Artists Books

The Gashleycrumb Tinies is macabre yet hilarious. It's about children meeting untimely absurd demise but with a sense of dark humor. it needs to be taken the way it is meant. It really is quite clever with the wording and causes of death It is done by alphabetical names. examples are S in for Susan who perished of fits, L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks and N is for Neville who died of ennui(boredome). See very clever. By the way I am a 38 year old mother of two and find this hilarious. My kids don't really get it though. Oh well I geuss their sense of humor is not as developed as mine:)

Hahahha I actually read this online because its so short... if you want to take a break from the stress of life for 10 minutes its great fun. The illustrations are very well done and the rhymes are genuis! i think my favorite kid is Basil who was assaulted by bears.. \hahhahhahha... that makes me burst into laughter again! seriously, if you like macabre hilarity, take a few minutes off and ENJOY THIS BOOK! (There is no graphic or adult images but the ideas would be very frightening for young children. I say 11+ because theres a girl with an axe in her head and some blood thats cartoonish but gross.)

This book is great! No matter how many people tell you how horribly sick it is. Read this book.They only say that because they dont have a sense of humor. So any way read this book! Its both sickining,funny, and tasteful.

This is the funniest Alphabet book I've ever seen.
Clearly the author is not fond of children, seen by the ways he "does away with them", SO FUNNY !!!

being an avid Ed Gorey fan it was nice to get a new copy of one of my favorites

Jeanne Boylan could be a movie star or model. She is tall, slim, and blonde. She began her artistic career by doodling in notebooks as a child. Her art career is really based on getting serial killers, mass murderers, and criminals brought to justice. Her relationship to Marc Klaas, the father of murdered victim Polly Klaas who became an activist seeking justice for the victims. The book's narrative is taken by the author's perception and experiences. The Smith case rendered the same feeling that the mother was involved in her sons's abductions and murders. Reading about how Jeanne and Marc learned about their fates were both horrifying. They still had hope that a mother would not have gone so far or over the edge of the unthinkable. We all think that the criminals can be monsters but Susan Smith was also the mother to two innocent young boys, Michael and Alexander. Nobody believed her story of an abduction in a rural road in the middle of the night. Most motives behind carjacking is the car itself. Carjackers don't want two babies in the backseat. Sadly, a carjacker would have probably returned Michael and Alexander safely somewhere but Susan's story never washed out. Her sons' bodies were in the bottom on John D. Long Lake. Of course, Boylan writes about her failed marriage, her background in Montrose, Colorado, and how she became known as the woman behind criminal portraits which led to the captures of the Unabomber or Ted Kaczynski and others.

I became interested in this author after seeing her speak about eyewitness memory on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I found the book, read it and then noticed a composite drawing in the Elizabeth Smart case that seemed to bear no likeness to the man arrested for the kidnapping. Jeanne Boylan's name was periodically associated with the case and I felt let down that she'd so badly erred in doing the less than stellar drawing. (Though now we know that the man was caught because the Smart family realized his religious name, announced it to the public and then were given real photos by the man's own family that were aired on TV which then resulted in his subsequent identification and quick arrest.)

Now, in more recent news reports, I found out that Jeanne Boylan actually interviewed the younger sister of Elizabeth about her memory of the abduction night and that the poor suspect drawing the media was showing was not from her interviews, but was from a local portrait person and was not taken from the little sister's sighting the night of the abduction but rather was taken from the family who knew the man and had spent many hours with him. Now I understood why the descrepancy.

I felt relief. I momentarily thought Jeanne Boylan had lost her skills. Now I understand the difference between her interview and the drawing that is now linked to the case but does not look like the kidnapper.

I look forward to the sequel of 'Portraits of Guilt' and to reading more about what happens to eyewitness's memories when the sightings are endured during moments of fright and fear and how that forces their vision very deep into the recesses of their mind as it did for Elizabeth's little sister.

Praise the Lord that with help and encouragement, Elizabeth's little sister finally remembered the religious name with the help of the loving Smart family, the apparently astute police and Jeanne Boylan who all had fiercely guarded the young child's evolving memory while it was gradually surfacing so that the kidnapper was finally caught. Good things come to those who wait!

