Books

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction
Provocative, appealing and controversial
pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Doctors & Medicine | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Lawyers & Criminals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

French | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Victorian | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

German | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

War on Drugs | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Science | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Online Research | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books

Native American | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Sailor Moon | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Pilates | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Romance Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
Forbidden History: Prehistoric Technologies, Extraterrestrial Intervention, and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization
They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Provocative, appealing and controversial.......2006-08-02

Fomenko has succeeded to convincingly demonstrate the misconception about what "history" factually is... It is fiction and -like we can read and judge for ourselves- no science. It indeed is "make belief" only. I "discovered" Fomenko while studying the "old" history of Al Andaluz, Spain. Having found too many contradictions in available data, having seen too many forgeries as to pretend the importance of christianity for its decline, I ventured out to find Fomenko, who convinced me that we know little if anything for sure of the epoch before the XI-century. However, the integration of the Arabic-Islamic cultural history into the heavily distorted Western fails... There are some attempts to fit "the budding new religion" (Islam) into Fomenko's scheme, but they are too weak to be taken seriously and too often focussing on Turkey as the region where things started to influence the West, which is untrue at all.
Islam certainly was no "new religion" in the X-century. That the highly cultivated Al Andaluz ruler Mohammed-I could have been "mirrored" down in time into some myth about the "illiterate" founder of Islam itself is highly speculative. Nevertheless, Fomenko convinces me about the processes that were involved in forging a christian history. Intriguing and controversial as his books are, I recommend them as to rethink our current position in time and space and simply verify what was claimed. It is a "good" book, but not for bedtime reading... Mundus vult decipi, the world wants to be cheated. Fomenko's readers will understand why.

pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.......2006-02-16

Traces of white wine were found in Tutankhamen's tomb however there were no record of white wine in Egypt until the 3rd century AD, 1600 years after the young pharaoh died according to the traditional chronology. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925395.400
It can be interpreted as a contribution towards New Chronology theory that pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.

Average customer rating:

Interesting. but...
The story behind the story
And now we know . . .
Not a bad read
Mockingbird is worth your time if......................

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee
Charles J. Shields
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Capote: A Biography
To Kill a Mockingbird
In Cold Blood
Water for Elephants: A Novel
Digging to America

ASIN: 080507919X
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Book Description

To Kill a Mockingbird, the twentieth-centurys most widely read American novel, has sold thirty million copies and still sells a million yearly. Yet despite the books perennial popularity, its creator, Harper Lee has become a somewhat mysterious figure. Now, after years of research, Charles J. Shields has brought to life the warmhearted, high-spirited, and occasionally hardheaded woman who gave us two of American literatures most unforgettable charactersAtticus Finch and his daughter, Scoutand who contributed to the success of her lifelong friend Truman Capotes masterpiece, In Cold Blood. At the center of Shieldss lively book is the story of Lees struggle to create her famous novel. But her life contains many other highlights as well: her girlhood as a tomboy in overalls in tiny Monroeville, Alabama; the murder trial that made her beloved fathers reputation and inspired her great work; her journey to Kansas as Capotes ally and research assistant to help report the story of the Clutter murders; the surrogate family she found in New York City. Drawing on six hundred interviews and much new information, Mockingbird is the first book ever written about Harper Lee. Highly entertaining, filled with humor and heart, this is an evocative portrait of a writer, her dream, and the place and people whom she made immortal.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting. but..........2007-06-13

A lot of research went into this biography. For fans of TKAM, it is amazing and fun to get the backstory of the book and movie. If, however, you are looking for a biography of a woman who's values reflect the book she wrote, you will be disappointed. My disappointment was that Harper Lee did not cooperate with this biography. That was not Shield's fault. He writes about Lee with a great deal of respect. For me, a great fan of TKAM, it was a marvelous read and a page turner.

The story behind the story.......2007-02-26

Reading biography is not always my cup of tea, but I've loved TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD since junior high, and I felt compelled to read this biography of the enigmatic author. I was pleasantly surprised; the biography is nicely written and very readable. I finished it in a couple of days, which is unusual for someone who generally finds non-fiction reading slow going.

The book traces the life of Nelle Harper Lee from her beginnings in Monroeville, Alabama through the writing of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and her now-famous work with Truman Capote on the research of IN COLD BLOOD. Details of the post-Mockingbird phase of Lee's life become somewhat sketchy, but, given Lee's studied attempt to remain well out of the literary limelight, I think we can assume that Mr. Shields does the best he can with the material available to him.

As a fan of the novel, I found most interesting the parallels between the real-life Monroeville and the fictional Maycomb, Alabama. Shields does a good job of ferreting out possible models for the characters in the novel, and, yes, there apparently really was a Boo Radley.

This look at Lee's life also reminds us that good writing is hard work and that sometimes success can carry a hefty price tag.

I highly recommend MOCKINGBIRD for all fans of Harper Lee's novel.

And now we know . . ........2007-01-22

I just finished Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields. Mr. Shields did a splendid job, especially considering Ms. Lee's goal of protecting herself from the excessive attention which for decades now has chipped away at her wishes for a normal life. Not only was his research extensive and well documented, but the book is a page turner.

I fully understand Ms. Lee's desire and need for privacy and commend her for protecting herself and living the life she chooses. That considered, I hope she has not found this work offensive. I personally feel Mr. Shields shed welcome light (to those of us who have been facinated by TKAM and its author for more than forty years now)on a life well lived.

Without help from Ms. Lee there are, of course, questions without answers. All things considered, however, our knowledge of how the book came to be written, Ms. Lee's long-term relationship with Truman Capote, and a world of other questions have been answered.

