Book Description
From the beginning of human memory, dogs have been living with virtually every human society on earth. Of all the animals, the dog has long maintained the closest relationship with man. In First Friend, Katharine M. Rogers explores the history of that relationship - from what is known about how it first came about - and how it developed through the centuries. From work-mate to beloved pet, from the ancient world to modern times, First Friend is a charming, compelling work exploring that closest of interspecies bonds.
Customer Reviews:
Warning! Dog lovers, beware!.......2006-02-11
An interesting, if a bit dry and academic look at dogs throughout history. Ms. Rogers is an college professor and this has the feeling of a dissertation or thesis, rather than a "user friendly" book. She relies mostly on dogs as portrayed through paintings and novels, rather than social history or anthropology for her conclusions.
That being said, there are some interesting facts and interesting commentary from various sources. My main problem is the latter half of the book, which is mostly devoted to 19th century fictional literature on dogs. Much of this, as the author acknowledges (without ever really explaining "why"), are cautionary tales about the abuse and even torture of loving canine companions. It was bad enough that in centuries past, things are dog fights were common. But it appears that almost every novel (including many long out of print) about a dog is in some fashion about that dog being beaten, neglected, starved, tortured and in the very worst examples, vivisected (exploratory surgery done on live animals without anesthesia).
It appears that many of these novels were written with basically good intentions -- the desire of reformers to touch the hearts of decent people and dog-lovers, in the hopes that their outrage would end these barbaric practices, and at least partly that has happened over the decades. However, the sheer number of these books, the unremitting torture and bleakness, is staggering. I haven't even read the originals, and yet just Ms. Roger's description of books about vivisection will undoubtedly cause me nightmares for years to come.
But this begs the question of exactly how common these practices were, and why writers felt compelled to create these books about the misery and torture inflicted on helpless, loyal and affectionate animal companions. Where they exaggerating, in order to achieve their goal of banning or eliminating animal abuse? What kind of madness affected physicians and scientists of that era that they could debase themselves by these digusting and scientifically worthless acts of torture? Did one single piece of medical knowledge worth obtaining ever come from the sadistic abuse of a living creature?
Those are questions worth exploring, but are not delved into in this particular book. In fairness, given the title, I was expecting a more mellow and even light-hearted look at companion animals over the years. Certainly the paintings pictures alone suggest that despite the abuses, many dogs were greatly loved and well-cared for, and have been the closest companion animals to humankind for over 20,000 years. A little lightness to balance the dark might have been somewhat welcome here.
While not impugning Ms. Roger's formidable scholarship, I feel the need to warn anyone buying this for a dog-loving child or great-aunt, that the unrelenting darkness of the literary examples here, many of them deeply distressing and even stomach-turning, would make this book highly unsuitable for most of the readers who would normally enjoy this subject matter. Please be warned, before reading and especially before giving this as a gift!!!!
A Celebration of Our Closest Animal Friend.......2005-11-23
"First Friend" offers a mine of information about the history of dogs and the humans who have loved them --- and a few who emphatically did not.
Humans were buried with their pet dogs in ancient Jericho, Homer's tough warrior Odysseus wept at the death of his devoted old hound Argus, and greyhounds were valued companions to Roman and medieval aristocrats. The Stuart kings loved their toy spaniels, and the poet Pope (who preferred Great Danes) doubted the goodness of a man who experimented on dogs. In the nineteenth century, Scott created a gallery of engaging canine characters, Byron praised his Newfoundland for having "all the Virtues of Man/ Without his Vices," Dickens regularly enhanced his characters by giving them appropriate dogs (Dora's Jip, Bill Sikes's Bull's-eye), and acerbic Jane Carlyle eulogized her Maltese mix Nero as "my inseparable companion during eleven years, ever doing his little best to keep me from feeling sad and lonely.'
The love continues today, of course, with the difference that we are more apt to recognize dogs as equal members of the family. People are no longer comfortable calling themselves the owners of their dogs; humane societies are promoting the term guardian instead.
