A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005

Book Description

“I don’t have two lives,” Annie Leibovitz writes in the Introduction to this collection of her work from 1990—2005. “This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.” Portraits of well-known figures–Johnny Cash, Nicole Kidman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Keith Richards, Michael Jordan, Joan Didion, R2-D2, Patti Smith, Nelson Mandela, Jack Nicholson, William Burroughs, George W. Bush with members of his Cabinet–appear alongside pictures of Leibovitz’s family and friends, reportage from the siege of Sarajevo in the early Nineties, and landscapes made even more indelible through Leibovitz’s discerning eye. The images form a narrative rich in contrasts and continuities: The photographer has a long relationship that ends with illness and death. She chronicles the celebrations and heartbreaks of her large and robust family. She has children of her own. All the while she is working, and the public work resonates with the themes of her life.

Customer Reviews:

Great photography book.......2007-09-17

I've been wanting this book for a while and to have found it here for under $75 I was excited and bought it immediately. A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz mixes photos of famous faces and intimate photos of her family, close friends and a few landscapes. I really enjoyed all of the photos. The book is so big I have yet to get through the whole thing! It was well worth the money I am defiantly now a fan of Leibovitz.

not a copiest.......2007-09-14

Great artists are inspired by others and yes, one can see other photographer's work in Annie's. I consider her one of the greats, right up there with Irving Penn, Avedon, Mapplethorpe and found the text very interesting. This book is a bargain considering the depth of information and production quality.

The size of this book!.......2007-09-10

I was surprised at the size of this book! It is much thicker and larger than what I thought and I think it is good value for money. It provides the reader with an insight into the photographer's life and gives the book a very intimate feel. Not all the pictures are flattering to Ms Leibovitz and her relatives and seeing these ordinary photos of people not looking at their best makes you feel as if you are looking at people that you also know. An interesting mix of photos of celebrities and everyday people is presented.

One point of critisizm - why do they print a good photo over two pages and then cut it in half by the page break? A good picture deserves to be printed on one page so as to see it as a whole.

A Celebration of Ugly and I Don't Care.......2007-09-01

This book is perfect for today's society and culture.

Page after page I couldn't help thinking that Ms. Liebowitz was getting back at everyone because God made her so unattractive. It seems it runs in the family -- the photo of her sisters would frighten a scarecrow. Her parents look like fools, the photos of Sontag are disrespectful, and even Brad Pitt is at his worst. Ugly, ugly, ugly...

Yes the world is cruel and not everyone nor everything can be beautiful... it is merely that this book is blatantly defensive.

Well ... is exactly like the title says ..........2007-08-26

... no more no less.
Do not expect to see more than an "allowed invasion" on her life in B&W.
Self promotion, just it. But who didn't, right?
If you can take some lessons "through her personal eyes", good for you.
I believe from everything you can take something good.

The Best of Family Portrait Photography: Professional Techniques and Images

Average customer rating:

Great guide
Great ideas for group Photography
An excellent, comprehensive book
Great photos
Great Hobby Photog

The Best of Family Portrait Photography: Professional Techniques and Images
Bill Hurter
Manufacturer: Amherst Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1584281723

Book Description

Artwork from 30 of the industry's top photographers is used to highlight both clear-cut shooting strategies and colorful, cutting-edge approaches to family portraiture in this handbook intended for idea gathering and inspiration. Advice on focal length, perspective, and maximizing the potential of digital equipment highlights the technical aspects of family portraiture while group posing strategies demonstrate how best to flatter each subject and convey a sense of family unity. A lengthy discussion of lighting—the backbone of portraiture—and the manipulation of shadows and highlights instructs photographers on how to create mood and interest in a variety of lighting scenarios, both indoors and out. Specifics on adjusting body lines, colors, and shapes, working with young children, and creating a comfortable atmosphere ensure that the photographer captures the unique personality of each family with dynamic and attractive images.

Customer Reviews:

Great guide.......2007-09-28

This book is very helpful with posing techniques, lighting and other tips. Well worth the money. Lots of quality photo examples. Great to have in your reference library.

Great ideas for group Photography.......2007-09-10

There were so many inspiring examples in this book. I loved the ideas for photographing large groups. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to perfect the art of photographing families or groups.

An excellent, comprehensive book.......2007-08-23

As a retired professional photographer I expected the finer points of family portraiture to be missing. Instead, it was excellent both in the fundamentals and in the detailed aspects of photographing groups. As a retiree I am using it for in-depth review, and I love it. My wife and I studied with Monte Zucker many years ago and we were happy to see his work included, along with Bill McIntosh and other fine professionals.

Great photos.......2007-08-11

The book was great in it's explanations about what techniques to use for the best possible shot. I'll be using it's techniques from now on.

Great Hobby Photog.......2007-07-21

This book is very readable. It is short and to-the-point. This is the type of book to pick up, read and then go do the things described. I read quickly and started my own photography experimenting. I also enjoyed being able to go back and quickly find answers to my questions while working. This is a very user-friendly book.

