Average customer rating:
- What a great "find"!!
- Filled with Vitality and Drama
- A MUST-HAVE Reference
- COMPREHENSIVE, COMPELLING - A SUPERIOR BOOK
- People's pottery wins me over
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Staffordshire Figures: History in Earthenware, 1740-1900 (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
Adele Kenny , and
Veronica Moriarty
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Antiques & Collectibles
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Glass & Glassware
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Pottery & Ceramics
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General
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Ceramics
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Similar Items:
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Victorian Staffordshire Figures, 1875-1962: Portraits, Decorative and Other Figures, Dogs and Other Animals, Later Reproductions (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
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Staffordshire Animals: A Collector's Guide to History, Styles, and Values
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Victorian Staffordshire Figures 1835-1875: Religious, Hunters, Pastoral, Occupations, Children & Animals, Dogs, Animals, Cottages & Castles, Sport & Miscellaneous (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
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Staffordshire Spaniels: A Collector's Guide to History, Styles, and Values (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
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Victorian Staffordshire Figures, 1835-1875: Book Three (Schiffer Book for Collectors)
ASIN: 0764319175 |
Customer Reviews:
What a great "find"!!.......2004-05-11
What a great read! This is a study of not only Staffordshire figurines but the people who made and decorated them and the life and times that these people existed within. It is a wonderful fresh social history and commentary of especially Victorian times based around ornamental objects that were produced for the masses, rather than the elite and wealthy. It is a fascinating book to read and requires on previous knowledge of the subject. Chapters include an excellent introduction to "the potteries" and the makers, modelers and decorators followed by indepth studies of predominately Victorian life as reflected by chapter headings such as Never-never land : children; rogues and renegades : the criminal element; country life : a rural romance; and entertainment : streets, spirits, sawdust, spotlights and stirrups.
The book is extremely well written and beautifully illustrated (often with previously unpublished figures). The index is prolific and all en-compassing. It is elegantly produced by the publisher Schiffer. This is a fascinating reference work that one just wants to sit down and read from cover to cover-unlike most reference books that are just "dipped into". It is not simply a catalogue of Staffordshire figures but an engaging study of the period.
Filled with Vitality and Drama.......2004-03-24
As a long-time Staffordshire collector, I was delighted when my copy of this book arrived. My personal library contains numerous Staffordshire figure catalogs and "studies," but I've never read anything like this incredible book before. The authors have brought the Staffordshire figure-making era into remarkable focus with an immediacy that takes the reader into that long-ago time when Staffordshire figures were first placed on the mantelpieces of homes and inns throughout Britain. This is clearly a book about Staffordshire's earthenware figures and groups, but it is also a book about the era in which they were crafted and the people who made and owned them 100-260 years ago. Kenny and Moriarty have gone where the "catalogers" and previous Staffordshire authors have failed to go - directly and comprehensively to the essence of the Staffordshire figure era. This is a wonderfully readable "history" book, abundantly illustrated with Staffordshire figures and groups, and filled with the vitality and drama of the dawning Industrial Age. A long forgotten potter once stated, "No art with potters can compare, we make our pots of what we potters are." It may now be said of this new and exciting book's authors, Adele Kenny and Veronica Moriarty, "No other authors can compare, they made their book of what the figures are."
A MUST-HAVE Reference.......2004-03-21
This fabulous new book has been flawlessly researched and written, generously illustrated, and elegantly produced in a hardbound edition complete with a very attractive dust jacket. It is a reference that provides inclusive historical information on the social, cultural, economic, and religious conditions that provided the backdrop for earthenware figure production in North Staffordshire from the mid-eighteenth century through 1900. In this volume, Staffordshire figures are not merely catalogued and illustrated - they are presented as historical "documents" that illustrate various aspects of British life during the time of their making. The 240-page book contains twenty chapters, an introduction, a conclusion, a very complete bibliography, and a comprehensive index. Over 565 illustrations complement text that is written in an intelligent and lively style that draws the reader into the changing, turbulent, gritty, and gutsy world of the Staffordshire figure. The authors have skillfully designed each chapter as a separate content area that may be read and savored individually or studied and enjoyed within the larger context of the whole book. Detailed captions provide descriptive data that adds to the already substantial text. The value ranges noted are honestly wide and reflect the current market. Kenny and Moriarty have created a masterwork that is destined to become a standard reference in the field.
