Average customer rating:
- A superbly presented and informative art history.
- A clear window on the golden age of magazine illustration
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Maxfield Parrish and the Illustrators of the Golden Age
Margaret E. Wagner , and
Maxfield Parrish
Manufacturer: Pomegranate Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Parrish, Maxfield
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ASIN: 0764912577 |
Book Description
The world knows Maxfield Parrish for his legacy of extraordinary paintings--technical tours-de-force whose subjects ranged from the inspiring to the farcical. But Parrish is best appreciated in the context of his own life and times. This book elegantly provides that context with an overview of his brilliant book illustrations and of the era when the field of illustration flourished.
Part lively Parrish biography and part lucid historical analysis of a unique epoch in American art, Maxfield Parrish and the Illustrators of the Golden Age draws upon the archives of the American Illustrators Gallery (New York City) and other resources to present works by Parrish, Pyle, Wyeth, Smith, Green, Schoonover, and their contemporaries Alice Barber Stephens, Anna Wheelen Betts, Ethel Franklin Betts, and Mead Shaeffer. Parrish's paintings are reproduced by authorization of the Maxfield Parrish Family Trust. Text by Margaret Wagner.
128 pages, 70 full color reproductions; 12 black-and-white illustrations, casebound, with dust jacket. Size: 8 3/4 x 11 inches.
Customer Reviews:
A superbly presented and informative art history........2000-08-04
Many books have profiled Parrish's art; Maxfield Parrish and the Illustrators of the Golden Age reproduces 70 works of Parrish and other illustrators of his times, using the archives of the Americana Illustrators Gallery and other resources to present works by a range of painters. Chapters provide plenty of text history of the works of these illustrators and their related styles. Highly recommended, this goes beyond most singular Parrish focuses.
A clear window on the golden age of magazine illustration.......2000-05-18
In concise but informative prose, Margaret Wagner illuminatesnot just the work of the timelessly popular Maxfield Parrish, but sheplaces him firmly within the context of his time. Ms. Wagner accomplishes this by introducing readers to some of Parrish's lesser known contemporaries (though the book has a rich selection of his work too) and by not falling prey to histrionically trumpeting his "greatness." Parrish's fans might even learn something from this book.
Customer Reviews:
this is a good book, if youre really serious about this time period.......2006-03-22
This is a good book, if you're really serious about this time period, and you're also an experienced costumer.
The first 3/4 of this book is the original patterns in Spanish. The last fourth is the English translation. The patterns are mostly cloak patterns, with a few gowns for women, and a few doublets and gowns for men.
The pattern is given with a name and a brief paragraph of basic instructions, but no illustration of the garment. So unless you really research it, you won't be sure how the garment will look when you finish it. If you are an amateur costumer, I wouldn't buy it (since you need to know how to scale up patterns, tailoring tricks, and lots about the clothes of this time period.)
If you are enamored of late renaissance Spanish clothing, go for it. But before you buy this book, I suggest you buy Patterns of Fashion: The Cut & Construction of Clothes for Men & Women C. 1560-1620 By Janet Arnold.
A boon for researchers.......2002-02-21
For those who wish to re-create 16th century Spanish clothing and make them as authentic as possible, this is the book for you! The patterns should be used as general shapes and adjustments made for various body types. One word of caution: these patterns are not like those sold by Simplicity, McCall's, etc. Extensive experience with tailoring is required. However, even a novice can appreciate the value of this book as a source of documentation.
THIS IS IT!.......1999-12-30
Many of us, in reading Janet Arnold are familiar with this book due to her citing it numerous times. Now we can own it...and own it I do! This book is indespencible if you want to know what paterns from the latter 16th century looked like. It was written in 1589 by master tailor Jaun de Alcega to show others how to lay out patterns to conserve fabric. This book, is like having someone hand you a layout diagram from a modern pattern for many many differnt items of clothing ranging from doublets; to dresses; to cloaks; to horse barding. This book includes the actual 16th century Spanish work, followed by a translation...It even includes a conversion chart from the period Spanish measurements to modern ones ESSENTIAL!
