Art History Books

This book goes a long way in explaining why there was so much written about the Wild West and why so much embellishment took place.Throughout history there has been all kinds of spins put on the people involved and what really occurred.Why would anyone expect anything different during the expansion of the West,particularly after the Civil War? In dramatic times of history,be it the Wild West,WW2,Crime in Chicago etc.people are craving for an understanding of events as well entertainment,and that is what we are given by the writers and the media.
Personally,I enjoy both the factual as well as the fictional
aspect of these times.
One character who often appears in books is Ned Buntline.He was a real person by the name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson,and this book does a pretty good job of telling us who he was and some of the things he did.Somebody must have written a book on him;it would be a good read.

This book was a welcome source of information on the Carson & Miller families whose genealogy I have been researching. Michael Wallace did an excellent job of getting his historical facts straight and offered some additional resources for my search for family history.

The easy style presented an engrossing story of a family moving through history from the 1850's to the 1930's and adjusting (not always easily) to the changing moores of society.

My father was a cousin of the Miller Bros. and told us children stories of his childhood in Oklahoma and attending the shows at the 101. My sister & I recently visited the old 101 ranch site and were sad to see that little is left. The Miller house in Winfield, Kansas is still standing in beautiful condition and is a private residence.

Michael Wallace is an excellent storyteller. The book gave life to my genealogy and made me feel in touch with the characters and the times. Anyone with an interest in western history would enjoy this story of a dynamic family who helped shape our images of the old west.

One terrific book -- a majestic recreation of the figures that helped define the old west and western entertainment.

Readers lacking a sense of irony may be dismayed to discover that the Real Wild West was only loosely hitched to reality. Spurred by the imaginations of Charles Miller and his three sons, our perception of what is the west sports the distinct brand of the 101. Take heart, though, because on the Miller Brothers' 101, the west was most certainly wild.

Possibly outlaws and certainly mavericks, the Millers rounded up some legendary talent to work their ranch and perform in their touring shows. The 101 herd of entertainers included Geronimo, Will Rogers, champion cowgirl Lucille Mulhall, Annie Oakley rival Princess Wenona, and such film legends as Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Yakima Canutt and Hoot Gibson. Black cowboy, Bill Pickett, famed for inventing the rodeo event steer wrestling spent a long career at the 101, and Buffalo Bill Cody spent his final year with the outfit.

While tooling a longstanding image of the west with their Wild West productions, the Millers also saddled up to motion pictures, oil production and an outstanding crop and livestock operation. Their story is a rodeo itself, made all the more interesting by the hints that white hats did not cover the heads of all of the 101 cowboys and cowgirls.

When the last little doggie was wrangled on the 101, the Miller Brothers' legacy did not ride off into the sunset, but continues to stampede through the dreams of would-be cowpokes everywhere. I'm not a regular patron of movie theatres, but I cannot wait until this saga makes it to the big screen!

If you like history and the stories of the old west, buy this book. I really enjoyed it.

Book came in great condition, on time, and worth every penny. It's filled with many old patterens and lots of history, a pleasure to read. If it's Redwork you enjoy , then order this one.

I found these books to be very informative and interesting. I would recommend them to anyone interested in Redwork Quilts.

Once again Deborah Harding shares a piece of history with us. Her beautifully organized and prodigiously researched book on redwork quilts is a welcome addition to any quilt lovers library. It seems that no stone was left unturned in her search to bring us a comprehensive documentation of this needleart. I recommend this two volume book to anyone interested in quilts. Not only is it a lovely publication to look at, but it educates us in an area of quilting that little has been written about. Bravo Deborah!

This book would make a lovely gift for anybody interested in textile arts, even for someone with little or no quilting or embroidery experience. The presentation is lovely -- two nicely bound, wonderfully illustrated books nestled inside a snug cardboard jacket. One book features a short discussion of redwork embroidery along with illustrations of exquisitely executed quilts. The other supplies brief instructions (perhaps too brief -- especially the section on transferring the patterns)and a lovely collection of redwork patterns so that readers can create their own redwork quilt. My only quarrel with the book is that a beginner (like me!) might not feel confident with the brief instructions. However, a quick trip to the fabric store to talk to a knowledgable salesperson should dispel any doubts. Despite this small problem, I give the book 5+ stars -- it was great fun to browse through, then to read intently , then to pore over as I selected possible designs for my very first quilt!

