Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy

Customer Reviews:

"Masterful".......2005-04-18

The acclaimed British wine writer Hugh Johnson once wrote: "No novelist could have invented Haraszthy. There is a surprise around every corner of his life-and how many lives have had so many corners?"

In Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy, Brian McGinty explores, analyzes, and describes every "corner" of Agoston Haraszthy's remarkable life, taking readers on fascinating excursions into the history of Habsburg Hungary, Jacksonian America, Gold Rush California, and post-Civil War Central America. It is an absorbing story, and an important one, too, for Haraszthy made real contributions to the development of agriculture in California during the almost twenty years (1849-1868) he lived and worked there.

As history professor William K. Crowley attests in his review of this book, "McGinty comes through as the true authority on Haraszthy, provides the peruser a well written read and substantiates the claims of Haraszthy as the `Father of Californian Viticulture'. His meticulous footnotes and mountainous bibliography lend testimony to his scholarship."

In his review, John Wills of the University of Bristol calls Strong Wine "an impressive biography." P. D. Travis of Texas Women's University calls it "a wonderful book for agricultural, ethnic, and western historians, and for those with interests in Americana." Bernard Demczuk of George Washington University describes it as "masterful." Jacob Vander Meulen of Canada's Dalhousie University says it is "fluid and engaging." Robert J. Chandler, of the Historical Services of Wells Fargo Bank, says it is an "ably written, well-researched study." And Richard Steven Street, author of Beasts of the Field: A Narrative History of California Farm Workers (2004), labels it "the finest biography of any California agriculture figure."

Recommended!

Great research, a bit tedious.......2001-10-18

This is a book that often manages to take a colorful and fascinating life and reduce it to the tedium of everyday minutiae. Still,the research is great,the issues addressed are interesting. It is worth reading, though it may put you to sleep at times. There are certainly large portions that will be of interest to no one but a descendant (as the author is), and the prose is dense and not conducive to page-turning at times. You'll wade through this if you're a real geek--but not otherwise.

Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy.(Review) (book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History

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Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy.(Review) (book review): An article from: Canadian Journal of History
Jacob Vander Meulen
Manufacturer: University of Saskatchewan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on April 1, 2000. The length of the article is 699 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy.(Review) (book review)
Author: Jacob Vander Meulen
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2000
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Page: 183

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The greatest sports stars characterize their times. They also help to tell us who we are.

John McEnroe, at his best and worst, told us the story of the 1980s. His improvised quest for tennis perfection, and his inability to find a way to grow up, dramatized the volatile self-absorption of a generation. His matches were open therapy sessions, and they allowed us all to be armchair shrinks.

In this book, Tim Adams sets out to explore what it might have meant to be John McEnroe during the turbulent 1980s, and in his subsequent lives, and to define exactly what it is that we want from our sporting heroes: how we require them to play out our own dramas, and how the best of them provide an intensity by which we can measure our own lives.

At the heart of this book are two fascinating characters—McEnroe and Bjorn Borg—and the extraordinary rivalry that defined them, a rivalry as compelling and dramatic as Ali and Foreman or Spassky and Fischer. Their great Wimbledon match of July 5, 1980—the central event in Adams’s narrative—was, as he writes, “a confrontation between two highly developed states of mind: a struggle between extreme consciousness and an absolutely studied containment of consciousness.”

It’s a book that’s “full of pleasures,” according to the London Sunday Times, and will appeal to any tennis fan or serious sports reader.

Customer Reviews:

nice writing about someone not so nice.......2005-06-30

I would categorize this book as nice writing that takes a former star and tries to analyze him, while acknowledging his icon or idol status.

Too late. McEnroe's glory is gone, and there is no need for a whitewash, since nobody cares anymore. Yesterday's star is today's has-been.

Having read two David Evans books about John McEnroe and also "You Can't Be Serious", and being a reformed tennis addict, I
desired something that dared to be more critical. "On being John McEnroe" was not the book I was looking for.

This book is a very quick read. Even though I am a slow reader, I read the entire 173 pages in about 3 hours. There is little of substance here, just many beautifully worded anecdotes that paint a murky picture but leave no real impression.