Very worthwhile for scholars of 16th century costume.......1999-04-25
Today my copy of this book arrived in the mail. I am very excited, this is a reissue of the 1978 edition which has been unavailable for so long! The book is a facsimile (with translation) of "Libro de Geometria, Pratica Y Traca" (Book of the Practice of Tailoring-- Measuring and Marking Out) by Juan de Alcega, printed in Madrid in 1589. Alcega was a master tailor.
The book was apparently intended as a guide for journeymen tailors, to help them figure out economical ways of cutting out garments, as well as giving them diagrams for some standard styles of garment. For each garment, there is a cutting diagram (much like the cutting diagrams that come with modern patterns), an estimate as to how much fabric is required (in Castillian ells) and brief directions on how the garment goes together. He also includes charts to help figure out how much fabric is needed based on desired length of the garment and fabric width.
In "Patterns of Fashion" Janet Arnold cites this book extensively (the '78 edition), though she complains that the translation is not as perfect as it could be, because the translators were not costume scholars. Any Spanish speaking folks doing graduate work in this area? Here's your chance. However, at least after a cursory examination, the translation seems good enough to me. And Arnold commented that it was extremely useful even without a perfect translation.
The first 4/5 of the book is a facsimile of the original, the remaining 1/5 is a translation, glossary, and notes (including a conversion table for Castillian ells to centimeters).
The book contains diagrams for 73 garments, plus a diagram for a "war banner," and two diagrams for "silk saddle trappings for jousts." The garments are for both men and women. The men's garments include ceremonial cloaks and church vestments. There are no diagrams for trousers, because trouser-making was apparently a different craft in Alcega's time.
Average customer rating:
- Sweet Eye Candy
- A simple sketch book
- Bound Women, Some hard to see due to shading . . .
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Alazar's Book of Bondage Vol 1
Various
Manufacturer: SQP Inc.
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Binding: Paperback
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Alazar's Book of Bondage Vol 2
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Alazar's Book of Bondage Vol 3
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Rich Larson's Bed & Bondage 1
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Two Knotty Boys Showing You The Ropes: A Step-by-Step, Illustrated Guide for Tying Sensual and Decorative Rope Bondage
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Naked Justice Volume 1
ASIN: 0865620687 |
Product Description
If you're going to learn the ropes, you go to the expert! Alazar, a true "no-escape" artist, has been delighting fans of his fetish-filled illustrations in many a collected work. Now for the first time, he's assembled an ALL-NEW collection of fiendishly intricate portraits of damsels in distress into one "bound" volume, to the delight of his world-wide audience! With one of the most popular websites on the subject, and a library of previously printed works, Alazar has reached quite a devoted following for his bondage and discipline drawings. His fascination with impossibly-proportioned females in equally impossible states of discomfort is shared by many, and this premiere "Book of Bondage" is the first in a new series of such studies.
Customer Reviews:
Sweet Eye Candy.......2007-02-25
Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Vargas' drawings that were showcased in Playboy, Alazar brings an entertaining and intriguing presentation of the beauty of the female form in bondage. The artwork is plausible and conveys a sense of intimate knowledge that can be derived only by first-hand experience. The restraint techniques are sound and fire the imagination. The mood of the models, whether actually posed or imagined, is palpable, like a painting that one gets lost in the longer one stares at it. Truly a pleasure to behold and appreciate, Alazar's work is arousingly delightful.
A simple sketch book.......2006-06-07
I give this a three because it is a plain, thin art book. I had expected it to have more color illustrations, but the only color images in the book are on the cover and back. The book DOES advertise having only pencil illustrations, so I didn't feel cheated. The positions don't vary much and the cartoons are mediocre, in my opinion.
I suggest purchasing a gentleman's magazine, or buy another book with your money.
Bound Women, Some hard to see due to shading . . ........2005-03-28
A collection of black and white drawings of women in bondage (nude, clothed, most in distress, out in public, in private). Interesting collection of pencil? drawings. The cover and back are in color and show how much better this book could have been if all the pictures, or at least more of the pictures had been in color. The pictures are ok as black and white drawings, but some of them have been taken a step further from viewing ease some odd shading choices. Some pictures are very heavily shaded against a very dark/shaded background.
