Book Description
Forty years in the making, a new cultural canon that celebrates truth over hypocrisy, literature over totalitarianism.
Echoing Edward Said's belief that "Western humanism is not enough, we need a universal humanism," the renowned critic Clive James presents here his life's work. Containing over one hundred original essays, organized by quotations from A to Z, Cultural Amnesia illuminates, rescues, or occasionally destroys the careers of many of the greatest thinkers, humanists, musicians, artists, and philosophers of the twentieth century. In discussing, among others, Louis Armstrong, Walter Benjamin, Sigmund Freud, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, James writes, "If the humanism that makes civilization civilized is to be preserved into the new century, it will need advocates. These advocates will need a memory, and part of that memory will need to be of an age in which they were not yet alive." Soaring to Montaigne-like heights, Cultural Amnesia is precisely the book to burnish these memories of a Western civilization that James fears is nearly lost. 110 photographs.
Customer Reviews:
A difficult read,but worth the time.......2007-10-01
Although this book has an intersting premise,it is a difficult book to read.It is written in essay form,and the author's style is not flowing or easy to read.However the content is interesting and does make you think about how we got where we are to-day:by losing sight of,and forgetting the past and important peope in it.
You can read this book a chapter at a time, and leave it for a while since each chapter is an essay on one person.it is not a novel,but a collection of essay/biographies, and includes some very intersting people
Absolutely Must Reading.......2007-09-15
In fairness, I had never heard of Clive James until he appeared on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. I was just blown away and ordered this book the next day. If you want to understand Western culture ... I mean truly understand the culture in which you live, you should read this book. What you learn here is that a whole lot of people you never heard of and a few you have made monumental contributions that you didn't know about. This is the kind of book every person should have in their library as a reference. You can read it at leisure and you should. You should savor it.
Read it at your own perill.......2007-09-11
If you never studied French, German, Italian or Spanish, you will be sorry you didn't. You will be made aware of all you are missing because you can not read the all those untranslated or untranslatable important writers that are fundamental to our civilization. If you know them you will see that for English speakers is very difficult not to be confused by Spanish and Italian. I have found misspelled Spanish words because the Italian spelling was used in the wrong place. Clive James is almost pushing me to start again with German, French and Italian.
convoluted writing.......2007-09-04
just found what I've read so far very digressive and convoluted. He is a much better speaker than writer. haven't given it a full read, but am daunted by the many digressions from the points I'm interested in. don't care about 10 other people whom I may or may not know who really don't have relevance to the person I'm reading about.
Unsurpassed both for content and style.......2007-09-01
This is an amazing book. Clive James was only a dim sound in my limited background before the book was presented to me as a present. When I finished this book, I made the unusual promise to myself to read it again, an unusual decision since I am not thoroughly committed to modern writing and have found nothing that quite measures up to it, either traditional or modern. The essays, it is made clear, were not written at the same time, but were the accumulation of some years of reading and study. The casual reader will be introduced to a number of people hitherto unknown or barely known, mixed in with giants like Tacitus, Keats, Proust, Kafka, the three Manns,and Camus. I cannot ignore James's prose style, which astonishes minute by minute. A must-read for anybody interested in history and the arts.
Book Description
The market-leading text for the art history survey course, GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES has served as a comprehensive and thoughtfully crafted guide to the defining phases of the world's artistic tradition. With this book in hand, thousands of students have watched the story of art unfold in its full historical, social, religious, economic, and cultural context, and thus deepened their understanding of art, architecture, painting, and sculpture. By virtue of its comprehensive coverage, strong emphasis on context, and rich, accurate art reproductions, GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES has earned and sustained a reputation of excellence and authority. So much so, that in 2001, the Text and Academic Authors Association awarded both the McGuffey and the "Texty" Book Prizes to the Eleventh Edition of the text. It is the first art history book to win either award and the only title ever to win both prizes in one year. The Twelfth Edition maintains and exceeds the richness of the Gardner legacy with updated research and scholarship and an even more beautiful art program featuring more color images than any other art history book available. The Twelfth Edition features such enhancements as more color photographs, a stunning new design, and the most current research and scholarship. What's more, the expanded ancillary package that accompanies GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES, features a wealth of tools to enhance your students' experience in the course. With each new copy of the book, students receive a copy of the ArtStudy 2.0 CD-ROM--an interactive electronic study aid that fully integrates with the Twelfth Edition and includes hundreds of high-quality digital images, plus maps, quizzes, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book that covers art through the ages!.......2007-09-13
I purchased this book for a class; Ancient Art history. This book really is beautiful. Most of my textbooks I would resale once my class ended, but I definitely plan on keeping this one. The authors did a great job of giving high level overviews and thorough descriptions for each work; both in artistic form and historical context. I would highly recommend this book for both art enthusiasts and students.
