10
Note: This review first published in the Irish Chess Journal, February 2006
How to Use Computers to Improve Your Chess is a book that will appeal to rather a lot of chess players. From the upper echelons of the super-GMs polishing their opening theory to club players getting in a little practice, computers permeate the modern chess world. The problem is, it's not exactly clear how to make the most of what they can do.
Kongsted, who you might remember as the winner of Limerick 2004, is a very strong correspondence chess player, and rated around 2200 over the board. However, his claim of journalistic training seem dubious in the face of a book that is both carefully researched and very readable!
The book title is a little misleading. Only half the book is directly about improving your play. Part one of the book (How the Computer Works) contains a short history of computer chess, followed by a detailed examination of how they work and then advice on beating them. While much of the material here will be familiar to anyone who's read about computer chess, you'll be surprised at the details you've missed.
Kongsted builds up the material methodically. After the chapter on the history of computer chess, he begins the meat of the book by introducing the various methods computers use for position evaluation and to prune the search tree.
Next, he writes about the limitations this manner of analysis introduces on the computer's play. He demonstrates each of his points with examples from games between strong commercial programmes such as Fritz and Rebel and strong human grandmasters - the likes of Kramnik, Shirov and Anand. The annotations to these games are detailed and interesting.
Kongsted concludes the first part of the book with a chapter on how to beat your computer. He advises on good anti-computer openings without resorting to junk like 1.d3, as well as appropriate strategy and mindset.
Part one of the book is very interesting, well written and will unfortunately do very little to improve your chess. Kongsted makes up for that in the second part of the book (Improving with the Computer), where the knowledge just gained of the strengths and weaknesses of computers is useful.
First up is a quick review of the available software. While he ultimately uses Chessbase as his database tool of choice for examples in the book, Kongsted unreservedly recommends Chess Assistant as its equal. He also explains how to expand your games database via the internet, as well as where to get endgame tablebases.
He looks at eight playing programmes in detail - Fritz 8, Junior 7, Hiarcs 8, Shredder 7, Nimzo 8, Gandalf, Chess Tiger 15 and Chessmaster 9000. He has a couple of paragraphs on each one, covering things like strength in the endgame, positional play and materialism. I would have liked to have seen what benchmark tests he applied to each of them, but I guess space constraints wouldn't allow it. That chapter also has sections on hardware (RAM and processor speed are important, in a less than shocking revelation), chess CDs (don't bother), optimising your programme's performance (turn off everything else and allocate lots of RAM for hash tables) and electronic chessboards.
Now, we come to the really interesting bits. The next four chapters are on how to use chess software correctly for analysis, opening preparation, tactical practice and endgame study.
For the analysis, Kongsted warns against the kind of lazy thinking that sees the computer doing all the work. Each section recommends a method of overcoming weaknesses in the computer's thinking. He also has a section on automatic analysis. The latter was enlightening, such as the example of the computer's incorrect initial assumption that Black was winning lead to it rejecting a repetition of moves - this was a line it had thought overnight on.
The recommendations on using computers for opening preparation consist of a chapter on how to use your database properly, the kind of thing that should really be explained in a manual, but isn't. Kongsted really packs in the tips and tricks (which are heavy on the key-board shortcuts). This is probably the most useful chapter in the book. The tactics chapter again warns against using the computer as a crutch. There are a number of problems given, which is not all that necessary, but a nice touch. The endgames chapter is similar in structure, but with much more detail on using the computer properly.
Overall, How to Use Computers to Improve Your Chess is an enjoyable guide to chess computers and their correct use. A rarity among chess books, you could go through it in detail in a few days, making it particularly helpful for the time invested in reading it. Recommended for average club to strong players.
Good for improving your chess.......2004-09-10
This book taught me a lot about how to use computers for improving in chess. It speaks about ChessBase and Chess Assistant and a few others, about how to use databases and playing programs for chess training. There is also an interesting chapter on computer-assisted analysis, and info about how to study opening and middlegame ideas with computer programs plus some suggestions for how to train tactics with the computer. The part I got most out of is how to learn a new opening, which can be done much easier with computer programs. I can recommend this book to anyone that wish to understand more about computer chess programs and improve their chess.