Shamefully abusive on the tennis court (even now while playing on the seniors tour), McEnroe gave tennis a bad name and helped end the "tennis boom" of the 70s.

Had McEnroe played during the era when Wimbledon and the other grand slam tournaments were amateur events, he probably would have been banned from competition had he acted the way he did.

I'm hoping that the book "Bad News for McEnroe" will give me more grit, sustenance, and truth.

Average customer rating:

Being John Mcenroe
Tim Adams
Manufacturer: Yellow Jersey Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOT66G

Average customer rating:

On Being John McEnroe
Tim Adams
Manufacturer: Yellow Jersey Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOX06I

Book Description

The phenomenon of Spike Lee continues with this revealing and engaging look at his outstanding career, his creative process, and the screenplay for his dynamic movie Do The Right Thing. Spike Lee burst full formed into the screen world with his award-winning, commercially successful independent film She's Gotta Have It. In the few short years following this stellar debut he has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the film industry and in American popular culture. This book reveals Spike Lee as a Hollywood iconoclast and gifted visionary and takes us though the dramatic sequence of events that brought the movie Do The Right Thing to fruition. It is a testimonial to his developing genius, written in the stingingly funny and informed language of Spike Lee.

Customer Reviews:

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing .......2007-03-22

The script is a one and a million type of script. The pre production and production notes are a added bonus . This book is for all film lovers not just "Do the Right Thing" fans . If you love reading scripts this is a must have.

DO THE READ THING.......2000-05-10

IF YOU LOVED THE MOVIE LIKE I DID THEN, YOU'VE GOT TO GET THIS BOOK. IT HAS EVERYTHING FOR THOSE OF YOU (LIKE ME) WHO CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS FILM. IT CONTAINS SOME STORYBOARDS, THE PRODUCTION JOURNAL, PRODUCTION NOTES, THE CREDITS, THE ENTIRE SCRIPT (!), AND 32 PAGES WORTH OF PICTURES. FIND OUT WHAT SPIKE HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET THIS FILM UP ON THE BIG SCREEN. IT'S A SHAME THAT SPIKE STOP PUTTING OUT THESE COMPANION VOLUMES TO HIS FEATURE FILMS AS HE DID FOR 5 OF HIS FIRST 6 FILMS. THEY (THE BOOKS) ARE A WELCOMED ADDITION THAT REVEAL A LOT ABOUT THE MAN AND HIS ART. THOUGH OUT OF PRINT, IT WOULD BEHOOVE YOU TO FIND A COPY OF THIS BOOK AND DO THE READ THING.

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (Cambridge Film Handbooks)

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SPike is The Man
EXTRA CREDIT

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (Cambridge Film Handbooks)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing (BFI Modern Classics)
Spike Lee: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series)
Uplift the Race
Mo' Better Blues

ASIN: 0521559545

Book Description

Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" brings together essays, freshly written for this edition, that analyze this controversial film from a variety of methodological perspectives. Collectively these essays connect the interracial strife of New York as treated in Do the Right Thing with the contemporary social climate and racism in America. Also included are reviews of the film by influential critics, a large selection of production stills, and a complete bibliography.

Customer Reviews:

SPike is The Man.......2000-10-12

A great book of Essays.Spike Lee is One OF The Very Few Artists in Hollywood saying Something.This Book Breaks Down Many Subject Matters.The Movie is a Timeless Classic.this Book adds upon it.a Must.

EXTRA CREDIT.......2000-05-10

FOR THOSE OF YOU (LIKE ME) THAT LOVED DO THE RIGHT THING AND CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT, HERE IS A LITTLE EXTRA CREDIT READING. THIS BOOK CONTAINS 5 ESSAYS THAT RUN THE GAMUT OF ISSUES AND TOPICS THAT INFLUENCED AND WERE COVERED IN THE MOVIE. SUCH THINGS AS MUSIC, RACISM, POLITICS, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., MALCOLM X, VIOLENCE, AND OTHER CURRENT EVENTS OF THE TIME THAT HELP PUT THE FILM INTO PERSPECTIVE. WHILE THIS BOOK ISN'T FOR THE CASUAL READER, IT IS HERE FOR THOSE OF US THAT WISH TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO SPIKE LEE'S VISION OF NEW YORK (AND THE U.S.) CIRCA THE LATE '80'S. I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED AND RECOMMEND W. J. T. MITCHELL'S ESSAY "THE VIOLENCE OF PUBLIC ART". HERE IT IS. ENJOY.

