Art History Books

A great book for beginners. Gets you playing, and enjoying the familiar folk tunes in no time.

I got several books on learning to play the harp from my local library. This one is head and shoulders above all the others I checked out. It's written simply and wittily. The techniques are well explained and the song selection is really good. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in learning to play.

This is a great working book to learn to play Harmonica for the Beginners ( i.e. me). The edition with the two CD's where you can hear the author play the harmonica and also sing the songs is really useful ( it's worth the extra cost!) as you can then hear what you want to sound like. Great book guys. Just work with it and you will feel the same. Also don't give up too soon, the exhilaration you get when you can get the harmonica to do your deed is worth all the agony. Good luck.

This book is amazing. I play guitar, and wanted to start up on the harp. Within the first week, I was playing them together better than I ever thought I would. The book is a great tutorial, very detailed, including an excellent history of the harp. The pictures couldn't be better, and guitar chords are shown. It's just a very effective book. And then, put in the cd's and you find that "Doc" Gindick gives even more instruction. You really feel as if you're with a very patient, relaxed private instructor who really loves what he's doing. The second cd has gorgeous renditions of the songs notated, and really sets goals for you to reach. If you have any interest in harmonica, this is the book to get, it's well worth it.

If you are new to the harmonica and do not care for (or understand) a lot of theory, this is the book and CD to begin with and keep for future reference. I have tried several other books and CD's and got totally lost in the mucical notes and theory. I keep coming back to Jon's publications.

I first read "Please Kill Me" and developed a fascination for this era of American social history. This book describes, through stories and pictures, the various stages of Max's and all the celebrity goings on. Very entertaining, also a high quality edition, of a period of decadence.

I often walk past the site where Max's once stood. Even though I only came to New York about three years ago, I already knew the look of that building from photos. Patti Smith said that when she saw the deli that has taken over there, she cried. I found it sad myself and never even went to Max's. Thanks to this fascinating, touching, and sometimes terrifying book, I feel that I got a small taste of what it must have been like. I do realize, however, that "you really had to be there". Of course, if I had been, I might not be here now. Max's was probably way too fast for a guy like me to handle. I might look back fondly like some of the people in this book or I might have jumped off a building like Andrea Feldman. Pick this book up for a heartfelt examination of what was truly a crossroads for pop culture--a place where the only poeple who felt like freaks were the ones who weren't.

This book was great, excellent pictures and a great tell all of the time. Nothing was held back from this oral history, very detailed and fun. Yvonne Ruskin did a great job, I felt like I knew these people and since I have never been to Max's and now that it is gone it was alot of fun to see what it was like and sad at the same time because I wish I could of been there.

Anyone interested in the NYC rock'n'roll scene of the 1960's-'70's should get this book. Warhol's Superstars, the Velvets, Nico, Patti Smith, and so many more all have their place in here! Mickey Ruskin, the owner of Max's, pretty much kept alive 99% of the cities "starving artists" during those times! A lot of popular musicians got their start at Max's, from Bruce Springsteen to Debbie Harry (a former Max's waitress!). If you want to learn more about the "back room" at Max's and all the characters who hung out there, get this book! Lots of entertaining anecdotes from so many different scenesters! Most of these people lived on the edge! Other books I would recommend are "Man Enough To Be a Woman" by Jayne County and "Rebel Heart" by Bebe Buell (they were regulars at Max's as well)!!!

Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin's "High on Rebellion" is a wonderful recreation of Max's era (1965 thru 1981). Filled with hundreds of photographs (by Leee Black Childers, Anton Perich, Billy Name and others) and hundreds of interview quotes, reading it is like a multimedia experience - as exciting as a night in Max's infamous backroom! For those of us lucky enough to have been there, it is a trip back to the center of the maelstrom... Max's was New York's high energy intersection of the art and music world, where up and coming young ones could brush elbows with Warhol, Patti Smith, Bowie, the NY Dolls, et al. Beautifully designed, this book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the artists, musicians and popular culture of the late sixties and the 1970's. It really is shocking to realize how many young talents succumbed to the excesses of that time, still the book created in me a longing to go back there again! Thanks for a wonderful tribute, Yvonne!

This is an excellent history of the subject, especially of its genesis and earlier years. I could have wished for more on the later years and for more upon European and Russian contributions during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. However, that is probably just my bias as a contributor to the scene during the last two of those decades. Certainly, these are but minor quibbles concening what must be the definitive work on the subject for a long time to come.

An excellent book bringing to life the trials and tribulations behind the history of flight. This book is an easy read, because it sounds like the author is talking directly to you.