Average customer rating:

pretty
I loved it!
Yawn.
Mann Captures Childhood's Natural Beauty
A Vision of Innocence

Immediate Family

Manufacturer: Aperture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0893815233
Release Date: 2005-06-15

Book Description

"These are photographs of my children....Many of these pictures are intimate, some are fictions and some are fantastic, but most are of ordinary things every mother has seen. I take pictures when they are bloodied or sick or naked or angry. They dress up, they pout and posture, they paint their bodies, they dive like otters in the dark river."--Sally Mann, from the Introduction

Taken against the Arcadian backdrop of her woodland home in Virginia, Sally Mann's extraordinary, intimate photographs of her children-- Emmett, Jessie, and Virginia-- reveal truths that embody the individuality of her immediate family and ultimately take on a universal quality. Mann states that her work is "about everybody's memories, as well as their fears," a theme echoed by Reynolds Price in his eloquent, poignantly reflective essay accompanying the photographs in Immediate Family.

With sublime dignity, acute wit, and feral grace, Mann's pictures explore the eternal struggle for autonomy-- the holding on, and the breaking away. This is the stuff of which Greek dramas are made: impatience, terror, self-discovery, self-doubt, pain, vulnerability, role-playing, and a sense of immortality, all of which converge in Sally Mann's astonishing photographs.

A traveling exhibition of Immediate Family, organized by Aperture, opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia in the Fall of 1992.

Customer Reviews:

pretty.......2007-06-27

it's just gorgeous to look through. you get to see through the mother's eyes, to see what every mother sees: her children being children; being hurt and sad and happy and playful.

I loved it!.......2007-06-12

I love photography and having this kind of books exposes me to other peoples work and I love it!

Yawn........2007-01-15

I did not feel one way or the other about it. Quite boring overall, to be honest. Cannot even remember how I got a hold of it (I certainly did not buy it myself). Sold it off after a few months of trying to find something about it interesting...

Mann Captures Childhood's Natural Beauty.......2006-09-26

It's hard to see why there has been such a legal fuss over the photos contained herein, especially the luminous photos of older daughter Jessie, who was interviewed in the 1993 documentary "Blood Ties", which showed other photos not in the book [alas]. I only hope Mann has a chance to have published other photos of her children from this period, as well as some feom the 4 or 5 years immediately after [from about 1990 to 1995]. In the documentary, daughter Jessie was completely relaxed about all of the fuss, and seemed relaxed about being photographed without any clothes on in several photos. She wore nothing in several unpublished photos I've seen from the same period, like photos entitled "Venus After School", and "The Good Daughter". In an Aperture magazine retrospective on her from the early 2000's, she was very succinct in stating that she saw nothing wrong in any of this, and even more previously unpublished photos were published for the first time, proving that Jessie could be the subject of her own book. Here's hoping! This book is not to be missed! Don't let the controversy scare you away, before it's out of print for good!

A Vision of Innocence.......2006-07-24

Looking through the photographs in this volume, I feel so glad that Sally Mann's children had the freedom to just be themselves. You can see it in the pictures--nothing is "staged" or "put on," though you *will* see the kids playing at being grown up. Mostly, though, these are pictures of her children dressed and undressed, sprawled in the mud or playing games together or taking a nap. There are a few adult friends, but mostly these are photographs of the children.

They are wonderful. You realize how precious this fleeting phase of life is, and given this opportunity, you can see that children possess their own kind of beauty. I think it's called 'innocence,' and it is one mode of freedom. It's a kind of freedom that seems endangered in this world, so a photographic record of this sort acts as a kind of testimony that childhood can indeed be carefree, natural, and happy.

Average customer rating:

Timeless Insight Into The Universal Quality Of All People
Perhaps the best photographic book ever published
i love this book.
This book is a magic book--absolutely essential. (NOT recent editions, though).
A Timeless Classic

Family Of Man, The

Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0870703412
Release Date: 2002-07-02

Book Description

Hailed as the most successful exhibition of photography ever assembled, The Family of Man opened at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in January 1955. This book, the permanent embodiment of Edward Steichen's monumental exhibition, reproduces all of the 503 images that Steichen described as "a mirror of the essential oneness of mankind throughout the world. Photographs made in all parts of the world, of the gamut of life from birth to death." A classic and inspiring work, The Family of Man has been in print for more than forty years. The New York Times once wrote that it "symbolizes the universality of human emotions." First produced by a magazine publisher and sold by the hundreds of thousands on newsstands and in airport shops, The Family of Man has been in more recent years published by the Museum. It has been continuously in print since 1955; the present Thirtieth Anniversary Edition was prepared from original photographs with all new duotone plates in 1986.

Customer Reviews:

Timeless Insight Into The Universal Quality Of All People.......2007-09-08

This is my favorite book. I purchased it when I was 18, and loved black and white photography. I am now 65, and still see the same basic beauty in the photographs. It's not about the 1950's, or showing American culture. It shows how universal and similiar all people of all races and cultures are. It shows young children playing, people falling in love, weddings, births, hard work, wars, death, grieving, and even hope from various people and countries from our planet Earth. One family. One people. This is a collection of love, not about a specific time, or place, or our differences. This is a book that shows our skin colors, clothes, and countries may change; but we are all the same.

