Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse

Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse
Average customer rating:

Not for me

One word - Fascinating!

Nice collection of horse tales with a wide variety of themes

Delighful read for a lover of both horses and history

New Age Slant on good horse yarns

Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse
Lawrence Scanlan
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060931140
Release Date: 2001-11-13

Book Description

The human love affair with horses is an ancient and far-reaching one. Moving effortlessly from history to literature, from science to sport, from anecdote to personal experience, Lawrence Scanlan sets out to discover the essence of our powerful, almost mystical attraction to this noble creature. Scanlan covers a wide territory: from the mythic horses of cultures long past to the real-life whisperers of today, to the timeless wild mustangs still roaming the Great Plains.

As he touches on each aspect of the equine-human bond, Scanlan makes perfect sense of "horse fever" -- that curious affliction that has been known to strike both the seasoned professional and the rider who has galloped only in his or her dreams. Written in lyrical prose with wit, humor, and an eye for drama, meticulously researched and complemented by fifty compelling black-and-white photographs, Wild About Horses addresses our need to know everything we can about the horse.

Customer Reviews:

Not for me.......2007-05-08

Just read - agree with Monika - (review written in '04 (I believe) too much tales of abuse, murder, maiming of horses for my taste. What was this author (compiler) thinking about in getting this stuff together? I wonder how many books this has really sold. I also wonder about the other reviewers who gave this five stars? Lots of info left out - something started then left hanging. "Epic Rides" - terrible, deplorable. Overall not a good effort. Scanlan - how much of a horse lover is he, really? Makes you wonder. Wish I could get my $15.00 back.

One word - Fascinating!.......2004-06-08

I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. Whether you are an expert horseperson or just a horse lover this book is for you! The chapters cover horses throughout history in war, sports, Hollywood, Greek mythology, and even where we get some of our common sayings (pass the buck, lucky horseshoe, getting on your high horse). I will definitely read this book more than once!

Nice collection of horse tales with a wide variety of themes.......2004-03-19

The author, Lawrence Scanlan, is something of a 'born-again' horse lover, by his own proclamation. He admits that for much of his life he failed to see the overwhelming appeal that many people find in horses. But as an adult, in preparation for his job as co-author of "Riding High" with show jumping champion Ian Millar, Scanlan started to take riding lessons. Soon he was hooked. Although he still does not have horses of his own, he now loves riding and spending time in the company of our equine companions. As he read more and more about the equine creature, he became fascinated with the intertwined histories of humans and horses. This is what led him to write "Wild About Horses," a collection of [mostly true, some fictional] stories celebrating this inter-species bond.

Scanlan does not really have a central thesis, but rather explores the numerous ways in which horses have participated in and impacted humans throughout history and into the present day. His writing is fluid and to the point. The book is divided into ten chapters, each with a slightly different theme, covering such stories as the following (these are not the only stories he addresses, but just a sampling to give you an idea):

Horses in rituals and sacrifices through history; Pegasus; the Trojan Horse; Scanlan's own horseback trip in Wyoming; the history of mustangs; Wild Horse Annie; the evolution of the horse; the domestication of horses; horses as a food source; Xenophon; Native American horsemanship; trainer John Solomon Raney in the 1850s; trainers Monty Roberts and Tom Dorrance; Alexander the Great and Bucephalus; the history of warhorses; the Huns and Mongols; Medieval knights; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Comanche and the Battle of Little Bighorn; Napoleon and Marengo; Wellington and Copenhagen; Roy Rogers and Trigger; Eadweard Muybridge's motion photography; the Lone Ranger and Silver; the books "Black Beauty," "Misty of Chincoteague," "My Friend Flicka," and "Smoky the Cow Horse"; the movie "National Velvet"; author and former jockey Dick Francis; equine athletes Ruffian, Northern Dancer, Secretariat, Phar Lap, Man O'War, Big Ben, Halla, and Arkle; cattle drives; Scanlan's own stay at a working ranch; A.E. Tschiffley's 10,000 mile ride across the Americas; Barbara Whittome's 2,500 mile ride across Russia; Welsh Pony breeders Dick & Adele Rockwell; the Pony Express, and Buffalo Bill Cody; Snow Man, a horse rescued from slaughter that went on to become a champion jumper; Marocco the 'dancing horse'; Clever Hans; horse psychic Fred Kimball; and the bonds horses form with other animals.

