Artists Books

A true storyteller puts your mind to work and pulls you into the story. Susan Wittig Albert is a master at this skill with her latest offering in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series. The Tale of Briar Bank is laced with local gossip and conversation. No person (or animal) is neglected; no voice is considered too small and insignificant. Each chapter draws the reader deeper into the story while we remain "safely hidden behind the penny postcard rack."

In early 1900's England, there be dragons! They are very tricky creatures and appear in varied guises. Beatrix Potter has made her escape, albeit temporary, from her dreary life in London with its resident dragon, only to find more dragons waiting in her pleasant heart-home of the Land between the Lakes. A record early snow storm grants her a brief reprieve from returning to the life her parents and society would choose for her, leaving Miss Potter in Near Sawrey with time to contemplate her heart's desires, catch up on local gossip, help out a few friends and maybe solve the mystery behind the strange rumors and unusual circumstances of the death of an antiquities collector.

A unique blend of history and mystery unfolds as the inhabitants of the small, old fashioned village go about their gossipy ways. Which eligible male was seen with one of the ladies? Is there romance in the air with more than one couple? Where is the treasure the antiquities collector was rumored to have found? Will the villagers be isolated because the ferry is broken and the roads impassable? If only the animals could talk...no,wait...they can! The Big Folk (humans) can't understand them, but the talking animals offer dimensions of the story that just aren't possible when the narrative is conveyed only through human characters. Join Beatrix Potter, the village residents and the animals of the Land Between the Lakes as they band together to solve the mystery of Briar Bank. And try to count how many dragons appear in this fun cozy that will entertain teens, adults and all Beatrix Potter fans.

by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

How this author can transform herself into this bewitching tale and also be successful in her thoroughly modern China Bayles mysteries - is a bewilderment to me. She is successful at both. If you are an admirer (and purchaser) of all the "Tales" you don't have to be told to suspend your belief system and enter with joy. If you are incapable of shedding your frown - don't read this series. It is a charming story of human and animal involvement in a small village and in the life of the very real Beatrix Potter. I relish my time with these little books - they transport me into such a winsome world that I am distressed in completing the book. Purchase the entire set and read from the beginning. You will not be sorry. They will improve your worldly outlook.

The fifth book in Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales series continues the adventures of the delightfully charming heroine, Beatrix Potter. In addition, we meet all of the other wonderful characters from the previous books, as well as myriad animals who never cease to amaze with their perspicacity, and we are introduced to a few new folks and animals who lend their own special contributions (and mysteries)to the surprisingly busy little village.

This story finds Beatrix trapped in her beloved village by a raging snow storm. Despite the inclement weather, she must once again assume the responsibility of solving the latest mystery; the murder of a sweet old antiquarian who also happens to be an old acquaintance of her father's. While the village tends to view his death as an accident caused by a cursed treasure, Beatrix is not convinced, since she doesn't believe in curses. Once again she must enlist the help of her closest friends (& four-footed sleuths) to ferret out the true mystery of his unfortunate death, bringing peace and harmony to the village she loves.

Susan's genius in crafting extraordinary stories and characters guarantee that this series will become a classic. The imaginary world she has created is entrancing and it is sure to become as beloved as Beatrix Potter herself and her own imaginary world.

I whole-heartedly recommend this series to both young readers and adults alike. It is a perfect blend of mystery, magic, romance and a post-card perfect winter. It will warm your insides like a cup of hot cocoa, or a hot cross bun!

This new cozy is the best of them yet!

P.S. Be sure to read Susan's other series as well.

Her reception from her disapproving parents is so icy; Beatrix Potter decides to cut off her visit and leave London immediately. She returns to her home Hill Top Farm in the Lake District. Ironically she gets trapped in a blizzard that reminds her of the frozen welcome of her family.

Beatrix learns that neighbor Hugh Wickstead was killed in an accident when a tree limb fell on him. Some locals believe he died due to the curse of an ancient treasure trove he found. Beatrix knows humans are inane allowing their imagination to come up with ridiculous stories. She turns to the more honest animals to help her investigate how Hugh died.