I found this book on Oprah's website under "Oprah's Books" and think highly of her choices so ordered it. I'm happy I did. It was a fast moving, compelling read and gave me a view into a world I knew nothing about. I feel entertained, educated and wiser from reading it. What more could you ask... I endorse the book, author and Oprah's good taste.

I've read a lot of good books about healing from trauma and the effects trauma has upon memory. I've also read a lot of books about the fallibility of memory that do not correctly take into account the actual experience of the trauma. Jeanne Boylan has succeeded in writing the first book that accurately addresses both sides of the understanding of memory. She clearly illustrates the way that traumatic memory can be malleable in the presence of suggestion. It is through the insight of Jeanne Boylan's work that we can keep the innocent people out of jail and the guilty people can be handled accordingly.

She succeeds at what she does because she has both a natural ability and a deep understanding of trauma and memory. She also succeeds because she knows how to reach the heart. She works from her intuition as well as her logical understanding. Her kind and gentle nature is a true asset in the work that she does, and she could not achieve what she has achieved without it. In addition to all of this she has the added gift of being an incredible artist. Jeanne Boylan was born to do the work that she does; it is an inborn gift, which was further honed by her own personal experience of trauma and surviving a crime.

Jeanne Boylan describes traumatic memory as being like a fifty-cent piece that has been tossed below eight feet of water. The memory gets buried by the intense emotional trauma, but at the same time is locked into memory. As the emotions arise our minds protect us by blurring the image, like the movement of water. We can still see it, but it is distorted. With the right approach the memory of the trauma can be brought back to the eyewitness's conscious memory in it's original condition, just as the fifty-cent piece can be retrieved from the water fully intact.

Jeanne Boylan works with survivors to draw near perfect portraits of the criminals. Her technique is the art form. She says, "The answers to uncovering memory reside in understanding the powerful inner workings of the human mind-- and more importantly, in the power of the human heart. (p. 11)" She says "The higher the degree of personal trauma, the harder the mind works to discard or bury the image, but, also, the more likely it will have been encoded into memory in the first place, even if it is housed at a much deeper level of recall... Sometimes if we can coach the conscious mind to move aside we can still access the original untainted image--if there is reason enough for it to have been retained in memory. (p.13)" It is the release of emotions, no matter what form, that helps reach the image. She uses an interview technique, which brings the person into a safe space in order to access the memory without the emotions blocking it, and she uses carefully worded questions to prevent suggestions from distorting the original memory.

During her chapters about the devastating kidnap and murder of twelve year old Polly Klass, she provides new insight into how to recognize the veracity of an eyewitness account. She explains that when witnesses remember the trauma or the attacker differently that this is actually a sign that they are telling the truth because no two people remember an experience identically. The discrepancies help to validate and preserve the images and details of the memory for later needs (as long as suggestion has not been introduced). There is usually one stronger witness, however that witness will often have a degree of self-doubt that can be increased when she/he encounters discrepancies among the other witnesses. Jeanne Boylan was the first person on the case of Polly Klass to treat the witnesses (also twelve years old) with the validation and support that they needed.

The chapter about the abduction and torture of Sister Dianna Ortiz was the most powerful aspect of the book, for me. Anyone who has experienced a similar trauma will find a lot of healing and peace in reading this chapter. We watch Sister Dianna Ortiz work through the intense PTSD, become empowered, speak out and overcome the accusations that her experiences were a figment of her imagination. Sister Dianna Ortiz speaks of her healing, "Healing comes in many forms. I know I will always carry the memory of what happened to me on November second, 1989. For more than six and one-half years I have allowed my Guatemalan torturers and Alejandro to haunt me. Many times, I've felt like they danced within me. Many times I've felt that if I got close to anyone, I was going to contaminate them with the evilness that they left inside me. But today, I can sit here and say that that evil does not exist inside me anymore, and that is because of the work that I was able to accomplish with Jeanne Boylan. (p.282)... The images of my torturers and Alejandro have always stayed within me, and I have held myself responsible for the horrible things that happened on that November day, but today, because I was able, with the help of Jeanne Boylan, to put a face to these monsters, I can put them away from me. They no longer live in my soul. Until I faced them, I could never be free. (p283)"

In the next chapter called Awakenings Jeanne Boylan says, "Though I knew instinctively the importance of freeing a victim of the evil left from an attack, never before had I realized so clearly the emotional power that floods the soul when the residual grip of an assailant is finally loosened, and gently removed from the heart. (p. 286)"

Jeannie Boylan ends the book with the conclusion she left us wanting to hear since the Prologue. She weaves in her own experience, and powerfully does for herself what she has already done for so many others.

