Book Description
Captures the unique style of fashion maverick Iris Apfel and her exuberantly idiosyncratic personal chic.
With remarkable panache and discernment, Iris Apfel combines styles, colors, textures, and patterns without regard to period, provenance, or aesthetic conventions. Now in her mid-eighties, she is a unique style icon.
Over ninety sumptuous color plates, photographed by Eric Boman, show off a selection of Apfel's extraordinary outfits on wittily posed mannequins, some sporting her trademark outsized spectacles. The originality of her style is typically revealed in her mixing of Dior haute couture with flea-market finds, Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers with nineteenth-century ecclesiastical vestments, pink Lanvin worn with ropes of Navajo turquoise. Apfel's eclectic pieces might come from a Parisian couture house, an American thrift shop, or a North African souk, or they may have been made to her own design in a tiny studio.
Detailed captions describe every aspect of the outfits, including names and dates of designers, plus full information on fabrics and accessories. A selection of audacious accessories also comes under the spotlight: a giant necklace made of bear claws, a turn-of-the-century Indian horse ornament worn as a necklace, a parrot's-head brooch in colored glass and rhinestones.
The book includes an introduction by Harold Koda, director of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and an essay by Apfel herself, describing her lifelong love affair with style and illustrated with vintage photographs from her personal collection. 169 illustrations, 149 in color.
Customer Reviews:
A delightful inspiration.......2007-06-11
This book reminds all its readers that true style grows from individuality. In a time were you would recognize a stylist's style easier than the style of a designer, Iris Apfel's approach to and interpretation of fashion is the light at the end of the tunnel, she certainly has nudged me into the one or the other "true to myself experiment". Iris Apfel's witty introduction perfectly accessoirizes the clothes and jewellery presented, not only poviding background information on how this exhibition came to life but also shedding light on a certainly most interesting and colorful life in a warmhearted and humorous way. This book most certainly will be a longterm occupant of my coffee table.
Need more like her!.......2007-05-22
Loved, loved this book. The comments, the photography and most importantly the crediting of designers to each style was extremely well done. This rare bird of fashion serves us notice that we should embrace our individual style and glory in it and not follow the herd or be shy about manifesting our true "feathers".
Iris Apfel, what a rare bird indeed..........2007-04-02
I was lucky enough to view the exhibit 'Iris Apfel - Rare Bird of Fashion' at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, and what a visual treat it was... Not only is she an icon of fashion, but her style, her combinations of colors and her very different approach to the matter is something everybody should see and study. I have seen and met her in New York, she is the most terrific person!!! The book is amazing as well, great photography!!! I will always treasure this book and every time I open it, there is something else to marvel at or read about... An absolutely great source of inspiration, that simply makes you smile! One could only wish there will be other 'rare birds' to follow her lead.
Book Description
This Audio CD is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to recognize bird songs. It features the sounds of 189 different bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast States.
Each bird song recording is followed by a short description of the sound along with a common mnemonic used to remember it. Many well-known song mnemonics such as "Who cooks for you?" for the Barred Owl and "Poor Sam Peabody" for the White-throated Sparrow are included. Following the song and mnemonic, the source of the sound is revealed. By naming the bird at the end of each track, the listener is allowed to wonder and guess at the nature of the sound. Active listening, similar to what one experiences in the field while searching for an unknown bird song, is a key to engaging the memory process.
One way to use this CD is to enable the "Random Play" or "Shuffle" option on a home CD player, portable stereo, or personal computer. Although it may be frustrating at first, repetition of this "quiz" game will quickly improve recognition skills. Gaining familiarity with these songs will greatly increase any bird watcher's enjoyment and awareness of birds in their natural habitat.
Features:
- 189 bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast states
- Digital bird song recordings made in Wisconsin
- Brief narration after each song includes descriptive, memorable and often funny mnemonics
- Can be used as a field guide to learn and identify songs or as a recognition quiz game
- Easy to use alphabetical track listing of all birds and their mnemonics
- It is a great gift for any birdwatcher, beginner or advanced.
- Total running time: 60 minutes
Customer Reviews:
Very good CD.......2007-08-21
After many years of bird watching I decided it was high time I learned to bird by ear.
I'm pretty familiar with the limited species that show up in my Southern California yard (House Finches, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves and Western Scrub Jays mostly).
I've purchased a few different CD's on birding by ear (including the Stokes CD's), but this is the one I like the best. I keep it in my CD player in the car so I can learn/study the bird songs while going to and from work each day.
I have noticed a slight regional accent in some of the birds that I'm familiar with, but it's not so significant that I don't recognise the House Sparrow or the House Finch when I hear it.
I highly recommend this CD to anyone who is trying to learn to bird by ear.
Great for newbies.......2007-06-07
I've lived on a farm or outside the city for most of my life, but never really bothered to figure out the different bird calls. After listening to this CD a couple of times, my wife and I can now pick out some of the different birds. The more calls we learn, the more fun it is to learn more.
Overly Short Songs Presented at Shotgun Speed.......2007-05-25
While the coverage of songs is thorough, the acoustic quality is not nearly as good as four other bird song CDs that I also recently purchased (Stokes - Eastern Region, Peterson Field Guide sets - Eastern, Songbirds Bible by Proctor, Common Bird Songs by Borror). Moreover, the songs are very short, with minimal repetition or variation. It is nice to have narration that follows the songs, so the listener has a chance to guess what type of bird sings each song. However, given that the songs are so short, and the pauses after the songs and before narration are even shorter, there is no time for an advanced beginner birder such as myself to reflect, or even spit out the answer instantaneously. Furthermore, the next song often starts virtually "on top" of the narration (which is little more than just the name of the bird), making it easy to associate the bird name with the wrong song (ie, the song that follows narration rather than the song that precedes).
excellent for beginning and intermediate birders.......2006-08-01
The alphabetical indexing is excellent for those who have not mastered the taxanomic order as found in most lists and books. The presentation of the song before the identification is useful in honing ones ears. Would like it to be longer than the ~110 species presented.
