Book Description
The science behind the gadgets, exploits, and enemies of the world's greatest spy
From the sleek Aston Martin that spits out bullets, nails, and passengers at the push of a button to the microjet that makes hairpin turns to avoid a heat-seeking missile, the science and technology of James Bond films have kept millions of movie fans guessing for decades. Are these amazing feats and gadgets truly possible?
The Science of James Bond takes you on a fascinating excursion through the true science that underlies Bond's most fantastic and off-the-wall accoutrements. The acclaimed science-fiction authors Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg provide a highly entertaining, informative look at the real-world achievements and brilliant imaginations behind such singular Bond gadgets as the buzz-saw Rolex, the car that turns into a submarine, and the ever-popular rocket-firing cigarette. They examine hundreds of Q Division's ingenious inventions; analyze Bond's astonishing battles beneath the earth and sea, in the skies, and even in outer space; and ask intriguing questions that lead to enlightening discussions about the limits of science, the laws of nature, and the future of technology.
Filled with entertaining anecdotes from Bond movie shoots and supplemented with "tech" ratings for all of the Bond movies, The Science of James Bond separates scientific fact from film fantasy--with some very surprising results.
Customer Reviews:
Errors and Plugs.......2006-12-23
Please do not waste your time reading this book. It is soon obvious that the authors have done very little research into their topic. Some of the obvious errors are: Ian Fleming did not write the screenplay for "A View to a Kill" as the authors claim, the wristwatch garrote appeared in the film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" which the authors fail to mention, and the authors must have gone into the kitchen for a snack while watching "Goldeneye" since they seemed to have missed a Russian fighter crashing into the Russian facility. Since the authors base some of their reasoning on some of these errors, their final conclusions fall a bit flat.
My other complaint is how often the authors plug another one of their books. Several times in "The Science of James Bond," when the authors have introduced a field of science, they drop the topic, explaining that the reader will have to find more information on the particular field by referencing another title by the authors. To me, this reeks of laziness and commercialism.
Unfortunately, a bit of false advertising.......2006-12-13
I just finished reading this book, and while it has its amusing and informative bits, it is apparent that the publisher and/or editor did not bother to read the book before making the covers shots, and even the subtitle. This books is titled, "The Science of James Bond", with the subtitle of "From Bullets to Bowler Hats to Boat Jumps, the Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Films". The cover shot on the book shows a wristwatch, a bowler hat, and a boat jump scene from "Live and Let Die". The wristwatch appears to be too cheap to be a 'genuine Bond' item, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Despite the blurb and the photo, there is absolutely no mention of the bowler hat in the book, and only two (throwaway - no pun intended) mentions of Oddjob in the book. I was expecting a discussion of the derby, such as what could it have been made of, how heavy would it have to be, and even (as the Booklist review seems to indicate, showing that the writer ALSO didn't read the book) if it could decapitate a man.
Moving on to the subject of boat jumps, let me describe, in sum total, how much the authors have to say about them (and let me be the first to admit that the "Live and Let Die" boat chase scenes were among my favorites): Nothing.
That's right, not a single word, phrase, or discussion about any of this -- not the technology needed to film them, the stunt men, nothing.
There's quite a bit more wrong with the book, even if taken as 'tongue in cheek', because it's obvious that the authors (who claim to be science-aware) don't understand even basic facts. For example, they go on and on (over several pages) about how Blofeld's spaceship in "You Only Live Twice" is unrealistic because, after all, it wouldn't be able to 'stop' in space, as it needs to go 17,000 MPH to be in orbit, etc. They completely ignore relative speeds -- the Blofeld spaceship only needs to go slightly faster/slower than the target ship, not thousands of miles per hour different. I won't go into the whole 'orbital mechanics' that happen with rendezvous in space (most of which are counter-intuitive), because the authors don't touch on it at all. The authors go on and on about how they can't understand how (at the time the movie was released, in the sixties) NASA wouldn't have 'seen' the spaceship on radar, without understanding how much work had gone into being able to track vehicles that we KNEW about (let alone unknown ones). And there is only a passing reference, several chapters later, about the most 'incredible' aspect of this spaceship -- that it's able to land vertically, under power, on land.