While I did enjoy reading this book, I have a few criticisms. First and foremost, Scanlan seems to have borrowed heavily from the book "The Man Who Listens to Horses" by Monty Roberts (for which Scanlan wrote the introduction and afterword). He has used material both from his own contributions to the book, as well as Roberts's own writing, often using identical phrasing. This parroting was especially evident since I have only just finished reading Roberts's book, and was somewhat disappointing. The sense of repetition is also furthered by the fact that most of these stories are very common ones, and I've heard about 75% of them before. They're not bad stories, but I do wish Scanlan had dug a little deeper for some less commonly heard-of accounts to include.

Furthermore, Scanlan's coverage is not balanced. He leaves out vast areas of the horse world. The book has plenty of material on riding horses and ponies, but almost nothing on draft horses. The "Sport Horse Legends" chapter focuses almost entirely on Thoroughbred racehorses. There are a few jumpers thrown in, but no Western horses at all. When he talks of horse trainers, he talks a great deal about Monty Roberts, and a little bit about a couple others, but does not even mention many of the most influencial trainers of the last few decades. At times I also questioned the author's analytical skills, particularly when he dismissed a story as false on the basis that the horse involved, reported to be a palomino, had a Spanish name that translated to Cinnamon (which he said was too dark a color for palomino). However, this does not seem so far-fetched to me, as my father once owned a small black dog named Big Red...

And finally, his writing is not completely focused on the supposed subject of the book - why humans love horses. He has included an overwhelming number of stories about horse abuse, and most don't even lead into more uplifting stories. In the "Epic Rides" chapter, he even commends several long-distance riders known for riding horses to death. Even more strange to me was the fact that, although much of the first chapter talks mildly and even respectfully about the ways horse skins and heads were used to adorn ancient holy spots, Scanlan later launches into a tirade against equine taxidermy and condemns horsemen such as Roy Rogers, who chose to have Trigger preserved and mounted.

However, despite its faults, I did like the book. It was not perfect, but it was enjoyable. I did find some of the stories to be new and quite interesting, and Scanlan's extensive list of recommended further reading has lengthened the list of books I plan to read. If you're a connoisseur of horse lore, "Wild About Horses" may not hold any surprises for you, but it is nevertheless a nice collection. It's easy reading, and the text is interspersed with many black-and-white photographs. This would be nice for a personal treat or a gift for a friend.

Delighful read for a lover of both horses and history.......2004-01-19

My mother bought this book for me when she worried that her online purchase "The Tao of Horses" might not arrive on time (It did! Amazon.com always comes through!) This was the only book on horses in the entire used book store where she loves to shop... so she was apologetic about having to get me 'any old horse book' as a substitute for the one I'd wanted.

I'm so happy she found this book.. I might never have found it on my own. I find it extremely easy to read, and quite informative in its' historical pieces. I love 'horse lore', but if it is written tediously, I don't often have the energy left to read it after a long day of teaching.

This book is a delight!

New Age Slant on good horse yarns.......2000-07-24

I gave "Wild About Horses" four stars instead of five because I'd already heard or read most of the stories in my fifty years of being 'wild about horses'. They're good stories though, and well worth repeating. Scanlan reports a variation on 'The Pacing Mustang' (one of my all time favorites): the wild stallion who threw himself off of a cliff rather than endure capture by men. He includes a chapter on 'Epic Rides' which made me want to just saddle up and go (one of his riders, A.F. Tschiffely rode 10,000 miles from the tip of South of America to Washington D.C. in two and a half years. Anyone game for a trip from Texas to Alaska?).

'Wild About Horses' would be an excellent book to give to your horse-crazy teen-ager. It's all about relationships (between horses and humans, in this case) and is written in a laid-back, New Age style that is easy to read. Scanlan talks about his own experiences with horses, and if you're a beginning rider you'll empathize with him!

Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse
Average customer rating:
Wild About Horses: Our Timeless Passion for the Horse
Lawrence Scanlan
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEKGPG

The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia
Average customer rating:

Lots of Fun

Provocative Insights into The Club and Tournamet

The Masters: The real story

Easily the best book ever on The Masters

A look at the other side

The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia
Curt Sampson
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0679457534
Release Date: 1998-03-24

Amazon.com

Curt Sampson follows his exceptional biography of Ben Hogan with another sweeping exploration of one of golf's icier hearts: Augusta National and the powers behind the Masters. A combination of history, sociology, and good old sports writing, The Masters counterpoints a rich, white institution with the town surrounding it that is anything but. Ultimately, the book tells the story of a singular sporting experience--and the marvelous drama it has provided--that manages to succeed spectacularly despite the arrogance, dourness, and manipulations of the homogenous bastion that deigns to let the rest of the world intrude upon its exclusiveness for one week every April.

Book Description

The Masters golf tournament weaves a hypnotic spell. It is the toughest ticket in sports, with black-market tickets selling for $10,000 and more. Success at Augusta National breeds legends, while failure can overshadow even the most brilliant of careers. As it is the only major golf tournament to return to the same site year after year, much of the fascination is historical.

But as Curt Sampson, author of the bestselling Hogan, reveals in The Masters, a cold heart beats behind the warm antebellum façade of this famous Augusta course. And that heart belongs to the man who killed himself on the grounds two decades ago. Club and tournament founder Clifford Roberts, a New York stockbroker, still seems to run the place from his grave. Roberts, an elusive and reclusive figure, pulled the strings that made the Masters the greatest golf tournament in the world. His story--including his relationships with presidents, power brokers, and every golf champion from Bobby Jones to Arnold Palmer to Jack Nicklaus--has never been told. Until now.

No mere recitation of birdies, bogeys, and tourna-ment winners, The Masters is the intricate tale of the interplay among the town, the tournament, and the club. It is an amazing slice of history, taking us inside the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Augusta's most famous member. It is a look at how the new South coexists with the old South: the relationships between blacks and whites, between Southerners and North-erners, between rich and poor. It is a portrait of a tournament unlike any other as well as the town in which it lives and breathes--with such characters as James Brown, the Godfather of Soul; the great boxer Beau Jack; and Frank Stranahan, the playboy golfer and the only white pro ever banned from the tournament.

The Masters is a book that is certain to cause controversy yet will reinforce one's love for and dedication to the sport's greatest event. It is just as certain that The Masters will be the golf book of the year.

Customer Reviews:

Lots of Fun.......2005-10-22

Sampson doesn't pretend to write an objective history of Augusta National and the Masters. This book is all about the crabgrass and bare spots in the fairway. Picking and choosing his "facts" and with a colorful writing style, the author dumps on most everyone associated with Masters, Augusta National Golf (not Country) Club, and even the City of Augusta. Though most of his venom is directed toward Cliff Roberts, the club's founder and original czar, even Bobby Jones comes across as something less than the golfing saint he's often portrayed to be. Interestingly, the last chapter of the edition I read introduces Hootie Johnson as the new club president, in whom Sampson seems to see a ray of hope. Obviously, that chapter was written before Johnson's go-around with Martha Burke.

Provocative Insights into The Club and Tournamet.......2003-03-24

If Sampson's probe is anywhere near the truth, it surely smudges the high place we give to Augusta and The Masters.

Certainly, it still revolves around Jones, and it always has. The legend of this amateur and supposed gentleman is tarnished by his association with Roberts and his seizure of power and control of what has become golfing legend.

Without the champion's name and backing and tournament, The Masters and Augusta would be just another club and tour stop. But from the outset it was Bobby who kept it together. Then the illness and pulling away, and the inroads of Cliff and the rest is history, here well documented by one of the great golf writers. Sampson again weaves his literary magic with different piercing vignettes of the personalities and events which have led to Augusta lore and legend.

Story upon story from various facets permeate this fluid read--from club caddie to townfolk to neglected member and player -- one is given much to contemplate.