Perhaps the best photographic book ever published.......2007-05-12

I first found this book at Foyle's in London, about 35 years ago, and it struck me. Since then, I bought five copies of the Family of Man, but no one remained in my home, because ever I felt the need to give this book to someone I loved or trusted.
What is making this book so precious to me?
First the idea itself of collecting pictures from the whole world (remember, when Steichen launched his project, the Cold War and the related hysteria was at its peak). This to demonstrate that all the human beings have to pass through the same events in their life: birth, growth, education, emotions, work, love, children, reflection, death. This apparently trivial concept leads to a conclusion by far less trivial: we all do belong to one family, our species, the humans (by the way, this thinking had not so great success in the past, nor the present seems to be more benevolent).
The Family of Man is exactly the visual demonstration of such a concept, by comparing the same events as viewed from different geographic and cultural perspectives, by means of photos from renowned or unknown photographers (of course, the pictures from the US are prevailing in numbers for logistics and statistical reasons: it was by far more simple for an US photographer to even simply receive the news of the Steichen project than for a photographer in Rwanda or in the USSR).
Steichen and his assistants made an impressive selection, shortlisting 503 pictures from the over 2 million they received. By the way, Steichen was a photographer, and his selection also considered the aesthetic side of the question: most of the pictures selected simply are wonderful.
The result is this book. I think no one on this planet can miss it, because The Family of Man is representative of a large part of our culture and on our very nature.
To give an example, in my opinion this book is at the same emotional and rational level as Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Divine Comedy, Melville's Moby Dick, primo Levi's If this is a Man, or the ancient Greek lyrics, to quote some comparisons.
I hope it will continue to be published; we, the humans, desperately need it.

i love this book........2007-04-10

I am so glad Family of Man is still available. I would also suggest that in conjunction with this book, you offer Family of Women, and Family of Children.

This book is a magic book--absolutely essential. (NOT recent editions, though)........2005-11-24

I've always thought of THE FAMILY OF MAN as a magic book, ever since discovering it on the family bookshelves when I was a young child. The thing was (above and beyond the book's excellence and power to move anyone with a heart), for many years it seemed that every time I would delve into this book, there would be at least one new picture, one I could swear I'd never seen before. I still sometimes have that experience (although nowadays I tend to attribute it to an aging mind). I do remember at first being most impressed and guiltily fascinated by the powerful pictures of birth, which my siblings, our friends and I would look at, giggling in horrified wonder, and by those "nasty" (actually, beautiful) pictures of breastfeeding. I still remember our mom explaining that there was nothing "nasty" about any of those pictures, that they were true and lovely. That was only one of many life lessons she taught us, using images from this book.

Each image is a whole story, a world, unto itself, and the beauty is the connection of each one to all the others, just as we are all connected to each other in the family of man (as well as to all that the world comprises, like it or not). As others have written, I have given numerous copies of this book as gifts over the years. (That was not so successful when I gave it to my brother and sister-in-law as part of their wedding present. My brother had grown up with it, but his bride had never seen it before, and was somewhat horrified and disgusted by it; unfathomable to me. I don't think it lasted long in their home, if it ever made it there at all.)

Sometime in the mid-'90s I bought a new copy in a bookstore, and was upset and very disappointed to discover how it had been changed and messed up in that edition (which was, I believe, put out under the aegis of Disney's Buena Vista Entertainment). The look and feel of the paper were wrong, to begin with: too bright white and thick. Pictures had been cropped differently and (I think I'm remembering correctly on this), in some cases, laid out somewhat differently. I recommend avoiding such copies (I don't know what is being published now in that regard, or if the book is out of print, or if they've gone back to the original look and feel); the differences, though subtle, really are jarring and very much diminish the quality. This 'brightened' version came in the wake of a spate of "Family of..." books (Women, Children, and I think maybe a couple of others), that always seemed opportunistic, a little crass, and pitiful in their inability to approach the fundamental, universal, inevitable feeling of the original. Not that these others were without merit, but almost always, an original will far overshadow any sequels or copies that come after it. That's certainly the case here.

A Timeless Classic.......2005-09-11

I first purchased this book over 30 years ago as a budding photographer. It inspired and uplifted me then and does today. As I finished my term as president of a state professional photographers organization, this was the gift I selected to give to the members of my Board of Directors.
Eric Newhall

How to Photograph Your Life: Capturing Everyday Moments with Your Camera and Your Heart

Average customer rating:

Have to have
My new favorite author
This books offers those little tips on getting the shot.
Practical advice for regular people from a seasoned Pro
scrapbookers take notice

How to Photograph Your Life: Capturing Everyday Moments with Your Camera and Your Heart
Nick Kelsh
Manufacturer: Stewart, Tabori and Chang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

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ASIN: 1584792795

Book Description

Nick Kelsh's winning formula for creating the consistently top-ranking titles in his category? Simply put, Kelsh can teach anyone--with any kind of camera--to take great pictures, by showing how he takes his own great pictures.