By far the best bird song training & review guide.......2006-07-10
This is an outstanding CD for learning bird songs. Each song starts with the bird song and then the narrator describes the song and provides a short phrase or description that aids you with identifying it, followed again with the essence of the song. This format allows you to quiz yourself. I bought my first copy two years ago and have bought 5 more to give to friends since then. Everyone has commented that its a great guide. I own several other guides including Birding by Ear and More Birding by Ear and this is by far my favorite.
Amazon.com
In American Prometheus, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin delve deep into J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and deliver a thorough and devastatingly sad biography of the man whose very name has come to represent the culmination of 20th century physics and the irrevocable soiling of science by governments eager to exploit its products. Rich in historical detail and personal narratives, the book paints a picture of Oppenheimer as both a controlling force and victim of the mechanisms of power.
By the time the story reaches Oppenheimer's fateful Manhattan Project work, readers have been swept along much as the project's young physicists were by fate and enormous pressure. The authors allow the scientists to speak for themselves about their reactions to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, avoiding any sort of preacherly tone while revealing the utter, horrible ambiguity of the situation. For instance, Oppenheimer wrote in a letter to a friend, "The thing had to be done," then, "Circumstances are heavy with misgiving."
Many biographies of Oppenheimer end here, with the seeds of his later pacifism sown and the dangers of mixing science with politics clearly outlined. But Bird and Sherwin devote the second half of this hefty book to what happened to Oppenheimer after the bomb. For a short time, he was lionized as the ultimate patriot by a victorious nation, but things soured as the Cold War crept forward and anti-communist witchhunts focused paranoia and anti-Semitism onto Oppenheimer, destroying his career and disillusioning him about his life's work. Devastated by the atom bomb's legacy of fear, he became a vocal and passionate opponent of the Strangelovian madness that gripped the world because of the weapons he helped develop.
Twenty-five years of research went into creating American Prometheus, and there has never been a more honest and complete biography of this tragic scientific giant. The many great ironies of Oppenheimer's life are revealed through the careful reconstruction of a wealth of records, conversations, and ideas, leaving the clearest picture yet of his life. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress. In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative.
Customer Reviews:
A Superb Biography.......2007-09-30
This book merited its Pulitzer Prize: the subject, Oppenheimer and the bomb, is fascinating; the scholarship is thorough; and the writing is so clear that one forgets one is reading--one sees the events of history.
I will never forget the authors' analysis of why we dropped the bombs on those two unlucky Japanese cities. Was it to save the lives of our troops and of those who would defend Japan? No, the Japanese wanted to surrender in July of 1945, and the invasion of Japan was scheduled to occur after 1 November 1945. Truman wanted to end the war before 15 August, the date Stalin had promised to declare war on Japan. Decoded diplomatic cables revealed that the Japanese were willing to surrender in July if the US relaxed its condition of "unconditional surrender." But Secretary of State James F. Byrnes of South Carolina advised Truman that the Democrats would do better in the elections of 1946 and 1948 if Truman insisted on unconditional surrender. So he dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan to win those elections.
The authors' description of Lewis Strauss's hearings was excellent.
Even the biographers are leftist.......2007-09-05
This book was engaging and well written and full of insights about the life of J Robert Oppenheimer. However, it was clear to this reader that the sympathies of the authors are far to the left. Although one could easily agree that the 1954 Oppenheimer security hearing was something of a kangaroo court, the authors treated the issue of Oppenheimer's security status as if it were a primary right (such as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) rather than a status granted by the government at its discretion. After all, why would the US Government appoint someone to be intimately associated with the development of the H-bomb who publicly and forcefully disdained the effort--whether or not the man was at the time or had been in the past a fellow-traveler? Also, all of the "nasty" characters who happened to be Republican were repeated and clearly identified as Republican but the "nasty" Democrats were simply identified by their names.
This leftist tendency by the authors is a blemish on what otherwise would have been one of the most enjoyable books I have read in years and certainly one of the best I have read on this remarkable period in American history. But, then, I guess it is difficult for authors not to identify and sympathize with their subject, especially since most who came in contact with Oppenheimer during his life seemed also to have succumbed to his spell.
The Incredible Life of a Nearly Forgotten Hero.......2007-08-31
Before my grandfather handed me this book I had no idea Oppenheimer ever existed. Nothing from school, other books, or TV. Now, I feel as though I've met him. As I read this book I felt his anger, sadness, pain, and joy.
I had no knowledge of this man, and I don't think any is needed before reading this book. It's also about much more than Oppenheimer. Knowing about his life gave me a VERY different view of the American Communists of the thirties, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, McCarthism, the Cold War, and the US government as a whole.
Within this book America isn't that sparkly clean America I thought it was. America makes mistakes just like all of us and I believe it's incredibly important the citizens are told more than just the nice version of history. When Oppenheimer challenged this nice version, the backlash nearly destroyed him.
Buy this book, borrow it, just read it. This book contains forgotten history every American needs to know.
A Splendid Enigma.......2007-08-09
There was a time when scientists where revered in the same way that athletes, entertainers, and celebrities are today. The first half of the 20th century was a time of great scientific and technological development and achievement. Despite global struggles with depression, war and ideological strife, the promise of a bright future delivered by brilliant men in universities and laboratories, offered a vision of a brave new world. The dark side of this lay in man's own capacity for self-destruction if ethics and morals failed to keep pace with scientific advancement. Would the new frontiers of science create a new Eden, or would it destroy the fruits of civilization? Specifically, would the unleashed power of the atom bring peace and abundance, or would it foster terror among the nations of the world?