The tales are superb, sampling but a few: the caddie deliberately overclubbing Robert's opponent on a Par 3 course contest; Dave Marr's respone to Arnie that even his divot cleared Rae's Creek on 15; the asst. pro's wife being offered big money for the rope marker that only quandred off souvenir sales.

Augusta appears to be the premier "ole boys" club. If you want scoop about it's past and insights possibly into its present, this read will begin that path.

The Masters: The real story.......2001-04-03

Author Curt Sampson captures the birth and life of one of the most famous sporting events in the world, The Masters golf tournament. Played annually in Augusta, Georgia, this prestigious golf tournament has become the new face of golf. Mr. Sampson shows us how this once unknown place, turned into a sanctuary for some of the greatest golfers of all time. He gets deep into how it was started by a group of New York business men, only 68 years after the Civil War. He shows us how although, one of the most famed golf course in the world has always been dampered by the reputation for being a racist society. He explains how that when Tiger Woods won the Masters in 1997, Augusta and the Masters had come full swing from what it once was. This book goes well into detail about things the common person would have never known or been able to find out. Although, occasionally drags on about the birth of this event. this book has solid content and gives information that you would have never known otherwise. I recommend this book to any golf enthusist.

Easily the best book ever on The Masters.......2000-06-14

Curt Sampson is the best golf writer around, and this book is an excellent followup to that best of all golf biographies, Hogan. Some reviewers have criticized him for casting a cold eye on Clifford Roberts, the fanatical creator of the Masters, but I'm glad he's dug out the truth--it's much more fascinating, by the way. And his look at how the club has affected the area and town around it is quite interesting. His writing, though, is what I love--wonderfully crafted sentences by a fine writer. This is an excellent look at America's most prestigious tournament, and the personalities that have made it what it is. Highly recommended.

A look at the other side.......2000-04-17

For years I have read nothing but positive things about Augusta National and The Masters. Like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Augusta rules with an iron fist. While the author often jumps to some conclusions that may be out of line - it is important to read discriminately - the book is nevertheless a valuable look at the underbelly of The Masters, and it is a refreshing break from the toe-the-line approach that Clifford Roberts et al have made journalists take since the beginning.

MASTERS: GOLF, MONEY, AND POWER IN AUGUSTA ,GEORGIA

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MASTERS: GOLF, MONEY, AND POWER IN AUGUSTA ,GEORGIA
Curt Sampson
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QRZRE6

Book Description

A revised and expanded sequel to Stealing Fire from the Gods, this 2nd edition includes important new revelations concerning the ultimate source of unity, the structures of the whole story passage, the anti-hero's journey, the high-concept great idea, the secrets of charismatic characters, and the analyses of many important new stories and successful films.

Customer Reviews:

Stealing Money From The Schlubs.......2007-09-26

Okay, I have my MFA in screenwriting, and have read many a book on writing (and there are some very good ones out there). But if, like me, you want additional tools or methods to improve your story/writing/script, then this book is "practically" useless. I say "practically", because after spending half the book on the history of story and other incidentals (academic), the author reserves the last quarter of the book for a complicated bit of story construction/deconstruction mumbo-jumbo that was part Joseph Campbell, part mysticism, and part fevered-dream. There is no "practical" here. Oh, there are boxes for you to put your story into, then based on that box (or paradigm), specific paths for your story to follow. However, so many other books do it so much better (and more practically). Heck, read Michael Hague, he'll give you four fundamental hero types/goals; and read Joseph Campbell yourself. And for gosh sakes, there's nothing like reading screenplays.

The book made me mad. This much money for this little is a bookish crime.

Slightly over my head.......2007-09-13

[3.5 stars]
I have to give this a three-and-a-half-star review, because like an opera viewer, while I can recognize the skill of the singers, I am technically inept at understanding the reasons for that skill.
This is advanced level writing, and I can sort of catch glimpses of brilliance in how the author describes story but, for me, that brilliance is frequently hidden from view by the ponderous language and the intricate psychological contrivances. I wanted to really understand this book, but I don't know if that's possible as a neophyte screenwriter. I believe this is a book I will return to when I have a bit more knowledge and confidence.
In the meantime, I will finish reading Syd Field.