The big question, of course, remains unanswered: Why was TKAM the author's only novel? Her answer aside ("I said everything I had to say."), the answer seems obvious to me. She could not have written a better book than the one she wrote. Without doubt a second novel would have been unfavorably compared to the first. Better to let that sleeping dog curl up by the fire, twitching now and again at dreams of catching another fat rabbit, rather than stir from that cozy place only to find the next catch criticized as scrawney.

If you are a true fan of To Kill A Mockingbird you will find Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee hard to put down.

Not a bad read.......2007-01-19

What I find telling is how he's had to pull this together from old interviews and from acquaintances from her hometown and such.

Love her book so I was curious. Would I offer it to someone else? No.

Mockingbird is worth your time if.............................2007-01-09

....you read To Kill A Mockingbird or saw the movie.
Its a remarkable work considering Charles Shields was without any help from Harper Lee.Miss Lee seems intent on taking her privacy penchant to the grave and - to me - that's a shame.Her family deserves her "on the record" account of their lives if nothing else.
Shields looks in great detail at the Truman Capote part of Lee's life and that is significant.One could make a reasonable argument that In Cold Blood was as much Lee's book as it was Capote's.(The much anticipated book #2?) Capote may have written something to fulfill that assignment but it almost certainly would have been a lesser finished product.
Shields "mines" innumerable sources from Harper Lee's past to create this intriguing look at this noteworthy life. All validated with footnotes.
Shields's introduction tends to drag but get by that and its as much a "page turner" as this sort of book can be.

Life in a Cold Climate: A Portrait of a Contradictory Woman

Average customer rating:

Life in a Cold Climate
Annoying
A Treat! Smart, funny, acidic
highly recommended for Mitford fans

Life in a Cold Climate: A Portrait of a Contradictory Woman
Laura Thompson
Manufacturer: Headline Book Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The House of Mitford
Hons and Rebels (New York Review Books Classics)
Counting My Chickens . . .: And Other Home Thoughts
The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family
The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels

ASIN: 0747245754

Customer Reviews:

Life in a Cold Climate.......2006-02-25

A biography? Not really, she compares Nancy Mitford's life with those of Nancy's fictional characters. Often boring, when she does write about Nancy, its very good. Too much symbolism in this book.
She assumes we read all of the Mitford books.

Disappointing for true bio readers.

Annoying.......2005-09-08

Possibly one of the more annoying books I've ever read. Ms. Thompson tries to write in a friendly, gossipy style, leading her to be flippant about some fairly serious world and personal events. She frequently lambasts other biographers of the Mitfords for reading too much into Nancy's books: but then on the same page she talk about all the subtext in her novels that MUST be true because otherwise she wouldn't have written about it.

Most annoyingly, she believes everything Nancy says. Now, I've read a fair amount of books about the Mitford sisters, and though it's never really said straight out, it seems fairly obvious to me that Nancy was something of a drama queen who exagerated, invented, and stretched truths about herself and her past. And no matter how many times her sisters gave interviews saying "well, that's not REALLY true" her stories are the most interesting so they're the ones that get retold. Ms. Thompson takes everything Nancy has said about herself and her life at face value, no matter how much it flies in the face of reason and record.

She especially enjoys talking about what a terrible mother Sydney was, going so far as to quote a letter Sydney wrote to an adult Nancy mentioning some naughty things Nancy did as a toddler and saying that this PROVES what a distant, uncaring mother Sydney really was. As though a mother reminiscing about a then embarrassing but now funny incident from many years ago makes her a horrible person.

So, no, I didn't like this book very much. If you're a die-hard Nancy fan then I suppose it's worth a read, but I didn't feel that it offered anything that hasn't been said before. I would read Mary S. Lovell's book, "The Sisters," instead.

A Treat! Smart, funny, acidic.......2005-02-28

This is a wonderful book, in part because even more than a bio it is a critical essay about the intersection of Mitford's influences -- the eccentric Mitford family; WWI and II; the fading of an increasingly impoverished aristoracy; the privations inflicted upon England after WWII; English vs. French romantic mores; and many more.

A dry recitation of the facts of Mitford's life wouldn't be true to Mitford. Thompson delves into the world in which Mitford lived to point out and dispel the self-satisfied, scornful tags the politically correct assign to her today. Thompson captures Nancy as a multi-dimensional, complicated character, noting her inconsistencies and pointing to nuances other biographers have grievously missed -- or chosen to overlook (take your pick). Her opinionated lashing and revision of smug assessments and devaluations of Mitford and her work are, quite simply, hilarious.

If you've only read Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love, you'll get a lot out of this bio, but to really get the most out of it, try to read Pigeon Pie, Christmas Pudding, Highland Fling and Wigs on the Green (if you can find it). You might want to reread LIACC and TPOL too just before reading this bio. Her bios of historical figures are mentioned in the book, but not to the degree that you will fail to grasp anything if you have not read them.

Just really an engaging book and well worth owning -- I got it at the library, then went out and bought it to keep...

highly recommended for Mitford fans.......2004-07-13

Written in a charming and chatty style not unlike that of Nancy Mitford herself, _Life in a Cold Climate_ analyzes Mitford's life, works, and relationships in an engaging and perceptive way; the book is clearly based on excellent research (including extensive interviews with the two sisters of Nancy still alive when the book was written, Lady Diana Mosley and Deborah Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire) and a deep knowledge of Nancy's writings. I highly recommend it for those who want new insights into the complex and controversial Nancy Mitford.

