Artists Books

C.W. Nichol's recounting of his experiences learning the Martial Ways in Japan is a must for any serious practioner. This is a book I purchase for each of my students to give them an idea of what they should aspire to.

if you are interested in the martial culture, you must read this book. you will not be disappointed.

I have read this book probably about a half dozen times. Sadly it was out of print for a long time, but recently came back in to print with a new subtitle "One Man's Journey to the Heart of Karate". I never understood why it was out of print at all. This book is a classic, and is the one that all other martial arts autobiographies are measured against. And I should know because I have read them all (check out my book Martial Arts Biographies-An Annotated Bibliography if you don't believe me). This book is referenced in countless indexes of other books. It really gives a great history of karate in Japan during the 60s. Nicol describes living with other martial artists from the west such as Donn Draeger. If you haven't read it, I strongly urge you to pick up a copy, and read it today.

I just finished reading the book 'Moving Zen' for the second time. I had read it years ago, aoubd the late 70's, and I liked it back then. I can relate to many of the stories Mr. Nicol relates. Originally , I had trained in the Kenkojuku Shotokan--it is different than the JKA shotokan mentioned in the book.-- and since my training has changed to the modern approach of mixed-martial arts type training. Nonetheless, I still enjoy Nicol's book. If you want to get an insider's look to what it was like training in the JKA, and in Japan... it is a must read.

osu,

A. Bustillo

Nicole Sensei writes about his experiences in Japan starting from his arivel in 1962 to learn Karate and Judo. This book has inspired me to continue my training in Shotokan Karate even though I don't curently have enough money to go to a dojo. He also speaks about the little yet important ocurences that had inspired him to continue on with his dreams. One day i wish to have similar experiences and maybe met the man who wrote such an inspiring novel.

If you love the comic strip, Mutts, you will love this beautiful color edition of the comic strips with large, easy-to-read type. It'd look great on your coffee table. Mr. McDonnell relates what inspires his strips, his personal history, and thoughts about his characters. There are roughs showing his thought process, sketchbook drawings and examples of his pre-Mutts artwork. As I suspected, Krazy Kat, was a big influence on his artistry. This is the kind of book fans enjoy.

You might want to check out a book on a collection of Krazy Kat cartoons to compare the style.

Mutts and Patrick McDonnell should be household names by now. The comics are sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, but always entertaining and thoughtfully done. The drawing is artistic and passionate with homage paid to other comics and various cultural styles. One of my favorite comics up there with Dilbert, Rose is Rose, Foxtrot, and For Better or For Worse.

I really am a fan of Mutts. This book is worth the price. I just want everything of Mutts, so if you are a fan, you have to buy it! And no, I do not own some Amazon stock!

Patrick McDonnell's work is among the very best gracing the newspaper comic strip pages today. There is a genuine quality to his work; an honesty that shines forth from the funnies. It is truly wonderful to see Abrams honor McDonnell and "Mutts" with this absolutely terrific monograph. The design of the book is scrumptious. Each page is carefully considered and I love the way that the designer combined sketchbook doodles and finished comic strips. It was also great to see references given for the Sunday page logo panels. They bring you just a little bit closer to the work.

And the work is really the main event here. The reproduction quality is glorious, giving us a sneak peak at what originals might look like. The color--oy, what color--is beautifully printed. If you can't see the original drawings, this book is the next best thing. The selection of work is great. They chose some of Mutts' very best, including the wonderful ice cream cone gag! That one remains one of my very favorites.

There are some really nice insights here, though they're not overblown. Like the strip itself, McDonnell writes in a true, succint way, then he lets his strip do the talking. You really get a sense of how invested he is in his creation.

If you're a Mutts fan, you can't pass this book up. And if you know of any Mutts fans who don't yet have this book, you can bank a bunch of karma by buying a copy for them. They'll love you more than a pink sock for it.

One of the best new comic strips to come down the pike in the last ten years is Patrick McDonnell's Mutts.

Cute doggie Earl and rascally Mooch have an understated charm that's reminiscent of the relationship between Snoopy and Charlie Brown before Snoopy took to the air in his imaginary Sopwith Camel.

Mutts is a down-to-Earth examination of how pets fit into the lives of their masters and vice-versa.

McDonnell's sensitivities derive from his simple yet eloquent style that draws upon the love and empathy that the strip's characters have for each other.