Excellent pictures but not quite reliable text.......2007-08-07
The main strength of this book are the pictures - most of them in colour and all of superb quality. To each picture corresponds a section in the text which describes the displayed work in a vivid and informative way, cultivating the reader's ability to look at art, understand and appreciate it. Another excellent feature are the "boxes", containing e.g. a description of an artistic technique or an excerpt from an original written source.
However, questions arise when it comes to more general parts of the text, e.g. chapter introductions aimed at conveying a broad picture of art and society of the epoque. Simplifications are expected, but they shouldn't be misleading - here are just some examples of the contrary: it's not correct to include Merovigians among the barbarian tribes (Goths, Franks, ...) that invaded the Roman empire! This is absent in the 11th edition but present in the 12th. Or, one cannot say that the Treaty of Westphalia granted religious freedom in Europe: that freedom mostly applied only to the local sovereigns, while their subjects were forced, sometimes quite brutally, to follow the religion of their boss. The Centre Pompidou in Paris is not quite a place of "popular entertainment", etc.
Conceptually, the book follows a certain point of view, emphasizing e.g. the question of gendre - the reader learns, for instance, that the communities in ancien Grece were dominated by "white males" ... The authors have also decided to include some works which are not generally accepted as art - but is an introductory textbook like this a good place to redefine the notion of art?
In summary, if you want in the first place to enjoy splendid pictures described in revealing yet understandable terms, go for this book. If you are looking for a more solid and reliable information, look somewhere else.
Gardner's Art Through the Ages (with ArtStudy Student CD-ROM and InfoTrac ).......2007-06-29
Wonderful Art History textbook. Very comprehensive. CD-ROM quite useful. Used this text for Advanced Placement Art History course in high school for 2006-2007 school year. Liked the book so much I purchased one from Amazon in May. The copy I bought is bound upside down (the cover is upside down compared to the text inside).
Solid Choice.......2007-06-08
Gardner's Art Through the ages covers a lot of material. The writing is clear though at times stilted. The images on the CD-ROM are beautiful and the link to the website with quizzes was even useful. However, my professor warned us repeatedly not to trust the information too much. As the text needs to cover a lot of ground there are sometimes errors and simplifications. That said, I enjoy the book immensely and find it suits the purposes of a survey text very well.
Great Learning Tool!!.......2007-05-15
I bought this book for an art history class I was taking and planned to sell it after the class. But I was really impressed with the details and photos and the true 'learner friendly' quality. The CD is an amazing tool! I learned more from this book than all three of my art history classes combined. Great for Art Students and Art Lovers!
Customer Reviews:
Fast Shipper.......2007-02-18
I got the book within a week of order. The book arrived in great condition. It was a good experience, stress free.
Very GOOD.......2007-02-17
The book was in great shape and arrived quickly. I was very pleased
Amazon.com
IDEO, the world's leading design firm, is the brain trust that's behind some of the more brilliant innovations of the past 20 years--from the Apple mouse, the Polaroid i-Zone instant camera, and the Palm V to the "fat" toothbrush for kids and a self-sealing water bottle for dirt bikers. Not surprisingly, companies all over the world have long wondered what they could learn from IDEO, to come up with better ideas for their own products, services, and operations. In this terrific book from IDEO general manager Tom Kelley (brother of founder David Kelley), IDEO finally delivers--but thankfully not in the step-by-step, flow-chart-filled "process speak" of most how-you-can-do-what-we-do business books. Sure, there are some good bulleted lists to be found here--such as the secrets of successful brainstorming, the qualities of "hot teams," and, toward the end, 10 key ingredients for "How to Create Great Products and Services," including "One Click Is Better Than Two" (the simpler, the better) and "Goof Proof" (no bugs).
