Journals Books

He is insightful and incisive. He notes and cuts away the nonessential to reveal the underlying...nothingness of the 1970s.
"The Man Who Always Peaked Too Soon" is brilliant. Great drawings..and mini-essays.

Check it out -- large format hardback, 1980 printing by Farrar Strauss and GirouxIn Our Time

"In Our Time" examines, through essays and sketches, the fluxtuating cultural norms of 1970's America. It is a sort of logical literary culmination of Wolfe's "Me decade" works: The onservations of "Radical Chic," "Mauve Gloves and Madmen," and even bits of "The Painted Word" resonate in this more succinct and cutting collection. The "Me Decade" spawned countless small groups of so-called free thinkers, self-healers, and folks liberating themselves from the brutal tyranny of the worlds most prosperous economy. In "In Our Time," Wolfe is most interested with these people, whether they be the newly prosperous prole tearing up the roadways in monstrous autos, the bell-bottomed middle manager smoking marijuana during the lunch hour, or the literary, artistic, and political elements who fashioned themselves in response to wanton secularity. In addition to short essays, some pulled directly from his earlier books, Wolfe compiles and adds to his earlier drawings. These are wonderful to see in a large format, where Wolfe's rough, yet funny and insightful observations on the human body (specifically an American one) become all the better to revel in. Wolfe wonderfully expresses the basic silliness of fashion consciousness in the 1970's through sketches of hopefully hip septegenerians and young punks as dandies. In addition, the short essays, especially the opening comments on the end of the decade, are vintage Wolfe. Unfortunately, this edition is out of print and hard to find. However, it is the coffee table accesory for any fan of Wolfe or of that bitter pill of a decade we call the 1970's.

If you've never seen a cartoon by Tom Wolfe, it's a surprise and a real pleasure to see that he draws as brilliantly as he writes.

In Our Time has 89 of his cartoons (and a couple essays). You'll want to save it and look at the cartoons every couple of years -- "The Maternal Instinct," say, or "No. 1 The Modern Churchman," or maybe "The Man Who Always Peaked Too Soon," or the cartoon of a hugely fat Edward Kennedy wearing a tiny bathing suit, with a roach clip, a sacred heart locket, a coke spoon and a crucifix, each one dangling in his chest hairs, on its own separate chain.

You'll have your own favorites. Possibly the two cartoons about Jimmy Carter. They're especially sweet.

"In Our Time" examines, through essays and sketches, the fluxtuating cultural norms of 1970's America. It is a sort of logical literary culmination of Wolfe's "Me decade" works: The onservations of "Radical Chic," "Mauve Gloves and Madmen," and even bits of "The Painted Word" resonate in this more succinct and cutting collection. The "Me Decade" spawned countless small groups of so-called free thinkers, self-healers, and folks liberating themselves from the brutal tyranny of the worlds most prosperous economy. In "In Our Time," Wolfe is most interested with these people, whether they be the newly prosperous prole tearing up the roadways in monstrous autos, the bell-bottomed middle manager smoking marijuana during the lunch hour, or the literary, artistic, and political elements who fashioned themselves in response to wanton secularity. In addition to short essays, some pulled directly from his earlier books, Wolfe compiles and adds to his earlier drawings. These are wonderful to see in a large format, where Wolfe's rough, yet funny and insightful observations on the human body (specifically an American one) become all the better to revel in. Wolfe wonderfully expresses the basic silliness of fashion consciousness in the 1970's through sketches of hopefully hip septegenerians and young punks as dandies. In addition, the short essays, especially the opening comments on the end of the decade, are vintage Wolfe. Unfortunately, this edition is out of print and hard to find. However, it is the coffee table accesory for any fan of Wolfe or of that bitter pill of a decade we call the 1970's.

It's indeed strange to read about oneself after 30 years-to relive those moments-to know for the first time that you actually helped someone you loved and to wonder why you did not express your feelings more directly in your personal relationship that lasted sporadically for those many years. David's years from age 14 to 21 or 22.

