Bodies and Souls: The Century Project
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bodies and Souls, The Century Project
  • Incredible! Powerful! Life-Affirming!
  • For my daughter
  • bodies and souls: the century project
  • Reality
Bodies and Souls: The Century Project
Frank Cordelle
Manufacturer: Heureka Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0973027037
Release Date: 2006-11-17

Book Description

Viewed in exhibitions by over 100,000 people across the continent--now a book! Frank Cordelle'ss work is an inspiring series of nude photographic portraits accompanied by personal statements. The subjects are more than 90 girls and women aged 0 to nearly 100 and of very diverse shapes, sizes, and conditions. They also write powerfully about their bodies and experiences.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Bodies and Souls, The Century Project.......2007-09-27

It's hard to call this a book, as it is an experience of a lifetime.
If everyone would openly talk, violence would be drastically reduced. I am sorry to the brave women in this book who were harmed by someone's violence. The wowen are a testimony to courage. Frank's courage, as well, for following his heart and soul. As, art it is a monumental master peice. A must experience for all those who have suffered from hiding, secrets, and sexual violation.

5 out of 5 stars Incredible! Powerful! Life-Affirming!.......2007-07-19

This is an incredibly powerful book I wish everyone could own. My 15 year old daughter and I read it together and it the experience was unforgettable! The photographs paired with the real, raw stories of these girls, young women and women opened up a dialog between my daughter and I that could not have happened in any other setting. This book looks at bodies and the lives behind them with a sense of dignity and truth that you rarely find.
Some images and stories may be disturbing and/or inappropriate for younger children, but for me this book was a powerful way to see body image in a healthy light for me and my daughter.

5 out of 5 stars For my daughter.......2007-07-19

I bought it for my 14 year old daughter who at first thought it was 'yucky' but later appreciated the stories that accompanied the photos. Great job of using pictures to paint the story of challenges that so many women continue to overcome.

5 out of 5 stars bodies and souls: the century project.......2007-06-30

The powerful images and stories in this book are empowering and educational. This book is an antidote to the media-generated myths surrounding women's bodies, depicting the truth, instead of fabrication. These are real people and real stories. I recommend it highly to anyone's mother, daughter or sister.

5 out of 5 stars Reality.......2007-05-15

Frank Cordelle's " The Century Project" is a remarkable work of female nudity and perception,concept and composition.It's a revelation of humanity.
The Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks (New Harbinger Workbooks)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Great Book!
  • Wow
  • A Body Image Wonderland
  • A MUST for Anyone with a Bad Body Image
  • A Great Workbook!
The Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks (New Harbinger Workbooks)
Thomas F. Cash, Ph.D.
Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:
  1. philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 1572240628

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Book!.......2006-06-27

This is really a great book. If you don't like the way you look,have self-esteem issues, fears, or depression (all these may be caused by a poor body image), read this book.

Thomas Cash teaches you step by step how to overcome this crippling illusion and discover the beautiful person you are meant to be.

I would highly recommend this book.

5 out of 5 stars Wow.......2006-04-26

I never thought that I would try using something like this workbook, but I'm glad that I purchased it. It's an easy book to read and understand and the exercises have been very helpful so far. It isn't for JUST people with weight issues, but people who are dissatisfied with their facial features, thinning hair, height, etc. Highly recommended for anyone with problems with any physical features.

5 out of 5 stars A Body Image Wonderland.......2005-10-05

I have found this workbook to be very thorough in professionally addressing the issues of body image for a variety of people. It provides a positive reference tool to those who seek greater self-confidence, self-awareness, and self-esteem.

5 out of 5 stars A MUST for Anyone with a Bad Body Image.......2005-08-02

I found this book to be one of the most helpful books I've read on overcoming body image issues. Everyone has body image issues to some extent. Others, like me, could have received many advanced degrees and done great things in the world had they successfully channeled bad body thoughts into something productive; like accepting oneself and learning to honor the body (and genetics) given to you. This book walks readers through a number of exercises designed to help first return to the core reasons (and identify humiliating public experiences) leading to a negative body image. The book then goes on to help the reader come to grips with their own expectations and realities surrounding their body image. My nutritionist is now "prescribing" this book to all of her patients. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with never feeling fully comfortable in the skin you're in.

5 out of 5 stars A Great Workbook!.......2002-07-26

I never thought workbooks really work. I am on Step 6 in this book, and I am really beginning to notice a difference. I still have a negative body image, but I'm beginning to realize how much of my problem is related to my thoughts as opposed to my actual body. This book speaks to me on a very personal level, and has helped me realize that several people struggle with the same problem I do. I don't think I'll be totally cured by the time I finish the book, but I do think I'll improve my body image each day by practicing the steps in the book. It's a long process, but I truly believe this book will help me learn to love my looks!
Water Crystal Healing: Music and Images to Restore Your Well-Being
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • It comes with 2 free CDs
  • Beyond belief
  • classic sounds magic pictures
  • Water Crystal Healing by Masaru Emoto
Water Crystal Healing: Music and Images to Restore Your Well-Being
Masaru Emoto
Manufacturer: Atria
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1582701563

Book Description

For centuries, people have turned to classical music for its calming and relaxing effects. Internationally acclaimed water researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto has discovered why certain music has healing benefits: Music with the appropriate rhythm, tempo, tone, and melody can correct distorted frequencies within our cells, assisting our health and healing.

In this unique collection, Dr. Emoto presents music that he has found through his research to be beneficial for common physical and emotional imbalances. Listen to the musical pieces while enjoying Dr. Emoto's captivating water-crystal photographs. The possible benefits you may experience include decreased joint and back pain; improved function of the nervous, circulatory, lymphatic, and immune systems; and the release of negative emotions such as anxiety, self-pity, and depression. The combination of images, words, and music in Water Crystal Healing concentrates consciousness as never before, providing a unique experience for healing.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars It comes with 2 free CDs.......2007-08-01

I was so excited when I opened the book up and found 2 free CDs in the back. What a pleasant surprise :)
Greet Book!

5 out of 5 stars Beyond belief.......2007-07-31

This book is wonderful, beyond belief. Such a great blessing!
Raises our consciousness level and shows us how to build a better
future. Thank you, Dr. Emoto for caring and sharing.