Commemorating a Great Partnership.......2005-09-29
One of our dogs, Sammy, the fox terrier, has a behavior I find lovable. When I move in my library to my recliner to read, Sammy will get up from wherever he is to jump on the recliner's footstool and nap. He does not do so to get attention, for I don't thank him or pet him for doing so, and he has not gained in comfort, for he has usually abandoned a comfortable place on the sofa in order to walk over and jump on the footstool which has no more cushioning. He simply finds it more comfortable to be next to his human; I am complimented by this opinion, and I like him all the more for it, every time he joins me in this fashion. Sammy's behavior in this instance, and his behavior and that of my other dogs in many other instances, were on my mind as I read _First Friend: A History of Dogs and Humans_ (St. Martin's Press) by Katherine M. Rogers. Rogers does not include her own anecdotes with the book, but obviously loves dogs (her book is dedicated to her shepherd / retriever mix). This does not keep her from seeing them clearly; she disdains those who see dogs as equals, though she gives many examples of the impulse. Eugene O'Neill, for instance, wrote an epitaph for the family Dalmatian which praised "the only one of our children who has not disillusioned us." Without regarding dogs as furry, four-legged humans, however, there is much to admire in them, and much to admire about the mutually satisfying relationship between the two species.
Dogs and humans have been closely associated for millennia; the earliest dog fossil dates from 12000 BCE, and there is a grave from 10000 BCE in Israel that contains the skeleton of an elderly woman buried with a pup. It is clear that humans first found early wolfish dogs helpful, in scavenging and hunting, and humans selected dogs that were obedient and easy to be around. Samuel Johnson was behind his mid-eighteenth century times when he included only two roles for dogs in his _Dictionary_: "The larger sort are used as a guard; the less for sports." There was disapproval that dogs should take any other role. The work ethic came partially from Christianity. St. Thomas Aquinas indicated that since God gave man dominion over animals, man could do what he wanted with them, especially since we could not have true fellowship with creatures that could not reason or attain eternal life. As late as the mid-nineteenth century, Pope Pius IX would not permit in Rome a society against cruelty to animals because such an organization might suggest that humans had duties toward animals. Descartes systematized Aquinas to teach that soulless animals were mere machines, and didn't really feel anything; this did nothing for the hapless dogs taken up by the vivisectionists or the bull- or bear-baiters. Samuel Johnson denounced such treatment, but it took the secular utilitarian Jeremy Bentham to destroy the religious foundations upon which the treatment was founded; a dog is more rational and more able to communicate than a newborn baby, he reasoned, and even if not, "the question is not, Can they _reason_? nor, Can they _talk_? but Can they _suffer_?"
Humans cannot do anything perfectly, and mistreatment of dogs in history, and currently through puppy mills, is a theme here, but not a large one, because their partnership with us has been generally happy. Rogers gives scores of examples of famous people, especially literary ones, who loved their dogs. For example, Byron ended an epitaph on the marble monument of his dog Boatswain, "To mark a friend's remains these stones arise; / I never knew but one, - and here he lies." She gives many examples of dogs in literature, sometimes used mawkishly, but often with great subtlety. A classic example is Odysseus returning home to find that only his aging hound Argus remembers him. Jane Austen didn't concentrate on her characters' dogs, but made them revealing. Sleek sporting dogs are owned by shallow gentlemen, and the pug of the mindless Lady Bertram in _Mansfield Park_ gets more attention from her mistress than do any of her family members. There are pictures reproduced here of dogs in painting and sculpture, behaving through the centuries as dogs always have, looking pert, pretty, and friendly. Toward the end of the book is a section on dogs as equals, emphasizing that people have come to recognize explicitly that dogs do have rights; the famous trainer Barbara Woodhouse maintained that dogs were fully family members and "should have the same consideration as any other family member... within reason." But realistically, Rogers writes that we have a partnership between significantly different species, based partly on dependency and self interest on both sides, and no less loving or meaningful for that. Anyone who loves dogs will find much to enjoy here, and if you are one of the unfortunates that do not love dogs, no book will reform you.
Book Description
From Footlights to "The Flickers" is the long awaited fourth book in the collectible sheet music series by Marion Short. Two of the most popular collecting categories are covered in this colorful book-the music of the Broadway stage, and silent screen movie music. Over 560 full color photographs of sheet music covers from musical shows and silent movies accompany the informative text. The movie songs are arranged alphabetically by cover personality, and the section becomes a compendium of all the major silent screen stars from the earliest days of the "flickers" to the sound revolution in 1929. From Footlights to "The Flickers" follows the success of Mrs. Short's other books about sheet music, The Gold in Your Piano Bench (tearjerkers, black songs, rags, and blues), More Gold in Your Piano Bench (inventions, wars, and disasters), and Covers of Gold (sports, fashion, illustration, and the dance).
Customer Reviews:
Excellent primer for beginners, but does have mistakes.......2005-08-29
In the beginning, she cites all the features required for an inkle loom. I used this list to search for mine, and have been delighted with the loom I got. She also has great instructions for getting set up, and for weaving.