Despite the fact that I am already reading 3 other books concurrently, I am revisiting David Wojnarowicz for the umpteenth time. I simply can't stay away. There is no amount of time that can pass where I will have found that I'm still not in love with the man. And not just because I'm queer but because I am truly in love with his heart and the everlasting life of his spirit. No other writer has touched me so deeply or influeneced the reconstruction of my ethics as him. I could only dream of living a life so passionately and generously, a life which is evidenced by this book.

Thank you, Amy Scholder (editor and introductionalist). I have just read a review of "In the Shadow of the American Dream" in one of Seattle's weekly newspapers, and I am so glad that I did. Immediately, my curiosity was peaked. Not having ever heard of David Wojnarowicz, I am now a devoted fan of his work. As an artist and a writer, David Wojnarowicz speaks with a rare truthfulness unlike any other writer that I have read in recent times. Wojnarowicz speaks of a world not many people are aware of, the world of "seedy Times Square" where he spent his youth hustling, desperately trying to make a living by selling his body to total strangers; the world of a gay activist, vehemently seeking to make the world a more tolerant place for all; the world of a Person Living with AIDS, conciously, creatively expressing his pain, his hurt and his sadness, but not without hope. "In the Shadow of the American Dream" is a collection of excerpts of the 31 diaries that Wojnarowicz spent his life writing, from the age of 17 until he died of AIDS in 1992. With writing such as "I saw a face in a passing car that looked like someone I once knew. It's like that when you move on to other places in your life--memories of faces fading like thin ice sheets in winter sidewalk puddles, they melt, become only a part of the water so you can't separate them ever again, but they do remain there." Wow! Like passing an automobile accident, you don't want to look (or read) but then you can't put it down. I highly recommend "In the Shadow of the American Dream" to anyone who is slightly interested in what artistry, activism, creativity, and hope really means.

These journals of David Worjnarowicz are an account of the famed writer, artist. They begin when he is seveteen years old and end at the time of his death. The beginning explains some of his troubled background: his alcholoic father, his street hustlering in Times Square at a young age, and so on. The entries are most appealing when David speaks about his relationship with other men, especially about his love affair with Jean-Pierre, a man he meet while in Paris. These entries are fluid, full of a joy that one is in touch with when in the throes of love. Eventually David leaves Paris and is back in New York. It is this particular time and place, New York in the late 1970's to early 80's do we see an extreme sexual behavior of many gay men. This is seen not only with this work, but in the photos of Mapplethrope, and many accounts of gay men that have lived in this time period. The other entries concerning his HIV status and all the myriad emotions concerned with the fatal disease are rivetting. The diaries are, at times, disjointed, and some of the early entries I feel really don't need to be within the book. However, the book reveals a man of true in insight, an artist who felt everything, and wrote it all down word for word. A very good book!!!

When this two volumne set was first published, it was sold in shrink-wrap plastic and did not allow potential readers to get any sense of it's content. It was an expensive gamble that I wasn't prepared to take. But I always remembered a fascinating review in the NY Times, and some years later I bought a used (although evidently un-read) copy in a second-hand book store. For the next two months I became immersed in the bizarre world of Arthur Inman, unable to put the book down for more than a few hours at a time. Through a lifetime of reading, I have never encountered such a unique document. Arthur, the Monster; Arthur, the Bigot, Arthur, the Insufferable Egoist; Arthur, the would-be chronicler of the American Century; Arthur, the Hypochondriac Extrodinaire, Arthur, the Listener, paying strangers to share their lives in the annoymous dark; Arthur, the bedridden Sex Experimenter... etc., etc. Doggerel Poet, Psychological Tyrant, Racist, hateful Historian, Rich Cry-Baby, Cruel Deviant: Arthur is the Great American Armchair Monster of Boston...But there is so much more. Very much more to this quirkiest ghoul of enormous literary ambition. Daniel Aaron is a brilliant editor, whose great gift to American letters must be this singularly unique reading experience. In the end you come to love Arthur, and to admire his strange, beautiful, insane creation. Almost impossible to describe, this book is so full of decades of American life that you can lose yourself in its novelistic, labyrinthian, and always human stories.

