Matte Paint: Its History and Technology, Analysis, Properties, and Conservation Treatment with Special Emphasis on Ethnographic Objects (Getty Trust Publications: Getty Conservation Institute)

Book Description

This supplement to Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts has a primary emphasis on ethnographic objects, with special attention given to information on the deterioration and conservation of matte paint on immovable objects, including painted walls and architectural ornamentation, and on the
conservation of unpainted matte areas. This topical bibliography contains more than 1500 abstracts of periodical, monographic, and unpublished literature from the fields of anthropology, conservation, ethnobotany, art history, and coatings science.

Book Description

Introduction by David Maybury-Lewis

Long viewed as an authority on exotic peoples, National Geographic has drawn together a dozen leading experts to explore for the first time the astounding array of cultures still surviving on Earth, even as many are threatened with extinction.

Spectacular photographs and compelling essays by such notables as Harvard-based anthropologist David Maybury-Lewis, archaeologist and writer Brian Fagan, and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis, reveal how people define themselves, their cultures, and their worlds. And an exhaustive reference list of hundreds of cultures worldwide will help readers place ethnic groups in the most remote corners of the globe. Extensive, specially commissioned maps detail the topography and help explain how people develop culture in response to their environments.

In thought-provoking text, these experts not only examine the diversity of these cultures and the regions that produced them but also the notion of ethnicity itself—its impact on history; the effects of immigration on ethnic identity; and the threats facing many of these marginal cultures.

Peoples of the World is a groundbreaking and fascinating book that reveals the true diversity of humankind.

Customer Reviews:

Very superficial - Good photos.......2007-07-05

It may be titled "Peoples of the World" but National Geographic have chosen just c150 "peoples" and made up for their lack of depth by including a "coda" of what claims to be an "exhaustive list of more than 5000 ethnic groups worldwide" at 1 line per group!
They excuse the lack of better coverage by stating that there were space limitations. So, just to use examples from UK, why waste space on eg the "Northern Islanders" (peoples of Orkneys/Shetlands) and the "Cornish"? Really major ethnic groups worldwide have been left out whilst these (highly dubious) ethnic groups have been included! The section on sub-saharan Africa is particularly thin - eg in W africa there are no Mossi or Malinke whilst Australian Aboriginal groups get a disproportionate coverage in realtion to their population. But Population details are not shown as standard - so we are not told how many Hausa there are for instance (and the Fulani are subsumed withn the Hausa)

I can fully understand that this is not meant to be a book for specialists but there are better non-specialist books available second hand eg "Atlas of Man" ed J Gainsford - better maps, more comprehensive.
Ok so the photos are not as good - if you want a picture book get this one.

Know about all the cultures.......2004-10-29

The book discibes every imaginable group and the history of its formation. This is a very wonderful book that helped me to understand more about cultures, their traditions. It contains a lot of beautiful pictures that help to visualize and comprehend better about other ethnic groups.

Have you wondered about the world's diverse cultures?.......2004-04-25

Have you ever wondered about the innumerable people representing diverse cultures that populate the world? What constitutes a people? What are the elements necessary to coalesce in order to produce an ethnic group? Where do they live? What languages do they speak? How did they originate? What are their customs?

Look no further, National Geographic's coffee-table reference book, PEOPLES OF THE WORLD, provides us with transportation to 150 countries around the world where we meet some of the world's most compelling ethnic groups. No doubt, this is a daunting task and as mentioned in the introductory Editor's Note, "Peoples of the World is unquestionably an ambitious topic for a single book."

Soliciting the advice of no less than fifteen contributors, who are experts in the fields of anthropology and demography, this brilliant reference text, quenches our thirst. At the same time, and as a coda to the book, the reader is encouraged to investigate the topic further and is provided with an extensive list of five thousand ethnic groups scattered around the globe.

The tome divides itself into nine chapters each of which concentrates on a particular geographical area of the globe that have a unique broad cultural cohesion. These are: Asia, Oceania, South America, Mesoamerica & The Caribbean, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa & The Middle East and the Arctic. Within these nine divisions we are introduced to more than 150 peoples that constitute part of the myriad of cultures inhabiting the earth.

To name a few, we discover the descendants of escaped African slaves, the Saramaka, who live in the deep forests of Suriname; the Nukak of eastern Colombia, who not until 1988 have had any sustained contact with Western civilization; the Tapirapé of central Brazil, who until the early 20th century had virtually no contact with Europeans; the Yanomami, the most numerous of the indigenous groups of South America; the Inuit that encompass the Greenlanders, the Polar Eskimos, the Caribou, Iglukik, Netsilik and Copper Eskimos.

We are also fortunate in being provided with a wealth of exquisite colour photos depicting the many characters and scenes that form part of this cultural diversity. These photos illustrate the desire expressed by humans to relish their distinctiveness and their ability to express themselves as part of a particular group.

