Average customer rating:
- This is the future of porn studies
- An eye-opening, mind-expanding look at "filth"
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Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America
Laura Kipnis
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
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ASIN: 0822323435 |
Amazon.com
Laura Kipnis, who teaches film at Northwestern University, adopts an unpopular stance: that of speaking for those whose sexual tendencies stray from the acceptable path. As such, she adds a different perspective in the always-raging debate on the role of pornography in America. Among her arguments is that pornography is often overlooked as a class issue, couched instead almost always as a morality matter. Realizing that many of those employed by the sex industry and those who support it are separated by class from those who deem it so unsavory, provides a particular insight into the perspective of those sitting in judgment.
Book Description
In a book that completely changes the terms of the pornography debate, Laura Kipnis challenges the position that porn perpetuates misogyny and sex crimes. First published in 1996, Bound and Gagged opens with the chilling case of Daniel DePew, a man convictedâin the first computer bulletin board entrapment caseâof conspiring to make a snuff film and sentenced to thirty-three years in prison for merely trading kinky fantasies with two undercover cops.
Using this textbook example of social hysteria as a springboard, Kipnis argues that criminalizing fantasyâeven perverse and unacceptable fantasyâhas dire social consequences. Exploring the entire spectrum of pornography, she declares that porn isn’t just about gender and that fantasy doesn’t necessarily constitute intent. She reveals Larry Flynt’s Hustler to be one of the most politically outspoken and class-antagonistic magazine in the country and shows how fetishes such as fat admiration challenge our aesthetic prejudices and socially sanctioned disgust. Kipnis demonstrates that the porn industryâwhose multibillion-dollar annual revenues rival those of the three major television networks combinedâknow precisely how to tap into our culture’s deepest anxieties and desires, and that this knowledge, more than all the naked bodies, is what guarantees its vast popularity.
Bound and Gagged challenges our most basic assumptions about America’s relationship with pornography and questions what the calls to eliminate it are really attempting to protect.
Customer Reviews:
This is the future of porn studies.......1999-06-19
The author of the Kirkus Review (above) states that Kipnis's work would be "more at home at an MLA conference," while at the same time he contends her work is "not likely to inspire the dawning of a new era of pornography studies." But what could signal the dawning of such an era as well as a presentation by Kipnis at an MLA conference? You can't have it both ways, Kirkus.
Besides, Kipnis's essays are not written in the complicated intellectual prose of typical MLA fare. They are very accessible, and due to this fact they were able to open my mind to thinking about pornography in a way I never had before: Why, among all commodities, is porn singled out (as are few others) for specific questions about its moral value and societal worth? And what are the class issues embedded in the porn industry?
Although this chapter strayed a bit from the porn theme, the most enlightening in the piece for me was the chapter on how our culture views fat and fat people. Kipnis talks about cultural taboos and reasons for the demonization of the fat in a way that I've never seen done before. She makes the reader understand why people hate you if you're fat, and why prejudice against fat people is one of the few remaining culturally-sanctioned prejudices, even for the politically-correct, along with classism and prejudice against the mentally ill.
Contrary to Kirkus's view, Kipnis's work is definitely groundbreaking and may lead to further intellectual investigations, into porn, on a level never seen before.
An eye-opening, mind-expanding look at "filth".......1996-11-26
Kipnis adds her distinctive study to the growing chorus of books by women that have defended and explored pornography dispassionately in the last five years. (See, for example, Nadine Strossen's _Defending Pornography_ and Wendy McElroy's _XXX:A Woman's Right to Pornography_.) Kipnis takes as her jumping-off point the case of a gentle, well-behaved gay man who was given a long jail sentence for responding to fantasy bait concocted by the FBI on the Internet; somehow, discussion (read: Orwellian "thought crime") of sex and murder of children translated to hard time in jail. Mere ideas are NOT innocent in this country, after all. [But why don't we jail authors and fans of murder mysteries and true crime books, or at least TRACK them?) She goes on to study the odd byways of pornography: magazines of nude and copulating fat people, geriatric porn, transvestite pornography. If you've never seen such material and tend to assume it must connect to mental illness and criminality, Kipnis will give you much to think about. Her discussion of the ideology and techniques of Hustler magazine is nothing short of brilliant, even for the men -- and we are legion -- who have always found the magazine disgusting or beneath notice. A welcome addition to the public debate over durdy peek-chures
Average customer rating:
- Historical and Relevant
- An Enjoyable, Enlightening Read
- A Good Read
- Much Ado
- Mixed Emotions
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What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America
Tavis Smiley
Manufacturer: Doubleday
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The Covenant with Black America
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A Hand to Guide Me
ASIN: 0385505167
Release Date: 2006-10-10 |
Book Description
“I Have a Dream,” Dr. King intoned. In English class, we were just starting to learn about similes and metaphors and figures of speech. Those concepts weren’t immediately clear to me as Dr. King talked about “symbolic shadow,” but …I understood the power of symbolic language.
Over the next several weeks, I spent hours studying that one speech…King’s speeches touched me so deeply and profoundly that, for reasons I couldn’t explain, I found myself crying. I wasn’t sure what those tears represented: maybe his words touched the pain and hurt and humiliation I was still feeling; maybe my tears stemmed from the new confidence and purpose his words gave me. Maybe I felt an empathy with my people whose history of suffering and survival was coming alive to me for the first time. In part, they reflected my pride in the courageous brilliance of a leader outspoken in conveying our purpose and passion.