Kelsh presents more than 40 new picture-taking scenarios--the types that fill everyone's photo albums. Whether capturing milestones such as graduations or weddings, or the unexpected occurrence, such as a beautiful sunset or a pet in a funny pose, Kelsh's readers will learn to make images they can be proud of.

Each spread addresses one photo idea, with simple techniques and tips explained using a "predictable amateur photo" compared to the same image improved by professional wisdom. A special 8-page gatefold demonstrates "how to photograph a vacation." These are the photo-ops of our daily lives and, mundane or special, they represent what everyone really wants to know: how to take a picture of a group of friends, how to photograph a private moment, and even how to take a good picture of something you want to sell on eBay.

Special attention is paid to the growing number of people working with point-and-shoot digital cameras. Kelsh has photographed the entire book with one and he includes advice on how to use it as well as image storage for the digital family album.

You've photographed Baby and Family. It's time for the rest of your life in How to Photograph Your Life.

Customer Reviews:

Have to have.......2007-07-24

This is amazing book. In simple language, it explains how to make good photos with any camera. There is no deep technical analysis (Like Ansel Adams in "The Camera", "The Negative" or John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide). There are no guidelines how to improve your creativity (like "Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography or Photography and the Art of Seeing" by Freeman Patterson or "A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography" by Bryan Peterson). This books are great but doesn't answer simple way for simple questions (like questions many my friends asked me). Book covers most common shooting situations and explains how to avoid common mistakes and make your photo looks much better and more interesting. I red a lot of books on this topic (good books), but they mostly dedicated to people who want to become professional photographer or photo artist. Even I already know all ideas presented in this book, it was helpful for me to read this.

My new favorite author.......2007-05-14

Nick Kelsh's books have seriously inspired me to kick my photography skills up a notch without overwhelming me. I saw the titles to his books in Lasting Memories magazine and knew I wanted to read them. They are a quick read which was encouraging since I have a newborn and started with his book on how to photograph babies. I'm already putting into practice what I've learned from all of his books and I think my photos are greatly improved.

This books offers those little tips on getting the shot........2007-03-06

This book offers some great tips on getting the perfect shot to taking pictures. Gives lots of examples of possible shots you have taken and then explains how the shot could have been better. I recognized some possible photos I have taken and went back and reshot it to find that I did like the authors recommendation better. I now am finding myself looking at everyday life events and saying how that would make a great picture. I now carry my camera around with me all the time waiting for getting that perfect shot.

Practical advice for regular people from a seasoned Pro.......2007-02-08

This book is a quick-read that is filled with golden nuggets of advice for beginning and intermediate level photographers. It is NOT a book filled with technical jargon or gear. What it does have is clear explanations of what will make you a much better photographer.

I liked this book so much that I bought ten copies and have given them away as gifts to friends and family when they get new cameas. When I ran out of those, I bought another ten. This book should be included with the box that every new camera comes in.

scrapbookers take notice.......2007-01-15

Snapshot photographers rejoice! Here is a book that ignores the in depth technical jargon or the "photography as fine art" posturing and highlights the fun in photography. I found this quite by accident am so glad I did. Each two page spread shows first a typical, boring, often poorly lit or composed, common snapshot and then, the results you can get with a few simple corrections. It really helps you "see" in a new way. No more Christmas tree shots that are indistinguishable from every other year's picture. No more every-one-in-the-family-in-a-straight-line-on-the-lawn. If you'd like your pictures to move from okay to wow, this book will make a difference.

Material World: A Global Family Portrait

Average customer rating:

A beautiful achievement
What Blather!!
Eye-Opening View of Other Cultures
Life Changing!
A Beautiful and Important Work

Material World: A Global Family Portrait
Peter Menzel , Charles C. Mann , and Paul Kennedy
Manufacturer: Sierra Club Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0871564300

Amazon.com

In honor of the United Nations-sponsored International Year of the Family in 1994, award-winning photojournalist Peter Menzel brought together 16 of the world's leading photographers to create a visual portrait of life in 30 nations. Material World tackles its wide subject by zooming in, allowing one household to represent an entire nation. Photographers spent one week living with a "statistically average" family in each country, learning about their work, their attitudes toward their possessions, and their hopes for the future. Then a "big picture" shot of the family was taken outside the dwelling, surrounded by all their (many or few) material goods.

