Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson (Penn State Series in the History of the Book)

Book Description

A balanced portrait of publisher Leonard Smithers that sheds light on the publishing and literary culture of England's Yellow Nineties.

Publisher to the Decadents chronicles the experiences of Leonard Smithers (1861-1907), a key figure in the literary culture of late Victorian England. In his day he was known primarily for publishing books of upscale erotica. He became the publisher of choice for the Decadents, including most notably Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley.

While a young solicitor in his native Sheffield, Smithers established a correspondence with the famed explorer and translator of exotic texts, Captain Sir Richard Burton. Burton translated The Thousand Nights and a Night (popularly known as The Arabian Nights), which was published by Smithers in 1885. Smithers collaborated with Burton in the publication of two Latin texts, the Priapeia and the Carmina of Catullus, both of erotic cast. After the death of Burton in 1890, Smithers continued a significant involvement with his work, serving as an adviser to Lady Isabel Burton. During this time Smithers formed a partnership with Harry Sidney Nichols, and together they produced a series of pornographic books under the imprint of the Erotika Biblion Society.

The years between 1895 and 1900 were Smithers's glory years when he managed to publish a number of books illustrated by Beardsley, a magazine known as the Savoy, and books of verse by Ernest Dowson and Arthur Symons that have proved to be the finest expression of the Decadent Movement. Throughout his career Smithers sought to produce attractive, well-made books that were tastefully designed and printed.

This book provides expansive insight into the prizes and pitfalls of an early English publisher of the decadent Nineties. It is the final volume in a trilogy of books on a group of publishers who contributed much to the literary and artistic movements of the 1890s in England. The two previous books are The Early Nineties: A View from the Bodley Head (Harvard, 1971) and Elkin Mathews: Publisher to Yeats, Joyce, Pound (Wisconsin, 1989).

"As an enthusiastic searcher for exact facts concerning the somewhat mysterious and fascinating Leonard Smithers, I am absolutely delighted to welcome Professor Nelson's extraordinarily detailed book onto my shelves. It covers almost everything one has always wanted to know about him and his confrères of the eighties and nineties, and as a devotee myself of Sir Richard Burton particularly, it has filled in an amazing number of gaps in my knowledge of him, and of his wife Isabel, and of other participants in that shadowy period."

—Quentin Keynes, Collector, Richard F. Burton manuscripts

Penn State Series in the History of the Book

Customer Reviews:

Difficult, but enlightening, and well worth the effort.......2003-10-30

While the verbose, academic style of this book makes it more difficult to read than it ought to be, it is still very much worth the effort. Brainard proposes a unique approach to the question of ultimate reality that has the potential to deepen our understanding of this elusive subject in a way I have not seen before. He may have in fact found a way to show how different views of ultimate reality might complement each other without whitewashing their differences.

Part of what makes Brainard's analysis difficult but also rewarding are his original definitions for "reality", "truth", and "awareness". One of the more intriguing concepts he introduces is that awareness creates reality and truth (like people create languages and cars), and yet realities and truths are not subjective. According to the author, these elements of reality are not products of individual minds (like mine and yours), but rather by the cooperative activity of more than one mind -- or, more exactly, by more than one moment of awareness (in the way an illusory car exists for just you, while a real car exists for all). This objective and external character of reality is based on Brinard's thesis that everything, from Quarks and atoms, to rocks, and plants have some level of awareness, with human awareness being just one flavor out of a great many. While the concept of multi-dimensional awareness is difficult to grasp at first, his discussion of material "awareness" is especially interesting and provides some good insights that makes the rest of his ideas go down more smoothly.

If this sounds like a bit like Whitehead or Kant or Hinduism or Buddhism (or de Chardin for that matter), you're right; it does recall many different philosophical approaches. In fact, Brainard argues that his approach does not intend to offer another philosophy to compete with others, but rather show the way in which we might discover how competing philosophies and religions might complement each other. Regardless of what he thinks, his approach is certainly a compelling way of doing philosophy, one that seems to offer a set of analytic tools that promise to enable thinkers to get past some of the roadblocks that limit current inquiry into the thorny questions of perception and reality.