I am a reseacher in the area of human memory. My university studies and thesis are in the area of crime victim recall and memory malleability. I was given Miss Boylan's book by a fellow doctoral student who said simply, "Read this. This woman gets it."

To my astonishment, this was true and to know that there is a woman struggling essentially all alone to enlighten police about the seriousness of memory malleability made me want to jump into the pages of this book and yell to the police she works with that there is scientific data backing up every word she says about this topic.

Miss Boylan unfortunately writes in too kind a fashion, seemingly concerned about offending the masses, but sometimes creating change requires the proverbial 2 X 4 to create the desired impact. Although I appreciate Miss Boylan's subtle and polite manner, my only complaint about this book and her story is that she should and could have been much more hard hitting in her critique of what has historically gone wrong in criminal investigations. With what she's experienced, she is entitled to be direct.

With the knowledge we in the academic world have now of how memory works, there is no excuse for the mistakes made in past cases to continue to take place. Jeanne Boylan should scream her message and take her lumps. I'd rather see her save lives than to worry about winning a popularity contest. She can speak from inside the world of police, whereas "us" in our ivory towers, don't have access to the real world as she does.

Boylan relied on us to give her the foundation for her work and my predecessor's findings of three decades now, but those of us doing the empirical research have to rely on people like her to deliver our findings to the point of practical application in the police world. She can be the go-between from our world to inside real life criminal investigations.

Overall, Portraits of Guilt is a great book, great 'on the mark' insights into crime victim memory and some lessons in Boylan's stories that had better be paid attention to before we lose more lives such as Polly Klaas. (Her book is dedicated to the Klaas girl's memory.)

I give this book a five star rating for it's general level of readibility and for her stunning insights into trauma victim memory malleability, but Miss Boylan, if you write a second book, and I hope you do, next time, take the gloves off and try to come out swinging.

thisbook is perfect if you want to know everyting about U2
I really love it !

This book is one of the few really great rock biographies. It does a great job of chronicling the band's past by giving a distilled view of their present, in both personal lives, internal processes, and musical career. All of that is the essence of the music of U2, and the legacy their music has created. Flanagan does them a great service in this bio, but also himself, for presenting them so well and staying out of the way. Well, mostly. His humor about touring with them is fairly expressive...

An outstanding work of rock journalism. This is far from a starry-eyed fanboy tribute -- Flanagan is one of the most intellectually gifted rock critics out there, and here he turns his intellect on travel, music, pop culture, his own foibles, and, of course, U2 and their art.

Flanagan, one of the first American journalists to champion U2, is a confidant of the band, but it doesn't stop him from critically appraising their work. The book starts with U2 taking the last flight into East Germany before reunification, and follows the band all the way through the writing of Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and the tour that surrounded the two albums. It's probably U2's most creatively active period, and it's our good fortune that a writer of Flanagan's calibre tagged along for the ride. A must-read if you're at all interested in U2.

This is one of the most well-written biographies that I have read. Mr. Flanagan covers every aspect of U2, mixing the present with the past and the anticipated future of the band. As an avid reader of various non-fiction subjects, I have to say that this kind of a biography was a first for me. You wouldn't think that a book about a band would have any transferrable application for non-musicians, however I found that these guys are fairly down-to-earth. Reading U2: At the end of the world helped me to dispell some of the superstar myths that I had. That being said, I feel compelled to put a disclaimer about some of the language. While, it didn't seem to bother me, I would have to give this an "R" rating, as far as language is concerned. It's not as if the f-bomb appears on every other page...maybe once or twice a chapter. But, for those who might be sensitive to such expletives, beware. 5-Stars, with a warning.

After reading this book, I felt like I really understood what was going on in their heads while writting Achtung Baby! and the music was better for it. I've read some of the more recent books about U2 and also about Bono and this tops them all. It's a day in the life, before 9/11 and before all that came after for them. If you love U2 like I love U2, read this book.