The blurb on the back cover of the book even talks about the "ever-popular rocket-firing cigarette." Of course, if you're anticipating reading anything about that in the book, rest assured -- you won't. It isn't there. And while they spend pages and pages explaining bullet calibers, and why Bond has a Walther PPK, there is nary a mention of one of the most fascinating 'gadget guns' in any of the movies, the 'golden gun' used by Scaramanga in "The Man with the Golden Gun".
In short, this seems to be a somewhat rambling discourse on logical flaws in the Bond movies, with a bit of 'science' thrown in, but it doesn't hold together well, and I can't help but feel cheated by the comparison of the book cover blurbs and the actual content. It doesn't make me feel good to realize that I spent more time reading this book than the publisher did...
Informative and Great Fun!.......2006-11-29
Reading a book like this can give one the urge to watch the Bond movies yet again. Although the authors review the James Bond movies with a critical scientific eye, it is obvious that they are genuine 007 fans. Some of the technology, big and small, portrayed in the Bond movies are discussed in very accessible and engaging prose. Some scientific ideas are discussed form basic principles, but in a clear and completely painless way. Thus readers can learn a bit of science along the way. However, I did stumble upon an error. On pages 99-100, Geiger counter readings are discussed with the intention of establishing the total radiation dose received by Bond due to radioactive contamination on the surface of his body. The one essential element that is missing from this otherwise quite accurate and illuminating discussion is the time factor. A Geiger counter measures a count rate which is a measure of the number of radiation particles impinging upon it per unit time. If the Geiger indicates a reading of 72.8 (no dimensions given in the movie), it is clear that this reading must include time in its units. Thus, in keeping with the units given in the book, the reading could have been 72.8 mSv/hour. Consequently, assuming that this figure also represents the rate at which Bond's whole body is absorbing the radiation dose (which, by the way, is not usually the same as the Geiger counter reading), the total dose received by Bond would be the dose rate multiplied by the time during which he was contaminated. So, for example, if his body surface was contaminated for, say, 10 minutes, then his total dose would only be about 12 mSv. This minor point aside, this is a wonderful book that could be enjoyed by anyone - especially Bond fans.
Book Description
The Cold War agent of pulp fiction and the hero of more than a dozen movies, James Bond, also known as 007, is one of pop culture's most recognizable icons. Doubtless better known from film than from Ian Fleming's novels, the character has become a lightning rod for criticism from all camps. And yet somehow his popularity remains intact.
But who is James Bond? Ian Fleming and James Bond: The Cultural Politics of 007 is an entertaining and revealing examination of the many facets of Bond. Before Bond became a cinematic icon, he was the protagonist of a series of thrillers that appeared during the time of Britain's decline as a major power and the heating up of the Cold War. Fleming's character gave expression to biases and anxieties that continue to shape our political worldview in ways both obvious and covert.
Fifteen spirited and engaging essays—all new to this volume—cover topics including Bond's Britishness, James Bond and JFK, homosexual panic and lesbian Bond-age, the James Bond lifestyle, and Bond's brands.
The contributors are Alexis Albion, Dennis W. Allen, James Chapman, Edward P. Comentale, Vivian Halloran, Jaime Hovey, Aaron Jaffe, Christoph Lindner, Andrew Lycett, Patrick O'Donnell, Craig N. Owens, Brian Patton, Judith Roof, Stephen Watt, and Skip Willman.
Customer Reviews:
Academic Conference or Hunting Lodge for Smart Weirdos?.......2005-07-16
James Bond is one of the few pop culture references that writer (and portrayer of Riff Raff) Richard O'Brien didn't throw into his masterpiece, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. (At least I don't remember any.) But there's a line in Rocky Horror that applies to the book Ian Fleming & James Bond: The Cultural Politics of 007.
In Rocky Horror, the "sweet transvestite" and mad scientist Frank N. Furter shows innocent young Janet Weiss his Charles Atlas-like creation, Rocky. Janet touches Rocky's firm oiled flesh but says she doesn't like a man with too many muscles.
