Customer Reviews:
A good intro to Whelan's work.......2002-11-14
I finally located this at a used bookstore after years of searching, and the time was well worth it! This out-of-print book is not as comprehensive as "The Art of Michael Whelan", but it certainly does the job for me. It contains beautiful reproductions of his sci-fi and fantasy book covers up to 1989, when it was published. My main reasons for wanting this book are the inclusion of the oversized piece done for "The Best of HP Lovecraft" and the John Carter of Mars gallery, reprinting every cover done for ER Burroughs' Mars series. Many of the pieces are framed with conceptual sketches, giving food for thought on how these beautiful works could have turned out differently. Other works include covers for Heinlein, Niven, Piers Anthony, and Asimov's "Robots" series.
A pity..........2000-05-06
...that that book be out of print. It trully is beautiful. It also include many a cover of famous SF books, such as R A Heinlein's "Friday", and many more great books by Larry Niven and co. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in SF to try get that book...
Many SF art books are slightly disappointing to me because they mix styles. Michael Whelan, though, is one of the most perfectionist and 'clean' SF artist - his pictures are of strange places and times, or familiar heroes, but easily understandable and enjoyable.
Average customer rating:
|
Mich Ael Whelan's Works of Wonder
Michael Whelan
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Australia & Oceania
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0345328574 |
Book Description
Much Anticipated Second Volume of the Story of Photographythrough the History of the Photobook; Compiled by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger "The Photobook: A History, Volume I, by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, isthe most important contribution to the field since modern histories ofphotography began to appear in the early twentieth century.We can be surethat this book, and its forthcoming second volume, will lead the way torevitalization of thinking and publishing in the field.It dwarfs previouspublications in both its scope and the information it provides."(Photo-Eye, December 2004) More photobooks are being published now than ever.For most photographers,this format is the ideal vehicle to present their work and communicatetheir vision to a mass audience.While the history of photography is awell-established canon, much less critical attention has been devoted tothis alternative history of the medium through the pages of the photobookFollowing the critically acclaimed first volume, THE PHOTOBOOK: A HISTORY:VOLUME II, co-edited by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, brings the mostcomprehensive illustrated history of the photobook fully up to date. Featuring over 200 photobooks, this lush survey offers a fresh approach tophotographic history and is a celebration of the medium's diversity. Broadly thematic in structure, each chapter features an introductory easyfollowed by detailed discussion of the individual photobooks alongsideimages of the book covers and spreads. While the first volume stressed the subjective nature of the history of themedium and how that history was molded by the influences of curators andhistorians, the second volume brings a new perspective from the viewpointof the photographer and the editor.A secret web of influences andinterconnections between photographers and photographic movements aroundthe world is revealed producing a global network of ideas.Spanning from Edouard Baldus's magnificent book for the Paris-Lyons RailwayCompany of 1861 to Stephen Shore's American Surfaces of 2005, thedevelopment of photography in its published form is the main focus.THEPHOTOBOOK: A HISTORY: VOLUME II is a chronicle of contemporary life,covering key artistic genres, including The American Photobook, TheEuropean Photobook, The Artist's Photobook and The Company Photobook. Gerry Badger explains the narrative function this unique format provides,"The photobook has become a worldwide phenomenon as practitioners of allcultures look to photography as a means of understanding the world aroundthem."The books that fill the pages of this magnificent volume havedefined photography, telling us just as much about the history of themedium as the history of the world.THE PHOTOBOOK: A HISTORY: VOLUME II isan indispensable resource.
Customer Reviews:
Through the lens with print: part two.......2006-12-27
As I wrote in my review of the first edition, both will surely become the standard reference about photobooks. This second one is mostly concerned with contemporary photography and the coverage is really impressive which raises an important point: both books regard their subject as a lively and energetic creative medium and not a dry academic one reflecting an elitist point-of-view.
Just over two hundred photobooks are considered in nine chapters and like book one each has a technical caption (publisher, size, pages, date etc) and an excellent analysis of the photos and the book. The coverage, as I mentioned is very comprehensive. There is a chapter devoted to books that are not commercially available (The Company Photobook) and the twenty-five covered include a high school yearbook, or chapter six: Looking at Photographs, where the theme is the picture editor as author with twenty-two books. Controversy is not avoided either, chapter eight looks at the work of the New Topographic photographers with their stark takes on blast furnaces, prisons and other potential visual failures of society.