Lots of info but not motivational and boring.......2007-09-06

This is a book full of information on writing. It breaks down the task of writing into almost like a math problem or some sort of physics formula.

It's a good way to analyze your script when you are done but a beginner writer shouldn't be required to follow this formula or else the first draft of the script will never be done.

I got this book hoping to learn some tips on writing before I started my script but looking at the book, chapter titles and flipping through it reminded me of a calculus book.

The analysis was not motivational or interesting at all. It actually made me procrastinate on reading this book and also using it to help me write.

Don't get overwhelmed with these formulas and just start writing.

One good book is "Alone in a Room".

Subconscious Source.......2007-08-31

This book came just in the nick of time for me. After my first re-write on a screenplay I needed something a little more abstract than 3 act structure descriptions. Stealing Fire gives an overview of what stories can be about as well as what they can mean to the viewer. It gave me new hope that creating stories that move audiences, is an important contribution to our social structure and evolving history. James Bonnet asks us to consider the archaic power of story lines and archetypes, the importance of story in every stage of life and to see that it is vital, after having come up with a passable story, to dig deeper and use intuition to start communicating with that muddy subconscious source within us to tell stories that inspire and ignite passion as well as entertain.

one of the most stimulating books on storytelling.......2007-05-19

This second edition of James Bonnet's guide to storytelling expands on the original by some forty pages. Like Christopher Vogler, Bonnet is inspired by C. G. Jung and Joseph Campbell's works, so anyone acquainted with The Hero's Journey will feel at home immediately. However, Stealing Fire goes far beyond the basic hero myth. Bonnet traces the entire LIFE of the hero, from his auspicious beginnings to his final doom. In this way, he opens the door to telling other types of stories than the overexposed coming-of-age hero myth - and about time too.
Another important concept here is the `whole story', namely the entire sequence of events which form the backdrop and the future of the screenplay or novel. For instance, if we consider World War II to be a whole story, then Casablanca and Saving Private Ryan are specific moments of its storywheel.
Stealing Fire is an incredibly rich book, filled with ideas and concepts which stimulate the storytelling mind. However, it's not an `easy-to-use' method which depends on a single, easy to remember formula. The second edition material is mainly concerned with making the book more immediately practical for writers. It succeeds, but there are still many concepts and ideas here which could have been treated in more depth (for instance the Anti-Hero's Journey is described in just two pages). I also feel that the visual representation of the Golden Paradigm described here is too complex and abstract. Nevertheless, James Bonnet's book is thought-provoking, insightful and creatively exceptionally stimulating.

The Screenwriter's Manual: A Complete Reference of Format & Style

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Note from the Publisher
excellent resource (but buy the other cheaper copy)

The Screenwriter's Manual: A Complete Reference of Format & Style
Stephen E. Bowles , Ronald Mangravite , and Peter A. Zorn
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0205426557

Customer Reviews:

Note from the Publisher.......2006-06-30

We're extremely happy that the book has been found to be an excellent resource.

We wanted to clarify why there are two books available on Amazon with two prices. Allyn & Bacon, a Pearson Education Company, is an educational publisher, and as such we publish books with pedagogical tools to be used in college courses. The edition with the sample log line and treatment and sample step outline appendices is for the education market. When we decided to publish an edition for the broader consumer market, titled The Complete Screenwriter's Manual: A Comprehensive Reference of Format and Style, the pedagogical tools were no longer necessary, and thus we could remove them and set the trade edition at a lower price.

excellent resource (but buy the other cheaper copy).......2006-03-28

Every page of this book -- except two appendices (16 pgs: Sample Log Line and Treatment, and Sample Step Outline) -- is identical to what is found in "the Complete Screenwriter's Manual, another version of this book at $12.32 Amazon ($18.95 retail). That being said, the content that is identical is absolutely excellent. Both works outline in extreme detail how to format all the elements of a screenplay: dialogue, slug lines (scene designations), instructions or action description, parentheticals, and transitions. Copious examples of how to write into a screenplay the following: sound effects, flashbacks, phone conversations, car scenes, foreign languages, dreams, time-shifts, voiceovers, and much more. Also shows common MISTAKES in formatting that mark a script as the work of an amateur.

