The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)

Book Description

"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions. Quite that contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in self-questing. In other words, I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set."
âSidney Poitier

In this luminous memoir, a true American icon looks back on his celebrated life and career. His body of work is arguably the most morally significant in cinematic history, and the power and influence of that work are indicative of the character of the man behind the many storied roles. Sidney Poitier here explores these elements of character and personal values to take his own measureâas a man, as a husband and a father, and as an actor.

Poitier credits his parents and his childhood on tiny Cat Island in the Bahamas for equipping him with the unflinching sense of right and wrong and of self-worth that he has never surrendered and that have dramatically shaped his world. "In the kind of place where I grew up," recalls Poitier, "what's coming at you is the sound of the sea and the smell of the wind and momma's voice and the voice of your dad and the craziness of your brothers and sisters...and that's it." Without television, radio, and material distractions to obscure what matters most, he could enjoy the simple things, endure the long commitments, and find true meaning in his life.

Poitier was uncompromising as he pursued a personal and public life that would honor his upbringing and the invaluable legacy of his parents. Just a few years after his introduction to indoor plumbing and the automobile, Poitier broke racial barrier after racial barrier to launch a pioneering acting career. Committed to the notion that what one does for a living articulates to who one is, Poitier played only forceful and affecting characters who said something positive, useful, and lasting about the human condition.

Here is Poitier's own introspective look at what has informed his performances and his life. Poitier explores the nature of sacrifice and commitment, price and humility, rage and forgiveness, and paying the price for artistic integrity. What emerges is a picture of a man in the face of limitsâhis own and the world's. A triumph of the spirit, The Measure of a Man captures the essential Poitier.

Customer Reviews:

****LOVED IT****.......2007-09-24

Kept me interested...I really enjoyed this book...I couldn't put the book down until I finished reading it!!!!

MEASURE OF A MAN does not measure up.......2007-09-21

Wow, a book about Sidney Poitier. An outstanding actor with a book that just does not give him true justice. The reading tends to be dry and lacks substance. His life struggles could have been the story of any man or woman, black or white. The writing and editing are weak in some sections.

You should rent or buy one of Poitier's movies instead. His movie roles show his true skills.

SPIRITUAL "Of, Relating to, Consisting of, or Affecting the Spirit" MERRIAM-WEBSTER.......2007-08-30

I've always been smitten with Poitier's voice--his diction and control on film, the flow of his words as they travel in and around ideas during interviews--so I read THE MEASURE OF A MAN with an ear for his voice. I wondered, Is it translatable to print? It is, but that means allowing Poitier's thoughts to meander until they find their point, and that his thoughts are less formulated (or formal) and more "in his own words," than they might be if they were written by a biographer. (I read just enough "You know?"s "You hear me when I tell you?"s and "You follow?"s to feel like he was talking to me, but not too many to be annoyed.) I read to imagine what it might be like to have a conversation with Poitier. The book reinforced what I already knew--I'd be as intimidated as heck--but it also gave me the courage to think I'd be able to speak my mind.

As an editor, I read Poitier's book because I wanted to know how he defines a "spiritual" autobiography. Is it a I-Was-A-Sinner-But-I-Found-Jesus-And-Now-I'm-Saved chronology? Is it about how Christianity or another faith influenced his life? Neither. Poitier examines the people, events, circumstances, beliefs, and so on, which have related to, consisted of, or affected his "spirit," and, in doing so, he writes about childhood experiences in the Bahamas, his changing perceptions of his parents, how he adapts to living in the United States, his approach to acting and filmmaking, and his attitude toward fatherhood. He also shares a debate a friend and he had about the Basic Truth of Nature, a debate worth every second of reading it takes to get to.

Is THE MEASURE OF A MAN going to satisfy readers interested only in Poitier's film career? No, but I urge them to read it anyway, if for no other reason than to find out how his "spirit" influenced the films he starred in.

Books.......2007-08-21

I purchased this book for my daughter and she loved it!
She is a teacher and plans to teach this story in her English class fall 2007.
A great story with a great moral.

Never cared for the man, but his book is great........2007-08-12

I have my preferences as to actors. Poitier was never in a prominent standing. But, then neither were a few others; like John Wayne. Not saying they both weren't good actors, just two of the many I didn't watch much.
Having said that, I find Mr. Poitier's book an interesting read. I feel it was well worth the money.