This second book is the same design, with excellent printing and paper, as the first (and to my mind) has the same fault in that there are not enough spreads shown from all the books looked at despite plenty of white space on each page. This does seem an odd editorial oversight when the purpose of the book is to show pages from books full of photographs. The first book had a few examples of many pages from a particular book but I could only find one in this book: a 1957 Norfolk and Western brochure where seventeen pages are shown (out of eighteen) using Winston Link's wonderful train photos
Look through the 656 pages of these two books and you'll soon realise that Badger and Parr have achieved a remarkably lively study. Surely the photobook gold standard.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
An excellent sequel..........2006-10-29
Just where Volume 1 left off, Volume 2 takes off. Very thorough and well organized, be reminded this is not an all inclusive book of books. You may agree with some of the entries and you may also disagree, but, most important, you'll end up learning on new possible entries for your library as well as discarding considered ones.
All in all an exquisite reference book. Enjoy...T
Customer Reviews:
I Love Hate!.......2007-01-10
Well, what can I say? You know him, you love him, he's Buddy Bradley. This volume compiles issues 16-20 of Hate, the first color issues (and so, according to so many "fans", the first issues to suck!). I personally feel that even though there is a definite tone-shift to the color run of Hate, it is still Bagge, and still wonderful.
This is a full-size color volume, and I found that the images actually seem clearer than in the original comic (paper-quality?). If you like Hate, you WILL like this. And if it seems pricy, the Amazon resellers have them cheap. That's how I got mine, anyway.
I recommend this highly.
The Continuing Chronicle of Buddy Bradley.......2004-12-23
Buddy Go Home is much different than the earlier HATE comix. The setting's gone from trendy Seattle to dank New Jersey, and the glorious black and white is now family friendly color.
Rest assured, though Buddy Bradley is now in a foreign/colorized environment, he's still the cynic we've come to love, or love to hate. He's taken on more responsibilities, namely that of babysitting his niece and nephew, buying a vehicle, and doing housework, which leaves him less time to embark on the impractical meanderings that made past issues laugh out loud funny.
The move to more restrained storylines makes this Hate anthology less hilarious than other issues. But it's a deliberate move. It'd be artificial for Buddy to keep on acting crazy in the face of his family. He's no longer flanked by the high voltage Stinky Brown - the low energy hippie Jay from The Bradleys is re-introduced as Buddy's constant companion. Buddy is no longer faced with wannabe grunge bands and loose groupies - the context is now dying fathers and strung out losers. As a result, the laughs involve more serious subject matter and as a result are subtler (but not much subtler - see the gag with the Marvel Comics cup). Bagge's storytelling has matured. Even though there are less laughs, it's still a cracking yarn. It's a tribute to his development as a writer than he no longer has to tell a joke every few pages to keep the reader interested.
Bagge's drawing has really developed, too. Compare Hey Buddy! with Buddy Go Home and you'll see more proportionally consistent characters, better setting composition, and neater shading. The whole thing just looks better. The rampant cross-hatching that Bagge deliberately dirtied up earlier issues with is gone - characters are now colored. As if to drive the point home, the last story, a vignette featuring Buddy's dad, is left in black and white. The sudden lack of color is effective at showing how much it adds. I was wary when I learned that Bagge was going to color, but his decision - he's said that the move was to prevent the comic from growing too depressing - was a wise one. With Buddy's dad in the hospital, Lisa pretty much becoming a part of the family, and Butch drinking more and more heavily, a black and white strip would've been too much to bear. As much as I love the low fi look of past issues, color was the way to go. Plus it's great to see an artist try something new.
As good as previous HATE comix, but in a different way.
sort of interesting, but not very funny.......2003-06-22
One of the blurbs on the jacket says this is "hilariously depressing", and I agree with the "depressing" part, but can't agree with the "hilarious" part.
I give this book two stars because the story that it tells is a sort of interesting, fairly believable muddling along for young, 20-something kids in modern urban America.
But all the little mini-disasters and mini-emotional flare ups that occur with metronomic regularity are just tiresome after the first few pages. Apparently the author thinks that having his characters bug their eyes out in horror/disbelief or scream and flail their arms in some emotional extremity, or other, constitutes humor.
The author has no surprising takes on anything. Everything depicted is very bland and mundane. The situations he depicts are easily recognizable and empathizable, but he never gets beyond making that initial connection with the reader.
Watching people spazz out in one way or another is especially funny when the people who are losing their cool are pompous or unlikable characters. But all the people in this comic are fairly regular, inoffensive people. Seeing them get upset is a little like seeing some random people in a mall having an argument. You just feel a little sorry for them and then you move on. This is not an experience I expect to find in a purportedly "humorous" comic. I used to buy Peter Bagges comics back in the early 90's, and was only sporadicly amused at that time, and so stopped buying them. Fortunately, I checked this title out of the local library and didn't invest anything other than the time it took me to read it.
