John Constable and the Theory of Landscape Painting

Book Description

Ray Lambert's exhaustive study of John Constable's landscapes and relevant writings reveal Constable's high level of engagement with ideas on art and aesthetics and the decisive consequences for his style of painting. Constable's texts clearly predict his views. They also give an indication of the artist's knowledge of scientific, poetic, and aesthetic ideas that were relevant to the creation of a serious landscape art as well as a theory of landscape.

An Archetypal Constable: National Identity and the Geography of Nostalgia

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An Archetypal Constable: National Identity and the Geography of Nostalgia
Peter Bishop
Manufacturer: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Book Description

With an afterword by Roger Griffin. Fashion is often thought of as a matter of personal taste, completely unconnected with the public domain of political life and citizenship. Overturning this perspective, this absorbing book reveals that, from the French Revolution to post-revolutionary China, fashion has played a significant role in political participation and protest. Fashioning the Body Politic challenges the perception of helpless fashion victims, subject to manipulation by consumerism and the fashion industry, and shows how, in a range of historical and national contexts, certain styles of dress and display were significant for both men and women's political participation and the formation of their identities as citizens. How did 'dressing up' in a variety of ways allow suffragette women to perform unconventional forms of political protest? In what ways did the uniforms of scouts and guides function to erect gender, racial and religious boundaries? Following the ban on traditional clothing in Imperial Russia, how did Russians appropriate European fashions and ethnic costumes to fashion new identities for themselves? Using these and a wealth of other case studies, Fashioning the Body Politic offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between men, women and fashion and shows that the political domain has always been permeated with the cultural practices of dress, display and bodily performance.

Book Description

The author, a long-time consumer advocate, has regaled her audience for years with funeral humor as an ice-breaker for discussion of consumer issues in dealing with the funeral industry. This book is full of her favorite jokes and witticisms, with each chapter ending with a few pages called "But Seriously . . . " with important consumer information. This book is a fund-raiser for Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit consumer organization, and many famous artists contributed their cartoons and illustrations in support of that cause. These include the late Edward Gorey, Rina Piccolo, and P.S. Mueller.

Customer Reviews:

A funny yet useful little book.......2002-06-08

Death is not a topic many of us enjoy talking about, and as a result many people are unprepared for the business side of death once it strikes close to home. The underlying goal of this little book is to increase readers' knowledge of death, funerals, and the like. Thus, there is information on burial vaults, caskets, funeral homes, cremation, etc.; much of this information is useful and interesting. There are even money-saving tips for families in financial straits. Surrounding these tips and suggestions, though, are an assortment of humorous remarks and stories: famous last words, cartoons, jokes, funny epitaphs, poems, and recollections. You will also find "A Dying Person's Bill of Rights" and--my favorite--a list of suggestions for "Putting the 'Fun' Back in Funerals." This book is in no way irreverent or disrespectful of the dead and those who mourn for them, and there are no religious overtones that might upset certain readers. This short little book (it can easily be read in half an hour) will certainly not make you an expert on funerals, but there is some good information to be found on the serious pages scattered throughout the book, not least of which is a discussion of the information funeral homes are required by law to give you in writing before you make any buying decision. The author emphasizes the fact that you are not required to accept everything the funeral director recommends and stresses the importance of reading through the price guidelines and relevant information before making your decision. No matter how much we deny it, death is a part of life we all must face, and this little book celebrates life through its humor and makes death a little easier for people to consider and talk about.

Lots of jokes and some info too.......2002-01-03

This book has tons of jokes and cartoons with a death theme. Most of them are pretty funny. Interspersed are some 'but seriously' pages with real information about various aspects of death, dying and funerals. There is a table of contents in the front so you can go right to the serious stuff if you want. There is also a good list of funeral directors in the back of the book.

Humorists will be especially pleased.......2001-08-06

Most of us should have a little more death and funeral-related information in our knowledge base, and it would be a good idea to get it before we actually need it. But who wants to read about dying? I knew I'd need some guidance in this area eventually, so when I saw Ms. Carlson's book I thought I'd give it a read. Her "But Seriously..." sections contained all the information I'm likely to need, surrounded by pages and pages of humor, good humor. Jokes and cartoons -- there's something for everyone in "I Died Laughing: Funeral Education with a Light Touch." Humorists will be especially pleased.