Reflections of a Peacemaker: A Portrait Through Heartsongs

Average customer rating:

The Genius of Mattie Stepanek
Angel Among Us.
Life-changing
Awesome book!!
Reflections Of a Peacemaker

Reflections of a Peacemaker: A Portrait Through Heartsongs
Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criticism | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Poetry | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Just Peace: A Message of Hope
Loving Through Heartsongs
Heartsongs
Celebrate Through Heartsongs
Hope Through Heartsongs

ASIN: 0740756257
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Book Description

Mattie J. T. Stepanek lived and died a child, but he had the spirit of a giant. Affected by a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease, Mattie lived almost fourteen years but in that time became a poet, best-selling author, peace activist, and a prominent voice for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Before his death in June 2004, his five volumes of Heartsongs poetry sold more than a million copies.

Reflections of a Peacemaker: A Portrait Through Heartsongs is the final collection of Heartsongs that Mattie was working on when he died. It includes the last poem Mattie penned along with a special collection of unpublished poetry, photographs, and artwork spanning the decade from when he began writing Heartsongs at age three. Culled from the thousands of poems, essays, and journal entries Mattie left behind, the entries in Reflections of a Peacemaker create a portrait of Mattie in his own words. In these poems he explores disability, despair, and death but also the gifts he finds in nature, prayer, peace, and his belief in something "bigger and better than the here and now." The poems are grouped by theme such as playful, stormy, sacred, and final Heartsongs, with each section introduced by a personal tribute from the likes of Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and former President Jimmy Carter.

In the words of Mattie's mother, Jeni Stepanek, who is publishing Reflections of a Peacemaker at her son's request, "In reading these poems we enter Mattie's world and gain insight through a child who somehow balanced pain and fear with optimism and faith."

A portion of the proceeds of Reflections of a Peacemaker will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Mattie Fund for medical research to help find treatments and cures for childhood neuromuscular diseases.

Customer Reviews:

The Genius of Mattie Stepanek.......2007-02-15

I own this book, and even purchased a copy for the use by my Alma mater University for their children's collection of books.
This book is the FINAL published book of poems by 13 year old Mattie Stepanek, who died on 22 June 2004 from a rare form of muscular dystrophy: Dysautonomic Mitochondrial Myopathy. He was a genius by intellect, but as sweet as a boy could have been. I recommend this book because of Mattie's keen insight into major human issues such as LOVE, PAIN, SUFFERING, FRIENDSHIP, SICKNESS, LONLINESS, FULFILMENT, DEPRESSION, AND IMPENDING DEATH. By late Autumn of 2003, I believe Mattie surmised that not only was death possible but was probably imminent.

By Dec 2001, Mattie and former US President Jimmy Carter became close friends, and this undoubtedly had an impact on Mattie's later poems. You actually SENSE Mattie becoming a Peacemaker like his childhood idol, Jimmy Carter. This book is more than simply GOOD poetry, but the plethora of photos from his mother's collections give the reader a visual biography of a boy who ROSE ABOVE his fatal sickness and who proved to be an angel in disguise for millions upon millions of people, when the day was Done! A MUST BUY Book.

Angel Among Us........2006-08-14

Mattie's writings have touched my spirit like no other. His wisdom beyond his years and how his books make us look at life, especially our own, in a different light, has to be from God, therefore, making Mattie an "Angel Among Us" in my book.

Life-changing.......2006-08-03

This book is a must-read for all adults, and older children. The amount of suffering this child endured, and yet could find a reason to grasp life to the fullest, is a lesson for all of us. Mattie had a special gift that only comes from God, with messages that are profound. And yet, the messages are delivered in utter simplicity. It will absolutely change your life.

Awesome book!!.......2006-06-21

I got this book last year from my grandmother and really enjoyed it. The poetry was nice, even if most of it didn't rhyme, and the color photos were excellent. This book was an awesome collection of Mattie's poetry from when he was really young, to his last words before he died in 2004. The only thing I wish was in the book was more information on Mattie's brothers and sister, so everyone could know about them as well as Mattie.

Reflections Of a Peacemaker.......2006-05-17

If anyone wants to learn about courage I would suggest this book. What a remarkable person Mattie Stepanic was, his poems will pull at your heart strings as they did mine. It will be a book to treasure all my life, and reread.
Betty Blake
Book lover in Vermont

The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics)

Average customer rating:

hmm.
Remarks
A masterpiece: timeless view into a lady's decision making
Life Is A Series Of Choices: The Trick Is To Make The Right Ones
A Novel Heavily Influenced By The Evolving Plot

The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics)
Henry James
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Ambassadors (Penguin Classics)
Washington Square (Signet Classics)
Daisy Miller
The Wings of the Dove (Penguin Classics)
The House of Mirth (Dover Thrift Editions)

ASIN: 0141439637
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Book Description

When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy Aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors. She then finds herself irresistibly drawn to Gilbert Osmond, who, beneath his veneer of charm and cultivation, is cruelty itself. A story of intense poignancy, Isabel's tale of love and betrayal still resonates with modern audiences.

Customer Reviews:

hmm. .......2006-11-13

I like this book. Have to say though, I found it to be a tough read. I hestitate to say anything bad about it, because everyone else gave it 5 star reviews, so I feel like I must've missed the real magic in it. overall, it was ok. I never found the plot to be very well organized-it seemed like the author just kind of wrote whate came to mind and then went where it led rather than work from a definite plan. In fact, it never seems to have much of a plot at all, its really more of a psychological study of the nature of the characters. hence, it is not called the " The Adventures of a Lady." I also would have appreciated a little more dialogue to move to story along, as sometimes it does get rather heavy and dull. However, if you can overlook that, Henry James has a beautiful writing style, creates beautiful characters, and is a necessity on the bookshelf of any serious reader.

