Book Description
Between the classic films of Walt Disney in the 1940s and the televised cartoon revolution of the 1960s was a critical period in the history of animation. Amid Amidi, of the influential Animation Blast magazine and CartoonBrew blog, charts the evolution of the modern style in animation, which largely discarded the "lifelike" aesthetic for a more graphic and often abstract approach. Abundantly found in commercials, industrial and educational films, fair and expo infotainment, and more, this quickly popular cartoon modernism shared much with the painting and graphic design movements of the era. Showcasing hundreds of rare and forgotten sketches, model boards, cels, and film stills, Cartoon Modern is a thoroughly researched, eye-popping, and delightful account of a vital decade of animation design.
Customer Reviews:
Cool, Fun and Essential.......2007-07-17
This book covers a vital an oft-neglected period in animation history. When I first laid eyes upon it, in a bookstore, I think I audibly gasped. It is that beautiful. Do not hesitate to purchase this book, which incidentally, won the Theatre Library Association Award for outstanding book in the area of film or broadcasting. Hopefully, there'll be a sequel.
Superlative.......2007-06-08
If you're an animation buff, you won't want to miss Amid Amidi's "Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in 1950s Animation". Lushly paged, and densely packed with generous, colorful, brightly saturated illustrations, "Cartoon Modern" is the cel animation cartoon fan's dream come true - the kind of volume you'd find in a favorites bin in a dream and try to take out into the waking world with you! Amid Amidi is clearly another one of us toon fangeeks: he eagerly sifts through tons of studio, production and biographical information but doesn't skimp on small details only another fangeek would enjoy - intriguing factoids and behind-the-scenes animator gossip relevant to the period abound throughout this thick, heavy book. You will never tire of the clippings, sketches, layouts, articles and character designs. Far from limited to the gorgeous coffeetable book it resembles - don't be fooled by its size and stylish appearance! - "Cartoon Modern" is an authoritative tour of one of American animation's most important creative periods. I personally look forward to more animation books from Amidi, and I hope he will someday take a literary look at the animation of the classic, cartoon modern-influenced 1969-1976 period of PBS's "Sesame Street" and "The Electric Company". As a generous portion of "Cartoon Modern" concerns the works of animators John and Faith Hubley, and the Hubley Studios generated a good 40-50% of the animation for both shows, such a book may not be far from the realm of possibility. Superlative.
More than Disney...........2007-04-19
We had forgotten how much treasured animation was created during this very stylistic era in film history.
Most importantly, the book deserves a publishing prize simply for the design of the text. Absolutely beautiful... flawlessly designed... with quality binding and printing that should last for a century to come.
We were pleasantly surprised by the beauty and class within these covers, and we are pleased to highly recommend this text for the most discriminating animation libraries.
Cartoon Modern.......2007-03-19
Absolutly wonderful visuals, with OK text. Text suffers from almost no acknowlegement of foriegn animation that preceded and drove the U.S. animation design, but still very informationl and a good referenxce book.
Great Book.......2007-01-22
I think this book is a nice purchase. It has great visual reference for cartoon styles and is really easy to brouse through as each "animation studio" has its own chapter. Two other people from my work purchased the book as well, and seem to like it too!
Book Description
Wait Till Next Yearis the story of a young girl growing up in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, when owning a single-family home on a tree-lined street meant the realization of dreams, when everyone knew everyone else on the block, and the children gathered in the streets to play from sunup to sundown. The neighborhood was equally divided among Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans, and the corner stores were the scenes of fierce and affectionate rivalries.
We meet the people who influenced Goodwin's early life: her father, who emerged from a traumatic childhood without a trace of self-pity or rancor and who taught his daughter early on that she should say whatever she thought and should bring her voice into any conversation at any time; her mother, whose heart problems left her with the arteries of a seventy-year-old when she was only in her thirties and whose love of books allowed her to break the boundaries of the narrow world to which she was confined by her chronic illness; her two older sisters; her friends on the block; the local storekeepers; her school friends and teachers.
This is also the story of a girlhood in which the great religious festivals of the Catholic church and the seasonal imperatives of baseball combined to produce a passionate love of history, ceremony, and ritual. It is the story of growing up in what seemed on the surface a more innocent era until one recalls the terror of polio, the paranoia of McCarthyism reflected even in the children's games, the obsession with A-bomb drills in school, and the ugly face of racial prejudice. It was a time whose relative tranquillity contained the seeds of the turbulent decade of the sixties.
