Postmodern Animal (Reaktion Books - Essays in Art and Culture)

Book Description

In The Postmodern Animal, Steve Baker explores how animal imagery has been used in modern and contemporary art and performance, and in postmodern philosophy and literature, to suggest and shape ideas about identity and creativity. Baker cogently analyses the work of such European and American artists as Olly and Suzi, Mark Dion, Paula Rego and Sue Coe, at the same time looking critically at the constructions, performances and installations of Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Beuys and other significant late twentieth-century artists. Baker's book draws parallels between the animal's place in postmodern art and poststructuralist theory, drawing on works as diverse as Jacques Derrida's recent analysis of the role of animals in philosophical thought and Julian Barnes's best-selling Flaubert's Parrot.

Customer Reviews:

Clever and insightful, but not for entertainment.......2007-03-23

This book is not for the animal enthusiast who is looking for cute stories about critters and a little background on the blue dog painter. This is a book about animals as they appear in the postmodern era. Really, if the reader is not interested in contemporary art, this may be a dull read because it expects a minimal level of art background. However, if you are interested in art now and animals in contemporary culture, especially if you are an artist working with animals, this is a great read!

Artists discussed that may be familiar include:
Joseph Bueys
Damien Hirst
Paula Rego
Cindy Sherman
Paul McCarthy
Jeff Koons
Bruce Nauman
Hubert Duprat
Louise Bourgeois
William Wegman

It was amazing to see a compilation of animal works through these artists, although it gave relatively few avenues to expand my own work. It was exceptionally gratifying to hear that I wasn't the only one hitting this animal criticism (Using animals in postmodern art is harder than declaring yourself a landscape artist). There is even a great chapter in the end about fear of the familiar, in using animals like pets, due to anthropomorphophobia and the fear of being uncritically sentimental.

Ultimately, it was very insightful and a fairly easy read. Don't expect to gain all the answers of postmodernism by reading this though - postmodernism is more or less built on questions, not answers. It's more of a window and a catagorizing based on various theories and criticisms.

Enjoy!!

Ridiculous pomo nonsense........2002-10-27

I'm sure that there might be plenty who say that I'm too dull and logocentric, too "Oedipalized", to recognize the obvious profundity that lies in these pages. The intelligent reader, however, who does not confuse obscurity for insight, might think differently.

I don't know what would possess someone to write about the "postmodern animal" - I really don't. So often in these pages it seems as though Baker has to read "the postmodern animal" into places it just doesn't seem to be. That is, whatever the hell the "postmodern animal" is. I'm not quite sure myself after trying to decipher this trendy gobbledegook.

I guess I have to "supply my own meaning" or some other such hippy postmodernist platitude.

What is happening to this world?

Average customer rating:
Postmodern Animal.
Steve Baker
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UYIK6C

Book Description

The bag is one of the most universal and oldest objects invented by humankind. What began as a prosaic item for everyday use can now be a luxurious treasure that confers instant status. In this unique, lavishly illustrated volume, published to accompany the exhibition Le Cas du Sac, noted fashion historian Farid Chenoune and 24 experts present an unimaginable wealth of bags made for everyone from kings and celebrities to shamans and vagabonds.

This comprehensive book explores the bag as high-fashion totem; travelers' bags; bags for professionals; bags related to money and ceremony; and bags as talismans. The beautiful illustrations, including paintings, fashion photographs, and ethnographic and decorative objects, reveal the variety and importance of bags throughout time, from designer Philip Treacy's silk evening bag printed with Andy Warhol's signature Campbell Soup cans, to the pangu, the bags used by Bamum tribal kings of Western Africa for holding the sovereign's regalia. A co-publication with Hermès, the Parisian designer of luxurious bags and leather goods, Carried Away is sure to delight fashion enthusiasts and those interested in material culture from around the world. AUTHOR BIO: Farid Chenoune is a cultural and fashion historian. He teaches at the Institut Français de la mode and the Ecole national supérieure des arts décoratifs. He has written, among other works, A History of Men's Fashion; Beneath It All: A Century of French Lingerie, and a monograph on Jean-Paul Gaultier. He writes frequently for French Vogue.