Another thing that is off-putting about these tales of, supposedly lower-middle class, feckless young-person angst, is that every character speaks with a very upper class fluency. All the speech is perfect grammatically, and downright polished. Fairly fancy big words and figures of speech are commonly used, as if the characters had all been honor students at Rutgers, or something. This invalidates most of these characters claims to being lower-middle class. Also, all the characters tend to speak the some way, there is no real character differentiation.
The only good thing, the only upside, to this comic is that it shows friends and family sticking by each other through (relatively) thick and thin. So, in a way, this is a sort of modern, New Jersey, version of "The Waltons". Heartwarming, but not very funny.
Anyway, for me, watching these young people waste their lives floundering from one pointless activity to another is just plain depressing.
The further hilarious adventures of a slacker named Buddy.......1999-09-09
Peter Bagge takes us back to where it all began: the suburban New Jersey home of the Bradley clan. Babs is now a single mother of two too cute/too annoying kiddies, Butch is an oafish simpleton, Mom is drunk, Dad's almost dead and Buddy and Lisa are still in hate with each other. Bagge's talent for charaterization and his hyperactive comic style shine in this volume. The subject matter is a little more serious than in previous HATE stories, but it is still consistently hilarious and reminds all of us grown-up slackers how lucky we are to be out of the house.
I Love Hate!.......1999-02-03
More hilarious adventures of Buddy Bradley, lowlife slacker. This time he moves back into his parents house and opens a memorabilia store. This is the funniest comic book of the 90s.
Average customer rating:
|
Buddy Go Home!
Peter Bagge
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OP48JK |
Average customer rating:
|
Go home, Buddy Glass
John Wain
Manufacturer: The New Republic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007FF17U |
Customer Reviews:
It's a joke....lighten up!.......2004-08-16
This book is written as a funny joke. The dress is awful and I thought it was funny when she wore it in different situations. Some of the people who didn't like it sound like they were uptight brides who were worried their bridesmaid didn't like the dress they picked out. If one of my bridesmaids wore her dress to get her driver's license picture taken, I'd laugh (...) off.
There isn't much (if any) real advice for what to do with a bridesmaid dress, so if you are looking for such a book, you might not like it.
Not what I was expecting.......2003-09-27
I bought this book for one of my bridesmaids, in whose wedding I was also a bridesmaid. She kept assuring us that we would be able to "wear that dress again," so when it was my turn I thought this would be a funny gift for her at the rehearsal dinner. The book is not quite what I was expecting. I thought the pictures would illustrate the funny suggestions, but the pictures were just wierd. They were just pictures in the dress in different places, not what I had in mind, but it was too late to return it and order another.
Great gift for bridesmaids.......2001-06-19
This gift was the most popular that I gave my bridesmaids. From the start of my wedding planning, I knew that they would never wear the dresses again. So, I picked the most affordable dress that I liked and admitted right up front that I knew that they would never wear it again. (Coming from someone with about 5 bridesmaids dresses hidden in my parent's home.) At the rehearsal dinner, I gave the girls this book along with jewelry to wear at the wedding. They loved the book! The girls kept laughing and pointing out some of the unusual places that the author wore the dress. It certainly helped everyone put a smile on their face and relax before the wedding. :)
Fun!!.......2001-04-11
I gave this book to my bridesmaids, along with a more traditional gift. The two who had already been in 5 or more weddings loved it! They both have the closet full of pouffy tafetta and chiffon in a rainbow of colors they didn't look so great in and will NEVER wear again. I tried to keep the dress I chose for them simple and not "bridesmaidy" but if they will never want to wear it again, at least this book will give them ideas of what they can do with it. A fun gift for your bridesmaids and to keep the bride in touch with the fact that no matter what she thinks, her bridesmaids will more than likely not like the dress she chooses. But at least now, they have recycling options.
A Refreshing Change to Traditional Gifts.......2000-04-19
I'm sure I'll get more of a reaction after giving my bridesmaids this book than after they open the jewelry I'm also giving them.
This is hilariously funny and I would recommend that any bride with a sense of humor consider giving it to their bridesmaids along with the more "traditional" gifts.