I'm giving the book 5 stars for the concepts and ideas it expresses, even though it does lose some credit with me for being difficult to read by non-academic types such as myself. But for those that take the challenging journey into Brainard's world, they will be richly rewarded.

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Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson (Penn State Series in the History of the Book)
James G. Nelson
Manufacturer: Pennsylvania State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR0TYG

Book Description

Climb inside the ring with a world-champion boxer for a behind-the-scenes look at Muhammad Ali

Writers have long been attracted to boxing. Hemingway, Mailer, Algren, Plimpton, Oates, and many others have stepped into the ring--at least in spirit--to give voice to an otherwise wordless sport, to celebrate that sweet science, and to bear witness to its romance and tragedy. In Sting Like a Bee, hailed by Norman Mailer as an impressive event, we are brought for the first time into the ring for a close-up look at the manly art through the eyes of Jose Torres, a man who was a great boxer himself. When former light-heavyweight world champion Jose Torres traded in his gloves for a typewriter, boxing finally found its eyewitness.

In this classic book, Torres turns his well-trained eye on one of the most celebrated and controversial athletes of all time: Muhammad Ali. In this penetrating view of Ali and the world of prizefighting, told by a true insider and boxing's Renaissance man, Torres delivers exciting and explicit accounts of all of Ali's major fights with the cool authenticity of one who has lived it.

Customer Reviews:

From one warrior to another.......2005-07-29

Jose Torres first offering takes us to the point in Ali's career after his reinstatement which include tuneup fights with Quarry, Bonavena and finally to the first fight with Frazier. Interspersed with these narratives is the life of Ali from his Golden Glove Days to the revocation of his license for refusing the draft.

What makes this book unique from all the other Ali biographies out there is that the writer was quite of a boxer himself, a former light heavyweight champion in fact. From this vantage point, he gives us a glimpse of the boxer's psyche - particularly interesting is his anatomy of the knockout punch. Whereas other biographies speak about Ali in reverential tones, Torres puts Ali to task for his bad game plan in the first Frazier fight and his penchant for playing with his opponent.

Indeed, Torres acquits himself well as a boxing writer. I wish he could have deferred writing this book for a few years so that the "Rumble in the Jungle" and the next two Frazier fights would be included.

Tremendous.......2003-03-27

This book is great for all readers and is a great biography that puts you in the mind of a writer. You will feel like you are actually there witnissing these masterfull events.

21st Century Essential Guide to Nelson Mandela and South Africa Freedom Fighter, President of South Africa, Nobel Prize Winner, Apartheid Opponent (CD-ROM)

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21st Century Essential Guide to Nelson Mandela and South Africa Freedom Fighter, President of South Africa, Nobel Prize Winner, Apartheid Opponent (CD-ROM)
U.S. Government
Manufacturer: Progressive Management
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM

Product Description

This unique electronic book on CD-ROM has a collection of the federal documents and resources about Nelson Mandela, freedom fighter and former President of South Africa. It also includes comprehensive information on the nation of South Africa. President Mandela was born in 1918 in the Transkei and grew up in a Thembu royal household. During childhood and adolescence, he was groomed to eventually become a village chief, but he did not always conform to expected patterns of behavior. He began college in 1938, was suspended after two years for organizing and leading a student boycott and completed his studies by correspondence. In 1944 Mr. Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest (founded 1912) political organization in sub- Saharan Africa. He was a founding member of the ANC's dynamic and militant Youth League and was elected its president in 1950. Periodic banning and arrests by the government became a part of his life when he was arrested in 1952 for the first time, the year he also began his law practice. He had organized and led the Defiance Campaign for which he was forced to resign from the ANC and was banned from attending any gatherings for five years. In 1956 he and 156 other leaders were arrested and charged with "high treason," but all were acquitted after a 4 1/2-year trial. Later, in 1961, after organizing the landmark All-In African Conference, he was threatened with arrest but evaded capture. As the elusive "Black Pimpernel," he traveled inside South Africa and abroad for 17 months. Caught and arrested on July 11, 1963, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the charge of plotting to overthrow the government by violence. After 27 years, on Feb. 11, 1990, he was freed and on May 10, 1994, after the first free election in South African history, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was sworn in as president of the Republic of South Africa. President Clinton made these comments about Mandela in 1998: Mr. Mandela waited a very long time to actually do something for his people, rather than just to be something to keep their hearts and hopes alive. And every day I watch him that is what he does. So should we. And, finally, in forgiving those who imprisoned him he reminded us of the most fundamental lesson of all - that in the end apartheid was a defeat of the heart, the mind, the spirit. It was not just a structure outside and jailhouses within which people were kept; it was a division of the mind and soul against itself. For those of us who have been privileged to know this remarkable man, no medal, no award, no fortune, nothing we could give him could possibly compare to the gift he has given to us and to the world. The only gift that is true recompense is to continue his mission, and to live by the power of his profound and wonderful example. Now, as prescribed by the law, it is my privilege to present the Congressional Gold Medal to President Nelson Mandela. This CD-ROM is packed with over 35,000 pages reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Macintosh systems. The Acrobat cataloging technology adds enormous value and uncommon functionality to this impressive collection of government documents and material. Our news and educational discs are privately compiled collections of official public domain U.S. government files and documents - they are not produced by the federal government. They are designed to provide a convenient user-friendly reference work, utilizing the benefits of the Adobe Acrobat format to uniformly present thousands of pages that can be rapidly reviewed, searched by finding specific words, or printed without untold hours of tedious research and downloading. Vast archives of important public domain government information that might otherwise remain inaccessible are available for instant review no matter where you are. This book-on-a-disc format makes a great reference work and educational tool. There is no other reference that

The Autobiography of Joseph F. Hess (title on spine- Jospeh F. Hess, The Reformed Prize-Fighter

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The Autobiography of Joseph F. Hess (title on spine- Jospeh F. Hess, The Reformed Prize-Fighter

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HYX5CO

Claret and cross-buttock, or, Rafferty's prize-fighters

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Claret and cross-buttock, or, Rafferty's prize-fighters
Joe Robinson
Manufacturer: Allen and Unwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0049200488

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A Piece of Something Big

Manufacturer: Lancer Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000COOWX0

Product Description

It seemed a simple enough job: Baldoni's daughter was in love with a black prize fighter. It was up to Kruger to make the boyfriend look like a fool in front of the girl. Kruger needed the job; Baldoni had picked him out of the tank of a county jail where he was on his way down to a long fall. All he had to do was carry off this one assignment, and the Mafia chieftain would buy his freedom and set him up in a going business. But Baldoni wasn't telling all the details of the caper, and soon Kruger found himself set up for murder one -- and on the run from the one man in the world who was deadlier than himself.

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The Prize Fighter: A Western Story
James Willis
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This is a story about a prizefighter, who is approached by a wealthy rancher and asked to relocate to a new town and fight out of a newly built arena. He falls in love with the ranchers' daughter and they eventually start a life together. Filled with action, fighting, and gun smoke.

Prize Fighter: The Life and Times of Bob Fitzsimmons (Mainstream Sport)

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Prize Fighter: The Life and Times of Bob Fitzsimmons (Mainstream Sport)
Dale Webb
Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

Boxing | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1840184949

Book Description

This is a true story of a heroic, larger-than-life character, who rose from humble origins in Cornwall, England to become the first Englishman to be crowned world heavyweight boxing champion. On the way, Bob Fitzsimmons attracted a worldwide following, amassed and lost a huge fortune, married four times, and was charged with manslaughter but acquitted after killing two people in the ring. Prize Fighter details the rise and fall of an international hero, from his remarkable feat as three-time world champion at three different weights, to his unceremonious death at age 54—only four years after his last title fight. This is a story about the man who fought his way through the Wild West of the 1880s, and a tale of surviving the world's most savage "sport" to find international fame, and still die without a penny.