I LOVE THIS BOOK ABOUT FAERIES. I READ IT OVER AND OVER.
THANK YOU
PEGGY BOND

I've begun a bit of Faery book collecting and this was a great selection to sort of tie my many books together. The book is just like new and I saved quite a bit on the price. I am very faery happy!

The illustrations are hauntingly beautiful and the whole book just flows wonderfully. Really lets you feel as if you know all about the fairies...both good and bad!

This particular book is highly reviewed by many people. It is a love/hate kind of book. Either you love the story and lore, or you hate the imagery. If you want a book with a light hearted story and fluffy lore with beautiful pixies/faeries; this is NOT the right book. The ads for this book deceptively illustrated a different set of contents. So please check the negitive reviews too!

Alan Lee and Brian Froud's timelessly classic volume on fairies was published in 1978 to critical acclaim and instant popular success, making this enchanting book a must have for any child at heart. I know liking fairies is very girlie but I just can't help it! I love them oh so much and have since I owned Cicely Mary Barker's little "flower fairies" books as a young child. With its pencil drawings, numerous colour illustrations throughout and witty text the book is a pleasure to look at time and time again, one always discovers something new. This charming book dwells not just upon the innocent fairies but encompasses all the denizens of the world of faery from the sweet natured and gentle nature sprites to several of their much darker elemental cousins. Faeries is evocative of another era in time when people truly believed in fairies, elves, dwarves, brownies, hobgoblins and the like. Focusing primarily on the fairies and related creatures of The British Isles it is an eccentric and lovely journey into the Anglo-Celtic folklore of these green and verdant island nations. This collaborative effort by Alan Lee and Brian Froud is probably one of their most beloved books and one can immerse oneself in their imaginative world for hours, you really do lose track of time.

Although both artists careers have gone on to grander things like working as conceptual artists on big budget films and TV shows this first effort at the beginning of their careers stands as an enduring testament to their combined talents. The art of both men is quite different in style, character and tonal value but in Faeries they complement each other in an aesthetic marriage of shared vision and belief. Brian Froud after all these years is still thoroughly immersed in the world of faery with many books on fairies and goblins to his credit, like for example Good Faeries/Bad Faeries. He also went on to work in film as a conceptual artist, bringing his idiosyncratic and unique talent to bear on two of the late Jim Henson's fantasy films, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Alan Lee went off on a different course illustrating books on ancient myth and legend and perhaps painting his most famous book illustrations for the sweeping and elegiac novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. In recent years Alan Lee was hired to work on the film versions of The Lord of the Rings as the chief concept artist (along with John Howe) his work on these three groundbreaking movies gave them a credibility they might not have had otherwise.

But this wondrous volume is still for me one of their most outstanding achievements and although many such books were published in the 1970s, Faeries is definitely at the top of the heap. This sumptuous 25th anniversary edition of Faeries has eight extra pages with twenty new pieces of artwork and newly updated introductions so it is definitely a must have for the serious fairy lover and fan of the original book. I only ever owned the softcover of the original book... so when this special edition came out in hardback I rushed to my local bookstore and purchased it immediately. Mr. Lee and Mr. Froud implore us to believe in the world of faery once again, and to be honest in this sterile modern world it would be nice to believe it actually does exist. Sprinkle some fairy dust on yourself and go out and buy this entrancing book and bring a bit of glamor into your life!

Mythology collects the stellar art work of Alex Ross showcasing the worlds finest images of the major DC characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. This book highlights key points of the characters beginnings and evolutions with clear and informative writing. Gorgeously illustrated by Alex Ross coupled with wonderfully laid out design work the reader will find it quite difficult to put down this handsome book.Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross

An amazingly illustrated montage of Ross's work. A beautiful book for fans of comic book art and art in general.

AMAZING. Totally worth buying. If you like Alex Ross, you will not regret this purchase. The book includes Ross' comments on inspiration, collaborations, thoughts, insights, and much more. Truly inspiring.

It's a great work, detailing all the work of Alex Ross in DC Comics. In this book, we get the notions of how he figures out the characters, their concepts and ideologies, etc. Moreover, with this book we can see how the Art is transported from the artist's mind to the paper.
There's just one book better than this one: it's hardcover version, much more beautiful.