Wrong title.......2004-08-25
I agree with the introduction and the first part of the book "History of Computer Chess" (About 18 pages). But then, The author spends 2/3 of the book trying to explain how to beat your computer! Only a minimal part tries to explain what the title says: "How to use Computers to Improve your Chess". Even then, there's nothing realy valuable on those pages worth your time and money. Nothing new for a common and average database and playing program user, nothing you already know or cannot find out with a little common sense. If the title were "How to beat your Chess Playing Program" (Which is what the book should've been named), I would've given it 2 1/2 stars. Do yourself a favor, enjoy a latte at Borders and browse through the book, put it back on the shelf and you are done with it.
Nice ideas!.......2004-03-09
This book tells you how computers think and points out their strong points and weaknesses. It explains how to use the computer for learning.
Though sometimes it was not clear in a few places.
A good book.
This book is solid!.......2003-10-28
This book really hits the nail on the head. Suggests real ideas for lower rated chess players on the role the computer should play in analysis and skill improvement. It saved me a lot of time which would have been spent staring at a computer screen, or playing fritz and trying useless tricks hoping to swindle it.
Amazon.com
Suze Orman's face and name are more prominent on the cover of her new money guide than its title, The Road to Wealth. And why not? Orman has parlayed her popular renown as both a New York Times bestselling author and video-age financial guru into an undeniable position of respect and trust when it comes to matters of dollars and sense. This time she presents an encyclopedic guide to the various components of one's overall financial life--from managing debt and owning a home to making investments and preparing to pass it all along--and she does so in the clear and confident style to which her fans have become accustomed. "Here is what you need to know," she writes at the outset. "Answers to the questions you have been asking, as well as the questions you should have been asking, delivered in the most complete, straightforward way I know." While the concise text moves logically from "creating a strong financial foundation to amassing assets and protecting them from common mistakes and periods of economic downturn," this is not meant to be read from cover to cover. Rather, it is a ready bookshelf reference for planning and sorting out common finance concerns, like how to calculate the mortgage payment you can best afford, determine what Medicare will pay toward nursing care, decide between retirement plan options, and similar matters of personal importance. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
With her new book, Suze Orman delivers a message that once again is right on time. A book designed to help us take action and overcome the obstacle of confusion, The Road to Wealth provides us with the practical answers to the questions we have been asking - or should have been asking: sound, straightforward, fiercely honest, and easy-to-understand advice on the financial topics that most affect our lives. Here is information that points us in the right direction and erases the uncertainty that can often cost us precious time...and money.
From creating a strong, debt-free foundation to amassing assets and protecting them in periods of economic downturn; from buying a home to providing for loved ones; from investing with confidence and navigating the markets in good times and bad to securing reliable income for our later years, The Road to Wealth offers invaluable insight and information whenever we are in our lives, whatever our needs, whatever the economic climate.
Customer Reviews:
Road To Welth.......2007-09-14
This a book for those who have money problems as well as those in the know. Suze always has new information to offer. A most have book for those interested in money.
The Road to Wealth: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Money.......2007-08-24
What an amazing book !!!! At 40, I know nothing of financing. Religiously living paycheck to paycheck and raising young children, life gets to be overwhelming. This book has empowered me to look at my finances, my life in a whole new light. There is a way to help my children. I wish Suze Orman could be my financial planner. I have learned so much and yet I have so much more to learn thanks to her advice, insight and experience. This book is an incredible beginning for my journey. If only I had known earlier.
Not really worth what I paid for it.......2007-06-20
But it did include some information that's nice to know. My investment strategy is a bit more aggressive and this audio-book leaned conservative. Then again, I wasn't familiar with Suze Orman before purchasing this book. So all in all, I'd say it's a decent read for most people, though I would have probably benefited more from her "Young and Broke."
Good overview.......2007-05-13
Book is giving a good overview on many different options for investing money. Writing is fluent and easily to understand also for newcomers in this field. There is no difficult language. Reading this will improve any discussion you might have with a so called financial advisor.
Suze is awesome.......2007-02-24
Suze really knows how to explain finances in a easy way for anybody to understand. I liked it so much I told my boss about it who bought it and also I bought the book for my father who is close to retirement.
Thanks,
Suze
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- Significant Others: Creativity & Intimate Partnership (Interplay)
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- Silversmithing: A Manual of Design and Technique
- Skate Crazy: Amazing Graphics from the Golden Age of Roller Skating
- Sketching With A Pencil: For Those Who Are Just Beginning
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- Standard Catalog of German Coins: 1601 To Present (Standard Catalog of German Coins)
- SuperVisions: Geometric Optical Illusions (Supervisions)
- SuperVisions: Impossible Optical Illusions (Supervisions)
Books Index
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