I see now that King influenced me on several levels: First, he showed me that words have meaning—they aren’t arbitrary—and words are powerful. He showed me that words can carry the force of love. He also showed me that one man can make a difference. He himself had made that difference….Despite evidence to the contrary, King believed that things would get better. Every day that I read his words, they moved me like a powerful sermon. They changed my life and emboldened my ambition.
—From What I Know For Sure
From the man who catapulted The Covenant with Black America to number one on the New York Times bestseller list comes a searing memoir of poverty, ambition, pain, and atonement. Celebrated talk-show host Tavis Smiley describes growing up in an all-white rural community in Indiana and the impact it had on his life.
Tavis Smiley grew up in a family of thirteen in a small trailer in Indiana, where money was scarce and the sight of other black faces even scarcer. One of only a few African American kids in his high school, he grew up feeling like an outsider because of the color of his skin, his Pentecostal religious beliefs, and his family’s economic circumstances. It was the love and support of his family that sustained him. But that trust and support was shattered when his father, in a moment of rage, beat him with an electrical cord, sending him to the hospital. Tavis was placed in foster care for a time, and it took him years to bridge the emotional chasm between him and his parents.
Nothing, however, could quench Tavis’s fierce inner drive to succeed. His remarkable speaking ability made him an oratorical champion in Indiana and offered him a pathway to a different world. Determined to fight for the underdog and for African American rights, he entered the political arena, moving to Los Angeles to work in Mayor Tom Bradley’s administration. Later, he embarked on his career as a radio commentator, discovering that it was an ideal way to influence public discourse on the issues of the day. Now with his own show on PBS, he remains committed to bettering the lives of all Americans; he’s especially acclaimed for his work on behalf of people of color and the underprivileged.
An honest, deeply moving self-portrait of one of America’s most popular media figures, What I Know for Sure should appeal to readers everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
Historical and Relevant.......2007-09-11
I applaud Mr. Smiley for his detailed account of African-American stories and the way that he connected them to Historical events. He, in this book, successfully gave a description of how so many have grown up in Urban America.
An Enjoyable, Enlightening Read.......2007-06-29
Tavis Smiley writes an enjoyable, enlightening, easy-to-read story of his upbringing in middle America. Though at times fighting against a sometimes harsh upbringing in a committed Christian home, Smiley's work repeatedly hearkens back to the lessons he learned in that very home. He teaches how anyone can move beyond negative life experiences, be they in the home or in society, to a place of meaning and success in life.
Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, and Soul Physicians.
A Good Read.......2007-06-28
I truly enjoyed this book. I totally agree with another reader...the chapters are not unnecessarily bogged down with additional information which made the book very easy to read. His story is very encouraging and is a testament that there is no obstacle you cannot overcome if you have the faith and determination Tavis displayed in this book.
Although I may not have had the heart to make some of the moves he did i.e. (taking an unpaid position away from home with no means of income) look where he is today...God Bless him!
Much Ado.......2007-06-22
I admire Tavis, think he is an insightful interviewer and enjoy his show very much. However, his book was a disappointment. There's no THERE there. Poorly written, thin on substance--he doesn't really DO anything. Although I have sympathy from the scars he obviously still bears from his abusive and sheltered overly-religious childhood, he comes off as whiney and superficial. I and some of my book club members liked Tavis a lot better before reading his shallow memoir.
Mixed Emotions.......2007-05-30
The brutal beating with the extension cord was probably the saddest thing I've read in a while. Aside from that, the book was just ok for me. I found myself shaking my head that Tavis would show up on a college's doorstep without tuition, a dorm assignment, etc. I just really didn't believe he was that naive or that his parents were just that stubborn. The book was easy to read, with really short chapters that weren't bogged down with useless info. Each chapter was straight to the point. Worth a read.
Average customer rating:
- I love this book...
- Tony Soprano on Management: Leadership Lessons Inspired by America's Favorite Mobster
- Nuggets of Management Wisdom
- Soundview Executive Book Summaries
- Corporate Counsel Magazine
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Tony Soprano on Management: Leadership Lessons Inspired By America's Favorite Mobst
Anthony Schneider
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
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ASIN: 0425194949
Release Date: 2004-02-03 |
Book Description
Changing economies. Employee loyalty. Power struggles. Deal making. Tony Soprano has to deal with management problems just like any CEO-and except for resorting to the occasional whacking (a definite no-no in corporate environments), he usually succeeds. Now readers can learn what makes him such a strong leader in this offbeat guide. Includes advice on:
€ Sit-downs, stand-ups, and other meetings
€ Behind the Bada Bing: managing people
€ Hey, break it up: conflict resolution
€ Deal Time: effective negotiation
€ Cigar Time: performance evaluation
...and more
With case studies, worksheets, tips on "managing up" from Carmela and Silvio-and a special chapter on what Tony does wrong-this is a business book like none you've ever read. Readers can use it to gain new insight-and find street-smart ways to manage their own workplace family.
Customer Reviews:
I love this book..........2006-08-16
I really enjoyed this book about leadership. The comparison to Tony Soprano's management and leadership ability makes it worth reading and it is not boring.
I had some leadership classes and the fundamentals are there, the style is authentic...Tony Soprano makes leadership more interesting.