"I DIDN'T MAKE HIM FOR YOU!!!" Frank answers.
This book was written for academics, not for me.
It's a collection of papers written for an academic conference at Indiana University in 2003. The first half of the book especially is full of the jargony prose that academics use too often. Or, as the introduction states, "This grouping of essays explores Fleming's work as it responds to post-World War II transformations - - theoretical or otherwise - - of subjectivity and intersubjective relations." (My spellchecker doesn't even want to call "intersubjective" a word, but it flagged "jargony" too and I like that one.)
The acknowledgments page thanks the "faculty and graduate students" who attended the conference - - didn't they even let undergraduate students past security? I imagine some freshman with one of Q's hi-tech iris-scanning gizmos sneaking in, just like Bond.
Again quoting the introduction, "In fact, the secret service and academia are linked by this mode: the success of both depends on an ability to cross and confound rigid oppositions, . . ." Come on, guys. I had a Man from UNCLE camera-gun too, when I was ten, but I don't still shoot THRUSH agents with it.
But the second half of the book (the essays tying the Bond books and movies to their moment in history) is more interesting. How Bond went from British pulp hero to transatlantic (in other words American) superspy-savior. How Bond (who we always think of as very modern, whatever decade he's in) is really a conservative reaction against the "angry young men" of fifties Britain ("Shoot Back in Anger"). What are the literary and real-life connections between JFK, RFK, Fleming, Bond, and Castro? (And who among those are real people, who are fictional characters, and who are both?)
If you liked Peter Biskind's Seeing is Believing: How Hollywood Taught Us to Stop Worrying and Love the Fifties, and J. Hoberman's The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties, you'll find enough in this book to make it worth reading several of the essays. It's definitely worth the Amazon paperback price.
Book Description
The adventures and antics of James Bond have provided the world with many of the most gripping story lines of the last half-century. Fleming’s novels were bestsellers in their day, and the Bond films have been even more popular, becoming the most enduring and successful film franchise in history. By some estimates, half of the world’s population has seen a James Bond movie. A fascinating and accessible account of this global phenomenon, The Politics of James Bond uses the plots and characterizations in the novels and the blockbuster films to place Bond in a historical, cultural, and political context.
Jeremy Black charts and explores how the settings and the dynamics of the Bond adventures have changed over time in response to shifts in the real-world environment in which the fictional Bond operates. Sex, race, class, and violence are each important factors, as Agent 007 evolves from Cold War warrior to foe of SPECTRE and eventually to world defender pitted against megalomaniacal foes. The development of Bond, his leading ladies, and the major plots all shed light on world political attitudes and reflect elements of the real espionage history of the period. This analysis of Bond’s world and his lasting legacy offers an insightful look at both cultural history and popular entertainment.
Customer Reviews:
Pointyhead Primer To 007.......2005-04-23
Did you ever wonder whether the world of James Bond was more Manichean or Weberian in its outlook? Did it ever bother you that 007 represents a sort of dying totem for the imperialistic, chauvinistic British empire? Do you look at one of Q's gadgets and ponder the limits of technology, or see Barbara Bach in a silken nightie and wonder about the gender politics of the Bond corpus?
If so, Jeremy Black has written the book for you. "The Politics of James Bond" takes on the political as well as social constructs underlying both the original novels by Ian Fleming, as well as the subsequent films. Given the enormous impact of Bond on world culture for half a century, this seems a worthy enterprise. Black certainly knows his Bond, able to deftly move from plot point to plot point in particular stories and explain what was going on at that moment in the Grand Scheme of Things, either a Cuban missile crisis or a spy ring scandal or the advent of the Pill, to draw appropriate connections.
Black is especially on target, and amusing, when he notes the various ways Bond has been modernized over the years, as when the films, with Timothy Dalton by then playing Bond, took on a Jesuitical strain:
"It was acceptable to have an agent who blew up and shot people at will (and without the concerns of Fleming's Bond), but he was no longer allowed to smoke or have sex, a contrast that reveals much about the nature and impact of modern political correctness."