Wow. I love Alex Ross, and he has soooo many beautiful pieces that they shouldn't have had any trouble finding classic, beautiful images.
This calandar is half filler. Some months are nothing more than pictures of toys based on Ross's paintings. That's ridiculous. I could have settled for the design art that the toys were made from, but I didn't buy a calandar of the artist's works to see lame products several times removed from the actual art.
High hopes led to great disappointment.

This book is a good introduction into the girl behind these amazing paintings and poetry. Her insightful artwork is reproduced well. This girl's visions and understanding of who God is and His heart of love for people of the world is astounding. (Especially when you consider her mom USED to be an atheist) The poetry is a little beyond me, but the art work speaks volumes.
Lovely. Keep up the great work Akiane.. your goal is being reached!

Akiane's story has always inspired me. I directed a friend of mine to her website recently to show her the amazing art, and she told me after surfing it that it restored her faith in God. When I read this book, it only accentuated my love and admiration for Akiane. You don't have to be religious to appreciate this girl. Her story is still a powerful message of how faith can change your life. If you're an art lover, you'll be inspired by the reproductions of her paintings and be stunned by her use of color and imagination. Her art is so realistic, but so mystical too. If you prefer the written word, read dozens of Akiane's poems. They are guaranteed to blow you away.

All in all, this book helps you remember that there is goodness in the world.

I got to meet Akiane in San Diego for a show. She is truly an inspiration. Her gift is enough to make a believer out of an athiest!

Very inspirational and faith building book. Akiane has not chosen this path, she's only following where God leads her. There are always going to be nay sayers about anything, specially in this world of instant information. I choose to believe that she is what she says she is, and does what she says she does, because with God anything is possible.

The first time I saw this book, I was on a cross country plane ride and had the fortunate experience of sitting next to a kindred soul. She shared this book with me to pass the time. And the time passed quickly. After looking at the paintings of this young artist, Akiane, I had a kink in my neck because I couldn't turn away. But it was worth it. I ordered the book immediately and have enjoyed sharing it with my daughters and displaying it on our coffee table.

Akiane is an artist and a poet and an inspiration. She believes she's been touched by God, and one look at her work will make you a believer as well.

From the author of A Line Between Friends and I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner.

while i bought this book for another, i find it to be pretty good. some pictures aren't up to todays digital quality, but its still great to look at. you won't be disappointed.

AMAZING - INSPIRING - AWESOME. This book was purchased in tandum with the video "Rivers and Tides". I don't think I could just pick one or the other. What one begins, the other ends and the relationship is perfect. Be inspired - spend time, REAL TIME - looking at these images and reading about his work and his methods. You will look at the world a new way. I am a professional photographer and the photography is gorgous. You can't miss this one.

I was instantly attracted to the cover. I would have liked two things before I purchased. The date of publication and to have access to more pictures in the book. It was a gift and it is loved. I love you people...I love free shipping....it is now a HUGE factor in whether I purchase on line or get in my car and go to the book store.

I plan to acquire more Andy Goldsworthy albums. His photo art calms the mind, eyes and soul...look at it while listening to your favorite calming music!

This is classic Andy at his finest. A must have for your coffee table, bookshelf or any tucked away corner or your home. Fantastic intro book to get anyone to know Andy and his work. A great gift. Pick up a few for yourself.

Damages by Bazhe is something I truly didn't expect. It took me a total of three days to read it, although if time and life would have permitted, I would have simply read it all the way through because I didn't want to put it down. I have never read a personal life story that was so detailed, so shocking, and so blatant in regards to everything that their life contained. This book is for an adult audience, but what it contains is something all of us can benefit from. Bazhe is not only a man that in many respects, is lucky to be alive. He is also a person that by sharing of his truly genius and genuine gift, the world is a better place because of it. In addition to the book itself being timeless literature and comparable to all the greatest writers that have ever existed, it is even more alarming that 'English' is not his first language and he exudes complete mastery of it. His descriptions of events, places and occasions that occurred in his life honestly do rival the best authors to ever live, to include greats like Anne Rice. Although some of his words read as seamlessly and poetically as the Prophet himself, Kahlil Gibran. Parts of this book are indeed shocking, much of it is. Parts of this book are filled with incredible insight and wisdom. And all of this book is collectively woven into what one could only call a masterpiece.