[...]

Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts

Average customer rating:

A difficult read,but worth the time
Absolutely Must Reading
Read it at your own perill
convoluted writing
Unsurpassed both for content and style

Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts
Clive James
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393061167

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.

Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together

Average customer rating:

Very touching
A must read book
This book changed my life!
book
A Story of Redemption

Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
Ron Hall , and Denver Moore
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0849900417

Book Description

Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.

But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?

Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional story of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader will ever forget it.

Customer Reviews:

Very touching.......2007-10-01

This is a very readable book. It is also extremely touching. Several times as I read,I found tears streaming down my face. It will restore your faith in mankind and that there is more to a person than meets the eye.

A must read book.......2007-09-29

I don't have proper words to express this "amazing" book.

I can now better understand how it used to be in Slave times,
and feel a better understanding of my own faith and life after death.

I cried at moments of revealation! Would help anyone become a believer.

This book changed my life!.......2007-09-25

It's very easy to forget that this is a true story - it is such an amazing story that it could be fiction! It's a beautiful, poignant, touching book and it changed the way I view the homeless and how I share my resources with others. LOVED IT and I've been telling everyone I know to read it too!!

book.......2007-09-18

I ordered this book for my husband who had heard it was wonderful. He thought it was the best book he had ever read and he highly recommends it!!

A Story of Redemption.......2007-09-18

If you believe in and love stories of redemption, Some Kind of Different As Me is a must. If you know someone who does not believe in redemption or who is struggling to find it, give them this book and encourage their reading it.

This engaging book was given to me by my brother-in-law who, like me, grew up in the pre-segregated South working with black acquaintances who we liked because they did our menial work and our bidding. This story helped me to realize, in a new and fresh way, the bondage they were in. The account helped me realize the desperate position of poverty and the plight of one without education.

This is a true story of Ron Hall and Denver Moore, the two extremes of our society, who found friendship and God's gift of forgiveness, grace, and fulfillment in life through a lady named Debbie.

Denver was a sharecropper in Louisiana who escaped virtual enslavement on a freight train to Fort Worth, Texas where, without skills, he became a vagrant on the streets of that city. Alcohol, drugs, and 10 years in prison hardened him to a solitary, untrusting, antisocial street person without identity or hope.

Ron was a wealthy, self-sufficient, international art dealer who began to serve food once a week in a local mission at the insistence of his wife, Debbie, who had a strong social conscience. His first service was done just to please his wife and his involvement inflicted great wounds to his sensibilities. He was surprised to find himself intrigued to get to know the most distant the of the homeless that they served. After months of trauma without success, Ron finally gets Denver to agree to have coffee with him.

At that meeting Denver asks Ron a peculiar question. "There's something I heard about white folks that bothers me, and it has to do with fishin." "I heard that when white folks go fishin they do something called `catch and release'." "That really bothers me", Denver goes on to say, " I just can't figure it out. Cause when colored folks go fishin, we are really proud of what we catch and we take it and show it off to everybody that'll look. Then we eat what we catch. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water." "So, Mr. Ron, it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon'catch and release, then I ain't got no desire to be your friend." Suddenly his eyes gentled and he spoke more softly than before: But if you is looking for a real friend, then I'll be one. Forever." (pg. 106)

Their friendship does grow and in remarkable ways they help one another overcome great tragedy. As they face these trials together, you see them grow spiritually and truly become the Body of Christ. Redemption comes to both as they find blessing in serving instead of judging. They have different backgrounds, different opportunities but they both come to expressed the love of Christ. As Denver says, "He is our hope".

Drayton Sanders, Dalton Ga. 9-16-07

It's No Secret: From Nas to Jay-Z, from Seduction to Scandal--a Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All

Average customer rating:

listen up
not all that intersting
Strong Woman? No.
BETTER THAN U THINK
This Is Her Life Let Her Live

It's No Secret: From Nas to Jay-Z, from Seduction to Scandal--a Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All
Carmen Bryan
Manufacturer: VH-1
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416532668

Book Description

Carmen Bryan is no stranger to the rap world. Not only did she work at Def Jam and Capitol Records but she shares a daughter with hip-hop superstar Nas -- a relationship made extremely public through Nas's celebrity status, rap lyrics, and the ever-present media. Now, in It's No Secret, a strong, resilient Carmen bares all, telling her side of the story and leaving no detail unturned -- with the true candor and raw emotion of someone who has been there, done that, and survived.