Average customer rating:

OK, I'm a FAN
My First Book, Pretty Good
Solid information and a entertaining read.
Uninformative and Unimaginative
Michael Straczysnki delievers a gem!

The Complete Book of Scriptwriting
J. Michael Straczynski
Manufacturer: Writer's Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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500 Ways to Beat the Hollywood Script Reader: Writing the Screenplay the Reader Will Recommend

ASIN: 1582971587

Amazon.com

Working writer/producer Straczynski has revised his 1981 text -- a standard in many institutions -- and brought it into the '90s, with updates on fluctuating markets, speculation about opportunities in CD-ROMs and anecdotage about Writers' Guild strikes that have occurred in the interval. A handy tome for the novice, since Straczynski covers much basic ground in key areas of writing for film, television, radio, animation and stage. Strongest in the movie/TV areas and also valuable for animation scribes, playwrights might note that their chapter is the thinnest; perhaps it was all apportioned according to what the various disciplines pay?

Customer Reviews:

OK, I'm a FAN.......2007-10-15

Hard to not love a writer who answers email from hundreds of fans a year, including me. That said, if you watch or read him, you know that his insights into the human condition frequently give pause, smiles and tears; and that's totally outside of the action. This book is a must read for anyone developing skills as a screenwriter. You'll get an idea you can use on just about every page.

My First Book, Pretty Good.......2007-07-22

This was the first book I ever got on screenwriting, and found it useful, but long. Try The Bare Bones Book of Screenwriting for a simple beginner's guide to format, story and business.

Solid information and a entertaining read........2006-11-10

I have the hardcover of this book from when it came out. I read this book cover to cover before I even considered what it meant to be a writer. I've produced a few scripts and read dozens more now and can promise that the information inside is both interesting and reasonably accurate.
For someone who isn't a published author, this book is filled with sound reasonable advice. If you need someone to teach the basics of grammer, how many lines on a page, how wide the margins should be and other such minutia; then this is not the book to help you. I'd suggest going back to your english teacher for that or perhaps just reading a script.
Scriptwriting is a art that like most art, needs someone to appreciate it. If you can't sell your script; then you aren't getting the point of writing. If you have a bookshelf that's full of writing books, then pick out your second favorite one and replace it with this. It'll be worth the read.

Uninformative and Unimaginative.......2005-03-08

I purchased this book thinking it would give a basic outline RE script formatting and such. No such luck. It's a shallow skate over a thin pond of ice.

It yammers on and on with useless advice, such as "make sure you keep the original copy of your script" (from back when typewriters were great). . . to the "history" of motion picture (who cares?) to advice about "radiodrama" screenplays . . . RADIODRAMA??

Little, if any of the information was useful or is relevant post-2000. Don't buy this book. Save your $ for something worthwhile.

Michael Straczysnki delievers a gem! .......2005-02-02

The Complete Book of Scriptwriting by J. Michael Straczynski

Well, I think we all know of Michael Straczynski's accomplishments if not I will name one of his projects Babylon 5 and leave it at that. With that being said, The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is an excellent book for any scriptwriter. In The Complete Book of Scriptwriting Michael Straczynski touches on every genre of scriptwriting. From TV and movie writing all the way down to stage and radio. Now The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is not really a how to guide for writing. The Complete Book of Scriptwriting touches on these aspects such as a scripts length, margin settings, subtext and dialog. However, The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is more so a guide to the business of writing written by a writer who was also a TV producer. So Michael Straczynski provides you with a wealth of information from an artistic and business point of view, you cannot go wrong there. With great efforts he takes you through the step-by-step process of pitching a script. Need a way to land you an agent well, a few ideas are presented in this book. How about when to register with the WGA, it is all in there. Not only does Michael Straczynski take the time to go through each genre of scriptwriting he provides in rich detail the history of each medium of scriptwriting as well as the future of that medium. If you take your time with the history of the medium of scriptwriting that you are trying to write for you will have a better understanding of how that medium works and all the little quirks that you may overlook in your zeal to become the next great scriptwriter.