You won't be forgotting this one anytime soon. I'd like to see the full version released one day, that is, the 65 volumes, which are apparently stored at Harvard. As it is, this is one of the greatest reading experiences you will ever have. Arthur Inman is a worthy competitor of Hannibal Lecter.

I am reading this two volume work for the third time. Arthur Inman was the scion of two prominant Atlanta families and grew up with a degree of affluence most of us can only imagine. At an early age, perhaps 22, he dropped out of college and became an invalid. Part of his disability was that he could not stand bright lights and so spent much time in a darkened room. Arthus was addicted to doctors and spent a fortune being treated by them. He never worked and his parents supported him to the end. Arthus started to write his diary to amuse himself. Later he began to pay people to come and read to him and talk to him. He was especially fond of women and liked to fondle them in the dark. Arthur married his wife, Evelyn, when she was about 23. Evelyn is the heroine of the story. The diary itself is huge, 155 volumes and 14 million words. It is a fascinating read. Arthur had strong opinions on many subjects. For instance, he believed in slavary (with himself as a master) and thought black inherently inferior to whites. The story ends in 1963 when Arthus kills himself. I am reading this book for the third time because it's a great read. Arthur grows on you and I have come to see him as a friend. I think you will too. Enjoy.

Don't read this book because you read reviews of other people raving about it. There is nothing to rave about, unless they are raving about the total number of pages...which I'm sure that's what is happening. Most reviewers, I'm sure, never got through the book.

It's heavy, and the man hated everyone (he was a HARDCORE bigot).

Read it because you want to understand the psyche of someone who has left a tedious chronicle of their life culminating in suicide. He was unpleasant and not at all likeable.

Most people who kill themselves leave no reason behind. Arthur Inman leaves 40+ years of reasons behind. In a nutshell - Arthur Inman was a self-important bigot.

Don't get me wrong. His suicide didn't offend me. I'm pro-choice in ALL RESPECTS. You can do, with yourself, whatever it is you want. I don't moralize it.

It's your life, but for god's sake, read and be educated.

Mike (who ACTUALLY READ both volumes edited by Daniel Aaron)

I have a variety of products from Anne Taintor. I just love her humorous expressions combined with old photographs. This organizer is unique. Being a writer and keeping a variety of journals of thoughts, I try to organize them so I can find them quickly if ever I need to. I was very pleased with this product, needless to say.

Anne Taintor's quips capture the imagination, and when the price is what it is how can you resist? My wife loves this sort of stuff and buying her the random unexpected gift now and then, well, that needless to say is returned in spades, and god knows she's worth it. I highly recommend gentleman purchase this for your lady that has an open sense of humor.

I get so many compliments on this planner, it's a miracle it hasn't been stolen right out of my hands by now!

I've been an Ann Taitor fan since my first set of "I feel a sin coming on" postcards! Every item of hers is a winner, especially this organizer. Not only does it keep me organized, it keeps a smile on my face all day long.

I can already see the positive effect the concepts in this book have had and will continue to have on my life. The book doesn't present thoughts from only a single point of view. You create your own life plan using very simple and basic principles. I look at people differently now. I have a greater level of respect for myself and I will never allow anyone to lower that level of self-respect again. I'm just not afraid to ask for the things I need anymore. This one tops my list because it really works.

I picked up this book about a month ago. I was able to read straight through it in about 1 1/2 hours and understood everything, however, I'm slowly absorbing it as each day I pick it up, flip to a random page, read a section, and keep that with me throughout the day. What I like best about the book is how it makes me look at my world and my actions differently; it makes me consider what I do more carefully and it keeps reminding me of all the chances I have every day to do what I want to do. The technique I have of reading a small section and absorbing that to the fullest isn't how one has to read this book. It provides questions for those who like to sit and ponder things or write about them, and it has affirmations for people who want to get the point quickly. I think this book gives few boundaries and excellent options for ANYONE to absorb the important messages it contains. I love knowing this book is sitting in my book shelf.