Book Description
"Her audience is everyone who has ever married, had children, gotten to middle age, owned a dog or a duck."
DALLAS TIMES HERALD
In this book Erma comes out--out of the kitchen--with these gems:
No longer will she be the only woman on the block to wear a slip under a see-through sweater, or feel guilty if the sun sets on an empty crockpot, nor will she care that she flunked her paper towel test. Our Erma is on her way to becoming a sub-total woman.
Customer Reviews:
Erma presents a soul makeover.......2006-05-31
This is my favorite from the queen of family humor. Here's what hilarity happens when the ordinary human tries on psychology fads as if they were dresses on a bargain rack.
Self-help book of a self-help book addict.......2000-08-17
Erma Bombeck chronicles a year in the 80s when she devoted her time and energy to self-help books, like the "Total Woman."
A reader both feels sympathy for Erma's somewhat bumbling attempts to become what these books demand of her, and for her harried husband, who must have woken up every morning to wonder who his wife is today. She is pressed by an apparently lunatic friend to read "The Sub-Total Woman", attempting to act sexy and wifely to save her marriage, but only ends up weirding out her husband and burning up her nightgown.
Other chapters involve Transcendental Meditation, thrift, the guests from hell, astrology guilt, other people's middle-aged pregnancies, jogging, and the ultimate frontier: satisfaction. You'll want to jeer at the bizarre ladies at the end of this, but you definitely won't regret buying it.
Need a self-help book? Here's one with humor!.......1999-03-02
Erma Bombeck is on a quest to perfect herself in this book. As she searches for the greatsest self-help book she can find, she searches to become more sexy, smarter, thinner, and all together more perfect. I don't know if she reaches her goal, but she does decide to like herself anyway! This book is hilarious! "I don't want to participate in any sport that has an ambulance at the bottom of the hill". Enjoy this wonderful, humorous book . . . and take a second look on what it means to be happy!
Average customer rating:
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Aunt Erma's Cope Book
Erma Bombeck
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General
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ASIN: 0449207587
Release Date: 1984-10-12 |
Customer Reviews:
Erma, don't change!.......2004-06-08
In this witty, laugh-out-loud funny effort, Erma details her attempts at self-improvement through her reading of recommended self-help books. From jaunty to bizarre, she sometimes pastiches and sometimes invents books that give advice on everything from guilt to meditation to penny-pinching - strategies which are applied and then discarded with hilarious consequences. While I don't think it's Erma Bombeck's best, it's certainly a worthwhile read and will no doubt be a treat for all her fans.
Average customer rating:
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Aunt Erma's Cope Book Mpb
Erma Bombeck
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: 0417061307 |
Book Description
In one of the first English-language studies of Korean cinema to date, Kyung Hyun Kim shows how the New Korean Cinema of the past quarter century has used the trope of masculinity to mirror the profound sociopolitical changes in the country. Since 1980, South Korea has transformed from an insular, authoritarian culture into a democratic and cosmopolitan society. The transition has fueled anxiety about male identity, and amid this tension, empowerment has been imagined as remasculinization. Kim argues that the brutality and violence ubiquitous in many Korean films is symptomatic of Korea’s on-going quest for modernity and a post-authoritarian identity.
Kim offers in-depth examinations of more than a dozen of the most representative films produced in Korea since 1980. In the process, he draws on the theories of Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Zizek, Gilles Deleuze, Rey Chow, and Kaja Silverman to follow the historical trajectory of screen representations of Korean men from self-loathing beings who desire to be controlled to subjects who are not only self-sufficient but also capable of destroying others. He discusses a range of movies from art-house films including To the Starry Island (1993) and The Day a Pig Fell into the Well (1996) to higher-grossing, popular films like Whale Hunting (1984) and Shiri (1999). He considers the work of several Korean auteurs—Park Kwang-su, Jang Sun-woo, and Hong Sang-su. Kim argues that Korean cinema must begin to imagine gender relations that defy the contradictions of sexual repression in order to move beyond such binary struggles as those between the traditional and the modern, or the traumatic and the post-traumatic.