5 out of 5 stars classic sounds magic pictures.......2007-05-12

be apple to hear the music corresponding the water cristal is a beautiful experience for meditation, and coming again in harmony or resonance with your self.

5 out of 5 stars Water Crystal Healing by Masaru Emoto.......2006-12-03

A well done research to prove that we are all affected by vibrations every moment in our lives. Water being the most abundant substance on earth forms different crystals when subjected to different vibrations. Hence, the music compilations ( 2 CDs) accompanying this book provides the healing tool for those who listen with their ears while enjoying the dance of the crystals (photographs in the book) with their eyes. A well invested book!
In the Mind's Eye: Visual Thinkers, Gifted People With Dyslexia and Other Learning Difficulties, Computer Images and the Ironies of Creativity
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A revelation for parents
  • Yes, An Irony
  • Computer Graphics and Gifted Dyslexics
  • Innovative
  • if your child is a puzzle whiz, buy this book now
In the Mind's Eye: Visual Thinkers, Gifted People With Dyslexia and Other Learning Difficulties, Computer Images and the Ironies of Creativity
Thomas G. West
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Learning DisabledLearning Disabled | Special Education | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1573921556

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A revelation for parents.......2007-08-11

This book is a revelation for parents of a "mystery" child, who has many inexplicable difficulties in school (although not necessarily dyslexia), but also has extreme strengths in visual spacial areas, such as building and drawing. When I finally read this book, after years of struggle and searching and pain for my child, there was instant recognition. I looked at my child in a whole new way, realizing that I, and the school, were assuming that certain things were the most important (coincidentally, the things WE were good at), when this entirely untapped area was probably the key to the success of mankind. While focusing on the child's weaknesses, the extreme strengths were going unrecognized and unrewarded. I credit this book with saving my child's happiness, after years and years of criticism. Said child is now an adult engaged in a brand new field which uses those extreme strengths. Thank you, James West, for saving my child. I just wish we had found you (and you had written this book) earlier.

2 out of 5 stars Yes, An Irony.......2007-06-13

I bought this book thinking it will give me great insights on alternative ways of thinking and working but it's just another popular propaganda without any real substance.

The psychology in the book is nothing but folk theories.

5 out of 5 stars Computer Graphics and Gifted Dyslexics.......2006-01-07

"In the Mind's Eye" is the most interesting book I've ever read. Author Thomas G. West shows how advanced computer graphic technology is starting to provide an educational and professional home for the dyslexic visual thinker. In delightful and precise language, he illustrates why this new world of processing requires a global perspective, or the ability to see the whole of a phenomenon, as opposed to the blinkered view of an isolated part, and thereby to recognize patterns and quickly identify irregularities and problems. A three-dimensional view of each trader's performance could have saved Baron's Bank from the rogue trader who destroyed it.

The brain design that enables the visual thinker to grasp vast amounts of data by seeing it from a global perspective often comes with dyslexia or other learning difficulties. For these people, the traditional classroom and bureaucratic organization are nightmares. Schools, universities, and corporations flush out many dyslexic visual thinkers at great cost to the progress of civilization.

Nowadays computers eliminate what in earlier systems caused problems. They handle spelling and calculations easily. Another kind of student and professional is needed, an individual who is talented at manipulating images, rather than those facile with arithmetic and able to recite on demand memorized passages assigned by a teacher.

This extended essay would interest the general reader as much as it would the visual thinker. West exposes you to a careful look at gifted, dyslexic visual thinkers who made extraordinary contributions to civilization. You will read about how these giants refused to buy into the dominant clerically oriented educational and professional systems and forged ahead to devise original ways to build on their strengths.

I was particularly interested that for these profiled individuals, what they had on hand was enough for their pursuits - the expertise and material available to them through their studies, work, or personal interests. They were able to shrug off professional, family, or societal expectations, giving themselves plenty of time to think quietly. Their passions lay in engagement rather than whether their inventions or discoveries would work or would sell. Their ideas and activities will trigger pyrotechnics of thought and, possibly, a myriad of ideas for projects to pursue in your free time.

3 out of 5 stars Innovative.......2004-05-25

This author challenges the status quo about learning and creativity. His ideas challenge you think and re-visit your preconceptions.

On the other hand, his writing style is difficult and repetitive. Although interested I found it difficult to finish this book.

5 out of 5 stars if your child is a puzzle whiz, buy this book now.......2003-12-07

I read this book slowly. Word by word. Not because I am dyslexic, but because I didn't want to miss anything that the author had to say. This book let me understand that my family isn't alone in struggling with the paradox of not hearing but seeing too well. A must have book and I am a confirmed library user.
The New Book of Image Transfer: How to Add Any Image to Almost Anything with Fabulous Results
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Problems with Instructions
  • A very FUN and HIP book!
  • Save your money
  • VERY cool projects!
  • This is a great book!
The New Book of Image Transfer: How to Add Any Image to Almost Anything with Fabulous Results
Debba Haupert
Manufacturer: Lark Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1579905293

Book Description

With the 40 fabulous projects in this eye-opening manual and the revolutionary new forms of transfer paper on the market, such as Lazertran, it’s possible to reproduce any design on a wide variety of surfaces effortlessly. The basic technique couldn’t be easier. Simply photocopy an image onto the paper, soak it for a minute, and the picture slides off as a transparent decal. Adhere it to nonporous surfaces such as metal, plastic, or fabric using the adhesive on the back of the film. Embellish a metal cocktail shaker and matching ice bucket with a retro 50’s design, scatter coffee beans on an espresso cup, or put playful sheep on a child’s pillow. It’s creative fun, and an inspiring start to a great new craft.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Problems with Instructions.......2007-06-04

I was really looking forward to learning how to use my own custom decals to decorate plates similar to those on the book's cover; unfortunately, I discovered what I can only assume is an error, possibly a misprint, in the instructions for baking decals onto ceramics. After soaking the decal in water, the book instructs you to place the transfer 'face up' on the object. In fact Lazertran's own web site and various arts/crafts sites on the Internet state just the opposite - the image should be placed face down. Yes, face down. (You would have printed the image in reverse if text was involved.) After removing the paper backing, the glue should then be washed off completely before beginning the baking process.

