Art History Books

In 360 B.C., Archytas of Tarentum made a model pigeon that flew by flowing steam out its tail. A humble beginning, perhaps, but it's the first entry in The Dream Machines, and it should give you some idea of just how comprehensive this book is. Every rocket I've ever seen or heard of is in here, fact or fiction, and for every one I knew about beforehand there are probably a hundred that I didn't know about until I found this book.

One of the best things about the book is that its contents are ordered chronologically. This lets you trace the evolution of spacecraft from pulp magazine covers to illustrations in popular and technical articles to serious design proposals to prototypes to full production. It gives you a taste of what it must have been like to watch all this happen in the middle of the 20th century, and it's fascinating to see all the designs that never made it off the drawing board. In particular, near the end of the book there are no less than 6 pages of drawings that trace the evolution of the Space Shuttle from a winged bullet launched from a jet-powered mothership to the familiar configuration that finally entered service in 1981. A similar sequence shows the development of the Apollo program spacecraft.

If all of that sounds dry instead of inspiring, you'll be pleased to know that all of those shiny silver rockets from the golden age of science fiction are in here, too. Some of them I hadn't seen since I was a 12-year-old watching old movies on Saturday afternoons, and there are many more that I had never seen at all. Radio dramas, television, movies, even prominent spacecraft from comic books and novels are covered.

The book is over 700 pages long and EVERY two-page spread has at least one illustration; most have three or four. The illustrations are in black & white and monochrome color, and there are several sections of full-color pages scattered through the book. Multiple orthogonal views are provided for many spacecraft, which will make this book a valuable reference for scale modelers. The reproduction quality of the illustrations is great, and the cover and binding are solid and of high quality. I know the book is durable because there is a well-thumbed copy at the local library that is still as sturdy as ever.

This is one of those books that you can dive into at random and not look up from for hours. If my house catches on fire, I'm going to grab this on the way out. It's spaceship heaven.

The first surprise for the new buyer of Ron Miller's "Dream Machine: An Illustrated History of the Spaceship in Art, Science and Literature" is that it was published in 1993, leaving the book strangely out-of-date despite being exactly what the spaceship romantic has desired all these years. My library is chock-full of books and magazines on the subject of spacecraft, and I admit with shame to having discarded older books which would now be collectors items because the spaceships depicted in them were "out of date". Something Miller's book emphasizes is that there is no such thing as an idea that is out of date. "Dream Machines" (beautiful title) treats Defoe (1705), Jules Verne (1865) and H.G.Wells (1901) who dreamed of space travel with the same dignity as Tsiolovsky, Goodard and von Braun, who made it a reality. This book's 714 pages are packed with the brilliant, the outlandish, the amusing, the thought-provoking and the real - and the almost real - spaceships which have graced humanity's longing to go "out there". The fan of early science-fiction has a rich field to explore, no less the student of hard-core spaceflight technology. Of special interest are details of the spacecraft which almost made it - the Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar, the European Space Agency Hermes spaceplane, the Russian Buran, and all the developmental designs which were considered, often discarded, with these never-to-fly spaceships. The impressive hard-cover book is well laid out, with bold-type dates and crisp drawings and a few color pages. There is some confusion about which drawing goes with which text due to minimal captions, but the generous white-space give the pages a friendly tone that allows the reader to go cover-to-cover (if one is so dedicated) or to leaf through looking for technological or impossible gems. The development and discards of the Apollo Moon project are well documented, and compared with the Soviet attempt to trump the United States in the Space Race to the Moon. The discussion of starship designs leans more to the "realistic" such as the British Interplanetary Society's "Daedalus", leaving Star Trek's "Enterprise" to get just a bit more than a mention. Many designers of spacecraft which never made the grade get their names into these pages. Author Miller has really delivered a work of love here. Strangely though, the reader's final emotion is one of sadness and loss. Here is all this brilliance, designing machines that could really take us off the Earth to however far we wish to go, yet few - very few - have become a reality, and usually by the power of short-sighted politics which beggar the vast vision of so many of those whose works are described in this book. If you dream of the Solar System and the stars, you need this one on your shelf.