Customer Reviews:
Testosterone Plaza!.......2004-08-02
After the testosterone-fueled rebirth of (South) Korean cinema in the '80s and '90s, only in the last few years have serious, critically rigorous books on the subject begun to appear in English in dribs and drabs. Kim Kyung-hyun's The Remasculinization of Korean Cinema is the most theoretically sophisticated to appear so far, and is must reading for all crit-theory heads wondering what the hell has been going on in South Korean society in the past few decades--especially on the big screen, which has been dominated by brooding, raging men for quite some time now.
Kim's focus is on the works of directors of the New Korean Cinema such as Park Kwang-su, Jang Sun-woo, Hong Sang-soo, Lee Chang-dong and Im Kwon-taek. The book's central argument is that the "master narrative" of the New Korean Cinema as it evolved from the start of the 1980s to the new millennium has been to trace a shift from portrayals of ineffectual males defined by phallic lack and a penchant for masochism to "post-traumatic males" struggling to recuperate a resplendent, emerging subjectivity who are often violent and sadistic. In layman's terms, I guess this means that if you're a Kim Ki-dok protagonist, beating the crap out of your woman is a way of finding or own inner Iron John, or whatever.
Overall, I liked this book and found it provocative. It is something of a cliche by now to complain about the misogyny of Korean cinema; it's almost like complaining that the sky is blue. This book offers a close and quite sympathetic examination of WHY so many of these men are misogynistic in the first place, which is a productive, positive approach to a very unproductive, negative problem.
Kim often deploys psychoanalytic theory and concepts in tackling these issues, which I have no problem with, except to say that I wonder if the Western concepts developed by Freud, Lacan et al are so universal, and so neatly applied to Eastern societies; this is not a question that Kim cares to ask, nor one that I can answer myself, either.
My problem with Kim's approach is that the use of psychoanalytic terms and concepts is often rushed and cursory. Too many times, statements like "this is an example of fetishistic disavowal" or "this is an instance of a desire for a return to the preoedipal stage" are made, without saying more clearly WHY or HOW it is an example of fetishistic disavowal, etc. One wants more lucid clarification and application of the theory, lest the text begin to appear gratuitous in its use of jargon and complex terminology. Not everyone reading this book will have completed graduate seminars on Lacan, and even if they have there is no excuse for laziness here.
I also have to question Kim's overly selective approach in presenting and analyzing the "master narrative" of the New Korean Cinema. It often seems that films were left out that might undermine the overarching thesis. According to Kim, there is no space in New Korean Cinema for female subjectivity to explore and represent itself outside of a subsidiary relation to males, but this is just not true. A film like Girls' Night Out (1999), for instance, explores the sexual subjectivity of three modern Korean women from their own perspectives. I also found a certain high-brow disdain for popular or overly commercial films in the book, which is also limiting. A film like My Wife is a Gangster (2001), while indeed "crassly commercial," offered a fresh, original way of presenting one modern, independent woman's struggle to balance life in the public world of work with the demands of the private world of home. Indeed, most of the films discussed in this book are art-house auterurist works; a more complex analysis of the state of Korean film in the '80s and '90s might have been less condescending towards and dismissive of such "low-brow" fare.
Then there are the more curious omissions, like the films of Kim Ki-dok or Jang Sun-woo's Lies, which offer rich material for the subject at hand. On closer reflection, though, Jang's Lies perhaps undermines Kim's overall argument. After all, if the male protagonist in the film displays overt masochistic tendencies, is this a regression to the male masochism of the early '80s that supposedly had been overcome by the late '90s, or is Jang offering an alternate view: liberating the male protagonist from his own domineering male subjectivity entirely--at the hands of an 18-year-old woman, no less?