Tony Soprano on Management: Leadership Lessons Inspired by America's Favorite Mobster.......2005-10-07
If you like the TV series, and Tony's Management, this is a book for you. Leadership and effective management. I know Tony Soprano is not exactly a "Role Model", but leave his business aside and just explore "the chain of command".
Well written, easy reading.
Nuggets of Management Wisdom.......2005-06-18
Schneider has mined nuggets of management wisdom from the first four seasons of Sopranos episodes, and he cleverly uses quotes, anecdotes, and vignettes from the show to illustrate his lessons about management skills such as delegating, negotiating, and giving praise.
Tony Soprano on Management has additional attractions, if you're not a Sopranos fan. The book includes an excellent chapter offering advice on how to manage up (that is, how to influence people in management positions above you). There are also plenty of case studies and traditional advice on good management practices, along with worksheets to help readers identify their hot buttons or concerns and plan future corrective actions.
Kathy Graden
Society for Technical Communication
November, 2004
Soundview Executive Book Summaries.......2004-07-06
By focusing on what Tony Soprano does right and wrong, Schneider reveals marketing strategies that can help leaders in the real world become more effective. He also presents case studies, worksheets and tactics that can improve business.
- Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Corporate Counsel Magazine.......2004-06-13
From Corporate Counsel magazine...
Tony Soprano on Management is a fun read. Many business how-tos come spiked with New Age blather and silly diagrams breathlessly illustrating glorious new paradigms. Schneider avoids such nonsense. Instead, he uses vignettes from the series to make his points... Schneider notes that like most effective CEOs, Soprano works with a close, handpicked executive team... they have been chosen by Tony because their abilities complement one another... Schneider shows how Soprano carefully doles out perks to keep his team performing.
http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/pubarticleCC.jsp?id=1080681918901
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Average customer rating:
- What A Wonderful Trip!
- Feel free as you read
- Why walk across the UK when you can walk across America instead?
- A spiritual journey; a humble search rewarded
- Timeless and relevant today
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A Walk Across America
Peter Jenkins
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
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A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf
ASIN: 006095955X
Release Date: 2001-09-18 |
Book Description
Twenty-five years ago, a disillusioned young man set out on a walk across America. This is the book he wrote about that journey -- a classic account of the reawakening of his faith in himself and his country.
"I started out searching for myself and my country," Peter Jenkins writes, "and found both." In this timeless classic, Jenkins describes how disillusionment with society in the 1970s drove him out onto the road on a walk across America. His experiences remain as sharp and telling today as they were twenty-five years ago -- from the timeless secrets of life, learned from a mountain-dwelling hermit, to the stir he caused by staying with a black family in North Carolina, to his hours of intense labor in Southern mills. Many, many miles later, he learned lessons about his country and himself that resonate to this day -- and will inspire a new generation to get out, hit the road and explore.
Customer Reviews:
What A Wonderful Trip!.......2007-08-31
When I was 21, I didn't have the nerve to just pick up and drive across America like some friends from college did. I wish I did. So now, even as a mom and a wife, my husband and I plan trips across the country to see what it is like and what we can share with our boys.
I picked this book up at my church library and it's a wonderful book ~~ so what if the grammar and writing style are awkward? It's wonderful. I am literally jealous because he experienced some things that I wish I did. He got on the road and traveled to see America with his very best friend, Cooper. Did I mention that Cooper is his dog? (As a dog owner, I totally relate to Jenkins' view that Cooper is his best friend.) So Jenkins decided to figure out if America is really a beautiful country ~~ disillusioned with the Vietnam War, politics, the "American Way" and with people. He decided that the only way he can ever know what he thinks or believes in is to hike across America. Apparently, this is the first book of that journey where he walks with Cooper, whom he lost due to an accident in Tennessee on The Farm. But all ends well in New Orleans.
Along the way, he meets a lonely mountain man and learned about the life on the mountains. He meets strangers who aren't friendly. He meets strangers that knew about him by word of mouth. He meets Governor Wallace in Alabama. He gets adopted by a family in the Carolinas, where he stopped for several months to work and earn money. He almost gets killed by a drunken posse who decided that he was alright after all ~~ without laying a finger on him. The man came back the next day and apologized for scaring him. He gets kicked out of a small community because he was a "hippie" with a beard and long hair. He communes on The Farm where everyone worked together and raised vegetables/fruits, children together. He traveled long and hard before reaching the Gulf. And his stories are just fascinating.
If you like travel stories, this is definitely a good one to pick up. If you want to hear about a man's viewpoint about different parts of the country ~~ this is a good choice. It's clean, refreshing and stark. It's not the best writing in the world, but he was 22 when he did that and he wasn't trained to be a writer. But he did something that a lot of people wish that they could do (including me).
8-31-07
Feel free as you read.......2007-08-23
i remember the first time i read this, i was young and read it from my grandparents readers digest books, i eneded up buying a real copy and still have it. This book is an excellent read for anyone of any age group.Feel free as he explores the country.
Why walk across the UK when you can walk across America instead?.......2007-05-13
I read this wonderful book more than 20 years ago, as well as the follow-on book, The Walk West. I'm currently in Iraq and met a man from the United Kingdom last month. We were talking and he said he always planned to walk across America, and still might do that when he finishes his work here. I told him about this book...and after I returned to my base, I decided to order it and will mail it to my friend. I know he'll enjoy this book and that it will inspire him to fulfill his dream of walking across our great country someday.