I can't believe how fantastic this book is! I got it for christmas and have a hard time putting it down. Considering the weight of this encyclopdiac work that's saying something. Pound for pound worth it's weight in gold or platinum! Only a few notable omissions that I would have liked to see (ie. "The Valley Forge" from Douglas Trumbull's "Silent Running" ) Probably the most amazing relvelation is that many current designs have thier genesis back in the late 40's ! Truly a must have for anyone who dreams or dreamed of interplanetary voyages!

Comment: Sensational chronological roundup of text, photos, and sketches of virtually every spacecraft and launch vehicle design every conceived but never built. A gold mine for space-struck baby boomers.

Exellent book for any rocket or sci-fi enthusiast. The illustrations and drawings bring home man's facination with the heavens. I have read numerous publications concerning rocketry, and by far this is the best book I have yet to see published to date. I was blown away by the sections, 'The Archaeology of the Spaceship', and 'The Experimenters'. All dealt with rocketry ante-WWII. There are also page after page of NASA concept vehicles that were never flown, including several pages of Apollo and Space Shuttle designs that did not make it to the lauch pad, but yet look like they are ready to just rocket from the page. This book would be a great source of information for those who scratch build model rockets. Color illustrations, 3 view diagrams, an appendix of U.S., Soviet, and international lauch vehicles; what more could one want? If I could only own one rocket book, this would be the book I would chose over all the rest! Buy this book, heck buy 2 and give one to a friend!

Anyone who wants to know anything about sleeping and dreaming in the movies MUST read this book. It is insightful and extremely well written. It was a fun read that was also educational. I can't wait to read Halpern's other book "Reel Romance."

My son is a Film School graduate and I picked up this book with him in mind. I'm a mental health/philosophy nerd and was pleasantly surprised to find much of interest for myself. Dream Theory and film representation is explicated and we get to talk about Freud, Jung and the Bible. I now have an expanded DVD rental list and I'm sending a copy of this book to my son. There's a college course here but don't let that spoil your fun.

Leslie Halpern's "Dreams on Film" is a masterful and provokative book that explores the dreamlike quality of movies. Drawing upon her expertise in both psychology and film studies, Halpern creates a spellbinding analysis of what makes films function the way they do, and she answers many of the questions that we have upon leaving a darkened theater: Why do certain movies literally cast a spell over us? In what ways are dreams and movies a fundamentally similar experience? How successful are certain films in depicting the dream state? This book will be an important addition to any movielover's library. I highly and passionately recommend it.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, but was impressed from the beginning! It is not only easy to read, but had me thinking about so many films that I had seen that are discussed in the book. I'm now interested in seeing other movies that the book analyses. There are a variety of wonderful movie photos throughout the book to enhance the text. Areas covered include nightmares, dream symbols, interpretation, and more. You can see that the author has put a lot of thought and research into this book. I highly recommend it!

DREAMS ON FILM is an effective and entertaining exploration of how dreams and art coexist. From Freud to Freddy Kreuger, Ms. Halpern examines the scientific reality of dreams while analyzing hundreds of movies from mainstream Hollywood to low-budget indie fare. The result is a unique combination of art and science that appeals to a wide demographic. Whether you are a film buff or a psychologist, this book is definitely a must read that not only gave me a better appreciation for the art of film, but also a deeper understanding about how our minds work.
This would be a great book for film studies as well as psychology classes. After reading DREAMS ON FILM, my video rental wish list expanded tremendously. If you're looking for a book that is both entertaining as well as edifying, check it out.

As an artist interested in Marcel Duchamp and his works, I foud this book to be very informative. It's a book that will fascinate even those who have little interest in modern art.

I wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful book to everyone who knows how to read English. Marcel Duchamp was perhaps the premier iconclast of the twentieth century, and the runners up might be Buckminster Fuller & Le Corbusier. The book is NOT a boring monograph; it is a lot of fun to read. Tompkins is a Duchamp enthusiast but manages to wade through the mythology and bull to present the reader with the rosetta stone of Duchamp's life and art. Whether you took a twentieth century art survey in college and only know Duchamp as the guy who wrote R. Mutt on an upside-down urinal or you have read any number of books about the artist you should read this book! Tompkins sucks the reader right into the mind of Duchamp on the first page with a discussion and analysis of The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even, one the the greatest and most misunderstood and unappreciated works of the last century. I was an Art History major in college and hence suffered through so many authoritative, pretentious, dry, bland, misinformed, prejudiced and yawn-inducing books that it was such a pleasure to stumble onto Tompkin's Duchamp, which is a reader's book, totally apt since Duchamp was a man's man, a genius, not a theorizing weasal. This book is important because it inspires everyone to question everything you take for granted, and enjoy puns and jokes and the lighter side of life, and that art is there for everyone, not for patrons and the elite, for you and me, and that the contrary notion is absurd.

You don't have to like modern art to enjoy this remarkable biography about the most influention and controversial artists of the twentieth century. Tompkins explores the various interpretations of the art of Marcel Duchamp, most amusing of which is that of the artist himself (he was very laissez-fair when it came to expounding upon his own art). If the reader is not a fan of modern art (least of all the Dada movement) he or she will still find pleasure in reading about the life and times of this man of extreme wit and humor. The book reads like a who's-who of the pre and post world war II art world. Dealers, artists, and collectors who filled Duchamps world are just as amusing as characters in a comical work of fiction. The day to day life of people like Peggy Guggenheim and Max Ernst, Francis Picabia and Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia, Katherine Dryer, and Andre Breton, and the ever popular and exclusive members of the surrealist group is explored in comical detail. This book can also be looked at as a crash course in twentieth art history. Duchamp is explored in the most scholarly manner, but Tompkins keeps his study on a level that makes it easy to read.

DUCHAMP: A BIOGRAPHY is a wonderful biography of the artist whom, Tompkins argues persuasively, is the most influential of our almost-completed century. That the art work must be a mental act (a 'cosa mentale,' Leonardo da Vinci had argued many years before); that to be truly creative we need to work AGAINST our esthetic expectations; that art should aspire to be 'non-retinal': these are only some of Duchamp's major perceptions included in this book. What is particularly enjoyable is the way in which Tompkins meshes DuChamps' remarkable life -- one of the most sexually attractive of men, a chess player at the highest levels, an extraordinarily charming and easy person (yet a man who, not matter how much he tried to avoid the repetitive patterns involved in 'art,' was always the consummate artist)with the works of art and 'readymades' which emerged in and from that life. Duchamp's life makes for wonderful reading. What I most recommend about the book is that it stimulates one's own thinking, challenging so much of our conventional beliefs -- in art, in convention, in the concepts of both accomplishment and genius.

The fantastic New Yorker art critic turns his eye towards one of his favorite artists. This book balances both a traditional historical biography of Duchamp along with a critique and examination of his art. A good read of an artist with an interesting (and pleasantly surprisingly un-tortured) life.

Bought this as a gift and he loved it. A great collection of info and photos on the one and only Big Daddy. Great shots of him througout his life and career, up and down, (my favorite shot was of him sleeping on the side of the road beside his car on his way to a show). Lots of photos of his wild cars. Great book for all his fans.

This is a great book, a must have for Big Daddy fans and hot rodders alike. A great compainion to "Rat Fink: The Art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. I love the hard cover because I hope to have this book to show my kids someday. Ed Roth lives forever through his fans.

