Woodtli

Book Description

Swiss Martin Woodtli´s works stand out in the category graphic design. Woodtli exhausts the many possibilties that computer technology, print techniques and color offer. He unconventionally uses 3D-software to create dynamic, extremely detailed, constructed and colorful 3D-graphics. Combined with multilayered vector graphics /colors and presented isometrically, Woodtli´s unique aesthetics and very own microcosm speak their own experimental and futuristic language.

Customer Reviews:

A Gorgeous Object.......2001-12-06

I am not a huge fan of experimental books by designers, most don't compare well with fine artist's books.
Martin Woodtli's (who is a designer) book (which is experimental) simply just took my breath away with its beauty.

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Das grosste Geschenk
Peter Woodtli
Manufacturer: Dynamis Verlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

All German Books | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 3856450432

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Frederic Chopin. Der Klavierpoet.
Marianne Woodtli
Manufacturer: Verlag Niggli AG
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 372120378X

Gleichberechtigung: Der Kampf um die politischen Rechte der Frau in der Schweiz

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Gleichberechtigung: Der Kampf um die politischen Rechte der Frau in der Schweiz
Susanna Woodtli
Manufacturer: Huber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback

Nonfiction | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

All German Books | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 3719309142

Book Description

Two dolls model the chic creations of Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Galliano, Adolfo, Armani, Missoni, Valentino, Versace, and 23 other Italian and Spanish fashion leaders. "A lavish collection that will appeal to paper doll fans, students of costume design, and fashion buffs of all ages." — Doll Castle News.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed bag.......2005-03-16

This is a charming salute to the many Spanish and Italian fashion designers of the past century. As always Mr Tierney's drawings are of the highest standard, and I especially liked the striking Latin features of the dolls. Unfortunately the lack of accuracy lets this collection down. A Balenciaga creation is credited to Pertegaz, some costumes are incorrectly dated, and Gianni Versace's work is represented by a costume design for an opera, when this is supposed to be a collection of fashion designs. A number of outfits aren't typical of the particular designer's work (eg Gigli, Ferre, Fontana, etc). Most puzzling of all is the inclusion of people whose ethnic descent is either Spanish or Italian, but their careers and businesses were established in other countries (eg Emanuel Ungaro, John Galliano, Elsa Schiaparelli, Nina Ricci, to name a few. Even Oscar de la Renta, an American designer born in the Dominican Republic is included!). Mr Tierney is still a great graphic artist, but his research has let him down in this instance.

Book Description

From his early newspaper comics to the sophisticated graphic novels he produces today, Will Eisner has been a pioneering force in comics for more than sixty years. Ron Goulart, writing in Book World, declared, “A shrewd, thoughtful man, Eisner has always had a knack for deftly combining dialogue and images to tell his story,” and fellow graphic novelist Alan Moore simply said, “Eisner is the single person most responsible for giving comics its BRAINS.” And Amazon.com, which called him "the Elvis of comics," said, "It's fair to say that Eisner invented modern comic art."

In FAGIN THE JEW, Eisner proves himself to be not only a master of comic storytelling, but also an incisive literary and social critic. This project was first conceived as an introduction to a pictorial adaptation of Oliver Twist, but as he learned more about the history of Dickens-era Jewish life in London, Eisner uncovered intriguing material that led him to create this new work. In the course of his research, Eisner came to believe that Dickens had not intended to defame Jews in his famous depiction. By referring to Fagin as “the Jew” throughout the book, however, he had perpetuated the common prejudice; his fictional creation imbedded itself in the public’s imagination as the classic profile of a Jew. In his award-winning style, Eisner recasts the notorious villain as a complex and troubled antihero and gives him the opportunity to tell his tale in his own words. Depicting Fagin’s choices and actions within a historical context, Eisner captures the details of life in London’s Ashkenazi community and brilliantly re-creates the social milieu of Dickensian England.

Eisner's fresh, compelling look at prejudice, poverty, and anti-Semitism lends an extraordinary richness to his artwork, ever evocative and complex. Like the modern classics Maus and The Jew of New York, FAGIN THE JEW blends image and prose in an unforgettable exploration of history.

Customer Reviews:

A villain reworked and redeemed.......2007-06-18

I am ashamed, so very ashamed, to have never read "Oliver Twist." So, I have no idea how faithful Will Eisner is to Dickens's masterpiece. This matters, since Dickens's novel, and Eisner's work are mirrors of one another. Eisner focuses on the life story of Moses Fagin, the unscrupulous street criminal whom Dickens refers to as "The Jew," bringing in Twist only halfway through the story.

Eisner follows Fagin from the poverty of the Sephardim community in London, through near scrapes with luck, to disgrace and loss of education and employment, to a stint in a prison colony. Having been denied good fortune, as seems true of many in Victorian England, he makes friends in low places and becomes a receiver of "acquired" merchandise. Eisner is at pains to show Fagin in a positive light, mostly to dispel biased previous interpretations that implicitly laid the blame for Fagin's criminality on his race and religion. Eisner makes a case for imagining Fagin with rounder, Germanic features, rather than as the scrawny insectoid form often used to portray him. Eisner succeeds in large measure, giving us a plausible back story for this famous villain, while teaching us a bit about the hardship of life in Dickens' time as well as the special hardship that was the lot of the Jewish inhabitants of Europe.