A spiritual journey; a humble search rewarded.......2007-04-27
One of the books that has had a greater impact on me. This is personal testimony of a young man who set out walking across half of America, disillusioned with the world he knew. Along the way he will discover people who will show him a different way to look at life.
Written in a simple style, with humility and candidness. A spiritual journey that we have the privilege to witness, and that can be a great benefit for those who sit at home prisoners of their empty selfs. A portrait of rural America, of real people and of real places. Real life always excells fiction. A most highly recommended book, don't lose this opportunity and read it.
Timeless and relevant today.......2007-02-20
I first read this book in high school in the early 1980's. At that time, I felt secure in the 'faith' of the religion I'd been taught and found Mr. Jenkins' lack of faith really odd and confusing.
However, here I am a middle aged person and finding myself with the same ambiguity about faith in God or in America. While reading the text again didn't necessarily answer my own quandaries about faith, it does make me wish I had the ability to walk across America and find myself as he did. There are amazing stories and amazing people all over the planet, and is someone could take a truly accurate poll, I believe we'd find that there is much more good than bad on our planet.
I suspect Mr. Jenkins would agree.
Average customer rating:
- FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- lucy & desi the real -life scrapbook
- pop culture fanatic in Ohio
- Amazing
- a marvelous album
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Lucy & Desi: The Real-Life Scrapbook of America's Favorite TV Couple
Elizabeth Edwards
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
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The "I Love Lucy" Scrapbook: The Official Scrapbook of America's Favorite TV Show
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I Love Lucy: The Complete Picture History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever, Authorized by the Lucille Ball Estate
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A Book
ASIN: 076241572X
Release Date: 2004-10-12 |
Book Description
During their marriage, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz filled over 100 scrapbooks with all manner of memorabilia. Now fans can take a rare peek at the details of the famous TV couple's lives with this fantastic replica composite. LUCY & DESI, our exclusive, real-life scrapbook of the couple's lives, contains 25 interactive, three-dimensional paper-engineered replicas of actual items--from Desi's report card to important telegrams--which have never been published before. Vintage snapshots of happy family moments, touching love letters, passports, and other precious minutiae, with more than 150 photographs, both black-and-white and color, fill this wonderful, engrossing look back at the golden years of television comedy, when Lucy and Desi charmed America with humor and song. This official scrapbook is a must-have for the millions of devoted fans.
Customer Reviews:
FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-01-14
If you are a Lucy Fan then you simply must buy this book! I just received mine and sat mesmorized by it, it is now my favorite Lucy item I have. I have an enormous collection of everything to do with Lucy or I LOVE LUCY you can imagine and this Scrapbook is so incredible.....it's honestly as if you are looking at the original scrapbook and you are even able to pull out inserts on several pages.....passport, letters, etc. I am not joking, if you are a collector of Lucy things and you do not have this Scrapbook then you are missing an incredible addition to your collection. The price is really great considering all you get. Words truly are not enough....I'll never ever get tired of looking at this!!!! Don't just think about buying it, buy it this minute!!!
lucy & desi the real -life scrapbook .......2005-09-21
The scrapebook was execellent. I enjoyed every little thing about it. It was great of all the document that were in there. This is a great book.
pop culture fanatic in Ohio.......2005-09-04
I picked up this book on a whim. In all honesty, I was "blown away" by it. Whoever put this thing together did a wonderful and pain-staking job duplicating items glued and tucked within the pages of the original scrapbooks. Passports, holy cards, letters from presidents and celebrities and much more is reproduced to look like the originals. I found myself getting lost in the lives of these people and the decades in which they lived. Mostly, I closed the book with the realization that even icons like Lucy and Desi are flesh and blood people, drawn to their heritage, celebrating their children and accomplishments, and mourning the loss of dreams and friends along the way. Each yellowed news clipping and lovingly preserved souvenir is a reminder of the ties that bind us all.
Amazing.......2005-07-22
This is simply priceless. Worth every penny you spend on it and more! Everything looks so authentic. I especially liked reading the letters and seeing Desi's passport! A must-have for any Lucy and/or Desi fan.
a marvelous album.......2005-03-01
I'm one of millions of fans of Lucille Ball and her handsome husband Desi. The love between Lucy and Desi (despite their difficulties/different backgrounds and expectations) was romantic, palpable, just so real, that it lit up their tv show and the movies they made together.
Here is a scrapbook containing many little personal items and minutia from their days together, so that both Lucy and Desi return to life before our eyes. Browsing through it is a joy.
Average customer rating:
- A Lifetime of Research on Vaudeville -
- A Trans-Atlantic view
- Outstanding vaudeville history
- The Best Vaudeville Book Ever
- Vaudeville - Brought Back to Life
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Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, 2 volumes
Frank Cullen ,
Florence Hackman , and
Donald McNeilly
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ASIN: 0415938538 |
Book Description
This is a one-of-a-kind reference work to the history of vaudeville, performance art, burlesque, revue, and comic opera. Author Frank Cullen has done deep research, including archival work and personal interviews, to uncover the rich history of this American art form. Most of the artists profiled here are not examined in other reference books. This will be a must-have for students of theater history and performance art, and also for anyone interested in the cultural history of America.