Average customer rating:

That teddy bear is lookin' at me funny...

100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What you Can Do About Them
Laura Lee
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Safety & First Aid | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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Be Safe!: Simple Strategies for Death-Free Living

The Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation: 101 Things that Annoy, Bother, Chafe, Disturb, Enervate, Frustrate, Grate, Harass, Irk, Jar, Mife, Nettle, Outrage, Peeve, Quassh, Rile, Stress Out, Trouble, Upset, Vex, Worry and X,Y Z You!

50 Jobs Worse Than Yours

ASIN: 0767917162
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Book Description

Fact: More people are killed annually by teddy bears than by grizzly bears.

Fact: Each year, thousands of couch potatoes are admitted to emergency rooms for television-related injuries.

Fact: There are more germs on your desk than there are on your toilet.

Forget about lions, tigers, and sharks—in a world where vacuum cleaners are more dangerous than venomous spiders, and household cleaner is more deadly than anthrax, it pays to know the risks of daily living—and how to avoid them. In this witty and wonderfully practical guide, Laura Lee reveals the 100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What You Can Do About Them.

From rubber bands and paper clips to wading pools and holy water, readers will learn:
• The probability of encountering each threat

• How to determine the magnitude of danger

• Expert advice on how best to minimize the hazard

• Statistics on how many people have met their demise as a result of these risks

Equipped with this worst-case scenario guide to armchair misadventures, alarmists, hypochondriacs, paranoids, and skeptics alike will be prepared for anything that comes their way—at home, at work, or at play.

Customer Reviews:

That teddy bear is lookin' at me funny..........2004-07-23

Did you know that over 133,000 people every year are injured by doors? How about the fact that over 400,000 people in the United States suffer injuries every year while relaxing or sleeping in bed? You can find out this, and other wonderful information, in Laura Lee's 100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life and What You Can Do About Them. This is a book that straddles two worlds. Unfortunately, it has problems in each one, but it's still an interesting read. It's supposed to be a humor book. How do I know this? It says right on the back that the classification of this book is "humor." It also contains a lot of information about possible dangers in everyday life and how you can prevent yourself from becoming yet another statistic.

One of the problems with the book is humor. It's just not that funny. There are some humorous quips (I particularly liked the suggestion in the "money" section, where she says that you should get rid of all your cash immediately by sending it to her). I smiled a few times. Even some of the entries are slightly amusing (there's an entry for Finland because they have the highest accident rate in the western world). But as a humor book, it just doesn't really work that much.

The good thing is that the book is valuable in other ways, too. The idea of the book is not to induce general paranoia about everyday living. What, you're going to stay in bed? See the statistic above. No, the book is intended to lessen that paranoia.

"If you can look such deadly items as kitchen knives, bedding, vegetables and teddy bears in the face each day without fear, you should be able to stare down the much more statistically unlikely threats that now haunt our collective consciousness." pg. 9

Lee presents each item in a very interesting fashion, giving statistics about the number of injuries and/or deaths every year. She briefly describes each entry, then gives a quick wrap-up of things you can do to avoid these injuries. Sometimes the beginning of the "what you can do" section is humorous (for Finland, the first thing she says is that you could avoid going there, but then you'd miss out on a lot of beauty). However, she always does come back to some concrete suggestions, such as avoiding enjoying Finland's wonders while overindulging.

Even when the entry itself may seem odd ("cute guys?"), the information she presents is intriguing. In the "cute guys" section, she talks about how studies have shown how attractiveness can affect our perceptions, such as how 57 percent of male defendants who were considered "attractive" in rape cases were convicted, but 82 percent of those deemed "unattractive" were. The book was definitely worth reading for interesting factoids like this.