COMPREHENSIVE, COMPELLING - A SUPERIOR BOOK.......2004-03-17
If you are looking for the WHOLE story of Staffordshire figures, this is the book for you. Written in an intelligent, literate style, here is a reference text that draws the reader into the world of Staffordshire figures as well as into the world of the potters who made them and the people who purchased them. This book presents a new reading of Staffordshire figure history through highly engaging and compelling text that is enhanced by hundreds of superb illustrations. The authors' carefully researched and insightful study is powered by the highest standards of scholarly, yet eminently reader-friendly, writing.
People's pottery wins me over.......2004-03-17
I'm an avid reader of "antiques" books, as well as being a collector of antiques. It's not very often that a book about antiques comes along that not only gives you the information you want to know about your antique, but also manages to let you into the world of the people who made that antique.
Not only did I find this work a way to help me better appreciate where the pottery of Staffordshire was coming from and why it happened when it did, but I ENJOYED reading it! The work is entertaining - a real surprise for a book about antiques. I found it a breath of fresh air for Staffordshire figure and antiques writing in general.
Congratulations to the authors. Informative and entertaining and comprehensive text and great pictures to support it.
I highly recommend this work not only to those who collect Staffordshire figurs, but to anyone interested in 19th century history and society.
Book Description
Have you mastered the basics of digital SLR photography and are ready to take full advantage of the unique tools and capabilities that digital SLR cameras have to offer? "Digital SLR Pro Secrets" shows you how to combine your artistic skills with your growing photographic proficiency as you capture compelling images. Today's digital SLR cameras are less expensive and more sophisticated than ever, but along with these special features and capabilities come special challenges that need to be embraced and used to improve the excellence of your work. Learn how to increase the image quality of your photographs and get all the sharpness, broad tonal range, and accurate color rendition that your camera is capable of. Gain a real understanding of how telephoto and wide-angle lenses work and how to use them creatively. And discover in-depth information on exciting topics such as infrared photography, macro imaging, using studio lighting, and how to produce special effects with your dSLR camera. Each chapter features tips and tricks from the pros, including how to create your own gadgets and equipment to really maximize your camera's capabilities. A comprehensive illustrated glossary features definitions and explanations of key photography terms and concepts and helps provide clarity as you work your way through the book. With "Digital SLR Pro Secrets", you will discover how to take great pictures in the camera as you harness all of the amazing tools right at your fingertips.
Customer Reviews:
NOT WORTH THE MONEY.......2007-08-20
IN THE INTRO, the author explains that too many books talk about digital manipulation and Photoshop. He says this is a book for people who "just want to learn about photography." Well, when you buy a book about photographic techniques, that's fine. But when you buy a book about DIGITAL photography, you expect some emphasis on digital photography. With this book, you get way too much info on "rembrandt lighting" and "side lighting" in the studio.
AS FOR THE QUALITY of the book, it looks very outdated. The photos are 1960s French-Canadian or something -- and if the photos in a PHOTOGRAPHY book aren't updated, why would one assume that the text is anything other than a cut-and-paste from an older publication? And the photos are all faded matte. Don't expect anything glossy or new looking.
There are hardly any subjects covered in this book and it is overall just a mess. It's too amateur for most most users, but somehow manages to be too complex for beginners. The author and editors just never figured out their target audience and instead threw a bunch of random things together in an attempt to make a book. Do we really need a whole chapter on "Advanced Infrared Photography" and a whole chapter on "Pro Lighting and Studio Techniques" in the same book that devotes an entire chapter to the telephoto lens?