Eisner's style suffers only in that his drawings, meticulous and full of emotional energy, are skimmed over so quickly. After an initial turn, the reader should reread the book, pausing to admire Eisner's mastery of his form.

Unnecessary -- the musical rebooted the character.......2007-01-30

Let's face it: not many people are actually reading the original "Oliver Twist" novel anymore. The character of Fagin in most people's minds comes from the 1968 musical "Oliver!," where the anti-semitism rife in the book was completely pruned, and Fagin's own malevolence against other characters changed into sympathy. There have been a few other movie adaptations, but none with the cultural impact of the musical.

Eisner apparently felt he was addressing a literary wrong. Maybe so, but it's a wrong that few remember. The story itself is difficult to engage in, since Fagin was so one-dimenstional in the novel that giving him a childhood and rounded motivations comes off as just odd. There's much better Eisner out there...go for that first.

Depressing & ultimately not worth reading.......2007-01-11

I found Eisner's interpretation of Fagin to be unbelievable. Fagin is an unfortunate stereotype, and trying to humanize him was not only a stretch, but, in my opinion, not worth the effort. Perhaps terrible stereotypes should be left alone ("let sleeping dogs lie"), and attributed to the era in which it was written, and the perspective of the person who created the character.

Good story, even if I'm not sure I believe it.......2004-09-23

While I loved the idea, I think Eisner made Fagin a bit too nice to be believable in this version. In the novel, Fagin can be nice, but is definitley creepy and is hinted at being a pedophile and a homosexual. So seeing him like this was a little unbelievable, but if you do accept the notion that Fagin was real and told his story to Dickens, then maybe this works.

And the story is compelling, particuarly the first part with Fagin growing up as a young Jewish boy. I particuarly loved the scene where Fagin and his father celebrate Daniel Mendoza (a real Jewish wrestler)'s victory. The middle is fine as well, but when Eisner tries to cover the last bit of the story its a bit too much of a crunch. You just can't compress such a huge novel like that. Also, he gets a few important facts in the story wrong. Nevertheless, the epilogues were great. Those who complain about coincidence need to remember that Dickens relied on that often in his books.

All in all, not the best or most believable graphic novel, but one that I liked a lot as a Jew and a Dickens fan.

A new twist on Oliver Twist.......2004-09-08

Will Eisner, a master of the graphic novel, has given the story of Oliver Twist a new perspective by presenting Fagin in the accurate historical context of the Ashkenazic Jewish community in Dickensian London. The first third of the story invents a back-story for Fagin that shows how mistreatment and prejudice forced him into a life of crime as his only means of survival. This section also makes an impassioned statement about the hardship faced by the German and Middle European Jews, who had problems integrating into British life. The rest of the story is mostly a rehashing of the original Dickens story in Fagin's voice.

In the book's foreword and epilogue, Eisner says that his awareness of the influence of imagery on popular culture led him to create graphic novels with themes of Jewish ethnicity and prejudice. He discusses how Dickens portrayed the Jews as a criminal element in London and provides prints by George Cruickshank and other artists of that time who perpetuated the visual Jewish stereotype. Although his illustrations are rendered in sepia tones that recall the illustrations of Dickens' novels, Eisner has tried to counter the stereotypical portrayal of Fagin by drawing him as he might really have looked. All in all, this novel provides new insight into the complex character of Fagin and a fresh and innovative retelling of the Dickens classic.

Eileen Rieback

Fagin el judio (Fagin the Jew, Spanish Edition)

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Fagin el judio (Fagin the Jew, Spanish Edition)
Will Eisner
Manufacturer: Public Square Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Eisner, Will | Authors, A-Z | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Historical Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Classics | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

General | Infantil y juvenil | Libros en español | Formats | Books

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General | Revistas Cómicas y Novelas Gráficas | Libros en español | Formats | Books

Book Description

From the Father of the Graphic Novel. . .Fagin the Jewrecasts Oliver Twist from the perspective of Fagin. Eisner's fresh, compelling look at prejudice, poverty, and anti-Semitism portrays the notorious villain as a complex and troubled antihero and gives him the opportunity to tell his tale in his own words. Depicting Fagin's choices and actions within a historical context, Eisner captures the details of life in London's Ashkenazi community and brilliantly re-creates the social milieu of Dickensian England. Strongly recommended --Library Journal The Leonardo of the comic book form --Civilization

Fagin El Judío / Fagin The Jew (Fegin the Jew)

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Fagin El Judío / Fagin The Jew (Fegin the Jew)
Will Eisner
Manufacturer: Norma Editorial Sa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 8484319563

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Fagin the Jew: A Graphic Novel

Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 1417671408

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Sharp but Dated

Good collection of pieces

A Great Set of Humorous Essays

Good essays

Mixed, with a few gems

Republican Party Reptile: The Confessions, Adventures, Essays, and (Other) Outrages of...
P. J. O'Rourke
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Political | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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American Spectator's Enemies List: A Vigilant Journalist's Plea for a Renewed Red Scare

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government

The Bachelor Home Companion: A Practical Guide to Keeping House Like a Pig (O'Rourke, P. J.)

Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This" (O'Rourke, P. J.)