Average customer rating:
|
The Czechoslovak New Wave
Peter Hames
Manufacturer: Wallflower Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1904764428 |
Book Description
The Czechoslovak New Wave was originally published in 1985 and was quickly established as the world's leading authoritative English-language text. A study of the most significant movement in post-war Central and East European cinemas, it examines the origins of a movement against the political and cultural developments of the 1960s leading to the Prague Spring of 1968. Peter Hames also summarizes key aspects of Czech and Slovak histories between the wars and in the 1940s and 1950s. Directors discussed include Milos Forman, Jan Svankmajer, Jiri Menzel, Jan Nemec.
Average customer rating:
- musical tour around london
|
Waking Up in London (Waking Up in Series)
Robert Ashton
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Popular
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Pop Culture
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
London
| England
| Great Britain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Guidebooks
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1860744915 |
Book Description
Aside from being a major stop for theater, art, and fashion enthusiasts on any European tour, London is a draw for music lovers in particular. Landmarks of the city's music culture visited in this book include the Royal Albert Hall, the Festival Hall, Ronnie Scott's, the 100 Club, and the Marquee, all of which are captured here in superb black-and-white photos along with other city sights.
Customer Reviews:
musical tour around london.......2003-09-12
So I love music and travel - what better way to explore the city of London than with this book? It is a well written travelogue of the English capital given a music spin. That means a tour through London's clubs and venues talking to some of the people who make the capital's nightlife tick. I didn't get to visit all the places mentioned, but after reading Waking Up... it felt like I'd been there already
Book Description
The Blackmar- Diemer Gambit KeyBook II byRev. Tim Sawyer The KeyBook II is here! Now the exciting Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is brought up-to-the-minute in this incredible volume, featuring the latest in computer-guided analysis (with unexpected results!), correspondence and e-mail tournaments, even high-rated blitz encounters from the Internet Chess Club! An unbelievable 2700+ games - many seen nowhere else - along with thousands of new analytical suggestions, makes the KeyBook II your complete "Play to Win" manual. Tim McGrew, a noted BDG expert, writes: "Tim Sawyers new KeyBook II brings together a staggering amount of fresh material, including recent games and unpublished analysis, in a well-organized format....it defines the state-of-the-art for this aggressive opening." And the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is fun to play! White sacrifices one measly pawn in return for open lines, quick development, and early threats. For the pawn White gets dangerous attacking chances, and guarantees a lively and tension-filled struggle. In fact, this cut-throat opening wins a high percentage of games at every level, often in 20 moves or less! Not surprisingly, many Grandmasters have played the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, such as Tartakower, Velimirovic, Bellon, and Serper. Other Grandmasters have faced and lost to the BDG, including U.S. champion Joel Benjamin. At the club level the BDG is a deadly weapon, able to inspire fanatical devotion; here the BDG is a cult opening with its own magazines, websites and thematic tournaments. Years of careful research and testing have shaped the BDG into a powerful Kingside attacking machine - and now the KeyBook II propells this combative opening into the next millenium! "The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is not a boxing jab; it is a knockout punch - and White gets to throw the first punch! Stop playing for the endgame; play to end the game! Be a winner. Play the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit!" -Tim Sawyer
Customer Reviews:
Great choice of opening to improve.......2003-11-23
If you are a begginer or intermediate player you can probably reap great benefits from playing this opening. When I started using it my USCF rating was 1500, and a few months later it was 1800. I have realized though that when you start facing stronger opponents (2000 and over) it is difficult to obtain enough compensation for the pawn.
I have had trouble mostly with the variation 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 e5!? and also with some lines of the Bogoljubov defense (5...g6 after accepting the gambit).
Since I also started playing more correspondence chess I had to slowly move away from this opening and nowadays I only use it with players under 1800 or when I play blitz. Nevertheless, I know that playing this opening for a while helped me improve my tactics and attacking chess greatly!
A bit of a rebuttal.......2003-10-28
I am a devotee of this opening. I have played it hundreds of times with excellent results. Two years ago I was a 1500 player who started studying tactics extensively and adopted an almost all gambit repertoire. Now my rating is usually 2000-2050. I owe a lot of the improvement to this opening.
First, let me say that the book is quite adequately reviewed by Electra 10, Zilbermints and Ichino. To the extent that they have minor disagreements, I agree with Electra 10. I am writing this review to point out what I believe are errors, both objective and subjective, by the Chessgeek review.