Customer Reviews:
Wait till Next Year.......2007-07-13
Most interesting for me since I am a "wait till next year" Red Sox fan. She's an excellent writer and commentator and this lives up to her standard.
Really Good Read!.......2007-06-27
Ms. Goodwin knows how to tell a good story. In addition to telling us about her childhood in a New York City suburb in the 1950s, she also talks about the changes America was going through in this time period: economic development and the impact on the family, the beginnings of the civil rights movement, the "end" of baseball as the American pasttime. The book is well-written and very enjoyable.
A great book on taking your daughter to the game!.......2007-04-27
Great book. It inspires me to take my two little girls to games. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A Fan's Notes.......2007-04-10
Goodwin grew up in New York in the 40's, and this memoir tracks her Brooklyn Dodgers through their World Series win in 1956.
Something to Touch the Heart.......2007-03-27
So many people recommended Doris Kearns Goodwin's charming memoir, "Wait Till Next Year," that I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.
Experiencing her youth in the forties and fifties as I and many of my reading friends did, Goodwin struck chords that reverberated movingly with us. Though the story takes place in Rockville Centre, New York, a suburb just a train ride away from Brooklyn, her pictures of herself and her friends in front yards and back yards, her schools and churches, drug store and neighborhood could have been taken in any American suburb of those distant days.
These memories make up a different kind of "fan's notes," as she tracks the ups and downs and near misses of her beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, the team she followed faithfully as a six-year-old in 1949, until "dem bums" finally delivered a World Series championship in 1956. Her team, with Gil Hodges and Roy Campanella, and even their radio announcer, Vin Scully, moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and became my wife's favorite team. My "Whiz Kids," the Philadelphia Phillies of the fifties, with Robin Roberts and Ritchie Ashburn and Eddie Waitkus received mention and reminded my wife and me of the days when you could count on the same players returning loyally to play year after year for the same team.
In addition to the thread of baseball running through the book, Goodwin touches on national events that characterized the times for anyone who lived through them: the death of FDR, the Korean War, the Rosenberg spy case, McCarthyism, and forced school integration in Little Rock. She remembers Elvis and James Dean and covers faithfully the rituals of growing up in the Catholic Church. There is something here to touch the heart of anyone who grew up in those naive times of the 1940s and 1950s.
Customer Reviews:
2005 Writers Notes Book Award Notable.......2005-04-20
Herskovic overviews American ab-stract expressionism with this hefty volume of plates. Beyond the names you'll immediately recognize (Pollack, DeKooning, Gorky, etc.) this alphabetically arranged set takes a fair and complete look, including commentary from the artists that helps to illuminate an often moody and pensive style. We like Kline's ideas on size and space and also when DeKooning says, "spiritually I am wherever my spirit allows me to be." American Abstract should be a fixture in libraries and the homes of the lovers of the form.
American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s/.......2003-12-23
American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s:
An Illustrated Survey.
OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE ~CHOICE, 2003
"This excellent publication builds on the earlier publication. It has broadened the scope to include artists from throughout the US, rectified...omission of African American artists...and concentrated on 88 artists...Excellent layout and superb photographs. Highly recommended." ~CHOICE August, 2003.
"Researchers will seek out this well designed selection.
Recommended for American art museum, academic, art school and large public libraries." ~Library Journal August 2003.
Ed. by Marika Herskovic, ISBN: 0967799414 New York School Press, 2003. Hardcover, 9 x 12 inches. 372 pages, index. 176 full-page color illustrations.
Illuminating View Through a Very Special Window.......2003-09-15
The window is the eye of a devoted scholar who rips through the red-tape and pitfalls of dealing with artist's estates, galleries and the art world in general! It takes guts and grit to create a second book of the underknown Abstract Expressionists. This volume centers on the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950's, throughout the USA. It adds 80+ artists to the first tour d'force titled, New York School Abstract Expressionists: Artists Choice by Artists. Fortunately, many of the superb African American painters are represented. Ms. Herskovic mentions in her introduction that there were NO painters of African descent in the 9th Street show or any of the artist's annuals. This shocking revelation shows just how NEW integration really is. Norman Lewis, Hale Woodruff, Alma Thomas, Charles Alston, and Edward Clark are a fine quintet whose work shines through the pages of this fantastically researched volume of exceptional quality. As far as I am concerned, they are American Abstract Expressionists who just happen to be of color. Underknown Abstract Expressionist artists in the 1950's had a tough time getting known. After all, there were the meteors with names like Pollock, Rothko, Still, and de Kooning, to easily overshadow you. Not necessarily in quality, but in fame. Painters of African descent naturally had a very difficult time. America might have been avant-garde about this new art but was backward regarding equality of its people.