The problem is in the presentation of some of these facts. The comparisons she uses don't work when you actually think about them. Take this one, for instance. In the section on sewing, she recounts how more people are injured sewing then are injured while mountain-climbing. According to her, 4056 people are injured mountain-climbing while 7099 are injured sewing. What she doesn't take into account is the fact that, I would guess, there are many more people sewing than climbing mountains. Statistics like this should really be given as percentages rather than straight numbers. Of course, those percentages may not be available, which just means that the comparison shouldn't even be used. She does this constantly, though there are entries where percentages are used. What's worse, she uses these statistics and then states that you are statistically more likely to be injured doing the one activity over the other. That's simply not true with the information she's given us. If 100 mountain climbers are injured but there are only 500 mountain climbers, and 1000 sewers are injured but there are 30,000 of them, you wouldn't say that you're more likely to be injured sewing, would you? Just because 900 more people are injured sewing than climbing mountains? This statistical problem does not affect every entry, thankfully. At times, she just presents the stats and doesn't try to analyze them.

Even the ones that do have this problem contain good information on the potential hazards, including one that I had not only never known, but realized after I read it that I had been using it dangerously and thus have changed my habit. 100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life is a very valuable book that can educate as well as make you rethink your irrational fear of other things, like plane crashes. It's an enjoyable, easy read that is well worth your time. Just give some of the statistics analysis (the statistics are fine by themselves) a hefty dose of salt. And don't expect to laugh uproariously.

David Roy

Average customer rating:

not for children

Mumming Revived

All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming
Henry H. Glassie
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Folk Groups And Folklore Genres: A Reader

Folk Groups And Folklore Genres: An Introduction

ASIN: 0253304709

Customer Reviews:

not for children.......2004-10-01

This is a serious book by a noted folklore scholar. It is not appropriate for children as noted above.

The Bookschlepper

Mumming Revived.......2004-06-08

Mumming isn't solely the New Year's tradition that is performed in Philadelphia's streets. In Ireland, it involved masking, music making, storytelling, and folk drama as mummers visited neighbors in holiday celebrations. Henry Glassie's book is a study of the folklore and oral history of mumming within a small community in the border area of Ireland and Ulster. Although the mumming tradition had died out by the mid 20th century, current residents who remembered the mumming tradition describe what one might experience when celebrating a typical evening of the old tradition. The book is a highly readable and insightful study of Irish folklife, and a fine presentation of mumming's memory culture.

All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming

Average customer rating:

All Silver and No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming
Henry H. Glassie
Manufacturer: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBQMF4

Average customer rating:

All Silver and No Brass: an Irish Christmas Mumming
Henry H. Glassie
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ13MY

Product Description

Hardcover with 1938 Copyright by Blue Ribbon Books.

Book Description

Here is the first and only bite-sized guide to 50 of the most important and inspiring books that already have helped legions of readers unleash their potential and discover the secrets to success in work and life.

Customer Reviews:

Read ... @High Speed ... & Succeed ! .......2007-08-14

This book among the other 3 excellent categories (see below) had a profound impact on my success and level of awareness in jump-starting my career.

Working at a large bank, my level of stress and the resulting time deprivation made it almost impossible to finish ONE book per month.

Now, I enjoy reading, analyzing, and integrating the wisdom of ONE book per day thanks to Tom Bowdon's excellent book summaries.

In short: Read ... @High Speed ... & Succeed !

Here are the other 3 book summaries that I highly (!) recommend:

50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life

50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom from 50 Great Books on Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose

50 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do; Insight and Inspiration from 50 Key Books

I strongly believe the three books in the author's trilogy are really an intellectual treasure!.......2006-10-28

50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life, From Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus
50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Life and Work from 50 Landmark Books
50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom from 50 Great Books on Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose

In the first instance, I have bought these three books in one go because I have been fascinated by what the author had done: He has practised what is known as the highest level of reading. Mortimer Adler, in his classic book, 'How to Read a Book', written in the forties, had called it 'syntopical reading'. It's actually reading a number of books of the same genre, more or less simultaneously & then synthesising the key points.

Secondly, the author, who is a graduate of the London School of Economics, somehow impresses me with his ability to synthesise the big picture of each of the books that made up the entire collection. For apparently a left-brain thinker i.e. economist by training, this has been a very remarkable feat, as his synthesising endeavour has been essentially more of a right-brain activity. Well, I must compliment him for a job well done.

Before my final decision on buying the three books, I have been thrilled by the prospect of reading three books, which in turn will give me access to one hundred & fifty books.

For each book, the author has very artfully as well as skillfully selected fifty books to made up one collection. I may not agree with his selection, but I must admit that I can't default him at all.