Wade Davis, Explorer-in-Residence of the National Geographic Society concludes the book in his thought provoking observation that by destroying a people's way of life, or ethnocide, we will all become poorer. As Davis points out to us, Margaret Mead before her death, expressed her concern about the diminishing cultural diversity and stated: "as we drift toward a more homogeneous world, all of human potential might be reduced to a single modality, a blandly amorphous generic culture, a monochromatic world of monotony. Her greatest fear was the possibility that we might awake one day as from a dream, having forgotten there had ever been any other options."

Norm Goldman Editor Bookpleasures.com

Celebration of Ethnicity and Diversity.......2002-02-05

Within the realms of contemporary concern and interest about ethnic identity and global diversity "Peoples of the World" provides excellent presentation and commentary.The book starts with "Introduction: Ethnicity and Culture" by David Maybury-Lewis
which offers one of the best dicussions I have ever read on trying to identify these elusive concepts and how they relate to the contemporary world. From there various specialists discuss a sample of about 150 groups and cultures from all six continents. Their text is supplemented by excellent photography of some of these groups/cultures which portrays them not in their traditional pasts but as they live today. The text closes with "Afterword: Cultures in Crisis" by Wade Davis which establishes an interesting concept of the"ethnosphere" and how many of its components (cultures) are imperilled by the onrush of contemporary technological and societal development. The book closes with an extensive list of groups/fcultures and their locations around the world, perhaps one of the largest such list ever published (although not totally complete).
The book offers an excellent summation of the peoples of the world at the dawn of the twentyfirst century. It strikes a good balance by presenting the realities especially of smaller indigenous ethnic groups/cultures around the world but largely avoids the contemporary fashion to patronize them. Although I disagree with some points in the Afterword I highly reccommend this book to anyone who is interested in the nature of mankind.

Peoples of the World: Their Cultures, Traditions, and Ways of Life

Average customer rating:

Peoples of the World: Their Cultures, Traditions, and Ways of Life

Manufacturer: National Geographic Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

While the results of the 2004 elections remain at the forefront of current events, Doonesbury lays out the backstory with this trenchant and timely two-volume punch—now in hardcover for the first time. In DUKE 2000: WHATEVER IT TAKES and THE REVOLT OF THE ENGLISH MAJORS Trudeau's top-drawer satire tracks the ever-morphing zeitgeist of our Dubya Dubya Dubya world with irreverent insight and affectionate outrage.
•Includes 96 pages of color Sunday strips
•The perfect gift for the Doonesbury fan/newshound/pop-culturist in your life

Customer Reviews:

Very fun collection of legends.......2001-02-13

I've always been one of those people who love to hear a good, ironic story - my alltime favourite being the babysitter who gets the crank calls - and was pleased to find this enjoyable series of books. This was my first one, and I really enjoyed it.

The review Amazon posted is true in a sense, but there are so many stories out there that I doubt that Jan will ever "rewrite the same book" over and over. Awesome book!

Terrible!!!.......2000-09-17

With the author not knowing anything about the history of these urban legends, he creates a fantasy world of lusty "facts" that has no historical context whatsoever. This is a terrible example of someone who has too much time on their hands.

Superb!.......1998-07-03

Professor Brunvand provides an informative and entertaining account of urban legends (or urban myths). Professor Brunvand is so revered that he was recently referred to in an episode of "Millenium" which dealt with urban myths.

I recommend that readers read his other books about urban legends.

Average customer rating:
The Baby Train and Other Lusty Urban Legends
Harold Brunvand
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Co. c1993
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ON8ZBE

Book Description

Boys, Boyz, Bois concerns questions of ethics, gender and race in popular American images, national discourse and cultural production by and about black men. The book proposes an ethics of masculinity, as ethnics refers to a system of morality and valuation and as ethics refers to a care of the self and ethical subject formation. The texts of analysis include recent films by black/African American filmmakers, gansta rap and hip-hop and black star persona: texts ranging from Blaxploitation and New Black Cinema to contemporary music video to autobiography and the public image of Sidney Poitier. The book is a significant contribution to cultural studies and gender studies and critical race theory. What is distinctive about the book is the question of ethics as a question of race and gender.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding Book

Blues Improvisation Complete - like it!

Improve Your Improv

Blues Improvisation Complete Key of E
Jeff Harrington
Manufacturer: Berklee Press Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

A Guide to Jazz Improvisation

Jerry Coker's Complete Method for Improvisation: For All Instruments (CD included)

Playing the Changes: Guitar: A Linear Approach to Improvising

Improvising Blues Piano

Berklee Music Theory - Book 2

ASIN: 0634015311

Product Description

Learn to improvise in jazz, Latin, fusion, blues and rock styles in all keys with step-by-step instructions and a play-along CD. Develop essential reading, technique, rhythmic syncopation, performance and composing skills.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Book.......2006-08-02

This book is great tool to help teach your students how to improvise and is also great for us advanced guys to try out new ideas. Amazon has it listed as Key of E. It is actually Eb.