The book provides sidebars offering statistics and a brief history for each country, as well as personal notes from the photographers about their experiences. But it is the "big pictures" that tell most of the story. In one, a British family pauses before a meal of tea and crumpets under a cloudy sky. In another, wary Bosnians sit beside mattresses used as sniper barricades. A Malian family composed of a husband, his two wives, and their children rests before a few cooking and washing implements in golden afternoon light. Material World is a lesson in economics and geography, reminding us of the world's inequities, but also of humanity's common threads. An engrossing, enlightening book. --Maria Dolan

Book Description

We are witnessing the emergence of a unified world economy, as exemplified by NAFTA and GATT, that will, in theory, make goods available at cheaper prices, create new jobs throughout the world, raise standards of living, and benefit the average family. However, population growth and resource exploitation will also affect these potential benefits as patterns of consumption change. In stunning photographs and text, Material World demonstrates the present context for the emerging global economy, what it means to be "statistically average," by displaying families in more than thirty nations outside their homes - with all their possessions in view.
Among the 350 stunning images are those of a family in lush Samoa juxtaposed with a Kuwaiti family and the two Mercedes-Benzes parked outside their desert home; a family in Iceland posing with their treasured string instruments while a family in Sarajevo huddles outside their bullet-ridden apartment. The text describes what it means to be "average" in each of thirty very dissimilar cultures and the impact of each way of life on the local environment. Statistical information about each country accompanies the photo-essays so that readers can easily compare one culture with another.
Material World is a fascinating portrait of multicultural diversity and a preview of emerging issues raised by the impact of the global economy on the cultural heritage of the human community.

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful achievement.......2007-08-30

"Material World," written during the 1990 U.N. International Year of the Family, is a major achievement and, although it can seem dated in areas, is still timely and relevant for our world today.

Profiling 30 families from across a wide spectrum of the 183 U.N. member states, "Material World" depicts these families' struggles and triumphs in words, pictures, and statistics. Many of these vignettes are uplifting--the Cuban family holding on to each other as their nation suffers through communism--and many are very saddening--the three Carballo children sleeping in fear of being robbed each night. It is highly useful in perspective building and also a good way to see how others live elsewhere in the world. It is not going to make one "proud to be an American," but it is also not an "America-bashing" book. "Material World" demonstrates very powerfully the old proverb: 'It's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you've got.'

The Albanian family, with its minute amount of belongings; the Brazilian family, struggling to survive the slums; the Mexican sisters, window shopping before getting the very special treat of an ice cream bar--all exemplify this ideal. The children are in particular very inspiring, rising as they do above the conditions many sadly live in. This is their life, their daily bread--and in a powerful example, they make the most of it.

"Material World" is inspiring, beautiful, and still timely, even over ten years after its publication.

What Blather!!.......2007-08-20

This book is an attempt to shame Americans for living in the land of plenty. So what we have more stuff than other folks do! Most of the world is hobbled by war and bad government so people have less wealth than Americans. But I'm not losing any sleep over it. The Sierra Club is a political organization and this book is just that. . . politics. Read the part about American family ... "the legacy of slavery" and the "uneven distribution of wealth". What pure hooey!

Eye-Opening View of Other Cultures.......2007-05-13

Photos showing the possessions - all of them, great and small - and daily life of families from around the world are supplemented by text and factoids backing up the photos. The purpose of this book isn't to make materialistic Americans feel guilty, but the book is certainly thought- and discussion-provoking. This book will be appreciated most by older children and adults, but even my 6-year-old "got it." Viewing a photo of the complete contents - what little there were - from the home of an Albanian family, he asked, "Where's the rest of their stuff?" Honey, that's it. And that's the point.

Life Changing!.......2007-04-20

This is one of the most meaningful books I've ever read. It changed the way that I think about the world, about my own belongings. Incredible and a must have.

A Beautiful and Important Work.......2007-03-10

The photographs that are highlighted in "Material World" reveal people and their possessions, people from many countries, rich and poor. To see how many others in the world live gives us only a glimpse of our good fortune here in the U.S. A valuable and timely book.

Average customer rating:

Miracle: A Celebration of New Life
She calls this a miracle?
What a precious book!! And beautiful music.
Great for new mothers
Only God can create life

Miracle: A Celebration of New Life
Anne Geddes , and Celine Dion
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Motherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Accessories:

ASIN: 0740746960
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Book Description

Never before have two top artists created such a multimedia work to honor the unique and steadfast bond between mother and child. Vocalist Celine Dion and photographer Anne Geddes conceived Miracle as a way to express something deep within their own hearts, and now both the experience and the outcome will delight music and visual art fans throughout the world.Miracle features more than 100 stunning new Geddes images. Each frame reflects the beauty, grace, and magic of both the photographer and her subject. Babies enfolded in blooms, mothers embracing the life flowering within: Anne's artistic eye captures it all. The exquisite images are wedded with the lyrics to all-new songs by Dion, created and performed on the book-accompanying CD in Celine's unmistakable international superstar style. It's easy to hear how her clear and melodious voice has captivated millions throughout her career. A DVD rounds out this artistic package, exploring the genesis of the Miracle project and taking its audience behind the scenes to witness the making of this memorable production. Celine's title track music video highlights the DVD.As a complement to this many-faceted experience, Sony Music will release its stand-alone Dion CD concurrent with the book's debut. AMP is delighted to play a role in bringing this important collaboration to readers and listeners, providing a crossover experience rivaled by few others. Mothers, grown children, grandmothers, friends, and gift givers everywhere will want to join this celebration of wonder.

Customer Reviews:

Miracle: A Celebration of New Life.......2007-08-23

most incredible....Wonderful photography....I gave this as a gift to my expecting daughter...WE have loved wandering thru the book and enjoying the memories a mother and daughter make along life's path, some day her daughter will have the same experience..... WE LOVE IT !!