I am almost as shocked by the fact this is his first book as I am by what I read of his life. Not to exclude how beautifully and eloquently he does write. At times I held back tears, at times I laughed, at times I wondered, and each page contains something that will hold any readers attention. Straight, gay, heterosexual, homosexual or whatever your particular sexual persuasions might be. The bottom line is if you're human, this book will touch you immensely in ways that you will have to read it fully, to appreciate the merit of that statement. Giving this book a ten rating would be selling it short. And lastly, for someone to A). Live what he has lived through, B). Be so completely honest about it barring what anyone might think, and C). Write all this down in a way that is on par with some of the greatest writers to have ever lived, is like three miraculous events merging in one place and in one life time. And if this doesn't become a movie I will be more shocked by that, than I was reading this book! The life of a man realizing his sexual identity might not be something a lot of people think they can read or might care to read. I can only say that if those indeed are your thoughts, you are perhaps missing out on one of the greatest writers alive today and who has proven that in his very first book to be released to my knowledge.

Sincerely,
Chase vonYour Chance to Hear The Last Panther Speak

Bazhe's autobiography that will truly touch your heart.

Bazhe was tormented from a very young age by his family and friends.
He was also on the search for his biological parents; and was having no luck at all finding them.These actions would later in life mold him into the man he is today. Bazhe's whole life changed when he received the news that his father passed away.

Bazhe knew he must come to Macedonia to mourn for his father so he or "Mother" would not be ridiculed. While staying at home Bazhe realized there was something wrong with his mother. Finally convincing her to go to the doctor, she was diagnosed with cancer.
Bazhe stayed by her side almost the entire time of her illness; helping her in any way he could.

He finally got a lead on his biological mother from an old college friend. When he tracked Mila down, she expressed how badly she did not want to give Bazhe up but was so young at the time she was raped by his father, she didn't have any other choice. Bazhe wants the truth about his father, but Mila will not speak of him. He even invited her stay in his parents home when she came to visit.

Bazhe felt he lived in two different worlds with two very different mothers. He would take care of Kostadina, and as soon as she fell asleep from the medications he would go to Mila and tell her the story of his life. Recounting the horrors as well as the nice parts of growing up, Bazhe shares in great detail his first gay experience, first love, and first drag experience with Mila. Wanting her to know him for who he really was. He could never tell these things to his mother Kostadina.

As time progressed, Mila had to return home to her husband and two sons. She called to check on Bazhe quite often; sometimes he would answer the phone and other times not. The cancer had began to eat at his mother's body rapidly. In the few months he was back in America taking his citizenship exam, her condition worsened. When Bazhe returned to Macedonia to be with his mother once again, it would be the last time he saw her alive.

Bazhe has written the heart wrenching story of his life in this book. I was amazed at all he had to endure during his youth and adulthood. Bazhe may have been damaged on the outside and in his heart; but never once was his spirit broken. This story is shocking and so full of love. You must pick up a copy of this book and get to know Bazhe because he sounds like such a wonderful man with so much love in his heart.
This autobiography deserves 5 hearts. I wish I could meet Bazhe in person, the first thing I would do is give him a huge hug for being such a wonderful son to his mother and for doing what he wanted to do in life; despite what others wanted him to do.

This is a sensitively written biographical novel. The characters come alive and the painful experiences of the author come across in a poinent and very powerful way. This would make a haunting and memorable film. I would like to read more by this author and what else he has to offer the reader

I started this book with some trepidation, having read the chapter titles first (among which are Mother, Father, Biopsy, Connection, Phobia, Wedding, Diary, Artist, Gossip, Istanbul, Change, Aunts, Parting). Now that I have been carried on the fantastic ride that this book offers, the chapter titles make perfect sense. The chapters take the reader through the author's astounding first 23 years of life and gamut of emotions, beginning with the day he was adopted by a fascinating couple. As a result, the book is impossible to stop thinking about during the day.

The supremely talented author, Bazhe, causes the reader to be desperate for knowledge of the next turn of events. Damages is written very smoothly with great flair, intelligence and a passion that will suck the reader right in.