For me, a guy, who lived and breathed the hot rod, surf and music scene of the 60's, this book brings back a necessary component of the time. Relive and remember the essence of the time through Ed Roth who's artwork and cars seemed to be on the tip of everyone's tongue. We all knew the "Rat Fink" and we all knew "Big Daddy". Now he lives forever in this definitive work.

This book is a great collection with everything that you want to see and know about the "Big Daddy".
I bought one for a friend and I'll buy for me too.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a real renaissance man of the 1960s: creator of Rat Fink, builder of creative custom cars, and a Mormon beatnick who refused to fit in anyone's mold. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth: His Life, Time, Cars, and Art is an engaging and informative biography that charts his rise to fame in general and his skills building custom cars in particular, and comes from an author who met Ed in the mid-1970s and regularly covered his exploits. Nearly 300 photos - many new to this collection-charts his creations and his art, and will appeal to any who know his name.

Did you read or get this book? Well my God what are you all waiting for!

I have never ever seen such intense research put into an Elvis book before in my life .. and this is just the early volume!

This book is worth not only the great photos but for the impressive family tree and lineage that was done on Elvis and his family. I mean did you know that Elvis' family tree was traced back to Denmark to the 1595? I sure didnt, until now.

I am now going to hold Elvis trivia contests with all my Elvis friends and fan club members ... This book is remarkable. that is all I can say.

Jim once again, a super book. And your assistant did a super job with her research! You guys actually proved a lot of "so-called experts" wrong!

Another must book for the Elvis fan!

This book should get an award just for the research that was done in putting this book together. This team of Jim and Renata is the best ever in the Elvis world. Just wonderful, wonderful information is PACKED into this little book! You would think its a mini encyclopedia with how much writing is involved in this book!

If this book, the early years, is this great; I can't wait for the next volumes!

I personally thought that was no other information that could be FOUND on Elvis, but I was wrong. I think Jim and Renata truly pinpointed Elvis' family tree to a T ..... I can't find fault in it. Everything seems to fit and make sense. Not even Elvis' family members got things as right! So what does that mean to us? THE PERFECT INFORMATIVE BOOK!

Thanks a million!

Ok. While on the road, I used this book to conduct trivia contests. The guys I am with, are Elvis fans and they always try to prove that they know Elvis more than I. So this book put an end to that!

But I will say this: I TOO WAS WRONG on many occasions! I never knew 50-60% of the information that was listed in this book -- and I thought I knew a LOT! So this is an educational book beyond any Elvis fans' expections or knowledge!

I think this will soon become an Elvis Bible to the fans and Elvis world - if it's not already!

Remarkable from the first page to the last!

What struck me about this book was the beautiful and clean art deco cover. What a gorgeous cover! And what fun it is to look at.

I bought it along with Christmas with Elvis by the same author. Never knew about anyone making a Christmas book with Elvis! So I was thrilled about that!

Anyway I took this book home, and to keep it short: I have so far read it 3 times from cover to cover! That is how enticing this book is. Never had I thought possible that anyone could trace Elvis' family history back that far as did Mr. Curtin. Because Graceland still has the OLD information that Elvis came from Scotland and Andrew Pressley! My goodness Mr. Curtin goes back much much farther. What an important addition Mr. Curtin is to the Elvis world. He is the key to the lock on the Elvis Presley that no one dares to write about: THE GOOD MAN!

Thank you Mr. Curtin for showing class in authoring a beautiful book on Elvis. And thank you for all your extremely hard work in finding out all this information on Elvis and for sharing it with us fans. God Bless you and much continued success.

I AM NOW TYPING IN CAPITALS!

JUST READ THIS BOOK AND I WILL SAY THIS : I AM AMAZED AT JIM CURTIN AND HIS WRITER FOR WHAT, AND HOW MUCH THEY RESEARCHED ON ELVIS.