Chessgeek says the Teichman Defense (1 d4 d5 2 e4 dxe4 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 f3 exf3 5 Nxf3 Bg4) is best. The author's database statistics dispute that showing it scoring only 32% and a couple of the other defenses doing somewhat better. He then gives the continuation 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 c6 8. Bd3 Qb6 with the idea of castling Queenside as a winning plan for Black. Unfortunately there is no such variation in this book, or anything close to it. The move 8. Bd3? is mentioned only once in a footnote (the "?" because it allows ...Qxd4). The mainline moves at move 8 are: Be3, g4, or Qf2. I thought maybe his 8. Bd3 was a typo and he meant the aforementioned "old" mainline move, 8. Be3, there are four 8. Be3 Qb6 move order games referred to in the book and White wins 3 of them and should have won the fourth as he blundered in a nearly won postion. His suggested line is not in my Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Mega CD that has about 15,000 BDG games. It is also not in the first Keybook either.
Then Chessgeek mentions that you can play 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 e5 with "...easy equality." This is the so-called Lemberger Counter Gambit. In my BDG database White's "old" move 4. Nxe4 is scoring 61% with a +128 performance rating! Hardly "easy equality." Sawyer advocates the "new" move, i.e., 4 Nge2, which statistically is performing nearly as well as 4. Nxe4.
Moving on to the subjective, Chessgeek feels that White is under pressure and must play with great precision because he is a pawn down whereas Black can equalize and maybe win just by playing commonsense moves. As this author and other BDG authors have pointed out, the White position becomes so menacing that the pressure on Black is intense and often he has only one possible saving move (and often not a very obvious one at that)whereas White often has the luxury of several attacking plans. This mirrors my own experience playing this opening. Even though I know the system reasonably well, I have very few wins as Black.
This is one opening that you can truly reap benefits by studying the main systems and attacking motifs presented in this book since you will have the opportunity to play a BDG every time Black answers l d4 with d5 and most of the time when he responds Nf6. It can be a lot of fun and can greatly simplify your opening system.
The Best Blackmar-Diemer book ever.......2003-01-22
If you play the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (BDG) or want to, you need this book. The main line BDG starts like this: 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 or l. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3. One thing that is really great about this gambit is that you get to play it a very high percentage of the time. Attempts at the French or Caro-Kan can be forced into the BDG (1.d4 d5 2. e4 e6 3. Be3 dxe4 4. Nd2 Nf6 5. f3 exf3 6. Nxf3 and 1. d4 d5 2. e4 c6 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. f3 exf3 5.Nxf3). This gambit is fun to play and I have found it to produce great results. I have played this gambit countless times on the internet and have scored many wins in under 20 moves. It can be exciting.
This book contains over 2700 games in a well organized format. There is virtually everything you will need to play the BDG. All the normal defenses are covered as well as the attempts to avoid or decline the BDG. Sawyer has also produced the BDG gambit keybook in 1992 that has 700 games (100 games for each of 7 chapters). If you can find it, get it too.
I believe the other reviewers' criticizing the book for not showing how to play against the Benoni, French, Pirc and Caro-Kan are misplaced. The French is covered in game 6. The Caro-Kan is covered in games 45-49 and 8 and 24. I don't think there can be a Benoni position because white doesn't play c4. The Pirc completely avoids the BDG so I don't think the author should be charged with covering it anymore than he should have to cover 1...f5, the Dutch Defense or 1...b6, the English defense. This is, after all, a book on the BDG and not a complete repertoire for 1 d4.
Having said that though I do appreciate Reviewer Lev Zilbermints comments on Sawyer's treatment of the Zilbermints gambit. I have printed it out and put it in my book! Thanks.
If you decide to play the BDG I suggest you also purchase Sawyer's "Alapin French." It is a small book (86 pages) with 50 annotated games and 220 other fragments or whole games included in the text. While The BDG Keybook II includes 30 or so Alapin French games in the text of Game 6, it is worth having the extra games and information.
Kudos to Tim Sawyer for not including any of the games in his first BDG Keybook or his Alapin French (except for Game 6) in The BDG Keybook II.
Finally, playing this opening is an ideal way to improve your tactics and attacking skills. You'll get to use them a lot!
Blackmar-Diemer Keybook II.......2001-04-14
I bought the second edition of the Keybook. It has a lot of interesting games, but, like Mr. Ted Ichino of California wrote, its main problem is that it does not address the issue of playing against the Benoni, French, Pirc, or Caro-Kann (i.e. the BDG Avoided). For this reason I give this book four stars.
It has many of my games included, such as the Zilbermints Gambit in the Euwe Defense to the BDG (5...e6 6 Bg5 Be7 7 Bd3 Nc6 8 OO! Nxd4 9 Kh1!), and my recommendations against the Bogoljubow Defense.
I am disappointed, however, by the games Drueke-Sawyer and Sawyer-Just not being analysed deep enough. Both games are critical to understanding my gambit against the 7...Nc6 variation in the Euwe Defense. For example, in the Drueke-Sawyer game, 12 Bh4 instead of 12 Qh4?! would have been OK for White. And in the Sawyer-Just game, instead of 13 Ne5? , White should have played 13 Bb5!