This book is very good read indeed. Anderson sets out in meticulous detail the history of aerodynamics leading up to actual flight by the Wright Bros and then proceeds through the periods of World War 1 and II and jet flight. There are very few equations to deal with and the book is both descriptive an instructional. Although the book is a bit Americo-centric it does cover much of the early aerodynamic development elsewhere in the world with some notable exceptions for later periods. The book becomes a little unstuck when it starts to make unfavorable comparisons on the basis of efficiency between early European WWI fighters and the American WW I Jenny for example, a comparison which is really in the chalk and cheese category. The book also largely ignores roll moments of inertia (i.e. the basis of maneuverability) but seems to concentrate on aspect ratio and wing shape as its main yardstick in its comparisons, and this is a major weakness. It is also a bit weak on actual worldwide historical development and appearance of jet aircraft outside of America. Nevertheless, the subject matter is very engaging and overall it is well worth the purchase price and is strongly recommended for aviation buffs despite the niggling flaws.

In this important overview, senior aerospace engineer John D. Anderson Jr., explores one of the most critical areas of flight, the evolution of aerodynamics. And the result is a significant work that goes far toward capturing the essence of this field. It will find a place in both aeronautical engineering and history of aeronautics classes, but the greatest importance of "A History of Aerodynamics" will probably be its use as an essential reference by scholars without the technical depth of Anderson working in the history of flight.

Anderson divides his subject into four key areas and attacks them chronologically. The first period, requiring nearly 100 pages in this publication, begins with antiquity and ends with the work of the Wright brothers at the beginning of the twentieth century. The second era he characterizes as one dominated by the strut-and-wire biplane of the 1900s through the 1920s. A third definable era came with the mature propeller-driven airplane that emerged in the 1930s and predominated until the 1950s. Then, a fourth era arose in which the jet aircraft has dominated. Anderson would be quick to point out that the last two eras have existed side-by-side since the coming of the jet, but that each of them present different aerodynamics challenges requiring different solutions and, hence, they deserve separate treatment.

Three major themes run through "A History of Aerodynamics" from Aristotle to the present. First, the author emphasizes the development of the discipline of aerodynamics-the change over time in the understanding of the physical nature of aerodynamic flows over solid bodies and the discovery and systemization of basic governing equations-much of which emerged independently from a variety of sources and without immediate practical application. For instance, Anderson concludes that with Newtonian physics as a foundation, numerous scientists and mathematicians ranging from Leonhard Euler to Pierre-Simon Laplace working largely individually constructed a framework for aerodynamics that included fundamental understanding of Euler's equations for an inviscid flow and the Navier-Stokes equations for a viscous flow. That effort, however, took place independently of a desire to build flying machines, and indeed many of those working on them scoffed at the idea of human powered flight.

Second, it took a group of practical inventors to apply these theoretical aerodynamics principles and build the first practical flying machines in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These individuals, few of whom held academic posts, began the practice of applied aerodynamics. The classic example is Wilbur and Orville Wright who had no advanced degrees and no outside funders, either public or private. The research of these people went directly into the design of airplanes. As Anderson concludes, "It is remarkable that the flying machine was developed and advanced well into the beginning of the twentieth century without direct recourse to the state of the art of theoretical aerodynamics that existed in academic circles" (pp. 448-49).

Finally, Anderson traces the linkage between the aerodynamic theory being developed in the academy and its application to the design of aircraft. Whereas the linkage had been tenuous at best until the second decade of the twentieth century, it has grown increasingly interrelated and complex since. Making airplanes more efficient, safe, and effective has become the raison d'être for aerodynamics research at least since the 1930s. The basic research of Otto Prandtl in Germany and Theodore von Kármán-himself a Prandtl student-at Caltech exemplify this transformation, as it found its way almost immediately into practical designs.

There is much to praise in this volume. It provides for the first time a comprehensive overview of the subject. It also offers the best discussions available about some of the key breakthroughs in the twentieth century made by leading aerodynamicists such as Richard Whitcomb, John Stack, and Fred Weick. But for all its virtues, the overview offered here is a history written for engineers. Replete with formulae and technical detail, certainly to be expected in such a history, the author concerns himself with the linear process of aerodynamic understanding to the very great exclusion of any social or cultural factors that might have influenced the engineers.

For instance, the author concludes that the era of the modern propeller-driven aircraft was dominated by the requirement to reduce drag, and therefore enhance performance, so a "streamlining craze" emerged among aerodynamicists that fundamentally altered the direction of the airplane development. Despite many intriguing areas that might have been explored-for example, the story of the adoption of retractable landing gear explored by Walter Vincenti in a 1994 Technology & Culture article-here the progression of streamlining follows a linear pattern, with the text too often emphasizing what comes across as farsighted, preordained solutions to aerodynamics problems that led inexorably to the clean, efficient designs of the 1940s. There is little of the obscurity of choices, blind allies of research, or trial and error that might have enriched this story.