The only problem I've noticed is that if you follow exactly many of the charts, you will not get the results shown in the samples. Left of the center of the graph is perfect. The right hand side is always off by one. I had to learn this the hard way, and so now, I check that left and right of the center are identical, and then fix the chart before I begin warping my loom.
An EXCELLENT "how-to" book in clearly written instructions!.......1999-02-18
I am an artist who works in a very wide variety of artistic mediums. I am usually able to decipher "how-to" instructional books after going over the instructions several times, but I learn much more quickly by seeing the craft-in-question demonstrated in person.
This particular book on Inkle Weaving has been written with such skill, and crystal clear instructions and illustrations that I was able to design and complete a very complicated design pattern on my first effort! A friend, (Lady Merrsger of Clan CaerLonn) lent me her copy and loom so that I could see whether I wanted to continue with this type of weaving. Especially since it's my first experience with weaving. As my husband (Lord Aragon) says, "This is your new addiction, I see."
Matter of fact, since he's a wood-worker, I had him make me both the table-top & floor looms from the patterns included in the book. (Although, I wouldn't recommend this unless you are a wood-worker, yourself.) As Artisan/Merchants within the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), we used those looms to take orders from our customers last week. And everyone we talked to, demonstrated to, and sold looms to, were shown a copy of this book, and highly encouraged to buy one for themselves at Amazon.com!
Within the SCA, (which is a world-wide Midevial/ Renaissance re-creationist & educational group) we are often challenged to find some kind of trim to sew onto our "garb" which looks authentic within our "time period". The trim created on this type of very simple loom is perfect, and far surpasses the mass-produced stuff available in fabric stores! Ms. Bress also includes a good number of creative suggestions for use of the trim, from clothing to purses to wall hangings, etc.
I very highly recommend this book, most especially for Inkle Loom beginners! Besides presenting some very obviously artistic work, Helene Bress is among the few craftspeople I've seen who can also write very clear, and easily followed instructions. My friend who lent me her copy declares me an Inkle expert (Hah) as a result. Well done, and HUZZAH to Helene Bress!!!
Book Description
On March 13, 1711, an article appeared in The Spectator about Thomas Inkle, a young and aspiring English trader cast ashore in the Americas, who is saved from violent death by Yarico, a beautiful Indian maiden. When he and Yarico become lovers, Inkle promises to clothe her in silks and transport her in carriages when he returns with her to England. Some months later, they are picked up after Yarico succeeds in signaling a passing English ship. But upon reaching Barbados, Inkle immediately sells Yarico into slavery -- raising the price he demands when he learns that Yarico is pregnant with his child.
Based on a real life account in Richard Ligon's History of Barbados published half a century earlier, the Spectator story caused a sensation as debate intensified over slavery in the British colonies -- and it would be told and retold for decades as perhaps the most compelling "folk epic" of its age. In English Trader, Indian Maid, Frank Felsenstein has assembled the main English versions of this once-famous story, including a newly rediscovered poetical epistle by Charles James Fox, one of the leading parliamentary promoters of the cause of abolition. As well as George Colman the Younger's still vibrant comic opera -- considered by some the earliest English social problem play -- the book contains tantalizing retellings from the Caribbean and from America, where the story has close affinities with the tale of Pocahontas.
Also present are notable works by English women writers, such as Frances Seymour and Anna Maria Porter, and freshly attributed English renditions by Stephen Duck, the Wiltshire "thresher poet," and by "Peter Pindar" (John Wolcot). Felsenstein also suggests an intriguing link with William Wordsworth, who may have had the story in mind while composing his Lyrical Ballads. This edition restores the story of Inkle and Yarico to its rightful place as a focal narrative in cultural and historical debate of issues of gender, race, and colonialism.
"In Inkle and Yarico we have that rare entity, a perfect example of an intertextual discourse that reflects so much of the diversity and contradictions of the age that fostered it... Its diverse handling of issues of gender and race makes it a lively and highly topical discussion piece in the classroom. Equally, given the regrettable (and actually surprising) shortfall of prominent eighteenth-century literary texts that treat of the subject of slavery, Inkle and Yarico fills a highly significant gap." -- from the Introduction [p.43]
Customer Reviews:
Good book but a bit dated.......2003-09-19
This book is a good book. She goes over basic inkle weaving and moves on to pick-ups. She includes charts for basic pick-up patterns. When used in combination with Lavinia Bradley's book or Helene Bress, it is a very good resource.
Cons: It doesn't use the modern inkle looms that are in use now. But she does show how to make the simple type of inkle loom she uses in the book. Also, her charting method is different than that used in Helene Bress's book (and other more modern ones). It just takes a bit of getting used to.