But The Art of Innovation really teaches indirectly (not to mention enlightens and entertains) by telling great stories--mainly, of how the best ideas for creating or improving products or processes come not from laboriously organized focus groups, but from keen observations of how regular people work and play on a daily basis. On nearly every page, we learn the backstories of some now-well-established consumer goods, from recent inventions like the Palm Pilot and the in-car beverage holder to things we nearly take for granted--like Ivory soap (created when a P&G worker went to lunch without turning off his soap mixer, and returned to discover his batch overwhipped into 99.44 percent buoyancy) and Kleenex, which transcended its original purpose as a cosmetics remover when people started using the soft paper to wipe and blow their noses. Best of all, Kelley opens wide the doors to IDEO's vibrant, sometimes wacky office environment, and takes us on a vivid tour of how staffers tackle a design challenge: they start not with their ideas of what a new product should offer, but with the existing gaps of need, convenience, and pleasure with which people live on a daily basis, and that IDEO should fill. (Hence, a one-piece children's fishing rod that spares fathers the embarrassment of not knowing how to teach their kids to fish, or Crest toothpaste tubes that don't "gunk up" at the mouth.)
Granted, some of their ideas--like the crucial process of "prototyping," or incorporating dummy drafts of the actual product into the planning, to work out bugs as you go--lend themselves more easily to the making of actual things than to the more common organizational challenge of streamlining services or operations. But, if this big book of bright ideas doesn't get you thinking of how to build a better mousetrap for everything from your whole business process to your personal filing system, you probably deserve to be stuck with the mousetrap you already have. --Timothy Murphy
Book Description
IDEO, the widely admired, award-winning design and development firm that brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid's I-Zone instant camera, the Palm V, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services, reveals its secrets for fostering a culture and process of continuous innovation.
There isn't a business in America that doesn't want to be more creative in its thinking, products, and processes. At many companies, being first with a concept and first to market are critical just to survive. In
The Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley, general manager of the Silicon Valley based design firm IDEO, takes readers behind the scenes of this wildly imaginative and energized company to reveal the strategies and secrets it uses to turn out hit after hit.
IDEO doesn't buy into the myth of the lone genius working away in isolation, waiting for great ideas to strike. Kelley believes everyone can be creative, and the goal at his firm is to tap into that wellspring of creativity in order to make innovation a way of life. How does it do that? IDEO fosters an atmosphere conducive to freely expressing ideas, breaking the rules, and freeing people to design their own work environments. IDEO's focus on teamwork generates countless breakthroughs, fueled by the constant give-and-take among people ready to share ideas and reap the benefits of the group process. IDEO has created an intense, quick-turnaround, brainstorm-and-build process dubbed "the Deep Dive."
In entertaining anecdotes, Kelley illustrates some of his firm's own successes (and joyful failures), as well as pioneering efforts at other leading companies. The book reveals how teams research and immerse themselves in every possible aspect of a new product or service, examining it from the perspective of clients, consumers, and other critical audiences.
Kelley takes the reader through the IDEO problem-solving method:
>Carefully observing the behavior or "anthropology" of the people who will be using a product or service
>Brainstorming with high-energy sessions focused on tangible results
>Quickly prototyping ideas and designs at every step of the way
>Cross-pollinating to find solutions from other fields
>Taking risks, and failing your way to success
>Building a "Greenhouse" for innovation
IDEO has won more awards in the last ten years than any other firm of its kind, and a full half-hour Nightline presentation of its creative process received one of the show's highest ratings.
The Art of Innovation will provide business leaders with the insights and tools they need to make their companies the leading-edge, top-rated stars of their industries.
Customer Reviews:
Kudos to Ideos.......2007-08-28
Excellent book with good insights. If you are in the business of innovation, this is one book that you shouldn't miss. I also recommend EIGHTSTORM: 8-Step Brainstorming for Innovative Managers.
Innovation for All.......2007-06-29
Through anecdotes, Kelley demonstrates how stumbling blocks to innovation can be overcome. He shows an appreciation for experimentation, momentum, and embraces failure as a true path to knowing. Failed prototypes are wonderful learning tools. Kelley's perspective keeps spirits high. He leaves much of the innovative process open ended - nearly encouraging innovation on innovating.
Interestingly, Kelley notes how medicine is becoming personalized and that the future can not be perfectly predicted. Still, he says we must aim at it. This was an important nugget of wisdom for me, a research coordinator at a think-tank-like public health research group, the Healthcare Innovation and Technology lab at Columbia University. On a daily basis we deal with innovation to improve healthcare and need to effectively innovate. Given that we tread a very specific territory - health and technology - and that Kelley's book could be so useful to us, it is obvious that he really has something to offer to everyone.