SO WITH THIS REVIEW I AM GETTING ON MY KNEES AND THANKING GOD NOT ONLY FOR GIFTING THIS WORLD WITH ELVIS, BUT FOR GIFTING THE ELVIS WORLD WITH JIM CURTIN! (and lets not forget Renata)

THANK YOU .... THANK YOU .... THANK YOU .... THANKYOUVERYMUCH!

I found the images in this little book breathtaking. The color and expression was so exciting and the history was fascinating. This tiny little volume is packed with beautiful images of Nolde watercolors. I'm so glad I found it.

Nolde, though sympathetic to the Nazi Party, was included among the artists who were exhibited in the "Degenerate Art Show". He was also banned from painting throughout the war which he spent in the north German town of Seebüll. Being the artist he was he was unable to halt the creative process and began to paint watercolor pictures on small torn sheets of paper - these paintings, the "unpainted pictures" are the subject of this book. The paintings are quite beautiful and the viewer can see how Nolde played with the rich watercolors to create pictures of people, fantastic portraits, and landscapes and seascapes. They are heavily expressionistic as Nolde used dark colors and india ink to delineate figures, give depth, and provide shadow. At their best the pictures are akin to stained glass with a backlighting sun emphasizing the rich colors. If you're a fan of expressionism it's a must book to have. For an art historian there there is a concise text which explores Nolde's relationship with the Nazi Party and those Nazis (Goebbels among them) who attempted to intercede on his behalf.

it is a really beautiful book, in spite of being small, contains watercolors of this great artist, gorgeous, very good quality of illustration, that I make on paper Japanese, in small format, all are like small jewels, that display the great colorista that was. I am enchanted with the book.

Emile Nolde's Unpainted Pictures is a reminder that the Nazi regime affected everyone, not just the groups targeted for persecution. This is an example of one artist's adaptation to those horrible circumstances. It is a book of beautiful reproductions of watercolors done in secret and distributed to friends to keep them safe. Even the format of the book is small, implying that the paintings had to be hidden. It is not a book for generalists; it is for a specific audience, those who are interested in Expressionist paintings.

I liked, though did not love, this book. I think that perhaps there are too many reproductions, some of which are inferior to the others. I hope that when I die and become a famous artist (well, one can hope, can't they?) someone will edit my work with more care.
Still Nolde is always interesting and this book is worth it for fans of his work.

This book sticks to the music, and what music it was, or should I say, what music *made* - sometimes from situational film material. But this work sticks mainly to A-list, non-soundtrack recordings.
Whether he stuck closely to the demo, or reference disc, or completely reworked the tune, he made it at least interesting and listenable, and those that didn't make that cut (like "Hey Jude") are given a fair chance.
Since '68, I still can't believe what he did with "You'll Never Walk Alone"; discovering years later it was he on piano working out a "head" arrangement on the spot, made it seem even greater. This book will remind you why you liked a particular track in the first place or why you should have. At age 17, I didn't appreciate the depth of this performance, which in this book is described with masterful strokes. Another revelation for me was in reading about "Crying In The Chapel". I've always enjoyed Elvis' record of it, but thought he could have put more *voice* on it. Roy and Aspell evaluated the number as a whole and brought out nuances which have caused me to realize that it, too, is A-list.
I would have been happy to find reviews of movie fluff entries like "Sand Castles" or "Shake That Tambourine", but let's hope we get an "alternate take edition" of this fine manuscript.

THIS NOVEL SHOULD GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS TO EVER BE WRITTEN ABOUT THE KING OF ROCK -N- ROLL . IT'S REALLY GOOD . IT TELL'S THE STORY BEHIND 112 OF THE KINGS GREATEST AND NOT SO GREATEST SONGS .IT FOCUSES ON WHAT REALLY IS GREAT ABOUT ELVIS' LIFE HIS MUSIC !

"The Essential Elvis" is a thoughtful exploration of the King's music from 1954 until his death in 1977. It's an important and much-needed work that concentrates solely on Presley's artistry. Authors Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell break free from the ill-informed mythology of most Elvis publications by re-examining Presley's work in provocative, exciting ways. You may not agree with all of the writers' criticisms, but it encourages you to track down the 112 Elvis recordings listed in their book.