Average customer rating:

Do The Right Thing -
Spike Lee -
Manufacturer: Simon Publishing -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000R9IX80

Do the right thing (apologies to Spike Lee): Remarks of

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Do the right thing (apologies to Spike Lee): Remarks of
Timothy J Muris
Manufacturer: U.S. FTC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006S47FA

Book Description

Culture no longer has borders. With the advent of internet sites like Sothebys.com and the increasing reality of globalization, culture itself has gone global. This collection focuses on questions involving national identity, indigenous culture, economic growth, free trade, cultural policy, and global tourism. Global Culture looks at all aspects of the "arts" including: film, art, music, theater, television, and museums. Global Culture fleshes out how current cultural policies are working and forecasts what we can expect the future landscape of global culture to look like.

Global Media: The Television Revolution In Asia (East Asia: History, Politics, Sociology, Culture)

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Global Media: The Television Revolution In Asia (East Asia: History, Politics, Sociology, Culture)
James D. White
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0415973066

Book Description

This book is about the processes of globalization, demonstrated through a comparative study of three television case histories in Asia. Also illustrated are different approaches to providing television services in the world: public service (NHK in Japan), state (CCTV in China) and commercial (STAR TV, based in Hong Kong).

The case histories show how television is becoming global. The condition of the television industry, of the production of news, and in particular of the public service broadcaster appear in a symbolic role, metaphors for the reconfiguration of relationships between the global and the local.

An unusual aspect is that conclusions on the nature of globalization have a firm grounding in empirical research. The author as worked extensively in journalism and in television, and based the three case histories on interviews with leading participants in exemplar events: the Japanese attempts to set up a rival to CNN and to 'internationalize' NHK; CCTV's defense of its dominant position, under pressure from upheavals in both Chinese society and the government bureaucracy; and the establishment, sale and erratic progress of Rupert Murdoch's STAE TV.

Book Description

Chapters focus on technological change and its impact on cultural and political identities, the role of the cultural industries in the 'New Economy' and the impact of European integration on national institutions - public service broadcasting in particular.

Because technological change in broadcasting has enabled us to open up media markets, the shape of media and of society has become more internationally-oriented. Indeed, modern international media has bought into question the very legitimacy of national communities and ideologies. And this is a phenomenon whose greatest impact has been in Europe.

These studies address the future of public service broadcasting and the power of national regulators to shape trans-national media relationships. The author takes an empirical approach to analysis of these issues, exploring media and communication studies very much as a social science.

Customer Reviews:

Great Adventure.......2000-04-02

Really Great adventure. It is hard to find 1 player adventures and this is really great. It makes a gread sleep over adventure that you can play with one of your buddies. It is a good adventure if you are a DM and you want to teach one of your players to thinlk for himself and not rely on the rest of the party.

Book Description

Improve your presentationsand increase your impactwith 50 powerful, practical, and easy-to-apply techniques for Microsoft PowerPoint. With Beyond Bullet Points, youll take your presentation skills to the next levellearning innovative ways to design and deliver your message. Organized into five sectionsDistill Your Ideas, Structure Your Story, Visualize Your Message, Create a Conversation, and Maintain Engagementthe book uses clear, concise language and just the right visuals to help you understand concepts and start getting better results. Not just a how-to for PowerPoint, this book will help take your presentation skills to the next level! Features 50 innovative, easy-to-apply techniques to help you clarify, visualize, and present your ideas using PowerPoint. Author is a leading presentation-skills consultant. Targeted for intermediate to advanced level users of PowerPoint who are looking to stand out from the crowd and make sure people remember what they say.