Innovation and creativity "how-to" guide.......2007-06-07
The Art of Innovation explains many of IDEO's creative techniques and in so doing paints a picture of the physical context in which all that creativity occurs, namely IDEO's office, your average geek's idea of paradise brimming with high-tech prototypes, foam cubes, "tech box" caddies with giant Post-Its and coloring pens ... and yes, it does look more like a playschool than Dilbertesque gray cubicle-land. Teamwork, friendship and a shared passion for helping clients innovate is clearly what binds people together and stimulates their creativity, while a supportive and forgiving management structure doesn't just tolerate weirdness, it actively encourages it. IDEO seems to have taken Tom Peters' advice "If you want to do weird, hire weird people" to the next level. In IDEO-land, "normal" people would probably stand out a mile.
Two creative techniques - brainstorming and prototyping - are particularly well described, in a way that encourages the reader to try something different. I've learnt some new tricks and even started applying them since reading the book.
El arte de innovar estilo IDEO.......2007-06-01
IDEO ha hecho de la innovación un arte, el cual es un proceso sistematizado, con pasos muy definidos, congruentes y faciles de llevar por las personas que conforman dentro sus empresas los equipos de innovacion y diseño.
Skip it and go right to 10 Faces.......2007-03-19
I recently read both this book and the Ten Faces of Innovation. My recomendation is to skip this book. It is written more like an advertisement for IDEO and was left feeling like Tom has crossed the line into arrogance. If you read it as a stand alone book there is a lot of useful information. However most of the concepts are covered in Ten Faces. If you have time read both books but if time is of the essence then jump right into the Ten Faces, you won't be disappointed.
Book Description
In the course of more than sixty years spent covering Washington politics, Helen Thomas has witnessed a raft of fundamental changes in the way news is gathered and reported. Gone are the days of frequent firsthand contact with the president. Now, the press sees the president only at tightly controlled and orchestrated press conferences. In addition, Thomas sees a growing -- and alarming -- reluctance among reporters to question government spokesmen and probe for the truth. The result has been a wholesale failure by journalists to fulfill what is arguably their most vital role in contemporary American life -- to be the watchdogs of democracy. Today's journalists, according to Thomas, have become subdued, compromised lapdogs.
Here, the legendary journalist and bestselling author delivers a hard-hitting manifesto on the precipitous decline in the quality and ethics of political reportage -- and issues a clarion call for change. Thomas confronts some of the most significant issues of the day, including the jailing of reporters, the conservative swing in television news coverage, and the administration's increased insistence on "managed" news. But she is most emphatic about reporters' failure to adequately question President George W. Bush and White House spokesmen about the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, and on subjects ranging from homeland security to the economy. This, she insists, was a dire lapse.
Drawing on her peerless knowledge of journalism, Washington politics, and nine presidential administrations, as well as frank interviews with leading journalists past and present, Thomas provides readers with a rich historical perspective on the roots of American journalism, the circumstances attending the rise and fall of its golden age, and the nature and consequences of its current shortcomings. The result is a powerful, eye-opening discourse on the state of political reportage -- as well as a welcome and inspiring demand for meaningful and lasting reform.
Customer Reviews:
VERY INTERESTING BOOK.......2007-08-23
Helen Thomas has covered the White House since JFK and her insight into how the media has failed in the recent years to cover the White House and be the Watchdogs of Democracy is "Right on Point." There are very few "Real" Journalists like hardworking Helen Thomas around anymore!!
What's going on in Washington DC?.......2007-05-13
The lady in the red suit scores again with this cogent comment on the Washington press corps. Ms. Thomas, who pitches hardball questions during press conferences if she is allowed to do so, has very coherently and successfully produced a well-reasoned text about why the press corps failed the American people by not investigating the shenanigans surrounding the present administration. This is a necessary read for journalism students and probably for those interested history and political science.
A misleading title on a journalistic memoir.......2007-04-26
This book sorely disappointed me for two reasons. I strongly agree with the thesis of the title, that the media largely abandoned their important duty as watchdogs of democracy in the run-up to the War in Iraq, HOWEVER, this issue amounts to a grand total of ONE chapter in her entire book. The rest is a bunch of anecdotes tied loosely together. In fact, it reads more like an anthology than a unified work.