AMERICAN PROMOTHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER chronicles the life and times of the splendid enigma - Oppie - the brilliant physicist who became a shepherd of geniuses. These were the members of the team at Los Alamos who created the atomic bomb - the weapon that ended World War II and brought "peace" to the world in a blinding flash of radioactivity.
The authors, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin have collaborated in this Pulitzer Prize winning exploration of "Oppie" in a level of detail not previously seen in previous biographies. From Oppenheimer's early life to his years as a student and prodigy, internationally renowned academic to the Los Alamos Atomic Bomb Project and its cold war aftermath, the authors provide a telling multi-textural portrait of a man both loved and hated by fellow scientists, politicians, and ethicists. The consequences of his intellectual curiosity and affinity of communistic ideals in the early years of the Cold War amidst the shameful paranoia of McCarthyism provide an insight into the man's human frailties as well as his intellectual strengths. The revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance amidst such political turmoil sheds light on a controversial period in American history.
The book is well researched and documented. The narrative flows well, despite some repetition in chapters devoted to Oppenheimer's 1930s political activities. It is a compelling and comprehensive biography of one of the most elusive personalities in American and World History.
Complex, but very approachable.......2007-06-30
This is an extremely well-written, engaging, and engrossing tale of an equally complex and brilliant man. The degree of his humanness -- unapologetically raw; the degree of his metal abilities -- virtually unmatched. A great read for any fan of science, mathematics, or the history of science. You won't be able to put it down once you start it.
Book Description
One of Abbeville's most spectacular achievements, representing the highest standards in fine art printing, now available at a more economical price.
This marvelous edition of Audubon's Birds of America displays all 435 of Audubon's brilliant handcolored engravings in exquisite reproductions taken from the original plates of the Audubon Society's archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. Although many attempts have been made to re-create the magnificent illustrations in Audubon's masterpiece, nothing equals the level of fidelity or scale achieved in this high-quality edition.
Completely reorganized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson, who was America's best-known ornithologist, and issued with the full endorsement and cooperation of the Audubon Society, this volume is the first to rearrange the plates in a more scientific order. Peterson's fascinating introduction places Audubon in the context of the history of American ornithological art and also reproduces a wide sampling of the work of Audubon's notable predecessors and disciples, including Peterson's own justly famous paintings.
This new systematic arrangement of the prints, complete with informative commentaries about each bird, made it possible to correct many of the problems or errors in Audubon's original edition that later scholarship revealed.
Other Details: 428 full-color illustrations, 435 duotones.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Companion.......2007-07-14
Having recently read the biography of Audubon, I was very interested in seeing the actual drawings. The book I read had a few of them in black and white, but I wanted to see a larger sample in color. I decided to see if Amazon had anything and was very surprised to see that they offered all of the original drawings in color for a very small price. I realized the book would be smaller than the original life size drawings, but was a little surprised to find that the book was so small. That is my main problem with the book. Otherwise - WOW. To see these birds in all their glory in full color is just breathtaking. Furthermore, when you consider the original size, to have shrunk them down and still maintain the detail and the beauty is quite impressive. One can appreciate the drawings without having read about Audobon's struggle to create and then publish them, but I would suggest this book as a companion to a good biography of Audobon. Once you have both, his accomplishment can be fully appreciated.
Spectacular.......2005-08-02
This book is spectacular. The images are breathtaking, and the quality of their presentation is nothing short of superb. Wow!!!
Why reorganize a symphony?.......2004-11-30
Let me qualify my remarks by first saying that I have not even seen this version. I have no doubt that the printing is of the highest quality, but I have a serious reservation about the organization of this book. Audubon deliberately mixed his birds in a non-taxonomic order to maintain a freshness and an element of suprise. I recently acquired a large format copy published by Welcome Rain, which follows Audubon's original order. The effect is a delightful romp through nature, full of suprises, drama and movement. He never intended it to be a catalog with all his ducks in a row, it was to be an experience. I have seen an abridged, small format edition of his paintings arranged in the standard, dull taxonomic order of a typical field guide and the effect is nothing like seeing them in the order Audubon intended. Rearranging the plates for convenience of listers diminishes this work, and to a certain extent, is a disservice to the artist. While I am happy to see that his work remains in print and is being reproduced at very high standards, I would hope that it would be viewed as a symphony, not as a random collection of notes needing to be organized alphabetically.
Beautiful volume of audubon.......2004-07-16
If you are a birder and you collect all the great bird books, your collection is not complete until you get this. A beautiful book, contained in a hard case, with excellent printing. A steal at $250 at its original price, now knocked down between $125 to $185. Get this book! A great tribute to Peterson and Audubon.
Book Description
From the hit-makers at Pixar Animation Studios who brought us Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, and Mr. Incredible, now comes Remy, the furry star of Ratatouille. A lovable rat (yes, a rat!), Remy is driven by his passion for fine cuisine to become a chef against all odds and with madcap adventures along the way at the most famous restaurant in Paris. The Art of Ratatouille includes more than 200 of the artistic ingredients in this heartwarming film: storyboards, full-color pastels, digital and pencil sketches, character studies, maquettes, and more. In this exclusive movie tie-in book for adults, effusive quotes from the director, artists, animators, and production team reveal the genius at work inside the studio that changed cartoon heroes forever.
Customer Reviews:
A lovely keepsake, coffee table display, or popular library lend........2007-10-06
The Pixar Studios animated film RATATOUILLE is a winner and celebrating the storyline in print is the art-packed book version which collects over 300 of the artistic sketches, pastels, and sculpts which went into the movie. Both movie fans and fans of cartoon film artistry as well as collections strong in film art will want The Art of Ratatouille: it pairs extensive quotes from artists, animators and production team members with full-page color displays and makes for a lovely keepsake, coffee table display, or popular library lend.