On a whim I picked up this book for leisure and ended up using it to take another look at my life. This beautiful book is small but absolutely crammed with remarkable insights. It could even be a magic bullet. Really! It makes so much sense. Dont' get me wrong. You still have to do the work. but it's so much fun to really pick apart the questions and feel the pieces of your life just falling in place. Now I carry this book everywhere with me. I ask my friends some of the questions in the book and we talk at a deeper level than we ever have. Anyone who loves life or wants to must read this book.

There is no denying the validity of the principles defined in this book. This is some fascinating stuff! It's refreshing and revealing all in one. Javahouse Journals is not a fluffy self-help book. It is a book that will make you think and put things in perspective. I keep this book on hand for a daily dose. A must read for anyone trying to fall back in love with life.

Really enjoyed listening to this book, especially the themes in which Jeff Davis' strengths and flaws were carry on throughout his entire adult life. The last few tapes are outstanding on how the confederacy got reduced to a well guarded 3 mile wagon train.

William C. Davis has written THE biography of Jefferson Davis. The book not only reads as easily as a novel, it also has been meticulously researched. Keep your eye on this Davis. He is fast becoming one of America's best popular historian.

Jefferson Davis remains a dark, remote Civil War figure, hardly as romantic as Lincoln or as inspiring as Lee.

What William C. Davis has done is to make both the man and the forces that gave him fire and light more immediate and tangible.

Weaving through the myriad controversies and struggles of the pre-Civil War, Civil War and post war years, the author somehow manages to explain endless geographical, political and societal issues without ever losing sight of Davis' central role in them.

A dense but vastly entertaining book that even readers who are not interested in the Civil War would find fascinating.

Davis's humanity comes across in poignant, almost heartbreakingly vivid style, in particular when he is forwarding his love to his children in one of the many letters to his wife, Varina. Also so much more vivid than in any other "Civil War book" are the hundreds of travails and picayune distractions he endured as chief executive of the Confederacy, and his desperate attempts to hold back the invasion of his country from all points. I never before realized how really hopeless the Southern war of independence was, facing what they ultimately had to face. Reading these accounts, unless they have been severely skewed to whitewash Davis, I cannot believe charges that he mismanaged the war or his country.

Davis's authority and resolve grow throughout the course of the book. And his often lengthy letters recreate in vivid detail the context in which he writes. He has a wonderful (for us) habit of recounting all that has occurred that prompted each letter or report or speech, and thus little editorial explanation is really required. Sometimes, however, his accounts of events are almost diffident and self-effacing, and lack true context, as for example in his official report of his tactical decisions at the battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War. The context, of course, is that it was a splendid victory, and he returned home to Mississippi as a war hero and important national figure. During writings like these, I longed for a more intrusive role from the editor, but Davis's words are left to speak for themselves.

One of Davis's most remarkable attributes is how strikingly different his written communiques are from his speeches. The first are straightforward, almost as functionary as that Mexican War report. His speeches, however, are powerful and full of ringing phrases and colorful metaphors and similes. It is true that Davis studied rhetoric and highly prized the flourishes and style of the classical orator, but we have here before us vivid proof of his extempore style in glorious bloom, filled with clarity and humor. His written prose often sits a bit sullenly on the page.

This selection of writings also makes plain Davis's unapologetic views on slavery and blacks, along with his clear-eyed opinions of states' rights versus federalism, the U.S. Constitution, and the right of secession. Time and again he details ideas that seem shocking to us today: he justifies slavery because blacks can't take care of themselves, or because it exposes them to Christianity. He believed slavery also to be good for whites, because it "elevates" poor Southern whites to work above the menial, and to enjoy an equality with the wealthy. Some of these views seem laughable and antique (if not deplorable) to our 21st Century ears. Some of them even appear apologetic and self-serving. But Davis was no hypocrite; further, his writings (and the writings elsewhere of many others) point up how contemporary Northerners (excluding, officially, abolitionists) felt complete distain for blacks. He also notes the shocking scenes of extreme white poverty he saw in Northern cities, and the sweat-shop conditions of working whites in Northern factories, virtually slavery. Davis's point to Northern moralizing was simple: Put your own house in order before condemning and trammeling on the institutions of others.