The second thing that disappointed me was also something of a shock: Helen Thomas, Grand Dame, Dean of the Washington Press Corps, is a lousy writer! I am serious. I read on average one or two political/nonfiction books a month, and this is one of the most poorly written I have read yet. Some of the books I have read are by "regular" people, some by pundits, and some by politicians. Nearly all of them write in a more interesting and engaging style than Mrs. Thomas. Her tone is often conversational at best, and her stories seem to be told as much to discuss presidents' interactions with the media as to tell you what an interesting career she has had.
I could not in good faith give it one star. It isn't horrible. It is just extremely disappointing.
rambling, disjointed, biasd, personal, fun.......2007-02-08
This is a rambling, disjointed, biased, personal account
of what should be an important public issue. The title
has a question mark, and the subtitle identifies the
culprit and makes an accusation. So how does "Watchdogs
of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How
It Has Failed the Public" measure up? Not very well on
the subject, but better as a collection of snippets.
The foreword drones on and on for ten pages. Chapter 1
tells us Journalism is an honorable profession in
spite of Jayson Blair and a few others.
Chapter 2 mentions several scandals uncovered by the
press. Chapter 3 has anecdotes about presidents with
the press. Chapter 4 is about press secretaries.
Chapter 5 is about spinning the news.
Chapter 6 is about leakers and whistle blowers.
Chapter 7 admits that the news business is a business.
Chapter 8 complains about the FCC. Chapter 9 is
the subject of the book, the press as lapdogs.
Chapter 10 covers war correspondents, Iraq wars,
and Vietnam. Chapter 11 covers her choice of the
greatest American journalists. There is over 11
pages of closely spaced, double column index,
but no references.
Thomas seems to think there is little in Washington
except the White House. The other branches, and the
bureaus and departments are seldom mentioned.
Some Republicans will be bothered by some of her
attacks, and some Democrats will be delighted.
There are attacks, and both Democrats and Republicans
are the targets, perhaps in equal numbers, but they
are treated differently. Democrats tend to get the
passive voice and quirky little adjectives.
Republicans tend to get the active voice and
malicious adjectives. Bush 43 gets the worst
treatment.
Still, it is an entertaining book. The only time
I was tempted to put it down was Thomas quoting
herself giving a speech disguised as a question at
a White House Press Conference.
Neither focused nor organized.......2007-01-14
This book was clearly written for profit. Many sections of the book are only weakly connected back to the main theme and nowhere does Helen Thomas make her case-in-chief directly. Instead, the reader is treated to a series of vignettes which all too frequently bear only a tenuous relationship to one another and which make no effort to maintain continuity. While each chapter has a reasonably strong cohesion (though those boundaries frequently intersect in a way which would make any Venn diagram lover proud), they work together not as a fine Swiss watch, but instead more like a Rube Goldberg machine.
There is one theme which appears time-and-again: the idea that an objective and vigorous free press is a necessary part of democracy. This point is made consistently throughout the book from a cornucopia of different, albeit predicable, angles, and is artfully shown both implicitly and explicitly through excellent and enjoyable anecdotes accumulated during the author's sixty years as a White House correspondent. Unfortunately for the reader, her anecdotes frequently seem to be included for their value as self-platitudes rather than for intrinsic value or thematic attenuation. Also unfortunate is the inconvenient truth that Helen Thomas is no longer the type of reporter she praises, but the type she opines against: an opinion columnist.
There are certainly gems in the rough scattered throughout the 201 pages, but the author's tendency both to ramble and babble makes them difficult to find and detracts from their value. With regard to Thomas' periodic attempts a historical organization, her comments at the conclusion of chapter four are revealing: "There were other press secretaries and other spokespersons. I have mentioned only a few who stand out in my mind, for better or worse." Indeed, it seems she deemed fit to simply write down a train of thought as it occurred to her in the shower; that is to say, while not devoid of organization, the linking up of subjects is tenuous at best. Perhaps the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of Helen Thomas' writing style in this book is her robust use of vocabulary, which includes a scattering of excellent words on every page (some of which I even had to look up).