Even so, this is a massively impressive work that will be of real use to a large community. It will find use for years to come.

This book is almost sure to be the definitive treatment of this subject for many decades to come. As far as I know, it is the most comprehensive history of aerodynamics and its relationship to aircraft development. Speaking as someone who has been involved technically in aircraft design, I found it truly fascinating to learn how today's techniques and base of knowledge evolved through the interaction of theory, experiment, and engineering experience. I believe that this book will interest anyone who wants to understand how aircraft design has evolved and why airplanes were designed as they were at various times and places.

It is, as the title says, strictly about aerodynamics and does not cover many other matters of vital importance to aircraft design, such as structure, mass properties (like the inertial moments mentioned by another reviewer), propulsion, or systems. Moreover, it's about the principles of aerodynamics and does not cover many of the important aspects of its application to aircraft, such as propulsion system integration. Thus it is not by any means a comprehensive history of aircraft design and development. But it treats its one topic of the development of the principles of aerodynamics for aircraft very well.

The book does not assume any real technical knowledge of aerodynamics, although I imagine it could be somewhat tough going for someone who had no prior knowledge of the subject at all. There is a sprinkling of equations and a few mathematical arguments, but no one should be put off by them because (1) they are not complex (no calculus) and (2) you can skip over them if you are willing to take the author's word on what they mean. From my perspective, the author does a good job of explaining concepts clearly and correctly. He does not insult the expert's intelligence, while remaining accessible to those without deep knowledge. More technical details are given in appendices.

Of course it is impossible in any single book to cover all important developments in aircraft aerodynamics. This book is definitely slanted toward the fundamentals -- the Wright brothers don't appear until nearly halfway through the book. The author, himself an authority on modern aerodynamics, only very briefly sketches developments of the past 50 years, on the grounds that they are too much a story in progress to make for concise history.

For readers used to thinking of the US as the world leader in airplane development and manufacture, it may come as a surprise to learn how often America trailed behind in the development of aerodynamics and how fortunate Americans were to have escaped the worst consequences of their nation's past (and recent) neglect of research in this vital area. In light of the book's emphasis on this, it was a little surprising to find another reviewer criticizing it as too slanted toward US developments. In leafing through the index I see a strong preponderance of names from outside the US. In order to keep the book to "only" 450 pages of text, however, the author does often concentrate on the main theme in a given area and does not cite all of the parallel and supporting work elsewhere, leading to neglect of some non-US (and some US) efforts.

I particularly liked the way the book puts a human face on the story by giving brief biographical summaries of the people who have played key roles in aerodynamics development and sketching the times and circumstances in which they worked.

Readers hoping for a brief (and somewhat impressionistic) introduction rather than Anderson's more comprehensive approach may want to look up Theodore von Kármán's _Aerodynamics_ (1954) or John E. Allen's _Aerodynamics: A space age survey_ (1966). The standard broad surveys of the development of aircraft design and technology are Ronald Miller & David Sawers, _The Technical Development of Modern Aviation_ (1970) and Laurence K. Loftin, Jr., _Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft_ (1985; NASA SP-468).

Will O'Neil

I first heard of David Skal from the Universal Classic Monster series of DVD's. David was on the accompanying documentary and did the audio commentary for Tod Browning's 1931 classic, Dracula. If you own the set and have run the documentary and, particularly, the commentary, then you've already experienced about three chapters of this book. What remains is a rich mine of details about every aspect of Dracula, the book, movies, and culture. And what a lot there is.

David's writing, like his speech, is precise, educated, and loaded with literary allusions. While no dilettante, I consider myself well read and was still left with the occasional "what the hell is talking about?" moment. The language is rich and occasionally reminds me of the mental images drawn by Anne Rice at the height of her powers. However, David is no snob and is not merely parading his impressive intellect - it's just that he knows so darn much about the subject.

And if I had any criticism of the book that would be it - David seems driven to exhaustively document every possible aspect of Dracula's existence. The detailed (and seemingly never ending) battles between Florence Stoker and the makers of "Nosferatu" is described in such detail that I wanted to scream "OKAY!! We get it! Nosferatu was a Dracula rip off and Flo didn't like it!!" But eventually the tale moves on and sets the stage for intricate negotiations between the Stoker estate and Universal. In retrospect (and considering how handsomely the studio profited) it's interesting to see that Universal bought almost unlimited use of the vampire for the paltry sum of $25,000.00 and is still making oodles of money hand over fist today. David covers all aspects of vampire lore from Byron's "The Giaour" (1813) to Mel Brooks' "Dracula, Dead and Loving It" (1995). And everything in between. Trust me, if it can be construed to be in any way connected with Dracula, it's in this book.