All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty

ASIN: 0871136228

Book Description

"I think our agenda is clear. We are opposed to: government spending, Kennedy kids, seat-belt laws, busing our children anywhere other than Yale, trailer courts near our vacation homes, all tiny Third World countries that don't have banking secrecy laws, aerobics, the UN, taxation without tax loopholes, and jewelry on men. We are in favor of: guns, drugs, fast cars, free love (if our wives don't find out), a sound dollar, and a strong military with spiffy uniforms. There are thousands of people in America who feel this way, especially after three or four drinks. If all of us would unite and work together, we could give this country. . . well, a real bad hangover." "To say that P. J. O'Rourke is funny is like saying the Rocky Mountains are scenic-accurate but insufficient. At his best he's downright exhilarating . . . Republican Party Reptile is as rambunctiously entertaining as a greased pig catching contest. If you can find a funnier writer than P. J. O'Rourke, buy him a brandy, but don't lend him the keys to your pickup." -- Chicago Tribune; "Republican Party Reptile is hilarious. I laughed so hard reading this book that my armchair needs reupholstering. P. J. O'Rourke has got to be the funniest writer going, and boy does he go. This is high-octane wit, S. J. Perelman on acid." -- Christopher Buckley.

Customer Reviews:

Sharp but Dated.......2004-02-03

P.J. O'Rourke is what a Republican used to be about--the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Small government and small industry. Trusting people to take care of themselves without a hovering nanny looking after them. This book serves as a position piece for a party that has been hijacked by forces alien to its foundation. And it's pretty damned funny besides.

It's dated, though. Written a good twenty years ago, it addresses such issues as poverty in Marcos's Philippenes and a constitutional crisis in the Turks and Caicos islands. This isn't exactly front-page material any longer. We get an overview of O'Rourke's beliefs and the source of them, but one wonders what you'd get out of them today.

Sadly, the author isn't as eloquent anymore, nor is he as politically inclusive. He's lapsed into a sad neo-conservative agenda that seems almost antithetical to the contents of this book. But at least, between these covers, we still have the writings of a man who boldly said what he meant and meant what he said. And I'll bet he'll sell you on it too.

Good collection of pieces.......2004-01-11

So far, I've had the pleasure of being an O'Rourke reader for this one and Parliament of Whores (more will no doubt follow). Republican Party Reptile isn't as good if you appreciate PJ for the way he does a detailed analysis which is still funny and controversial - as Parliament was a very organised, topical book. This one is a bit too much of a random knapsack for that.

That still makes it a great book as his pieces will drive home his views on drugs, politics, cars, drugs, international relations, teenaged girls, crime and fast cars. My favourites were Ship of Fools (a bunch of lefties and peaceniks cruise the Volga in the USSR during the Cold War, PJ is with them), Ferrari Refutes Decline of the West (PJ and boss get to deliver a Ferrari from NY to LA over several days of high speed cross country), Holiwood Etiquette (a great take on the neurosis etc) and How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink (self explanatory I trust!)

So if you want to acquaint yourself with an earlier, more personal PJ, this book is good.

A Great Set of Humorous Essays.......2002-09-02

P. J. O'Rourke is an incredibly funny writer and incisive commentator on the contemporart scene. This collection of essays, while from a libertarian point of view, should be found enjoyable by all readers. In this book he skewers the Safety Nazis, pro-Soviet visitors to the USSR, the New York Review of Books, horrible Protestant hats, cocaine pirates, and other odd ducks in flight. P.J. O'Rourke is one of the funniest writers around, and I also recommend his PARLIAMENT OF WHORES and GIVE WAR A CHANCE.

Good essays.......2002-07-01

Most of the essays in this book are as funny and informative as most of O'Rourke's other works, and unlike "American Spectator's Enemies List", the book is well worth the cover price.

Mixed, with a few gems.......2002-01-30

This book is somewhat of a mixed bag. Unlike some of his other works, this has no central theme, but is instead a motley collection of articles written over the years for various and sundry publications on subjects ranging from why he hates bicycles to chasing down a story in the Bahamas about the involvement of high government officials in the drug trade. A few are real clunkers, such as a fictionalized account of his family life back in Ohio, titled "The King of Sandusky" or an over the top piece called "Just one of those days" in which he portrays an executive whose daily routine includes gunfights with his neighbors, raping his secretary and setting off bombs on the subway in order to get to work on time (so his boss won't have him shot). Most are OK, like the aforementioned bicycle piece, which he wrote for "Car & Driver" magazine back in the mid 80's. It was funny at the time, lampooning bicycling just about the time it was becoming trendy, especially with the eco-weenie set. In fact, this article brought howls of protest in the form of letters in the following issue, thus basically making his point appear all the more valid, namely, that too many bike nuts at the time suffered from an acute overdose of self righteousness accompanied by a chronic lack of a sense of humor. Like I said, it was funny at the time, but now seems rather dated.

Still, this entire effort was greatly redeemed by a few pieces that were absolutely spot on. One was "Ship of Fools" in which our intrepid reporter signed up for a cruise ship tour on the Volga in the USSR, based on an ad he'd read in "The Nation" magazine. He joins up with myriad groups of American leftists whose desire to see Soviet life in the best possible light overwhelms any qualities of observation or common sense they might happen to possess. These unfortunates are the targets of PJ's satire at its absolute best as he rips into them repeatedly for their blatant toadying on behalf of the Soviet system. Rarely has the banality of evil been described with such zest.