Average customer rating:
- Good
- Beautiful art
- Comprehensive
- Very interesting pictures
- good transaction
|
Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume I (with ArtStudy CD-ROM 2.1, Western)
Fred S. Kleiner , and
Christin J. Mamiya
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0495004790 |
Book Description
As the market-leading text for the art history survey course, GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES has served as a comprehensive and thoughtfully crafted guide to the defining phases of the world's artistic tradition. The story of art unfolds in its full historical, social, religious, economic, and cultural context, deepening students' understanding of art, architecture, painting, and sculpture. This version explores the history of art in the Western world in a concise 23-chapter format (also available in a two-volume split). GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES: THE WESTERN PERSPECTIVE features such enhancements as more color photographs, a stunning new design, and the most current research and scholarship. Unique to survey texts with a Western Art focus, the authors include a chapter on Islam, providing students with insightful coverage of the Islamic tradition's impact on Western culture and art history. Additionally, every copy of the text contains a free copy of the ArtStudy 2.1 CD-ROM-an interactive electronic study aid that fully integrates with the text and includes hundreds of high-quality digital images, plus maps, quizzes, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Good.......2007-09-12
This book is very informative and it tries to explain so that there is not much confusion after looking it over.
Beautiful art.......2007-08-23
Loved this book for my Art class. I didn't think I would like the class, fell in love with art, and even kept the book afterwards instead of selling it.
Comprehensive.......2007-02-16
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to better themselves in the region of art history knowledge and the ability to evaluate art's content as well. It was well worth buying and compliments any classes orientated towards the subject...maybe would even overshadow the required text.
Very interesting pictures.......2006-12-07
I purchased this book for my Art History class. Very interesting pictures along with non-boring texts. I really like the accompanied CD as it has all pictures from this text as well as other version of Gardner's art history books. Pictures are crystal clear. Although I finished that class long ago in 2002 and sold the book for school's book store with attractive price, I still have a copy of that CD and often reviewed whenever I saw some interesting stories of art history (such as female goddess from Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code). All pictures are under flash cards section. Besides a good text book, it should be kept as a reference.
good transaction.......2005-10-06
Smooth transaction, book in great condition,very pleased and would do business with again.
Customer Reviews:
heavy book has awesome content.......2007-03-08
this textbook of sorts is super informative with great color and black and white pictures of paintings discussed in the readings.
Modern Art.......2006-11-04
Academic reading and art criticism, well suited for undergraduate and graduate coursework. Dry reading for aficionados, on the bombastic side descriptive. This book speaks to art as a critic would describe the sunset.
Perfect order, same old same old.......2006-07-26
Blah blah blah - Good quality blah blah. You know the drill, just BUY IT already!
Fascinated Layperson........2005-01-11
Having taken art history in college, I wish this was the addition of Arnason I bought. Kalb is a gifted editor. The original text is streamlined and energized with beautiful new plates. I thought the later chapters that Kalb wrote on contemporary art brought this classic to the 21st century. I bought it again.
Customer Reviews:
Explotation Goodness.......2007-09-14
This book is an excellent companion piece to the two movies that were part of the in theater double feature collectively known as Grindhouse.
The book treats us to plenty of pictures of not just the lovely ladies, of which there are many, but of everything from the movie. Included is the script for Planet Terror along with plenty of commentary about the filmaking process and the support network of both Robert and Quentin.
Unlike other film related books this one is not a fluff piece, there is a lot of material between the covers and this book is definately worth reading more than once.
Awesome.......2007-08-24
It's everything I expected and more! Loads of pictures and information. Even QT's AMI playlist. I love it XD
What a Ride.......2007-06-27
Talking about the movie, the girl riding on the hood of the challenger was quite a stunt and I have to admit that it was original and very edgy.
The girls in this movie were well cast and Cherry is hot.I can't wait to buy the DVD, hurry up and release it!
Not sleazy at all.......2007-05-25
Great transaction! No SLEAZY here! The book is great. The shipping was super fast. Thanks a whole bunch!
Grindhouse: The Sleaze-filled Saga of an Exploitation Double Feature.......2007-05-18
fantastic book with interviews, heaps of behind the scenes info and photos, screenplay for Planet terror and the trailers a very comprehensive book for any movie lover
Book Description
During and following WWII, a special multinational group of more than 350 men and women served behind enemy lines and joined frontline military units to ensure the preservation, protection, liberation and restitution of the world's greatest artistic and cultural treasures. This "band of unsung heroes," formally referred to as the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) section, or commonly referred to as the "Monuments Men," worked tirelessly to track down, identify and catalogue millions of priceless works of art and irreplaceable cultural artifacts, including masterpieces by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Vermeer, that had been stolen by Hitler and the Nazis.