From a clandestine relationship with Nas's biggest rival, Jay-Z, that stirred up the biggest feud in hip-hop history, to seeing her reputation in tatters and a once loving relationship with Nas fall apart, Carmen depicts her trying journey to become the strong woman and mother she is today. After years of turmoil that included drugs, sex, greed, and violence -- and abandoning what she had always prized above all, her freedom -- Carmen took a stand, focusing on herself. After years of pursuit by the media, Carmen sets the record straight in It's No Secret -- and has no regrets.

Customer Reviews:

listen up.......2007-09-14

I think it was a good book. I enjoyed it, the thing was I wanted to know more about NaS and not her, the only reason why I got it was b/c of him. since i'll never marry him I wanted to know what it would be like to be with him. I'll still take him though i know that. I read it in one day. but i do wish her the best. sometimes things dont always work out

not all that intersting.......2007-09-14

could have been better not interesting enough maybe if carmen slept around with more people this would sell more but not all that good so what nas beat her, both were guilty we all know nas was a male ho we know jay z is a male ho too we know kelis is a freak, hdell nas may have slept witrh beyonce before she started fooling with jigga what was her number doing in his pocket in hollywood and the music business everybody sleeps with everybody.

Strong Woman? No........2007-08-25

I sure am glad I got this book at the library and didn't pay any money for it because the time I spent reading it was a waste.

Strong woman? Not even close. Drama queen? Yep.

It is pretty easy to predict she will continue to live her life with the same behavior she describes in her book. Irresponsible.

BETTER THAN U THINK.......2007-08-23

THIS BOOK WOULD BE A FIVE STAR BOOK IF IT HAD COME OUT BEFORE SUPERHEAD'S BOOK.VERY INTERESTING

This Is Her Life Let Her Live.......2007-08-09

I will start off by saying I took along time to read this book. The reason being the reviews well I won't let that effect me again. This book
is a good read. I think the problem people have with it is because they are looking for another tell all like Karrine Steffans and this is not that type. She is telling the story base on her trial and tribulations in her life. Which happen to include some well known people. She is basically saying that her life is no differnt from anybody else she makes bad choices and she has to deal with it. I mean did anybody read her final words in the book where she says there are no victims or villians. Meaning everybody knew how the situations could turn out.
With that being said Everybody Get Over It.
To tell the truth people will probably be up set with Karrine new book if she doesn't drop enough names.

Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs

Average customer rating:

Essential Reading for Scholars and Enthusiasts.
Enough of the grammar already!!!
We want more of the kind...
Excellent Book...but Gardiner still worth it!!
An good text book!

Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs
James P. Allen
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Egypt | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0521774837

Book Description

This is an introduction to the writing system of ancient Egypt and the language of hieroglyphic texts. It contains twenty-six lessons, exercises (with answers), a list of hieroglyphic signs, and a dictionary, as well as twenty-five essays on the most important aspects of ancient Egyptian history, society, religion and literature. It also offers scholars of linguistics a complete grammatical description of the classical language of ancient Egypt.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Reading for Scholars and Enthusiasts........2007-08-28

Dr. Allen has really done a good job laying it all out in this book. Obviously, this is something of an esoteric subject, but for many budding scholars and amateur enthusiasts who are genuinely interested in learning this language, this book is essential reading. The grammer is clearly explained, and compared to contemporary languages, and the hierglyphs are easy to discern after a few lessons.

What is also commendable is the use of essays throughout the book that lay out the broader context of Middle Egyptian. Without that, the book would be noticeably drier. I think the only addition I would make to this book would be use of example dialogue to help reinforce the concepts. Otherwise, this is a good book to own.