Overall, it's a good book if you're interested in pick-ups but I feel that it's best when used with another book.
Average customer rating:
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Byways in Hand Weaving
Mary Meigs Atwater
Manufacturer: Shuttle Craft Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Weaving
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0916658473 |
Customer Reviews:
Learn How To Weave With This One!.......2000-05-26
This book is undoubtedly the best book I've ever seen on weaving. It starts at the beginner's level with an explanation of weaving vocabulary and progresses to unravel all the mystery about the multitudes of loom types and the intended use and potentials of each. There is an abundance of drawings and photographs, not only on how to weave different patterns, but also photographs of finished projects to inspire you. An incredible book! Even the book itself has a beautiful protective book cover. A must for everyone interested in weaving from the beginner to the advanced. Highly recommend!
Average customer rating:
- Great book, great PRICE!
- A very enjoyable experience
- Superb Massage Book; Travels Well
- Unabashedly Erotic, Tasteful, Fascinating
- A Gorgeous hardcover book by Gordon Inkeles
|
The New Massage: Second Edition
Gordon Inkles
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Pharmacology
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
| Drug Guides
| General
| Pain Medicine
| Pharmacy
| Toxicology
General
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
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ASIN: 0399518134 |
Book Description
This hardcover edition is now a collector's item. See publisher's comments below.
Customer Reviews:
Great book, great PRICE!.......2001-03-10
I own all the Inkeles massage books and was pleasantly surprised to get this one in hardcover for LESS than the softcover price of the other books. Same compelling style and terrific photography. You get more sensual massage here for the buck than anywhere else.
A very enjoyable experience.......2000-01-31
This book takes you all the way through a full body massage with great skill and confidence. Although the massage is rather detailed, you can really just start anywhere on the body. Great results!
Superb Massage Book; Travels Well.......1999-11-03
We took this book along on our South Pacific adventure. What a great way to make new friends. Unlike other massage books, the techniques here work as promised. We had many romantic afternoons and evenings thanks to The New Massage. Bravo!
Unabashedly Erotic, Tasteful, Fascinating.......1999-10-07
As a serious student of massage and its pleasures, I was delighted to discover this classic text. The longest Inkeles book, this volume takes the time to explore sensual possibilities everywhere on the body.
A Gorgeous hardcover book by Gordon Inkeles.......1998-11-04
What a great gift book! The full body massage here is the most comprehensive one in any massage book. Beautiful photography on every one of the 192 pages. My favorite Inkeles book.
Average customer rating:
- A great book for both beginner and experienced inkle weavers
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Inkle
Evelyn Neher
Manufacturer: Neher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
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Textile Arts
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
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ASIN: B0006CL3JO |
Customer Reviews:
A great book for both beginner and experienced inkle weavers.......2007-07-13
If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to the art/craft of inkle weaving, this is the book for you. Not only are the instructions clear, understandable, and well-illustrated, the variety of techniques presented are surprising. Neher covers the basics of the plain weave band, then branches out into pickup designs, designs created with floating warp or weft threads, double weave patterns (which I had never realized were possible with inkle weaving), and tapestry techniques. Anyone who thinks that inkle bands are boring or limited in their design potential needs to look at this book to realize that this is indeed not the case!
Also interesting are the sections on antique and modern tape looms. If you have any interest at all in the history of inkle weaving, this alone will be worth the price of the book! There are a few illustrations of people weaving with rigid heddles and/or box looms from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, and many, many photographs of rigid heddles and tape looms from the 18th and 19th centuries. A wide variety of modern inkle looms (and how to thread them) are also shown.
I'm very glad that this self-published book is still available. Even though it first came out in 1974, there is still an interest in this type of weaving, and this book is a great one for both the beginner and more advanced inkle weaver.
Average customer rating:
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Cool Restaurants Hong Kong (Cool Restaurants)
Manufacturer: Te Neues Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback
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ASIN: 3832791116 |
Book Description
The gateway to China, and Asia beyond, Hong Kong has long straddled the divide between East and West. Its dining hotspots infuse Asian design principles with a dash of international flair. As you might expect from a world-class commercial metropolis, the dining scene here is multi-faceted and always welcomes innovative newcomers. This addition to teNeues' highly successful Cool Restaurants series is indispensable for all who wish to be in-the-know about Hong Kong's hippest dining.
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- Globetrotting Pets: An International Travel Guide
- Guide to Owning a Fox Terrier (The Guide to Owning Series)
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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