There have been 4,567 books written about Elvis, mostly by people who have never known him, but whose third cousin's sixth-removed niece might have once dated Elvis' former schoolteacher's third wife. Then there's "The Essential Elvis." What makes this book so different is that Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell trace Elvis' life and legacy through personal history as well as 112 of his most significant songs. The book doesn't proclaim to be an expose or definitive history (it's neither); what it is is a clear portrait of the Man Who Would Be King, told through behind-the-scenes knowledge that uncovers and pieces
together the story of a man, his times, talent and cultural influences. And the 20 photographs -- many of which have never been published --- add a nice touch.

This excellent book is about what was most important to Elvis and his fans: his songs and music. One of the most significant things the authors said about Elvis is the following words: «The first and best thing that can be done for Elvis Presley is to lessen the emphasis that has been placed on his later years and focus on the talent and genius that define the King.....one of the reasons for his demise was because he cared and felt too much...it got to the point that being Elvis Presley was one of the hardest jobs in the world». I agree completely with the authors and, as a fan, my only wish is that this book will make the people, who don't respect Elvis, see the light...

A wonderful work by Mr. Bahto. A must read for any serious golf architecture student. The photos and drawings are amazing. The chapter on National is worth the price of the book alone. Great read.

The "Evangalist" should be sufficient to re-direct the path of contemporary golf course design from its current preoccupation with window dressing and waterfalls to the structural soundness and strategic integrity inherent in Macdonald/Raynor's work. Devotees of this book will require hospitalization the next time they hear the hot architect of the day say that he doesn't want to adapt old principles when there are "so many new strategies yet to be developed".

Not QUITE the usual coffee-table sized book, this rich volume taught me more about golf course architecture - really, the thought behind a thinking-player's course - than anything else I've read. Yes, it's a professional biography of one architect, with a lot about his protege, Seth Raynor, but MacDonald was the consummate perfectionist, studying the subject and contemplating his creations perhaps more deeply than anyone else.

The result of his research and reflection was a career marked by the quality rather than the quantity of his work. His courses are timeless, incorporating a similar "menu" of classic holes modified and improved to fit the local terrain and prevailing conditions.

Bahto's account of MacDonald's life and work is refreshingly frank and conversational. He makes no attempt to gloss over MacDonald's cranky arrogance, perhaps because such a temperament is so often linked to genuis. In my opinion this gives the text extra credibility, as do Bahto's wonderfully precise schematic diagrams of so many of MacDonald's creations.

My only complaint is that the quality of the photographs is very uneven and often poor. It's a shame that the publisher couldn't have waited a year or two and sent a professional to shoot the holes with a high-res camera in good light. I wouldn't have wanted to see calendar-style glossies, but I would have enjoyed higher contrast, less grainy photographs to match the clear and illuminating prose.

Despite this minor quibble I'm giving the book a top rating, for it illustrates the Purpose behind deliberate, elegant - yet always playful - golf course design at its highest level. If you can, give this to someone who loves golf and takes it seriously. It would be a wonderful way of showing them how much you appreciate their passion for the game.

This is an awesome review of C.B. MacDonald but is mainly a book about the road to creating the National Golf Links.

Of course, there's a healthy dose of Raynor as well, but this makes complete sense. Whereas MacDonald would create the course designs and plans, Raynor would most often turn around and handle the course development.

I think the research and the writing behind this from Bahto is most excellent + no sugar coating. Simple honest unbiased delivery of what happened and how, but even more importantly you will "know" the National.

Picture wise, I thought the historical pics were very interesting. However, I thought it was rather difficult to match up any "pre" and "post" pics for any of the changes that took place to any of the holes being described. Furthermore, there were several recent color pics that were repeated in various sections. Unfortunately, I didn't think several of the pictures conveyed what the text was trying to explain at times. Few angles were used to show by pictures what was making each and every hole so special.