Enough of the grammar already!!!.......2006-11-04

This is an excellent book, no doubt. Allen is quite obviously an academic when it comes to Egyptian and linguistics. Let me repeat, this is an excellent book: for people with a linguistic background. That said, Joe Blow (read people with the average educational background in grammar) will most likely, as I did, find this approach to Egyptian with its constant, non-stop emphasis on adverbial complement this and noun phrase that approach, overwhelming to say the least. The meanings of the exercise sentences are rather vague and not easy to translate. In 3000 plus years, some Egyptian somewhere must have written a sentence or two more suitable for use in a beginning language learning text. Add to this the fact that each chapter does not have a vocabulary list to prepare the student for the exercises, and doing the chapter-end exercises becomes a futile exercise in page flipping to look up answers in the key in the back of the book. Vocabulary items used in the sample sentences in the texts in the chapters are frequently not included in the dictionary in the back. It doesn't matter how much grammar you know if you don't know what the words mean. As a college text with an instructor, this book is probably excellent, however for the do-it-yourselfer who wants to learn at home, forget it! Like the old saying goes: I just want to know what time it is, I don't need to how to build a watch. Can anybody suggest a book to learn Egyptian, written for educated, interested adults, but who don't have degree in linguistics?

We want more of the kind..........2005-09-23

Probably the most pleasant book you will use, not just to learn about hieroglyphs, but also, to learn about ancient egyptian culture.

Excellent Book...but Gardiner still worth it!!.......2004-08-01

I am writing this review simply to clarify and answer a few of the questions and comments that the previous reviewer had about the textbook.

1) This is a textbook intended for college students and self-study and assumes no previous encounter with English or Middle Egyptian grammar; therefore, as one might expect, the book presents descriptions of nouns, as well as more complicated aspects of grammar such as prospective, subjunctive and relative forms. However, if one is privy to the definitions, than one can simply skip over the descriptions of these grammatical aspects and continue learning Middle Egyptian.

2) Rare usages or unusual translations are covered in the book and although they do not appear in an appendix, they do contain astericks or other diacritics or concise descriptions.

3) Enough examples are provided so that an intelligent person can build upon previous examples and construct the answer to the exercise, similar to a math book that provides some examples and then offers more complicated, but solvable exercises.

4) Although the book does lack grammatical paradigms (mostly since no one really knows what inflections Middle Egyptian contained) and vocabulary lists, it does provide references, a sign list, a dictionary, the answers to the exercises, and an index.

5) The paperback binding is actually quite good. I have used it for a while and, although borrowed from the local library (most of those books are usually mistreated or handled periodically), it has shown little signs of deterioration. More importantly, there is at least a half inch spacial blank gap between any word or hieroglyph at the inner edge any page, making the inner edges easy to read.

6) Although the chapter four essay argues that the "Western notion of religion [...] has seperated religion from spheres of [...] government, social behavior, intellectual pursuits, and science" p.43, it never states that this is how the western notion of religion always viewed and continues to view these concepts. The Egyptian religion embraced most things as the Gods themselves. For example, two people falling in love in Greek and Roman religion was an act of Eros, and love making a gift from Aphrodite; however, an ancient Egypian might argue that two people falling in love and making love is the personification of the love between Osiris and Isis.

That said, this is a wonderful textbook that will leave any serious student or amateur the craving for more since, unfortunately, it does not cover all there is to know about Middle Egyptian. A second step would be to purchase Sir Alan Gardiner's "Egyptian Grammar" a little outdated but unmatched in depth and coverage of Middle Egyptian. His book remains the "BIBLE" of Middle Egyptian of and for most egyptologists.

An good text book!.......2004-01-05

If you want to learn the basics of hieroglyphs. Dont buy this book first. Buy "How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-By-Step Guide to Teach Yourself". Then buy the text book by Allen.

Book Description

The story of a remarkable woman's rise out of the foster-care system to attain the American dream—and of the unlikely series of women who lifted her up in marvelous and distinctive ways

Born as a ward of the state of Maine—the child of an unmarried Yankee blueblood mother and an unknown black father—Victoria Rowell beat the odds. Unlike so many other children who fall through the cracks of our overburdened foster-care system, her experience was nothing short of miraculous, thanks to several extraordinary women who stepped forward to love, nurture, guide, teach, and challenge her to become the accomplished actress, philanthropist, and mother that she is today.

Rowell spent her first weeks of life as a boarder infant before being placed with a Caucasian foster family. Although her stay lasted for only two years, at this critical stage Rowell was given a foundation of love by the first of what would be an amazing array of women, each of whom presented herself for different purposes at every dramatic turn of Rowell's life.