But even this pales in comparison to the book's crown jewel, namely a short article entitled simply "Ferrari refutes the Decline of The West". It is, on one level, a great road trip story, in which he and his boss drive from New York to LA in a brand new Ferrari 308GTS at speeds as high as 140 mph. Anyone who's ever lusted after exotic sports cars, or fantasized about driving on public roads at double or even triple the speed limit will love it on a purely visceral level, but that's only part of the pleasure, since PJ uses this drive as a metaphor for what makes Western Civilization, and America specifically, great. PJ describes an encounter with a black salesman in a Cadillac on the top of Hoover Dam in which the latter, after hearing their account of blazing through Arizona and New Mexico, looks at the Ferrari and says, simply, "Goddam, that's BEAUTIFUL!" PJ states, after finally turning over the car to a Hollywood studio "It was a glow that wouldn't fade. And I still felt good when I flipped the keys to the receptionist ...... And in fact I still feel good today." So will you after reading it, it is, in fact, worth the price of the entire book.

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Republican Party Reptile : The Confessions, Adventures, Essays and (Other) Outrages of P.J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'Rourke
Manufacturer: New York, NY, U.S.A.: Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NV12LW

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Republican Party Reptile the Confessions, Adventures, Essays, and (Other) Outrages Of...
P. J. O'Rourke
Manufacturer: The Atlantic Monthly
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000R3GOXC

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Republican Party Reptile: The Confessions, Adventures, Essays and (Other) Outrages of.
P.J. OÕRourke
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V91GGM

Book Description

The "magic hour" is the name film-makers give the pre-dusk late afternoon, when anything photographed can be bathed in a melancholy golden light. A similar mood characterized the movies of the 1990s, occasioned by cinema's 1995-96 centennial and the waning of the twentieth century, as well as the decline of cinephilia and the seemingly universal triumph of Hollywood.

The Magic Hour: Film at Fin de Siècle anthologizes J. Hoberman's movie reviews, cultural criticism, and political essays, published in The Village Voice, Artforum, and elsewhere during the period bracketed by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the World Trade Towers. Demonstrating Hoberman's range as a critic, this collection reflects on the influence of Fritz Lang, as well as Quentin Tarantino, on the end of the Western and representation of the Gulf War, the Hong Kong neo-wave and the "boomerography" manifest in the cycle of movies inspired by the reign of Bill Clinton. As in his previous anthology, Vulgar Modernism: Writings on Movies and Other Media (nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award), Hoberman's overriding interest is the intersection of popular culture and political power at the point where the history of film merges with what Jean-Luc Godard called "the film of history."

Customer Reviews:

The fate of cinema.......2003-05-08

Over the past quarter-century J. Hoberman of The Village Voice has distinguished himself as one of America's finest film critics. In this collection of his film criticism of the nineties he quotes one of the first great writers on film, Siegfried Kracauer who states that the good film critic can only be a critic of society. And this is undoubtedly the case for Hoberman, who is fiercely opposed to chauvinism, complacency and militarism that infects so much of American public life. In this collection we read about the cult of Star Wars, the decline of the American Western in an age of increasing moral uncertainty, as well as the class and ethnic aspects of Quiz Show. Hoberman devotes a whole chapter to the Clinton presidency. While looking at such ultimately hollow films as Bob Roberts, Dave, The American President, Pleasantville and The Contender, Hoberman notes the image of Clinton, at one point the image of a new "progressive" generation and at another the two-minute hate of the Republican party. In the meantime, the reality of Clinton's fundamentally conventional, manipulative and conservative persona is ignored.

A person opening the book at random may find on a single page allusions to Howdy Doody, Leave it to Beaver, The Beverly Hillbillies, Arsenio Hall, Kenny G and Andrew Lloyd Webber. One may view Hoberman as simply a kibitzer of names. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although witty and amusing, Hoberman is also very serious and very sharp. He is a dedicated admirer of film and an insightful and appreciative critic of popular culture. (Who can forget his essays in his previous collection Vulgar Modernism in praise of Krazy Kat and The Honeymooners.) Yet almost no film critic has higher standards and is less likely to be duped by sentimentality and easy manipulation. He is a dedicated internationalist, in contrast to the lack of curiosity of not only Hollywood but most film critics. So in this book he praises such filmmakers as Kiarostami, Sokurov, Wong Kar-Wei, and Ron Havilio. Looking at his top ten lists from 1991 to 2000, one finds two best picture winners (Unforgiven and The Silence of the Lambs), three best picture nominees, and such unexpected Hollywood fare as Groundhog Day, Dead Man, Portrait of a Lady, The Cable Guy, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and The House of Mirth. But no other critic has gone out of his way to search out for foreign films that are often criminally unreleased in the United States. The best pictures of 1993 and 1999 come from the Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien. The best picture of 1994 is from China, while 1995 comes from Germany, 1996 from Hungary, 1997 from the Czech Republic, 1998 from Russia and 2000 from Israel. At the same time few critics have his knowledge of film history, as we see in his pieces on Fritz Lang, Sergei Paradjanov, Oscar Michaeaux and Vertigo.