He takes a similar critical approach to Fleming's novels. It's clear Black admires Fleming's writing, and though he echoes the criticisms of Fleming's Old World snobbery, he is also careful not to attach modern sensibilities to Fleming's often-badly-dated views of racial and sexual differences. He calls attention to Fleming's "racialism" rather than "racism," and it's an important distinction, that Fleming could be patronizing about blacks, for example, and yet more willing than many of his time to see beyond stereotypes; certainly not be ruled by them.
For all his cross-indexing and learned discourse, I never got a sense of whether Black thought Bond was any good for society, whether his value extends beyond box-office proceeds. Also, he takes a second-hand approach to explaining the Bond stories, assuming everyone has the same familiarity he does with every novel and film. While he starts pulling out recondite quotes from "Octopussy" to glean insight in male-female relations, I'm trying to remember if that's the one where 007 tells the tiger to sit.
While the book is advertised as "How James Bond has changed the world - and how the world has changed James Bond," it's really more about the latter than the former. Maybe the premise of the book is off, maybe he didn't spend enough time working out the merits of the individual stories over their cultural impact. Does anyone care about what the film version of "The Man With The Golden Gun" has to say about the energy crisis anymore?
Black has written a smart book and done his homework. But he doesn't have much of a story to tell, and it shows.
needed an editor and a fact-checker!.......2003-07-13
Basically I liked this book, as it does a good job of laying out the political climates of the various times and places in the James Bond novels-not only those by Fleming, but also the many other sequels by Amis, Gardner, et al.-and short stories, as well as all the films up to the third Pierce Brosnan one. I have read all the Fleming stories at least twice each, and will probably do so all over again now that I will be able to keep Jeremy Black's input on the politics surrounding the plots in mind.
However, I am still reeling by the frequency of errors in the book, including wrong names-e.g., he mistakenly calls [Pierce] Brosnan "Bronson" (unless of course I missed a James Bond movie that starred Charles Bronson... I don't think so!)-and he renames the character Tatiana Romanova from the novel and film From Russia, with Love "Natalya"; and heaps of grammatical errors.
This book needed an editor and a fact-checker before it went to print. I sincerely hope the publisher has one of each overhaul this book before it issues the paperback edition!
The Politics Of James Bond.......2001-11-02
This was a very interesting book. I liked it a lot. The word "politics" might tend to steer some readers(especialy younger ones) away from this, but don't let that word scare you. A very good book, lots of information. A recomended read from a serious(sometimes refered to as "purist") Bond fan
Great insight of James Bond. 007!.......2001-06-07
This includes everything about 007! and I do mean everything. Buy it today and see for yourself.
AWESOME!.......2001-06-03
This book is really good! I reccomend it to every Bond fan. !!!!
Book Description
Re-reading Harry Potter is the first extended text-based analysis of the social and political implications of the Harry Potter phen-omenon. Arguments are primarily based on close readings of the first four Harry Potter books and the first two films, and a 'text-to-world' method is followed. This study does not assume that the phenomenon concerns children alone, or should be lightly dismissed as a matter of pure entertainment as the amount of money, media coverage, and ideological unease involved indicates otherwise. The first part of the study provides a survey of responses (both of general readers and critics) to the Harry Potter books. The second part examines the presentation of certain themes, including gender, race, and desire, with a view to understanding how these may impinge on social and political concerns of our world.
Customer Reviews:
Boring and Superficial.......2006-07-28
Even if I agreed with Gupta's arguments, I would still have to admit this is a dry, dull, pompous tome that will bore the pants off anyone. As it is, his arguments are ridiculous. They are vague, airy, tenuous attempts to link Harry to some sort of notion of contemporary culture but its never definate. It is amazing how much time he spends pontificating instead of analyzing. If you can see through all the smoke and mirrors, he has stumbled upon a few good categories for looking at the series (like "Blood"), but his analyses are very superficial and condescending. Worst of all, as others have noted, his reading of the books is completely inadequate. He's barely read them, beyond being able to recite the basic plot, and sometimes wrongly. He has merely attached a few of his own ideas vaguely to the Harry Potter series, with absolutely no sensitivity or real engagement. Gupta is yet another (male) critic who has been able to get a lazy book on Harry Potter published. This is a complete waste of time and money: keep reading Harry on your own and wait for some good studies to come out. (The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter is pretty good).