Customer Reviews:

Surpasses my expectations.......2005-04-16

There are reasons I like this book and reasons that I am disappointed. The reason that I am disappointed is that I thought that this book was going to have lots of pictures of purses from different eras. The reason I like this book is because it is more than just a book with pictures of purses. "Hmmmm..." you might be thinking. "Whatever does she mean?"

I love looking at bags in fashion magazines. I thought this book was going to be like that...only longer. Instead, it contains the history of bags, the relationship between bags and culture, the psychological meaning of different bags, and dare I say it, the philosophical perspective of bags. Lest you think I am being sarcastic, I really think the author Chenoune does a good job covering these issues in a tongue in cheek manner. "Carried Away" shows the bag as more than just a fashion trend. Although the book does show examples of the bag as woman's fashion accessory, such as the ubiquitous Hermes bag, the book is more of an art book.

"Carried Away" is divided into several sections. My favorite section is about purses in the movies. The author chose still pictures from certain movies. Then, Chenoune explains how the choice of the purse by the costume designer relates to the characters in the movie. Basically, what does the purse say about the psychology of the character and the mood in the scene? I also like the section that shows pictures of different bags and their uses in history, like the painter's bag.

I think for many people this is going to be a book that they pick up in the book store and browse, but not buy. However, I think that other people intested in the bag as an art form, a cultural indicator, or a historical benchmark will find this book interesting enough to read. Therefore, I would not recommend buying it sight unseen, but it is definitely worth a look.

Book Description

Three young professional women learn how to let go and get off, in this highly-charged story of sexual chemistry set to explode in a climax of mutual delight! As an added feature, Teach Me! also contains a feature-length story of the old West, but with a decidedly erotic edge. See the trials of a young woman on the trail westward, as she plays "Cowboys and Indians" with total sexual abandon!

Customer Reviews:

Not quite what I have expected.......2007-03-07

The cover looks very nice, even physically and I was attracted to the book. I was expecting a similar if not the same artistic quality on the content. I am very particular with the graphic presentation and the comics need to have certain quality to "turn me on" (not sexually ).

I was looking for graphics with thin and clear line work, just as what displayed on the cover. I am a little disappointed that the artist uses thick marker as the tool for his work. The drawing is not very consistence and more work is needed to improve. The book also comes in black and white, different from the mainstreams which are now more or less in color.

There are 2 stories, one set in the present day while the other in the past ( early migrants to USA ). Due to the slight dis-oriented presentation of the content, the stories are a little confusing and need some re-organization to have better understanding of what the artist trying to convey.

Erotically it is mildly entertaining as I was quite put off by the artwork. The technique would be better applied to work meant for teen contents.

Teach Me.......2006-03-06

This book I rate minus zero. It contains extremely degrading sadistic text and illustrations through-out without any redeeming qualities.
Amazon should practice greater disclosure when it comes to presenting products with so much abusive content(perhaps a rating system) so those reasonable carefull in there selections do not purchase such dehumanizing content unknowingly. Greater and clearer discloser would benifit both the buyer and seller avoiding uncessary resentment as well as benifit society as a whole.
PS I not religously oriented and liberal in my viewpoints within limits.

Not Bad.......2006-02-01

I'm not really an expert on this kind of media, but I found the art to be passable, it would have been better in color. The storyline was good, not exceptional.

All in all this was decent beginning for my collection.

Not for the faint of heart.......2005-10-10

This book has two stories.
The first is fun and I enjoyed it..it is silly and sexy.
The second one one is only for those whose fetish is torture, not SM, but just torture. I like kinky sex. I do not like debasement. Do not read this if you have any Sexual abuse issues.

Please all, please none.......2004-11-06

It's got straight sex, lesbian sex, a LOT of anal sex, gay male sex, domination, rape, murder, B&D, S&M and bestiality. One of the rape victims is constantly worried about what might be happening to her "little girl," though the girl in question turns out to at least LOOK over 16. What it doesn't have is any hint of affection between the players. I was hoping for something that focused on the type of sex I like, rather than trying to please every preference under the sun. At least the male member is pleasingly present, though often attached to men no vanilla-romantic would touch with gloves on!