The latest Potter Cottage Tale (see THE TALE OF CUCKOO BROW WOOD and THE TALE OF HAWTHORN HOUSE) is an engaging historical mystery that uses personification to combine fact and fantasy into a fine mystery. The fun in the TALE OF BRIAR BANK lies with that convergence as Beatrix talks to the late Hugh's fox terrier Pickles; co-star as a store owner in THE TALE OF GINGER AND PICKLES. This is a fun entry in a delightfully charming series.

Harriet Klausner

Avid fans are now familiar with Miss Potter's retreats to her properties in the Land Between the Lakes ... and with her propensity for unraveling some of the mysteries that occur there. Here, it's December 1909, and Beatrix arrives just in time for a substantial snowfall that effectively maroons the Sawrey residents. She welcomes the fact that she's cut off from London. But a double tragedy has already taken place: Hugh Wickstead is dead, and Lady Longford's hay barn has burned down. Were both incidents accidents? Where is the Viking treasure that Wickstead supposedly found? Was he as cursed as the village gossips say he was? What is Mr. Heelis' relationship with Sarah Barwick? (Or with Miss Potter, for that matter?) And in a subplot twist that could easily be contemporary: the bank is about to foreclose on Courier Cottage, the home of the Suttons and their eight children. Can their hired girl Deidre find a way to get the veterinarian's customers to finally pay their bills?

As usual, the tale is told in omniscient style by a chatty off-screen narrator, mimicking the style found in Miss Potter's very own children's books. And again, as usual, the animals of the region take center stage. In the coziness of the underground Brockery, Bosworth Badger and his guests discuss the recent events over dinner and even make new, unexpected friends. What a pity that the humans do not follow the Badger Rules of Thumb! And what a pity that the humans never listen to what the animals have to say. We, as the ultimate eavesdroppers, have the benefit of hearing both sides.

Susan Wittig Albert continues to weave interesting storylines while maintaining the basics of historical integrity. To those who enjoy quirky mysteries that include "talking" animals: Here be good reading.

My dumb cat just tested 40 points higher than my IQ. Now what do I do?

My cat tried to eat the book. Does this signal a voracious literary appetite?

First of all, after I read these reviews I was SHOCKED. This book is in the HUMOR section! there's absolutely no scientific basis... it's just all in fun! I give it 5 stars for the good laugh it gave me!

The reason I enjoy your book is because I have a great facination in cats I havn't read the whole book yet but I am hoping to save up. I have five cats and enjoy there company. It would make such a lovely gift for family & friends. So go buy the book (test your cats intellagence) and go test your cats knowledge,you never know your cats IQ could just well be better than yours. By Louise Nicholls

This book was very interesting, but if you have an older, spoiled kitty, paid previously to just lay around, don't expect a lot. I enjoyed the book, but unfortunately I found that my cats' artistic abilities are limited to NOT looking at the pictures.

This book works on so many levels. Despite the rather dry-sounding title, it tells the story like a thriller novel. I found myself constantly trying to get to the next page to find out what happens next?? The book starts off with the frantic 2 week search for Nickel's body in the rubble of the old Stock Exchange building in 1972. Demolition is stopped while the building teeters on the verge of collapse in the heart of Chicago's business district. The book then flashes back and traces Nickel's career and his odyssey to save what he could of Sullivan's masterpieces as building after building after building was intentionally destroyed in the name of "progress". Along the way, the author weaves in tales of the history of some of the buildings, paints us pictures of the city and the politics of the time, and includes key characters such as Richard J. Daley, Frank Lloyd Wright, Leon Despres, Tim Samuelson, and others. There are tales of payoffs, double-dealing, and night time raids on old buildings. The book is meticulously researched, provides numerous quotes from Nickel's letters, other personal interviews, documents, and photos, none of which are extra baggage, but instead bring the story to life in a most touching way. The real heartbreaker of the book is that so little has changed since Nickel's death. Today, over 30 years later, nearly every week in Chicago, buildings designated as Chicago landmarks are torn down, or irreversibly altered, as Chicago continues to have exceptionally weak preservation ordinances. A building that would be considered the pride of a community in any other town, is ripped to shreds here without a second thought, if there is money to be made on the deal. If you are interested in Chicago architecture, the history of the preservation movement, Louis Sullivan, or Richard Nickel, this book is an essential.