But overall, even with typos, this is an excellent book. If you wish to learn the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, I strongly recommend you buy it.
Buy the first edition (1992) too -- it has some great stuff the second one does not -- and use both to learn the BDG. Good luck!!
Great opening for the attacking player.......2000-02-13
If you are a positional player who loves obscure maneuvering behind locked pawns, this book is not for you. If you are a GM or IM, you won't be reading this review. But for the rest of us class players, this is a great book. Chess is supposedly 99% tactics (Soltis would say 'calculation' rather than tactics) and the best and most fun way to learn how the pieces cooperate and coordinate is to play attacking chess. But you can spend months learning, say, the King's Gambit, and then never get a chance to play it in a world teeming with Sicilian, French, Caro-Kan and Modern defenses. By playing 1. e4, you are allowing Black to dictate which opening will be played. The beauty of the Blackmar-Diemer gambit is that (in my experience, at least) over 90% of the games are steered into a BDG or related system. If Black replies to 1. d4 with 1. ... d5, 2. e4 puts you directly into a BDG. If Black responds with 1 ... Nf6, you have a choice of transposing via the Veresov, 2. Nc3 or the Paleface Attack, 2. f3. Either approach will almost invariably land you in a BDG, so your study will not be wasted.
I was a B-player when I bought the first edition of this book. After I read it, the only tournament game (40/90; G/1) I lost with it was to a master, who I later defeated with another BDG (I got lucky). I beat two experts and drew a B-player. The first edition has a lot of stuff that the newer edition leaves out, such as how to play against a Benoni, Pirc, and French, but the second edition has some great traps. The very first game in the book has a fantastic trap which I have sprung on four opponents in a few months; this stuff is usable! The downside is that this is a complex opening and is difficult to learn. On the bright side, you never get bored, since every game has a different complexion. If you are bored with cat-and-mouse positional maneuvering and want to slug it out toe-to-toe in the center of the ring, this book will show you how. The BDG is the only attacking opening I have been able to steer opponents into playing. There is a psychological shock value to it too--your opponent does not expect a Queen's Pawn player to start slugging it out with him. By all means, buy the book! It's a bit pricey, but has lots of useful information. Then read the Introductions and the general approach to the opening (which is clearly spelled out) and go out and play some Blitz chess. When you lose, as you frequently will in the beginning, then it is time to look up the variation in the Keybook, and it will be burned into your memory. There's nothing like an abject defeat to get your attention! A final comment. I find that an early Bd3 keeps me out of many unpleasant variations. Lasker's dictum, "Knights before Bishops" should really have been phrased "Play the Obvious before the Optional" Since the White Bishop belongs on d3, why not put it there before fooling around with other moves (assuming that you aren't hanging the d-pawn by putting it on d3). Be bold. Throw this opening at any opponent, regardless of rating. I guarantee that you will not be bored!
Customer Reviews:
Very good introductory book to this opening.......2004-02-19
I have never heard about the Blackmar-Diemer gambit until one day when browsing the chess books in a tournament I found this book. I have always liked attacking chess, so I was intrigued by the book's description: "...the Blackmar-Diemer gives White very dangerous attacking chances, and Black must know a precise defence to come out of the opening alive." I could not pass up this opportunity, so I decided to give it a try.
Gary Lane does a very good job in explaining the different main variations and in each you will get a clear idea of the strategy you have to use in your attack. The main variations covered after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 are: the Euwe Defense (5...e6), the Bogoljubow Defense (5...g6), the Tartakower-Gunderam Defense (5...Bf5), the Teichman Defense (5...Bg4), the Ziegler Defense (5...c6). Other variations include the Ryder Gambit, in which white takes on f3 with the queen instead of the knight; black has to be well prepared for this gambit too, but I did not find a lot of analysis for the white side on this book. In the Vienna Defense instead of taking the pawn on f3 right away, black plays 4...Bf5. Besides these lines, the author presents lines in which black returns the pawn and another gambit line for white which does not really belong in the Blackmar-Diemer complex, the Hubsch Gambit (5.Bc4).
There is sufficient information on each line for white to be prepared better than black in most cases, but if you find a player that has defended against the gambit many times and has a favorite pet line well studied you may run into problems. Since I adopted this opening as my main attacking weapon with white, I had to get a more book that went into more depth in each of the variations mentioned above. That is why I got "The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Keybook II" by Tim Sawyer, which has lot more analysis but does not explain the ideas as clearly as Lane's book. Therefore, the two books together make the perfect combination.