Customer Reviews:
A Lifetime of Research on Vaudeville -.......2007-04-05
This is from my review published in "In The Groove" Magazine - April 2007
Frank Cullen LOVES Vaudeville in all it's forms, whether it's the baggy pants comics of burlesque, the "specialty acts" like strongman or eccentric dancers who graced the stages of New York and around the circuits in the 1920s, or the singers who went on to make some of the most popular records of their day. This passion is obvious in the recent publication of the huge two-volume 1300-page compilation Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America (Routledge). Now in his 70s, Cullen saw his first Laurel & Hardy film at the age of nine and was hooked. (Yes, Laurel and Hardy both appeared on the vaudeville stage early in their careers and Cullen devotes six pages to them.). He started reading and watching and listening in his high school years and had a brief acting career as well. In the mid-1980s he formed the American Vaudeville Museum in CT and began publishing the quarterly Vaudeville Times (which I mentioned here last year). Now relocated to New Mexico, Cullen has put his energies into this fascinating book. The peak years for "Vaudeville" were 1905-1925, with over 2,000 theaters around the US. As many as 50,000 performers were in the business during that period. Obviously, not all are in the book but a good mix of the known and the "lesser known" are here. Record collectors will recognize many of them. There are the recording Bakers (Belle, Josephine and Phil) as well as the Smiths (Mamie, Bessie and Kate). Other recording artists covered in much detail include, Eddie Cantor, Sissle & Blake and Moran & Mack. The performers are listed alphabetical from A (Abbott a& Costello) to Z (Zetts Weekly, a rival to Variety, published in 1921). There are sections devoted to each of the "circuits" and the impresarios as well. Photos of the performers and sheet music covers are on many pages. In fact, you'll find a lot of performers who you've only known from sheet music covers. The very handy Bibliography and a 30-page Index, make the book even more useful. Whether you start from the beginning and read it straight through, or use to look up an artist you found on a recording, you'll find this book a great resource. It's a tribute to the hard work and passion of the author. Highly recommended!
Steve Ramm "Anything Phonographic"
A Trans-Atlantic view.......2006-12-01
All that you could ever want to know about vaudeville is contained in a monumental two-volume work, Vaudeville Old and New: an Encyclopedia of Variety Performers. It surpasses anything previously written about the American equivalent of British music hall and will stand as the major reference work on the subject for many years to come.
Given its scope, there are entries about entertainers whose names will mean nothing to the average British reader. But that is more than offset by the comprehensiveness the authors bring to all they touch. It is fascinating, for instance, to get an American take on British artistes who became big stars in the U.S., the likes of Vesta Victoria and Alice Lloyd. We learn more about such top-liners as Al Jolson and Danny Kaye and find the answers to all manner of questions. What was so special about Fanny Brice? What brought Sid Caesar's career to a halt? And who knew that the distinguished commentator, Walter Winchell, started out in vaudeville?
The books' essays about burlesque and music hall are as good as you'll likely to get and the fine writing evinces some deft and delicate touches: a description of Beatrice Lillie, for instance, is as "a treasured English tea-rose with thorns" is spot on. The "new" in the title is no false promise. The encyclopedia is bang up-to-date with entries on Britain's Chris Simmons, for example.
The extensive knowledge and deep love of vaudeville by the author, Frank Cullen [working with Florence Hackman and Donald McNeilly], shine through in each of these tomes' 1,300 magnificent pages.
Richard Anthony Baker
Outstanding vaudeville history.......2006-11-19
A monumental and definitive encyclopadia by an outstanding theater historian. This tome is everything you wanted to know about vaudeville and its performers. It is destined to become the bible for historians and researchers of early American popular theater.
Frank Cullen's knowledge and articulation of the facts of vaudeville, old and new, is a welcome and needed addition to a genre sadly overlooked by the public. Vaudeville was America's first national pasttime and laid the foundation for the world of entertainment in our contenporary culture.
Nicely laid out, easy to read, ample photographs and humor make the two-volume set a must for libraries, archives and theater buffs, or anyone who has an interest in American social history.
The Best Vaudeville Book Ever.......2006-11-10
Frank Cullen, longtime publisher and head writer of the Vaudeville Times magazine, has finally published his 2 volume biographical encyclopedia of vaudeville. For those who don't know, vaudeville was the main form of live entertainment in America from 1880 to 1930 and it continued even as late at the 1960s. This book carefully catalogues who was who in vaudeville, tells the major reason they became famous or were important, and offers biographies and descriptions of everything connected with the subject.
Along with the work of Professor Anthony Slide, these tomes by Frank Cullen constitute the most important documentation of this major form of American popular culture. Vaudeville is rapidly being forgotten today as its participants die off and younger audiences cannot even recognize the term. Cullen's work honors the performers and offers invaluable insights into what the experience was like.
The book is well written and, like vaudeville itself, immensely entertaining, whether you are reading about familiar stars such as Al Jolson or the completely forgotten ones such as the great Eddie Leonard. There is nothing to complain about in this effort-- if you want to know all about vaudeville, this is the magnum opus. It is lavishly illustrated and has about it that aura of love and care that comes when a writer is totally engrossed in his subject matter and approaches it with honesty, integrity and admiration.
Of course I have to tell you that I am biased because I'm in the book. I once was in "the show business" in vaudeville and there are only a few of us still alive who made it into the Cullen opus. But those of us who are left can assure you, dear reader, that all those vaudevillians who are encapsulated within would be proud of this book. It costs a good bit but it's got everything you need to know about a subject that once was close to the hearts of so many Americans. What's really fun is watching old movies on Turner, admiring the work of stars such as Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, or Trixie Friganza, and then keeping these volumes by your bed to look up the bios! Of course at my age that passes for high adventure! So, thanks, Frank, and good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are. If you know the meaning of that last phrase you'll love this book. If you don't you should read it anyway.