Amazon.com

Our age doesn't have a lock on outspoken women, as Vicki Leon proves in this impudent, flippant history of the Middle Ages. In the 1600s, Lady Castlehaven charged her husband with rape and had his connubial rights--and head--removed. Prioress Eglentyne, who appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, fell afoul of clerical colleagues by ignoring rules about "dress, dogs, dances" and worse yet, "wandering in the world." And let's not forget Isabel, Queen of Castile, patron of Columbus, and wife to Ferdinand. Her marriage motto was "They rule with equal rights and both excel, Isabel as much as Ferdinand, Ferdinand as much as Isabel."

Customer Reviews:

Fun and inspiring, but not incredibly scholarly.......2006-12-31

This is a fun quick read, and can easily serve as a springboard for those who find the subject matter of the Middle Ages, and Medieval women in particular, interesting. Though it's not really meant as a thorough in-depth scholarly historical study, there are a lot of fascinating historical tidbits contained within its pages. The book is divided into ten sections, with categories such as "Got a Brain, Not Afraid to Use It," "The Joy of Sects--31 Flavors of Religious Life," "Plagues and Other Predicaments," and "Persecution Mania, Witch-Burning Madness." Prior to reading this book, I had only heard about two dozen of these women, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Khadijah (Prophet Mohammad's first wife), Empress Constance (who became a first-time mother, to Frederick II, at the age of 40), Pope Joan, Christine de Pizan, and Sei Shonagon. Although many people seem to think of the Middle Ages only in relation to Europe, the women in this book come from all over the world--Korea, Angola, China, Japan, Spain, Mexico, Georgia, Russia, Hungary, England, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and many other diverse locales. The women covered in this volume did a lot of things that most people don't associate with Medieval women, such as having careers, being best-selling authors, exploring the "New World," being medical pioneers, making important astronomical discoveries, and fighting on the battlefield. Many of them were feminists before feminism even had a name.

However, the book does have its shortcomings, as other reviewers have mentioned. Ms. Léon's Medieval timeline encompasses 470 to about 1650, whereas most other sources say the era began about the year 300 and ended either in the 1490s or the 1500s. Quite a few of the women profiled clearly lived in the Renaissance, and one of them, Queen Elizabeth I, had an entire historical era named after her. I don't exactly think of women like Queen Elizabeth I, Sophia Brahe (sister of the more famous astronomer Tycho Brahe), Countess Erszebet Báthory, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Mary, Queen of Scots as having lived in the Middle Ages. The slangy writing style can also get to be a bit much. The constant attempts at sounding funny, hip, and witty actually dumb down the historical research that went into the writing of this book, to say nothing of the amazing women profiled within. While it's possible to strike a balance between a scholarly presentation of the facts and hip modern language designed to make the material seem interesting and relevant to the modern audience, that wasn't always the case here. For example, what self-respecting Medieval woman would have used a silly childish word like "preggers"? The nicknames Ms. Léon frequently gives her subjects can also get to be a bit much, particularly when they're not nicknames that anyone would have used in the respective subjects' languages or homelands, like calling French-born Queen Melissande "Mel" or calling Bianca Capello's husband Francesco "Frankie." Seemingly little details like this can compromise the entire premise, even if it is meant to be a series of brief semi-humorous biographical sketches instead of a long-winded historical treatise. (A pronunciation guide also would've been helpful for some of these names.) Still, the basic material is so interesting and tells such a long-neglected story that these less-than-scholarly aspects of it can be overlooked to a point.

It could have been so much better.......2005-04-12

_Uppity Women of Medieval Times_ has so much potential. It is frustrating that potential is wasted. It is wonderful that women are beginning to receive the historical attention they deserve - however, flippant and downright silly historical abstracts like _Uppity Women_ do a disservice to women's history.

I can forgive the broad take on when the middle ages took place, but struggled with the author's voice, which attempts at being humourous and "fresh" (often referring to women by nicknames created by the author.) The book itself is entirely composed of one - two page summaries of the lives and "accomplishments" of women during the middle ages. That so little information is written about the women discussed is another disappointment. More depth and less breadth would have made a much better read.