She calls this a miracle?.......2007-08-16

Some old fart blows his beans up her muff and the end result is a 'miracle'? Give me a break. If that's a miracle, so is taking a dump...which is pretty much equivalent to the entire recorded output of this overmarketed, overrated, so-full-of-herself commercial twit.

What a precious book!! And beautiful music........2007-02-22

This book and CD are so soothing. I LOVE to look at this book cover to cover. I think it's the most beautiful thing ever. I pop in the CD and look at this book and I'm so filled with awe on the miracle of life. These babies touch your heart, and are captured so beautifully in this book.
Anne and Celine have given me such a gift!!!

Great for new mothers.......2007-01-03

I received this book as a gift about 1 month after the birth of my first child. I loved it! I was so amazed with babies and how perfect they are when they are born. This book uses newborn babies in the most beautiful photos. You can look at the photos and appreciate what a miracle little babies are, especially if you have just given birth to one. The music CD has many songs that I sing to my baby when he is going to sleep. Many of the songs are remakes of classics, some are her originals. Again, as a new mom, I appreciate the words of these songs and they capture how much love I feel for my new little peanut!

Only God can create life.......2006-08-06

This book is truly a celebration of life. If you read this book and still think that allowing abortions on demand is okay, then your heart has grown too hard. dls

Grandparents & Grandchildren: Shared Memories

Average customer rating:

a great snapshot into the grandparent/children relationship.
"Grandparents. . ." is heartwarming
Poignantly written, beautifully photographed stories of love
Beautifully presented book blending warmth & nostalgia.
The book lets you into the lives of the families selected

Grandparents & Grandchildren: Shared Memories
Carol Abrams , and Ferne Margulies
Manufacturer: Stoddart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1575440768

Customer Reviews:

a great snapshot into the grandparent/children relationship........1999-08-28

a perfect coffee table book or present.

"Grandparents. . ." is heartwarming.......1998-10-07

I was moved by this book. I happen to be one of the grandaughters featured in this book, and I hate to admit this, but I really wouldn't have picked it up, but since I was given a free copy, I read, and it made me appreciate the relationship between my grandfather and me. Now everyone that has picked it up, wants a copy. It really is touching.

Poignantly written, beautifully photographed stories of love.......1998-07-19

This is a delightfully written book filled with poignant reflections of love betweem grandparents and grandchildren. In just a page or two, Carol Abrams captures the essence of these relationships and the photography illuminates the stories. As a recent grandmother, I readily identify with the unconditional love these grandparents share with the reader and only hope that my grandaughter will bond with me in a similar fashion.

Beautifully presented book blending warmth & nostalgia........1998-06-18

I was so touched by "Grandparents & Grandchildren, Shared Memories" that I began sending a copy to each of my family members--then to friends who are grandparents. The recipients are all so delighted with this "treasure" that I thought I might share my idea with others. It's a beautifully presented book, blending warmth and nostalgia through engaging vignettes. Each charming chapter reassures us that what seems ordinary is potentially profound. Kudos to Carol Abrams & Ferne Margulies for a gem of a book!

The book lets you into the lives of the families selected.......1998-06-10

This wonderful book is not just another coffee table photography book. The stories behind the photographs explore the special relationships many grandparents share with their grandchildren. Some have made incredible sacrifices in stepping into the role of parent, when their own children failed to fill that role. The devotion is so heartwarming. Reading these stories makes one stop and cherish their own special relationships with family. It is a book I know I will look at over and over again.

Average customer rating:

Dispels Myth that Black Men don't raise their children

Pop: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood
Carol Ross
Manufacturer: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1584795980

Book Description

In 51 visually stunning, emotionally compelling portraits, acclaimed photographer Carol Ross presents a hopeful, heartwarming, and caring view of black fatherhood in the United States. In an era that pays little positive attention to black fathers, Ross's inspirational perspective on the relationships between black men and their children is vitally important—and long overdue.

Ross's richly textured duotone photographs reveal a group of devoted fathers whose common bond is their profound love for their children. For her subjects, Ross has selected men from all walks of life—college professors, filmmakers, technicians, construction workers, and corporate executives—along with well-known music executives, directors, entertainers, and actors, such as Antonio L. A. Reid, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Funk Master Flex, Doug E. Doug, and Melvin Van Peebles. Film star Samuel L. Jackson, photographed with his daughter, provides the book's foreword, and each portrait is accompanied by a poignant personal recollection by the father depicted.

Exquisitely designed, Pop: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood finally gives black men their own voice about their experience as fathers. Inspired by her own father, Ross's book is, in her words, “a round of applause, a bow, a `God bless you,'” to all those fathers who “take their children to that place where, one day, they can fly on their own.”

Customer Reviews:

Dispels Myth that Black Men don't raise their children.......2007-05-24

Carol Ross has done her part with this work which is a valuable, necessary and fantastic contribution to American culture. The book showcases photos of many black fathers with their black or mixed-race children in their everyday existence...doing their part to raise their children. An added bonus: reading the compelling and sometimes gripping account from each father profiled explaining what being a dad means to them.

Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England

Average customer rating:

Exploring the middle class home and psyche
Thank God I'm Mod!
The Home as Castle
Fascinating view of the life of the past
Great Reading!

Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England
Judith Flanders
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393052095

Book Description

"Almost criminal in its housebreaking, burglarizing, second-story genius."—James Kincaid, University of Southern California

The Victorian age is much closer to us in time than we might believe. Yet at that time, in the most technologically advanced nation in the world, people buried meat in fresh earth to prevent mold forming and wrung sheets out in boiling water with their bare hands. Such household drudgery was routinely performed by the grandparents of people still living, but the knowledge of it has passed as if it had never been.

Judith Flanders's book is laid out like a Victorian house, taking you through the story of daily life from room to room. In each space she depicts the home's furnishings and decoration: from childbirth in the master bedroom, through the scullery and kitchen, the separate male and female domains of the drawing room and the parlor, and ending in the sickroom. A rich selection from diaries, letters, advice books, magazines, and paintings fills the rooms with the people and personalities of the age. 100 illustrations, 3 8-page color inserts.

Customer Reviews:

Exploring the middle class home and psyche.......2007-08-28

I've always been interested in the Victorian period of English history, especially in the ways that people lived. Most books that detail the daily lives of people are geared towards the upper classes, with their grand estates in the country, and imposing townhouses. The working classes have been summed up with conditions of appalling poverty, overcrowding and misery. But what about the middle classes, those professional workers and merchants that were suddenly new consumers and riding the crest of the Industrial Revolution?

Researcher Judith Flanders takes a look at their world, and particularly through the eyes of the women who were often the silent, but determined decision makers in how their homes were run and organized. How she presents this information is the interesting part -- she describes this world and the people in it through the rooms of a typical middle-class home. It is also a look at the lives of the Victorians as they progress from room to room, from birth and the nursery, to death and the sickroom. It is also predominately the world of women, where the father of the household is a somewhat distant presence, there to provide the financial means, and perhaps a dominating effect, but also rather remote from the day to day workings of the family.

Where this book becomes the real draw is when Flanders describes each room in turn, drawing on the journals, homekeeping books and manuals, and the memoirs of the time. A good deal of the book is given not just to how each room was decorated and furnished, but also how it was kept clean, and how it was used, and if it was a room meant to be for private -- such as the nursery, bedrooms, and the workplaces such as the kitchen and scullery.

Public or rather, reception rooms were the Drawing Room, the Dining Room, and the Parlor. Often the Dining room and parlor would be one and the same in many homes, with the Drawing room having the best furniture and items, and saved for when visitors came and the best impressions to be made. The dining room was often where the lady of the house stayed during the day, where she did her letter-writing and account keeping, and often would teach her children, and oversee her servants.

Workplaces in the home were the Kitchen and Scullery, where meals were prepared, and clothing and dishes washed. Often this was where the servants slept if there wasn't any spare room for them. It was also where the greatest battle against bugs, rats and mice were often fought -- one description in the narrative depicts three visiting housemaids clutching each other in terror in the night atop the kitchen table as the floor 'heaved' with cockroaches. Other duties included the laundry, a laborious, backbreaking chore that took a week to complete, only to be started again almost immediately. More than any other chapters, these made me bless those inventors who have come up with such staples as modern ranges, the refrigerator, and especially the washer and dryer.

Another innovation in the Victorian home was the bathroom. And we're not just talking about bathtubs either -- in the homes of the upper middle classes, and the aristocracy, there were enough servants to haul tins of hot water up and down stairs to fill a hip bath for washing, but for more basic needs there was the odorous chamberpot, a device that had to be emptied, and scoured clean several times a day. No wonder when nonporous pipe was invented, the creation of indoor plumbing and the flush toilet were embraced so happily, especially when typhoid and cholera epidemics swept through England.

Bedrooms were for sleeping, but they could also reflect the inhabitant's likes, and often served as a retreat from busier parts of the house. The study was the man of the house's own retreat from the feminine, usually done up in dark, masculine colours. And then there was the nursery, where the youngest members of the family usually grew up in, until they had a bedroom of their own -- shared with other siblings of the same sex, or they were packed off to formal schooling.

All in all, I found this to be a remarkable book, full of information about the last half of the nineteenth century. Flanders' writing style is full of wit, and some pretty canny observations. We're not so far from our Victorian ancestors either -- a great deal of our own attitudes still linger. Keeping up with the Jones's isn't a new concept at all, and neither is the idea that a clean, beautiful home is equal to moral cleaniness as well. Flanders' insights into modern domestic thought is very revealing and worth the time to read this book.

The text has plenty of illustrations, along with several full-colour inserts. The research is top notch, and the writing style is lively and full of some tongue in cheek humor. Some things are covered that I thought had nothing to do with homes, but actually were, such as the art of the social call, with cards; the etiquette of 'At-Homes;' the elaborate rituals of mourning in behavior and clothing; and even the debate about corsetry and whether to tight-lace or not. It's not a quick book to read, but a very insightful one. There are extensive notes, bibliography and plenty of suggestions as to where to go next if any particular topic interests you.