Damages is completely evocative and lyrical as it takes the reader through Bazhe's experiences in a war-torn, beautiful and ancient Macedonia, where he was born, Istanbul and ultimately the escape from the shackles of his life to America, in the fulfillment of a dream he had from the very beginning, whether he was aware of it or not. Beautifully developed family members and other characters - both Christian and Muslim - are evident in every chapter of this incredible writer's life saga through age 23. I hope that he is currently writing a post-age 23 sequel! Bazhe is so likeable, perceptive and smart that I want to read more.

Bazhe is currently an unsung author, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear a lot about him in the near future. I have even bought multiple copies to give to my friends, who have reacted the same way I did.

"Damages," a brutally honest and poetically eloquent memoir by Yugoslavian-born Bazhe, is nothing short of brilliant! This first time book author (he's written and has published several poems and short prose pieces) is as self-assured and self-examining as anything by Didion, the biographical Gordon Parks, and Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings."

An orphan adopted from a Macedonian orphanage by an important and staunch Communist Official and his beautiful but barren wife, the infant Bazhe is reared in comfort, privilege, and under the iron-thumb of a wife- and child-abuser. A talented and strikingly beautiful little boy, after giving public performances for scores of spectators on several occasions, bets are taken on whether Bazhe is a boy or a girl. The child is then made to drop his pants and reveal his male genitalia.

Labeled `sissy' and often beaten in school because of his privilege and beauty, he even suffers a harrowing abuse at the hands of his father when his mother is away. Upon refusing to eat fatty meat during a meal, seven-year-old Bazhe is beaten by his father who then stuff's his member in the boy's mouth, choking him with the fluids of his ejaculation.

But most of the horrors and heartbreaks of this ultimately brave and resilient young man's life come later in this well-written, often brutal, but never gratuitous autobiography of a beautiful young man growing up gay and effeminate in a culture where such nature and appearance is illegal and met with great physical and verbal abuse.

Bazhe is a legal immigrant living in New Jersey when he gets the call from his mother Kostadina that his father has died. Feeling free of the iron fist of the man she hated most of the years she was married to him, Kostadina encourages Bazhe not to come for the funeral.

But a month later Bazhe returns to Macedonia to help his mother with family affairs, only to realize that she has been hiding her own serious illness from him.

With admirable devotion and against his mother's protestations, he stays to nurse her through her illness, which turns out to be colon cancer. The first half of the book is Bazhe's almost too-painful-to-read detailing of his caring for his mother and his guilt over his obsessive thirty-year search for his birth mother.

He actually finds his biological mother, the still beautiful and statuesque Mila who gave birth to him when she was fifteen years old after being raped by a government official in her native Croatia and, pressured by her family, turned the new born over to an orphanage.

Bitterness and regret clash uneasily as Mila and Bazhe meet. While Kostadina lays dying in her downstairs bedroom (but never unattended by her devoted son), Bazhe, not wanting her to feel that her position as his true mother is questioned, hides Mila upstairs where, over several days, he tells her the story of the life he lived and the life she missed.

And what a story it is indeed. Starting with his lonely childhood and adolescence, he reveals to her his first gay experience in the army, the scandal that he caused at the College of National Security, resulting in his expulsion, and his escape to Turkey.

There he was abducted, robbed, beaten, and raped by a pair of nefarious locals, and reduced to near starvation and homelessness before being rescued by Genghis, a wealthy Turkish bon vivant. Genghis falls madly in love and transforms Bazhe into a stunningly beautiful and high-class transvestite, replete with the requisite high-end jewelry, designer wardrobe, exclusive spa treatments, and plenty of spending money.

But sudden revelations about, and unexpected demands from Genghis send Bazhe fleeing back to his homeland, a country on the verge of great change and turmoil as the Bosnian-Serbian conflict begins to boil over.

No longer a transvestite but decidedly androgynous, Bazhe wanders into the underworld gay scene where `Aunts' (self-identified, usually flamboyant homosexual men) entertained `trade' in bushes, public parks, and public restrooms, often resulting in unspeakable violence from both policemen and sadistic partners.