The choice of women presented further detracts from the book. While many women who deserve recognition for real contributions are included such as washerwomen of the Crusades, Walladah - al Mustakfi and Sei Shonagon, there are many, many more women included who had no historical contribution whatsoever. This inclusion seriously detracts from those women who did. (Juana la Loca readily comes to mind.) A final irritation were outright historical innacuracies - for example, claiming that Nicolo Machiavelli wrote _the Prince_ for Catherine d' Medici (in 1533) - simply inexcusable in a "history" book.

A bright spot of _Uppity Women_ was its international flavor. While the vast majority of its subjects were European, women from the Near East, the Americas and Asia were also included. I would recommend this book for middle schoolers, or perhaps (as an earlier reviewer noted) as bathroom reading.

Good as a subject intro or middle school resource..........2005-03-28

I picked up this discount book at a Barnes & Noble. It was promoted as a bargain book and looked a bit like a novelty item, but it seemed like it would have some generally interesting information about women in medieval times. Upon perusal, I noticed that the text included anecdotes about medieval women of Spain, the Middle East, and Africa--an interesting subject that I know little about--and I made my decision to purchase the book.

Because it's written in short biographical sections, the book makes a lovely bathroom book, or something to leave on the nightstand. I found the lax and conversational writing style to be acceptable, as that was part of my initial impression of the book. I wasn't looking for or expecting a hardcore historical resource, just something cute and slightly informative that might provide a boost to my self-esteem. The book itself is quite enjoyable.

That said, I started paying closer attention to some of the details of the book--okay, maybe not details, but important things, such as the cover and inside flap. The cover reads:

"200 daring damsels who dazzled the dark ages and rocked the renaissance."

The inside front cover flap reads:

"From Queen Elizabeth to Joan of Arc..."

Perhaps someone forgot to clue the publisher in on the fact that the renaissance comes after medieval times and that Queen Elizabeth had an entire historical period named after her--or perhaps she was gallavanting with Shakespeare when he wrote a clock in Julius Caesar and they knew some secret means of time travel?

The other piece of information that simply made my jaw drop was the classification of the book, noted on the bottom of the back cover: Humor/Games. Apparently, someone at Barnes & Noble publishers thinks that important female historical figures are the subject of humor and games.

Despite what other reviewers may have indicated about Ms. Leon's writing, I like it. I think the book is a good idea in a very accesible format--I could see this book as being useful for a middle-school level resource or educational tool or as a coffee table book. I think that this book was written and intended to fill a specific niche of readers, and that's okay! However, the careless descriptions of what is most likely more accurate information is entirely unacceptable and completely misleading.

While learning about women's history should be fun, the book isn't about humor, it's about the contribution of women to medieval society. I recommend the writing if you're looking for something light or introductory--please don't be misled by the publisher's mistreatment of the material.

Lots of fun and humor!.......2004-06-27

This was the first of the "Uppity" women books, that I read. In my opinion it is the best. It's so funny! You can't help but love it.

Another enjoyable Uppity Women collection.......2003-11-01

I enjoyed Uppity Women of Ancient Times very much, so i was very pleased to discover this follow-up volume, another collection of brief biographies of interesting women. In this volume I found many characters I already knew, and many more I did not. A few minor quibbles, the author's definition of 'medieval' seems to be a bit elastic, it appears to go up to the 17th century, which is not as far as I know generally considered to be part of the medieval period. Also she is a bit prone to exaggeration, especially when she talks about the 'witch craze' being a holocaust against women. She mentions a figure of 100,000 executed, whereas I beleive the real fugre is more like 40,000, not all of them women. Also she conveniently ignores the fact that while most the victims were women, so were most of their accusers. Also she seems to have the modern obsession with careers, though the modern notion that the only worthwhile way to spend your time is in some kind of paid employment was not in vogue in the middle ages, women who worked more likely did so from economic necessity, rather than from any desire to be 'career women'. These are minor quibbles though, the stories of the women are amusingly told, and there is a bibliography at the back for those interested in learning more (a pity it includes Barbara Walker's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, which is pure fantasy). Overall, a very amusing read.