Customer Reviews:

Clear guide for creating effective presentations .......2007-08-24

Microsoft PowerPoint changed the world of presentations by simplifying the process of creating a computerized slide show. Alas, over time people started squeezing too much information into every slide and using the preinstalled generic titles. PowerPoint's simplicity let people forget the purpose of presentations: to persuade or to inform without being boring. Cliff Atkinson shows you a creative way to build a good presentation without falling into the PowerPoint template trap - tell a story instead. At present, he provides a free template, storyboard formatter and story guide at sociablemedia.com that adds value to the book, which refers to these resources repeatedly. We recommend this to anyone who gives presentations.

I've used this method and it works.......2007-07-25

I borrowed it from the library and I am going to purchase it for my personal business library. I think that this is a great resource book. I decided to try this method since I do a presentation about once a month to pharmacists. This book helped me to organize my thoughts and present the material in a logical manner. I am in the health care industry and the people I present to are used to seeing bullet points BUT they are bored with it. For those that think the information here won't work, I say give it a try before dismissing it. You may find that your audience doesn't want as many bullet points and facts as you think and that you are a breath of fresh air in doing something new and innovative with your presentations. And remember you can put all of that information from your bullet points in the notes pages and print that out for them.

Don't understand what others see in it.......2007-07-07

I was disappointed having bought this book based on good reviews, so here's my review:

1. The author provides just one tool for one particular type of presentation: "pitch an idea to your bosses". The tool is a 3-act presentation using few words and more graphics and presenter narration.
Although a good tool for some presenters and some presentations, I can only see myself using this in 10-20% of my presentations.

2. Because the author refuses to explore other methods, the book becomes very repetitive and too detailed going on about the same points all the time.

3. Because of this, this is certainly not a book to keep for reference.

4. ...unless you are a total PowerPoint novice and computer-illiterate and want to read a step-by-step instructions about how to resize and crop images in PowerPoint, etc.

5. This is the first book by Microsoft Press I read and I was shocked at the obvious attempts throughout the book to advertise other marginally-related Microsoft products.

The book description says: "Targeted for intermediate to advanced level users". I would never recommend this book to anyone but absolute beginners and even then there must be better books.
The intermediate user should really just browse the first couple of chapters to get the basic idea (1. set the scene 2. show the conflict 3. resolve the conflict) in a bookstore and then decide for himself if he really wants to waste money on something which can easily be summarized on one page.

Better Presentations.......2007-07-05

I've been doing presentations since the BP (before Powerpoint) era and I have a structure that I've used since the beginning. This book caused me to rethink my approach, and, after using it on several recent presentations, I have to say it is a change for the better. Highly recommended if quality communications is your goal.

a very, very helpful book on creating effective presentations.......2007-07-03

While I didn't adopt the 3 > 3 approach Atkinson suggests, I really took to heart his idea of replacing wordy, boring slides with those with only a title (a concept, expressed as a sentence) and high-impact relevant graphics. As a result, I created a six-hour workshop (on personal productivity) that contained a total of five bullets (out of 130 slides). I also created - from the same slide show - a prose booklet that participants take home. Very useful.

More at: What a difference a framework can make
http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2007/04/what-difference-framework-can-make.html

Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire (Bpg - Other)

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Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire (Bpg - Other)
Cliff Atkinson
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0735623872

Book Description

Transform your presentations--and boost your impact--with practical, easy-to-apply techniques for using PowerPoint 2007. Author Cliff Atkinson is a presentation-skills expert who is helping revolutionize the way Fortune 500 companies design and deliver their critical presentations. Even major news media reported the contribution of Cliff's techniques to a verdict in a high-profile trial. In his highly-regarded, popular book BEYOND BULLET POINTS--now fully updated for PowerPoint 2007--Cliff shares his innovative three-step method that helps you unlock the amazing story buried in those bullet-riddled slides. He guides you, step by step, as you discover how to combine the tenets of classic storytelling with the power of projected media to create a rich, engaging experience. With easy-to-use templates, advanced tips, and plenty of illustrations and examples, you'll learn techniques to help you clarify, visualize, and present your ideas so that your audience will remember your important message. This newly revised, popular guide now includes a CD with sample PowerPoint 2007 files and graphics.

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