The West Coast is also represented by some fine painters. Elmer Bischoff, Budd Dixon, Hans Burkhardt, Richard Diebenkorn, Ernest Briggs, Hassel Smith, Richards Ruben, John Saccaro, and Robert McChesney are just a few from the West Coast!
Curators take note: This, the 2nd volume concerning the Abstract Expressionists in America, is a must have. Both volumes have to be included in your museum's library. These volumes are a researcher's dream! Plus, what great exhibitions are possible!
The size and quality of the reproductions are excellent. The book has the same 12 1/2 x 9 1/2" format as the first volume. This time, the dust jacket is gold, in nice contrast to the first volume's silver cover. There are 88 artists represented, and each has an artist's statement which is so important. The statements back-up their precious works. Listed opposite the artist's two large examples, are biographies, where the artist studied or taught, Solo Exhibitions as well as Group shows. A nice touch are the quasi-tributes to two important Fathers of Modern Art and Abstract Expressionism; There are writings by Kandinsky which are very "today", and there is an homage to Arshile Gorky, possibly the most revered American artist before Pollock(according to painters of the NY School).
This scientifically researched 372 page volume will surely be the barometer that all future studies will use.
Product Description
The 14 Book Beany Malone Set includes: Meet the Malones; Beany Malone; Leave It to Beany; Beany and the Beckoning Road; Beany Has a Secret Life; Make a Wish for Me; Happy Birthday, Dear Beany; The More the Merrier; A Bright Star Falls; Welcome Stranger; Pick a New Dream; Tarry Awhile; Something Borrowed, Something Blue; Come Back, Wherever You Are. The Malones of Denver, Colorado are a warm open-hearted family with a welcoming home, open to friends and all others in need of physical and emotional nourishment. The series has the warmth and sense of solidarity intrinsic of wartimes and the post-war era. There is a general feeling of peace and simplicity. When the series opens, the Malone children are motherless, as Mary Malone has been dead for three years. The father, Martie Malone, is often absent due to his duties as editor of the Denver Call. Three of the four Malone children, Mary Fred, Johnny and Beany, live at home. The oldest Malone daughter, the beautiful, loving Elizabeth, has been married to Lieutenant Donald McCallin for one year. The Malones live on Barberry Street in a large, wide-bosomed gray stone home. Their surrounding neighbors are Mrs. Morrison Adams (known as Mrs. Socially-prominent Adams) in her red brick home with immaculate white trim and frilly curtains in the windows, and the imposing and stately home of the Judge Buell family.
Customer Reviews:
AMAZING SERIES!! IS A MUST READ!.......2006-06-24
I got the entire series this past Christmas. I had read the first 2 because although my library had more, they didn't have all of them, and they didn't have the 3rd and I don't like to read things out of order so I was really sad. So then I was soo happy to find out they were being republished by Image Cascading!!!
So yea I read them all and they all rock!!! It's nice seeing what teenagers did back in the 50's. And it was also nice how different people's relationships were with their family's, I wish it were more like that today. And they are also way more responsible and mature then we are now. Making their own money, not having to depend on their parents for everything. And their parents respect and trust them more too! And they definatly treat their parents with much respect which is ALOT more then I can say about kids of today.
The first book is about Beany's older sister, Mary Fred. It is in MF's junior year of highschool, when Beany is in 8th grade. The rest of the books are all about Beany, in highschool, college, and then when she gets married. And let me just say I LOVE who she ends up with. They are SOOO cute!!!
Everyone should read these books they are amazing and are definatly one of my favorite books ever!