I ate this book up! Nickel's photgraphs are outstanding, and his dedication to salvaging historical buildings is heroic. The historic preservation movement owes an enormous debt to this man.

Richard Nickels was a strange fellow, and I don't know if most people would be comfortable in his company. He desperately wanted to save what he considered to be Chicago's architectural landmarks, but in the end grew terribly disconsolate, finding few allies in Mayor Daley or others within the city's power structure. He managed to save many bits and pieces before the wrecker's ball arrived, some of which went to Southern Illinois University, but tons of which ended up in landfills after his death. Do you need this book? If it sickens you to see a beautiful old building torn down, then yes. If you read "Lost Chicago" and were amazed at the priceless treasures we've squandered, then yes. If you think the now burgeoning architectural salvage industry is a good thing, then yes. Nickels fought to save buildings, but when that failed, he saved everything he could. The book doesn't claim he was a pioneer or innovator in that regard, but then I haven't heard of anyone else who dedicated their life to the field. The Trading Room from the Stock Exchange Building - where Nickel's died - survives in the Art Institute of Chicago today only because of his efforts. We almost certainly owe him a far greater debt than the book has claimed, since he helped to publicize the threat to our architectural heritage and started building a consensus towards preservation and salvage. The book will amaze and annoy you. You'll learn much more about Nickels' personal life than you would want to know. You'll wish he had finished some of the writing projects he started. And you'll wonder how much more he might have accomplished if he had lived a bit longer. It's a book that makes you think, and one you won't soon forget. - tjm

The story of Richard Nickel, who loved buildings of Adler & Sullivan fame. A wonderfully well-written book. I saw it in the library, and to my own amazement, could not put it down when I got home. Even if you know little about archetecture, you will love this book for it's story, the life and love of Nickel. Who I call with slight tongue-in-cheek a nerd.

I ate this book up! Nickel's photgraphs are outstanding, and his dedication to salvaging historical buildings is heroic. The historic preservation movement owes an enormous debt to this man.

"By excluding the work of women artists from history, men not only maintain control of women, but also of the world." Judy Chicago, original V-Warrior and PoMo high priestress, turned that tide. Dogmatic, didactic, hyperliteral and hypercritical, her influence (even before The Dinner Party) cannot be underestimated. This is 'back in the day' when art had a 'message,' but, all that, Chicago nevertheless ushered in today's chaos, and yesterday's identity politics, with her clever use of 'fem' (low) art elements and stubborn insistence on remembering all founding sisters. Duchamp met his match - and, bringing high icongraphy to 'women's lib,' the 1980s were born.

What a wonderful book this is; so inspired, so inspiring. Judy Chicago is simply brilliant. She has challenged patriarchal tyranny so courageously and insightfully that you can read this book again and again with acute pleasure.

Judy Chicago is such an intimate person, very emotional in her work, and through this book, you will grow to understand why and how she produced work in her very own style of emotion. She is truely a Goddess of Art, and a very strong women of which I could only strive to be! This book is so empowering, read it if you have any doubts about your place as a women dealing with being an artist. BRAVO!!

This is a terrific book that demonstrates that women are able to persevere with their art even though males are trying to stop us. It seems that the white male patriarchal art world will continue to try to silence us, BUT WE WILL BE HEARD! I salute all my sisters in their struggle to produce art that, while disturbing white males, will prove that it is women who are making the most significant art in the world today. Judy Chicago has won again!

This book was like a loyal companion as I experienced my own struggles as a woman artist. I commend Judy Chicago for sharing her experiences, personal decisions, and insights. Reading this particular book helped me to finish my most recent exhibition of work. Thank you, Judy!

this may be the most amusing gift i've ever received
i know it will cheer me up in the future

This is about the funniest book I've seen any time lately. I haven't yet bought it but got the gist of it in a recent visit to a local bookstore; I have to get it, on further reflection. The back cover of the Magritte...well, let's just say I am an engineer, and this one has got to go on my wall at work. I think at least maybe one of the guys I work with will get it...