The book itself is a wonderful reprinting of many of his best daily and Sunday color strips. Also included are notes that cite the sources of the title panels of the Sunday strips that pay homage to old record albums, comic book covers, famous works of art, and movie posters.

The true fan of the Mutts strip will consider this book a 'must-have'. However, I have to admit that if you've been purchasing the Mutts collections printed so far, there's scant new material in this book. For a book of its size, the autobiographical information is very lean. There was probably more to read about McDonnell in a recent Star-Ledger newspaper interview than in this book.

I bought it for myself as a frivolous, self-indulgent treat. You might not want to do likewise.

This is a well-crafted, very modern story about the joys and sorrows of friendship. Cant wait to read more from McKinnon.

I loved this book. It dares, which is more than I can say for most of the novels I've read in the last few years. Fiction has become all the same thing, seemingly meant to make both writer and read feel good about themselves. This novel isn't about that. McKinnon's writing is alive, her characters are vivid and her story is wickedly fun. Reading the other reviews, it is clear that the author's refusal to tell the reader what to think has [upset] some readers and perplexed others; the smart ones, though, know that she purposely encloses you in the suffocating point of view of a narcissist--here's what it's like to live in the skin of a vain, short-sighted, self-glorifying young woman 24/7--as if to say you'd better watch out, world, or this is what we'll all become. But Becky is not a mouthpiece, she is a character whom McKinnon embodies fully and without flinching. I can't wait to see who and what she'll take on next.

Recently, we've been bombarded by the fiction publishing industry with woman characters that are ambivalent about their independence and obsessed with the desire to be all things to everyone (especially to men). The women of Narcissus Ascending cannot be reduced to these banal caricatures. Instead, Karen McKinnon, in her darkly ironical first novel, gives us two rivalrous characters - Becky and Callie - whose complex, obsessive, self-delusional personalities jumps off the page. The seeming authenticity of these characters makes them fascinating to read about. This is a unique and wonderful book that I highly recommend.

Narcissus Ascending, the initial novel offering by transplanted New York psychologist and writer Karen McKinnon is exactly what you expect it to be when you first see it on the bookstore shelf. And it is things you never expected it to be.

The title of the work and its modest size (214 pages) may lead you to believe it contains the usual dose of pretentious self-indulgence that often accompany a first novel, which this one does. Two of the first four words in the opening paragraph are "I" and unless you are among the most voracious and academic of readers, not a few times will you find yourself reaching for the Roget's to get a handle on the sometimes reachng vocabulary. But don't let that keep you from picking it up. This look at the relationships between a group of late twenty-something friends that don't spend their lives huddled in a New York City coffeehouse immediately grabs hold of your interest and rarely lets go.

Written in a unique "diary-like" narrative from the perspective of the main character, Becky, McKinnon's writing structure here is perfect for the subject matter and is a large part of what makes this such an enjoyable read. The lack of dialogue punctuation and the often combined thoughts and sentences make the reader have to work a little harder, but helps to stay atuned to the story line and each of its subjects.

The story is centered around four friends wrapped up in the melieu of New York's East Village who, aside from the day-to-day travails of Manhattan life are each dealing with the mental residue deposited by a fifth character, Callie, whom, though we don't actually meet until the last 80 pages of the book, we come to know and loathe...and fear, but are anxious to meet. The setting is well written and through the interaction and thoughts of each character, we are given a look into four distinct lives and points of view; neurosis, desire, ambition and all. McKinnon walks us through their relationships, individually and collectively, and as we progress, have no choice but to make comparisons with our own lives. Their private thoughts, personal battles and betrayals and the rationalizing of sexual indiscretions and desires are upfront and honest, to the point we are left to wonder how many of the characters and experiences are autobiographical or if the writer is just this good.

McKinnon does deserve a little slap for not reaching further into the character Dahlia and how her life as an incest survivor fuels her thoughts and actions, but should be highly praised for her research into modernist artist Becky. If we didn't know the writer was a psychologist, her depth of detail regarding her artist's struggle for professional self-definition and the art world itself would have us looking forward to her next show at the MoMA.

The storyline focuses largely on the angst and fears of its main players and their shallow, adolescent need to acquire revenge for past deeds done them by the protragonist Callie. But there is an unspoken subtext you can not help but delve into, questions about the foundative solvency in today's society you can not help but ask. Because most of the character development is so thorough and well defined, we can't help but wonder if present-day adults are really this [messed] up and whether we fall into one of two categories; those as equally disfucntional and in need of therapy as the characters we're reading about or those who are fortunate enough to have grown up.