Average customer rating:

Uppity Women, Medieval Times -
Vicki Leon -
Manufacturer: MJF Publishing -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O62QW0

Average customer rating:

Uppity Women of Medieval Times
Vicki Leon
Manufacturer: MJF
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U0Q7HA

Average customer rating:

Uppity Women of Medieval Times
Vicki Leon
Manufacturer: UNSPECIFIED VENDOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VF4TR4

Average customer rating:

Uppity Women of Medieval Times
Vicki Leon
Manufacturer: Conari Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O64BDC

Average customer rating:

Uppity Women of Medieval Times
Vicki Leon
Manufacturer: New York: MJF Books, 1997
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O3NY9M

Amazon.com

As author Mike Mayo points out in his introduction to VideoHound's Horror Show, "We've gone from the darkened movie house to the darkened den and the VCR, but our emotions and expectations of horror have not changed." For the benefit of the den dwellers, Mayo has assembled a lively and functional guide that covers "the scariest, funniest, dopiest, and most unclassifiable" horror films on video. In addition to the obvious classics of the genre, Horror Show covers relatively obscure pictures, as well as foreign, made-for-TV, and cult entries. There are some rather surprising inclusions, such as The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, and some equally surprising ratings (Plan 9 from Outer Space gets 3 bones?), but Mayo makes a good case for their presence. Several dozen sidebars profile important performers and directors or trace trends in horror throughout the decades; quotations and black-and-white photos are sprinkled liberally throughout.

Like all the VideoHound books, this one practically bulges with information. In addition to the usual cast and production facts, this volume includes indices of cast members, directors, alternative titles, and categories, as well as "connections"--related books, periodicals, Web sites, and organizations--and guides to video sources and distributors.

Any horror aficionado will want to have this engagingly written and extremely useful reference book within arm's reach of the VCR. --Mary V. Burke

Customer Reviews:

This Just Doesn't Cut It.......2006-05-23

I was given "Videohound's Horror Show" as a Christmas present the past year, and just finished working my through it the other day. I have to say I was really disappointed overall. As other reviewers point out so well, why are "Alice in Wonderland", "Platoon" and "Wizard of Oz" included here? There are so many movies that may have horrific elements in them, but they are still not horror films. Even if you take those films out of the mix, the biggest issue I have with Mike Mayo's work, is that he is approaching and reviewing these films with a main-stream sensability. Mayo's approach to most of the films presented in this book are written as if for a non-horror fan audience. Most horror fans know what to expect with a "Halloween" sequel, we aren't looking for quality film making like "Shakespeare in Love". We just need to know if Michael is creepy, what's the body count, and are the special effects worth the ticket price? I was hoping to find some "new" titles here, but to be honest even a casual fan of the genre, will be pretty familiar with the movies listed here.
The one aspect of this book that I did like, was that Mayo was not into giving away spoilers. Rarely does Mayo spill the beans about any twists or shocks pertaining to any of the films he reviews, and that was a breath of fresh air.
As a horror fan I would recommend you check out "Legacy of Blood: a Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies" by Jim Harper instead of VideoHound's offering. "Legacy" doesn't cover nearly as many films, and sticks just to the Slasher genre, but it is well written, and features reviews written for horror fans by a horror fan. Jim Harper "gets" horror, and knows what a horror fan wants.

Nearly Indispensible.......2004-04-28

I bought this book right when it came out oh so many years ago. Since that time I've thumbed through it on countless occasions when I thought I'd seen everything there was to see...or had at least heard about it. This book invariably brought some film to my attention that I had some how missed before. In that regard this book it wonderful.

There are some flaws, though. The first is the authors rather lax definition of the horror genre. This leads to the Wizard of Oz being included along side the Wizard of Gore. Somehow that doesn't quite jive and it makes me wonder sometimes what honest to goodness horror movies got excluded to make room for these selections. Second, the author tends to keep things very mainstream. This gripe was answered some when I looked through the Videohound cult movie guide and saw that many of the more fringe titles I hoped to find in the horror guide were included there. Finally, the author's tastes skew very Anglo-American to the point where I don't think that European productions that aren't from the UK get a raw deal in his reviews. However, this is more of a difference of opinion with the author than an actual problem with the book.