Average customer rating:
- An excellent compilation
- The Final Volume on the "Crime Novels" Series
- More Noir
- This is a Great Collection
- Great Collection, Attractively Packaged
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Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America)
Robert Polito ,
Patricia Highsmith ,
charles Willeford ,
David Goodis , and
Chester Himes
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Himes, Chester
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Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s: The Postman Always Rings Twice / They Shoot Horses, Don't They? / Thieves Like Us / The Big Clock / Nightmare ... / I Married a Dead Man (Library of America)
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Complete Novels: Red Harvest / The Dain Curse / The Maltese Falcon / The Glass Key / The Thin Man (Library of America)
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Later Novels and Other Writings: The Lady in the Lake / The Little Sister / The Long Goodbye / Playback /Double Indemnity / Selected Essays and Letters (Library of America)
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Crime Stories and Other Writings (Library of America)
ASIN: 1883011493 |
Amazon.com
The best American crime novels deserve their place in the pantheon of American literature, but they hold special interest for cinema enthusiasts, who can both compare them to the movies they became and can roll imaginary films of the stories in their minds. Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s is the second of Library of America's two-volume anthology of underground U.S. fiction. The first anthology featured works from the 1930s and '40s that had been made into classic films noir. This volume focuses on fiction written after the crime genre had acquired conventions that younger writers toyed with and sometimes broke. The movies made from such stories were equally radical.
Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley is the source for René Clément's bristling Purple Noon, a movie that features Alain Delon's quintessential performance. David Goodis's Down There inspired François Truffaut's neo-noir masterpiece Shoot the Piano Player. Jim Thompson, the brilliant author who scripted The Killing and Paths of Glory for Stanley Kubrick, wrote several novels that have been turned into movies, including The Grifters and The Getaway. He is represented here by one of his most uncompromising works, The Killer Inside Me, which was filmed by Burt Kennedy in 1976. Charles Willeford's Pick-Up and Chester Himes's The Real Cool Killers have not yet been made into movies, but the blistering prose and nihilistic worlds of these authors, and of all the writers represented in this volume, is astonishingly cinematic. This lovely hardcover edition contains biographical, textual, and explanatory notes.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent compilation.......2007-01-07
The other reviewers misunderstand "Pick Up", (****warning -- spoiler****) which is a fascinating novel because the narrator is mentally disturbed and completely unreliable. This fact explains the "twist" ending, a number of apparent editing errors and the unlikely events that occur throughout.
The Final Volume on the "Crime Novels" Series.......2005-11-03
"Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950's" is the second and last volume of the hardboiled anthology published by the Library of America starting with the volume devoted to the genre in the 30's and 40's. This follow-up continues the saga of run-down characters hardened by experience and tough luck. The familiar cast of roguish males, femme fatales, and temperamental and violent detectives set the stage for a diverse and entertaining ride into the depths of the underworld.
"The Killer Inside Me" - Jim Thompson's most popular work is a memorable tale of a Texas law enforcer with a sinister past whose dark and psychotic nature is cunningly veiled behind a genial facade that barely contains "the sickness" which the main character has successfully concealed. A sudden turn of events unleashes the beast inside leading to a tragic odyssey of disillusion, violence, and murder. Pioneering in it's time for revealing the inner mind of the serial killer, the bracing prose and chilling character development makes this work one of the best in the genre.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" - Tom Ripley is a con artist successfully making ends meet through one of the most reprehensible professions in New York City. A drifter and social outcast, one night in a bar he comes across a parent of an old acquaintance he barely recalls and is asked to do a favor. When he consents, his true nature unfolds in this story of murder, sexuality, and identity. Made into film in 1999 starring Matt Damon in the leading role, this cosmopolitan travelogue with a Decadent touch in the end introduced the world to one of the most oddly sympathetic and diabolical characters in Literature.
"Pick-Up" - Charles Willeford's winning style successfully conveys the sad and tragic tale of two lost alcoholics in the skid row section of San Francisco in the 1950's. Scene by depressing scene the author chronicles the faith, hope, and disillusionment of a couple whose time revolve around the contents of a bottle. The engrossing prose is marred unfortunately with an unbelievable twist and dissapointing ending.
"Down There" - The best selection of the entire series, "Down There" is an unforgettable account of a barroom piano man whose days of glory were ended by tragedy. Rendered indifferent to life by his soul-breaking experiences, he meets an equally lost soul and together they encounter adversity supporting each other as only similarly dark-fated individuals can. The heartbreaking ending still haunts me whenever I think about it.
"The Real Cool Killers" - Blaxploitation on speed! The talented Chester Himes vividly conjures this adrenaline yarn of two black detectives taking on the streets of Harlem in no holds barred action. Race, violence, and loathsome scenemakers feverishly grapple in this heat-inducing neon nocturne of urban society. Black humor at one of it's very finest.
Flawed but highly readable, these long forgotten and out of print works have been handsomely restored and given ample tribute by the laudable Library of America. Wanting to familiarize myself with the enduring genre, reading the two vols. of the "Crime Novels" series has been a pleasant introduction and reading experience to me.