A quick-paced, cozy-up-on-the-sofa-for-an-evening novel, Narcissus Ascending is a fun read that takes an naked, revealing look into the self-centered aspects of the human condition we all enjoy...or suffer from. But don't believe for a second that after you close the cover, it won't have you thinking.

Perhaps more than you'd like to.

I came across this debut novel recently and on cracking open the cover I didn't look up until I had finished all 200 plus pages several hours later. McKinnon's style of writing is impressive and her ability to render the novel's characters into flesh and blood is mind-whirling. The examination of the complexity of friendships that form when self-absorbed people (and aren't we surrounded more and more by them) find each other is sobering...and, I hate to admit it (and so will you), familiar. I can't wait to read more of her writing.

Really great classic artwork..One of the finest illustrators for many years. If you enjoy this type of art, this will be a fine book for your art collection with an insight into the head of Mr Griffin. Two thumbs up! 5 Stars, and a big YEE HA for this book! mondocain

One of the Best in his field, and respected among his peers, Rick Griffin ruled. Great book and just a sample of the great work that came from this man.

This book was out of print for a while and ebay prices were not cheep. To get it for under $20 seems like a steal. It is exactly as I remember from the late 80's. Beutifully reproduced on nice paper.

This is an excellent printing on heavy stock of some of the finest works from a master of poster and comic artist from the San Francisco Haight Ashbury era. I think it is a wonderful addition to any collection of psychedelic ephemera, and an admirable part of my own art library.

This is a fabulous treat for the eyes.
Griffin perfected the late 60s San Fran poster art style in his work for the Dead and others (cover of Aoxomoxoa, for instance, or the immortal surfing eyeball poster for the GD with It's A Beautiful Day), and he was also a phenomenally gifted painter, spraybrush stylist, and pen and ink man. He takes the art deco influence of the SF school and melds it with a classicist's sensibility, creating a beautiful synthesis of mind and Mother Nature.
There is no doubt that Michelangelo or DaVinci would smile in appreciation at Rick's Omo Bob Rides South, a six-page black and white masterpiece where each page is an absolutely perfectly composed gem that stands on its own as a true work of art. He exhibits the total control of a master, and his eye for symmetry is astounding, as is the depth of his chiaroscuro. Griffin is also one of the great letterers of all time; it's a real joy to read words written in his inimitable script (but imitated ever since, including almost every decent graffiti artist).
To top it off, his writing is genius in Omo Bob, reflecting a deep understanding of life's many paradoxes. If you've never experienced this work, get good and ready in your favorite way (RG was an early fan of Dr. Hof, and that influence is clearly felt) and then spend at least ten minutes on each page, letting your eyes bathe in the serpentine brilliance; you will be endlessly rewarded. I still enjoy it at least once a year, decades after my first exposure to it, and never tire of its mellifluous lines and incredible detail.
The book also highlights some of his early surf work (a surfer through and through, Griffin's work embodies the grace and flow of a true waterman; no one has ever visually conveyed the joy of a wave like RG), his album covers, his paintings, and various pieces.
But it is Omo Bob and a couple other pen and ink pieces here that ensure his artistic immortality. Griffin was by all accounts a wonderful friend and a very spiritual man, and those qualities shine through in his art.
It is somehow very comforting and reassuring to gaze upon his work;
there is proof here that a deep and perfect form lies beyond the seeming chaos of the physical plane.
What more can you ask from art than that?

This is a fabulous book, and is good for girls and boys. I love that it includes breastfeeding, which is unforunately very rare and hard to find. A definite read for any parent expecting a 2nd (and beyond) child.

Sophie and the New Baby is a good story to share with children having trouble getting used to the changes a new baby can bring.

Sophie is an only child who is used to getting a lot of attention from her parents. One spring day, her parents announce that there will be a new member arriving in the family. That baby will be a winter baby. Sophie waits, and waits, and waits. Finally the baby arrives. Sophie is disappointed that the baby cannot play with her. She is even more disappointed when her parents spend all of their time with the baby and not with her. Sophie is sad and lonely. Eventually, with the passage of time, Sophie adjusts and learns to love the little baby.

Catherine Anholt's charming illustrations detail the changing seasons beautifully as Sophie waits for the baby. They also accurately portray the things that occur once the baby arrives: the crying, the nursing, the diaper changes, the holding, the nursing (yes, there are two illustrations of the mom nursing the baby), the growing piles of laundry and dishes...