Again The Complete Book of Scriptwriting is not really a how to guide to writing it is a guide to understanding the business of scriptwriting. Which includes everything from how to write, how to find an agent, how to deliver a pitch, how to understand the way a network, studio lot and even a producer go about in the process of dealing with writers. Do not get me wrong The Complete Book of Scriptwriting does provide a great deal of information on how to write a script but that is not this books single sole purpose. All in all if you are serious about being a professional scriptwriter this BOOK IS A MUST HAVE. You will refer to it a lot especially when you are ready to start dealing with the business aspects of scriptwriting...

Complete Book Of Scriptwriting - Television, Radio, Motion Pictures, The Stage Play

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Complete Book Of Scriptwriting - Television, Radio, Motion Pictures, The Stage Play
J. Michael Straczynski
Manufacturer: Writer's Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VA6W9M

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Pantheon: The Complete Script Book
Bill Willingham
Manufacturer: Lone Star Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Complete Book of Scriptwriting
J. Michael Straczynsk
Manufacturer: Writers Digest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NG8J86

ACKERMANN'S COSTUME PLATES WOMEN'S FASHIONS IN ENGLAND 1818-1828
Average customer rating:
ACKERMANN'S COSTUME PLATES WOMEN'S FASHIONS IN ENGLAND 1818-1828
Stella (edited) Blum
Manufacturer: Dover Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JWDP3S

Ackermann's Costume Plates: Women's Fashions in England 1818-1828
Average customer rating:
Ackermann's Costume Plates: Women's Fashions in England 1818-1828
Stella Blum
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OMQKY4

Ackermann's Costume Plates: Women's Fashions in England, 1818-1828
Average customer rating:

Excellent for late Regency and early Romantic, but we need more books on this era!

Fashion Plates for a good price

The Plates are the thing...

Ackermann's Costume Plates: Women's Fashions in England, 1818-1828
Stella Blum
Manufacturer: Peter Smith Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding
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ASIN: 0844657271

Book Description

88 fashion plates from great 19th-century "style" periodical Repository of Arts show evening, riding, walking dress, women's fashion in charmingly rendered pictures. Finest source for post-Empire, pre-Victorian Romantic style in women's costume. 8-page color insert.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for late Regency and early Romantic, but we need more books on this era!.......2006-08-13

Rudolph Ackermann was one of the premier fashion illustrators of the early 19th century, and many of his finest works from 1818 to 1828 (many in color) are preserved in this high-quality paperback from Dover Publications, kings of vintage-fashion books. Everyone wanting to know what women wore in the years between Waterloo and the height of the Romantic Era will want this book, and for that reason I give it 5 stars.

However...we really, really, REALLY need Dover to put out a book or two on fashions of the Napoleonic and Regency era from 1789 to 1815. There are plenty of fashion plates available from the period, for instance in the well-known magazines "La Belle Assemblee" and "Lady's Monthly Museum", and there are any number of Regency-fashion enthusiasts who have put together exhaustive websites on the topic. So how about it, Dover? Jane Austen fans everywhere will blow out Amazon's servers ordering such a book if you publish one! :)

Fashion Plates for a good price.......2001-05-09

For those of us who love to indulge in poring over antique fashion plates, this book is an excellent acquisition. I recommend it not for someone particularly new to costume history, but for those who need good reproductions of this particular period as a resource. Well worth the extremely reasonable price. Be aware that these plates were the "ideal" in fashion at this time. Look at our own fashion magazines and think about how close everyday clothes are to those images and you'll understand my caution.

The Plates are the thing..........2000-06-19

As the title of this book suggests, the subject matter isprimarily reproductions of many ladies fashion plates from the higheststyle journal of the English Regency. Sadly, too few of the plates are reproduced in color, however, the editorial choices made by Stella Blum (at one time curator of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Collection) about which plates to reproduce, and which ones to print in color are intelligent, and her brief essay of introduction is highly informative. This book is a must for people wanting to see what Regency Fashion looked like, or for people who wish to identify Fashion Plates. People who need a more through text on the subject should also buy "Jane Austen : In Style" by Susan Watkins, Hugh Palmer. People who want guidance on how to make these clothes should also seek out "Federalist & Regency Costume : 1790-1819" ed. by R.L Shep. END

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