Excellent.......2005-04-20
I'm currently working on a thesis that focuses around a theoretical understanding of the Harry Potter books/phenomena. At the same time, I am also a huge fan. This sometimes creates a conflict as one part of me fervently rebels against any negative aspects that my analysis points to. It seems to me that the negative reviews of this book have perhaps the same problem. They're so clearly biased in favor of preserving the reputation of the books that they go after Gupta's criticism a little blindly. Yes, it is true that the auther extensively outlines his (For the life of me, I can't discover the author's sex. If I'm wrong here, I hope she forgives me) text-to-world approach, and also dedicates a great deal of space arguing one side or another of current theoretical debates. However, this is just how most theoretical texts are written these days (and justifiably so); if you don't want to get involved with the issues, don't read the books.
The truth is that this book is a very serious attempt to discuss Harry Potter, and it offers an intelligent analysis grounded firmly in the academic world. Likewise, Gupta does not generally repeat arguments of other critics, as one review suggested, but offers quite a creative perspective. Also, as another review correctly pointed out, the Repetition and Progression chapter is simply fabulous. I can think of no other observation that has brought such clarity to my understanding of how the books work.
It's hard to read criticism of our favorite books, and maybe we shouldn't. However, should we choose to, we must resist the urge to constantly defend them. Instead, we should learn why they are our favorite books, what makes them work, and in doing so hopefully will only appreciate them more. It's the only way I know to do them justice, and for Gupta's help with me in this pursuit I award him five yellow stars.
Worth the Effort.......2005-03-11
The author has written an academic critique of the literature, but it is not in fact, some kind of Harry Potter slashfest nor a which hunt, as other reviewers have suggested. When you're attempting to write an adult critique from an adult perspective you certainly don't want to view the work through a child's eyes but rather with the insight of adult experience and wisdom. There are valid points in this book that you don't see commonly written up regarding the issues Rowling represents throughout the Harry Potter saga and they are absolutely worth some thought whether or not we reach the same conclusions. I therefore rate it high, but subtract one for pedantic dryness.
Critisism.......2004-05-03
In this book the author is trying to make a statement about the Harry Potter books and telling her negative view of the book to other people. She taking her own interpretation of the book and presenting it as fact. I give her all my respects, but try reading the books through a child's eyes, with an open mind. I quite enjoyed these books for there magical and whimsical qualities. And I think that no child should be denied the opportunity to read these books, just because their parents read this particular book and already formed a negative view in their head based on the author's interpretation of the book.
Uninsightful vamping.......2003-12-26
The other reviewer is spot on, this is a dreary trudge through every fashionable tourist-spot of contemporary criticism. It barely engages with the actual books, pausing at the actual experience of reading only long enough to spot the landmark heresies: sexism (check), racism (check), imperialism (check)... flip through the index and compare the references to characters in the books, vs. the references to vogue theorists, and you'll get the idea. As expected, there is considerably more space made for academic squabbles than for any recognizable experience, human or literary. The inquisitor wraps up this excericize in scholasticism with the shocking announcement that Rowling has been discovered to be (gasp!) a bourgouise liberal. Light the pyres!
A witch-hunt indeed. Yuck.
Average customer rating:
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Narratives of Memory: British Writing of the 1940s
Victoria Stewart
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1403997039
Release Date: 2006-12-26 |
Book Description
Narratives of Memory: British Writing of the 1940s identifies memory as a previously unexamined concern in both literary and popular writing of this period. Emphasizing the use of memory as a structural device and a theme, this book traces developments in narrative, especially the novel, during the war years and immediately after. Authors discussed include Margery Allingham, Elizabeth Bowen, Graham Greene, Patrick Hamilton and Denton Welch.