I had to toss the old cachepot I used as my experimental project, which was okay since I chose it with the knowledge that it was my first attempt and if something went wrong, it wouldn't be that big a deal. The author did mention that the glue would turn brown in the baking process but I assumed that meant what glue may have gotten squished out around the edges of the transfer or inadvertently smeared onto the object during application.

Aside from the above, the book was not bad - but not great either. It was just mediocre. The designs, most of which were copyright-free images culled from the Internet or simply the author's own photographs, were not what I would consider particularly inspirational or awe inspiring.

I wish I could recommend the book for instructional purposes but I can't do that due to the problems I ran into. Most of the techniques can be found on the Internet anyway, sans step-by-step photos.

5 out of 5 stars A very FUN and HIP book!.......2006-06-08


The book is full of fun ideas as described in the Editorial Reviews. The artist brings transferring images to an entirely new level. The instructions are clear, product resources are listed and after learning the basics, the possibilities are endless.

I gladly learned from this book the proper way to use water slip decals. My process always bubbled .. so the price of the book was worth finding out the why and how to correct my way.

The book is packed full of 40 plus practical projects and the content is extremely educational while being fun. The photographs are gorgeous. Personalization will always be 'hip' therefore, I predict this book will stay 'hip' for many years to come.

1 out of 5 stars Save your money.......2006-06-08

I was so disappointed in this book. I thought there would be multiple techniques (using gel medium, burning tools, etc) and thought it would be great to have a bunch of techniques in one book. I was sooooo wrong!

Basically, this book is just a huge advertisement for Lazertran products. EVERYTHING in this book requires some sort of product from Lazertran, which would be fine if it was titled "The Lazertran Book of Image Transferring". If you do buy the Lazertran products they come with instructions, so don't waste your money on this hardcover advertisement!

5 out of 5 stars VERY cool projects!.......2005-01-31

FINALLY! I found something that is not only fun to do, but I actually can do it well! This book gives you full details on using your photos (or other images) to decorate vases, frames, candles and all kinds of things in your home. I've made some nice gifts which can be really easy with the techniques shown in the book. Great ideas, great instruction!

I like that she included clip art in the back of the book as well - I love projects like these but I'm not always the most imaginative person in the world. It's good to have ideas in front of me.


5 out of 5 stars This is a great book!.......2004-05-04

This book tells you everything you need to know about making your own transfers. I especially love all of the introductory information. It's a resource that I can refer to again and again! And the projects are very clever and fun.
The Fingerprints of God: Tracking the Divine Suspect through a History of Images
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Re-forming the Reformation
  • Burns the Heart
The Fingerprints of God: Tracking the Divine Suspect through a History of Images
Robert Farrar Capon
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Theology | Reference | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0802847684

Book Description

In The Fingerprints of God best-selling author Robert Farrar Capon takes readers on a sleuthing project, using his own uniquely developed history of images to find evidence of the Divine Suspect in our midst." "Capon first explores various images that prompt proper talk about God and the nature of Scripture. The Bible, he says, is the mystery story of God's hidden presence as the Divine Suspect behind all history. Capon discusses the misuse of Scripture due to literalist interpretation, looks at the ways Christ has suffered at the hands of human image-makers, and proposes a novel understanding of salvation history that clarifies the proper roles of Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus." "In the second part of the book Capon turns his magnifying glass on major thinkers from church history - Irenaeus, Athanasius, Anselm, Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, Julian of Norwich, and others - pointing out both the strong and the weak images they have produced. Throughout the centuries, Capon sees God as the "Divine Bowler" trying to knock down the faulty "pins" of ideas that have been set up in the lanes of religious history, while also disclosing himself in profound and powerful ways.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Re-forming the Reformation.......2000-08-08

Father Capon has done it again! He has given us food for thought with his own unique spin. True, he makes points that he's already made in preceding books - but in this one, he zeros in on the mistakes of some of the church fathers and puts a name to it - "transactionalism" - the old left-brain idea that one must contribute some kind of coin - sacrifice, repentance, good works - whatever - to deserve the free gift of forgiveness and grace given by God from the get-go to humanity. The Reformation kicked transactionalism out the front door, proclaiming salvation by grace, through faith, (not works), but let it right back in the back door by stipulating that faith was the current coin of the realm.

In his own inimitable style, Father Capon has the Holy Spirit saying (in a dialogue among the Trinity at the beginning of the book), "They're going to paint themselves into a corner and say that the unbaptized go to hell or even that sins after Baptism make forgiveness flake off like a bad paint job, and that unless Christians go to confession for a second coat before they die, they'll go to hell too. Oh sure. We've also agreed on this Reformation business where I convince them that nobody has to do anything to be forgiven except trust the grace that Jesus has already given everybody. But give them a hundred years after that and they'll manage to turn faith itself into a requirement for grace: no faith, no forgiveness. Out the window again goes the free gift we've given them once and for all; and back in comes forgiveness as a deal that's good only as long as they behave themselves."

The author goes on to explain how the great church reformers such as Irenaeus, Athanasius. Luther, Calvin and Melanchthon, while contributing invaluable insights essential to a true reformation, still slipped in this pernicious transactionalism. "Human beings aren't afraid of accountability," says Capon's Holy Spirit, "they're crazy about it. If they can't get credit for themselves or dish out blame to others, they cry, 'Unfair!'"

Father Capon says he was originally planning to call the book *Re-forming the Reformation* and I think that may have been a better title for it (a worthy double entendre) because the book seems to hang together on the explication of these wrong turns in Christendom better than it does on an exploration of images. The only time images take center stage is when the author is talking about Literalism/Fundamentalism vs. Liberalism (turning the Bible into a book of ethics and denying the mystery) and he says both views are mistakes. God can jolly well use any device he wants to tell the STORY of scripture - images in poetry, hyperbole, allegory, parables, and yes, even literalism - even though the latter is seldom employed. So literalism is madness and deconstructivist liberalism takes all the vital juice out of it and who needs that?

The history of church thought that the author covers is most valuable and enlightening, but I thought that the imaginary dialogue with the church fathers toward the end of the book was a bit pedantic and tedious. Most of the same points were made in an earlier chapter.