But let us consider his sharpness as a critic: Hoberman is witty enough to describe JFK as the most baroque snuff film in American history. He can point out how Three Kings seeks to become more conventional as it goes along and eventually succeeds. He notes how in the magical world of Pleasantville, everyone at the end is as white and middle-class as they were when the picture started, except now that they get to have sex as well. (A verdict, one feels, all too applicable to the United States since the sixties). Although we do not receive his full review of Titanic we do get a properly acidic paragraph as he notes the contrast between Cameron's profligacy and his sneers at the rich, and at the way he desecrates the tomb of the dead, while demanding a moment of silence for those interred, mostly played by digitalized extras. He reminds us that The Cable Guy is a far more frightening and provocative film than the fundamentally facile The Truman Show. One of the problems with Eyes Wide Shut, he notes, is that it has the least interesting musical score of all of Stanley Kubrick's works. He is always nuanced and complex, as he can criticize A.I., yet praise Joel Haley Osment's performance as the best of the year. And finally, one must recall Hoberman's review of Schindler's List, probably the most admired film of the nineties. He points out the essential sentimentality of a Holocaust movie with a happy ending, and contrasts it with Shoah "a film about death in which, over and over and over and over, no one ever escapes." There is a special power in his review's last line, a special power of indignation that is most powerful for being understated. Spielberg's movie won't upset one's dinner. "It's a tasteful movie."

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The Magic Hour: Film at Fin de Siecle.(Book Review): An article from: Cineaste
Steve Erickson
Manufacturer: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008EALW0
Release Date: 2005-07-31

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Cineaste Publishers, Inc. on September 22, 2003. The length of the article is 1236 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Magic Hour: Film at Fin de Siecle.(Book Review)
Author: Steve Erickson
Publication: Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2003
Publisher: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
Volume: 28 Issue: 4 Page: 64(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Some are born great.
Some achieve greatness.
Some have greatness thrust upon them.
And some have the misfortune
to go to school with Bono.

Everyone wants to be famous. But as a young punk in Dublin in the 1970s, Neil McCormick's ambitions went way beyond mere pop stardom. It was his destiny to be a veritable Rock God. He had it all worked out: the albums, the concerts, the quest for world peace. There was only one thing he hadn't counted on. The boy sitting on the other side of the classroom had plans of his own.

Killing Bono is a story of divergent lives. As Bono and his band U2 ascended to global superstardom, his school friend Neil scorched a burning path in quite the opposite direction. Bad drugs, weird sex, bizarre haircuts: Neil experienced it all in his elusive quest for fame. But sometimes it is life's losers who have the most interesting tales to tell.

Featuring guest appearances by the Pope, Bob Dylan, and a galaxy of stars, Killing Bono offers an extremely funny, startlingly candid, and strangely moving account of a life lived in the shadows of superstardom.

"The problem with knowing you is that you've done everything I ever wanted to," Neil once complained to his famous friend. "I'm your doppelganger," Bono replied. "If you want your life back, you'll have to kill me."

Now there was a thought...

Download Description

"Some are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them. And some have the misfortune to go to school with Bono. Everyone wants to be famous. But as a young punk in Dublin in the 1970s, Neil McCormick's ambitions went way beyond mere pop stardom. It was his destiny to be a veritable Rock God. He had it all worked out: the albums, the concerts, the quest for world peace. There was only one thing he hadn't counted on. The boy sitting on the other side of the classroom had plans of his own. Killing Bono is a story of divergent lives. As Bono and his band U2 ascended to global superstardom, his school friend Neil scorched a burning path in quite the opposite direction. Bad drugs, weird sex, bizarre haircuts: Neil experienced it all in his elusive quest for fame. But sometimes it is life's losers who have the most interesting tales to tell. Featuring guest appearances by the Pope, Bob Dylan, and a galaxy of stars, Killing Bono offers an extremely funny, startlingly candid, and strangely moving account of a life lived in the shadows of superstardom. ""The problem with knowing you is that you've done everything I ever wanted to,"" Neil once complained to his famous friend. ""I'm your doppelganger,"" Bono replied. ""If you want your life back, you'll have to kill me."" Now there was a thought... "

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book - very funny!.......2007-01-09

I absolutely loved this book! It is a real underdog story and laugh out loud funny. I am a huge U2 fan and this book wasn't directly about U2 but was written by one of their good friends growing up in Dublin. Neil McCormick never quite made it big in music but has a great writing career ahead. Very entertaining read!

I Know a Boy, a Boy Named Crash.......2007-01-04

Very funny. An excellent insight into Bono's sense of humor.

If you see the Bono in the road, kill him.......2006-11-29

So I adopt a Zen koan, Bono for Buddha, but the moral remains: you should not set up as an idol the goal you seek, or limit how you envision the fulfillment of your potential and the answer to your dreams. It takes this author, with the connivance--fifteen or so years on in their friendship--for Bono and the author to agree that, yes, the need to "kill Bono" off is a necessity if Neil McCormick is to get on with his own life.