Book Description
What connects the Romantic essays of Thomas De Quincey and the violent cinema of Brian De Palma? Or the "beautiful" suicides of Hedda Gabler and Yukio Mishima? Or the shootings of John Lennon and Ronald Reagan? In The Aesthetics of Murder, Joel Black explores the sometimes gruesome interplay between life and art, between actual violence and images of violence in a variety of literary texts, paintings, and films.
Rather than exclude murder from critical consideration by dismissing it as a crime, Black urges us to ponder the killer's artistic role -- and our own experience as audience, witness, or voyeur. Black examines murder as a recurring, obsessive theme in the Romantic tradition, approaching the subject from an aesthetic rather than a moral, psychological, or philosophical perspective. And he brings into his discussion contemporary instances of sensational murders and assassinations, treating these as mimetic or cathartic activities in their own right.
Combining historical documentation with theoretical insights, Black shows that the possibilities of representing violence -- and of experiencing it -- as art were recognized early in the nineteenth century as logical extensions of Romantic theories of the sublime. Since then, both traditional art forms and the modern mass media have contributed to the growing aestheticization of violence.
Average customer rating:
- Very Well Done
- Excellent Reference Material
- A Wonderful Treat
- A Treat for "Carol" Lovers
- EXCELLENT NEW BOOK
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A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations : A Critical Examination of Dickens' Story and Its Productions on Screen and Television
Fred Guida
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
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The Annotated Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol in Prose
ASIN: 0786407387 |
Book Description
Over 150 years after its original composition, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol continues to delight readers. The figure of Ebenezer Scrooge has become a cultural icon, and Tiny Tim's "God Bless Us Every One" is as familiar as "Merry Christmas." It is not surprising that Dickens' "ghostly little book," as he called it, has proven a popular choice for adaptation by playwrights and screenwriters. In everything from elegant literary treatments to animated musicals, the role of Scrooge has been essayed by actors from George C. Scott to Mr. Magoo. This critical account of the story's history and its various adaptations examines first, the original writing of the story, including its political, economic, and historical context. The major Carol interpretations are analyzed within their various media: stage, silent film, talkies, and television. Dickens' other, lesser known Christmas stories, like "The Cricket on the Hearth," are also examined and compared to the immortal Carol. Finally, a complete annotated filmography of all film and television productions based on A Christmas Carol is included, with commentary on each version's loyalty to the original text. The text includes a foreword by noted Dickensian scholar Edward Wagenknecht, and a bibliography and index.
Customer Reviews:
Very Well Done.......2003-12-17
Dickens dose a great job introducing this book. He has very high vocabulary and his words are sometimes very confusing. However, that should not cloud over the book because it is a great read. In my opinion it is a must read. I think if any Christmas hater reads this book they will love it. It certainly was interesting.
Excellent Reference Material.......2001-12-18
I've been a fan of the 1953 version of a the Carol for as long as I remember. It was family tradition every Christmas eve to watch it. I've looked at as many possible versions and have yet to find it's match. This book is an amazing resource of all the various interpretations of the Dicken's classic has gone through from early lantern projected pictures, through the silent era, talking films, television, and animated specials. The early version were fascinating and I found it a special bonus that the author made note of various television shows which featured a special Christmas episode inspired by A Christmas Carol. Who could ever forget the "Six Million Dollar Man" Christmas special using the ideas from the novel. This brought back a lot of great television special memories. I was even able to track down two hard to find T.V. animated specials shown in the early 1970's but not seen since. (I found them on Amazon). All in all a great read, especially for fans. I did not agree with all of the criticisms, and the text is a rather dry read, maybe a little too academic. But still great stuff!!
A Wonderful Treat.......2000-02-16
Fred Guida has presented an incredibly well researched and beautifully written book that blends the literary history of this story along with the history of its various screen presentations. Thank you for this unique presentation.