Most dramatically, Davis comes across not as a secessionist. His closest equivalent today would be the "strict constructionist" judges and politicians who believe the U.S. Constitution meant exactly what it said. And what it said was, slavery is legal, the states are voluntary members of a voluntary union, and people have a right to their property (even if that property is another human). Davis condemned Northern-sponsored restrictions on the rights of slave-owners to migrate with their slaves to the western territories. Others could bring their property with them to these new lands, presumably held in common by every American; why not slave holders? Davis saw Northern agitators, attacking legal institutions which Southerners had inherited, as the true instigators of disunion. Throughout the war, he insists again and again, the Yankees had usurped the true American nation, forcing out Southerners now intent on recreating the original vision of the Founding Fathers.

Depending on your point of view, Davis either was out of step with the times, or a man refusing to yield on a point of principle. In reality, he straddled a critical transition between the old ways and the new. Like standing over an earthquake fissure, he had to jump one way or the other. He and his countrymen jumped firmly on the side of the old, and the South went down in flames. But Davis never went down. He was unreconstructed to the end, the original father and symbol of the Southern cause. Who knows ... he may have hated the role. But he played it out perfectly to the end.

Janet Falon's Jewish Journaling book is like a clear road map for traveling from point A to point B in journaling.

It tells you how to get started---how to get back on track if you get lost---how to find alternate routes if you encounter detours---how to make the most out of the trip---and how to reach your destination.

You get 52 tools for journaling couched in a delightful read.

The Jewish Journaling Book is a refreshing blend of everyday inspiration with an infusion of Judaism. It inspired me to document my life's journey in new ways. A nightable companion must have!

Falon's book inspires the reader to keep a journal without the usual obstacles that one can come up with. You don't have to be Jewish to read this book; it will help everyone.

Janet Falon has done something amazing--she's made me want to keep a journal again. Written in crystalline prose (this woman can WRITE), Falon guides you through the whys and wherefores of keeping a journal and why doing it through a Jewish perspective can open you up and make your life more meaningful. I loved this book I bought a few more copies to give to friends.

This is a hysterical and at times poignant little work that casts new light on an old social taboo. It is part journal, in which the young gentleman writes about his family, his friends, their cat called Drut and their dog called Albert Schweitzer, and part dictionary, in which an impressive variety of farts is listed and described, from the Alarm Fart to the Zipper Fart. In re-reading it recently, I found myself rolling on the floor every few pages. In this regard, I found the following particularly funny: (1) The Dog Fart: �It is necessary for a dog to be around for this fart to occur �� (2) The Interrogatory Fart: �Seems to say, �Oh?� or, �Well?� It can be a very silly fart when you are alone �� (3) The S�cuse Me Fart: �This fart excuses itself as it is farted. It is about as close to words as a fart can get. The sound it makes is like a little soft whisper that says, �S�cuse me.� It�s the most polite of all farts �� As a masterpiece of scatology and coprofilia, this book is a delightful rival to certain passages in Chaucer�s �Midsummernight�s Dream.� I highly recommend it as a gift book.

I have a condensed version of this book published in 1983 that just broke me up. I spent many happy hours watching friends read passages as they laughed so hard tears streamed down their cheeks. Not that my friends are all the weird, you understand, just that the book is that good. (Actually some of my friends were not that crazy about it, sometimes it takes a thing like that to find out who your friends really are.)

Tragically, I lost the book a long time ago and occasionally thought of it over the years, wishing I still had it. Not long ago as I was cleaning out my office and the treasured little book turned up again!

I spent a half hour in hysterics re-reading it, then went to my computer to look it up and lo and behold, here it is still in print and 128 pages! My copy is only 32 pages. I'm ordering the full version immediately.

This is one of the funniest books I owned as a child. A must have for anyone who thinks that farts are funny.