Ursus Wehrli got there first with this wonderful idea but I was rather disappointed that there are only nineteen examples of his artistic tidiness and really less than ten are worth a second look. Seurat's 'Models' is the best example I think, the painting is on the left-hand page and opposite is a photo of a big plastic bag of colored chocolate buttons, just brilliant!

Mondrain, Klee, Picasso, Heering and Lichenstein all get fascinating tidy versions and the Van Gogh (see the book cover above) is another winner. I was though, expecting to see many more like the Van Gogh, that is keeping the basic painting and moving objects within it. Too many of the examples are just moving one or two items, like the three apples in Magritte's 'Young love', placed in a triangular shape in the original with Wehrli's version just having the apples in a straight line. Why are there no examples of tidy sculpture?

'Tidying up art' is a great idea and the book is well printed and designed but I wish there were lots more examples of Wehrli's creative fun. Maybe a second edition is on the way.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

For any one who has ever taken an art history class or spent hours at a museum studying fine art, this book is for you. The author takes familiar, iconagraphic works and rearranges the elements in surprising and unexpected ways. Wonderful!

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. What thrills me about this book is that I or anyone could have done it if only I'd thought of it.

His tidying up of abstract art is particularly hilarious.

In Touching Quiet: Reflections In Solitude, Mindy Weisel combines twenty-four of her remarkable paintings with her reflections and personal journal entries. Both her art and her contemplations were brought forth during her one month stat at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Very highly recommended, Touching Quiet will result both visually and philosophically to serve as inspiration for anyone seeking nurture for their spirit, creativity for their mind, and harmony in their life.

this books is such a gem. the reproductions of the paintings are very nicely done, and Ms. Weisel's writing is graceful. I recommend it heartily; you will want to pass it on to everyone you know!

Mindy Weisel has managed to reach that place inside each of us where beauty resides and grows. Her journal gives an insight into the mind and heart of a perpetually busy woman who while at first stunned by silence, later finds the latent joy in celebrating who she is and can be.

The paintings add a depth to the journal unequaled in print today, and make me wish I had the money to buy an original of each one!

Thank you Mindy for such a glorious escape and discovery!

Mindy Weisel's book is both beautiful and inspiring. The paintings are gorgeous, and each time you look at them you see a new meaning. But most of all what I took away from this book is that we shouldn't be afraid to take a moment or two for ourselves and do the things we enjoy. A must read for anyone who is stressed out, or just looking for a few moments of beauty.

Mindy Weisel's Touching Quiet is a soothing journal of one woman's experience with sudden solitude and quiet. After being awarded a fellowship to paint for a month without interruption, Ms. Weisel discovered that not only was solitude and quiet welcome, it was also a bit frightening. Each of the fourteen paintings, beautifully reproduced in the book, draw the reader into the stillness, the beauty, and at times the struggle of "touching quiet."

Having met Trevor at a book signing of this book, You find that he is more than his artistic works can possible portray. He has worked in many mediems from paint and canvas to metal to plexy glass.

He is not afraid to portray man in all his glory nude. He has use many models and is a master in his own right.

I had the privelege of staying with a man who owned many Southey works of art. He told me the story about the only 2 plexy glass portraits Mr Southey had created. One was in a prestigeous Museum until it crash to the floor and shattered into a million pieces (It was valued at well over $100,000 at the time), the second is owned by this idividual and kept close to the floor. The Museum piece can ow only be seen in this valuable book (for which I paid $90.00 and had it signed). Last I knew, this book has a value well over $100 and worth every penny.Trevor Southey: Reconciliation

Next to Leonardo DaVinci few painters have influenced me so heavily as Trevor Southey. His keen mind and ability for spatial depth and detailed renderings simply transform a flat surface into mystical caves and places as if the canvas is the looking glass and one could easily step inside and enjoy a very real world, even more real than this one is.

Trevor floats a painted object on the painting effectively so that the meaning of the portrait is even more burrowed effectively in one's mind.

I first discovered Trevor when he supplied some fabulou sketches for Carol Lynn's pearson's early work and have since made him my most prized and collected artist. I was pleasantly surprized when Carol Lynn surprised me with his autographed book as a thank you for some work she and I tackled together.