Vaudeville - Brought Back to Life.......2006-10-25
This massive two volume work is without a doubt the greatest tribute to vaudeville and its performers ever written. It brings back to life an important aspect of show business that has almost been forgotten.
In this book you relive the lives and stories of a group of hard working entertainers, many of whom went on to give birth to the motion pictures, radio, and television industries. Most of the stars of the years between 1925 and 1960 got their start in vaudeville.
You won't read this book in one night, but it could provide a thousand nights of some of the greatest entertainment you've ever experienced.
If you love show business and all of it's aspects, then you will absolutely love this masterful work. It may just be what is needed to help resurrect the spirit of a long deceased tradition.
Average customer rating:
- IMUS. AMERICA'S COWBOY
- From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly
- Awful
|
Imus: America's Cowboy
Kathleen Tracy
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Pub
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60 Minutes - Imus (April 15, 2007)
ASIN: 0786706082 |
Book Description
You either hate him or love him: Don Imus, with his equal-opportunity-insult style. Either way, you'll find this definitive, in-depth account of the ex-Marine and rhythm-and-blues singer who now rivals Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern as king of the air waves a revelation. You'll follow the quick rise of Imus from small-time stations in California to his first triumphs in New York as the morning host on WNBC. In a year, drugs, alcohol, and ego ended the glory, and, for the next eight, Imus battled the demons that had nearly cost him all hopes of a career. But in 1979, he was back at WNBC, introducing his Right Reverend Dr. Billy Sol Hargus to New York. With a battery of exclusive personal interviews with Imus's friends and associates as well as with classic selections from the Imus radio archives, this biography offers a detailed, balanced portrait of a public personality and a private man: The one, the only, the disputatious and inimitable Don Imus.
Customer Reviews:
IMUS. AMERICA'S COWBOY.......2002-06-12
This is a very poorly written book. The author comes across as being too smart by half. For instance she writes of a radio station XELO out of Del Rio, Texas that had an early influence on Imus. She goes on to explain that the station got around FCC transmitter power limitations by locating the transmitter in Juarez. If she had checked her geography she would have noted that Juarez is about 400 miles from Del Rio and the transmitter was actually located across the Rio Grande from Del Rio in what was then called Villa Cuna.
She goes on to tell of Imus and his friends doing parodies on a con man named Billy Sol Estes, whom she writes was involved in a salad oil scam, when in fact it was chattle mortages on fertilizer tanks.
This may seem like nit picking but given these inaccuracies how does one accept the rest of this book, or any of her other books as being factual?
She does give some insights into Imus's character and background that are interesting.....if true.
From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly.......1999-11-12
In this comprehensive biography of radio host Don Imus, Tracy (Home Brewed: The Drew Carey Biography; Seinfeld: The Entire Domain) patches together the reminiscences of friends and enemies into a rollicking narrative of the sleazy but successful career of the "I-Man." Tracy posits that Imus, who grew up on an Arizona ranch, brought a cowboy ethos with him to Manhattan. By her lights, Imus is "a rugged individualist living by his own code" with a "from-the-hip style." Despite much-publicized alcohol and drug problems, and incidents like his 1969 firing for repeatedly making comments about "spooks," after having held a mean-spirited "Eldridge Cleaver look-alike contest," Imus has always bounced back. His incendiary--and oft-protested--rhetoric and his jousting with public figures who criticize him have garnered the talk-radio pioneer an audience of 15 million who listen to him on WFAN in New York, or in syndication on almost 100 stations. Whereas Jim Reed''s recent biography, Everything Imus, is based almost exclusively on second-hand stories, Tracy has conducted extensive interviews, producing hilarious reflections and a balanced account. Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post asks, following a presidential appearance on Imus in the Morning, "Why would somebody like Bill Clinton, a decent human being, go on a show where there are constant references to genitals and Jews and derogatory comments about blacks?" Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes takes up the defense, calling Imus rival Howard Stern "a vulgar, vulgar man," and finding Imus "infinitely more intelligent [and] infinitely more sensitive." The shock jock who calls himself "Howard Stern with a vocabulary" will find little here to raise his famous ire. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Awful.......1999-09-09
This book just isn't worth it. Whether one is or is not an Imus fan, he is a fascinating subject for a biography. But this book is basically a rehash of things that have been said or written elsewhere. It has a number of out-of-date references, has nothing but dated pictures from more than ten years ago, and has factually inaccuracies and misspellings. Sorry, but don't waste your time or money.
Average customer rating:
- All-new Companion to America's public Television Cooking Series
- Cook's Illustrated Test Kitchen
- Avid Cook
- Excellent book but could use a better index
- But use your own judgment
|
America's Test Kitchen Live!: The All-New Companion to America's Favorite Public Television Cooking Series (America's Test Kitchen)
Manufacturer: America's Test Kitchen
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ASIN: 0936184825 |
Customer Reviews:
All-new Companion to America's public Television Cooking Series .......2007-01-18
This a really a great cook book and I have tried may recipes in it and they were all great, what is really great you can also watch how it is done when it is aired on TV.