Often it is difficult to get accurate, well documented information on traditional crafts and handwork. Much of that art form was passed down from generation to generation with very little written record. Deborah Harding has done a wonderful job of finding old newpaper and magazine articles on Redwork, as well as fantastic old patterns reproduced here. A friend of mine loaned me this set of books, and I could never bring myself to return them to her, so I knew I had to have my own set!

This is the most complete book I have ever seen on Raffael's work. As an artist, I can tell you that part of what I try to do is to understand the painter as a way of appreciating his or her work.
This book is stunning and full of information.

Beautifully printed volume on the work of watercolor painter Joseph Raffael. Very comprehensive of his work as a painter through 1998, the year in which the book was published. I'd like to eventually another book showing the work that he's done during the last 9 years.

Perfect book for the student, collector, dealer or art historian interested in this important artist. As one of America's foremost buyers of Joseph Rahael paintings, I highly recommend this book. www.LawrenceBeebe.com

REFLECTIONS OF NATURE: Paintings of Joseph Raffael is one of the most elegant monographs on a practicing artist I have had the pleasure of reading. Yes, "reading" is an operative word here. Too often artist monographs are coffee table picture books, lush and lovely to look at, enlightening as to a chronologial path of achievement, and even historically relevant - solely on the basis of the images: the written essays are seldom read and if they are read, they are merely perused. Such is not the case with this warmly informative and evocative collection of the works of this fine realist painter. Authors Amei Wallach and Donald Kuspit write with courage about techniques (use of the photograph as the springboard, method of appropriation form the photo image to the paper or canvas, etc) that would frighten most of our painters today, so revealing of secrets and methods publically scorned as "copying" or NOT "representational". But the real coups in this valuable volume is having the artist talk us through not only his techniques, but is personal history and vulnerabilites.

As for the paintings, there are splendid reproductions of those paintings we all know and love (koi, water, water lilies, flowers) but there are also many examples of Raffael's wildlife images, spiritual images, and those of his wife Lannis seeming to metamorphose out of her garden. This book is a fine standard for future art books that stirve to inform as well as document an artist's work. Even if you don't know Raffael's paintings, I would recommend your adding this volume ot your library - for you eye's AND your soul's sake. Outstanding!

Well Written and full of wonderful photos and Illustrations. 5 Stars! Totally Satisfied.

The collaborative work of Dennis R. Jenkins (a thirty year veteran engineer and manager on the Space Shuttle Program and other space-related programs and currently the Verville Fellow at the Smithsonian Institutions' national Air and Space Museum) and Jorge R. Frank (an aerospace engineer with eighteen years' experience on the Space Shuttle Program), "Return-To-Flight: Space Shuttle Discovery Photo Scrapbook" is the illustrated story of how NASA grounded the entire Space Shuttle fleet after the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003, in order to find out what had gone wrong and fix it. After thirty months of hard work, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Program's Return-to-Flight (STS-114) using the space craft Discovery. This was the most photographed flight in Space Shuttle history (including images taken from inside the cockpit and from a camera mounted on a long, robotic arm used to examine almost every inch of the Orbiter) and the foundation for this informed and informative history of this cutting edge aviation program. Superbly illustrated with 350 full color mission photos and an informative text, "Return-To-Flight is a seminal work and a core addition to personal, academic, and community library Aviation & Space Exploration History collections.

This is a great book for anybody who is interested in manned spaceflight. It is a very thorough photo documentation of STS-114, the first flight of the Space Shuttle after the Columbia disaster. All aspects of the flight are covered, from training, launch, rendezvous with the International Space Station, on-orbit activities, EVAs, through re-entry and landing, plus a preview of the next Shuttle flight. The pictures are all in full color and are reproduced very clearly. I highly recommend this book!