IF YOU WANT A GOOD BOOK that focuses on the digital element of digital photography, I'd recommend "Digital Photography: An Introduction" by Tom Ang (the fully updated 2nd edition). There are tons of photos, examples, and vivid color. It does discuss a lot of Photoshop techniques, so those without an editing program may not enjoy it. Really advanced digital users may find it somewhat basic, but I think most users are basically intermediate, and this book fits the bill. Either way, it does get your creative juices flowing! (And no, I didn't write the book or get any profits from its sales!)
a wealth of knowledge for all DSLR users.......2007-08-10
this isn't your run-of-the-mill 'pictorial' photography book. the contents cover mainly the use of your DSLR's features as well as useful technical details. i see it as more of a technical manual but written in a way as to hold your interest and encourages learning. the focus here, as the title rightly points out, is using your camera's controls (as well as lenses/photographic accessories/lighting aids etc) effectively rather than a guide on taking photos (altho that is covered along the same line). well one ought to learn one's tools before being able to use it effectively. i see myself thumbing through this once in a while as a great reference guide and expect plenty of sticky notes and dog ears to come along.
Book for everybody.......2007-03-22
Excellent book for all levels, from beginners intermediate to advance or pro. Very good layout easy to read all topics are cover very clear.
Strongly recommended
Best book I've seen!.......2007-01-04
A great book complete and condenced.
Layout and photos well done.
Digital SLR Pro Sedrets.......2006-11-16
Great book on photography, has a lot of tips, ways to make simple equipment (that works well)...a great reference manual for anyone using a digital camera. Kind of like the "Joy of Photography" to us new digital owners!
Average customer rating:
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The Thunder Agents Companion
Jon B. Cooke ,
Wally Wood ,
Paul Gulacy ,
Paris Cullins , and
Jerry Ordway
Manufacturer: TwoMorrows Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
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Ordway, Jerry
| ( O )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
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General
| Fantasy
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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| Books
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T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives, Vol. 6 (Archive Editions (Graphic Novels))
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T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents - Archives, Volume 5 (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives)
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T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents - Archives, Volume 4 (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives)
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T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives Vol. 1 (Thunder Agents)
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T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents - Archives, Volume 3 (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Archives)
ASIN: 1893905438
Release Date: 2005-05-25 |
Book Description
The heroes who never die! Though the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents had a relatively short life during their initial run in American comics during the 1960s, you just can't keep a good team down, as evidenced by their periodic revivals over the years. This is the authorized, and definitive, book on the history of such memorable characters as Dynamo, No-Man, Lightning, Andor, the Iron Maiden, and all the other super-heroes and super-villains created by the late, great Wallace Wood and company. To celebrate the team's 40th anniversary, included are interviews with Woody's creative team, as well as those superb writers and artists involved in the various T-Agents resurrections over the decades, and a detailed examination of the origins and exploits of the characters themselves, including the shocking truth behind the first super-hero to ever be "killed," Menthor, the master of mental force!
Book Description
Culled from the pages of one of the most popular humor magazines of all time, this is a collection by such
MAD creators as Sergio Aragones, Al Jaffee, Dave Berg and other members of "The Usual Gang of Idiots." Don Martin's "One Fine Morning in the Maternity Ward" is sure to bring a smile to every man who has been a new father.
MAD about Dad is the perfect Father's Day gift. Those who are not familiar with
MAD magazine will enjoy the unique, funny, and poignant humor. Those who are familiar with
MAD magazine will enjoy the reminiscences of a wasted childhood reading one of the most popular humor publications of all time.
MAD and all related characters and elements are trademarks of E.C. Publications, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Humor that accurately represents humans and the foolish ways they act.......2006-08-18
There is no humor quite like that found in Mad Magazine. It is always funny, occasionally spiteful, often biting, sometimes sarcastic, and generally contains an enormous amount of truth. In other words, it accurately represents humans and their foibles. This collection is "dedicated" to fathers, how their actions affect our lives, and how they can be so absurd.