If you have any interest in gothic culture, or the movies that spawned it, this is a must have. Reading it is like enjoying an evening of conversation with a much beloved, if slightly eccentric, old friend, preferably over brandy in front of a glowing fireplace on a cold, cold night.

Down deep, we all agree with the fly-eating Renfield. That's why we can't get his Master out of our system. David J. Skal's book Hollywood Gothic explains a lot of the reasons why.

Hollywood Gothic is like David Skal's Screams of Reason: Mad Science and Modern Culture. Hollywood Gothic and Screams of Reason both take horror motifs we know mostly from movies and trace them back to literature, where they originated.

Screams of Reason looks at the mad scientist figure in fiction, from central European vivisectionists like Dr. Frankenstein to postwar American A-bomb scientists. Hollywood Gothic is more narrow - - it covers Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, the plays adapted from it, and then the movies inspired by it - - F.W. Murnau's silent film Nosferatu, then the Universal and Hammer horror films.


Skal goes into detail about Bela Lugosi's career as Dracula on stage and film. He also digs up a lot of interesting information about the Spanish-language Dracula made simultaneously with the Bela Lugosi movie by producer Paul Kohner and cinematographer George Robinson - - who was responsible for the look of later Universal horror films like Dracula's Daughter and House of Dracula.

Kohner fell in love with and married the real star of the Spanish-language Dracula, Lupita Tovar as Eva - - the Mina Harker character - - and who could blame him. Skal calls her a "truly ingenuous ingenue." In Mexico she could barely go out in public without being mobbed.

Except for Bela Lugosi himself, almost everything about Kohner's Spanish version is better than Browning's. (That's my opinion from watching the movies, not just reading Hollywood Gothic.) Skal quotes people who worked on Tod Browning's Dracula that Browning was barely paying attention to the movie he was making.

For instance, when Dracula welcomes Jonathan Harker to his castle from the top of the staircase, in the English version a huge spider web is off to the side behind Dracula, but in the Spanish version Dracula is framed in the center of the web. We see Dracula rise from his coffin in the Spanish version where Browning just shows him suddenly standing there. (Seeing Christopher Lee rise from his coffin, or be destroyed in it, was always a high point of the Hammer movies for me.) Every night Kohner's director George Melford looked at the film Browning's crew shot during the day and improved on it for their version.

But there was (and is) something in the idea of the vampire that makes readers and audiences forgive hack storytelling.

If you haven't seen them already, you should watch the films before reading Hollywood Gothic. The Universal Legacy Collection of Dracula contains the Lugosi film, the Spanish-language version, Dracula's Daughter, and Son of Dracula. (There's more, but those are the best. Universal's release of the Legacy Collections of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man are the only good thing to come from the marketing of the movie Van Helsing.)

Hollywood Gothic has a lot of illustrations, many of which are theatrical and film ephemera from Skal's personal collection. (Yesterday I saw The Aristocrats - - Penn Gillette's documentary about the world's filthiest joke - - and one of the comedians was wearing a T-shirt with Dracula's face from the cover of the first Modern Library edition of the novel. SIDE NOTE: See The Aristocrats - - it's about how to tell a story and keep an audience hooked as much as it is about the history of blue humor.)

Reading Hollywood Gothic made me finally read Bram Stoker's novel. Because I've seen so many movies that tell the story I never read the book. While the writing style isn't great, at least it moves along, and you're introduced to Dracula right away.


I read over half of the 600-page novel The Historian - - apparently foredoomed to be a bestseller and a blockbuster movie - - and the character Dracula still hadn't made an appearance. I skimmed to the end and read the climax, but I was disappointed. When you build Dracula up as such a powerful being, it's hard to destroy him in a way that doesn't seem anticlimactic. (That's one of the reasons Kim Newman has given for why he started writing his Anno Dracula series - - if Dracula is such a terrible force, how could he be tracked down and killed so easily by an insane Dutch doctor and three upper-class twits who belong in the Drones Club with Bertie Wooster?)
And why do characters in The Historian struggle to find copies of Bram Stoker's novel at university libraries? It's been out in paperback all over the world since the early 1900s. Go to any W.H. Smith.

Filmmakers who've told the Dracula story understand something novelists sometimes don't - - Dracula shouldn't be just a menace offstage, he's the protagonist of the story. Dracula is the hero. He's the one we want to see - - and be. That's why our mothers were displeased when they caught us watching monster movies on TV when we were kids. Mom knew what we were thinking. The reason Stoker's novel works at all is because we're introduced to Dracula at the beginning, when Harker comes to Translyvania. What makes the novel disappointing is that we hardly see Dracula again after that.