On the whole this is very good pickup for someone new to the genre and a find that will reward even the most seasoned horror enthusiast.

The Hound Will Follow the Scent of Blood.......2003-09-30

This is an excellent listing of horror movies to rekindle memories or to suggest what to hire from your video store. Most horror films are here but not all. Critters is one of my favourites that is not in this book. There is a short summary of each film along with a rating and opinion. Obviously you are not going to agree with all the opinions and ratings. There are also summaries of different directors who have been influential in the horror genre. A listing of alternative titles at the back of the book helps you to quickly locate a film, as all films are in alphabetical order if you can not originally find it. There is also a list of all the actors who have been in horror films and information on what other horror movies they have been in. Photographs from various horror films are also included making this not a bad reference book.

The Definitve Horror Reference Guide.......2003-07-11

This book is unbelieveable! If you are a serious fan of horror movies, I can't see how you could ever be disappointed in this book.
999 of the most well known, (and some fairly obscure) horror flicks reviewed in concise, one-four paragraph summaries, and rated at the end from a 0-4 star, (WOOF!-Four Bone) rating. It contains cast, filmmakers, screenwriters, distributing companies and ratings for each film.
Filled to the brim with pictures, quotes, references, etc. Every couple of pages also has a Videohound Salutes section, where they take half a page to remember and honor certain actors, directors, and decades, and their special contributions to the horror genre.
The reviews are helpful, and informative, and I've rented countless movies based on this book's recommendations and have come away very satisfied. I tend to agree with almost everything the author writes about each movie I see, and as soon as I've seen a new horror flick, I make sure I immediately re-read what the book had to say to make comparisons with my own opinion.
The horror genre is huge, and so, naturally, in the interest of space, many movies couldn't find a spot on here, but most of those movies are obscure slasher flicks from the seventies and eighties, that nobody should care about anyway, (although, admittedly, I've seen 'em all.) Every significant film in the horror genre is in here, from the 1930's to about 1997.
There isn't any way I can possibly recommend this book enough!

Decent Resource Guide For Those New To The Genre.......2002-05-23

Videohound's HORROR SHOW is a resource guide that is dedicated towards reviewing 999 horror films. Although there is a wealth of information to be found in this book, a few notable setbacks keep this guide from being an essential purchase for fans of the genre.

First and foremost, the book suffers from the inclusion of a few non-horror titles. Although author Mike Mayo makes a case for their presence, reviews of films like APOCALYPSE NOW and THE WIZARD OF OZ not only seem out of place, but also hurt the book as a whole. By limiting the guide to 999 horror films, you would think that the author would be more selective of the titles. In addition to the non-horror titles, the author needlessly indulges in writing rather useless reviews for horror sequels that do nothing more than to tell you not to see them. If the author wants to give FRIDAY THE 13th PARTS 3 - 8 either one or zero stars, why not just say something in the first review like "don't bother with any of the sequels" instead of writing six pointless reviews that only take up space. As a result, there are notable omissions from the horror genre, particularly exploitation films like ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE S.S. and VAMPYROS LESBOS. The book also neglects to cover cannibal films like JUNGLE HOLOCAUST, CANNIBAL FEROX, and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, which were a staple of horror films in Italy during the 1970s.

Another problem with the resource guide, though no fault of it's own, is the fact that it's terribly out of date. This criticism may seem a little far-fetched, being that the book was written in 1998. However, the recent efforts of distribution companies like Anchor Bay Entertainment and Synapse Films have given horror fans an entire library of foreign horror films that haven't been available to American audiences for some time now. As a result, you're not going to see reviews for films like THE BEYOND, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, or LET THE SLEEPING CORPSES LIE. Fans of Italian horror cinema might be a little disappointed, not only with the lack of titles, but also with the reviews of films that were actually included. The author is obviously not a fan of Italian horror films and will often tell the reader that "American audiences" are not likely to enjoy them (a rather unfair generalization that soon grows tedious). To put it another way, you're lucky if you come across a good review of a Dario Argento film.