I was never so happy to find a book. This answered all of my fart-finding needs, such as... what is a fart? Where does it come from? Do monkies fart? All these answers and more were found in a concise, clear manner in this marvelous novel, "Joel's Journal and Fact-Filled Fart Book." I have never felt more happy or complete in my entire lifetime. Anyone who has ever wondered about farts should read it! It's a fartin' good time!

This takes less than five minutes a day and it is such fun to look back and see where you were on that particular day a year ago, or in my case, 2 or 3 years ago. Some days I don't journal, and the next year, I am so angry at me for not doing it! It is a timeless record of your thoughts, activities, weight, whatever you would like to keep track! I also recommend this as a very calming influence!

I love this journal. I bought one in 1997, and will need another in 2008, but I have grave concerns that this book is no longer being printed. Where will I get one?

Thank you, Ms. Koshiyama.

This is a wonderful Journal. It has become my family's Journal, from Josh's first words to passing our MCSE certification exams. I like to look back at what birthday gifts we gave friends and relatives from year to year so as not to repeat the same gift or idea.

A software version would be wonderful, too - because this would allow key-word searches.

Thank you for a wonderful idea!

Elisia@Delphi.com

Journal 10+ is a very innovative concept. Usually, keeping a diary requires you to make a commitment. I tried to keep a journal many times, but it did not last more than a month. I felt an obligation of keeping a full page of journal every day. Then, I found this Journal 10+. Eleven years of journals can fit in one single page. Each day of 11 years has four lines. If the space is not enough, there are plenty of bonus pages where you also can jot down your future plans or project ideas. You can come back to those ideas a few years later and review them. You also get address books and special dates pages. You can keep all your important information in this one book. The best part of the Journal 10+ is that you can skip a few weeks and come back to it without any guilt. If you are busy or do not feel like writing, you can take some time off. Since you know it is for 11 years, you can take your time and enjoy recording your memory. More than anything else, you can see how you would have changed over years. You become more affectionate toward this Journal 10+. I, myself, am very much looking forward to seeing my growth in the future. I hope you will enjoy it, too. I also would like to thank Ms. Masayo Koshiyama for her ideas. She reminds us of the importance of having an open mind for new oncepts.

I got this book in 1996. In January I met a man whose name I entered, both first and last name, so I wouldn't forget him... little did I know this first date would turn into a second, a wedding and a baby. It's amazing to have the ability to look back and see how far I've come. How much my life has changed in the last 8 years. This is the best gift you can give, and my most precious material possession. I am so glad that it is still in print. It has a great section for new years resolutions and it's a great way to reflect and dream. Excellent!

I purchased this journal for my husband in December 1996. He has kept it faithfully since January 1997 and is now moving through the 8th year. It is absolutely fascinating to see what we were doing on the same date in each of the 8 years. We remember vacations, trips, family milestones, weather conditions, get-togethers with friends, crises at work, etc. If you are lucky enough to have a family member who will spend the 5 minutes per day, this is the PERFECT gift!

This is the third year I have been keeping this journal. I love to look up and see where I was those last two years....I gave three of these as Christmas gifts and the recipients are still telling me how much they enjoy theirs. I have ordered one for a baby gift that I know will be appreciated and just now I ordered one for a bridal shower gift for a very special couple. When you think of changes and events from a new baby or a new marriage....all recorded for 10 years and all so visible...these are really a treasure.

I started keeping this journal a few years ago, after my second child was born. Each page has 4 lines for the day's entry, and all entries for a given date are on the same page. That is, each page has four lines each for the years 2004 through 2014. So, when I make my entry for February 17, 2004, I can easily read the entries for 2002 and 2003 which are right above it. It's kind of confusing to explain, but it is a great idea. Four lines is about all I have time to write, anyway. I especially love it for recording cute moments or developmental milestones that my kids have reached, and seeing all the change that has occurred in the last year. There are also pages for "carryover", so if you want to make a long entry for a given day there is plenty of room. I've given several as baby shower gifts, and they have been well received. The moms have later said how fun it is to in the second year of the keeping the journal to read the previous year's entries. My husband now keeps one, and I am getting one today for my mother-in-law's birthday. She says she always regretted not keeping a journal, but never had the time.