But the burning question, to my mind, is - isn't the atonement itself a transaction no matter how you slice it? Just as C.S. Lewis says that the fall of man didn't HAVE to happen, did the atonement HAVE to take place? What dark necessity required it? Was it a god above and beyond or behind the Father as the god of Destiny was behind and beyond and above Zeus? We find out what the atonement is NOT. It's not a "ransom" - a transaction between God and the devil; it's not a task - a "what" that Jesus accomplished by fulfilling a transactional bill of particulars; it's not even a "bait and switch scam perpetrated by God himself" where "the cross is a mousetrap for the devil" (although Capon seems to favor this interpretation above the other two because it has a sense of humor). But I'm still scratching my head. How ELSE to see the atonement except as SOME kind of transaction?

To be fair to Capon, this was a burning question with me long before I read *The Fingerprints of God*, but since his earlier books (that little gem of Theodicy) *The Third Peacock* and the Parable books (Parables of the Kingdom, Judgment and Grace) changed my life and outlook, I was hoping this one would answer that question. Who knows? Maybe the next one will. In any case, Robert Farrar Capon's books are all and always worth reading, in my opinion. Read this one. Read his others. You won't be disappointed.

pamhan99@aol.com

5 out of 5 stars Burns the Heart.......2000-08-04

Fr. Capon has a book that gives me an Emmaus experience. This author has been gifted with the ability to present the Gospel in fresh ways that light a fire inside. Like his other works, Capon has been careful in his accuracy, yet prophetic in his mission. He is one of the few authors today who side steps the modern avalanche of pious moralisms. Rather, he seeks to present the Word in context and in the radical and revolutionary power of what God is saying to us. From page one, I found my well-constructed theological walls of presumption and complacency being chipped starting to crumble. Not a casual read, but an incredble journey for someone who already has inner hints that there must be something more than we have been told about God's relationship to us!
Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, Metaphors, and Media
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Not reliable
  • The Historical Mystery of the Soul
Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, Metaphors, and Media
Marina Warner
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0199299943

Book Description

Phantasmagoria explores ideas of spirit and soul since the Enlightenment; it traces metaphors that have traditionally conveyed the presence of immaterial forces, and reveals how such pagan and Christian imagery about ethereal beings are embedded in a logic of the imagination, clothing spirits in the languages of air, clouds, light and shadow, glass, and ether itself. Moving from Wax to Film, the book also discusses key questions of imagination and cognition, and probes the perceived distinctions between fantasy and deception; it uncovers a host of spirit forms -- angels, ghosts, fairies, revenants, and zombies -- that are still actively present in contemporary culture. It reveals how their transformations over time illuminate changing idea about the self. Phantasmagoria also tells the accompanying story about the means used to communicate such ideas, and relates how the new technologies of the Victorian era were applied to figuring the invisible and the impalpable, and how magic lanterns (the phantasmagoria shows themselves), radio, photography and then moving pictures spread ideas about spirit forces. As the story unfolds, the book features the many eminent men and women -- scientists and philosophers -- who in the Society of Psychical Research applied their considerable energies to the question of other worlds and other states of mind: they staged trance seances in which mediums produced spirit phenomena, including ectoplasm. The book shows how this often embarrassing story connects with some of the important scientific discoveries of a fertile age, in psychology and physics. Over a sequence of twenty-eight chapters, with over thirty illustrations in colour and black and white, Phantasmagoria thus tells an unexpected and often uncomfortable story about shifts in thought about consciousness and the individual person, from the first public waxworks portraits at the end of the eighteenth century to stories of hauntings, possession, and loss of self as in the case of the zombie, a popular figure of soulessness, in modern times.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Not reliable.......2007-06-29

To be fair, I should state I haven't read this book, but checking it a little against my knowledge, I find it inaccurate. On p. 208 Warner says that George MacDonald wrote a "series" about a boy hero, Curdie. No: he wrote two books, and I wouldn't call two books a series. Warner says that one of the "most successful" Curdie stories is At the Back of the North Wind, but this is a book in which Curdie doesn't appear at all.Warner calls Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde "the most famous doppelganger story of all," but it is not a doppelganger story at all.

5 out of 5 stars The Historical Mystery of the Soul.......2006-12-10

In a spoof of a college curriculum brochure, Woody Allen listed the following course description: "Metaphysics: What happens to the soul after death? How does it manage?" Nearly as funny, but unintentionally so, was the query on a questionnaire sent all over the British Empire by the Victorian anthropologist James Frazer, who was making an inquiry into "the Customs, Beliefs, and Languages of Savages". The question was, "Does [the soul] resemble a shadow, a reflection, a breath, or what?" Presumably the savages all had different ideas, but that doesn't mean that academics and divines all had a uniform and agreed-upon concept of what a soul is (or how it manages). How soul or spirit has been visualized or otherwise manifest in modern history is the theme of _Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, Metaphors, and Media into the Twenty-first Century_ (Oxford University Press) by Marina Warner. As a professor of literature, Warner has written an academic work, large and weighty and ballasted with plenty of footnotes. It is wide-ranging and often scattershot, taking in vampires, zombies, magic lanterns, Rorschach inkblots, Peter Pan, psychic photography, time travel, automata, ether, purgatory, transubstantiation, and much more. Warner is astonishingly well-read and knowledgeable, and consistently if the erudition gets too thick for the reader in one chapter, there will be agreeable surprises in the next.

Souls are important things, even if many of us don't have the same beliefs in God or gods that we used to. Warner writes, "Even when we profess agnosticism if not unbelief in a supernatural order, we are the inheritors of much classical cosmology and medieval philosophy about spirit and soul - in unconscious ways and in common parlance." If the soul cannot be completely described, that doesn't bother the author; she has given a broad examination of western attempts to do so. The book takes a more-or-less chronological tour of soul-stuffs, starting, surprisingly enough, with wax, and the lack of souls in waxworks. Souls have also long been connected with breath or with air. Aristotle believed that the "spirit which is contained in the foamy body of the semen" was conveyed by the father. The air in the sky was sometimes thought to be full of souls, and everyone in a cold climate could see that exhaled breath was a little cloud. From souls as material objects we pass into souls as manifestations of light or shadow. We have delighted for a couple of centuries in devices that project forms of light and shadow for us. The original phantasmagoria meant "an assembly of phantoms" and was applied to magic lantern shows, such as those of the notorious Etienne Gaspard Robertson, who found that projecting pictures in a darkened crypt got the best effect if the pictures were scary, like a Medusa's head or the ghost of Banquo. He thus set us up "... for the coming of the horror video, its ghouls, ghosts, and vampire-infested suburbs." Snapping pix of souls was all in a day's work for the spiritualists, with the new art of photography growing along with the new "science" of the séance. The scientists and objective observers never did find a good explanation of how immaterial souls or spirits interact with the material world to let us hear, see, or photograph them.