This book has some amazing photos. The level of detail that can be seen in the photos almost rivals the kind of detail that you get by wathcing an IMAX movie.

The format presented by the authors of this book is really unique. STS 114 was one of the most photo- documented spaceflights of all time. The book presents every aspect of the flight in some of the best photographs taken whether on the ground, or taken in space by the astronauts themslves. NASA is the repository for some of the best pictures of manned spaceflight. The authors have done a magnificent job of compiling the many thousands of pictures taken of this mission and presenting them in a truly awe inspiring way. The photos in the book taken of Discovery while engaged in the "pitch manuever" were as breath taking as when the manuever was actually performed.
All space enthusiast will relish the idea of being able to acess in book form the photographs taken during this mission. My congratulations to the authors for doing what should have been done a long time ago. The adventure is for "all mankind". I can't think of a better way to enjoy the ride other than by actually doing it! The authors should seriously think about follow on volumns which document the remaining shuttle spaceflights.

Michael H. Cooper

This book captures all the fascinating details of Discovery's long journey to the launch pad, launch and time at the Space Station. Dennis Jenkins and Jorge Frank have done a wonderful job of putting these amazing pictures together and creating a great book about Return to Flight. I would highly recommend this book to any space shuttle enthusiast of any age.

Of the few scholarly books written on Deibenkorn's prolific production, this volume offers a new insight into the relationships of his previous developmental and matured California works. His clearly defined non-objective landscapes hold the seeds of the objective period to follow and an even more defined structural forecast of his late period of geometric compositions. Diebenkorn's use of color in New Mexico brings together both a broad stroke vision of the native landscape and an alternate coloration of local floral and costume. This author views the Albequerque series as his deepest expression of color beyond the sand, stone and dry botanical forms of cactus and sage as a predominating foilage. The light-hearted color canvases are of very special interest.

Of all artists of the twentieth century, few, if any, have explored the diversity of color intricately entwined within the composition structure so much as Diebenkorn.

Ray W. Clarke
Cleveland and Palm Beach

This book is something of a revelation for anyone who has an interest in American painting, but isn't an artist, academic or serious collector. Richard Diebenkorn, for me, has always been a great West Coast, landscape/colorist painter, known most recently for the Ocean Park series that became a kind of hallmark for him. "Richard Diebenkorn in New Mexico" shows an entirely different phase of his remarkable professional life; one that saw him fully committed to the dominant abstract expressionist school of the time and painting with quite a different pallette of colors than that he would come to be known for some 20-30 years later. This book is a wonderful collection of paintings, drawings and sculpture that provide examples of how the then-student Diebenkorn developed his craft over a two-plus year period in the 1950s. This is a major pleasure to read, peruse and discuss as well as a wonderful addition to any art library.

This book provides an enlightening look at Diebenkorn's early biomorphic landscape drawings and paintings. It's full of quality images and incisive analysis, and gives a thoughtful overview of his formative break-through years.

This book accompanies an exhibition of Diebenkorn's works painted in New Mexico in the early 1950's. Wonderful illustrations make it a valuable addition to the literature on the artist. Now, you really have to be an all-out Diebenkorn fan to consider that these early works measure up to what was being painted at the same time in New York by the likes of Pollock, De Kooning, Rothko, Kline and Guston. Diebenkorn became great when he started the Ocean Park series in the 1970's, but here, he only reveals himself as a good colorist. The merit of this catalogue lies, in my opinion, in the high quality of the illustrations, albeit of minor works, and in the sensible text written by a leading authority on the artist.

This excellent collection represents the works produced by Richard Diebenkorn during his tenure at the University of New Mexico from 1950-52, comprising some of his most exciting abstract images. The companion exhibit at the Harwood Museum in Taos, New Mexico once again confirms Diebenkorn's stature as one of the most influential and important abstract painters of our time.

edward hopper ... robert bechtle ... william eggleston ...

the great american image creator.

the only book of bechtle. great!!