I love you Trevor! As well, Trevor is the only artist I have ever asked to paint my portrait. I just can't feel that I've been accurately captured as a human being until he puts my image on canvas with his stroke of the brush.

First, if an artist's history must be interesting and a struggle to be great, Trevor Southey is one of the greats.

And to this untrained yet appreciative eye, his art, whether he means it to or not, exudes the meaning of spiritual struggle and communion. From his early works to today, his works speak to this part of the human experience. I would suggest you take a look at his piece 'The Prodigal Son" to see this. This piece is about spiritual struggle with god, with love and with yourself. It can have two meanings with this theme, but I'll let you figure them out.

His retrospective "Reconciliation" is an excellent book to give you a grasp of the works and thoughts of this great artist. His prose in descriptions of his works is almost poetic and the book includes a large selection of his works that well represent his life's work.

If you haven't, you should get aquainted with this artist's work and "Reconciliation" is an excellent way to do this!

Trevor Southey is an artist of rare gifts. Not only is he a fine technician ( one of the finest figurative painters working today), he is also of bountiful spirit. This monograph is far more than an elegant artbook...it is a journey of a life which though rich in history and substrate is obviously a work in progress. Southey's paintings, prints and sculptures are presented in chronological order. But more importantly the well written texts introduce us to a life most unique even before we see an image. Once the man's paintings and other works are the focus we are treated to a running poetic dialogue from the artist's own pen. Finishing the first read of this lavishly produced book merely opens a door through which we may pass, transformed, into the whole volume again. Tender, breathtakingly beautiful, and spiritually uplifing. This belongs in the library of everyone who is commited to figurative art, to all who care about the sanctity of the individual spirit.

This is a beautiful book, and more than most monographs it gives a very personal sense of the artist. The paintings, prints and sculpture are reproduced beautifully, and a great deal of the text is written by Trevor Southey himself. From his upbringing in a white farm family in Rhodesia, through his conversion to the Mormon faith, his influence on the Mormon art movement, followed by his excommunication once he came out as openly gay, his life would make a fascinating movie. But the artwork in this book is worth the price all by itself.

I was very satisfied with my purchase. I was also impressed by the speedy delivery time from Amazon.
Regards,
Craig Taylor

Beautiful Turner book with many colour reproductions, excellent chronology. Flawless work! Highly recommended Thames & Hudson art monograph.

Excellent reproductions that will knock your socks off. Also, interesting read.

I checked this book out at my local library. It is so good, I'm going to buy it. While I knew who Turner was and had seen one or two reproductions of his work in books about other, later artists, I had seen little of his work and knew nothing about him before reading this book. It has been an absolutely wonderful introduction and has spurred me to look for more about Turner's art. There are something like 168 reproductions of oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings; most of them are large and in color; all of them are outstanding. I have looked at them in awe. The great landscape painter is himself a marvel. His prodigious talent revealed itself very early (by age 11 at least) and was recognized by his father, a London barber. He hung his son's paintings in the window of his barbershop with prices attached. Thus, Turner was a professional from childhood. In as much he was blessed with a reasonably long, healthy, and extremely productive life as well as extraordinary creativity which increased, rather than decreased with age, Turner left the world with a huge treasure-trove of great art. Stylistically it spans the period from the Old Masters of the seventeen century to the Expressionists, and in my view, towards the end of his career, it verges on Abstract Expressionism.

This book is a biography of the artist as he was perceived during his life. Thus, it is filled with an abundance of quotations from contemporary sources, which serves to make Turner a very real and likeable, though very prickly, man. However, the emphasis is on the pictures. Wilton is a Turner scholar. His discussion is well-informed, without being pedantic or impenetrably academic. He has appended lists of the contents of Turner's house/studio and the contents of his library, which were made after his death, a bibliography, and an index of the pictures included in the book, which identifies their locations.

Arranged chronologically the book is divided into six chapters; chapter one covers the first twenty five years of Turner's life with the other five chapters covering ten years each. Well written and very readable the text provides an insight into Turner the man and Turner the artist, and includes numerous quotations from Turner and his contemporaries; it succeeds among other things in bringing alive the artist as a person.