I enjoyed this collection of essays and cartoons. For better or worse, I occasionally recognized myself and how my daughter (I am a dad) and I interact. Some of the best humor is that which makes us laugh and recognize and reevaluate some of our actions and character traits. This book contains that kind of humor.
Customer Reviews:
IT'S AMAZING FEATURES!!!.......1999-03-08
"SPECIES" IS A ART, I THIN
Customer Reviews:
Meet the Master.......2007-04-06
H.R. Giger studied architecture before he decided he wanted to be a full time artist. But his backround helped him in his art as you will see. Everything he draws, paint or build is perfect. And his airbrush technique is so unique, he should make a DVD on how he does it! In this book you can read how he got his ideas for movies like Poltergeist, Alien and Species. And also other foreign and unrealized movies. (I think his Dune would have brought exciting nightmares!)
H.R. Giger's Film Design.......2000-04-02
This book is a very unique book in it's content in regard to Giger's work. It focuses deeply on Giger's designs and art work for all the film projects he has been involved so far. It also gives the viewer a good and rather comprehensive view from the early stages of the designs to the final result.
Average customer rating:
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Giger's Alien: Film Design, 20th Century Fox
H. R Giger
Manufacturer: Sphinx
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback
Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
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| Dance
| General
| Reference
| Theater
General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
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All German Books
| German
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ASIN: 3859146041 |
Average customer rating:
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Understanding Music: Book, Study Guide and CD [SET]
Yudkin
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
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General
| Education
| Professional & Technical
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| Books
ASIN: 013042787X |
Customer Reviews:
RPG.......2007-09-04
A supplement for fans of the Fantastic Four, detailing all their friends, foes and stuff.
SKleefeld's Assesment.......1997-05-13
For anyone with a love of the Fantastic Four, this book is a "must-have." While it was written and is geared for use with the Marvel Super Heroes Role Playing Game, it provides an invaluable resource of data concerning the FF, their friends and foes, headquarters, vehicles, etc. It is presented in a straight-forward, encyclopedic fashion, highlighting the more prominent characters first and ending with little known towns the FF have visted only once. While the text doesn't provide glowing descriptions that tantilize your imagination, it is filled with obscure information and trivia on "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!"
Average customer rating:
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Battlestar Galactica The Compendium #1 (Maximum Press)
Robert Napton , and
Scott Devine
Manufacturer: Maximum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Scott, Richard
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
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| Literature & Fiction
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Antiquarian & Rare Books
| Books & Reading
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Batman
| Media
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General
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Look Inside Horror Books
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ASIN: B000SC1WYI |
Book Description
The annual budgeting process is a trap. Pressured by fixed targets and performance incentives, managers focus on making the numbers instead of making a difference, meeting set goals instead of maximizing potential. With their compensation at stake, managers often resort to deceitful-even unethical-behavior. In the end, everybody loses-the employee, the company, and ultimately the customer.
Now, finance experts Jeremy Hope and Robin Fraser reveal the results of an intensive study aimed at fixing the broken budgeting process. They argue that companies must abandon traditional budgeting contracts in favor of a radical new model that links performance measurement to evolving competitive benchmarks-and shifts the firm's focus from controlling employee behavior to delivering customer value.
The Beyond Budgeting model is built on the best practices of companies that have successfully revised their centralized planning and budgeting processes. It combines a leadership vision that devolves more authority to operating managers and a finance vision that enables fast decision making through appropriate tools and accessible information. Through vivid examples, Hope and Fraser illustrate how companies can implement these shared visions-and the long-term benefits that accrue from embracing them.
Offering a compelling case for breaking free from the budgeting trap, this book paves the way toward making organizations better places to work for, invest in, and do business with.