Another Work of Genius.......2007-09-26
Beautifully layed out, the book showcases the artwork by the Pixar guys and gals in a way that is a masterpiece in itself. Simply put.
Gorgeous conceptual art.......2007-09-01
Pixar Animation Studios are recognized the world over as leaders in the field of CG animated movies. The road from idea to movie release is a long one and before sets are modeled and textured and characters are modeled, rigged and animated, the concept work is done. This concept work is not seen in the final movie release but it is the guide for the look of the entire film. Design, color and lighting are all fleshed out in the concert art. "The Art of Ratatouille" showcases some spectacularly beautiful drawings, paintings and sculptures. It is interesting to see which concepts developed into the final movie and which fell by the wayside. And, or course, the art can also be appreciated simply for what it is. A stunningly, beautiful book.
Excellent artistic book.......2007-08-24
Very good book for people who are looking for tips in the hand draw cartoon character area. The different position of the mouse, the correct way you can draw a character make the book a very valuable tool. It is really bad that there is not much information in the 3d area and I myself bought this book much more to find 3d tips.
Luichi Tejeda
Pixar succeeds once again........2007-08-08
Ratatouille was one of Pixar's most finely made movies, and the art book showed the painstaking hard work that was put into it. Watch the development of the characters, lighting tests, Brad Bird's words reflecting the movie, and dozens of talented artists' sketches and paintings that made this movie what it is. The real treat for me was Dan Lee's art along with the few storyboards that really lifted my spirit.
Rest in Peace, Dan Lee.
Pixar lost a fantastic artist.
Book Description
This collection of true stories examines incidents involving the use of firearms by ordinary citizens for personal protection against criminals. Three basic types of events are discussed: armed defense at home, at work, and in a public place. Each episode is explored in detail, with a look at the citizen involved as well as how their defensive actions aided them or could be improved. From convenience-store robberies to police arrests gone awry, these stories provide memorable reminders of firearm self-defense dos and don'ts.
Customer Reviews:
I couldn't put it down.......2007-09-11
READ this book! You can't read this book and remain unaffected. You will be forced to come to some educated conclusion as it is really hard to argue with actual events and personal accounts.
The author brings out case examples of civilians who came to an event what would either leave them dead or severely harmed, they defended themselves or their fellow citizen with a firearm, and we're shown the outcomes both good and bad. Excellent follow up with the the major players.
I re-read the chapter on Katrina over and over again - that one chapter by itself is worth than the cost of this book 7 fold.
Read this book! And vote to allow carry concealed permits in every state of the union.
Make America Safer.......2007-09-06
If you believe your government should assist deranged criminals in carrying out rape, robbery, and homicide against law-abiding citizens, then this book isn't for you. If you believe your government should not force innocent people to become helpless victims of such terrible things, then read on.
Some people believe that criminals should be protected from law-abiding citizens, instead of the other way around. These 14 case histories, as good as they are, probably won't pull such people back from the dark side. If you aren't one of those people, you will find these 14 case histories well worth reading. If you agree that rendering potential victims helpless is a bad idea, this book has valuable information for you.
Thank God I Had a Gun provides 14 gripping accounts of how ordinary people stopped dangerous criminals. For example, 72-year old Zelda Hunt confronted an intruder who surely would have killed her. She held him at gunpoint until the police arrived in response to her 911 call. Ms. Hunt successfully defended her life and property without discharging her firearm or killing anybody.
It's hard to imagine that a 72-year old widow would safely stop a large, strong, young male attacker by using her bare hands. Assuming she's an accomplished martial artist and a fitness fanatic, one could argue this is possible. But do you know any 72-year old widows with rippling muscles and a black belt?
Unfortunately, this "she beat him up" scenario is one of the two possible outcomes that the citizen disarmament nuts ("gun control advocates") would leave us with. The other, far more likely, outcome is this: the unarmed woman is raped, killed, and robbed before the police arrive. People who value life obviously prefer the outcome Ms. Hunt experienced. It happened only because, thank God, she had a gun.
Reviewer's note: In the vast majority of such confrontations, the armed citizen never fires the weapon. The mere presence of an armed citizen induces most criminals to suddenly change their minds. That's why thousands of aborted crimes go unreported each year. Those crimes simply never happen, because armed citizens prevent them.
How do we know this number is thousands and not merely dozens? We can compare "criminal protection zones" such as the UK to citizen protection places such as Florida and note the difference. The UK is suffering from a huge increase in violent crime, while Florida saw violent crime drop 90% in the first year of RTC (Right To Carry). Or we can look at "before" and "after" the passing of citizen disarmament laws in Australia. "Before" was much safer for law-abiding citizens. "After" is much safer for criminals..
More than hardware
This book describes true accounts in vivid detail, and provides an expert analysis of each account. The accounts and their analyses show there's much more to responsible and effective self-defense than merely buying a piece of hardware. For example, in one analysis, the author discussed what was wrong with the bullets used. That led into a discussion of understanding what's behind the target.
Review's note: Self-defense expert John Deshotel says to use hollow point bullets in your self-defense pistols. Police have intense training in this very aspect of weapons use, to reduce the chances of hitting an innocent bystander or other unintended target. A couple of the accounts provide especially good cases for teaching how to use firearms more safely. Mr. Deshotel also says a pistol is a puny weapon. This book mentions an adage many instructors are fond of--use your pistol to shoot your way to your shotgun or rifle.
On any shooting range, the concept of safety permeates the air. People wear safety glasses. People wear hearing protection. People observe many rules of safety. A person who is trained in firearm use and who practices with the weapon is immersed in safety so much that the concept is "front of mind." The accounts in this book show how people used firearms for their personal safety. In the case of Mark Wilson, he made the ultimate sacrifice so that others could be safe. This book talks about safely using firearms in real-life situations, rather than just on the range.