Cook's Illustrated Test Kitchen.......2006-02-25
Even though I subscribe and have many Cook's Illustrated books this was worth the purchase. Yes, some of the info is repeated from other pubs but often tweaked a little and some new stuff also. A very good read, too!
Avid Cook.......2005-10-27
I ordered the first volume of the series and was very pleased with my purchase. This is a fine addition to my cookbook collection.
Excellent book but could use a better index.......2005-09-06
This book is OUTSTANDING. America's Test Kitchen is like the Consumer Report's of recipes and cooking products. I enjoy learning WHY certain products and techniques work. They try and try until they get a particular recipe to be the best it can be. Then they share what they learned. The one disappointing aspect of this book is the Table of Contents and indexes. For example each "chapter" contains several recipes, but you have to go to the chapter in order to see what all the recipes are within that chapter. But the book is so very excellent that I can forgive this flaw.
But use your own judgment.......2005-06-07
I absolutely love ATK and buy all of their books. The techniques they present are top notch and as close to bulletproof as you can get. I find the spicing a little mild for my tastes so I usually amp that up a bit. Tasting results are the aggregated opinion of several people so some of the more unusual flavors you might get a kick out of may be rounded out in the math.
Average customer rating:
- The Rest of the Story
- Not Just a African, but an American Hero!
- Required Reading
- My heart broke
|
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Frederick Douglass
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
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ASIN: 0312257376 |
Customer Reviews:
The Rest of the Story.......2007-07-07
In the classic slave narrative genre, Frederick Douglass' narrative of his life brings to life, in all its horrors, American slave society, and one slave's life-long protest against it.
When we read Frederick Douglass in his own words, he is less the radical and more the reformer than we've been led to believe. He is also more the Christian statesmen and less the Christianity critic than we might imagine. Douglass' oft quoted comments about Christianity had much more to do with a righteous critique of distorted Christian living practiced by white masters than with any critique of Christianity or of Christ. In reality, Douglass, like so many enslaved African Americans before and after him, saw in Jesus a Savior they could identify with--a suffering Savior.
Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.
Not Just a African, but an American Hero!.......2005-10-10
Frederick Douglass is the complete ressurection of the saying, "Knowledge is Power." With the more information he aquired as a slave the more he lusted for freedom. He also provides an excellent example of what black people in this country could do for themselves, interms of their economical status. Looking further, Douglass loved to think and imagine the endless possiblities, while he was still in bondage physically. When he began to read and understand the "Hypocrasy" that this country was based on, using christianity as it main tool, and what every human should be allowed by right, this released his psychological enslavement. If blacks throughout this country could read and understand there were blacks that went through worse situatians and overcame them, and the current situation that destroy the black communities were created for them to fail, just like slavery, many would wake up and take on the mask of Douglass. The mask that says, "regardless of class, race, or creed, this world was created for everyone to enjoy including me."
Required Reading.......2004-08-27
I read this book as part of a summer assignment entering into the 11th grade in addition to "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs. Both are great pieces of African-American historical literature and well worth the read. I couldn't read this book all in one sitting, due to the need to fight the urge to throw up. He detailed descriptions of physical, psycological, and emotional abuse are enough to sicken any one and make you disgusted with the human race.
My heart broke.......2004-06-11
The honesty with which this is written is amazing. I was glued to it from page one. I felt disgusted by the human race, saddened by his traumas and guilty just for being white. I think this needs to be read more. Especially in schools. Why isn't it???
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful mix of Steps 1 and Expert
- Buying more in the series
- Quality Cooking Advice & Phenomenal Ribs!
- Just As Good As the PBS Show!
- Yet another winner from ATK
|
Here In America's Test Kitchen: All New Recipes, Quick Tips, Equipment Ratings, Food Tastings, and Science Experiments from the Hit Public Television Show
Manufacturer: Boston Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0936184590 |
Amazon.com
At a certain point you have to ask yourself, do you really need another couple of hundred recipes all carefully clustered around a food concept, or do you want a more manageable number of recipes that all work--guaranteed? Welcome to Here in America's Test Kitchen by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Not only can you rest assured that the results will taste as good as they look in the color photo, you get to learn along the way exactly why these recipes work so well. If you are a little confused about which salt or which pasta is going to bring you the pleasure you deserve, that information's in there, too, along with the inevitable concerns about kitchen tools. Ingredients, tools, technique, kitchen science, good humor, insatiable curiosity, bonhomie--this is the world of Here in America's Test Kitchen.
With Here in America's Test Kitchen, a companion book to popular PBS TV series, the kind editors of Cook's Illustrated have placed the busy cook first and foremost in their concerns. Fine, the rustic bread is going to be a weekend project. But what about coming home after work knowing a few friends are going to fall by and being able to crank out award-winning nachos, Buffalo wings, fresh guacamole, and delicious sangría with complete confidence? That's where this book starts. Along the way you'll find the perfect fried rice and kung pao shrimp, or steak au poivre with a brandied cream sauce. Beef burgundy, Texas chili, barbecued salmon, pasta classics, American casseroles--these editors know what you want to put in your mouth. What they do best is showing the process they went through to get the exact result they were looking for. If you cook your way through this book, cover to cover, you will not only be a good cook, you will know exactly why that is so. And you can take that to the bank. --Schuyler Ingle
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful mix of Steps 1 and Expert.......2006-11-13
As a beginner with cooking, this book has led me places I never thought I'd go. It has been a guide for the basics and an inspiration for the heights. And meanwhile it saves me money by steering me away from useless gadgets and fad techniques.