The story of the Monuments Men, including their heroics and exploits in rescuing and safeguarding many of the world's greatest artworks for the benefit of mankind, has never before been fully revealed until now, with the publication of
Rescuing Da Vinci, an exhaustively researched historical account written by Robert M. Edsel. Mr. Edsel can best be described as a successful athlete and business entrepreneur turned modern day "Indiana Jones." Mr. Edsel has dedicated the last five years of his life to painstaking and far-reaching research to unravel the secrets of the Monuments Men and, in so doing, to make the world aware of their unprecedented contributions, both during and after WWII, and to ensure that these unsung heroes receive appropriate recognition from the United States government, as well as the broad public.
The detailed documentation, inventories and photographs developed and catalogued by the Monuments Men during and following World War II, have made possible, and continue to make possible, the restitution of stolen artworks of to rightful owners and their descendents. Long after WWII, many Monuments Men went on to become renowned directors and curators of preeminent international cultural institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, among many others, as well as professors at esteemed universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, New York University, Williams College and Columbia University. Others became founders, presidents, and members of associations such as the New York City Ballet, the American Museum Association, the American Association of Museum Directors, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Society of Architectural Historians, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as respected architects, archivists, artists and musicians.
"Mr. Edsel's book is captivating in several respects, from the graphic, garish reminders of the faces of the great plunderers, to the singular beauty of the art they sought to steal. And it is a high and overdue memorial to the "Monuments Men," who did the herculean job of tracking down and repatriating the great art." -- William F. Buckley Jr.
Customer Reviews:
SPOILS OF WAR.......2007-09-21
This is one of the most fascinating books i have ever read. The period images are amazing, just the photo of italian masons bricking up Michaelangelo's iconic David is worth the purchase. After reading this book I was stunned that so few art treasures were destroyed. I had no idea that much of the treasures at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. was stored at Biltmore because of its remote setting. I was also blown away to see the images of workman removing winged victory from the Louvre, I just had no idea all of this went on leading up to the war and during the war. The German pillaging of the great European art treasures is disgusting of course, especially the art they looted from the weathy Jewry like the Rothchilds and others, some of which even to this day are trying to get back art work that is rightly theirs. I highly recommend this great book to anyone interested in art, history, art history, or frankly has an inquisive mind. I want to thank the authors for a job well done.
What were they thinking!!.......2007-08-10
This was a fascinating and disturbing account of the massive Nazi looting and subsequent recovery by the Allies. It is a story told mostly by pictures to the tune of about 20 pages of pictures for each page of print. It is promoted by the publisher as the biggest non-told story of WWII and he might be right; it diminished the German war effort and probably shortened the War. It was also about the massive and admirable effort by the so-called Allied `Monuments Men' to recover and redistribute the loot back to their rightful owners after the War.
Germany stole millions of art objects from occupied countries, and even from its own ally Italy, on the pretext of saving it from the `barbarian' invaders from the West. Monuments weighing tons, like the `Burghers of Calais' from France and the `Winged Lion' from atop the column in Florence's San Martin Square, were somehow lifted and hauled away. Also, 5000 church bells were stolen from Europe and 300 trolley cars were removed from Amsterdam. In short, they looted everything they could get their hands on, and they were good at it. There are good pictures of the bells and the trolley cars.
In Slavic countries such as Russia and Poland, the plundering was accompanied by an attempted systematic destruction of the culture itself; `inferior races' in Hitler's mind didn't deserve a history. The siege of Russia was particularly bad; 6000 hospitals were destroyed, and 86,000 elementary and secondary schools were destroyed. Decency had taken a long vacation in Germany.
Hitler was a master at destroying things. He destroyed a lot of Europe and Russia, and even extended his `scorched earth' policy to his own country when Germany was near defeat. Thankfully, that order was not faithfully carried out.
How could a country justify destroying the culture of another country? What were the people of Germany thinking when they elected this maniac as Chancellor in the 1930's? Why did they blindly follow him?
What were they thinking!!
I recommend this book.......2007-05-13
If you enjoy WWII history and art, this is a book that should be in your collection. It is full of wonderful photos that you will not find elsewhere. If you have ever wondered about what happened to the great masterpieces of art during WWII, this is the book to buy. Amazon also has a great price.
Great Book!.......2007-04-14
What a great story. Incredible photos too. Quality of the pages is very good. I'm actually surprised it's only $35 after getting it.
surprising.......2007-04-04
This book which is generously pictorial made me think about aspects of WW2 that had never occurred to me.
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