I would recommend this book if you are in one of the following situations: a) you are looking for a new opening with white and would like to give the Blackmar-Diemer a try. If you decide you like it, you can go forward with the Sawyer book to have a more complete reference. b) you are a player that opens with 1.e4 and has trouble facing the Scandinavian Defense (1...d5); this book may help you surprise your opponents without spending a lot of time studying the variations for an opening you will play from time to time. Actually, at the moment I am in the process of switching to 1.e4 but I will continue to play the Blackmar-Diemer against the Scandinavian.
Average customer rating:
- Weak and lacks any substance...
- Outdated and Very sloppy analysis
- Good for a beginner . Many typos, sloppy analysis.
|
Blackmar Diemer Gambit
Eric Schiller
Manufacturer: Chess Enterprises
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0931462525 |
Book Description
Accepted, declined, attempts at transposition, and the Paleface Attack: 1. d4 Nf6 2. f3.
Customer Reviews:
Weak and lacks any substance..........2000-10-23
Like a typical book from Eric Schiller, it provides minimal substance and a lot of fluff. Schiller seems to adeptly able to provide information that is readily available on the internet. Heaven forbid he would actually research his subject. If you want a book that delivers meaningful information on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, do your self a favor and purchase The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (KeyBook II) by Rev. Tim Sawyer. The reverend does an excellent job of exploring the depths of this exciting gambit.
Outdated and Very sloppy analysis.......1999-12-23
I agree with Lev on everything he said except for one thing. If you are a beginner and want to learn the blackmar diemer gambit don't start it with this book. Get either sawyers keybook part one and learn the basic lines. This book is very sloppy and will lead you into the wrong direction. There are two many errors. I would recommend taking a look at Smith and Halls book even though they are know to leave out crucial lines as they did in the Englund Gambit and which was busted totally busted my the book "The big book of busts" by watson.
Good for a beginner . Many typos, sloppy analysis........1999-11-18
This was my first book on the Blackmar Diemer Gambit. I bought the third printing, not the first. The games are interesting, but too much sloppy analysis. For example, Schiller recommends 7...Nc6? in the Euwe Defense, completely missing 8 00! Nxd4 9 Kh1!, the Zilbermints Gambit. Lots of typos, too -- for example, there is no such game as Morphy-Blackmar. Yes, both Morphy and Blackmar were residents of New Orleans, Louisiana -- but that is about the size of it. Typical Schiller -- lots of typos and lousy analysis. Its only redeeming value is that it is a good introduction for beginners who wish to learn the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.
Average customer rating:
- Thorough Analyis Of A Gambit Not Respected in Eco or Mco
- Rev. Sawyer sheds light on a terrific gambit opening.
|
Blackmar Diemer Gambit Keybook
Tim Sawyer
Manufacturer: Thinkers Pr Inc / Chessco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Chess
| Board Games
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Keybook II
ASIN: 0938650572 |
Customer Reviews:
Thorough Analyis Of A Gambit Not Respected in Eco or Mco.......1999-10-22
This is a Great book. One of the best organized books i have seen in a long time. The BDG is a sharp tactical opening where white will stop at nothing to crush black on the kingside. Rev. Tim sawyer does an excellent job in organizing the book according to the lines which are declined or accepted. Anyone thinking about this playing the Bdg should have this book. Besides the second keybook which i have not read yet!!, and i do mean yet, this book is far superior to smith and hall's version who are well know for leaving out crucial lines and using bias as a base for there writing which i found out in there englund gambit book! This book is better than gary lanes, schillers, or the books dedicated to the euwe or bogolubjow defenses by crayton. Anyone playing in a tournament against an experience Bdg player and going into this gambit for the first will be left feeling what happened? what do i do? My highest uscf rating is 2175 before i stopped playing tournaments because of school, but i still play informally and look at lines. This book is great and should be read by all chess players and even those who really believe the gambit is unsound.
Rev. Sawyer sheds light on a terrific gambit opening........1998-06-13
The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit is not for the faint of heart. It is a deadly opening that scares even the bravest souls. If you are looking to revive your stale opening, this is the book for you.
Product Description
FROM THE BACK COVER: "David Gedult was a soldier. Wherever he went, he sought out the chess players and never departed happy from any town, big or small, without vanquishing all the local cracks. His chess was perfected and polished in the fire of keen practice against all comers ... His wit, rather like his chess and probably his sword, had been whetted on granite. ----- He has been called the French Diemer. This book presents over 200 of Gedult's sparkling games in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit complex, many with his scathing and humorous annotations. The games demonstrate the many tactical opportunities that can develop in the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit."