A Treat for "Carol" Lovers.......2000-01-16
Everyone has a favorite film or television version of Dickens beloved "A Christmas Carol." But few of us have any idea how very many adaptations there have been. Mr. Guida's wonderful book examines first the written "Carol," then goes on to detail some of the hundreds of adaptations and variations, from the early stage versions and magic lantern slides to modern made-for-television Carols. Mr. Guida discusses the major Carols with wit and humor as well as rare discernment: his love for his subject is evident. Minor Carols and variations are also covered, albeit more briefly. If you cannot find your favorite version in the text, you are sure to find it in the superb and very thorough filmography. The filmography is worth browsing in and of itself; did you know that there have been Western, country-western, rock-and-roll, and even science-fiction variations on "A Christmas Carol"? Or that actors as disparate as Cicely Tyson, Basil Rathbone, and Mr. Magoo have played Scrooge? If you love "A Christmas Carol" or simply dote on film trivia, I promise you will enjoy this book.
EXCELLENT NEW BOOK.......1999-12-19
This is not just a meticulously researched film historian's delight. It is thoughtfully written, and chock-full of information related to Dickens and A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Excellent!
Average customer rating:
- For Die-Hard Fans Only!
- Highly Enjoyable
- God bless us, Every one !
- SARAH E GEORGE
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The "Christmas Carol" Trivia Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Every Version of the Dickens Classic
Paul Sammon
Manufacturer: Citadel Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0806515791 |
Customer Reviews:
For Die-Hard Fans Only!.......2003-01-07
This very slender book is not a bad afternoon read, but ultimately it fails in what it attempts to do.
The author himself comes off as pompous and disengaging, as his "trivia" book is little more than a brief collection of personal opinions of his favorite Christmas Carol versions. These thinly veiled reviews lack the calibre of even your local TV Guide synopses. The only real trivia examples here are in classroom style question-exercises included at the end of each chapter! While I have no problem with this, the author postures himself as the true expert on A Christmas Carol with no real exposition as to why said versions are his favorite! I am giving it three stars, though, as the subject matter remains enjoyable no matter how clumsily presented.
Also worth noting- The recent Patrick Stewart version is omitted from this collection. Sacrilege!
Highly Enjoyable.......2002-10-30
What a fun book to read. I love 'A Christmas Carol,' and this book puts everything 'Carol' right at your fingertips. For the most part, I agree with much of what the author says, but I feel that 'An American Christmas Carol' and 'Scrooged' deserve higher ratings. I also prefer the George C. Scott version above all others.
This book is broken down so the reader will not only be able to read about the many different film versions of a 'Carol' that have been released, but the cartoon, television, and even the original book version is reviewed as well. An example of what I learned is that I had no idea that there was a version starring Sir Seymour Hicks filmed back in 1935 until I read about it in this book. I then searched out and found a (rather poor, unfortunately) copy of THAT version. There is also a small biography of Mr. Dickens, so the reader will understand where many of his ideas for his novels came from.
The writing style is quick, informative (LOTS of trivia and pictures throughout!), and upbeat.
I don't know if this has been updated to include the Patrick Stewart version or not, as I purchased this book back in '97. I will definitely pick up a revised copy should one become available.
A great bathroom book!
God bless us, Every one !.......2000-06-10
If you're a Fan of Dickens Christmas Carol, like I am, you might enjoy this book.
It has Chapters on Dickens, the story and it's creation and the many Film, T.V, and Cartoon versions. I don't agree with the author that the movie Scrooged is so avfull, I'm not saying it's a Great movie But I found it quite Funny actually.
But apart from that this is a Fun Book to read around Christmas time when you have reeread Christmas Carol, watched all your Christmas Carol Videos, stuffed yourself full of Marsipan, Chocolate and Sherry and been visited by the Ghost of Christmas past.
SARAH E GEORGE.......1999-03-19
i enjoyed reading this book as it shows a change in a mans heart. The book has a lot of humor in it and is understood by people of all ages you can read it time and time again and never get board. I like the way he sees things in a differend view after he had a visit from the three spirits.