Remarks.......2006-10-09

Perhaps an alternate title for The Portrait of a Lady might be The Velvet Pit and the Silk Pendulum. It is a kind of blend of the sensibilities of Oscar Wilde at his "aesthetically" sunniest, and of Poe in the grimmest of his catacombs.

Probably the most striking feature of the book is what is usually called "style." In my view this is a misleading and inadequate term because it implies that style is something essentially separate from content, rather like suits of clothes that can be changed as fashion changes, with the inner content and substance remaining unaffected. But in a novel, there literally is no content without its creation through language, and the particular, artful, "signature" quality of that language, in all its specificity-paragraphs, sentences, phrases, individual words-literally forms, gives existence to, content.

And this signature style is at bottom nothing more than what could be called the state of consciousness of the author, of the storytelling subject generating the linguistic "world of objects"of the book. The exact language employed, and the images it forms, weaves a kind of virtual tapestry of the mind of the author. We are made, through reading, to "see" the world and events of the story ("objects") but what we consequently see is not the world of the novel, but that world only as filtered through, and created by, the consciousness of the author.

This is what is so distinctive in The Portrait of a Lady. Much of the novel takes place in Italy, with all of the "fine" artifacts and objects d'art on display there. But the mind of Henry James is itself a kind of Titian; consider, for example, the following passages:

A genteel young man trying to look fierce, but "who smelled more of heliotrope than of gunpowder." A young lady determined to improve her mind who sits with a book, "trudging across the sandy plain of German Thought."

The same young lady, introspectively contemplating her own habit of happy introspection, but who is not, perhaps, quite as wisely Socratic as she imagines: "Her nature had, in her conceit, a certain garden-like quality, a suggestion of perfume and murmuring boughs, of shady bowers and lengthening vistas, which made her feel that introspection was, after all, an exercise in the open air, and that a visit to the recesses of one's spirit was harmless when one returned from it with a lapful of roses."

And a Countess, mature in years if not in outlook, of dubious morality: "[This] lady had so mismanaged her improprieties that they had ceased to hang together at all-which was at the least what one asked of such matters-and had become the mere floating fragments of a wrecked renown, incommoding social circulation....[She was married] to an Italian nobleman who had perhaps given her some excuse for attempting to quench the consciousness of outrage. The Countess, however, had consoled herself outrageously, and the list of her excuses had now lost itself in the labyrinth of her adventures."

These sallies are not isolated flashes in the dark; the entire novel is made of various textures of language-of symbolic consciousness-resembling the above.

James has to some degree a reputation as a mere glider through drawing rooms, a cerebral houseguest of life who closely observes but never really lives. He "thinks" life; he does not really experience it. This idea is simply ludicrous. I know little of the circumstances of his life, but unless he be a God, it is simply impossible for the author of The Portrait of a Lady not to have lived, and lived deeply, and from that indispensable perspective comprehended all of the deep structures of human nature that are so truthfully on display here.

There is a scene in the novel in which character "A" makes a titanic appeal, a beautiful appeal, to character "B.." We had not before seen such as this from "A." His/Her entreaty arises from a place, a depth, in which "Nature" and human nature, merge and become one. It is a place of unique power. The rest of the novel follows inevitably from this scene (I am being deliberately obscure so as not to spoil the story). Only a real human being living a real human life could have written such a scene, with all it contains and implies. If this is not enough, Chapter 42 alone should serve. If this won't do, the totality of The Portrait of a Lady is an annihilating piece of evidence. Read the book!

And it is not just "deep stuff" that recommends the novel, but all manner of drama! You will encounter a lounge lizard who hangs out in his Louvre, a pimp who plays Schubert, a wind-up toy standing in for a daughter, and a spirited young lady who takes a trip to the taxidermist. Upon discovering that it is she who is the object of that worthy's attentions (a gentleman of exquisite sensibilities!), she naturally resists. Thus, in due course, she is deposited in the velvet pit. And the pendulum begins to swing.

Will she escape? The book ends in a manner that in many ways is reminiscent of Ibsen's Ghosts, and for similar reasons (form & theme, not content). Only Mrs. Alving is doomed, but Isabel? Well....

A masterpiece: timeless view into a lady's decision making.......2006-10-02

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James sketches the account of life and times of most memorable heroine Isabel Archer. Isabel leaves US and arrives in England with her Aunt. Her cousin, Ralph, who ails from tuberculosis takes active interest in her, and Henry James creates highly realistic and entertaining conversations, which shed light into the character and thoughts of both these characters and the uncle and the aunt. The story gets interesting with presence of two suitors, each highly successful in their respective country (US and UK). The dying uncle leaves his neice a fortune, and she finds herself independent enough to pursue her whims and life.

Her marriage to Gilbert Osmond, the events that lead to it and how Isabel comes of age is the reason why Portrait of a Lady is a must read novel for every person. After denying two apt and deserving suitors, Isabel ventures to make a tragic choice and the intricate interplay of her perception or rather lack of it with the circumstances and events makes novel a masterpiece. The strains between the Old Europe and New America, the idiosyncracies associated with each come to fore, both through Isabel's life and through that of her journalist friend's, Henrietta Stackpole's.

Be it plain Pansy, the perfectionist Madame Merle, the cold and practical Aunt, the socialite Countess Gemini, each woman, like Isabel, is portrayed in sufficent detail. The two suitors engage as character studies, while the cousin Ralph is the character that shall stay with me forever. Admirable even in adverse circumstances, he is for me besides Isabel, the greatest creation of Henry James.