More Noir.......2002-01-15
This book is the second volume in the Library of America set on American crime noir. I enjoyed the first volume so much that I decided to read the second one during Christmas break. Once again, the LOA has done a nice job of collecting a fine series of stories. These stories were written during the 1950's and 1960's. The book is nice to look at too; it's covered in red cloth with a cloth bookmark.
The first story is from the demented mind of Jim Thompson. This story, called The Killer Inside Me, is much better than The Grifters, a book by Thompson that I read some time ago. The Grifters seemed to be pretty one-dimensional with respect to its characters. This story is the exact opposite. A deputy sheriff in a Texas city has a terrible secret. He plays dumb on the outside, but inside he is a cunning sociopath. A long simmering resentment leads to a terrible revenge. Bodies quickly stack up as a result. This seems to be the story that Thompson is best known for and it's no surprise why. This is a dark, twisted tale with a grim ending.
Patricia Highsmith wrote a whole series of stories concerning Tom Ripley. The one included here is The Talented Mr. Ripley, probably better known due to the recent film with Matt Damon. This tale isn't as noir as I would have liked, but it still has enough twists and turns to keep anybody in suspense. Ripley is a low class conniver who ingratiates himself into a wealthy family who wants him to go to Italy and bring back their son. Ripley sees the potential for bucks and meets up with the kid and his lady friend. Of course, things take a turn for the worse and the bodies start stacking up. This story was probably my least favorite out of the entire collection.
The next story, Pick-Up, by Charles Willeford, is a depressing tale about two alcoholics who go bump in the night. The story follows the adventures of this alcoholic couple as they attempt suicide, check themselves into a mental hospital, and drink themselves into a stupor. After the female half of the couple dies in another suicide pact, the story switches to a prison tale. The end is somewhat of a twist, but really doesn't impact the story that much, in my opinion. Again, not really noir as noir can be, but still a fine story that can stand by itself.
Down There, by David Goodis, is a wild ride of a tale. Full of suspense and death, this is a great story that deserves to be included here. A family of ne'er-do-wells drags their talented piano-playing brother into their personal problems. The background information on Eddie, the piano player, is phenomenal. The tragedy that has struck him once is bound to repeat itself again. This story has great bit characters that really liven up the background.
The final story, by Chester Himes, is The Real Cool Killers. This is noir on acid: pornographic violence, massive doses of grim reality, and characters you're glad to see get killed. The story is set in Harlem and involves two tough cops named Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. Someone kills a white guy in Harlem and the cops try and track them down. This story contains one of the funniest descriptions of a person falling off a balcony that I've ever read (and I've read a few, disturbingly enough). The writing has enough similes and metaphors to give Raymond Chandler an apoplectic fit. A cool story that certainly deserves a place in this book.
If you like noir, read these two LOA novels. They are long (together they're almost 2000 pages) but it is definitely worth the effort. These kinds of stories are just a great way to while away some free time and relieve stress.
This is a Great Collection.......2001-05-09
I usually don't like genre fiction, but this book is a great collection of "Noir" novels. Film buffs will be particularly interested in reading the novel on which "Shoot the Piano Player" was based, as well as the first "Mr. Ripley" novel (much nastier and darker than the recent film). Most highly recommended.
Great Collection, Attractively Packaged.......2000-07-08
This is a fine collection of crime novels in a durable, easy to read format. It starts off great with "The Killer Inside Me", the all time best trip through a killer's mind. The selections by Highsmith and Goodis, while not as intense as "Killer", are just as good in their own quieter ways. The only novel I would have left out is "Pickup"; while I like Willeford I think this is one of his more leaden performances. I also have a quibble with the volume's title, as the word "noir" has been beaten to death and doesn't tell us much about most of these books. "The Talented Mr. Ripley" owes more to Henry James than to Raymond Chandler, and "Killer" doesn't feature any dark city streets. Quibbles aside, however, the book is well worth buying.
Book Description
Drawing on extensive interviews and archival research, Fred Greenstein reveals that there was great political activity beneath the placid surface of the Eisenhower White House. In a new foreword to this edition, he discusses developments in the study of the Eisenhower presidency in the dozen years since publication of the first edition and examines the continuing significance of Eisenhower's legacy for the larger understanding of presidential leadership in modern America.