The mere act of transforming what might be considered an average snapshot into a work of art is Bechtle's magic. Quiet streets, mundane automobiles, and people from a home photo album take on an air of the sublime, proving that the greatest power of photorealism lies not in the technique, but in the process of transforming a snapshot into an irrefutable memory.

This is a great book about a great artist. I saw the pictures in original and they are very good reproduced in this book. Who loves photorealism should have it.

I drove from Jackson, Mississippi to the Modern Museum of Ft. Worth see the Retrospective of Robert Bechtle's work. I am an artist myself and was astounded at the collection in this exhibit. The book does a superb job of presenting photos of the paintings in the collection. Additionally, the museum store at The Modern had none of these books in stock so it was fortunate that I ordered it when I did.

Robert Bechtle has been a creative force in California art since the 1960s, yet his name remains practically unknown outside the Bay Area artists group. This very fine monograph by Janet Bishop, designed as a catalogue to accompany the traveling exhibition of this works, should help to mend that sin of omission. The style of writing is warm and informative and, in many ways, in keeping with Bechtle's vision of the world he paints!

One quick perusal of the many reproductions of his major works in this book quickly leaves the impression that Bechtle understands and successfully captures the quality of light that is peculiar to California. His street scenes of angled cars and bungalows are flooded with light and shadow. Though his art movement classification is Photorealism, Bechtle goes beyond mere photo copying techniques. His work is more about our lifestyle and our living compartments normally looked upon as mere blocks of space in which we function. Bechtle enhances everything he paints with a sunny 'romanticism' if you will. His art is more about a love affair with the atmosphere's effect on the mundane places we inhabit than it is with simple reproduction of images and landscapes.

For the art lover of realism and for those who respect the prodigious gifts of representational artists, this book is a must for the library. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Professor Holt has done an outstanding job with this book. I've had this book long before Amazon.com came into existence and was thrilled to see it listed here. Holt's meticulous research into Robin Hood has been referenced by numerous other authors and researchers into Robin Hood, yeoman archers, and life in Medieval and Tudor England. Holt has persuaded a fair number of very intelligent researchers in their assessments of who Robin Hood was and his status as a yeoman. I've had this book since 1991, with worn pages and all, yet I still can't put it down. Highly recommended. Like one of the other persons who gave it 5 stars, I give it a 10 stars. * * * * * * * * * *

Holt has written an enthralling study of Robin Hood, of both the man (what little remains of him in the ballads) and the legend. He discusses the five earliest surviving ballads - "A Gest of Robyn Hode," "Robin Hoode his Death," "Robin Hood and the Monk," "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne," and "Robin Hood and the Potter" - and from them details all that can be inferred of the original Hood and of the transmission of the legend in the 200 years before the songs of Robin Hood were first written down. Even after they began to be written down new elements in the legend emerged - Maid Marian and Friar Tuck only joined Robin's merry men in the 15th century. Although today we commonly think of Robin Hood as hanging around in Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, the early ballads most strongly connect him with Barnesdale ("My name is Robin Hood of Barnesdale," the outlaw once remarks in a ballad). Holt details the physical setting in which Robin Hood and his legend traversed, and also the type of people who were his original audience.

So who was Robin Hood? Holt answers, "There were more than one." Many outlaws later called themselves Hood, and some elements of the legends were possibly added on because a storyteller confused one Hood with our Robin Hood - this may explain why a actual march of Edward II's in 1322 is incorporated into the life of a bandit who probably lived a hundred years earlier. Holt does think there was an original Robin Hood, who inspired the legend, and believes that he lived in the first half of the 13th century. He is possibly identical with a certain outlaw named Robert Hod, aka Hobbehod, who is mentioned in records from 1225-26. Although there are many uncertainties, of all the suggested candidates for the "real" Robin Hood, Robert Hod is the most plausible, based on the existing evidence. If you get only one book about Robin Hood, make it this one.