The story could have become melodramatic, but that is highly understated. The dialogues could have filled it to make it like screenplay, but James supplies nice descriptions of both the physical world and that of what goes in Isabel's heart to make it substantial. The commentaries on love and marriage that are subtly built into the novel, and the picture of both US and Europe seem quite contemporary. For a novel written in 1881, it shows how acute the observations of the author were, as well as the fact that we, humans, live life with similar choices, mistakes and feelings irrespective of the age. The novel has enough element of suspense, and events unfold in unexpected ways, making each discovery a pleasant or unpleasant surprise.

Having read many bleak American novels, this Henry James novel allows one to see how a Jane Austen type entertainer can be generated with sufficient origanility by a masterful writer. I am spellbound by the analogies in many of the most memorable actresses, espicially in how they make their choices between men.

Four excerpts from novel shows one the essence of the book:

"Justice to a lovely being is after all a florid sort of sentiment."

"She had had a more wondrous vision of him, fed though charmed senses and oh such stirred fancy!- she had not read him right. A certain combination of features had touched her, and in them she had seen most striking of figures. That he was poor and lonely and yet that somehow he was noble- that was what had interested her and seemed to give her her opportunity. There had been an undefinable beauty about him - in his situation, in his mind, in his face. She had felt the same time that he was helpless and ineffectual, but the feeling had taken a form of tenderness which was very flower of respect."

"It was not till the first year of their life together, so admirably intimate at first, had closed she had taken the alarm. Then the shadows had begun to gather; it was as if Osmond delibrately, almost malignantly, had put the lights out one by one."

"How could anything be a pleasure to a woman who knew that she had thrown away her life?"

Life Is A Series Of Choices: The Trick Is To Make The Right Ones.......2006-08-15

In THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Henry James continues his fascination with taking Americans out of their vulgar and moneyed new world environment and placing them in a stuffy but cultured old world, a comparison of which sometimes leads the reader to think that James himself sometimes could not prefer one over the other. In this novel, the transplanted American is wealthy heiress Isabel Archer, a woman who early on is depicted as determined to see the world and experience its myriad flavors. The problem with this is that Isabel is both attracted to and repelled by those exotic flavors. She is described in terms that emphasize her virginity and general innocence of soul. When Isabel arrives in England she encounters three suitors, with each one representing one aspect of that which either entices her or annoys her.

The first suitor is Caspar Goodwood, an American who is described as wealthy, handsome, virile, and decent. He would indeed be a fine husband for Isabel, but for one factor. James often depicts Goodwood's appearance in terms that accentuate his virility. Whenever they embrace, James (perhaps leeringly) narrates that Isabel felt his male hardness press in. Goodwood simply cannot touch Isabel without that concommitant reaction which drives Isabel away.

The second suitor is Lord Warburton, a wealthy and titled Englishman who also proposes to Isabel. He is simply full of positive qualities that most women would find flattering, but for one which is hardly his fault. Isabel assumes that if they marry, she would simply merge into the unnoticed background that forms the ongoing basis of the life of the wife of a titled lord. So she rejects him as well.

The third suitor is Gilbert Osmond, an older American expatriate who charms Isabel into accepting his proposal, despite the many objections of every one of her social circle who complained that in every way Osmond was all the wrong man. So why did she choose him? To begin with, her acceptance was no hasty affair. She had known Osmond for years before marrying him. Since he was considerably older than she, she blithely assumed that he would not make the sexual demands that a younger Goodwood might make nor would he be likely to infringe on her personal freedoms of choice when it comes to travel, friends, or life style considerations. Further, Isabel's good friend, Madam Merle, is the only one who praises Osmond and is thus instrumental in assuring her acceptance.

After Isabel's marriage predictably begins to unravel, James uses irony to point out that even well-considered choices may go sour if one ignores the hard facts of reality. We find out that Madam Merle had had a child with Osmond and a match with a wealthy woman would ensure the support of that child. Further, when Isabel rejects the first two suitors she correctly had sized up her initial rejections but in hindsight, those qualities that she saw as fearful were only mildly so, and easily corrected. When Isabel accepts Osmond using her rationale that he would not restrict her life choices, she is woefully wrong. The climax of the novel occurs when, after a few years of marriage, she discovers that her ill cousin Ralph Touchett is dying and wishes to see her. Touchett earlier had given Isabel a vast fortune to make an already wealthy woman even more so, and now when she tells Osmond that she wishes to travel to be by Ralph's side at the end, Osmond proves to be the very quintessence of a Jamesian villain, one who asks for all but gives nothing in return. He refuses her permission by stating: "I think we should accept the consequences of our actions."

The ending of THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY is ambiguous. We do not know if Isabel will remain with Osmond. All that we know for sure is the ironic veracity of Osmond's closing words. Isabel has made her choices; now is the time to decide whether to honor their eminently foreseeable consequences. In PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Henry James says this as well as anyone else has.

A Novel Heavily Influenced By The Evolving Plot.......2006-07-14

I thank and acknowledge fellow reviewer Mary Whipple for steering me towards this novel on the amazon discussion board for reviewers. I had a read a few novels by James's and this is quite different from some of his other work.

This is a wonderful novel by Henry James, and I suspect that most will enjoy the novel. He has a good set of characters; there is a bit of magic in the opening chapters; and, as the reader settles in to plow through the 600 pages, there is a high level of anticipation of great things to follow. The story is what one might expect for the first half, but the second half is quite different from the norm and the story is unusual.