Customer Reviews:
Was Eisenhower an Effective President?.......2006-07-14
This was a path-breaking book when it first appeared more than twenty years ago, reflecting a rehabilitation of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president. It is an example of "revisionist history," something that should not be considered a negative term. Greenstein argued that the image of Eisenhower as an amiable "do-nothing" president who smiled and played golf while crises threatened to destroy the nation was incorrect. He worked hard behind the scenes while giving the appearance of inaction, and in most instances his indirect approach to leadership was highly effective.
I have found this study valuable in my own work on the history of the U.S. space program. While Greenstein did not spend much time exploring the history of the space program in this study his analysis can be extended to that arena. In the context of the Sputnik crisis of 1957 and the development of early U.S. space policy, Eisenhower was almost alone in concluding that the Soviet American competition in space was a non race. He didn't see the need to treat it as a crisis. And there is much to recommend this position. But if the former image of Eisenhower as a "do-nothing" president was inaccurate, the revisionist interpretation of Greenstein and others of him as a master of hidden-hand politics is somewhat wide of the mark. With American prestige clearly at stake in the Cold War, it is puzzling that the chief executive should have been so reluctant to recognize this fact of life.
I found this an important statement of Eisenhower and his leadership style. It is a benchmark in the historiography of the subject. Enjoy!
Stevenson Supporter Learns Truth!.......2003-01-05
In the preface to this landmark book on the Eisenhower presidency, Greenstein talks about how he had begun a project on presidential leadership, with a quick stop at the Eisenhower Library to get confirmation that Eisenhower was as hands-off as possible, a doddering old fool who let his underlings run the country whilst Ike played golf. But as Greenstein looked at the research in front of him, he discovered Eisenhower was much more of a hands-on president than most accepted. He worked behind the scenes, however, hence this "hidden-hand" description.
Greenstein's book on Eisenhower is significant for all students of Eisenhower. Most revisionist scholars of Eisenhower were also Stevenson supporters in the '50s, and have come away with a better understanding of how Ike worked, and his handling of major crises. (Anyone who thinks the 1950s was "Leave it to Beaver" or "Happy Days" is poorly mis-informed and needs to take himself to the public library to look at all the brinksmanship reported in the newspapers and newsmagazines of the time.)
In this book, Greenstein offers his argument, and then goes through a series of case-studies to look at how Eisenhower worked actively behind the scenes to accomplish his goals.
This is indeed a landmark book for scholars. The general reader, however, may be overwhelmed by the academic use of language. For them, the two-volume book on Eisenhower by Ambrose may be a better book to read.
Reassessment of the Eisenhower Presidency.......2000-04-22
Greenstein was not the first but has certainly assembled the most coherent argument for a fundamental reassessment of Ike's presidency.
Common wisdom held Ike to be a somewhat dodering, benevolent and detached president who routinely mangled english syntax in his press conferences. He is seen as surrounded by powerful men who ran government as THEY saw fit.
Greenstein shows repeatedly that Ike was a deft behind-the-scenes mover and shaker who held all the reins of power in HIS hands. He consistently refused to engage in "personalities" and would deal with political challenges with tact and persuasion, often hidden from public light. His handling of McCarthy, often seen as a do-nothing approach, is re-examined in a new light. Eisenhower is seen pre-empting McCarthy consistently while also refusing to publicly engage him, which in Ike's mind, would have served to legitimize him (McCarthy) in many eyes.
Finaly, Ike has been critized for relying too much on a rigid and formal system of staff and infomation processing. His background in the Army, many critics contend, made him a stickler for procedure. This much is true. However, he used his considerable charm and intellect to draw on a wide group of people (all white and male) to augment his formal structures. Many blame the dismantling of the fromal advising structure by Kennedy to his lack of information during the Bay of Pigs.
A good book for Eisenhower specialists, policital scientists studying the organizational presidency, and presidential students of all stripes.
Fred Greenstein famous title--well, famous for academics.......2000-02-23
Well, if you want to read the experience from academia, go right ahead. For a better insight, see Michael Beschloss or Ike's own biographer, Stephen Ambrose. This book was a hit in the scholastic arena but never caught on in mainstream
Aha! Ike wasn't just a golf-playing war hero!.......1999-10-14
Greenstein processes many of Eisenhower's papers not previously available, and comes to the conclusion that Eisenhower was a deft, behind-the-scenes manipulator. This book has helped solidify Ike's increasing reputation as President, with some in-depth look at his approach to McCarthy.