I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
It's a great book for anyone inteested in Robin Hood.
I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Professor Holt wrote what came to be acknowledged as the definitive work on Robin Hood in 1981, and it was published the following year. A second edition appeared in 1988, incorporating significant new research. So that's the first point to make; make sure you get the later edition. The second point is that this new evidence, which pushed the first reference to Robin Hood a century further back in time, merited a re-write. Instead, Holt leaves the main text almost unaltered and discusses the new information in a postscript, and gives it a brief mention in a preface. The result is that the reader is presented with much speculation about the origin of the legend which is invalidated in the postscript. It's rather like having the rug pulled from under your feet.

Nonetheless, the work remains a fact-packed, authoritative guide to England's unlikely national hero. (Well, a thief who may or may not have existed seems an unlikely hero to me). Holt points the reader toward the earliest ballads, and I strongly recommend that you read these in parallel with the earliest chapters of this book. The ballads are all readily available, in the original and translated, on the Net, and they are great fun.

Robin is as elusive as he is intriguing, but he is well worth tracking, and Holt is probably still the best guide.

This book has the ring of authenticity about it. One British reviewer called it "Probably unsurpassable," and I agree. In this way it is like an Arthurian book by Ashe or Alcock. (I am thinking of "In Search of Arthur's Britain," which described the 1967 South Cadbury dig.)

You will learn the truth about the earliest Robin Hood stories - he was a yeoman, not a nobleman or a peasant, his earliest haunt was Barnsdale, not Sherwood. There was no Maid Marian at first, etc.

An excellent book for British history buffs and English lit types.

The book is lovely: a great layout and nice reproduction quality. What I find most curious is that there are three authors whose names are all so similar. How curious that they were all able to meet an collaborate on this fantastic work!

For years. I had followings problems. I have gotten better answers in this book.

1. What does he think about A portrate " Portrate of a man"(414p. C13) in National Occidental Art Museum, Tokyo, which was attributed Rogier? Mr. de Vos >It cannot be attributed to Rogier. On style it likes Petrus Christus. 2. Whether of two sets of Milaflores Alterpieces should be his autograph? Mr. de Vos >Berlin (cat. no. 12, 226p) 3. I heard that Last judgement in Beaune was strongly damaged and restaured. What parts of it is original? ->Mr. de Vos describes detail in cat no.17. 4. Many archaic style painings are attributed to "Maitre de Flaemalle"/ Robert Campin. Three magnificat panels in Francfurt was done by one hand, but some painters works may be merged to this group, may not they? ->Mr. de Vos writes a fine paper"An Enigma of School of Tournai"(79--83p) in this book and discussed this problem.

At Head, this book has a long essay studing "Descent from Cross"(in Prado) Reading this, I thank that this masterpiece which contemporaries admired with Ghent Alterpiece, has survived.

Comparing his former work "Memling:the Complete Work", result of dendrochronology by P. Klein and others contribute dating in this book. I was much impressed its splendid date data. This feels more relaxed style than "Memling" and I feel the style of translation by Ted Atkins feels more fluent. The original may be written by flaman. In 116, about " potrate of a Lady"(National Galley, Washington, cat. no. 34, he described" To modern viewer, she looks for all the world like Briggite Bardo playing a nun.."

This book is an absolute must for anyone who has any interest in the culture of the western hemisphere. Van der Weyden was a key to the development of Northern Renaissance art of the early 15th Century, following Campin and Van Eyck and preceding van der Goes, Memling and Christus . This book is a tour de force capturing the magnificent paintigs of the artist in stunning detail. This easily is the best book ever published on this very important artist and will rank as one of the best books ever published on any artist. The author , Dirk de Voss, the curator of the Groeningsmuseum in Bruges, has written a scholarly, readable text. Buy it before it goes out of print. You will not regret it.

This is quite simply the finest art book I own, in every way -- the most faithful reproductions, the most comprehensive scope, the most insightful (but still accessible) essays.

Most importantly for the prospective purchaser, this book will without question be the standard reference, the ne plus ultra of Van De Weyden scholarship for a generation. In particular, it benefits from important developments in research on several fronts: in technical analysis of the works potentially attributable to Rogier; in stylistic analysis of the same; and (perhaps most significantly) in untangling the enigmatic relationship among Rogier, the Master of Flemalle, and Robert Campin.