Warner writes, "The brain balks at non-meaning; meaninglessness, like formlessness, becomes the dominant scandal against reason, and reason, seeking to abolish it, generates fantasies ..." Her book is full of strange wonders, like divine portents in the sky such as "rains of frogs or of fish (and sometimes saucepans)", or the persistent story of the Angels of Mons supporting the good guys in World War One (acclaimed as a true vision against the protests of the man who had written it as a fictional story). _Phantasmagoria_ is a report on centuries of figments of the imagination, and reflects the understanding that ghosts and demons were present in the olden days of any period in the past, and will be with us in newer forms revealed by newer technologies and story-telling powers.

Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Amateurish approach ruins promising text
  • The Gnostic Revival
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Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief
John Lamb Lash
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 193149892X

Book Description

Basing much of Not in His Image on the Nag Hammadi and other Gnostic writings, John Lamb Lash explains how a little-known messianic sect propelled itself into a dominant world power, systematically wiping out the great Gnostic spiritual teachers, the Druid priests, and the shamanistic healers of Europe and North Africa. They burned libraries and destroyed temples in an attempt to silence the ancient truth-tellers and keep their own secrets. But as Lash reveals, when the truth is the planet Earth it cannot be hidden or destroyed.

Not in His Image delves deeply into the shadows of ancient Gnostic writings to reconstruct the story early Christians tried to scrub from the pages of history, exploring the richness of the ancient European Pagan spirituality—the Pagan Mysteries, the Great Goddess, Gnosis, the myths of Sophia and Gaia—and chronicles the annihilation of this Pagan European culture at the hands of Christianity.

Long before the birth of Christianity, monotheism was an anomaly; Europe and the Near East flourished under the divine guidance of Sophia, the ancient goddess of wisdom. The Earth was the embodiment of Sophia and thus sacred to the people who sought fulfillment in her presence. This ancient philosophy was threatening to the emerging salvation-based creed of Christianity that was based on patriarchal dominion over the Earth and lauded personal suffering as a path to the afterlife. As Derrick Jensen points out in the afterword, in Lash's hands Jesus Christ emerges as the agent provocateur of the ruling classes.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Amateurish approach ruins promising text.......2007-07-08

I came to this book with high hopes, as there are all too few works which take full blooded `anti-Abrahamic' approach to the subject, preferring to try and amalgamate Gnosticism and mystery religions to some grand new age vision shared by Greeks and Jews, Hindus and Christians. And Lash starts off doing a pretty good job, showing just how crazy and evil the Jewish `god' is, along with his later Christian and Islamic transformations.

In his picture, (compatible with the approach of de Benoist and the other European neo-pagans, who are not mentioned in the text) the destruction of the Second Temple led to the creation of the Jewish mentality, in which temporal triumph (a la Rome and other normal people) is replaced by an eventual otherworldly triumph after the destruction of `this world' -- i.e., apocalypse. Like his hero D. H. Lawrence, he suggests that the Jews co-opted the personal transformation offered by pagan mysteries into an endlessly pre-empted national triumph and fleshly rebirth in a new world. His analysis of `the redeemer complex' is intriguing, as is his use of it to explain how Christianity `triumphed' -- by first violently destroying pagan cultures, "turning them into victims," then offering a "reformulated justification of the victim role" which promised that "they would ultimately be saved," a brilliant way to co-opt victims into future victimizers. And his suggestion that the origins of contemporary suicide terror lie in the Jewish Dead Sea cultists is profound, not cheap and easy sensationalism. As my friend Alisdair Clarke has speculated on his Aryan Futurism blog, is there not the suggestion of something deadly, radioactive perhaps, an ageless evil, almost Lovecraftian, sleeping under the sand of that quarrelsome land with its dead sea and endless tribal violence?

Alas, although I obviously endorse much of this book, I find that it fails utterly, when judged as a work of scholarship. Lash, whatever his real qualifications might be, writes like an autodidact, with all of the related faults. No wonder the King of Autodidacticism, Colin Wilson, contributes a blurb saying `Lash's historical and anthropological erudition are [sic!] breathtaking." I'm afraid that grammatical solecism is typical of the book's problems.

First, Lash exhibits the bad habit of citing only evidence that supports him, rather than dealing with (apparent) anomalies. Thus, he suggests that the patriarchal god arises from the Jewish patriarchal family, as if most, if not all, pagan societies were not. Tell that to the Roman pater familias!

More seriously, Lash avoids all discussion or mention (although I'm going by his unreliable index here, see below) of the mysteries of Mithras, even though this was an official religion of the Empire (before Christianity), gave Christianity a run for its money, and last left us the most extensive records of all the mystery religions (such as the famous Mithraic Liturgy, available in the Mead anthology Lash constantly refers to). Could this omission be due to the fact that the Mithras cult does not fit into his simple patriarchal Christianity vs. Goddess/Gaian mystery paradigm?

However, I lost all confidence in Mr. Lash after turning to his `suggestions for reading and research' at the end. First, I only found this at the back because Lash fails to include the bibliography I was looking for, thus making it impossible to track down what editions he's using. The page numbering of my Penguin edition of Lawrence is certainly not his, for instance. I might let that scholarly flaw pass, however, if the "suggestions" were not so flawed as to be insulting. I don't mind his self-described "idiosyncratic" approach to selection and evaluation. I mean that he fails the basic test of being correct about things I know about, thus raising the issue of what he's wrong about elsewhere, where I have to rely on him.

Thus, we read the following incredible claim: "Unfortunately, the sole existing English translation [is] by the English Platonist Thomas Taylor....' Now I have only to half turn to my bookshelf to see the pricey but available paperback of the Clarke/Dillon/Hershell translation, along with a number of works, such as Shaw's Theurgy and the Soul which give quite adequate accounts and many excerpts from Iamblichus. This is not buried in obscure scholarly publications. All Mr. Lash needed to do to verify this claim, or to find himself a better translation, was to do what I did: search Amazon.com! How lazy and incompetent is this guy?