But Skal reminds us that "La sangre es la vida." Dracula isn't going anywhere.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATION: Check out Vampires: Los Muertos (see my review), the sequel to John Carpenter's Vampires, and an underrated movie. To me, it's a vampire movie that shows the monster as a Third World victim of globalist Van Helsings. (A rich white American woman can get the medicine she needs to stay alive (un-undead), while the brown vampire, stolen from her peasant family by a rich landowner, has only one way to get the sangre she needs. (I also like vampire movies that show how vampires might experience time differently than mortals - - Queen of the Damned also does this in an interesting way.) There's a scene of slow-motion slaughter in Los Muertos that the monstrous child in me responded to. Los Muertos also has the most sexist line I've every heard in a vampire movie, but you still identify with the female master vampire.

David J. Skal is as readable as ever is this newly revised edition of the definitive Hollywood Gothic as he covers the history of Dracula from his creation by Bram Stoker to the various and multiple version on screen and stage. The thrust of the story is, of course, on the novel and the iconic Bela Lugosi movie, with an additional nice, but smaller, chunk on Nosferatu. The author is particularly effective in combining, in an interesting fashion, the creative, financial, and legal elements. His analysis is always clear and interesting and will definitely send the reader on a viewing frenzy. Vampire movies seem always to be streaming forth from Hollywood and Dracula is and always will be the most tempting of the bunch. This book brings this fascination to life, as it were. A very good job.

In "Hollywood Gothic" David Skal tells the story of "Dracula" that came after the classic of gothic horror was published in 1897. It's a fascinating, fact-filled tale of colorful personalities, legal battles, Hollywood politics, and a culture still captivated by the King of Literary Vampires. The book's seven chapters begin with author Bram Stoker, end with the Count's recent incarnations on stage and screen, and include the most insightful analysis of "Dracula"'s origins that I have read in the course of my minor obsession with the novel.

Chapter 1 explores "Dracula"'s literary and theatrical predecessors before moving on to discussion of the intellectual and sexual climate into which the book was published in 1897, the life and elusive character of its author Bram Stoker, and how the novel was received in its own day. David Skal does an impressive job of pulling together the relevant details, from diverse perspectives, of the novel's birth.

Chapter 2 details the legal battle waged by the Bram Stoker's widow, Mrs. Florence Stoker, to suppress the first cinematic adaptation of her husband's novel, 1922's "Nosferatu", the unauthorized German production directed by F.W. Murnau, now recognized as a masterpiece of silent cinema. Chapter 3 sees Mrs, Stoker finally authorize an adaptation to British dramatist Hamilton Deane, whose wordy, plodding "Dracula" play nevertheless achieved great financial success, attracting the attention of American theatrical producer Horace Liveright. Liveright enlisted journalist John Balderston to rewrite the play for Broadway and make it a smash hit on this side of the Atlantic.

Chapter 4 moves to Hollywood for the protracted negotiations over "Dracula"'s film rights. "Dracula"'s path through the early 20th century was mined with legal battles, and it is a credit to author David Skal that he is able to make interminable and constantly mutating negotiations into absorbing drama. Chapter 5 follows the winding road to the production of the first Hollywood "Dracula", the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi, which, although made cheaply and lazily, was the first horror talkie and a financial life preserver for Universal Studios. Happily, Skal has dedicated Chapter 6 to the superior Spanish language version of "Dracula" that was filmed simultaneously, on the same sets, as the English version of the 1931 film, but with a different producer, director, cinematographer, and cast.

Chapter 7 tells us what became of the principle person's associated with the two 1931 films. Then it follows the legacy of "Dracula" from the 1930s forward, through its incarnations in film, plays, musicals, ballets, and other performances. Appendix A is a list of notable stage performances of "Dracula", 1897-2003. Appendix B is a list of about 200 films, 1921-2004, which feature the "Dracula" character or name. Thankfully, there is an index.

In outlining the contents of "Hollywood Gothic", I may have made the book seem dry. But the story of "Dracula"'s continuing life in film and on stage is as lively as the novel that inspired it -and it is written a good deal better. David Skal's tireless research and engaging style never fail to impress. "Hollywood Gothic" is an absorbing literary and cinematic history that "Dracula" fans shouldn't miss.

I read this book years ago. It's good to see it's coming back into print.

Skal charts the history of Stoker's book, beginning with early drafts extant, following the tangled film history, including the legal battles over Murnau's "Nosferatu", Universal Studio's struggle to get the rights for the Lugosi pic, and everything that happened after.

It won't change your life, but its fascinating stuff. Skal's style is quick, clean, and to the point. This book is a lot of fun, giving insights into publishing, film, theater, and the audience reaction to and participation in all of those mediums. A must for all vampire buffs, film students, and those who are curious about the inner workings of popular culture.