If you like this book and are interested in Flemish art of the period, I can also highly recommend HANS MEMLING by the same author

Like others who have reviewed this book I feel that no praise is high enough. Yes the book is expensive, but it seems less so when you consdier that no fewer than twenty-five years of the author's life have gone into the scholarship here contained. The essays are excellent, based on sound argument and the latest technical and stylistic scholarship; particularly convincing is De Vos's account of the vexed question of the "Master of Flemmale". Anyone who has an interest in the development of Western Art would do well to read this book which places Van der Weyden right back where he belongs, as one of the most important painters in the western cannon.

The layout is excellent and the large format makes the reproductions vibrant and true.

As an example of a single artist study this volume is hard to fault. It sent me back to the originals in Berlin, Munich etc. with a clearer sense of Van de Weyden's schievement.

If you can afford it and this art is important to you then buy it.

I passed this book by many times before finally breaking down and buying it. Somehow, its title and dust cover just didn't grab me. Besides that, having already read several biographies of the Reagans and the Reagan family members, I was fairly well convinced that the book couldn't possibly contain much of anything new. Even after buying it, I still wasn't much inclined to read it. What finally convinced me to do so was when I read in the prologue that Colacello was a personal friend of Nancy Reagan and that Nancy had arranged for him to have unprecedented access to her personal files and to virtually all of the Reagan's living friends and associates and/or their children. How could I resist? This had to be a spectacular source of inside information. And it was!

The early part of the book traces the lives of Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan in parallel chapters. This section is interesting primarily for the light it sheds on Nancy's early life; her relationships with her mother, Edith Davis, and her adoptive father, Dr. Loyal Davis; and for the in-depth background provided concerning both Edith and Loyal.

The book really takes off, however, in the mid-sections where it deals in depth with Reagan's and Nancy's film careers; Reagan's military service; his marriage to and divorce from Jane Wyman; his actions while president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), particularly in combating the Communist attempt to take over Hollywood's film industry; his, and other's, testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) - who was who and what was what; the members of "The Group" who induced Reagan into politics and the subsequent "Kitchen Cabinet" members (mostly wealthy, conservative, high-powered friends of Nancy or Edith) who guided, supported, and, it might be said with some degree of truth, made Reagan Governor of California and President of the United States; Reagan's abortive run for president in 1968; and the rationale for his run in 1976. From that point on, the book is hard to put down.

In summary, this book contains inside information which can't be found anywhere else, making it a vital historical document. The information doesn't always reflect well on Ronald Reagan or Nancy, but it dispels a lot of myths and misinformation, and certainly provides a great deal of insight into what it takes for even a great leader, such as Ronald Reagan, to become President of the United States.

The book certainly rates five stars for content. It loses something for readability, however, due largely to its repetitious descriptions of parties and dinners, including: who was invited; what foods and wines were served; what gowns the women wore and who made them; who were the women's hair stylists and what were their hair styles; etc. But that was a small price to pay. I give it four stars.

Some friends of ours in Australia started to read this on an Asian cruise last Fall and asked us to bring them a copy when we visited Cairns in August.

They loved it and so did we, when we got to look at it prior to giving it to them.

As a Reagan supporter, I really wanted to love the Reagans and to see Nancy Reagan's reputation vindicated. Nancy, in her elder years, is very admirable. It is a bit creepy to read that Ronnie always called her Mommie, but no one can deny their mutual love. Bob Colacello is quite thorough in his research,fair and honest - no whitewashing here...the endless sniping and self-aggrandizement of Nancy's pals, like Betsey Bloomingdale et al? These women were all intimate friends, but were clawing at each other for primacy in the Reagan inner circle. Bloomingdale brags about her caviar parties and hobnobbing with the Paris set of sophisticates, but gets caught evading customs duties for lying about how much she paid for a new couture outfit in France. The other graceless, snobby chums of Nancy also seem like the idle, witless, rich that P. G. Wodehouse skewered in his books. The Kitchen Cabinet husbands are scary and only a tad less obnoxious. The book makes one feel queasy; Ronnie and Nancy seem bought and paid for by their cronies. Nancy herself comes off as self-deceiving and controlling - a shallow and manipulative social climber who rewrote her personal history;possibly she is portrayed as second only to Joan Crawford as Mommie Dearest. Ron takes up ballet as an adult. Patti has herself sterilized at 24 because she's afraid she'll be like her mother??!

