Artists Books

Bama is an amazing American icon. American Realist takes me back to my early years where I was inspired to draw and paint from the illustrations and paintings of James Bama. He is indeed a master!

Doc savage fans along with fans of bama-art in general will be pleased with this book! being there isnt a whole hell of a lot out there for him, or the mighty doc savage as far as new-releases of things go... great book to add along with the classic pulp and novel collections! neat aurora-model artwork too, a true masterpiece!

I recently recieved my copy of James Bama: American Realist and let me say I'm just floored by this incredible collection by a true master painter. Bama's speciality was book covers, mostly of the mass market paperback variety where his incredible visions of adventure were needed to catch the eye of readers. His technique is flawless, with a realism that elevates his subjects into powerful visions. His mastery of texture and form is particularly impressive.
I knew him only for his iconic portrayal of pulp legend Doc Savage, but there is a whole lot more in this book, covers for westerns, war stories, science fiction and even romance and teen novels.
The highlight for me, of course, was the Doc Savage section, with cover reproductions of every single Bantam Books Doc Savage novel with a James Bama painting. These covers almost cry out READ ME as they are filled with incredibly visions of adventure.
The book ends with a section of Bama's western themed paintings which is what he does nowdays, and these too are fantastic, evoking serene visions of cowboys, indians and wildlife, always with his characteristic realistic style.

When I was very young and saw Bama's book cover to Doc Savage #1, The Man of Bronze, I was mesmerized. The starkness of it, the intensity, the schizoid isolation, the realism . . . in my opinion the story in the book did not live up to the cover, not by a long shot!

Ditto for the rest of Bama's covers, with few exceptions.

Bama's illustrations collected in one volume bowled me over.... He was responsible for so many book covers and illustrations that I remember as a kid in the sixties and seventies. It was a nostalgic look back, but also an incredible appreciation of this artist and his type of art. He was so present in my day-to-day life...posters I hung on my wall, books I read, owned and still own. A beautiful collection.

This is a very lovely book for showing how a professional artist goes about his business. I appreciate the lack of product endorsement.

Howe can get rather verbose and sometimes repetitive, but this book is filled with great inspiration in text and pictures.

This is a great book and those I've shown my book to agree with me. Amazing talent and very well illustrated. The workshops show amazing creativity.

This is a wonderful book. I am a big fan of Mr. Howe's work and much of the advice in this book is familiar from John's forum but it's a good chance to see how he works step by step, as well as how he organizes his studio and prepares for illustration jobs. While there are only a few "walkthroughs" featuring new art, the book is full of interesting tidbits of information about the creation of other paintings. There are lots of tips even I who has been painting for many years didn't think of before. John Howe makes a point to encourage readers to find their own unique style and way of painting, unlike many how to books which only show one way of doing things. I particularly love that his sense of humor shows. He honest about illustration and admits that he isn't perfect and procrastinates as much as possible before every job.

I'm always interested in any collection of John Howe's work and this book does not dissapoint in that regard, it is chock full of illustrations and examples of his approach and techniques. The addition of his insight and advice just makes this a terrific volume with no failings. In addition to being very useful as an instructional book, it's also inspirational. It's worth every penny of it's very reasonable price.

John Howe is the artist I credit for making me interested in fantasy illustration, and will always be one of my favorites. It should come as no surprise that the artwork in this book is amazing, and the information presented is also quite insightful. It is not an art how too book, so much as it is a general treatise of John Howe's way of thinking about his work, and going about his creative process. He actually expresses pretty clearly his dislike of anything that feels like a how too process, or is so forumulaic that it can be presented as if there is only one set way to do it. One of the best additions to my art library.

This newest novel of Sandi's is her best yet. The characters in her novels usually have their own weird sense of "normal" and Nate and Jamie et al. do not disappoint. From the first chapter of "Kissing Games . . ." the reader can make a connection or empathize with everyone in this story. As the story behind each character is slowly revealed you get to know why they behave the way they do and you want them all to achieve the happy and contented life they want yet make so hard to achieve--even for the pathetic and clueless Nate. After reading "Kissing Games of the World" you cannot help but be anxious for Sandi's next novel and a new set of her interesting "friends."

A great novel about two people and their life struggles and relationships. The characters are very believable and likeable, so much that you can't put the book down starting from the first chapter. The two devilish five year old boys and Harris' fond farewell add humor to this touching story.

Well! I started this book 3 days ago while waiting for the author to speak at our local independent book store, and just finished it a few minutes ago. Delightful story, even if you think you know how it ends, you are kept guessing till the last few pages. I am always impressed by the author's depth of characters - real people struggling with real issues. The kids are real, Jamie is real, and Nate...well, it gives us all hope for mankind!! A terrific read, clear your calendar when you buy this as you won't want to put it down!! I can't wait for Shelton's next book!