Sophie and the New Baby gives a young child a good idea of what to expect when a new sibling arrives. It also addresses the negative emotions that can be felt in a reassuring way. This is a very good book to read to an only child who will soon become a big brother or sister.

-Sherry Ellis
Author of That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN

This is a wonderful book for a sibling (2-4 years of age) who's expecting a new baby in the family. It follows Sophie throughout her mom's pregnancy and then describes how things are once baby arrives. It does so very well, and accurately per my recollection of younger siblings arriving at our house growing up. It is realistic enough that it does show Sophie yelling that she doesn't want "that baby anymore!" Then it describes how Sophie teaches her baby brother to smile, and they become friends.

I love this book. My oldest daughter still requests it, even though her little sister is six months now. I think it really helped ease our baby's arrival ... her big sister knew ahead of time that it would be difficult, and an adjustment, but to be patient and it would work (older sister was 1 month shy of 3 years of age when her baby sister was born).

I can't recommend this book enough! In addition, if you breastfeed or are planning to do so, this book shows the mother breastfeeding the baby (doesn't say what she's doing, and for families who don't breastfeed I doubt that it would be something a child would recognize - but it's great for discussing that with an older sibling if you will be breastfeeding).

We are expecting a baby boy this winter and my daughter Sophie truly enjoyed this book! It not only deals with the emotions of an older sibling but begins with how long the wait is anticipating the birth of a younger sibling.

My 2 1/2 year old loves this book. It gives us a chance to talk about all aspects of having a new baby: the waiting, the coming, the aftermath. We told her about our new baby very early in the pregnancy so it's helpful to have a book that talks about waiting through all those seasons until it finally arrives!

This is a very special book and a wonderful present to give anyone. I have given this book to my daughter's teacher, a good friend and a sibling. It's story is universal and the message is wonderful. The drawings and layout of the book are genious. Highly recommend it.

By far...the best book ever written. Great gift item for baby showers or for a young child.

This is a gorgeous book with a beautiful story.
I read this book aloud to my guests at my own bridal luncheon and it was a hit.

I plan to buy several as gifts.
Buy this book for yourself and for those you care about.
Do not pass this book up. It is a gem.

We are using this book in lieu of the traditional Guest Book at our wedding. There are lots of blank spaces in the margins that guest can use to sign it "yearbook style" and it makes a nice book to have on a coffee table after the wedding. Much more unique than a plain guest book.

The Story of the Heart is very moving. The art is beautiful and the story is wonderful. I've given this as an early Valentine's Day present to my wife, daughter, and mother, and they all love it. So do I.

Wonderful story! I felt like I was watching a movie. A really good movie. This book goes back to the things that were once inportant in life: Honor, Friendship, Love, Romance, Respect and just plan trying to do the right thing even when it hurts. Please write more!

Just a wonderful book. The ending through me for a loop. It was hard to put down once I got started. Great story, great characters. I recomend it for anyone.

"Tangible Memories is the best book that I have ever read about pure love.This book was an amazing love story that keeps you flipping the pages to see what happens.It toook my breath away and made me cry. It also made me happy and helped me believe that there is honestly a soulmate for everyone. It was astonishing to me that Jackie and Lewis could feel each others pain and love miles away and over the years. It is a great, real love story. "Tangible Memories" touchs your heart and soul.

I'm not a very fast reader, but I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late after work to finish this wonderful book. It's the best love story i've read in a long time, maybe the best love story i've ever read. I gave it five stars, but its a seven star book. I'll be looking for more to read from this wonderful author. Thanks bill, you made me feel great. Julie

Wow! What an adventure. I fell in love with all Lewis. I wish someone like that really existed. I loved the story and didn't want it to end. I'm all tingly inside. I'm gonna have to read this loving story again!

Tord Boontje is one of my favorite designers. For me this book showcases his collection in such a gorgeous manner it is a delight to read.
I highly recommended this if you have an interest in Tord Boontje and design, or if you just love beautiful books.

Great book by a great artist! a must on a designer's shelve!
Inpirational, beutiful, colorfull, simple - it has it all!
A very strong recommendation.

I haven't even gotten around to reading the text in this book yet; the imagery alone makes it worth the purchase. A wonderful catalog of all of Boontje's works and projects, with amazing pictures. The mesh wrapping over the cover and the perforated pages make this book that much more unique.