The exclusion of the films of Kim Ki-dok and others is explained by the fact that they were made too recently to be included. How can crucial films made in 1999 or 2001 not be included in a book published in 2004? Is academia really that slow? I might also note that a book that complains about the lack of female directors in South Korea has no right to do so when it ignores a film like Yim Soon-rye's Three Friends (1996), an early notable exception to the rule of male directors in the New Korean Cinema. But again, a closer look at Three Friends may have undermined the book's argument further, since the three male protagonists are also quite ineffectual and reminiscent of the "weak" male characters of the early '80s. Yet in Three Friends, this is viewed as positive and liberating, rather than a denial of full male subjectivity; indeed, one of the characters enters a gay relationship at the end, which offers a subversive contrast to the dominant (and male-dominated) heterosexuality of the extremely patriarchal New Korean Cinema.
In others words, this is a heady book that falls just short by complaining of a lack of sexual and gendered diversity in Korean cinema, yet is guilty of suppressing such diversity somewhat itself. Even now, Korean cinema is undergoing profound, radical changes in its representations of gender and sexuality. I look forward to a sequel to The Remasculinization of Korean Cinema that examines all these current diverse changes as provocatively and intensely as it has done here.
Book Description
A smoke-filled room. The clink of chips breaking the silence of furious concentration. The occasional muttering of "check," "raise," and "fold," as staggering amounts are wagered on a simple hand of five cards. In this fascinating book, acclaimed writer A. Alvarez narrates the history of poker-its most amazing stories, unforgettable players, and incredible hands. From the first great Las Vegas poker marathon, in which Nick the Greek played Johnny Moss for five months straight, to the more recent World Series of Poker, Alvarez captures a subculture rich with legend. His lively text is combined with a colorful array of poker-inspired art, advertisements, movie stills, and photos to create an entertaining ode to the pastime that is not so much a game of cards as a way of life.
Customer Reviews:
Nifty addition to any poker enthusiast's library.......2003-10-14
Cool book to peruse on a rainy afternoon for those who fancy themselves as poker enthusiasts. While the book provides no insight or tips on game strategy - keep in mind that that's not what this book is for. Rather, it delves into other topics such as the history of the game, the colorful personalities, game lore and historical/memorable bad beats and monster calls. The other great highlight of this book are the numerous illustrations pulled from a few centuries worth of poker art found in advertising, book covers, etc.
pleasant surprise.......2002-01-28
Bought it for a friend...cheated...and read it before giving it. What at first appears to be a coffee table picture book is actually a well written, informative and lively account of various poker facts and stories. If you love poker you'll definitely enjoy this book
Book Description
In his best-selling book, Squirrel Inc., former World Bank executive and master storyteller Stephen Denning used a tale to show why storytelling is a critical skill for leaders. Now, in this hands-on guide, Denning explains how you can learn to tell the right story at the right time. Whoever you are in the organization CEO, middle management, or someone on the front lines you can lead by using stories to effect change. Filled with myriad examples, A Leader’s Guide to Storytelling shows how storytelling is one of the few available ways to handle the principal and most difficult challenges of leadership: sparking action, getting people to work together, and leading people into the future. The right kind of story at the right time, can make an organization “stunningly vulnerable” to a new idea.
Download Description
In his best-selling book, Squirrel Inc., former World Bank executive and master storyteller Stephen Denning used a tale to show why storytelling is a critical skill for leaders. Now, in this hands-on guide, Denning explains how you can learn to tell the right story at the right time. Whoever you are in the organization CEO, middle management, or someone on the front lines you can lead by using stories to effect change. Filled with myriad examples, A Leader's Guide to Storytelling shows how storytelling is one of the few available ways to handle the principal and most difficult challenges of leadership: sparking action, getting people to work together, and leading people into the future. The right kind of story at the right time, can make an organization stunningly vulnerable to a new idea.
Customer Reviews:
Don't Miss the chapter on the paradox of innovation.......2007-02-15
Chapter 11, to be precise. It is the best critique of the Innovators Dillema and similar work that I have seen anywhere. It also has a good review of future vision techniques in Chapter 10. If I were teaching a graduate seminar in a business school, these would be assigned reading.