In this deeply touching memoir, Rowell pays tribute to her personal champions: the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, mentors, teachers, and sisters who each have fascinating stories to tell. Among them are Agatha Armstead, Rowell's longest-term foster mother, a black Bostonian on whose rural Maine farm Rowell's fire to reach for greatness was lit; Esther Brooks, a Paris-trained prima ballerina, Rowell's first mentor at the Cambridge School of Ballet; Rosa Turner, a Boston inner-city fosterer who taught Rowell lessons of independence; Sylvia Silverman, a mother and teacher whose home in a well-kept middle-class suburban neighborhood prepared Rowell for her transition out of foster care and into New York City's wild worlds of ballet and acting and adulthood.

In spite of support from individuals and agencies, Rowell nonetheless carried the burden of loneliness and anxiety, common to most foster children, particularly those "orphans of the living" who are never adopted. Heroically overcoming those obstacles, Rowell also reaches a moment when she can embrace her biological mother, Dorothy, and, most important, accept herself.

Ultimately, The Women Who Raised Me is a story that belongs to each of us as it shines a glowing light on the transformational power of mentoring, love, art, and womanhood.

Customer Reviews:

Review.......2007-09-07

This was a well written book. The author gives a heartfelt account of her life in foster care. She begins her story as a small child in rural Maine and concludes as an adult actress in Hollywood. This is a great book that deals with foster care, mental illness, achievements, and adversity in a young woman's life.

Wanted more of an autobiography.......2007-08-16

I know the title says the women who raised me, but I really wanted to read more about how she got into acting, what it was like to be on the young and the restless and work with dick van dyke. She spends many chapters about her ballet years, but doesnt mention what it was like to get into tv acting, which is really her career, not ballet. She is known for being a TV star. She did a great deal of research into her families/friends - I think too much. I had to skip many many pages because it got boring. She mentions her marriage, but never talks about getting divorced. I never knew if she married Wynton or not, had to look it up on the net. She doesn't get into her relationships with men much or her children. I got the impression Wynton was raising her son? but who knows. She seems very multi talented though and it was great that she put so much time into writing a book in addition to her other charities/career.

Intriguing,surprising insights about foucs & tenacity.......2007-08-10

This is an exceptionally touching journey through the life of a foster child that was exposed to a number of phenomenal women.

All their lives were woven together beautifully by the author [Rowell]and revealed that despite backgrounds that were so different, these women all exhibited determined, giving spirits through their own talents.

A must read!!

The Women Who Raised Me.......2007-07-28

A very touching story , well written and informative. So sad at times. I loved that there were pictures of these incredible women to put faces on the heroes! Inspiring too, that with love and guidance, our children can thrive in difficult life situations.
As a grandmother to a mixed race child, very distubing also, that we still have so far to go in the US.

A wonderful book.......2007-07-01

I could not put down Ms. Rowell's life journey. I knew very little about her, only that she was an actress in a soap opera. She is an incredibly strong woman. I have great admiration for her. She could so easily have turned her back on her painful past and distanced herself from orphans; but she chose not to. She embraces her birth mother and all who assisted her.

America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies

Average customer rating:

America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies
Harry M. Benshoff , and Sean Griffin
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Sociology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Hollywood's America: United States History Through Its Films
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ASIN: 0631225838

Book Description

America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in the Movies is a lively introduction to issues of diversity as represented within the American cinema. The first synthetic and historical text of its kind, America on Film provides a comprehensive overview of the industrial, socio-cultural, and aesthetic factors that contribute to cinematic representations of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The volume chronicles the cinematic history of various cultural groups, examines forces and institutions of bias, and stimulates discussion about the relationship between film and American national culture.Accessible and user-friendly, America on Film features 101 illustrations, a glossary of key terms, questions for discussion, and lists for further reading and further viewing. The book is organized within a broad historical framework, with specific theoretical concepts - including film genre, auteurism, cultural studies, Orientalism, the "male gaze, " feminism, and queer theory - integrated throughout. Each individual chapter features a concise overview of the topic at hand, a discussion of representative films, figures, and movements, and an in-depth analysis of a single film, including The Lion King, The Jazz Singer, Smoke Signals, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Celluloid Closet.