Almost every tourist who has ever climbed to the top of the North Tower of Notre-Dame de Paris has taken a photo of his or her companion leaning over the balustrade between two gargoyles (technically 'chimeras'), and surveying the streets below. It's the ultimate gargoyle photo-op. I'm surprised this author was able to photograph the gargoyles without a tourist leaning between them. I was only slightly disappointed to learn from this book that much of the stonework on this tower is nineteenth-century restoration by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, "started in 1845 to repair damage done to the cathedral during the Revolution." However, he did attempt to use molds of the originals.

Basically gargoyles are waterspouts, but to me they are proof that medieval stonemasons had a lively sense of humor--which they might have inherited from the Etruscans or the Egyptians, who also used animal-shaped stone waterspouts. Strictly speaking, gargoyles that do not spout water are known as 'grotesques' or 'chimeras.'

It surprised me to learn that gargoyles used to be brightly colored--oranges, reds, and greens were favored--and sometimes gilded. The author believes that "gargoyles may be survivals of pagan beliefs...incorporated into church decorations for superstitious reasons." I've read many a horror story based on this assumption, most notably "The Cambridge Beast" and "The Sheelagh-na-gig" by Mary Ann Allen.

Encounters between gargoyles and people are unique to the Cathedral of Saint John in Den Bosch, the Netherlands: "As a monstrous creature leaps out from the top of the buttress, the people cringe in terror, each one leaning back in an attempt to escape the attack of their horrible assailant." Americans tend to make pets of gargoyles, but that was not their original purpose. After all, midair is the reputed realm of demons (Ephesians 2:2).

Some of the gargoyles pictured in this book are laughing at us. A carved gargoyle-monk of the Old Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Toul, France appears to be emptying the contents of a barrel onto his unsuspecting colleagues below. "Some [gargoyles] are so appealing that it is hard to imagine they were intended to be regarded as anything other than good creatures. Indeed, the gargoyles of Notre-Dame in Paris are even said to keep watch for drowning victims in the Seine."

This book is an enchanting collection of photographs, legends, and travelogue. If you ever intend to go gargoyle-hunting in Europe, make certain a copy of "Holy Terrors" is stored in your carry-on.

"Holy Terrors" is that rarest of books, one that is of genuine value to adults curious about art and architecture, but also very much capable of holding the interest of children. My five-year-old son loves the pictures--especially the "Hairy human with animal head" that adorns the cathedral in Burgos, Spain. We also both appreciate the excellent selection of medieval illustrations, such as Schongauer's "Temptation of Saint Anthony." Skimming through "Holy Terrors" is a fun way to introduce kids to one of the cultural treasures of Europe.

This book is one of the best books I got from [amazon.com]. I got the two books Holy Terror's and American Gargolyes... it was a great deal. The book is loaded with pictures of gargoyles from across america and desrcibes what type of gargoyle and where it is located in america. The photographs are beautiful and descriptive through out the book. If you gargoyles get the two books for the price of one. Highly Recommended!!!!

...I got the two books Holy Terror's and American Gargolyes... it was a great deal. The book is loaded with pictures of gargoyles from across america and desrcibes what type of gargoyle and where it is located in america. The photographs are beautiful and descriptive through out the book. If you gargoyles get the two books for the price of one. Highly Recommended!!!!

It's got everything... the history, the pictures, the lore, the awe-inspiring Notre Dame Cathedral! An excellent comprehensive work by Janetta Benton. If you only ever buy one book on the subject, this is the one.

Great book. He displays how to cartoon men, women, children, elderly and many types of animals. He does it in an extremely visual way that even a child could follow along. This book is packed with 95% illustrations and 5% text. To me, that's a winner. The 5% text that is in there is invaluable. The print is nice and large and easy to read. I am very happy I bought this book. It is a keeper.

From the beginning of this book to the end, it is filled with (finally) basic, step-by-step instructions on drawing cartoon people, body parts, the "action line", body language and style. And then it starts all over again with animals! Mostly dogs, cats, and different fowl, it also includes less common animals, like beaver, porcupine, raccoon and many sea animals. Can't forget the great alligators and dragon. Finally, the book spends time on placing the characters, reference lines and specialty shots and the all-important "balloon". Another great one by C. Hart. I think I own most of his books and they are all worth great merit, better than the other books I've seen out there by far.

A few years ago, on a whim, I decided to start drawing. I didn't know where to begin so I bought this book. I really believed I couldn't draw. The techniques in this book were so easy to learn that soon I went from drawing stick figures to expressive cartoon characters. My confidence went up and I took on more complicated projects. Now, I work part-time doing illustrations and it all started here!