Without giving away the plot, there is a little bit of "Oh no, she is not going to do that!" in the story. Henry James has created a very attractive character in the heroine Isabel, a young American woman, along with her two friends Henrietta Stackpole - an American journalist - an Ralph Touchett who it seems is her benefactor. Without giving away the plot, those two characters seem realistic and enjoyable, even if the early chapters seem a bit far fetched for some readers. It is an interesting start and there is much to absorb. James's novel is dense; it is full of detail, well written, and entertaining. It is all that we might expect from James. And, the novel's story is set in interesting places in England and Europe.

But, the plot unfolds in a completely unpredictable matter and some will find it disappointing, or hard to swallow, or perhaps even off-beat. But that unpredictable plot dominates the second half of the novel. Isabel acts independently - which is okay - but she does things that most readers find difficult to accept. She makes choices that seem counter to her own happiness. Beyond saying that about the plot, you must read the novel to learn more.

Be prepared for a great read but in directions that one cannot possibly imagine before starting, and some will be disappointed with the way the book ends.

5 Stars.

Joyce Annotated: Notes for Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Average customer rating:

Great Joyce Notes
A necessity for tackling Joyce

Joyce Annotated: Notes for Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Don Gifford
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

jp-unknown1 | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Ulysses Annotated
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics)
Dubliners: Text and Criticism; Revised Edition (Viking Critical Library)
James Joyce (Oxford Lives)
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)

ASIN: 0520046102

Customer Reviews:

Great Joyce Notes.......2006-02-28

This book provides excellent and clear references to otherwise obscure persons, locales, Irish slang, and turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th) Dublin culture that are so integral to the Joyce stories. Well worth the purchase.

A necessity for tackling Joyce.......2000-03-31

I read Dubliners this summer with this book as my guide. It never left my bedside table. The political, cultural, and religious insight this book provides into Joyce's works is invaluable. Since Joyce apparently directed his stories and novels to an audience that he assumed was already familiar with Irish politics and culture, religion, literature, and geography, it is nearly impossible for the average American student to understand or appreciate his works. Without this book, I might not have understood much of Dubliners, and I certainly would not have enjoyed it. But with the help of this book, I got through Dubliners and was inspired to read Portrait of the Artist as well.

Portrait of a Marriage: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson

Average customer rating:

Searing, totally blows you away
The Great Adventure Is Never Over
a compelling must-read
A Remarkable Journey
Wonderful and thought provoking book!

Portrait of a Marriage: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson
Nigel Nicolson
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Letters of Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf
All Passion Spent
Portrait of a Marriage
Violet Trefusis
Mrs. Keppel and Her Daughter

ASIN: 0226583570

Book Description

Vita Sackville-West, novelist, poet, and biographer, is best known as the friend of Virginia Woolf, who transformed her into an androgynous time-traveler in Orlando. The story of Sackville-West's marriage to Harold Nicolson is one of intrigue and bewilderment. In Portrait of a Marriage, their son Nigel combines his mother's memoir with his own explanations and what he learned from their many letters. Even during her various love affairs with women, Vita maintained a loving marriage with Harold. Portrait of a Marriage presents an often misunderstood but always fascinating couple.

"Portrait of a Marriage is as close to a cry from the heart as anybody writing in English in our time has come, and it is a cry that, once heard, is not likely ever to be forgotten. . . . Unexpected and astonishing."--Brendan Gill, New Yorker

"The charm of this book lies in the elegance of its narration, the taste with which their son has managed to convey the real, enduring quality of his parents' love for each other."--Doris Grumbach, New Republic

Customer Reviews:

Searing, totally blows you away.......2005-05-27

I recently re-read this book for research on the novel I was working on (having not looked at it in many years). Unlike many things read in youth, it was even more searing and electrifying this time than the first go-round. Perhaps that's because the subject matter has become routine (there are even web sites devoted to polyamory, lesbianism, bisexuality, open marriage, etc.), while the emotions that Vita Sackville-West's affair with Violet Trefusis have not been dealt with by this explosion of sexual variety.

This book is not for the faint-hearted. It's not great writing, as it was meant to be a personal diary of Vita's passage through fire, and is not literary in that sense. But given the weakness of Vita's professional writing (most of which has been forgotten), it's perhaps a good thing she couldn't re-write and mar the freshness and raw emotion of this tale.

The book has been a Bible for some, including the protagonist of my novel. It has that kind of "read me if you dare" emotional dynamite.

The Great Adventure Is Never Over.......2003-04-08

Both those unfamiliar with the extraordinary life of British aristocrat Victoria (Vita) Sackville - West and those who have read Victoria Glendinning's compelling Vita (1983), Virginia Woolf's Orlando (1928), or Sackville -West's own multiple published works of fiction, poetry, or nature and travel writing will thoroughly enjoy Portrait Of A Marriage (1973). Composed around a posthumously discovered confessional manuscript Sackville - West wrote and hid away in 1920, the book's chapters alternate between portions of Vita's nuanced, forthright manuscript and son Nigel Nicholson's more objective recounting of the facts in the lives of his parents, Sackville - West and her spouse, author and diplomat Harold Nicholson.

Chiefly remembered today for her garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent and for being the romantic ("Better to gloriously fail than dingily succeed"), daring, and bisexual inspiration for Woolf's historical, gender-addressing novel Orlando, Sackville - West was a temperamental, multifaceted, and deeply emotional woman who followed the dictates of her heart and defied the conventions of her era to what many would think an alarming degree. As her manuscript clearly reveals, Sackville - West was a very human, self - honest individual who was conscious of her moral and ethical weaknesses and who continually struggled with her wayward nature and its debilitating affects on her husband, children, and extended family. Today a hero to some and a somewhat ridiculous figure to others, readers of Portrait Of A Marriage are likely to come away with more than a modicum of sympathy for the not - entirely enigmatic Vita; throughout her life she managed to straddle a great number of seeming paradoxes and today remains potent proof that many Western conventions concerning love, marriage, parenthood, sexuality, and friendship are as not as tightly mapped out as most would generally like to believe. Unlike fellow writers and contemporaries Hilda Doolittle, Djuna Barnes, or Jean Rhys, her excesses, dependencies, and emotional vacillations did not ultimately undo Vita, either psychically, artistically, or socially. Admittedly, Sackville - West was a child of privilege and remained financially comfortable most of her life. However, her managerial skill, expert monetary planning, and her own hard work as an author, radio broadcaster, lecturer, and internationally acclaimed gardener went a long way towards securing that position.