Later, Lash asserts that Harold Bloom gives a "brief, sober, no discounting passage on ... entheogenic practices." Now this intrigues me, so I consult Lash's index to find what he has to say himself. No entries on etheo-anything! And yet, here is at least one right before me. Did it slip by, because Lash in fact never discusses entheogens elsewhere in the text? No, in fact, a few pages later is a whole section of "suggestions" on the subject!

And here is where I throw the book aside onto the `read when bored and nothing else is around` pile. The section is entitled "Entheogenic Theory of Religion" and states "There are hundreds of text-heavy sites and heady forums dedicated to entheogenics on the Internet, but, unfortunately [there's that word again, always a clue to a howler on the way -- Lash mistakes his laziness for empirical restraint], they are all orientated toward recreational use of drugs and sacred plants, rather than sacramental use."

All? All? Now in elementary logic, I learned I could refute an `all' statement by finding one counterexample. Again, is it some obscure site? Well, how obscure is something on the Internet going to be? Get on the Google, as our president would say, and 9 hits come up for "entheogenic theory of religion" (the title of his section, remember), two of which lead to Michael Hoffman's Ego Death website, where his epochal article "Entheogenic Theory of Religion and Ego Death" can be found, along with hundreds of pages of articles and links to similar material. And needless to say, all the really new and useful books are unmentioned as well. Clark Heinrich, anyone?

Alas, Mr. Lash, as Housman said of incompetent textual critics, "the world is no feather bed for the repose of sluggards." If you want convince anyone but the most credulous, or the already convinced, you will have to do more work than this.

Three stars, but only for the Hebrew-bashing!

5 out of 5 stars The Gnostic Revival.......2007-05-18

I first encountered the work of John Lamb Lash through his website, (...), when he posted a series of pieces on "2012" -- the end of the Long Count of the Mayan Calendar -- from astrological and historical perspectives. In his essays, he defined the characteristics of various "end-time tribes" that were embodying aspects of futuristic consciousness. I began a dialogue with him on this subject, and he sent me his new book, Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief (Chelsea Green, 2006). This work is a tremendous achievement that reframes the debate about monotheism, offering a radical perspective on the destructive effects that have been unleashed by religious ideologies over the last two millennia.

Not In His Image attacks the salvationist theology of the Judeo-Christian tradition from a Gnostic perspective, making a devastating critique of the moral conditioning and deep-buried suppositions of this heritage, which has shaped the modern Western psyche. As substitute, Lash presents a counter-myth and alternative cosmology drawn from the tradition of Gnosticism, featuring the goddess Sophia, who plunged from the Pleroma to become the physical and generative Earth, and the Archons, soulless off-planet entities who use the human propensity for error to lead us into increasingly destructive deviations from our evolutionary path.

The populist and academic conception of Gnosticism considers it a radical offshoot from Christianity that was stamped out as the Holy Roman Empire gave way to the Dark Ages. Lash has a different perspective. In his view, the Gnostics were the inheritors of the wisdom and initiatory training of the Mystery Schools that flourished across the Classical World. This learned, pagan tradition had roots in the shamanic practices that predated the rise of Greece and Rome, and could be considered the indigenous spirituality of Europe. In some respects similar to Buddhism, the Gnostic tradition valued philosophical debate and direct mystical experience over received wisdom and authority vested in religious hierarchy. Lash connects Sophia to the modern "Gaia hypothesis," developed by the scientists James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis, and argues that the Gnostic seers of the Mystery Schools were "deep ecologists" who taught "coevolution with Gaia." The alienation from the natural world and the body that developed in Christianity was the result of a deception, leading to the "enslavement of humanity to an alien, off-planet agenda." The Gnostics understood the basis of this error, and were persecuted for voicing their opposition to it.

Lash is ruthless in analyzing the moral precepts and core concepts of the Old and New Testament. He shows the ways in which these texts were designed to appeal to the highest aspirations and ideals of humanity, but subtly twisted to create impossible incongruities. Humans were tricked into trying to conform to an inhuman code of perfection, which doomed them to continual failure in relation to an absolutist abstraction. Borrowing a concept from Tibetan Buddhism, Lash suggests substituting the concept of "basic goodness" for "original sin," and argues that Gnostics were horrified by the Christian belief in the redemptive value of suffering.

He argues that the moral ethos expressed by Jesus Christ -- the "Divine Victim" -- in the New Testament has the unfortunate effect of aiding what he calls our "victim/perpetrator" bond. The concept of "turning the other cheek," for instance, only makes sense in world without aggressors. This precept instills a sense of otherworldly superiority in the victims of violence, while it helps the agenda of those who seek to dominate. "The ethic of cheek turning is utterly wrong because it obliges people who are not inclined to harm others to rely on those who do harm to embrace the same practice of nondefense."

The commandmant to "love thy God with all thy heart" is similarly distorted: "Who really needs to be commanded to love?" Lash asks. "We love spontaneously, through the power of love itself, which cannot be commanded." Throughout the Gospels, Lash finds "a monumental effort to convert the human mind to the bad faith of betrayed humanity." In our secular culture, it seems, the belief in a salvationist power that will liberate humanity at some future point has been transferred, unconsciously, from divinity to technology. In order to reconnect with our earthly powers, we have to deprogram ourselves from all concepts of a redemptive or divine force waiting outside of this realm.

While Lash evinces a tendency to romanticize traditional and indigenous cultures, while ignoring some of the progress made by modern civilization, his critique still goes to the heart of the crisis of our current world, where disconnection from nature and entrenched belief systems have brought us to the brink of global chaos. It seems that we can't find our way forward until we find our way back, utilizing that discriminatory intelligence -- what the Gnostics called "nous" -- that is our particular human gift.

(...)

5 out of 5 stars Unveiling the Way of Organic Light, Transentience and Sacred Ecology.......2007-04-01

Not in His Image is indeed one of the "most important books of our time", or of any time. John Lamb Lash has created a textual masterpiece of historical documentation, mythopoeic vision and penetrating critique of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. Lash digs deep into the roots of Paganism and skillfully reveals how the Gnostic tradition pre-dates and stands separately from the then emerging Christian religion. The Pagan Mysteries and Gnostic wisdom celebrated and honored the divinity of the Earth, and by so doing were anathema to Christianity. The subsequent genocide and ecocide of earth-based spiritual communities continues to this day, resulting in a world on the brink of disaster due to mankind's separation from the very planet that sustains all life. Lash's critique of patriarchal monotheism shows us the lie that people have accepted (and been forced to accept) for thousands of years.