I have wanted this book since I first heard about it but found the cost ($130 Australian)prohibitive. I was delighted to find a new copy on Amazon for less than half that price. The book is stunning - the hole punched pages and the mesh cover are special features. The text is informative and interesting and gives a great insight into this awesome designer. Of course, the photos of his work are wonderful.

The cover of the book has a beautiful textural overlay that is not mentioned in any of the descriptions. Also, all of the pages are perforated with Boontje's own designs. I am extremely picky, and I got way more than I expected out of this incredibly beautiful book! The books goes over all of his work, including the stunning visual displays he did for Target a couple of years ago. A must have for anyone who loves Bontje's work.

For many years I've been a great admirer of Pablo Picasso's work. Whenever I travel I always look for Picasso's museums or General Art Museums where Picasso's works are displayed. As a result of these trips I've gathered panflets, brochures and many books focusing different phases of the artist. However something was missing! And that would be a comprehensive overview that could be able to explain and make sense of his imense and brilliant lifelong work and at the same time to show magnificent reproductions! congratulations to the author who was very successful in her enterprise!

This is a great book. It's chock full of illustrations--so many that they just quit offering text every few pages to let the images catch up. It goes through his entire life, showing the art he created for each section. It's great, insightfull, a huge folio-sized book and just an all around great read/see.

this book rocks so much it breaks the very laws that govern physics!! so much information, so many beautiful pictures, so dense. it seems to capture the very spirit of pablo picasso. it was give to me as a valentine's day gift, and it is one of my most prized books. this is a MUST purchase for any picasso fan.

To see tons of Picasso works in one book is nothing short of breathtaking. This is easily the best Picasso book that focuses on his paintings. What's incredible is to see the prolific amount of work he was capable of, and just what a inventive genius he was. Without a doubt the greatest Artist of the 20th century. Not all the works make sense, or are even recognizable as anything, but that was Picasso; his art was how he viewed the world, and how his own heart felt inside:confused, and out of place. His Cubism is nearly mathmatical, and very intriguing. IF you're interested in Picasso as more than that weird guy who made all those paintings i just don't get, come and check out this book to see all of what he was made of. You'll be amazed and inspired.

I took this book out of our university library to have on hand while reading Françoise Gilot's "Living with Picasso", in order to see representations of the artwork to which she refers throughout the book. "The Ultimate Picasso" proved invaluable. Not only does it contain Picasso's complete major works, they are also presented in chronological order which made look-up easy despite Gilot's often describing an artwork and the process used to create it but not always giving its title (she always gives dates). I ordered "The Ultimate Picasso" before the library due date because I couldn't bear to not have the book in my house!
The photos of the artwork are brilliant and crisp, and the accompanying text is informative.
You will not be disappointed by this book.

I have not had the pleasure of seeing Howard's follow-up work, "Pool Light," but if it is anything like this it is absolutely remarkable! "Water Dance" has several pages of written introduction followed by a stunning array of hundreds of full-page, sharply contrasted and brightly colored photos of nude dancers/models exhibiting many traditional ballet style moves under water. There are other kinds of poses as well, some showing full frontal nudity of male and female figures, most with long veils and ribbons that further enhance the fluidity and grace of the poses. Howard Schatz has truly charted new territory here. This work should serve as inspiration to all aspiring artists of the nude figure as well as photographers and students of dance. I bought a new paperback copy in 1998 but would gladly pay the (much) higher used prices people are selling it for (as I do intend to buy a used copy "Pool Light" for it's even higher asking price). This is a positively magnificent work!

And, to Amazon's credit, I also recommend the following: David Hamilton's "Age of Inncocence," Jock Sturges' "Radiant Identities," also (for some more abstract and hard-hitting photography, demanding personal interpretation) Jan Saudek's, "Saudek," and Boris Vallejo's, "Bodies," Christian Voght's "In-Camera: Eighty-Two Images by Fifty-Two Women" and, of course, Howard Schatz' "Pool Light."

Howard Schatz is a master at creating amazing photographic images of the human body. "Water Dance," his fourth book (1995), is a collection of over a hundred stunning color photos taken of ballet dancers underwater in what started out as an experiment and ended up as new and alluring choreography.