Buying more in the series.......2004-01-14
This is the one cookbook that has not gone on the shelf, but instead sits on the corner of the counter. So far I've made the beef burgundy, pan roasted chicken, smothered pork chops, lemon meringue pie, macaroni and cheese, nachos with salsa and guacamole, and more. I'd've done more in the past two weeks, but I do have a job to go to. These may not sound like extraordinary recipes - they're all in my Betty Crocker cookbook or Good Housekeeping cookbook - but this is the cookbook that tells you the how and why, what works and what doesn't work (based on their own testing, which is an interesting read in itself). One of the things I like most is that they make an honest effort and usually succeed at restricting themselves to ingredients found in nearly every supermarket. Serving sizes are extremely generous. I ate nachos for four days --- luckily, they were delicious.
I do wish they would include nutritional analyses. These recipes are all about taste and optimal preparation to ensure the best results; nothing particularly low cal or low carb and certainly not low fat here; and it doesn't purport to be a diet cookbook. That's okay, but it would still be nice to have the numbers. And it would be nice if they would test a few ways of cutting calories and/or carbs and/or fat while developing the best recipe.
As a novice, I also got tripped up in the pan roasted chicken because the recipe didn't give me even a clue as to how long the pieces would be in the oven; I guessed about 30 minutes but turned out to be 50 minutes to get to temperature, which threw off the timing on the side dishes...minor, novice issue.
Finally, I also subscribe to Cook's Illustrated published by the same people. In the Nov/Dec issue was an incredible recipe for pumpkin cheesecake (beg, borrow or steal it from someone). Their technique explanation ranted about the wonders of cooking a cheesecake in a waterbath. Indeed it made a great difference. But in this cookbook, there's a recipe for a New York Style Cheesecake with no mention of a waterbath. I'm not a pro, so maybe the different techniques deliver two distinct textures, but it was curious why both ways aren't discussed in the cookbook since they touted it in the magazine (or vice versa).
I've bought a couple pieces of their recommended equipment and believe they've been right on target there too.
It's an impressive book that has pursuaded me to buy both the Italian Classics Cookbook and the cookbook for the 2002 television series. Looking forward to receiving those soon.
Quality Cooking Advice & Phenomenal Ribs!.......2003-12-14
As someone who consider's themselves an elite "home chef", I stopped using recipe books years ago and just built on the basics that I'd gleaned from reading what I considered the "essential" cookbooks. Then, one stormy Saturday afternoon when the husband was at work and the kids were away at Grandma's, I stumbled on America's Test Kitchen on PBS. Needless to say, I loved what I saw.
Now I am a Cook's Illustrated fan. I have not come across anything done by these folks that isn't absolute quality cooking instruction - no matter what your level of cooking expertise. That's because ATK doesn't just write the recipes - they write articles and background about every recipe that breaks down each element of the recipe and explains why certain ingredients, techniques and equipment work so much better than others in producing the best tasting recipe. Even if you never follow an America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Illustrated recipe step-by-step, the things you learn just by reading the recipe books can be carried over into all of your cooking. If, like me, you are a non-recipe cook, there is still much to be learned here.
"Here in America's Test Kitchen" carries on the standard of excellence that Cook's Illustrated has established for itself. Detailed recipes that are actually essays about what goes into creating each recipe and why certain ingredients and methods are used will elevate the level of every home cook - regardless of your current level of expertise.
This book contains some of the best recipes I've ever had. The BBQ Rib recipe prepared with a dry rub and slow cooked over a smoky grill is simply the best rib recipe I've ever made - spicy, smokey, fall of the bone tender with a wonderful crisp skin on the outside. At a recent 4th of July party, these ribs and the ATK buffalo wings were a huge hit. And the cookie jar favorites - chewy, flavorful double chocolate cookies and ginger cookies are family favorites. The recipes here aren't always the quickest, the cheapest or the lowest in fat and calories, but if you are looking for the best in flavor and texture, with America's Test Kitchen you can't go wrong.
Just As Good As the PBS Show!.......2003-07-17
I have been watching this series on PBS and the book is just a delightful. The receipes are pretty easy to follow, ingredients are available in most grocery or gourmet shops. Plus they have done all the testing and we get to prepare the perfect combinations! Highly recommend it, especially as a gift!
Yet another winner from ATK.......2003-07-04
This is my third Amerca's Test Kitchen cookbook. In all of the meals that I have cooked using these books, I have never had a flop. As a male and a physician, I really appreciate the "clinical" approach to cooking that ATK applies. Want to make good, gooey chocolate cookies? Then try a dozen different methods and see what works best. They have used this method for all of their recipes, and the reaults are tremendous.
ATK avoids pretentious cuisine. They aim to make the best steak, best french-fries; things that my kids will eat. Yet, some of my favorite meals for guests come from the book as well. (Twice-coked potatoes with pesto...mmmm). Even though I live in a small town in a remote area, I have always been able to find the ingredients they suggest.
They have a "Consumer Reports"-like approach to rating ingredients and equipment. What a delight when Morton's table salt out-performs...sea-salt in blinded taste-testing.
I can't wait for next year's book to come out!
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- Created Equal, Brief Edition, Single Volume Edition
- Cultural Moves: African Americans and the Politics of Representation (American Crossroads)
- Dear John
- Death of a Maid (Hamish Macbeth Mysteries)
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