Concluding the book is an extensive Chronology; Inventory of the Late Residence of J.M.W. Turner; Turner's Library; Bibliography; a detailed List of Illustrations and an Index.

The book is fully illustrated throughout, with the images usually on or close to the page on which they are discussed. In total there are 186 illustrations of which 164 are in colour. The illustrations not in colour are mostly engravings and the like, period photographs or the work of other artists. The majority of the illustrations of Tuner's work are full page (or as large as the picture format will allow on the page with a margin), with some full-page or page-and-half bleed images along with a few double page images. There are a few actual-size details of paintings; very informative. The quality of the pictures is excellent, often revealing the texture of the paint, and the colour very good. Very usefully each picture is accompanied by a brief description or commentary, but irritatingly not with the details of the pictures dimensions; surely with the great range in size of Turner's work these should be included alongside the image, (there are of course to be found in the List of Illustrations).

This is a large handsome volume, almost square in format, which provides a very good survey of the artist and his work. It covers all aspects of Tuner's output, including his oils, water colours and examples from his sketch-books. The choice of work ranges from the very well known to the "I didn't know Turner painted that!" Very interesting are the few examples of his very early work, including a water colour produced when he was about eleven years old. Providing as it does a comprehensive overview of the artist and his work, this is a very worthwhile publication.

This is a hero. Really. Anybody that can come through all he did-and laugh about it-MUST be a hero. I rather expected to be bored when I saw how long it was going to take him to actually get to the prison camp. Uh uh. Not at all.

As a member of the younger generation, I take off my hat (if I wore one) to Bill Ash. He has a brilliant sense of humor-and yet doesn't belittle or diminish the severity of his situation. Something that could very accurately be called a fire, despite the clichedness (word?) of that phrase, is conveyed, very modestly, as burning inside of him. Somehow he gives some of it to the reader-that calmness, that strength. If he can go through all of that-and not be bitter-surely I won't complain about all the little molehills bothering me. Right?

However, even all of this might not be enough to commend a book, some books that should by all rights be amazing aren't. But Bill Ash and Brendan Foley together make something magnificent.

In summation:
Amazing book. Couldn't put it down. Don't miss it.

I was ill and needed some light reading and found this on the cheap rack at my local bookstore. As one who's best memory growing up was reading The Great Escape I'd read most accounts of those involved. I didn't think a peripheral player in that drama would have anything new or give much insight but I was wrong. His strength was escaping but you read where he probably lacked a bit on the other side of the wire. It's to the readers' benefit.

Ash doesn't waste the readers time with unnecessary personal history but that which he shares is interesting - especially the parts about riding the rails as a college graduated hobo. He was one of the earliest Americans to go to Canada and volunteer. His perspective of his training is unique and you get an Americans perspective of what life was like living in England during the darkest days of WWII. When he finally gets shot down he gets very lucky then unlucky. His account of his interrogation/torture is more detailed than what I've read in most other POW stories.

His time as a POW though is the real meat and potatoes of the story. What's truly insightful and interesting are his profiles of the early escapers. I was fascinated with his description of the original Big X (Pre-Roger Bushell), Jimmy Buckley who was unfortunately killed - it's touched on in the Great Escape. Getting the idea that escape would be easier from an NCO POW camp, he made the switch and his account there provides some original and amazing stories. I thought the NCO's would not have been as resourceful as the officers but this book proved me wrong. The NCO's were some of the most colorful and inventive escapers of the war. Certainly more needs to be written on their experience. Particularly the story of the incredibly heroic George Grimson was worth the book alone. I've had to re-read his story in the book a few times.

One mass escape at the NCO camp was amusing. The POW's fooled the Germans into believing none had escaped, then only those caught were missing and so on until the Germans became thoroughly confused. The POW's even fooled the Gestapo many times without serious recrimination.

Ash's final days as a POW are some of the best, most descriptive I've read and he ends to book perfectly. I enjoyed the easy prose and his is a story that deserves all the acclaim it gets.

"Under The Wire" by William Ash (with Brendan Foley). Sub-titled, "The World War II Adventures Of A Legendary Escape Artist And `Cooler King'". St. Martin's Press, New York 2005.