Book Description
For the first time, stunning images of the women of the burlesque stage are gathered together in one great volume. In period photographs the timeless beauty of those exotic women who titillated, teased, and sometimes tortured their audiences is captured and celebrated. These memorable images make it clear that, when it comes to a beautiful body and a gorgeous face, tastes change very little. And just as in the past, the imagination is encouraged to run wild and ponder what might have been. This is a book to relax with and enjoy over and over again. Its rich, nostalgic view of a bygone era in American entertainment will please everyone, men and women alike. A "revealing" piece of Americana!
Customer Reviews:
A Time-Capsule of Burlesque.......2004-10-11
Marvelous collection of vintage photos assembled into a lovely coffee-table book. It's difficult to remember that most of these photos were taken a half century ago because the quality is so spectacular.
Suggested companion reading:
"The Bare Truth" - Len Rothe
"Gypsy" - Gypsy Rose Lee
"Minsky's Burlesque" - Morton Minsky
"My G-String Mother" - Erik Lee Preminger
"This Was Burlesque" - Ann Corio
June Cleaver they ain't.......2001-03-05
Mr.Rothe has lovingly put together the photographs of burlesque stars and forgotten performers that would have appeared in publicity packages, coming attractions posters,lobby cards, and advertisments fifty years ago. Not all of the women are conventionally beautiful, and their costumes would be considered less than risque by current standards. These are women that time and mainstream history have ignored.The exsistence of their images is important: for feminists, for people interested in the history of costume, for modern consumers of sex work, for those that think of Doris Day as being the penultimate 1950's woman. Enjoy this piece of work and contemplate where these lovely ladies are now...
Amazon.com
Opening with a photograph of a 1950s Disneyland home designed in the shape of a TV (by those fun-loving futurists at MIT), this book's text and photos consistently maintain a balance between insightful social commentary and critique and sensitive recapturing of the essence of visual broadcast's dawn.
Book Description
America in the 1950s: the world was not so much a stage as a setpiece for TV, the new national phenomenon. It was a time when how things looked--and how we looked--mattered, a decade of design that comes to vibrant life in As Seen on TV. From the painting-by-numbers fad to the public fascination with the First Lady's apparel to the television sensation of Elvis Presley to the sculptural refinement of the automobile, Marling explores what Americans saw and what they looked for with a gaze newly trained by TV. A study in style, in material culture, in art history at eye level, this book shows us as never before those artful everyday objects that stood for American life in the 1950s, as seen on TV.
Customer Reviews:
"Life In The Age Of Television Was A Feast For The Eye...".......2000-09-06
Karal Ann Martling tucks her mission in writing "As Seen On TV" in that last sentence of the next-to-last chapter of her fascinating book. She tours the 1950s' TV-raised images, from First Lady Mamie Eisenhower's dress closet to her husband's paintings to garish car in the garage, ready-made food in the kitchen, and herky-jerky TV images pointing to changed American culture and aestetic. Hers is a more entertaining, breezier read than recent books from, respectively, David Halberstam on the 1950s or historian Michael Kammen on American preference.(Marling shared time at Cornell with Kammen, thanking his students in her acknowledgements for "challenging lunchtime conversation.")
Marling merges era icons, fads, and seminal events more seamlessly into social statement than Halberstam did or Kammen attempted. Her understanding of cars evolving into social statements segues best into the image of Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll" for whom the "gorp"-covered Cadillac was chariot of choice. (she also credits Martin and Lewis with exposing the entertainment's dual sensibilities during early TV).
Marling also writes of home convenience from new appliances and quick dinners colliding with the rustic, more honorable life many felt had been replaced. This clash inspired and popularized Grandma Moses' idealized portraits of American country life, Walt Disney's scale model re-creation of small-town America at Disneyland (and on the accompanying TV program), and Betty Crocker's shorthand version of motherly mentoring through General Mills' best-selling cookbook. Marling's chapter on Walt Disney's inspirations for creating the park is among the book's most fascinating. But a chapter on "American Bandstand," should Marling have chosen to include it, may have tied even more loose ends together.
The book may also have done with some re-arrangement; the closing chapter accurately and humorously chronicles the 1959 Richard Nixon-Nikita Krushchev "kitchen debate." But its tale of form of function, argued by its most important leaders at the peak of Cold War hysteria, may have been more effective introducing Marling's tale. The book may then have received more social context by stating sooner Nixon's belief, according to Marling, in "style as a manifestation or a symbol of difference and, in difference, multiplicity - the possibility of choice - as...connecting idle consumer fetishism to ideology." This would also have more closely tied the 1950s' garish color imagery with its parallel, grainier black-and-white images (Nixon, the Cold War, and Joe McCarthy, a standout 50s figure seen on TV but not in this book.) Nonetheless, "As Seen On TV" is a fun, informative read for those wishing to understand the reasoning behind an era's unforgettable images.