That's not to say that this book doesn't have its advantages. The extensive indexes offer readers a "Cast Index," a "Director Index," a "Category Index," an "Alternative Titles" index, and a section called "Horror Connections" that gives fans a list of magazines, books, and websites. There are numerous sidebars that offer thoughtful information on genre personalities like George Romero & David Cronenberg, and fascinating insight into each decade and the relevance of horror films at the time. Probably the most significant aspect of this resource guide is it's comprehensive coverage of Hammer Films. There is so much information on these films that I would go so far as to say that it almost makes up for all the other shortcomings of this book. Author Mike Mayo is obviously a big fan and as a result, fans of the popular British Studios can expect coverage of everything from familiar titles like THE HORROR OF DRACULA to such obscure classics like THE LOST CONTINENT, not to mention interesting sidebars of people like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Ingrid Pitt. In addition to it's coverage of Hammer Films, the book covers a decent number of classic fright films, from the silent horrors of the 1920s to the Universal Studio Monster films of the 1930s and 1940s. The guide also includes some choice cuts from the 1950s, like Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

Despite it's shortcomings, Videohound's HORROR SHOW is a decent resource guide that will be most appealing to casual fans of the genre. Horror fanatics should probably wait for a second edition to come along that will smooth out all the rough edges (as it did with the wonderful second edition of Videohound's CULT FLICKS & TRASH PICS). Still... it's hard to dislike any book that gives Frank Henenlotter's BASKET CASE a solid four stars.

Average customer rating:
The Cyrus Chestnut Collection
Cyrus Chestnut
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Hampton Hawes Collection: Piano (Piano Transcriptions)

ASIN: 0634001124

Product Description

Born in Baltimore, Cyrus Chestnut started tickling the ivories at age 5, and is now a graduate of the Berklee College of Music who's played with many jazz legends. This young lion's sophisticated style is rooted in gospel music, but mixes many jazz styles in a unique blend found in abundance in these 7 note-for-note solo piano transcriptions: Blues Skies Caravan East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) Elegie My Funny Valentine Revelation Tenderly. Includes a biography and a discography.

Book Description

This is a valuable manual for all woodworker, with instructions for sharpening and maintaining all types of blades -handsaws, bow saws, dado sets, bandsaws, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Very detailed book on a singular topic.......2007-03-11

This book pretty much covers sharpening handsaws soup to nuts with lots of illustrations and detail. Includes topic of rejuvinating old saws and creating your own handle.

It also has a few pages of detail on sharpening chainsaw blades as well as standard steel blades ( which is pretty dated with carbide tablesaw blades replacing steel blades )

Best book I've read on sharpening handsaws ( filing - setting - planing teeth level - etc.)

excellent guide to sharpening.......2000-04-05

Payson's book is an excellent guide to sharpening all types of saws, from hand to table saw blades. Also covered are old fashioned saws for cutting down trees and bucking them. Japanese and carbide tipped blades are about the only types not covered, but that does not detract from the books utility. Clearly written and illustrated, highly recommended.

Amazon.com

Top performers in sports and the performing arts never outgrow their need for coaching, say authors Ron Zemke and Kristin Anderson, so why should your front-line employees be any different? On the contrary, they insist, workers also need ongoing encouragement and assistance in order to upgrade their customer-service skills, maintain their daily motivation, and enhance their ability to react when new problems arise. Coaching Knock Your Socks Off Service, the latest entry in a popular series, offers a series of solid suggestions for achieving first-rate customer service in any business environment through sustained coaching by management and employees themselves.

Customer Reviews:

THE best book on customer service out there !.......1999-03-13

This is a superb book. I recommend it to everyone. It has a delightful fun tone about it, easy to read with lovely cartoons & it is THE book to read on how to easily & simply coach your staff about customer service.... AND get them to pay attention & actually do it ! It is so logical & so effective. I am a customer service consultant to the top 100 & I find this book invaluable. You MUST read it !

Outstanding practical guide on how to actually be a coach!.......1998-10-07

This book comes closest to being an actual "how to" coach book. It is a practical, easy to read plan to improve coaching skills or start developing them. Every new coach always asks "where is the book that tells you how to do it?" This is it!

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