Just as guns don't kill people, guns don't protect people. Well-trained people protect people. We do that by using guns we have been trained to use, when and where the situation requires. Guns are tools, and have no will of their own. If you visit an automotive garage, you'll see many tools. But the tools don't solve any problems by themselves (they don't cause any problems by themselves, either). The mechanic's training and experience make all the difference. It is the same for the armed citizen.
Reviewer viewpoint
Some people believe it's debatable whether government should respect the basic human right of self-defense. In fact, they use language to the effect that government gives that right and can take it away. These people continually tout victim helplessness as a necessary solution to crime. They have not demonstrated how making crime easier to commit will reduce the number (or severity) of crimes committed. Logic dictates otherwise, which is why such policies have always caused violent crime to skyrocket.
It's worth noting that the most outspoken proponents of pro-criminal, anti-victim laws exempt themselves from the consequences. Ted Kennedy has armed guards, and so does Rosie O'Donnell. Nobody has ever proven that disarming citizens somehow protects them from violent criminals. Logic dictates otherwise, which is why the survival rates are so much better for armed citizens than unarmed ones.
I think this book will motivate people to stay current with their firearms training and other aspects of crime prevention and self-defense. These 14 accounts clearly show that ordinary people can, with the right tools and training, face death down and defeat it.
Thank you, Chris Bird, for doing the nation a great service with the research and thoughtfulness that went into this excellent book.
self protection.......2007-09-01
This is an excellent book. It gets you thinking. Chris Bird is an excellent author
My favorite of Chris Bird's series.......2007-08-14
This book should be required reading for anyone who owns a firearm for self defense. You will learn from each individuals story of what to do and what not to do during an encounter. The chapter on New Orleans is reason enough to buy the book.
Excellent support for our often infringed right to carry.......2007-08-02
Each of these stories clearly shows why we cannot rely on police to protect us from violent crime. The need for this book is all the greater because these are the kinds of stories which are NOT reported in the media. The book begins with a story from New Orleans, where someone who didn't like guns ended up finding out, in the chaos that ensued after Katrina, that the most dangerous thing that can happen to a city is not a hurricane, "It's the thugs in the neighborhood who would do more damage." The stories are well-written, the book is engaging. I couldn't put it down. The book is a great antidote to the depression one feels when reading the daily newspaper and taking in yet another story of a violent crime and a psychologically damaged if not deceased victim. The people in these stories took up their arms and refused to be victims, and that brightens my day.
Book Description
Entertaining and informative, Pets in America is a portrait of Americans' relationships with the cats, dogs, birds, fishes, rodents, and other animals we call our own. More than 60 percent of U.S. households have pets, and America grows more pet-friendly every day. But as Katherine Grier demonstrates, the ways we talk about and treat our pets--as companions, as children, and as objects of beauty, status, or pleasure--have their origins long ago.
Grier begins with a natural history of animals as pets, then discusses the changing role of pets in family life, new standards of animal welfare, the problems presented by borderline cases such as livestock pets, and the marketing of both animals and pet products. She focuses particularly on the period between 1840 and 1940, when the emotional, behavioral, and commercial characteristics of contemporary pet keeping were established. The story is peppered with the warmth and humor of anecdotes from period diaries, letters, catalogs, and newspapers.
Filled with illustrations reflecting the whimsy, the devotion, and the commerce that have shaped centuries of American pet keeping, Pets in America ultimately shows how the history of pets has evolved alongside changing ideas about human nature, child development, and community life.
This book accompanies a museum exhibit, "Pets in America," which opens at the McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina, in December 2005 and will travel to five other cities from May 2006 through May 2008.
Customer Reviews:
Pets in America: A History.......2007-08-28
Pets in America: A History, was purchased as a gift to a friend who is a pet-lover. She seemed delighted with the gift. I skimmed but did not read the book in detail.
Our "favorites".......2006-05-16
"Pets in America", an astonishingly comprehensive new book by Katherine C. Grier, relates the history of pets as we have known them from the earliest days of our nation. In doing so, she has given us a compelling look at the evolution of how different animals became popular pets, how we treat pets as a society and what their needs are compared to ours.
Grier begins by asking "what is a pet?" and then follows up with remarks about "why pets matter". She sets the stage for the reader to begin to view the animals we call "pets" (and what Americans in the nineteenth century called "favorites") in a different way than just furry little creatures that greet us upon our return home. One of the many surprises I found in reading "Pets in America" was that one hundred to one hundred fifty years ago the most popular pet to have was a caged bird. She explains part of the reason by saying that there was far less noise around then and songbirds added a cheerful level of volume that was most welcome in many homes.
While Grier's book understandably covers dogs, cats, birds and fish as the most common pets to find around the house, there is also a good deal of writing about livestock animals.....horses, swine, barnyard fowl and rabbits. There are many quotes from diarists of the 1800s and the most alluring ones come from children. Being much closer to "pets as dinner" she quotes a few girls who couldn't stand the thought of losing a newborn calf or lamb, knowing that it would end up on someone's dinner table....possibly their own. There's also a charming section on "the Bunnie States of America"....a club set up in 1898 by the children of an Albany, New York couple who had rules and regulations for their club, held meetings and wrote of the happenings of their beloved rabbits.
Grier takes an awful lot of time in the middle of the book describing the liberal goodness of the upper middle class and their views toward treating animals with kindness and respect. Although she presents her case effectively, it is the one place where "Pets in America" bogs down a little but she picks right up again with a chapter titled, "Pet keeping and its dilemmas". As animals moved closer to humans with their increased indoor contact, boundaries necessitated change. Understandably, at the same time, livestock became more foreign to many Americans with the advent of the automobile, as horses were decreasingly necessary for transportation. However, Grier describes in great detail what city life was like prior to that with pigs running through the streets, chickens cackling in many a backyard and the undeniable stench of horse manure. The seemy side of pet life....those who dealt in the selling, trading and butchering of pets is a terrific addition to the work. It's hard to believe, sometimes, that we are just a few generations removed from all of that.