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt

Average customer rating:

Amazing Visuals, Informative Text!
Another Gee's Bend book
An exciting look at quilts as modern art
Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt by Paul Arnett, William Arnett
A great book on a legendary art

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
Paul Arnett , William Arnett , Bernard Herman , Maggi Gordon , Diane Mott , Dilys Blum , Lauren Whitley , Amei Wallach , and Joanne Cubbs
Manufacturer: Tinwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place
The Quilts of Gee's Bend: 30 Postcards
Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee's Bend Quilts, and Beyond
Nancy Crow
Quilt National 2007: The Best of Contemporary Quilts (Quilt National)

ASIN: 0971910456

Book Description

In 2002, Gee’s Bend burst into international prominence through the success of Tinwood’s Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibition and book, which revealed an important and previously invisible art tradition from the African American South. Critics and popular audiences alike marveled at these quilts that combined the best of contemporary design with a deeply rooted ethnic heritage and compelling human stories about the women. Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt is a major book and museum exhibition that will premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), in June 2006 before traveling to seven American museums through 2008. The book's 330 color illustrations and insightful text bring home the exciting experience to readers while displaying all the cultural heritage and craftsmanship that have gone into these remarkable quilts.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Visuals, Informative Text!.......2007-09-17

This book is gorgeous!!! It includes large photographs of tons of quilts, in a size that allows you to see the smallest details, such as topstitching. It also includes inspirational photos of details of the town. However, it's not your typical coffe table book, because it has probably equal parts very informative text and visuals. Since it's not small enough to carry with me on the train, it's been hard separating myself from this book-- it is beautiful!

Another Gee's Bend book.......2007-05-13

I like this book because it is full of information about the construction of the quilts and alot of trivia about the makers of the quilts. Very beautiful pictures! A great book for learning.

An exciting look at quilts as modern art.......2007-02-08

This book illustrates the link between the incredibly beautiful quilts produced by five generations of African American women in the South to the architecture they saw around them and to their own artistic vision. Their personal stories, contained in chapters toward the end of the book, are very moving and inspirational.

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt by Paul Arnett, William Arnett .......2007-01-12

Wonderful book full of pictures and inspiration, and the story of the Gees Bend Quilts.

A great book on a legendary art.......2007-01-04

This book shows the Gees Bend quilts in all their gorgeous and unself-conscious art, as well as telling the story of these women, descended from slaves in an isolated community, who created this amazing abstract art. A wonderful book, with many color photos of the quilts.

The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place

Average customer rating:

exceptional
.........a superb keepsake of a memorable trip.
The Quilts of Gee's Bend
Memories which must be kept 'real'
The Heart and Souls....

The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place
William Arnett , Alvia Wardlaw , Jane Livingston , and John Beardsley
Manufacturer: Tinwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Folk Art | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
The Quilts of Gee's Bend: 30 Postcards
Gee's Bend: The Art of the Quilt Notecard Box
Signs and Symbols: African Images in African American Quilts (2nd Edition)
Nancy Crow

ASIN: 0965376648

Book Description

Since the 19th century, the women of Gee’s Bend in southern Alabama have created stunning, vibrant quilts. Beautifully illustrated with 110 color illustrations, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend includes a historical overview of the two hundred years of extraordinary quilt-making in this African-American community, its people, and their art-making tradition. This book is being·released in conjunction with a national exhibition tour including The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Customer Reviews:

exceptional.......2007-03-30

I remember the first time I saw photographs of the quilts of Gee's Bend in a magazine about seven years ago. I couldn't wait to learn about the amazing artists whose vision the quilts portray. This book is more outstanding than I imagined it could be. It is powerful, beautiful, sensitive, and historically accurate. I recommend The Quilts of Gee's Bend to anyone with an eye for artistic genius and a love for discovering a community of women willing to express themselves outside the box of convention. How refreshing and inspiring! Simply Exceptional!!

.........a superb keepsake of a memorable trip. .......2007-03-08

Who is more qualified to help provide us with a book about the quilts of Gee's Bend, but Mr. Bill Arnett who has championed the makers of these quilts and their works since 'discovering' them years ago in the tiny community of Gee's Bend about thirty miles southwest of Selma, Alabama?