The autobiography of Joseph F. Hess, the converted prize-fighter: A book of thrilling experiences and timely warnings to young men

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The autobiography of Joseph F. Hess, the converted prize-fighter: A book of thrilling experiences and timely warnings to young men
Joseph F Hess
Manufacturer: [E. R. Andrews, printer]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

Claret and cross-buttock : or Rafferty's prize-fighters.
Robinson Joe.
Manufacturer: Allen and Unwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEIGEY

Book Description

As much a testament to the art of the book as the art of animation, The Art and Making of Monster House is presented in lavish four-color throughout, with highlights of some of the film’s most astonishing features including 3-D art, gatefolds and die-cut overlays of the five stages of computer generated “motion capture” technology. It also includes envelopes, cards, and a movie poster.
Monster House is the first film from director Gil Kenan, who is living every young director’s dream, hand-picked by the film’s executive producer, Steven Spielberg, to create this groundbreaking film. This latest release from Sony Pictures Imageworks and ImageMovers, features the innovative, cutting-edge technology of " performance capture” animation, first introduced in The Polar Express.
Monster House tells the story of a trio of friends who discover the secret that a scary, creepy house in their neighborhood is actually a living, breathing monster and it’s up to the kids to stop the evil house before it’s too late. Standouts in the cast include animation veterans Steve Buscemi, Kathleen Turner, Catherine O’Hara and Jason Lee, as well as Fred Willard, Kevin James, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Jon Heder.

Customer Reviews:

An amazing book!.......2007-05-20

This is how "art of" books really should be made. Lots of inserts, post-it notes and fun details. It looks almost like a scrapbook and is filled to the rim with drawings, renders, concept art and fun stuff. Very inspirational. It is just as great as the "Open Season" book which is also a must-have for all fans of animation.

monster house review.......2007-04-11

Love the book. A Priceless addition to an animation lovers dream book collection.

Concept Art Galor!.......2007-01-30

I thought this book was very suprizing in giving the reader plenty of images from the development the movie. Actually, almost to good.. there's so many scrapbook style pages that it can be overwelming at times. Regardless, this book is a must have for the Art of collector. If you liked this book and concept art check out [...]

Not only a new approach for movies, but for making-of books........2006-11-07

This book is just fun to look at. The artwork is sprawling (I can't believe how much artwork is created for movies; how fast are these artists working?), and the descriptions of how the movies was made are informative. This has quickly become one of my favorite movies, and this book makes it fun to see the evolution of its creation.

Fabulous.......2006-11-05

An enormous fantastic book.
Filled with all kinds of gizmos and folding stuff.
Beautifully illustrated story of the movie with sketches, paintings...
The emphasis is really on the drawings and not so much on the 3D renderings.
MORE BOOKS LIKE THESE...

Book Description

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

“The phenomenal success of Nickelodeon reveals a great deal about the changing nature of the modern media, and about changing conceptions of childhood. Nickelodeon Nation offers a comprehensive account of the channel's evolution, providing fascinating insights into production and programming, and the responses of children themselves.”
—David Buckingham, Institute of Education, University of London

“With both dispassionate market analyses and insiders' personal accounts, Nickelodeon Nation covers the channel's history and evolving philosophies thoroughly—like a bucket of Nick's signature green slime! Even `Nicksperts' will find new insights and understanding.”
—David W. Kleeman, Executive Director, American Center for Children and Media

Nickelodeon is the highest rated daytime channel in the country, and its cultural influence has grown at an astounding pace. Why are Nickelodeon shows so popular? How are they developed and marketed? And where do they fit in the economic picture of the children's media industry? Nickelodeon Nation, the first major study of the only TV channel just for children, investigates these questions.

Intended for a wide range of readers and illustrated thorughout, the essays in Nickelodeon Nation are grouped into four sections: economics and marketing; the production process; programs and politics; and viewers. The contributors—who include a former employee in Nick's animation department, an investigative journalist, a developmental pyschologist who helped develop Blue's Clues, and television and cultural studies scholors—show how Nickelodeon succeeds, in large part, by simultaneously satisfying both children and adults. For kids, Nick offers gross-out jokes and no-holds-barred goofiness, while for adults it offers a violence-free world, ethnic and racial diversity, and gender parity. Nick gives kids the fun they want by gently violating adult ideas of propriety, and satisfies adults by conforming to their vision of "quality" children's programming.