The author finishes up with a look at the twentieth century arrival (on a large scale) of pet stores, pet food and other accoutrements such as "clothing" and bedding. There is not much about veterinary medicine in this book other to say that in earlier times, a pet's best caregiver (and often its only doctor) was its owner.
Many wonderful, early photographs and drawings accompany "Pets in America". It's a welcome addition to a fantastic book. I highly recommend "Pets in America" for its depth and incisiveness and I applaud Katherine Grier for combining a straightforward analysis with an outstanding narrative.
Average customer rating:
- For anyone with a child interned at the hospital...
- Discovering Lorrie Moore
- Drivel dressed in ill fitting wordplay...
- What wonderful stories!
- A Christmas Appreciation of Lorrie Moore
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Birds of America: Stories
Lorrie Moore
Manufacturer: Knopf
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Self-Help
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Like Life
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Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry: Stories
ASIN: 0679445978
Release Date: 1998-09-08 |
Amazon.com
Lorrie Moore made her debut in 1985 with Self-Help, which proved that she could write about sadness, sex, and the single girl with as much tenderness--and with considerably more wit--than almost any of her contemporaries. She followed this story collection with another, Like Life, as well as two fine novels, Anagrams and Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? Yet Moore's rapid-fire alternation of mirth and deep melancholy is so perfectly suited to the short form that readers will greet Birds of America with an audible sigh of relief--and delight. In "Willing," for example, a second-rate Hollywood starlet retreats into a first-rate depression, taking shelter in a Chicago-area Days Inn. The author's eye for the small comic detail is intact: her juice-bar-loving heroine initially drowns her sorrows in "places called I Love Juicy or Orange-U-Sweet." Yet Moore seldom satisfies herself with mere pop-cultural mockery. She's too interested in the small and large devastations of life, which her actress is experiencing in spades. "Walter leaned her against his parked car," Moore relates. "His mouth was slightly lopsided, paisley-shaped, his lips anneloid and full, and he kissed her hard. There was something numb and on hold in her. There were small dark pits of annihilation she discovered in her heart, in the loosening fist of it, and she threw herself into them, falling." Elsewhere, the author serves up a similar mixture of one-liners and contemporary grief, lamenting the death of a housecat in "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens" and the death of a marriage in "Which Is More Than I Can Say About That." And her hilarious account of a nuclear family undergoing a meltdown in "Charades" will make you want to avoid parlor games for the rest of your natural life. --James Marcus
Book Description
A long-awaited collection of stories--twelve in all--by one of the most exciting writers at work today, the acclaimed author of Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? and Self-Help. Stories remarkable in their range, emotional force, and dark laughter, and in the sheer beauty and power of their language.
From the opening story, "Willing"--about a second-rate movie actress in her thirties who has moved back to Chicago, where she makes a seedy motel room her home and becomes involved with a mechanic who has not the least idea of who she is as a human being--Birds of America unfolds a startlingly brilliant series of portraits of the unhinged, the lost, the unsettled of our America.
In the story "Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People" ("There is nothing as complex in the world--no flower or stone--as a single hello from a human being"), a woman newly separated from her husband is on a long-planned trip through Ireland with her mother. When they set out on an expedition to kiss the Blarney Stone, the image of wisdom and success that her mother has always put forth slips away to reveal the panicky woman she really is.
In "Charades," a family game at Christmas is transformed into a hilarious and insightful (and fundamentally upsetting) revelation of crumbling family ties.
In "Community Life,"a shy, almost reclusive, librarian, Transylvania-born and Vermont-bred, moves in with her boyfriend, the local anarchist in a small university town, and all hell breaks loose. And in "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens," a woman who goes through the stages of grief as she mourns the death of her cat (Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Häagen Dazs, Rage) is seen by her friends as really mourning other issues: the impending death of her parents, the son she never had, Bosnia.
In what may be her most stunning book yet, Lorrie Moore explores the personal and the universal, the idiosyncratic and the mundane, with all the wit, brio, and verve that have made her one of the best storytellers of our time.
Customer Reviews:
For anyone with a child interned at the hospital..........2007-03-22
Recently I spent a third long stay at a hospital with my daughter. Living at the hospital, particularly accompanying your child, is a surreal (at best) existence. I found myself thinking constantly of Moore's incredible rending yet somehow darkly humorous story, "People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk," wondering if anyone could possibly understand the dazed flurourescent-lit world of a pediatric hospital/cafeteria/series of Lego-like halls without having been forced to live it. The story brought me strange comfort, knowing that someone had glimpsed that life, the one where you're woken up constantly in the night and wonder whether it's night or day or if you'll ever get out of sweatpants, and as I waited to hear news regarding red blood cells, a part of me was falling apart for the mothers and children I saw there whose stay would not be nine or ten days, as ours, but months. If you know anyone who is stuck at the hospital for ridiculous amounts of time, this is the gift to bring them. The other stories are excellent too.
Discovering Lorrie Moore.......2007-01-09
Lorrie Moore's collections of short stories are funny, moving and poignant. Her voice is clear and unfaltering. "People like that are the only people here; canonical babbling in peed onk" is certainly the most tender and agonizing depiction of dealing with the illness of a child.
All her stories are filled with clearly drawn characters in a variety of backgrounds across America and Europe. I look forward to every new addition to her fine work.