As presented in Not in His Image, the ongoing creation story of Gaia-Sophia offers us a shift in perspective, an alternative reading of the history of the earth, and a mythopoeic narrative that invites humanity to re-imagine our sacred connection with the natural world. John Lash celebrates the fact that there are and always have been other ways of being and relating to the earth and each other. In the author's own words, "My primary purpose in writing this book is to show that Gnosis, taken as a path of experimental mysticism, and the Sophianic vision, taken as a guiding narrative for coevolution, can provide the spiritual dimension for deep ecology independently of the three mainstream religions derived from the Abrahamic tradition."

The human race is destroying itself and desecrating the earth in the name of monotheistic religions. It's past time to stop the infantile and patriarchal posturing and practices that characterize the "great" religions of the world; those same religions that breed division, materialism, genocide and ecocide in the name of off-planet deities. Or "annihilation theology" in John Lamb Lash's descriptive term. The earth will take care of itself. If and when mankind emerges from this dark time of scientific materialism, monotheistic fundamentalism and personal greed, Not in His Image will be looked back on as one of the most important and brightest signal flares that lit up the skies of darkness, revealing the divinity of the earth and Sophia's call for our participation in the ongoing dance of sacred life.

5 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT.......2007-02-11

I have only just started this book but can not put it down. It is brilliant and life affirming. It is also BRAVE... Lash uses history, personal experience, common sense and a mind that is not afraid to ask the hard questions and find the real answers about Christianity. He puts Paganism in its true perspective -- not the vapid New Age-type fad cliche and not the ridiculous evil one, either... Lash shows the power, beauty, joy, SENSE of Paganism and what he calls sacred ecology. It is one of those rare books that one can call truly illuminating. Very intelligent, well written... the more I read , the more fascinated I am..

5 out of 5 stars Thank God for Buck Teeth.......2006-12-19

Lash claims his life's work evolved from orthodontic visits that gave him time to think. [A little like Stephen Hawkings' claim that ALS made him so slow at getting dressed that it gave him time to think.] One third of Lash's book echoes things I've thought over a 72 year lifetime. The other two thirds comprise insights I can't claim to have arrived at before Lash did but which mesh perfectly with the one third just referenced. The book is an amazingly incisive summary of what the JudeoChristianIslamic monotheistic mainstream belief system has done to us all in 2000 years. Someone has finally caught on to the problems but it may be too late for rescue. Systems theorist Ervin Laszlo thinks we may have about 7 years to save ourselves and the others with whom we share the planet. Lash's JudeoChristianIslamic off-planet God definitely won't do it for us. I have serious doubts that we'll make it. But Lash and Laszlo offer rays of hope that younger people might "get it" soon enough to make some powerful corrective moves. If I were still teaching graduate students in psychology and related fields, I would make their books required reading. But I'm not. So I pray that someone will do whatever it takes to get the wisdom of Lash amd Laszlo before the people who can engineer needed changes.
Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • The Urban Book Source
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  • naked.......
  • Could not put this down! Highly recommended
Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts

Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0399531637

Book Description

Provocative essays on body image by black women.

Candid, witty, and insightful, Naked is a compelling collection of essays that captures what today's black women think about their bodies-from head to toe.

Tackling such issues as hair texture, skin color, weight, and sexuality, it follows women on their paths to acceptance-and enjoyment -of their unique features...to a place where it doesn't matter how big the breasts or how long the legs, only what is in the heart.

Includes contributions from women of all ages and walks of life, including such notables as:

- Iyanla Vanzant
- Jill Scott
- Kelis
- Tracee Ellis Ross
- Jill Nelson
- Hilda Hutcherson
- asha bandele
- Melyssa Ford

Edited by Ayana Byrd and Akiba Solomon
Foreword by Sonia Sanchez

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars The Urban Book Source.......2007-08-13



Naked strips away all the mystery surrounding the thoughts held by black women about their bodies. Often raised in a subculture that is not tolerant of a woman sharing their fears, reservations and insecurities about their bodies African American ladies have had to long keep their thoughts to themselves, at least until now. Often over-sexualized in music and videos, Naked sheds a rainbow of light on the way black women from all walks of life, view their bodies, from Melyssa Ford and Jill Scott to a former prostitute and a house wife, this anthology has it all. With short essays like "My Tush" and "Ho Gear", this promises to be a quick enjoyable read for anyone.
1. What did you like best about this book?
I absolutely loved that this book was written by women, for other women. Some of the stories in here express thoughts and feelings that are often not talked about and mostly not accepted. It was very refreshing to see the stories of our women in print.

2. What did you dislike about this book?
I felt that the editors did a great job in being selective about what they put in the book but I still feel a few stories could have been left out.

3. How can the author improve this book?
I think the book would be even better if the editors could somehow swap out a few stories.

4 out of 5 stars The Truth.......2007-08-12

I thought the majority of these essays we so true. Sadly, the truth provided me with some comfort because I was able to think, "Thank God I'm not the only one who feels this way!" I identified with a lot of these storied and it's given me hope that one day I can overcome my issues with my self and body image.