Neil McCormick's autobiography proved much more insightful than the cover, the title, or the blurbs would have let me to believe. The erstwhile frontman and determined vocalist of the pop bands Yeah! Yeah! and Shook Up! during the heyday of the New Wave-turned-synth pop, boy bands, and "manufactured" frothy era, Neil meditates long on why his four classmates made it big while he, his brother, and his bandmates failed to even get signed--at least for more than a week. He ponders how the pursuit of one's Buddha/Bono, the desperate desire to prove one's self as worthy of acclaim and reward and simple respect in the music industry as his humble schoolchums turned global celebrities takes many twists and turns in his own life. Cocaine, a bit of sex, less drinking than you'd suppose, and many hours of concerts, studio time, and dealing with A&R reps and producers shows also the balance of the mundane and the exhilarating for a struggling musician. It's instructive to consider also a rarity in show business: how with U2, the members have been together since about fifteen, as Bono with his wife Ali by the way, and as well as Neil and his brother Ivan, all wrapped up in their own ways into a scene unimaginable to seemingly ordinary North Dublin students circa 1976.

The trouble is, since the bands Neil fronted never had the chance to make it big, the music he describes suffers unavoidably when limited to his verbal descriptions. Lyrics that seem to me rather verbose and awkward when printed on the page probably gained much, taking not only Neil's word for it but the many positive (and some negative!) press reviews he cites, when heard in concert. It's very difficult to get a handle on what kind of clean, precise, catchy pop the bands he was in actually played, and what they sounded like. Also, the contrast between realistic stories about rape, depression, and abandonment that Neil wrote and the sound with which his bands played the music provided a tension that appears more recognized by Neil than his audiences or most of the "gatekeepers" who kept shutting the door on him and his talented but perhaps rather conventional sounding band.

The lyrics about doubt, date rape, child abuse, and incest, as he finds, made for a hard sell with the A&R suits. Great lyrics that, alone in the book, he quotes in full for the song he had more recently penned about doubt, God, and the Big Questions. As I said, it's difficult to understand fully this whole aspect when reading for hundreds of pages about a singer and his bands-- both of which you never have heard.

Still, if only in the closing acknowlegements, Neil notes that his career continues and lists his net niche for his current musical endeavors and another one (same as the book title, but a hyphen between the two words and a dot followed by "com") where the music he made in the 80s can be sampled.

The conversations about faith (as opposed to religion) that he and Bono carry on over the years contributed depth to this memoir. Not knowing the detail of the Virgin Prunes' background, I was intrigued to note that many of them apparently had, as Lypton Villagers, been also a part of the Shalom community along with members of U2. Neil contrasts well the appeal of both the Prunes and U2 to rival factions of the nascent Dublin alternative rock audiences of the (post)punk era. I and my eleven-year-old son talked about the book and the struggles that both Bono and Neil had in reconciling success with belief, intelligence with acclaim-- or how the lack of music business recognition for Neil, in his "existential wobble" unmoored him, into a malaise for fifteen years or so which contrasted so massively with U2's concurrent rise to worldwide triumphs. Nearly all of those who were callow teenagers and idealistic schoolmates way back when, to their credit, reveal their early or postponed hard-won maturity decades later in Neil's account. The band offers a welcome for Neil when he manages to break into the backstage fortresses, and as the band becomes more and more elevated while Neil struggles, as a successful rock journalist it must be admitted, to keep up with his own maturing and his own growth into what seems to have been a delayed marriage and manhood! While the level of detail Neil provides is admittedly rather too meticulously rendered, the events and insights he provides manage to remain apropos and consistently illuminate the deeper angst he battles.

The camaraderie with band members, the dreams they share, and the defeats they must endure amidst U2's ever-increasing fame prove poignant. Neil does not exploit his position vis-a-vis his classmates, and only once asks for the chance for Bono to make good on his earlier promise to give Neil's band a hearing for a single released by U2's in-house label, Mother Records. Bono does, but the five-person board (band members plus U2's manager, who between the lines seems not to like Neil's efforts I suspect) has to be unanimous for a signing, and one vote proved negative. Bono does not say who; he does handle the whole situation, which must have been a bit awkward for all involved, with deft tact and charity.

I came away from this narrative-- long suspicious of Bono-- with an appreciation for the political and philanthropic efforts of Bono (the Edge and Adam make cameos here and there; Larry is little to be seen, it seems) and his bandmates, dealing with temptation and fame, diplomats and fundraising, at a level beyond the imaginings even of Mount Temple schoolboys in the dim era when glam drifted into punk. It's often said that when viewing the "great" that you truly see what they are like when dealing with the seemingly inconsequential, "little" folks, and Bono and the other band members of U2 emerge with class, I am happy to report. I am not even that much of a U2 fan, but I concluded this book with respect for both these bands and their members, famous or unheralded. Idealism persists at both levels.

The thick level of recalled detail for all of these conversations and ministrations, given the difficulty mentioned with "hearing" the music for its strengths and weaknesses when limited to the page, does occasionally slow the pace down here and there. Neil is not a flashy writer, but an efficient chronicler, so the book rarely drags for long. As an aside, since an examination of their relationship only occurs about 85% of the way through the narrative, I felt that more attention by Neil to his brother Ivan, who was with Neil in both bands, could have fleshed out their relationship so readers could better understand their lasting bond, although his comparative reticence may be out of respect for Ivan. Obviously they believed in their cause for many years under disheartening conditions. I wonder, if Neil had been born two decades later, how the Net would have enabled he and Ivan, perhaps, to share their musical visions in ways that the record labels with their stuffy A&R suits might never have predicted anymore than the rest of us back two decades ago!