Anyone who is interested in how the Victorians lived from day to day should try to find this one. It's a well-done book full of details and intimacies of London, and gives some new theories and revelations about that most misunderstood creature, the Victorian woman.

Five stars.

Thank God I'm Mod!.......2007-03-30

To start off with, I have never been very interested in the Victorian period, because it always seemed stultifyingly dull and hyper-religious. I'm not one of those women who coo and ooh about how "romantic!" everything was, and I find the novels insanely unreadable.

So, you're saying, Why did you buy this book? Well, because I couldn't find the book I really wanted, was browsing, pulled it off the shelf, read a page, and thought, "This is actually interesting!"

The book details in a very readable, conversational fashion the way home life was lived: cleaning, cooking, childrearing, servant/employer relations, and host of other things. It gives a fascinating picture of a daily life...that absolutely SUCKED! Anybody who read this book and didn't come away horrified missed the point. Without spoiling the details, let me just say that life back then was seriously worse than now. I can't imagine finishing the book, picking up my copy of *Victoria* magazine, and sighing, "Gosh, for the good old days!" I'd be tearing up my subscription and looking for a new historical period to be interested in.

But that's just me. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that more than a few Victorian housewives took the Martha Stewart approach, reading the guidebooks more for entertainment than anything, and maybe occasionally trying one of the ideas, but hardly conforming to the ideal in every detail. I also doubt that every family was as rude and condescending to their daughters and servants as the book says. Victorian women certainly had a pathetic position relative to us today, but it's hard to believe life was sheer hell for every single one of them. That's the reason I gave the book three stars. The writing merits four, but I'm not convinced it's a balanced portrait. Even so, I'm not sorry I bought the book, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

The Home as Castle.......2006-12-20

A couple years ago someone coined the term, "cocooning" to describe what they saw as the "trend that sees individuals socializing less and retreating into their home more."

But this is hardly a new phenomenon - in fact, it's actually a Victorian ideal, one admirably expounded on in "Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England" by Judith Flanders.

It was during the Victorian era that advances in technology and transportation made it possible (and even desirable) for people to work someplace other than the home. We take it for granted now, but 150 years ago you had to live where you worked. Think about it: the farmer (obviously) lived on his farm; the shopkeeper above his store. If you were in the lower classes, work often consisted of piecework, assembled in the home. With the rise of an increasingly affluent middle-class, it was now possible to remove your family from the dirt, crowds and crime of the city to the more bucolic environs of the country or suburbs. And we've been doing it ever since.

As I said, we take this for granted today - but in the Victorian era it was a new concept and became something of a mania for all but the poorest in the population. The separation of the public life from private living was described by Dickens:

"The office is one thing, and private life is another. When I go into the office, I leave the Castle [his house in the suburbs] behind me, and when I come into the Castle, I leave the office behind me... "

And on page 8:

"Oh, how dull and dreary is the best society I fall into compared with the circle of my own Fire Side with my Love sitting opposite irradiating all around her, and my most extraordinary boy!"

For how many of us is home and family a bulwark against all the pressures of work and the outside world? It's an incredible blessing and not everyone is lucky enough to have it.

I've noticed that a few other reviewers have commented on what they perceive to be a feminist bias in the author's work. I'm a pretty conservative guy (read my other reviews) and I never felt like Judith Flanders was doing anything except giving as honest a portrayal of Victorian life as was possible. The book is heavily footnoted and well documented. Many of the more troubling comments (the breastfeeding child as vampire, for example) are not the author's opinion, but the opinion of the Victorians themselves. I found it amusing in places to see how our twenty-first century prejudices color how we can look back at beliefs and practices that were no more remarkable in their time than referring to a woman as Ms is in ours. As I've counseled in other reviews, don't read any deeper than the text on the page, gentle reader. You'll enjoy the book a lot more if you don't waste your time trying to divine some political or social meaning beyond the written words.

"Inside the Victorian Home" is a fascinating look at the daily lives of middle-class Victorians and I highly recommend it.

Fascinating view of the life of the past.......2006-08-26

I do hope that potential readers will read the publisher's comments, professional reviews, and positive reviews because they give a much more accurate account of the contents of the book than the rather nasty reviews by some readers. (Having read the book, it seems to me the reviewers have more of an ax to grind than does the author.) As an avid reader of Victorian novels over more than 50 years I found information on every page that threw light on the lost customs of the Victorians (the amazing system of visiting cards; the social complexities of meals and mealtimes; the astonishingly hard work involved in maintaining the home; the amazingly complex rituals involved in mourning; the problem of food adulteration). Every topic covered is illuminated. Plus, this book is a delight to read from first word to last. I recommend it without reservation to any reader of Dickens, Trollope, Eliot, and Arnold Bennett.

Great Reading!.......2006-08-21

One of the best books I have read on Victorian England.
Well written, percise, and extrememly interesting.
This is a book you can read and read again!

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