5 out of 5 stars Illl finish by saying I am SORRY.......2007-06-19

I am a black man. Five days ago I received a copy of this book from by cousin. I've only reached half way but I HAD to stop.
There were some passage about how BLACK WOMEN felt hurt and unwanted by verbal abuse of men when they were walking in the streets and I felt bad, because I am one of those guys cussing when a women doesn't give in to my advances. I walk around with friends and I often cuss just as to show off to my friends that "hey that B*** didn't hurt me with her stupid attitude".
The thing I never thought about is how they felt when I cuss them out. Even if my intention was not to add yet another blow to her lowself-esteem. I might sound green by now to some readers but I first off come from the carribean. And there the inferiority complex is not that extreme over there since the majority of the population and business owners are black. But I must add, ormaybe confess I would be more likely to cuss a black women then any other race. And that alone shows that I am part of the problem.
For those who need more convincing argument of the dilemma which Naked exposes, BLACK SKIN WHITE MASK, by Fanon is a support to this book.
But I have to agree with some essay where they says the media, hell society has a fix definition of what beauty is and should look like. Even disney movies like Cinderella, snow white, etc..... brings to our children mind what is expect of their physical appearance to be considered attractive.
I'll try to mustard courage to finish this book AND I'll finsih by saying I am SORRY to all those women I hurt with my foul words. A change is definitely needed '

4 out of 5 stars naked..............2007-04-03

I also finished most of the essays in Naked, soon after purchasing it. The various thoughts, and emotions that the women in this collection have gone through are both shocking, and yet not surpising at all. Having dealt with my fair share of black women, I've come to almost accept their multitued of "lets say" spiritual ailments. Far too often, we allow the outside world to dictate who we are, and what beauty is...I'd definitly suggest everyone to pick up this book. As a man, I can honesetly say that I have more appreciation for the sane sista's that I've come across after reading Naked.

5 out of 5 stars Could not put this down! Highly recommended.......2007-02-28

I picked this up on a whim at my library. This book offered way more than I originally expected.

The various narrations revealed a glimpse into the many insecurities many women of all nationalities face each and everyday. Particularly the plight of the African American woman. Who is often perceived as strong willed and to have a "don't take no mess" attitude. We suffer from the same insecurities, eating disorders, mental illnesses and sense of inferiority that our White sisters often are more vocal about.

Its a double edged sword being a woman in a man's world as well being Black in a White world.

This book upon reading it gave me a significant boost in my self esteem (I'm a Mom to a two year old and still have yet to lose the "baby" weight).

As women, we are sometimes our worst critic and sometimes you just have to be reminded that you are beautiful no matter what others outside your world believe.
Mind over Matter: The Images of Pink Floyd
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Perfect Companionship For Listening to Floyd
  • A "Beautiful" Mind
  • Very good, but not a true graphic artists compilation
  • A Mindblowing Journey
  • storm and po: applause!!! the eye of hipgnosis
Mind over Matter: The Images of Pink Floyd
Storm Thorgerson , and Peter Curzon
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1860748333

Book Description

The man who created the imagery of the band, Pink Floyd, from the 1970s on brings his art and memoirs of the recording and production of the groundbreaking album Dark Side of the Moon. The added new prints will be the collector's choice.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Perfect Companionship For Listening to Floyd.......2005-02-25

Storm Thorgerson is the artist who designed the bulk of Pink Floyd's artwork, and "Mind Over Matter" is a combination of memoir, scrapbook, and gallery. With the possible exception of Led Zeppelin, no British rock band of the 1970s paid closer attention than Pink Floyd to the potent magic a well-designed album cover could lend to music the album contained. Much like Zeppelin, it's almost impossible to think of Pink Floyd's music without imagining the incredible visuals on their album covers. In essence, Thorgerson is almost an adjunct member of the band.

Graphic artists will appreciate this collection because Thorgerson's almost Magritte-like graphic style is also perfectly and endlessly adaptable to the commercial marketing. Casual Floyd fans will get a kick out seeing so many classic Floyd images reproduced at much larger than CD size. More serious Floyd fans will savor Thorgerson's behind-the-scenes insights regarding the band. (I was surprised to learn that Thorgerson leans more towards Gilmour than Waters). Throughout,the author discusses his designs in a very straightforward, conversational, non-pretentious way. As a bonus, he also includes graphics from Floyd tour books, posters, and DVD clamcases.

Given that so little video footage exists of Floyd, this oversized hardcover collection provides the perfect collection of visuals to leaf through while you're listening to "Dark Side of the Moon" for the umpteenth time.

5 out of 5 stars A "Beautiful" Mind.......2002-03-25

I absolutely knew I had to purchase "this" book the second I saw the book cover. Storm Thorgerson is utterly amazing, eyecatching & perhaps a bit eccentric (aren't most true artists?) I loved reading about his ideas/how he came up with them & how he laid them out in the end, and after reading this book, I now want to check out other material on him as well. Pink Floyd is indeed legendary as are the works of Storm Thorgerson. A Fantastic view of Unimaginable Talent. Check it out.

4 out of 5 stars Very good, but not a true graphic artists compilation.......2000-09-24

As a music fan, there are two things you want to add to your experience, a songlist compilation and a biography. Anything more is really too much, but in the case of groundbreaking album cover art, and knowing Pink Floyd's history of employing visual effects in their shows, a book like this is necessary, especially since albums are gone now, and the tiny graphics you get on a CD jewel case don't compare with the stuff promoters used to jam into album jackets. This book is a trip into Storm Thurgeson's head, not necessarily Floyd's. The difference is not much since Storm was a boyhood chum, and listened so well to his employer's ideas, instead of pushing his own. That's one reason the band was so successful musically as well, was Hypnosis' reliance on the members' themes. This book is not a graphic artist's design book, though I wish it were, but it would be tons bigger. It covers 30 years (and not even all the Floyd's covers (for instance, The Wall)). But you will appreciate the fact that Storm operated more under impluse as a designer than by today's modern design houses which try to render graphics in a production line style...can't be done. The author's bylines give us insight if not in technical process, then in the intellect process, and it's good fun knowing this guy was a friend to the Floyd for a LONG time, even having to uncomfortably stand in the middle of relationships for the 'Is There Anybody Out There?' live Wall issue. All in all, I'd give 5 stars for the artwork and presentation, but lose half of one for lack of technical explanation. Enjoy!

5 out of 5 stars A Mindblowing Journey.......2000-06-22

What do you get when you cross art and the greatest rock band in history? A materpiece! If I had the chance, I would give this book a million stars!

Storm Thorgerson, mastermind behind most of Pink Floyd's album artwork, has compiled almost all of the rare, unusual, interesting, and familiar pieces. It also includes stories on how they (the art) came to be (which, by the way, sheds a light on the innovative genius of the band). It goes from the early years of Syd Barrett to the post-Waters era. This book is a must for any Floyd fan, especially one who is interested in the history and progress of the band.

5 out of 5 stars storm and po: applause!!! the eye of hipgnosis.......1999-07-20

a wonderful book for any album art fan, or a floyd fan...i am both. Storm is captivating in his art, and it is art. Great insight into the band also, as written from a close friend perspective.

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