Average customer rating:
- trouble to digest this book
- a better book than first meets the eye
- Sh*t Sandwich: a good comic effort
|
Late Modernism: Politics, Fiction, and the Arts between the World Wars
Tyrus Miller
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Cosmopolitan Style: Modernism Beyond the Nation
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The Cambridge Companion to Modernism (Cambridge Companions to Literature)
ASIN: 0520210352 |
Book Description
Tyrus Miller breaks new ground in this study of early twentieth-century literary and artistic culture. Whereas modernism studies have generally concentrated on the vital early phases of the modernist revolt, Miller focuses on the turbulent later years of the 1920s and 1930s, tracking the dissolution of modernism in the interwar years.
In the post-World War I reconstruction and the worldwide crisis that followed, Miller argues, new technological media and the social forces of mass politics opened fault lines in individual and collective experience, undermining the cultural bases of the modernist movement. He shows how late modernists attempted to discover ways of occupying this new and often dangerous cultural space. In doing so they laid bare the ruin of the modernist aesthetic at the same time as they transcended its limits.
In his wide-ranging theoretical and historical discussion, Miller relates developments in literary culture to tendencies in the visual arts, cultural and political criticism, mass culture, and social history. He excavates Wyndham Lewis's hidden borrowings from Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer; situates Djuna Barnes between the imagery of haute couture and the intellectualism of Duchamp; uncovers Beckett's affinities with Giacometti's surrealist sculptures and the Bolshevik clowns Bim-Bom; and considers Mina Loy as both visionary writer and designer of decorative lampshades. Miller's lively and engaging readings of culture in this turbulent period reveal its surprising anticipation of our own postmodernity.
Customer Reviews:
trouble to digest this book.......2000-09-19
This book, very puzzling. I read last night on way back from very excellent smorgasborg dinner at friend house. He make extra fine meatloaf with bread and also butter. I never so full. In all my life, I say, and very happy too. So then what? I read book. So depressing, you see. Mr. Tyrus Miller, he crack open modernism like rotten coconut and pour out spoiled milk for all to see. Now I am so sick and in pain, surely I die soon.
a better book than first meets the eye.......2000-02-18
I was first drawn to this book while waiting for my paramour outside of a popular but nameless Manhattan bookstore. She was late, as always, and to kill the time I skimmed the remainder bins, where some untutored storeclerk had remorselessly dumped several copies of Miller's "Late Modernism." Was it the light winter breeze against my exposed neck, or Miller's icy analytical touch, as he claws his way through the work of Barnes, Joyce, and Brothers that produced that uncanny frisson of feeling I felt as I turned from page to page? Who can say. Clearly Miller has fulfilled the wish of Eliot's Prufrock, and we as readers feel compelled, altogether willingly, to scuttle silently across the pages of "Late Modernism." Reviewers on the book's jacket had promised readers a "crabbed journey through the unnoticed grottoes of late modernism, and at the same time, a forward walking approach to literary theory." Miller delivers. As Miller suggests, form and content can be conceived against the legendary late modernist binary of the shell and the inside, and with Miller's unrelenting hermenuetic in hand, we as readers become the recipients of the most succulent morsels of this most crustaceous period in Western literature. Miller casts his nets wide, revealing the fallacy of the classic distinction between the figurative and the littoral, which in recent criticism of this period has become something of a red herring. In the end, we recognize as readers what Miller has apparently known all along: that the crabs of modernism outnumber those of any cheap hotel.
Sh*t Sandwich: a good comic effort.......1999-06-13
After "The Rants" and "Ranting Again", Miller really delivers here. If you liked his work on Saturday Night Live, you will really enjoy this work, which should've been titled "Late Night Modernism." I didn't know whether to laugh or take out a note pad. Miller's parody of academic idiom reproduces the real thing so closely that it might fool a tenured mind. His comparision of Beckett with Giacommetti was a hoot, but bringing in Bim and Bom went too far- that is my only gripe. Fans of Miller might have expected in this context a kind of "Surrealist Weekend Update." But the knotted and loopy references of his stand up routine have been translated well into pseudo-academic style, including footnotes. His pidgin academic is a veritable laugh griot.
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