Nickelodeon Nation shows how, in only twenty years, Nickelodeon has transformed itself from the "green vegetable network"—distasteful for kids but "good for them," according to parents—into a super-cool network with some of the most successful shows on the air. This ground-breaking collection fills a major gap in our understanding of both contemporary children's culture and the television industry.

Contributors include: Daniel R. Anderson, Sarah Banet-Weiser, Henry Jenkins, Mark Langer, Vicki Mayer, Susan Murray, Heather Hendershot, Norma Pecora, Kevin S. Sandler, Ellen Seiter, Linda Simensky, and Mimi Swartz.

Book Description

Challenge your mental prowess-and raise your IQ-with eleven brain-bending tests. Arranged by level of difficulty into three groups, the tests cover five subject areas: deduction from given facts, spatial discrimination, mathematics, word knowledge, and general knowledge. Flex your cerebral muscles and get ready to answer such "easy" questions as "If EVEN is 5, SYNTAX is 10 and FAULTY is 50, what is ARMOR?" and "What is the last term in this series? 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, X." Ready for something "more difficult"? Try: "Which is the odd one out? a) PYTW b) MLNB c) IVZH d) VEKD" and "The combined ages of three men is 100 years. Dick is four times as old as Tom, Harry is four years older than Tom. How old is each man?" Time limits are given, and the answers are included at the end of the book along with rankings to allow you to evaluate your efforts. Whether you choose to do these puzzles for entertainment or you want to test and improve your IQ, you are guaranteed a healthy mental workout. Just as performing physical exercise benefits the body, grappling with these challenging problems will benefit the mind. Answers 1. 1,000 in Roman numerals: V in "even" = 5; X in syntax = 10, L in faulty = 50 and M in armor = 1,000. 2. 2. 89: Starting at 3, each number is the sum of the two previous numbers. 3. 3. C - each other group contains: 1 letter with a curve 1 letter with 2 strokes 1 letter with 4 strokes 4. 4. Tom is 16 years Dick is 64 years Harry is 20 years Ward Lock 144 pages, 150 b/w illus., 5 1/4 x 7 3/4.

Customer Reviews:

The Essential IQ Workout.......2000-03-24

This book is wonderful for improving your IQ skills. An example question in the book is "Is there a fourth of July in England?" I have had great experiences with this book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Customer Reviews:

Scottie.......2007-09-26

This is the best book I've found that helps to organize the integration space within the industry. This book has helped to organize my thoughts and communicate with others effectively on how to leverage integration patterns. I highly recommend this book to help obtain a foundational understaning of the integration space.

Excellent patterns book.......2007-08-28

Upon recently changing jobs and focusing on messaging design and architecture, I was steered toward this book by my peers. Without getting into too much detail, before joining my new team, I had never heard of patterns (came from a product support area), much less asynchronous messaging design. Needless to say, this book has been invaluable in my learning process as well as conveying our direction to others.

This book is written in such a way that it is very intuitive. Diagrams help support the concepts and code examples as well.

I would highly recommend this as a must read/reference guide for anyone designing messaging solutions.

Great book for messaging pattern understanding.......2007-08-27

This is a fantastic book if you are looking for patterns to base your messaging designs and architecture around. The way this book goes about explaining some of the asynchronous messaging patterns seemed to provide a great deal of benefit to developers and designers who were stuck in the synchronous way of doing things. Great explanations and illustrations, would recommend to anyone researching EAI or ESB technologies or just a more structured, efficient way of messaging in general.

Enterprise Application Integration .......2007-07-29

I've been using the patterns in this book for several years now. These patterns help me to focus on the problems my customers need solved rather than what technology to use. This has helped to produce numerous successful systems and these patterns have consequently become the basis for many architecural redesign efforts at my company.

The Bible for Enterprise Application Integration.......2007-07-12

As a developer working on application integration for the last 5 years I am so thrilled about this purchase. Just started out reading and though I feel a little overwhelmed I can so much relate to all the patterns being discussed. Its being tough to digest and register the terminologies but I am sure I will get there as I progress. Definitely the best technical books I have ever purchased and is must have for any one who is involved with application integration !

Enterprise Integration Patterns Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions

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Enterprise Integration Patterns Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions
Jonathan Simon
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7IDNG

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