Very interesting book with wonderful photographs.......1999-05-26
Very interesting reading. It is amazing to actually see how television has changed American life. I can't even fathom how life would be today, without TV. A great read for all who are interested in American pop culture in the 1950s.
Book Description
The Homer Laughlin China Company has produced more than 100 different shapes for their dinnerware lines since 1873 (sometimes using mixed shapes in one set) and more than 10,000 decorations. How is one to identify all these variations? Let Jo Cunningham show you how in this new book dedicated to 1940s and 1950s Homer Laughlin products. This was a very prolific time for the company, and represents the era of dishes that people are collecting today. The Fiesta line and Lady Stratford shape are given particular attention in response to their enormous popularity now. Over 500 color photographs display and compare the shapes and decorations, and the well researched text is arranged chronologically to show the developments that help identify individual pieces. Children's dishes and products associated with other companies are also identified and explained. This volume is sure to become one of the key sources for information on dishes of the mid-20th century.
Book Description
During the second half of the 1950s, folks derisively referred to the Kansas City A’s as a “farm team” of the New York Yankees. Trades between the two—often lopsided—were commonplace, and it seemed every time the Yankees needed that one final piece for yet another pennant run, the A’s filled the gap.
While most knew that A’s owner Arnold Johnson was somewhat affiliated with Yankee owners Dan Topping and Del Webb through his joint ownership of Yankee Stadium, The Kansas City A’s and the Wrong Half of the Yankees digs into the deeper business entanglements among the three. In addition to the questionable trades and his earlier purchase of “The House that Ruth Built,” Johnson’s purchase of the then–Philadelphia A’s shows signs of Yankees clout.
Through periodicals, letters, conversations with contemporary players and executives, and an analysis of player records, author Jeff Katz has compiled a chronological account of how, through the hands of a friend and business partner, the Yankees controlled two of the eight American League teams during the second half of the 1950s.
A publication of Maple Street Press, distributed by Potomac Books, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Kansas City Cowtown Fans: Always the Patsies.......2007-08-25
Kansas City is certainly not up to date. The city's citizens are constantly being made the patsies in any deal, whether it involves the organized crime of the Pendergast era, the attempt to stop light rail in the city or the building of its baseball/football complex out in Independence. Author Jeff Katz shines a bright light on baseball's cold-war era, focussing on the horrific collusion scandal of the 1950s, whereby the hated New York Yankees swiped all of KC's good baseball players under a secrecy that rivals today's steroid cover-up.
Of course, the citizens of KC always knew what was going on but couldn't stop it. Organized crime flourished and KC was appalled. Did they do anything about it? No, not for years.
The citizens knew a ball park belonged in KC's downtown, but they couldn't stop the building of two stadiums in Independence. Now, KC is in deep doo-doo trying to revive its downtown, after once again refusing the chance to move the stadiums there and with the "great" Sprint Center for basketball and hockey way behind schedule.
Katz, in his poorly-titled book, uses mostly contemporary 1950s newspaper articles to build his case against the Yankees during a time when they were using the Kansas City A's as a "minor-league" outlet for fire-sale bargains. Maris, Lopez, Maas, Trucks, Dickson and many more good KC players became Yankees because the Yankees controlled the KC team and Commissioner Ford Frick and even the United States Congress allowed it to go on illegally for years. And the KC fans? They let it happen too, just as they might let a great light rail plan be emasculated by the city's so-called power brokers here in 2007.
I feel very sad for Kansas City fans. They get dumped on so easily, but they always seem to smile and forget. Maybe that's what makes this city so easy to fool. Maybe being the perfect patsy makes KC great in some, warped, crazy-little-woman way.
by Larry Rochelle, author of TEN MILE CREEK, DEATH AND DEVOTION, CRACKED CRYSTALS and BLUE ICE
Not Just for Yankee Haters.......2007-08-13
I found this to be a fascinating read. Jeff Katz's book is an insightful and entertaining look at the Yankee's way of doing business. It shows in great detail how the Yankees carefuly planned out and, eventually, controlled the KC A's. It will have every fan of perennial losers scouring ownership groups and hitorical trades looking for unseemly connections. Although this book will be sought by primarily hardcore baseball fans it can be enjoyed by all.
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