William Ash was raised in Depression-Era Texas, where he learned the hard way that life is rough. Those lessons stood him in good stead when he became an expert escape artist from the POW camps of Nazi Germany. As he said, on page 22, his "twilight actives" prepared him by: "...being an unwelcome nonpaying passenger, learning how to avoid the attention of guard dogs or the authorities, sharing food and political discussions with men just as badly off as myself , and sometimes just learning to laugh in the face of everything the world could throw at me." He calls his younger days as "An Apprenticeship In Escapology".

Building on the first two chapters, he then relates the story of his decision to fly for the RAF, his aviation training, first in Canada, and then in the actual combat zone in England during the Blitz. Because of his flying for the RAF, he had to renounce his American citizenship. There are vivid descriptions of London under the bombs, with destruction and fire seemingly everywhere. Then comes the chapter that changes everything: "The Day Of Reckoning". (page 85): "I cut my engine, since it was clearly full of holes and not doing much good".

Shot down over occupied France, William Ash is helped by some French farmers, who struggle with his high school French but help him to find the underground resistance. He is, however, captured in Paris in June 1942, but not before he was able to enjoy the city of Paris as any tourist would do. The bulk of the book, from page 101 (the capture) to page 307 (his return to London) deals with his experiences with German Prisoner Of War system. The Gestapo threatens to shot him as a spy, as he is in civilian clothes, etc. He is "rescued" from the Gestapo by the Luftwaffe, as the German Air Force claimed all air force type POWs as their responsibility. Ash then relates his travels from camp to camp, through bombed out German cities, and finally arriving in a POW camp about as far East as the Reich went. His escape attempts are recorded in detail and his punishments, each time he was re-captured, made him, as the book flap recounts, the "real-life `cooler king'". This book documents a real-life "Great Escape" story.

The subject matter for this book sounds grim: Ash starts off talking about life in the Great Depression, and ends up talking about his experiences being thrown into (and escaping out of) German POW camps. In fact, though, this is one of the most thrilling, funny, suspenseful and inspiring books I've read in some time. Ash's optimism, indomitable spirit, and wonderful sense of humor got him through the war, and they're all on display on just about every page.

Ash is also a keen observer--a trait that no doubt helped him pull off his daring escapes, and one that enables him to bring the characters he met along the way to vivid life.

In short, "Under The Wire" reads like a great thriller. The fact that it's all true makes it all the more gripping and inspiring.

When I began reading UNDER THE WIRE, I expected a story of heroic "derring-do", recalled with a sort of misty, stiff-upper lipped nostalgia by a Grand Lion in the winter of his remarkable life.

Instead, I got so, so much more.

Bill Ash's life is remarkable by anyone's yardstick. From his earliest childhood in Depression-era Texas, he was a hero, ready and eager to take on any bully. While America watched as Europe fell to a maniacal Hitler, he made a decision to personally take on the biggest bully in modern history.

Remarkable? Brave? Courageous? Yes, all of these adjectives describe the heroic life of Bill Ash.

But his life, and his story -- told so extraordinarily well by Ash and his co-writer, Brendan Foley -- is also funny, human and a lesson in living one's life with heart and a true moral compass.

There is as much Huck Finn and Jack Kerouac in Ash's war stories, as there is John Wayne.

Like all great tales of history, UNDER THE WIRE does more than offer adventure after adventure (and WOW, what adventures Bill had!)

The book offers a sense of the times, a sense of the politics, insights into the dangers, the choices, the cat-and-mouse existence of a Prisoner of War.

Bill played cat-and-mouse with the Third Reich, and did it brilliantly.

And I have never read an adventure story with so much genuine humor!

UNDER THE WIRE is a glorious tribute to the sort of person we long for, but never really see anymore: a true hero.

And it's a great, entertaining read.

Published to accompany the exhibition "Unknown Territory: The Landscape of Andrew Wyeth" organised by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1998, following the introduction two essays discusses the critical appraisal of the artist, his approach to his work and his painting methods; the easy are illustrated throughout in colour and black and white. The catalogue of work runs from pages 51 to 199. The book concludes with a further essay which includes a number of comments by the artist. There is also a list of works included in the exhibition but no bibliography.