The quilts first went on tour in 2002 and have been touring ever since. I learned of the ladies of Gee's Bend and their quilts from a PBS documentary first aired in 2003 and have anxiously hoped they would one day come to my part of the country. When, earlier this year, I found the quilts would indeed be coming to the Orlando Museum of Art, I purchased, The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, documenting the quilts, and the lives of their various makers, with beautiful, full-color illustrations of the quilts.

In February, 2007, when I was finally able to enjoy the quilts in person, I was happy to discover the book had accurately depicted the quilts, and their makers, paralleling an exhibition that should be seen and appreciated by all.

I purchased a copy of The Quilts of Gee's Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place, for the art teacher of my children's school. This beautiful book encouraged her to take her middle and high school art students to the exhibition. The book helped the students to first see and read about what they were going to view and then became a superb keepsake of a most memorable trip.

The Quilts of Gee's Bend.......2007-03-08

This is a beautiful book about both the women and the quilts of Gee's Bend. The photos make me feel as if I am back at the Gee's Bend Quilt Show.

Memories which must be kept 'real'.......2007-03-08

This book is already a treasure and one I can love and then bequeath to another art and tradition and people lover...
At the end of October in 2003, I was in Milwaukee to see this Quilt exhibition. Friends of Art from Indiana University drove to Chicago and then on to the marvelous museum in Milwaukee to experience the Quilts. What an awakening! That day I bought a Video. Since that time I have purchased the DVD and (when I found it online) the hardback book The Quilts of Gee's Bend! What a treasure! I am overjoyed to have this book and to have had the viewing experience! [I also use the USPS stamps and the book of postcards!] --Sarah K. Robinson

The Heart and Souls...........2007-01-27

The heart and souls of women are exposed in this poignant book of quilts, along with their "stories" past and present---of slavery on through the civil rights era, and now, life as it is in rural Alabama. The quilts, made out of necessity for their warmth, have become acclaimed Objects d' Art throughout the Art World. Having seen the documentary on television and the Quilt exhibit in San Francisco, I was compelled to purchase this beautiful book containing a compilation of these quilts and self-expressed comments from the community of women who have kept their quilt-making alive. I have purchased this book for myself and several others as gifts.

Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas

Average customer rating:

VERNACULAR SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!!
Black Panther Art

Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas

Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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The Black Panthers - Photographs by Stephen Shames
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ASIN: 0847829413
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense, formed in the aftermath of the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, remains one of the most controversial movements of the 20th-century. Founded by the charismatic Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, the party sounded a defiant cry for an end to the institutionalized subjugation of African Americans. The Black Panther newspaper was founded to articulate the party's message and artist Emory Douglas became the paper's art director and later the party's Minister of Culture. Douglas's artistic talents and experience proved a powerful combination: his striking collages of photographs and his own drawings combined to create some of the era's most iconic images, like that of Newton with his signature beret and large gun set against a background of a blood-red star, which could be found blanketing neighborhoods during the 12 years the paper existed. This landmark book brings together a remarkable lineup of party insiders who detail the crafting of the party's visual identity.

Customer Reviews:

VERNACULAR SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!!.......2007-05-31

Sometimes when images from newspapers or TV are taken out of context they can fall flat out of meaning or context. Not so for the revolutionary work of Emory Douglas. Douglas who was the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party from 1968-1980 and it's weekly newspaper artist amassed more works for the paper in a short period than most artists in a lifetime. But quantity is not the focus here but quality, growth and diversity. Emory Douglas is a prolific artist; his one page pieces included in the Black Panther newspaper were captivating and profoundly moved individuals all over the world no matter what language they spoke. His work has influenced every generation of artists/writers/activists who found their way into his work. It is interesting to note that while Emory's finished work was incredibly elaborate looking his tools of choice were simple pen, marker, tape and paper. His palette always represented and reflected the working class.
Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas focuses on many of Emory's best works and includes forward and texts from former Panther Chairman Bobby Seale, Kathleen Cleaver, Amiri Baraka (still NJ Poet-Lauriat in my book)and Danny Glover among a few.

A definite must for anyone and everyone!!!!!!!

Black Panther Art.......2007-05-23

This is a must-have for the Black Panther memorabilia collector, the African American art collector or any great art book lover's collection! A beautiful and unique book. The pages are printed on a paper that really makes it look like the original Black Panther papers. I love this book.

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