Christopher Hart has truly done an excellent job with this book. Filled to the rim with illustrations, techniques, explanations and inside information, if you've ever wanted to learn about humorous illustration or cartooning, put this on your list. You'll be glad you did. :o)

This is an excellent book for any beginning artist or anyone else wanting to learn cartooning. Chris Hart publishes some of the best books on art that I've ever seen. This book gives good details on drawing that is easy to follow and understand. All in all, this is one book that should be in every artist's library.

I received this book as a gift about 10 years ago and have yet to tire of it. It is beautiful and funny, surreal, creepy and profound.

I own multiple copies and give them away to worthy friends. Visually, artistically, and intellectually stunning, this masterpiece is unique in the world of art/literature. The author/artist Tom Phillips began this work in the 1960s, and first published it in book form in the 1980s. He called the result of his decades of effort The Humument and it is a completely illustrated version of W. H. Mallock's 19th Century novel A Human Document. Each page is a well conceived and compelling work of art. On each page the author leaves only a few of the original words revealed. These surviving phrases tell, in prose and poetry, the pathetic love story of Bill Toge. Symbiotically linked to the art itself, the preserved text, and its tale of Toge, reveal a story Phillips found submerged within the original text, a story which Mallock neither wrote nor intended. Phillips calls his work `mining for meaning'. Everyone who has received this book from me has had great difficulty putting it down until they had read/absorbed/experienced/lived/studied it from cover to cover. If there is such a thing as a priceless book, The Humument would be a good candidate for the category.

As a poet and artist, I am interested in the automatic art practiced here, and it's ability to reveal the unconscious issues of importance in our lives. The work hails Burroughs' and his method of drawing poetry from the chaotic texts around him. Unlike Boroughs, Phillips has used an entire novel, and some of its original author's shortcomings, and indeed the shortcomings of the genre from which it is drawn, to make individual points about the artist's current world, some one hundred years later. The book can be "read" sequentially or individual pages shown as moments of art, from an amber necklace that displays an entire life. (To borrow a phrase from Vonnegut.) I'm also interested in his method. According to the author's notes, he drew this book at random, using the first book that he could afford with his current pocket change. (Amounting I believe to about two dollars,) and then he treated the pages within. This incorporation of the everyday, and the use of simple inks has enabled a spare time, relatively inexpensive project to become a work of art relating the human condition in a manner simular to life itself, incorporating the one page at a time method of daily life, that amounts to a beautiful work. Truly the art of the proletariat, not some etherial "l'art por l'art" that can only be experienced or appreciated by the upper class. Phillips states in his intro that he has yet to find a work of such depth and vocabulary to apply other new treatments, but for those aspiring artists wishing to emulate him, I have an excellent choice, an underappreciated, yet highly available novel of the Harlem Rennaisance, Della Larsen's "Quicksand," which covers several worlds of angst and incorporates a panopoly of words.

Truly an elegant, messy piece of work.
Tom Phillips' Humument is one of the most affecting marriages of image and text that I have viewed/read. Visaully, it is stunning, with its layers of subsumed text and inventive imagery. Moments of profundity bordering on Zen surface intermittently, whilst bawdy puns [...] up beside.
If you're looking for sustained, easily interpreted narrative, then this book simply is not for you. If, on the other hand, you long for a story that is as much in your head/heart, as on the page, I can heartily recommend A Humument.

I love this book. I first learnt of Tom Phillips when he recently did the cover of an album by a band called Dark Star, and then was introduced to his work whilst on work experience last summer. I hunted down a copy of this book, and then devoured it completely. at times moving, at times funny, and all the time completely incredible to just look and marvel at. the art work is great. ingenuitive, original and inspired. this book seems to be getting harder and harder to find... buy one while you can.

As a baby boomer who grew up watching Lucy, this book is a treasured companion to all those nostalgic memories.

Lucy fans: You have to see it to really appreciate it. No question, you must have this book for your collection. It is phenominal -- a treasure that you will enjoy forever.

This book is great. I think it's like Lucille Ball's actual scrapbook about the show. It has really cool reproductions of things that you pull out of envelopes - like tickets to things and certificates and contracts. You feel like you are really reading her scrapbook.

For the collector, this is a must and so much fun!

Great book and interesting facts. I am a huge fan of Lucy and a great book about her show.

product was ordered on 11/27,but do to canada post office,i finally receive a few days before christmas.wonderful book,which made the person very happy.thank-you

All's I can say is I forgot that this book was just reproductions of the actual items and I could look at this book for hours.

I have used this book collaboratively with 3 & 4th grades at an inner city school. The rich information and fantastic illustrations are a perfect stimulant to lessons in language arts as well as dance and painting.