Put away the PowerPoint slides.......2007-01-29
Getting things done in business requires much more than hard facts and PowerPoint presentations -- it requires the ability to persuade, motivate and convince. Denning does a fantastic job demonstrating how to do this through storytelling - making your audience (your boss, teammates, customers) get involved in your idea, allowing them to put themselves into your story. Presentation slides have become a frustrating crutch -- few remember (or even trust) your numbers and unending bullet points. Put your audience inside your story - allow them to apply their own context to what you are explaining and they will start listening and participating.
Good leaders persuade through what often appears to be spontaneous narrative. They build credibility and respect. This book gives you the tools to strategically target and build your narrative to accomplish specific objectives. It spends time explaining purposeful communication and storytelling methods for different situations.
I thought the section on Values was a little out of place, as more of a lesson on values than as a storytelling method.
This is a book I will go back and read several times as I try to put it to practical use. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to succeed in business, especially given our overload of information from every angle. It will help you to find a way to stand out and be heard.
Great points but hard to read.......2007-01-14
I'm only in Chapter 2, and it is already clear that Denning makes a lot of great points in this book. It is most definitely worth every penny and more!
My biggest complaint is that the book is written like a 19th century philosophy treatise! Philosophy was one of my majors in college, so I am well-aware of the agony in reading philosophical text - instead of getting straight to the point, it meanders and loses the reader after every third sentence! In the first chapter of this book, Denning goes on and on about things you could care less about for over 20 pages. I had a sigh of relief when he finally put down all his points in the chapter in just two pages at the end of the chapter!
When I was reading in the plane, I thought at first the reason for my agony was that I was tired. However, each time I got bored with Denning's book, I switched to a novel, and I was not tired anymore! Hey, wait a minute! I thought this was supposed to be a book on storytelling! Why then was it written like an obscure Ph.D. dissertation? You don't believe me? See for yourself. Here's a sampling of the torture:
"Second, the apparent paradox of zero improvement in performance from teams in organizations overall - along with extraordinary gains reportedly made in specific instances - reflects the fact that teams are found at both ends of the effectiveness spectrum."
Now do you believe me!? :)
I'm not saying the entire book looks like the glob you see above. My point is simply that there are numerous sentences here that will require you to pause, say "Huh?", and then reread. So, if you are a speed reading junkie like me, please be very patient! Speed reading is not recommended.
Despite the stated criticism, Denning makes really good points in this book. The book has my complete endorsement due to the great points. Besides, as my philosophy professors used to tell me in college, if you don't have the patience to tread through the gobbledygook of philosophical treatises, then maybe you're not scholarly enough to major in philosophy!
Humanising Leadership Through the Art of Story Telling.......2006-10-22
In the weeks since I first read Denning's book, I have had to make a number of appearances. In one case, I was invited by the head of my department at my alma mater to speak to graduating students. Others were either speeches made in the course of marketing my services or training workshops. My deliberate incorporation of story telling made even normally dry technical subjects come alive. And in the case of the talk to graduating students, I like to think I must have touched a life or two.
Denning shows you how to use stories to ignite action, build trust in your person and brand your organisation, transmit values, encourage collaboration, share knowledge, deal with harmful rumours and share your vision. Fusing all these story telling patterns into your leadership style will help you become an involved, interactive and transformational leader.
Very Disappointing.......2006-09-21
As a training developer I've been interested in the use of stories in business for several years so I was excited to read Denning's book. However, the content was literally not worth carrying the weight of the book back home from a business trip. The book is meandering, repititive and poorly edited. It's one long train of thought loosely organized in a trail of chapter and section headings. Most of the book is filled with business cliche's and has little do to with how to construct and use a useful story. I don't find this surprising since I didn't find Denning to be a very good storyteller, nor were many of choice of other stories interesting. He has two "stories" from IBM executives which are really just three paragraphs of buzz words strung together. Denning has a very loose definition of the term "story." Finally, I totally picked up on the self-congratulatory vibe mentioned in an earlier view. It's thinly veiled in light self-deprecation. In reality, it seems more likely Denning is a rather lucky man who took a failed career at the World Bank and turned it into a couple of books. He views his work in knowledge management there as a triumphant turnaround in the face of "political" sidetracking, but I didn't get the sense he knew anything specific about knowledge management.
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