Customer Reviews:
Must read for corporate managers.......2007-08-20
It's time to review some standard practices in all corporations. Most haven't come out of industrial age views on how to manage and run organizations. Today's risk and opportunity environment needs some fresh thoughts and views on how to solve common problems and improve standard processes. This book takes a new approach on one of the most damaging and least critized processes - read it.
How to avoid or escape from "the annual performance trap".......2006-11-17
Given what Hope and Fraser perceive to be an obsolete core management model driven by the annual budgeting process, they offer an alternative to that model. It is based on "the decision-making needs of front-line managers [as well as] a coherent set of alternative processes that support relative targets and rewards, continuous planning, resources on demand, dynamic cross-company coordination, and a rich array of multilevel controls." In Part I, they explain how to break free from the annual "performance trap" and how this trap is sprung whenever managers are pressured to meet fixed targets by fixed dates. They provide an overview of two opportunities to think and act "beyond budgeting." In Part II, they examine the first opportunity and explain how a number of organizations have used beyond budgeting principles to implement more adaptive processes. Then in Part III, they examine the second opportunity and explain how and why abandoning the traditional (and ineffective) budgeting process can help to achieve what they characterize as "radical decentralization." In the last Part, Hope and Fraser examine how and why the adaptive and decentralized organization (as opposed to one with a traditional budgeting process) "meets the vision of business leaders in the 21st century."
Of special interest to me is what Hope and Fraser have to say about the differences between the fixed performance contract (FPC) and the relative improvement contract (RIC). For example, here are two of the six cited:
In terms of targets,
FPC: "Your [sales/profit] target is fixed at [$]"
RIC: "We trust you to maximize your profit potential to continuously improve against the agreed-upon benchmarked KPIs [key performance indicators] and to remain in the top [quartile] of your peer group."
In terms of resources,
FPC: "The agreed resources to support the capital and operating budgets are set out in the attached budget statements."
RIC: "You trust us to provide the resources you need when you need them. We trust you to keep within agreed KPI boundaries."
Note the references to "trust." Hope and Fraser insist (and I wholly agree) that there must be mutual trust between and among everyone involved when making a commitment to beyond budgeting principles. It is important to emphasize that Hope and Fraser did not write this book solely for CFOs. On the contrary, what they propose requires that all senior-level executives in a given organization understand and actively support the beyond budgeting principles. Although CFOs and heads of HR have responsibility for the implementation of strategy, more often than not, they are not centrally involved in the formulation of strategy. That is a serious mistake. Beyond budgeting initiatives will succeed only if a CFO can be trusted to make prudent and effective use of resources provided, and only if she or he trusts the given organization to make sufficient provision of them.
Otherwise....
Excelent real life cases.......2004-07-01
This book does capture the findings from the work of Beyond Budgeting Roundtable in a excellent way. The cases in the book are real and are brilliant proofs of the fact that it is possible to run even a large corporation with out traditional budget models. I'm really looking forward to the follow up.
Good Book on Relatively New Topic.......2003-12-30
As a business consultant with many years experience in budgeting, I found this a very useful overview of a relatively new topic in finance. The authors clearly show the limitations of the traditional budgeting process and present a comprehensive alternative.
However, while the book brings many examples from real companies, many of the ideas still seem a little conceptual and difficult to imagine how they would actually work in practise.
This book will certainly interest anyone seriously involved in budgeting.
Books:
- Sustaining Loss: Art and Mournful Life
- Sutton Impact: The Political Cartoons Of Ward Sutton
- Textualterity: Art, Theory, and Textual Criticism (Editorial Theory and Literary Criticism)
- The Bug Stops Here
- The Craft of Old-Master Drawings
- The Dream of the Moving Statue
- The End of the Salon: Art and the State in the Early Third Republic
- The Facts on File English/Spanish Visual Dictionary: Look Up the Word from the Picture : Find the Picture from the Word (Facts on File English/Spani)
- The Mind's Eye: Art and Theological Argument in the Middle Ages (Publications of the Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University)
- The Next Documenta Should Be Curated by an Artist
Books Index
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