Take the first book, '50 Self Help Classics', with timeless wisdom, as an example. Out of the fifty books he has selected, I have read only seventeen of them. I have those books in my personal library.

For the second book, '50 Success Classics', I have read & still own sixteen of the landmark books on winning wisdom selected by the author.

For the third & final book, '50 Spiritual Classics', covering timeless sages & contemporary gurus, I have read only & still own three of them, namely 'The Tao of Physics', 'The Way of the Peaceful Warrior' & 'Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

For those books I have read previously, totaling thirty-six of them (probably stretching over three decades of my life), & upon revisiting them again in the trilogy, which actually took me one whole weekend to complete, starting on Friday evening & finishing on Sunday night, I must say that the seemingly marathon reading experience has been very refreshing & uplifting. It has also given me the opportunity to check & verify whether the author has captured the key ideas or essence of those books. I don't think I can find fault with the author in this respect.

Not only that, in the first book, I am very impressed that the author has cut through the bewildering array of choices to bring the essential ideas, insights, and techniques from the `literature of possibilities'. In works that span the world's religions, cultures, philosophies, & centuries, he summarizes each work's key ideas & finally makes clear how these legendary classics can educate, affirm, & motivate anyone searching for the inspiration to make a meaningful life change.

In the second book, the author is back with his wide-ranging collection of enduring works from pioneering thinkers, philosophers, & powerful leaders, like Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Kenneth Blanchard, Baltasar Gracian & Christopher Maurer; from the inspirational rags to riches stories of such entrepreneurs, like Andrew Carnegie, Warren Buffet & Sam Walton to the leadership lessons of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln & Nelson Mandela, just to name a few.

In the third book, I believe the author has captured the very best in spiritual writing: They include personal diaries & compelling biographies of such diverse figures as Gandhi, Malcolm X, & Black Elk & Eastern philosophers & gurus including Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Chögyam Trungpa & Suzuki; & Western saints & mystics such as St. Francis of Assisi, Herman Hesse & Simone Weil. For each book in this volume, the author offers insightful commentary on how these classics can help spiritual seekers everywhere bring personal beliefs, values & practices squarely into the center of their every day lives.

Reading the three foregoing books has been quite a breeze because the meaning of each work is initially captured 'in a nut shell' at the onset, coupled with a representative quote as well as cross-referencing to similar work. In each work, appropriate sectional headings in bold print make it really easy for the reader to follow the author's train of thoughts over some six pages. There is also a short biographical sketch of the author of the respective work.

I must admit that the third book in the trilogy has been the most challenging for me to read as I normally do not go for such stuff. To put it bluntly, it's not my cup of tea. On the other hand, the curiosity streak in me has been too overwhelming, since I relish the thought that I could read fifty spiritual classics in just one book!

Overall, & for all those books I have not yet read at all (some of which I have not even heard of), I really enjoyed digesting the author's bite-sized summaries (in actuality, they are only the main ideas, context & impact of each title, to give a taste of the literature, so to speak) in the three collections or volumes, even though some of the titles are relatively esoteric for me. The entire reading journey has been enlightening, inspirational & yet humbling in some areas. Best of all, there are useful tools & practical techniques to take away from each collection!

For the first & last book in the trilogy, namely, '50 Self Help Classics' & '50 Spirtual Classics', the author has respectively provide a list of additional 50 books. The titles are certainly enticing! Well, all I can say is this: I wish the author will repeat his syntopical reading exercise covering these books & add two more volumes, that will make a quintulogy, for all the readers out there, including me!

As usual, all my three books are now scribbled with my own hand-written marginal annotations as well as my fancy colour marker symbols. Additionally, there are also colourful sticky notes in between selected pages. My next personal assignment is to transfer all these notations into mindmaps with Mindmanager Pro.

To end my review, I have one last humble comment to make. Out of the one hundred & fifty bite-sized summaries, I still don't quite get it from 'The Bhagavad-Gita' as outlined in the author's '50 Self Help Classics'. I have not read this work before although I have heard about it. [J Y Pillay, former Chairman of Singapore Airlines, who is credited for building the airline to what it is today, A Great Way to Fly, has vouched for this ancient Hindu scripture as an inspiration for his leadership success during an interview.] However, in the same vein, I found that I could relate quickly to Deepak Chopra's 'The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success' but simply not this one! I may have to explore other avenue.