Drivel dressed in ill fitting wordplay..........2006-09-19
Ms Moore undoubtedly knows how to write a clever turn of phrase. But she seems far too consciously self conscious and wears her jaded view of life like a personal crown of thorns. Some of the stories were passably entertaining, but strangely forgettable. Most of them, however were numbingly cynical and self absorbed. I tried to read this book (based on wildly enthusiastic reviews at the time) back when it was published in 1998. I never finished it. This year I ran into it on my bookshelf again, and wondered if I'd read it; and if so, why didn't I remember it? There was a bookmark still in it...about three or four stories in. So...why couldn't I remember anything about it? I started reading it again...and nothing came to mind. I had absolutely no recollection of any of the stories I'd apparently read in 1998. I made it to the 10th story this time, and once again...I put the book back on the shelf. This time I enclosed a note to not bother with it again. I sincerely hope that most people do not view life as presented in this book, and I ardently hope most people aren't as flawed and unbalanced as Ms Moore seems to view them. While there are moments of humor, I fail to see goose genocide as amusing. That is just one example of what I saw as cynicism run amok. I attempted to re-read this book only two weeks ago. I just went and got it back down to write this review...and to my surprise...once AGAIN..I'd already forgotten most of every story. What a waste.
What wonderful stories!.......2006-01-06
I wasn't very enthusiastic with Self-Help, but decided to give Lorrie Moore another whirl. Birds of America is a wonderful short-story collection and I am glad I had decided not to put this author on my black list. The stories in this book center on female angst (and a couple of them center on men), nothing new there, but her stories are told with a mixture of poignancy, humor and insight that make them irresistible. Some of the stories also had a bit of surrealistic twist, which made them even more attractive. Some of them deal with mundane issues, like grieving a pet's death, and others deal with more serious matters, like a terminal illness, but they are all told in a way that give the characters a great deal of depth. My favorite stories are "Terrific Mother," "Charades," "Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens," "People Like That Are the Only People Here," and "Real Estate." These stories are amazing and I cannot recommend this collection enough. Perhaps I was too harsh with Ms. Moore when I read Self-Help. She has proven to be quite an amazing storyteller with this collection.
A Christmas Appreciation of Lorrie Moore.......2005-12-20
It's Christmastime and my own book of short stories, "The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea" debuted just last Friday, December 16th, on Amazon, and I was trying to describe to someone what my work is like. It's hard to describe your own work, but that's what brought me here, to find how Moore is described. I greatly admire Lorrie Moore, for her humor, for her style, and for her bravery to explore purely sad and horrible moments with such incredible insight and, often, light. Hence, before moving on, I thought I'd write a love letter to her work.
"Birds of America" is filled with a variety of women ("birds," as they say in England) who are unique. Included in the volume are a dancer, a real estate agent, an actress, an English teacher, and more, and they all become vivid and archetypical--never stereotypical. In Moore's stories, you laugh and you gasp. For instance, in "People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk" a mother learns her baby has cancer, and in her plunging worry and despair in visits to the pediatrics oncology wing, the mother's insight often comes tinged with humor. "`I've never heard of a baby having chemo,' the Mother says. `Baby' and `chemo,' she thinks, should never even appear in the same sentence together, let alone the same life."
A similar high-wire act occurs in "Terrific Mother," about a 35-year-old woman who sits on picnic bench holding her friend's baby, and the bench gives way and the baby is accidentally killed. Both friends' lives change inextricably. The story is about the woman who was holding the baby, not the mother, and one sentence betrays how the woman was stapled into despair: "She had spent the better part of seven months napping in a leotard, an electric fan blowing at her, her left ear catching the wind, capturing it there in her head, like the sad sea in a shell." Her friend Martin suggests they marry and she could then accompany him to an academic conference in Italy. She says, "You don't understand. Normal life is no longer possible for me. I've stepped off all the normal paths and am living in the bushes. I'm a bushwoman now. I don't feel like I can have normal things. Marriage is normal thing." As she continues talking, her eyes burn, and "she waved her hand dismissively, and it passed through her field of vision like something murderous and huge." The woman and Martin marry anyway, and the time in Italy is tough--yet unparalleled.
I've found myself highlighting lines in her stories just to feel the words more deeply. A few examples: "Her room was a corner room where a piano was allowed. It was L-shaped, like a life veering off suddenly to become something else" (from "Willing"); "In his mouth is a piece of gray chewing gum like a rat's brain" (from "Beautiful Grade"); "The pediatrician, nurse, and head resident are all drawing their mouths in, bluish and tight--morning glories sensing noon" (from "People Like That...).
Writing stories is difficult, especially when you consider how subjective both writing and reading can be. When I saw someone here rated Moore a one star and called her book dreary, I sighed. Yet I can see how someone might view some of the stories as difficult subject matter. Humor, too, is easy to miss, intangible at times as a unicorn's horn. Maybe people will miss the humor in my stories. (If you want to try a sample, go to www.chrismeeks.com and click on the cover.) I love the fact that in this Ipod, Tivo, CD-ROM world, people still love bound books and are willing to write reviews about what they love, hate, or find middling. I happen to get recharged by reading Lorrie Moore's stories. Merry Christmas, Lorrie!
Book Description
Here is the incredible true story of a Red-tailed Hawk that makes himself at home in the most unlikely of places--atop a high-rise apartment building in New York City. Named Pale Male by his many fans, this majestic bird not only endures in this urban environment, he thrives. But when the residents have Pale Male's nest removed from their building, a historic battle--and triumph--ensues, uniting bird lovers everywhere.
With Jeanette Winter's beloved folk art-inspired illustrations and soulful insight into the spirit of this beautiful hawk, this is a book that will delight nature enthusiasts of all ages.
Includes an author's note.
Customer Reviews:
High-flying fun.......2007-04-24
"The Tale of Pale Male" is a gussied-up true story for the Picture Book set. Remember Pale Male--a Red-tailed hawk--and his Fifth Avenue perch? (Mary Tyler Moore lives in his building.) Remember how Pale Male brought his gal pal Lola to his favorite spot and they built a nest? Remember the birdwatchers down below and the momentous birth of two "hungry chicks"?