Portrait Of A Marriage and the story of Sackville - West's life may be the ultimate romantic tale of the twentieth century, though one in which the glamour of wealth, palatial family estates (365 - room Knole), creative talent, international fame, and steadfast love were offset by dark episodes of betrayal, spousal abuse, transvestitism, emotional violence, and apparent child abandonment. Remarkably, Vita's story was ultimately a happy one, and the end of her life, relatively serene. Increasingly a loner with age, Sackville - West sequestered herself in her private tower at Sissinghurst, where she continued to write novels and other literature. But men and women continued to fall in love with her and she with them; as Victoria Glendinning wrote, "For Vita the great adventure was never over."

a compelling must-read.......2002-08-01

Despite the fact that Vita Sackville-West was the subject of Virginia Woolf's Orlando as well as her lover, the author of numerous books, and a world famous gardener, she still manages to be a somewhat enigmatic character. This unusual and engrossing portrait, written by her son, contributes a great deal to bring substantial light on Vita's very interesting life and loves. Nicolson is generous in quoting her verbatim from her diaries, the most compelling of which recounts her wild affair with Violet Trefusis, during which the two women fled to Paris pursued by their husbands, where Vita passed as a man by dressing as a wounded soldier. This is one of the most passionate accounts of any love affair I have read.

Nicolson's act of documenting his parents' intimate passions is a great contribution to literary history. He did us a great service by writing this book and in quoting liberally from their own writings, in many ways lets his parents speak for themselves. Any one interested in Bloomsbury, women of the left bank, passing women, feminism, gay/lesbian/bisexual history should make this part of their library.

A Remarkable Journey.......2002-07-24

I have had a copy of "Portrait of a Marriage" since it was published in 1973. For me, it has been a revelation on marriage, but it is also a story of two remarkable people: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. Nigel Nicolson relates the story of his mother's Sapphic affair with Violet (whose mother was the mistress of Edward VII) with great detachment, allowing Vita to speak for herself in the form of a secret diary. The non-conformity of this marriage was the reason for its success and that it survived love affairs and differing interests speaks to us of the toleration, forgiveness and understanding that is lacking between so many married people. This book was not put together by Nigel Nicolson as a guide to married life but is a story of the adventure of living.

It was from reading this book that I gained a deep interest in Vita and Harold. I have read many of their books and paid the ultimate pilgrimage of a visit to Sissinghurst. So, I highly recommend "Portrait of a Marriage" for the writing, an enlightening account of two people and a unique experience for the reader.

Wonderful and thought provoking book!.......2002-01-06

I loved this book. PBS had a movie of the same several years ago that I would love to find. This nonfiction story was fascinating to me. Harold and Vita seemed to love each other deeply but not in a romantic sense. It was more of a brotherly or sisterly love. I feel that they were both probably homosexual but because of the time period and circumstance, neither felt comfortable in following their heart.

Average customer rating:

absolutely adorable...
Sock Monkey Love
love it! but i don't know what the other two are talking...
Charmed by old socks
the dance of the dreaming sock monkeys

Sock Monkeys: 200 out of 1,863
Arne Svenson , and Ron Warren
Manufacturer: Ideal World Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Portraits | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Toy Animals | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Hard-Boiled | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Stupid Sock Creatures: Making Quirky, Lovable Figures from Cast-off Socks
Sock Monkey Dreams: Daily Life at the Red Heel Monkey Shelter
Sock Monkey Goes to Hollywood: A Star is Bathed
Sock Monkey Boogie-Woogie: A Friend is Made
10 Little Sock Monkeys

ASIN: 0972211128
Release Date: 2002-12-02

Book Description

In 1985 Ron Warren began collecting sock monkeys--those icons of American thrift and inventiveness that for generations have been hand-stitched from a pair of red-heel work socks. Years later he met photographer Arne Svenson, who, intrigued by the obsessive nature and growing size of the collection, began with equal obsession to document one by one its more than 1,800 examples. To convey the distinct personality imbued in each monkey by its maker, Svenson photographs them in the manner of classical black-and-white portraiture: flatteringly lit, cropped at the shoulders, eyes to the camera. The first 200 of these sock monkey portraits, reproduced larger than life as full-page duotones, are assembled in this book. Invited contributors, including novelists Jonathan Safran Foer, Neil Gaiman, and Dale Peck; entertainers Penn & Teller; and fashion commentators Simon Doonan and Isaac Mizrahi, have interjected short stories inspired by the subject of their favorite sock monkey photograph. The result is an engaging, humorous, and at times disturbing reanimation of creatures long relegated to the attic or the back of the closet.

Customer Reviews:

absolutely adorable..........2007-01-19

what a crowd pleaser! I gave this to my friend for Christmas and it was such a hit. its unexpected and charming and some of the pictures just make you laugh out loud. its a great coffee table book. they have such personality, and you can tell that some of them have been really loved over the years. I recommend this book to anyone that has ever been a child....