In total there are approaching 200 illustrations, with the vast majority being in full colour, although the restrained nature of Wyeth's palette does not make this immediately apparent even in the main section of plates. The landscape format of the book accommodates well the predominantly similarly proportioned paintings and drawings, however sometimes the image is reproduced rather small relative to the page size.

A very useful publication which well demonstrates the range of the artist's output even with the designation of landscape.

If this were a hardbound edition (it may exist?) it would sell for an expensive price. The color plates, index and footnotes are exquisitely designed and printed in this softbound catalog edition. Anecdotes are plentiful, critical examination controversial, but this catalog of Wyeth's work is beautifully presented and great fun to examine. The words of critics are always oddly out of place and hard to swallow and fortunately there aren't many critic's editorials contained here. It's the dozens and dozens of paintings that are in this book-exquisite! As many of A.W.'s pieces were of a comparatively large dimension-as far as water-based works go, the plates do not capture the spatial and color phenomena of these paintings, but this is as good as it gets-next to a visit to a museum to view them "live!" One would be hard-pressed to find this many unpublished, heretofore unexhibited Wyeth pieces under one roof! A very enjoyable publication!

A collection containing a number of stunning watercolors loosely executed, rarely included in a book of Wyeth's works. Also includes many of his more labored tempera paintings.

The staff of the Whitney Museum for a 1998 Wyeth exhibition compiled this beautifully printed and bound book. The stock is heavy and glossy and the colors sharp and clear. Many watercolors included have not been publicly seen for years, as many private collectors contributed their paintings for this exhibition. The dates of the compositions range from the early 30's through the late 90's.

The two most recognized American artists of the 20th Century are Andys-Wyeth and Warhol, and they have more in common than their initials. Both are controversial and neither is as "realistic" as accused and/or categorized.

My enjoyment of Andrew Wyeth was never diminished by the fact that I had a lot of company. Popularity does not necessarily mean inferiority in spite of what the self-consuming art world tells us. True, you have to have a certain fondness for bleak settings to properly take pleasure in most of the paintings. I often idly wondered if Wyeth ever painted landscapes in spring or summer and why he was so enamored of bare earth and beige and brown compositions. I have never seen as many abstracts as are contained in this book.

The essays in the book are interesting, but not so prevalent as to overshadow the marvelous prints. My only complaint is the book is an unhandy shape, longer than it is tall, making it difficult to shelve. However, this is minor. Many hours of viewing pleasure are in store.

When you view the work of an artist, who is to be the arbiter of what, in this case the painting is about, what it means? Do you turn to the Professional Art Critic, Art History Majors, you the viewer, or the man or woman who created the work? In this case the Artist is well and painting, and his thoughts about his work are many and well documented.

This book on the paintings of Andrew Wyeth focuses primarily on the media of watercolor and drybrush as opposed to the egg tempera paintings that are the medium for so many of his most famous works. Mr. Wyeth takes up to 6 months for a tempera work, and completes as few as 2-4 a year. The images in this book are produced by the hundreds, and over his career amount to literally thousands of images. This book discusses and publishes many images that have never been publicly shown, and uses this body of work to advance various ideas.

The book is a valuable addition to those who are admirers of his work, the opinions that are expressed by people other than the artist, are either critical to the book on one extreme, or mostly ridiculous from where I sit.

Andrew Wyeth has been a target for the self-proclaimed tastemakers of Art for one reason; his art is widely admired, collected, and highly valued. These elements automatically qualify him for criticism that is so absurd; it adds a comedic aspect to the text. Then there are those who do love his work but feel they must demonstrate that, yes, he is what the critics say he is not, and even more!

The text did help me understand more about the method by which Mr. Wyeth creates these works, and the role they sometimes play in a major tempera piece. I loved his work before this book, and will continue to regardless of what "they" have to say. The only individual whose comments matter are Mr. Wyeth's. His thoughts are documented; I don't see the need for others to presume they know better than he what he paints, and what his intent was when he created the work.

The book is great for the new images it brings to the public. Everything about the construction of the book is as good as you will find in a commercial publication, and the color plates are excellent. As to the text, that is left for you to decide, I am placing the stars above for the Artist and his work, not for what others have to say about it.