The introduction to this book talks about man's quest over time to conquer gravity, and how dance is created to give the illusion of weightlessness. This discussion is a perfect foreword to Mr. Schatz's work, in that having dancers "perform" underwater essentially solves the gravity problem. What you see in "Water Dance" is a collaboration between photographer, dancer, choreographer and even costume designers to produce a sort of ballet that is weightless . . . underwater. Virtually all of the subjects are dancers from the San Francisco Ballet and other companies, recruited by Mr. Schatz to perform in this project that uses a pool as a stage. Each image is entitled "Underwater Study #..." and features usually one, but occasionally two or more dancers, captured in the midst of an expressive movement or pose, but suspended in a way that the fluidity is still present. An interesting attribute to these photos is the use of the surface of the pool as a mirror, or as a plane through which a portion of the body can penetrate to become hidden. Note also the use of special chiffon fabrics which were created for the underwater studies to take a shape which complements the dancers.

You don't have to be a fan of dance or photography to appreciate this book. The images are truly amazing, and I believe anyone will find fascination with these photos.

I first saw this book over a year ago, and I have been captivated by it ever since. The high contrast cover says it all: Red and yellow fabric, and a redheaded dancer with cream coloured skin. I like drawing the human form, and especially dancers, but the positions that are achieved by the dancers in this work are floating and effortless. The use of primary coloured fabrics alongside the fair skin of the bodies is superb. The physicality of the movements and the bodies is breathtaking. This book belongs on every artist's and dancer's coffee table for all to see.

Review Summary: This book deserves more than five stars.

Take the most talented dancers from the San Francisco ballet, give them special gossamer costumes for underwater, and see how their poses and moves soar in the relatively weightless space beneath the surface. The resulting color photographs capture exquisite forms, bubbles, reflections, and stressless arabesques. The photographs are done with a Nikonos RS camera and a Hasselblad underwater camera, lit by Balcar strobes.

Viewer Caution: These images contain many nude photographs of men and women that would earn this material an R rating if it were found in a motion picture. All of the images evoke freeflowing, tasteful versions of classical poses for dancers and nudes.

Review: Water Dance is one of the most original photography books I have ever seen. Most underwater images are of fairly still poses, while these are often dynamic in their movement. Mr. Schatz has also found many special effects that mimic mirror images, reflections on the surface of water, and bubbles caught in solid transparent objects. Flowing hair and costumes also serve to capture the undulations and movement in the water in ways that will remind you of the most delicate kites flying in the most gentle, steady breezes.

The dancers themselves are in marvelous shape and seem to have adapted well to making leaps and pas de deux that would be impossible above the water. Those images are the most ethereal. The images are greatly enhanced by the special costumes designed to work well in the undulating world of underwater.

Ms. Katita Waldo is clearly the dancer who has taken most naturally to this new medium, and you will be intrigued by her freedom of expression in these images. But many other dancers were able to achieve remarkable poses that were well photographed and reproduced in this wonderful book.

Here are some of my favorites:

Underwater Study #49 (Shannon Lilly); U.S. #229C (floating costume); U.S. #189 (Heather Nahser); U.S. #117 (Tiffany Heft and Nikolai Kabaniaev); U.S. #179 (Jessica Schatz and Heather Vaughn); U.S. #152 (Katita Waldo); U.S. #107 (Anastasia); U.S. #215 (Julian Montaner and Nicole Panone); U.S. #183 (Wendy Van Dyck); U.S. #130 (Katita Waldo); and U.S. #41 (Katita Waldo).

I hope that someone will take this concept the next step and choreograph a whole underwater video featuring such beautiful dance sequences.

After you finish marveling over these astonishing scenes, I suggest that you think about how your own work could be transformed by being moved into a medium in which it could operate with fewer constraints. What would glass blowing look like in outer space? How would writing change if it were dictated while roller blading?

Extend the joy of life in as many ways as possible!

Having gotten acquainted with several of Howard Schatz' books, and owning more than one, I vouch for the opinions of other reviewers that this collection of photographs of dancers, fabrics, bodily configurations and arresting visual phenomena underwater is just beautiful, and astounding! An earlier reviewer said, "The photos in this book are a bit rawer than those in 'Pool Light' - and by that I don't mean tawdry." Unfortunate use of the word; since true appreciators of dance and the human form don't consider the uncovered body as "raw", but exquisitely natural. Mr. Schatz is very discrete in his exposure of both male and female bodies in this fine collection. To my taste, this book is superior to the later one, "Pool Light" (which I also own and thumb through).

One of the arresting visual phenomena is the reflections of forms from the "mirror" meeting of water and air (mediums of different density) at the pool"s surface.

To me (dance buff) this is much more than a "coffe table" book.