Sock Monkey Love.......2007-01-05

When this book arrived, it was perfect timing. Sick at home, I couldn't have asked for a better pick-me-up when UPS arrived with my Sock Monkey book.

Although I was hoping the photos showed the monkeys in various poses vs. portraits, the portraits are all so cute that it made up for my disappointment. (I'd love to see the author shoot them in various situations.)

The text is cute, and the photography is top notch.

If you're a sock monkey fan, this is a must have for your library. Makes a great coffee table book too - especially since it looks very hip (not childish).

Show a little sock monkey love and pick up a copy!

love it! but i don't know what the other two are talking..........2003-10-14

about... there isn't much to read in this book, it is just pictures of sock monkeys and a few page silly stories... but i love the pictures. a great great quirky coffee table book! i am gonna buy more so i can give em to friends.

Charmed by old socks.......2003-03-29

Sock Monkeys is a charming way to spend an hour or two. The book shows you why the authors fell in love with them. I defy anyone not to experince a covetuous pang while reading this book. The essays are as various as the pictures, elegant, sad, clapped out and the old fashioned heartbreaker. I'm sorry I didn't buy two copies. Now I'll have to spring for another shipping charge so I can have a copy on hand to give to a friend in need of a shot of delight.

the dance of the dreaming sock monkeys.......2003-03-29

The book is better than better. It's monkeylicious! Have you ever heard the tale of the monkeys? If you haven't you must buy this book. It will be the best reading experince you've ever had.
Thank you for listening.

James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)

Average customer rating:

Casebook was a good guide
A good guide

James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism)
Joyce Annotated: Notes for Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics)
The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce (Cambridge Companions to Literature)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism)

ASIN: 0195150767

Book Description

This casebook offers a comprehensive introduction to this landmark in modern fiction. The essays collected here will help first-time readers, teachers, and advanced scholars gain new insight into Joyce's semi-autobiographical story of an Irish boy's slow and difficult discovery of his artistic vocation. Mark Wollaeger's introduction provides an overview of the composition and early reception of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as well as a survey of some of the recurrent issues debated by literary critics. Essays by Hugh Kenner and Patrick Parrinder offer both indispensable overviews of the entire novel-its themes, structure, and idiom-and close attention to specific interpretive cruxes. Other essays include classic responses by Wayne Booth, Fritz Senn, Michael Levenson, Helene Cixous, and a newly revised and expanded version of Maud Ellmann's groundbreaking "Polytropic Man." Together the essays bring into focus the wide range of questions that have kept A PortraitR fresh for the new millenium.

Customer Reviews:

Casebook was a good guide.......2006-03-09

The casebook on Portrait was very helpful to me. I had to use if for a project in my English class and it was nice to have such a wide variety of criticisms in one place. I also liked that each cricicism was labeled so I didn't have to scan through it to know what it focused on.

A good guide.......2003-11-13

James Joyce's A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN is arguably one of the defining works of 20th century modernism. It set the standard that many writers who employed stream of consciousness narration (Woolf, Faulkner, et al.) would follow. This collection of essays is a good way to familiarize yourself, not only with the novel, but with the Joycean scholarship that followed. Some essays are better than others: Ellman's stands out as particularly good. Some essays drag. Still, I would recommend this to anyone embarking on "A Portrait".

Hard to Imagine: Gay Male Eroticism in Photography and Film from Their Beginnings to Stonewall

Average customer rating:

Amazing Book
WOW

Hard to Imagine: Gay Male Eroticism in Photography and Film from Their Beginnings to Stonewall
Thomas Waugh
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Erotic Photography | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

General | Nonfiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Male Desire: The Homoerotic in American Art
Gay Art: A Historic Collection
Herbert List: Junge Manner
Lust Unearthed: Vintage Gay Graphics From the DuBek Collection
Naked Men : Pioneering Male Nudes 1935-1955

ASIN: 0231099983

Amazon.com

The history of gay male erotic images is largely undocumented. Even when the material has been available, "good taste" and "common decency"--those concepts used to stop all talk about sex--have prevented their display. Thomas Waugh's full-length, profusely illustrated study is a breakthrough book that has information and analysis enough for three books. Thoughtful, smart, and well-written, Hard to Imagine uncovers a visual history of gay male eroticism that few know. It chronicles the complicated history of homosexual desire and how it has been depicted and repressed.

Book Description

Spanning more than a century of photography and film, Hard to Imagine is the first visual chronicle of the evolution of gay male image culture, from the canonical works of "art" photography and cinema to the private and often highly explicit productions of amateurs. This comprehensive work explores a vast, eclectic tradition in its totality, analyzing the aesthetics of the visual imagery, its production, circulation, and consumption, and broad social and legal implications.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Book.......2002-07-10

This book collects the amazing research the author has done on physique photography, magazines and gay porn of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It is great stuff, presented with a smart and detailed analysis. The only downside is the format, a weird and pricey mix of scholarly tome and coffeetable book. With the boom in "visual culture" and gay studies, it's a pity Cambridge has never brought this out in paper: it would be a surefire hit.

WOW.......1998-04-05

This is truly a great book..especially for vintage gay porn buffs... Its written and produces with an college text book feel.... which on one hand.. is good.. gives it a lot of depth.. and smarts.. but.. with the $75 price tag.. i was a bit dissapointed.. was hoping for some really great quality photos.. while the photo's quality arent bad at all. quite clear and sharp. was hoping for something along the lines of art book quality... so ifyou looking for an art coffee table book.. this really isnt one.. but if you r looking for indepth analysis (still with loads of pictures) of early gay porn.. then this is for U!!!!!!!

Books:

Books