After nearly losing his life at the hands of a sadist pick-up, Bazhe immigrates to the United States where he lives until he gets the call from his mother regarding his father's death.

Bazhe's birth mother is moved by this fantastical tale not told totally to anyone else. But a certain closure is attained here, and the young man reaffirms what he has always known: blood does not necessarily make a mother.

His devotion to his adoptive mother, his `real' mother, is the power that fuels this terrific book. His caring for her on her deathbed is so completely loved-filled, that by the time she dies in his arms, our tears flow as uncontrollably as his.

Indeed, this is the story of one individual damaged by so much of life's cruelties and injustices, but it is ultimately a tale of survival and the triumph of the spirit.

In spite of everything he was made to endure, Bazhe proves to be a person of great conviction and resilience. His story is a lesson for us all on when we fall down (or get knocked down) how to damn well get back up. Highly recommend.Looker: A Novel

This book is absolutely amazing. My mother got this book for me when I was about 17 and just really starting to bud out and become an artist. Dan's work was absolutely mesmerizing and inspiring. His colorful life and tragic death spark something in you to go out and change the world.

This is a dense, rich book of images and words left by Dan Eldon, one of those brilliant, outsized people who burn through life like a flare and are gone. He surrounded himself with beauty and horror and tried to both record and to make some sense of his experiences and the constant, jarring disparity between the extremes of life.
If you love photography and art or are just drawn to precocious brilliance and the intense energy of people who are present in every moment of their lives, you should own this book.

After seeing this book in a Borders store, I decided to buy it. I couldn't put it down, page after page offers so much of the author, yet offered so much to the reader. It makes your own imagination soar again, and as a fellow photographer, it gave me a kick in the butt I needed to start shooting again. The vision of Dan Eldon was not only through a lens, but through his heart as well. He accomplished a great deal in a short life, and definitely contributed to the bettering of our world. His photographs of Africa, combined with the scrapbook like additions of text and objects could be considered a new form of documentary photography. I strongly urge anyone who is interested in travel or photojournalism to get this book and have it transform your outlook on life.

Eldon's story of the war-torn Somolia is as much an artwork as it is an engaging story. This "book" is a reproduction of photojournalist Dan Eldon's journal from his travels in the most impoverished regions of Africa. Part insightful reading, part artistic work, this book should be on anyone's reading list who wants to know more about the world we don't see everyday, and it truly makes one think about all we have, and all Eldon lost...5 out of 5 starts easily!

I bought this book upon it's release in 1997. I can remember allowing the contents of this memoir to captivate me for hours on end. I lent my copy to a friend shortly thereafter and subsequently forgot about it. I recently ordered a replacement and I must say, this book is even more compelling than I ever remembered. Dan Eldon was a profound visionary, an articulate statesman and a devoted caretaker. As a Reuters photo-journalist, he traveled the world and served as a dipomatic embassador to many, yet his life was taken prematurely in a stoning riot in Somalia. He experienced more in his brief 21 years than most of us will over an entire lifetime. A MUST HAVE.

ONE OF THE SMARTEST, MOST PRODUCTIVE, HUMOROUS, STREET ARTISTS AROUND. WHAT ALL GOOD GRAFFITI ATTEMPTS, BUT OFTEN FALL SHORT OF A MUST FOR THE STREET ART LOVER!

it is interesting and entertaining. the stuff he does is really cool. some of them are a bit strange, but others are hilarious. he likes to make fun of various people and things, so someone who is a bobby, or british cop, might not like it as much. otherwise, he just does stuff for fun, such as writing "what are you looking at?" in front of a security camera. its fun to just look through the stuff he's done. he is an amazing artist. and very creative guy.

If you know Banksy, you know everything he has ever done is worth 5 stars. But in case you are concerned about their presentation, this book goes far to present his work with beautiful imagery and insightful commentary from the Banksy, itself!!

If you do not know Banksy yet and you enjoy stencil, symbolism, absurdism, political art, graffiti or taking risks to prove a point- just buy this book, you will not regret it!

this is a nice coffee table book for suburbans like me who want to appear edgy. banksy's work is brilliant.

I got this book for my boyfriend and he loved it. He saw it at Barnes and Nobles but then amazon had it cheaper! This art book shows lots of Banksy's arts. It's a pretty cool book!