Other than that, I highly recommend this book for its content. Very well done overall. Above all, the description of each hole and how they work together to create a seamless golfing experience is the best I've read thus far. The supporting hole drawings help as well to complete the course visualizing. I just think I could visit the National tomorrow and would be as ready as possible to play it from a course management perspective. You just sense you'd know what to look out for and appreciate.

There's also a strong review of the Yale course and I think the Lido review, although brief, was most interesting. What a course the Lido must have been to play.

Excellent.

The "Evangalist" should be sufficient to re-direct the path of contemporary golf course design from its current preoccupation with window dressing and waterfalls to the structural soundness and strategic integrity inherent in Macdonald/Raynor's work. Devotees of this book will require hospitalization the next time they hear the hot architect of the day say that he doesn't want to adapt old principles when there are "so many new strategies yet to be developed".

EXPRESSIONS OF INNOCENCE AND ELOQUENCE: SELECTIONs From the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana was given as a gift. Recepient was delighted. Especially interesting was how Jane Katcher began her collection and her descriptions of the treasures.

I read the book cover to cover immediately and was totally engaged. To miss the beauty and joy in these examples of folk art is impossible.

The book is a delight to look at but more importantly it is an essential reference catalogue of the Katcher collection.

A beautiful book for the Folk Art enthusiast! Photography is fantastic and includes so many items that have not been published before. Wonderful!

Well produced book with excellent photography. The essays by noted folk art experts was a great concept however they were primarily geared towards historical context and overall presentation of photographed works in the book.

A better format would have been these same individuals critiquing the relative merits of the pieces -- their strengths and their weaknesses, thus defining clearer for the reader how to assess the overall merits and quality of differing pieces within a sub-group -- in effect, their eyes educating the reader in the details and nuances of good folk art.

This book is an awesome look back at some of the best artwork and packaging of its time. The footnotes for each "Fac" are interesting and the reproductions of the artwork are showcased nicely. I only wish there were some photos of the packaging, for instance the famous Blue Monday single with the die-cut, it would have been nice to see how it looked. Still, I think this is a great book!

I've always been a huge fan of Factory Records and the designs of Peter Saville so this book was a dream come true. Pictures of all the artwork from Fac 1 onwards, all the New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Durutti Column - everything you could want.
A wonderful gorgeous book, the pictures are bright and clear, plus history and stories on major aspects of the artwork - highly recommended fro any Factory / New Order / Peter Saville fan.

This is an excellent book for fans of Factory Records. Factory was label that always had beautiful graphic design work. The album covers and poster art were a showcase for the design work of Peter Saville. I highly recommend this thorough book to fans of the label.

FACTORY RECORDS: THE COMPLETE GRAPHIC ALBUM could have been featured in our Music Shelf area but is profiled here for its artistic visual inspection of one British music label's eye-catching covers and productions. Notes for each production outline the varying graphic design choices which made the albums notable and different, making this a fine choice not just for contemporary music libraries but for art library holdings strong in graphic arts representations.

This is a magnificent time machine. There are a lot of labels people loved - Stiff, sst, etc. My favorite was Factory. With only a few exceptions, the music coming out on this label defined English music in the Eighties. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was unquestionably the song of the year in 1980 for instance. But what made the music even more evocative was the artwork along with it. The famous Joy Division covers, and the mighty "Power, Corruption, and Lies" are just a few examples. Thanks to New Order I learned who Fantin-Latour was, they skipped over him in my art history classes. I collected all the albums and 12 inch 45s. I especially liked A Certain Ratio, after I saw them at Danceteria in 1982 (I think that was the year). Where is the vinyl of yesteryear? The music is all on cd, but those tiny covers just dont do justice to the art. Here is all the glory in one beautiful package. If only I had made it to the Hacienda back in the day...