P.S. I happen to have read this as the third rock music book in a row by someone about my age, the other two authors also being British music press journalists, and their common subject covers the late 70s-early 80s music scene in Britain (and Ireland, here). I have also reviewed on Amazon "Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984" by Simon Reynolds; Neil's brief comparison of the emerging Echo-to-Smiths indie scene with the New Wave-to New Romantic- to synth-pop trends fits well with Reynolds' own conclusions about the demise of the latter by 1984 or so in Britain. I also reviewed on Amazon a companion memoir; Dylan Jones' "IPod, Therefore I Am" mixes his own recollections of the glam, punk, and post-punk, rave, and jazz eras in the 70s and 80s into his own efforts to make on his iPod the soundtrack for his past four decades.

Why do some rise and some fall?.......2006-07-12

First the basics. McCormick grew up with this guy named Paul. They both formed bands and played the circuits, making connections with the music industry big wigs and recording their songs. Paul is now better known as Bono. McCormick is now better known as the music critic for the Telegraph. So what happened? What makes one person become a star and another fail to break through the maze of the music industry? Talent? Fate? Luck? This book takes you on the whole journey, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, but always interesting. I blazed through its 384 pages in four days, and wish there were still more of it to read. Along the way I was treated to deep discussions of fame, fortune, misfortune, music, the music industry, religion, and life in general. McCormick weaves together several themes and keeps them all relevant and alive. If you've ever dreamed of being a rock star, read this book.

I Was Bono's Doppelganger.......2006-05-18

This book is a blitz of fame, fortune, and failure. It is a thorougly amusing read for all lovers of U2. McCormick himself is a bumbling boffin who could've had it all, but missed the mark completely. He is a lovable loser.

Even so, the book left a bad taste in my mouth. Several anecdotes, probably meant to be funny, felt flat as I repulsed and stuck out my tongue. McCormick's comedy of errors was due in part to his bad decisions regarding drugs and sex. Several times I found myself thinking "Boy, that was dumb of him! When will he ever learn?"

"I Was Bono's Doppelganger" is an funny, light-hearted read for devoted U2 fans. It serves an important life lesson- that bad decisions bring bad results. You will be rooting for McCormick all the way through. Worth a read.

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I Was Bono's Doppelganger
Neil McCormick
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0141013060

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I Was Bono's Doppelganger
Neil McCormick
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJNJR8

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Puzzles for Kids

Games Magazine Presents the Kids' Giant Book of Games: Fecych (Other)
Karen Anderson
Manufacturer: Random House Puzzles & Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fiction | Games | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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Games Magazine Junior Kids' Big Book of Games

The Everything Kids' Puzzle Book: Mazes, Word Games, Puzzles & More! Hours of Fun! (Everything Kids Series)

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Games Magazine Big Book of Games

The Everything Kids' Math Puzzles Book: Brain Teasers, Games, and Activities for Hours of Fun (Everything Kids Series)

ASIN: 0812921992
Release Date: 1993-06-29

Amazon.com

Kids thrive on mental stimulation--but it has to be fun. This book truly does the job. The big volume is well sized for children to handle, printed large for easy reading, and is loaded with picture puzzles, word play, logic and math teasers, general games, and trivia. Games Magazine's famous sense of humor will make your favorite kids smile and even laugh outright. Meanwhile they sharpen their perceptual and thinking skills as they play. The activities are even more enjoyable when you play along. Have a copy handy for a long trip or a rainy day.

Book Description

Kids will love with this fun-filled collection of brain-twisters from America's premiere puzzle publication.

Customer Reviews:

Puzzles for Kids.......2000-06-02

I highly recommend this book! I am a 6th grade teacher in Clayton County. My students really enjoy working on these puzzles. The level of difficulty varies with the different puzzles allowing me to meet the needs of all my students, despite their varied ability levels. These puzzles are a great way to entertain and encourage students of different ages and ability levels.

Amazon.com

The Copywriter's Handbook is somewhat out of date. There are no references to Web sites or the Internet, and author Robert W. Bly advises that a freelance copywriter have a good typewriter. No matter. Bly has compiled an incredibly useful resource for budding, and even experienced, copywriters. Bly calls his book "a step-by-step guide to writing copy that sells." And that it is: Bly covers the writing of print ads, direct mail, brochures, catalogues, public-relations material, trade-journal articles, speeches, newsletters, commercials, and more. But equally informative is the substantial amount of space that he devotes to the copywriting business, in which he offers guidance in setting up a freelance copywriting business, getting hired by an ad agency, and hiring and working with copywriters (this section also includes a chapter on graphic design for copywriters). This is a terrific book. If you don't take my word for it, take David Ogilvy's: "I don't know a single copywriter whose work would not be improved by reading this book," he says. "And that includes me." --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

This is a book for everyone who writes or approves copy: copywriters, account executives, creative directors, freelance writers, advertising managers . . . even entrepreneurs and brand managers. It reveals dozens of copywriting techniques that can help you write ads, commercials, and direct mail that are clear, persuasive, and get more attentionand sell more products. Among the tips revealed are eight headlines that workand how to use them eleven ways to make your copy more readable fifteen ways to open a sales letter the nine characteristics of successful print ads how to build a successful freelance copywriting practice fifteen techniques to ensure your e-mail marketing message is opened This thoroughly revised third edition includes all new essential information for mastering copywriting in the Internet era, including advice on Web- and e-mail-based copywriting, multimedia presentations, and Internet research and source documentation, as well as updated resources. Now more indispensable than ever, The Copywriters Handbook remains the ultimate guide for people who write or work with copy.