In site of the above minor short-coming, I strongly believe that the three books in the author's trilogy are really an intellectual treasure!

Excellence.......2006-08-28

Butler-Bowdon is my guide through the literature of inner -development. His books have helped me grow as an individual and continue to help in my research for the books I choose to write to help humanity. His knowledge is exceptional and his choice of books is perfect. He truly is an expert in this area. I recommend his entire series and genuinely cant wait to get Psychology Classics. Thanks for helping humanity with your writing Mr. Butler-Bowdon.

10 stars

Author, Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds and Upcoming Release of Eastern Wisdom for Your Soul.

Cliff Notes for Ambitious Over-Achievers! .......2006-08-09

Truly, this is a great condensed volume of success advice. Butler-Bowden does the hard work for you, and in one volume you get the "meat" of 50 books. And, these 50 are some pretty hefty books. Some contemporary, some classic, but all contain valuable kernels of information that Butler-Bowden has already sussed out for you. The author includes a brief biography of the authors of the books he has chosen, and in many instances, those stories are just as inspiring.

I really enjoyed being reminded of "The Inner Game of Tennis". I read that book a long, long, time ago and 20+ years later, I have used the information time and again. Perhaps this little book helped make me a lifelong self-learner. I'm pretty sure it helped me be a better parent, teacher and manager.

For fans of success and achievement books, some of these selections are like old friends you need to get in touch with, and many will probably be new stories you'll grow to love.

If, on the other hand, you are a new student of success, seeking a meaty source for success education and information this is definitely bang for your buck. It might inspire you to read some of the "whole" books, but even this condensed "cram session" will leave you inspired and informed.

Helpful as a guide! A good book or not, depends!.......2006-04-11

As a book lover who had read over 100 self help/success books, I must thank the author for telling me that I still miss a lot. In fact, I just ordered 10 out of the 42 I had not yet read. In this respect, this book is a very helpful guide. However, under the constraint that the author can devote only 6 pages to each classic, including a brief biography of respective authors, the essence of individual classics had not been brought out, at least not in the 8 books I had read. I understand that it might be a compromise, pitifully.

For book lovers who want to know what they should read, and for those who just want to quote or boast in front of their friends, this book is a good choice. For those who want help from compleat self help books, I suggest them to look for some books else. Just go straight to Success Principles by Jack Canfield, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins, Good Luck by Alex Rovira etc etc.

50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Work & Life from 50 Landmark Books (Your Coach in a Box)

Average customer rating:

Great insights for pesonal and financial success!

50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Work & Life from 50 Landmark Books (Your Coach in a Box)
Tom Butler-Bowdon
Manufacturer: Coach Series
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

ASIN: 1596590424

Book Description

Which books can really bring personal and financial success? This follow-up to the acclaimed 50 SELFHELP CLASSICS focuses on business, motivation and prosperity as it surveys 50 of the all-time classics that have already enriched millions, giving listeners the key ideas, insights and applications of these legendary works. From rags-to-riches stories of such entrepreneurs as Andrew Carnegie, Warren Buffett and Sam Walton, to master motivators like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Napoleon Hill, to contemporary business blockbusters as Jack Welch, Spencer Johnson and Robert Kiyosaki, these are the leaders and pioneers who have helped generations unleash their potential and discover the secrets of success. Each entry presents key excerpts, a nutshell summary, explanation of the main ideas, author bio and an expert overview that puts it all in practical perspective. As they are introduced to landmark works ranging from the classic (Acres of Diamonds, The Science of Getting Rich, The Way to Wealth) to the current (Good to Great, The Millionaire Mind) listeners will: Profit from the lessons of business legends Explore the spiritual and financial road to wealth Gain powerful insights into success secrets in life and work Uncover the strength of the spirit that infuses inspirational tales of personal triumph A comprehensive course in leadership, prosperity and motivation, 50 SUCCESS CLASSICS is a must for any listener working towards personal and financial success.

Customer Reviews:

Great insights for pesonal and financial success!.......2006-09-04

This comprehensive library focuses on business, motivation and prosperity. It surveys 50 of the all-time classics that have enriched millions, and offers key ideas, insights and applications for personal and financial success. It's a great audio...inspiring and helpful.

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