The book proves what most of us assume - being well-connected helps a lot with success and acts as a powerful "deodorant". Colacello is due to write a second volume on the Reagans. I will read it for the writing, the history and my belief in redemption.

Colacello deconstructs the Reagans like no other author has. He starts with the premise that their personal and social lives were inseparable from their political ambitions, and an essential factor in Ronald Reagan's rise to power. He goes on to explore how the couple's social milieu and interpersonal relationships influenced Reagan's political ideas and governing style.

A fascinating portrait of Nancy emerges as well: Colacello sees her as supremely focused and determined to advance her husband's political career, but motivated by pure adoration of Ronnie rather than any overriding desire for control and power.

The writing flows easily and is peppered with enough interesting anecdotes and revealing quotes to make the reader forget at times that this is, in fact, a serious political biography. A great read from cover to cover.

The perfect mix of gossip and history. Meticulously researched and carefully observed. You won't be able to put it down.

"Casablanca" is, unarguably, one of the greatest films ever to emerge from the Hollywood dream factory. So, it's entirely fitting that the prolific and hugely talented Aljean Harmetz should give us the ultimate bible, road-map and encyclopedia of this Bogart-Bergman classic.
It's a fascinating read from cover to cover, including scores of back stories relating to every stage of the film's development. What's more, it will help settle hundreds of bar-room bets, thus paying for itself many times over! To author Harmetz, I can only say, "Here's looking at you kid!"

As a Casablanca lover (words don't do it justice), I ate this book up. Harmetz writes with warmth about nearly everyone involved in the film except Jack Warner, about whom she writes with a deserved respect. The stories of the bit players, most refugees, expanded the Casablanca context tremendously for me. The suspense, and the tale of how this gem could have been different in so many ways (or not produced at all), made me appreciate this cultural icon even more. I haven't seen the film since reading this book, but you bet when I do I'm going to turn off the phone.

Aljean Harmetz's "Round Up the Usual Suspects" is one of the best books on the making of what is probably the best film of the 1940s (and possibly of all time). Harmetz explains almost every aspect of the story--often sounding more like fiction than fact--of the making of this all-time winner. These aspects include who was behind the camera, the actors, and the writers. She provides many details about life behind the WB shield--which collaborates the view of Jack Warner as a jerk seen in a fine book,"Hollywood Be Thy Name"--the fights on who wrote the screenplay, and how they all meshed together to create an enduring classic. She also explains how the film escaped the propanganda machine of later 1940 films. If you love this film, you should read this book! Let us hope that it returns to print witht he release of the special DVD edition of "Casablanca".

This book is a great read. Although heavily documented, the "characters" come alive throughout--the characters being actual actors, the Warner brothers of Warner Bros., the director, writers, even the lighting director and sound men on the set.

It wonderfully describes the studio system, the differences between the studios and how "properties" were loaned out, and how WW II affected everybody in the movie business.

Two quotes had me laughing until I was in tears. It is a great book. Additionally, the hardcover with translucent dustjacket is most gorgeous. This is a winner and a keeper for movie history buffs.

"Round Up the Usual Suspects" provided many behind-the-scenes tidbits about CASABLANCA that I've never heard before - Murray Burnett's lawsuits against Howard Koch, the feud between Jack Warner and Hal Wallis and a precise picture of the Warner Brother house style. Ms. Harmetz provided an excellent and detailed account of Hollywood moviemaking in the early 40s. After reading this and her books on GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ, she just may well be one of the foremost historians of Hollywood's Golden Age.