This is an excellent resource for the classroom. It depicts the history of African American music from Africa to rap/hip hop with vibrant art work matching the electric words! Wow!

This book is a great book to include in a public library, home library, or school library. This book can be incorporated in many areas of learning. The author does an excellent job discussing the historical and physical features of African American music. Reading the book is like going on a musical journey. Some of the music types discussed are; jazz, ragtime, blues, gospel, and bebop. Each music type is well described, and Michele has included in each musical description a timeline, important figures associated with the music, and sample lyrics. Michele Wood also includes an activity in the book. She has put a little girl in each scene, and the reader has to locate her. It is not always easy. The little girl represents Michele when she was growing up. I highly recommend this book to young and old. Michele Wood has done an excellent job writing an interesting and informative book.

This beautifully illustrated book tells the history of African-American music through poems and art. It is both informative and inspiring. I hate age-level labels on books like this. Adults will appreciate this book as much as children. I stumbled upon it at a new multicultural bookstore, discovering later that it was a Coretta Scott King winner. I can see why!

"I see the rhythm. I see the rhythm of our beginnings. I feel the pulse of a people and a land in harmony. I hear the legends told by the drum, the beats of our beliefs, the music of our ancient history..." From its roots in Africa and slave songs, to the birth of the blues, ragtime, swing, jazz, and gospel, to rhythm and blues, rock and roll, hip hop, funk, and rap, Toyomi Igus and Michele Wood trace the history of African American music. Ms Igus' lyrical free verse, rich in imagery and magic, is powerful and evocative as it swirls creatively around the page, and is complemented by Ms Wood's stunning illustrations, full of emotion and drama that captures both the feel of the music and the times. Each two page spread also includes a brief description of the musical style, and a marvelous timeline that sets that musical period in its larger, historical context. Perfect for youngsters 10 and older, I See The Rhythm is an inspiring feast for the eyes and ears that celebrates African American music and brings it to life on the page, and is a terrific introduction that shouldn't be missed.

If you were born in the 1950's this book is for you! All the great shows are here (U.N.C.L.E., Wild, Wild West, Mission Impossible, etc) The book is nicely illustrated and features the author's incredible collection of props from many different shows. Much of the author's prose illustrates his considerable knowledge and love of the subject. I wonder if the former Soviet Union has books like this one? It is my theory that the Soviet Blok collapsed because it simply wasn't very fun. This book is fun. Buy it, or you will be shot with a sleep dart (while you are sleeping, of course, so you will never know that you have been shot with a sleep dart)

Danny Biederman is the actual author--the forward was by Robert W. Wallace. Biederman's collection of fictional spy artifacts is interesting to both movie buffs and to those involved in real-world espionage. I hadn't heard of most of the movies in "the Incredible World of Spy Fi," so I'll be looking them up on DVD. The spy gadgets and props are almost as important as the actor--the gimmicks are characters, too! Who can forget John Steed's steel-lined bowler, Maxwell Smart's shoe phone, the U.N.C.L.E. Special, James Bond's PPK and tricked-out sports cars, or Jim Phelp's self-destructing tape recorders? I enjoyed reading this book and it will be a valuable reference in my personal library.

Christmas present, birthday present, valentine's present, no-special-occasion present: this book makes me HAPPY! I can't imagine anyone not falling in love with it. It brought back floods of ecstatic memories -- and of course, I had to read it while drinking a shaken/not/stirred martini! BRAVO! MORE BOOKS from Mr. Biederman's archives -- and WOW, can he write! Wry, witty, charming, impeccably researched -- 10 STARS!

Danny Biederman's THE INCREDIBLE WORLD OF SPY-FI is not only the perfect coffee table book for those of us who grew up wanting to be James Bond (and maybe still DO want to be James Bond), it's also a brilliant and deeply enjoyable work of scholarship and pop-culture history. Biederman's personal collection of props, costumes, and other arcana from the Bond films, TV shows like THE MAN FROM UNCLE, and even spoofs like AUSTIN POWERS, has been justifiably legendary for years; now he's given us the gift of an intense look at just a fraction of that collection. One word of warning: Don't just get lost in the incredible photos, because Biederman's insightful, humorous, and intelligent prose (which accompanies the pics) is every bit as pleasurable as the visuals. My only complaint? I just wished this book was six times longer. Can we hope for a SPY-FI 2 sometime in the future, Mr. Biederman? Sure hope so.

This book should be in the library, or, more likely, on the coffee table of every aficionado of espionage. Most of us of a certain generation were weaned, so to speak, on the exploits of the imaginative and edgy TV spy series of the 1960s, so there's much here to bring one back to one's formative years. Danny Biederman gives it all his intelligent, informed, and indulgent commentary. There is simply no book like this.