Book Description
The strength of this book has been its unerring accuracy and statistical precision. The role of computers and statistical software has been thoroughly integrated throughout.
This edition focuses on maintaining the statistical integrity of past editions while modernizing the book by integrating the use of statistical software, adding new examples and exercises (many with real data), and an emphasis on data analysis and interpretation of output. The fifth edition features both Excel and Minitab. Earlier introduction of key topics includes: introduction of statistical thinking (Ch. 1), introduction of processes and systems (Ch. 1), and coverage of bivariate data, scatter plots, regression, covariance, and correlation (Ch. 3).
Customer Reviews:
A very confusing book.......2007-04-01
I really have to warn everybody of this book! This book confuses me. This is the prescribed text for my first year subject. Maybe I am not senior enough to give comment on this book. Everytime I read this book, it confuses me somemore! If you have a choice, don't buy this book. If you are really serious in studying and not just buying an expensive book for display, don't ever buy this book.
Statistics for Business and Economics.......2006-01-27
This book is fairly comprehensive covering all the major topics that a student would need for the statistics modules in various business courses. Managers need to have an understanding of statistics so that they are able to manipulate the numerous masses of data that come their way into meaningful and useful information that they can employ in making business decisions.
The author presented the material in the book in a simple and clear manner without any complicated algebra, making it readable by students in business schools with a basic knowledge of mathematics. The author also provided large numbers of examples and exercises that should assist the reader in consolidating his/her understanding of the concepts described in the book.
Most managers are consumers rather than producers of statistical information. This book equips the reader with the expertise to enable one to be an informed consumer who knows the right questions to ask and the kind of information to request from those who produce the statistical information in the organization.
Definitely leaf through it before deciding to buy.......2004-10-15
I'm an MBA student in a top5 business school in the US, and we use this as our textbook for the basic stats course. I've only read the first 5 chapters so far, and I've found this book to be one of the worst textbooks I've seen since college. Some very simple concepts are explained in very confused (and confusing) language, the text is very arid and skips over most of the conceptual subtleties or fallacies that the unsuspecting user of statistical data may easily fall victim to. I strongly suggest leafing through it before deciding whether to buy it (you can start with chapter 2, which is pretty typical of the tone of the book and, being the 1st "substantial" chapter of the book, doesn't assume knowledge of concepts defined in previous chapters).
Rock-solid textbook for non-math majors.......2001-12-26
I used this book for my MBA statistics class recently. This book is very well written in a clear way, not meant to be fancy but to provide a comprehensive coverage of most, if not all, relevant topics. I also belive that the coverage depth of each topic is adequate enough to satisfy all common business and economics applications.
The best way to learn statistics.......2000-06-17
This book bring us statistics in a simple way, begining with easy exercises and increasing them to hard tasks. I have tried a lot of diferent books, some of them in Portuguese, and this was the only one that is realy good enough to teach us without a tutor or professor. It brings the most important parts of statistics for Business and Economics using exercises that talk about real cases and real hypothesis testing. It was easer to learn from this book than to do it in my own language.
Books:
- Mona Hatoum: The Entire World as a Foreign Land
- No Go The Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling, and Making Mock
- Object, Image, Inquiry: The Art Historian at Work
- On a Scale that Competes with the World: The Art of Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
- Other Objects of Desire: Collectors and Collecting Queerly (Art History Special Issues)
- Outstanding Art: Imaginative Three Dimensional Art and Sculpture (Belair Series)
- Pat O'Neill: Views From Lookout Mountain
- Patenting Art & Entertainment: New Strategies for Protecting Creative Ideas
- Pees on Earth
- Picasso: A Dialogue with Ceramics: Ceramics from the Marina Picasso Collection
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Mystery of the Kaddish: Its Profound Influence on Judaism
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
- The Money-Whipped Steer-Job Three-Jack Give-Up Artist: A Novel
- The Diabetes Improvement Program: The Ultimate Handbook for Using Foods & Supplements to Slow an
- The Fearless Flier's Handbook: Learning to Beat the Fear of Flying with the Experts from the Qantas
- Science in Seconds for Kids: Over 100 Experiments You Can Do in Ten Minutes or Less
- The Natural History of Madagascar
- The Heart of Thoreau's Journals
- The Last Grand Duchess: Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, 1 June 1882-24 Nove
- The actinomycetes: their nature, occurrence, activities, and importance
The Art of Michael Whelan
More Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work
Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work
Icon