Pale Male and Lola set off a media storm when they build their huge nest and begin circling the skies of Manhattan. People lined the street to watch the birds fly and the chicks hatch. Winter chronicles their story and their abrupt eviction from 927 Fifth Avenue when downstairs neighbors complain of the "evidence of Lola's meals" falling on "to the balcony below." (Note: Winter includes only bones, leaves, and twigs in this "evidence.") Media and public outrage follow culminating in the restoration of Pale Male's home.
Winter successfully combines two stories in "The Tale of Pale Male." On the one hand it's the story of people standing up for nature even in the heart of Manhattan. On the other hand, it's a nature story--we learn how Red-tail hawks build nests, what they eat, and how they live.
Winter's pallette of grays, purples, and teals beautifully suits Pale Male's city life, especially when contrasted with the opening pages illustrated in the greens, blues and browns of a Red-tailed hawk's life in nature. An "author's note" at the end of the book gives us the straight story.
"The Tale of Pale Male" is best suited for readers ages four to eight. School-aged children in kindergarten through second grade will especially like "The Tale of Pale Male" at story time. Its dual story line will appeal to city slickers and nature lovers alike.
Average customer rating:
- "Bittersweet, a Poignant Story & Diary of Past Remembrances"
- Awesome Reading
- A history lesson on the Putnams and Amelia Earhart
- I Lost Interest ...
- Much Ado Over One Woman's Family Connections.
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Whistled Like a Bird: The Untold Story of Dorothy Putnam, George Putnam, and Amelia Earhart
Sally Putnam Chapman , and
Stephanie Mansfield
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0446520551 |
Customer Reviews:
"Bittersweet, a Poignant Story & Diary of Past Remembrances".......2007-09-16
"Whistled Like a Bird: The Untold Story of Dorothy Putnam, George Putnam, and Amelia Earhart", by Sally Putnam Chapman, Warner Books, NY 1997. ISBN: 0-446-52055-1, 266 pgs., HC plus 60 B/W photographs, 9 1/4" x 6 1/4".
The author, Sally Putnam Chapman, step Granddaughter of Amelia Earhart, writes a passionate story of her Grandmother, Dorothy Binney Putnam (DBP), 1st wife of her Grandfather George Palmer Putnam (GP). Much of the authoress's material was obtained from 10 diaries entrusted to her by Grandmother Dorothy.
The '20s and '30s were momentous times, periods of profound societal unrest of all sorts, including the Great Depression, witnessing development of aviation as an industry, world travel, industrialization, feminist and/or equalist movements, and strivings to become included or a part of those wealthy social family circles & networks that in turn both craved and provided acclaim and opportunity to adventurers, explorers, writers and the like - most importantly to the likes of aviatrix Amelia Earhart (AE) and publicist/writer George Putnam (GP).
In this book we learn Dorothy had unfulfilled sensual cravings in her marriage to GP, even prior to AE entering the picture, and we learn of her despondency, depression and passions which consumed her: -- we discover she is unappeasable as a mere observer, housewife and unwilling to simply grow old(er) without establishing her own mark in the world - we are led to believe this was in part due to her own Mother's unkind remarks that she was not pretty and so should depend on acquiring conspicious skills to compensate and compete as an adult, -- something she did do extraordinarily well, even admirably so, in so many tasks that included outings, party-gatherings, flying, club organizations, athletics, writings, agriculture, & many social graces including piano.
The book runs amok what with the multiple marriages, flings & affairs, & divorces, etc. of both GP and DBP. It is an excellent read and subject to personal interpretation of the psychological ruminations and troubles of many, where envy, competitiveness and even ghosts seem to play a part. AE emerges unscathed and in the end, a forgiveness by DBP and DP prevails -- to each his own and in their own times -- a comely philosophy permits yet another generation to register their paths.
Awesome Reading.......2001-09-06
The time and research it must have taken to write this book is commendable. We have a read so much about Amelia but to hear about Dorothy and the incredible life that she lead was truley facinating. I would highly reccomend reading this book.
A history lesson on the Putnams and Amelia Earhart.......2000-03-27
This is the story of the Putnam family and Amelia Earhart. George Putnam eventually married Amelia, but prior to that was her publicity director and writer of her adventures. Also interesting to learn is the Putnam family was huge in the publishing industry back then but also have a part in the invention of Crayola crayons. Much of the book is Dorothy's diary, which makes it kindof a slow read.
I Lost Interest ..........1999-01-15
I've read many books about the great aviatrix, Amelia Earhart. This one tells of Amelia's role in an already failed marriage, much like our country has given us the personal failures of our own President. Although the connection to Amelia is the lure of the book, the story is based more on the author's free-will interpretations of her grandmother's diaries -- what she must have thought, reacted, felt. The entries, in Dorothy's voice, seem distorted with many episodes, imagined. Should everyone's diary be at the mercy of their relative's own interpretations after their death? If the grandmother had written from memory, exactly how it was, would the story change? Dorothy's diary held the details of a troubled life (for a woman of privilege), still (without her input) and the author's self-promoting connection as a the distant "step-great-granddaughter" is hardly the stuff of interesting literature. I would recommend readers acquire actual biographical books to satisfy real curiosity about the lives of deceased heroes.
Much Ado Over One Woman's Family Connections........1999-01-15
This book begins with a touched-up photo on the cover, meant to superimpose the characters upon each other. How much of the assumptions about how Dorothy Putnam felt or how she really reacted in her status as a publisher's wife can a reader believe? Surely, there is a story in Amelia Earhart's life for all time, but this book seems to be a sort of self-promotion for the author's distant family connections -- the (yet-unborn) great granddaughter of the (already deceased) Amelia Earhart. If the book were written based on Dorothy Putnam's own version of the story or Amelia's version, it might be more believable. Still, it is always interesting material to delve into anyone's personal diary -- famous or not....
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