Blues Improvisation Complete - like it!.......2005-08-16

I got a hold of the bass clef version at the library and ended up liking it so much I ordered the treble clef version (I play piano) I especially like the quality of the recordings and the real-life sound they give you. Also, the progressions are cool and you can learn a lot by trying to figure out where/how they used tritone substitutions. Nothing brain science but very practical. I'm about intermediate in level and the book seems suited for that.

Improve Your Improv.......2005-02-02

"Blues Improvisation Complete" lives up to its name. It covers all the bases on learning how to improve your improvisation skills. Although the title may lead you to believe the book only deals in the genre of blues, once I opened the book I realized the book covered all genres. From Latin to rock, I was able to learn new techniques that greatly improved my improvisational skills. Along with the CD which provides several play along exercises, I am now more confident when asked to improvise. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their skills.

Customer Reviews:

Good for get-togethers........2001-07-01

The first one I have to say was very easy, but the rest are fairly challenging. This is a pretty good book, It's really great for road trips and get-togethers of almost any kind. I would recommend this book along with other titles by Paul Sloane for anyone who likes lateral thinking puzzles and some that don't.

Book review of Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles.......2001-01-26

Ingeninous Lateral Thinking Puzzles is a puzzle-ing book! It really is ingenious! Even the first warm-up puzzle was really tricky for me. When I find a interesting puzzle that I like, I tell it to my friends and they always get stumped on it.

Really makes the brain go.......2000-09-27

The book is GREAT! Perfect for road trips, get-togethers or when you're just plain bored. The puzzles are never impossible to figure and almost always make you "Geez! I KNEW THAT"! Pick up Ingenious LTP and everything else by Sloane. Well worth it!

Average customer rating:

Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Paul Sloane
Manufacturer: STERLING PUBLISHING +*COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SEGDQ8

Average customer rating:

Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0806947799

Product Description

Fire up your brain, and get to the bottom of these ingenious and confounding puzzles!

Book Description

Revised, updated, and even more useful to students, teachers, and practicing professionals
The First Edition of Loss Models was deemed "worthy of classical status" by the Journal of the International Statistical Institute. While retaining its predecessor's thorough treatment of the concepts and methods of analyzing contingent events, this powerful Second Edition is updated and expanded to offer even more complete and flexible coverage of risk theory, loss distributions, and survival models.
Beginning with a framework for model building and a description of frequency and severity loss data typically available, it shows readers how to combine frequency, severity, and loss models to build aggregate loss models and credibility-based pricing models, and how to analyze loss over multiple time periods. Important features of this new edition include:
* Thorough preparation for relevant parts of preliminary examinations of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
* Exercises based on past SOA and CAS exams
* Examples using actual insurance data
* Practical treatment of modern credibility theory
* Data files and more from an ftp site
Loss Models, Second Edition is an important resource, providing a comprehensive, practically motivated toolkit and an excellent reference, for actuaries preparing for SOA and CAS preliminary examinations, students in actuarial science who need to understand loss and risk models, and practicing professionals involved in loss modeling.

Customer Reviews:

Good one but for advance users.......2007-03-01

Nothing else to say. The best book for actuarial mathematics. Also good for risk managers, in particular for operational risk. It does not introduce many concepts but rather take to advance level. Excellent concepts that can be applicable in any topic or situation. A must buy in you want to have your grips on acturial mathematics and concepts

Best Actuarial Book.......2007-02-22

Nothing else to say. The best book for actuarial mathematics. Also good for risk managers, in particular for operational risk.

great introduction to models needed in insurance.......2000-08-09

When I took a job to model prediction of loss reserves for workers compensation insurance, I began to realize that the traditional statistical methods that I generally relied n would not help me (without modification). The required modification would be either to transform variables or to model long-tailed probability distributions. This is because in the insurance business you have to reserve for those big catastrophies. The cost data for workers compensation data generally show a high frequency of low to moderate costs (say in the range of $1000 to $50,000). However occasionally there are a few cases of severe injury causing permanent disability which could run over 1 million dollars. Even though the probability of occurrence is small the cost is so high that it cannot be ignored. Such claims will surely be found when large insurance company cover millions of employees over many years.

The problem occurs when insuring for floods, earthquakes, fires and other disasters. Stuart Klugman and Bob Hogg in 1984 wrote the first introductory text to acquaint statisticians with such probability models that are important in the insurance business. Other books covering the subject were covered in books on risk theory designed for actuaries. This book covers all the topics and assumes mathematical and staistical knowledge at the level of the book by Hogg and Craig (so some calculus is required).

great introduction to models needed in insurance.......2000-08-09

When I took a job to model prediction of loss reserves for workers compensation insurance, I began to realize that the traditional statistical methods that I generally relied n would not help me (without modification). The required modification would be either to transform variables or to model long-tailed probability distributions. This is because in the insurance business you have to reserve for those big catastrophies. The cost data for workers compensation data generally show a high frequency of low to moderate costs... . However occasionally there are a few cases of sever injury causing permanent disability which could run over 1 million dollars. Even though the probability of occurrence is small the cost is so high that it cannot be ignored. Such claims will surely be found when large insurance company cover millions of employees over many years.

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