Customer Reviews:

Every copywriter's best friend - a must-read keeper.......2007-10-03

Bob Bly is the master of showing beginning copywriters how to write compelling copy. He also knows all there is to know about the copywriting business.

If you're just starting out in this business, you must buy this book and any time Bob updates it, buy the new one.

He helps you know what to charge. He guides you in the rules of the road in a way you'll understand. Reading this book could be the ticket to a great career for you. So pick up your ticket and enter the world of copywriting.

Highly recommended --- especially for beginning copywriters or those who need a handy everyday reference to refer to when they have a question.

The Copywriter's Handbook.......2007-08-29

Excellent service.
Arrived really quick and in excellent packaging.
Love the book, Thank you!

Breaks down the basics of writing killer copy.......2007-07-28

Before I started my own copywriting business years ago, this one was my first books on the subject. And I still refer back to it periodically. Bob Bly is a copywriting legend who is well-known for making the fundamentals of writing great copy easy to understand. Whether you're thinking about a writing career, or just need to make your marketing materials more effective, this is the perfect primer for anyone who wants to learn how to write to sell!

Good for direct response copywriting, but not so great for ad agency writing.......2007-05-18

Since this review is largely negative, I should admit that "The Copywriter's Handbook" can be found near my desk and I reference it often.

With that confession, I'll take my first punch: the author of this book has never won an advertising award. Not one that matters, anyway. But in Bob Bly's world, awards really don't matter.

Since 1985, "The Copywriter's Handbook," has been a guide to the ugly but lucrative subculture of advertising called direct response. In this world, Bob Bly is a self-anointed diety. Since the book was first published, mobs of enterprising disciples have drunk his Cool-Aid, hoping not for a promised land, but a six-figure salary.

It's true that copywriters can earn $10,000 for writing one letter. Of course, it's a direct response letter. The kind beleaguered with double underlined sentences. Features explained through benefits. Promises punctuated with exclamation points. And, of course, the grand finale is highlighted in yellow: an offer that must be acted upon immediately.

For industrious writers who want to come up with this stuff, "The Copywriter's Handbook," is considered a bible. But for anyone who aspires to create concept-driven advertising, there's not much in this book.

Bly starts this work by taking sides against concept-driven advertising. He explains, "A copywriter is a salesperson behind a typewriter." He warns against becoming "an artist or entertainer." For if you go down this dangerous path, Bly warns, "Your copy will be wasting your client's time and money."

Although I don't do direct response, as a freelancer, I write a lot of stuff that's not artistic, entertaining, concept-driven advertising. I often write stuff that works hard at doing more than building a brand. For those jobs, this book contains a lot of practical advice.

Of its nearly 400 pages, I found Bly's lists most helpful. "Copy motivators" offer 22 reasons why someone might buy a product, a good thing to ask your client before writing. Bly offers interview questions too, many of which I have incorporated into my own. He also outlines different types of ads, which can be useful in finding direction for an ad. Will we do a question ad? A testimonial? An offer of free information?

But for all of his juicy nuggets, so many of Bly's examples read like spam. They sound too good to be true, killing the credibility of his work. So much so that I think his audiences must be incredibly stupid to read - let alone respond - to what he writes.

"Would you pay $1,000 to save $5,500?"

"One of a kind. Is that phrase a little trite? I used to think so until I tried to find you. ..."

"Three years ago this month, a man I know - he was then a vice president of a big corporation in Illinois - walked into his boss's office and handed in his resignation. Two weeks later, he started his own company. ..."

Aren't we past this kind of stuff? Judging by the number of people who make serious cash writing Bly-style advertising, apparently not. I know that I don't allow any of it into my life, not even from nonprofits and politicians I believe in.

Despite the money to be made, you won't find me crossing to the schlock-y side of hard-sell direct response advertising. Even knowing about the profit potential of this work, I still want to create cool, concept-driven creative work. Because unlike Mr. Bly, I know that my kind of advertising can work for clients.

I recommend: How to Write Great Copy: Learn the Unwritten Rules of Copywriting

Nice but dated.......2007-04-12

I read this book a long time ago, long before I started the now famous AUDIN Web Design. I remember it too be a valuable companion piece to my creative writing during my copy writing days in advertising. His explanation of #2 pencil is invaluable and priceless. The use of plurals in copy writing is important. Bly talks about copy that tells a story. He's right. You have to tell a story.

Although I read this book a while back and thought it was excellent in its day, I would hesitate to recommend it to new copy writers of today. So much as change since those days of print. Now with online stuff, there would be a better book. It's still a good book, but you might want to save the big bucks for something else.

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