I've read all of Sandi Shelton's books, and this one is by far the best. I read it on a day when it was dismal and rainy, and I gulped the book down along with pots of tea. By the end of this novel, I felt like I could face the world and smile while doing it! The main characters, Jamie and Nate, have great banter and a terrific sexual chemistry. The plot zips along, and the kids are adorable without being sickeningly sweet. The tragedies -- and the humor -- in this book are universal. But what I admire most about Shelton's writing is how she creates a complete world with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and lots of 3D characters who are wonderfully drawn. Even the most peripheral characters are uniquely themselves. I don't know how she makes writing look so easy, but I can't wait for her next novel. I'm planning to give this book as a Christmas gift to several friends and my mom, too!

I'm a huge fan of Sandi Kahn Shelton's work but Kissing Games of the World is her best yet. I was hooked from the first sentence to the last -- couldn't put it down. I fell in love with the characters (even the obnoxious ones) and like the very best books of the world - I found myself wondering what those people were up to long after I had read the last page. Besides being an engaging story it is seamless and beautifully crafted. The dialogue rings true, the descriptions sing on the page and the plot moves along with perfect pacing. Can't wait for her next book!

No LA fan could be without this book. The bio part is excellent and gives another dimensions to the artist we love, the photos are great (Laurie with long hair!) and it has lyrics for hard-to-find songs.
I would have been a little bit more happy (and given 8 stars) if EVERY lyric, poem or shopping list Laurie wrote was here, but, well, I am asking too much.
Spend your money here, you won-t be dissapointed.

If it says Laurie Anderson on it I'll probably buy it. This is just another example of the great work they both work towards and accomplish.. If i may digress, the first time I heard Laurie was at a party before Big Science was released. Rick Wakeman (YES) was the guest DJ at the radio station..Talk about a brick wall ! the party came to a complete standstill during O Superman. I swear nobody said a word except for wow! As far as this book goes..yeah get it before it gets hard to find..United States is hard to find now, and its a great companion to United States Live (the CD)

Blend a social history with a fine survey of complete panoramas and you have an elegant, sophisticated presentation. Roselee Goldberg's Laurie Anderson covers the works of the multi-media performance artist/pop star, moving beyond her rock image to establish her skills in art and performance pieces alike.

Wow. This sumptuously illustrated monograph has redefined the manner in which monographs will probably be executed in the twenty-first century. How fitting that RoseLee Goldberg, who penned and organized the equally breath-taking "Performance: Live Art Since 1960," has joined forces with maverick Laurie Anderson.

Ms. Goldberg not only unravelled the complexity of Laurie Anderson's works, but did so without jargonizing. She, instead, chose wisely to tell Laurie's story through pictures with extended captions. She was spare with her words--something few art historians can claim to do.

On that note, I better stop writing, myself....

I can't say exactly why I like this book. It's difficult for me to determine if my passion for L.A. overides my ability to be objective about it. The info has been mostly done before in other books, but none have been any better laid out nor more complete.

This book's major value to me is the validation of why L.A. -- and especially her live performances -- continues to intrigue and challenge me after all this time. Few artists in any medium have matured so completely yet unpredictably. This book catalogues her sustained growth while never falling into the biography trap of idoltry.

Unfortunately, since L.A. tours so infrequently it's difficult to study her creativity at close range. We're forced to make broad artistic assumptions about L.A. on very limited exposure.

Since what I want is more L.A., this book helps keep the flames buring inside my soul.

the paradigma of a comprete works of any architect, a presentation that has influenced all architects between its publication and S,M,L,XL.

I received the package fairly quickly and the books were in great condition, but the protective sleeve was bandaged and beat up. However I was pretty satisfied with my purchase.

A comprehensive overlook on the work of the most influential architect of the 20th century. The print quality of this edition is not as good as the original but the price is now affordable.

The books are amazing and I was happy to get them for so cheap and in new condition. The shipping was also very fast.

While there have been many monographs of Le Corbusier, this is the definitive edition. It is the set of volumes that inspired everyone from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid, shaping the way we look at Modern Architecture. There is a typo in the number of pages. This set is massive but it doesn't weigh in at 176,000 pages. The 8 volumes, about 200 pages each, were originally released individually from 1929 to 1969 with Boesinger and Stonorov working directly with Le Corbusier. These are the original drawings and photographs, so if you are looking for glossy prints of Corbu's more famous works, I suggest purchasing monographs by Kenneth Frampton or William Curtis, which have contemporary photos of his better known buildings. Also, much of the text is not translated, presented in the original French. You have to have a great appreciation for Corbu's work to consider such a purchase, but given how rare first editions are, not to mention expensive, this is the best price by far for this invaluable collection.

Love this little book - I've had it for a couple of years and once in a while "rediscover" it. And every time, it sends me off to the art closet looking for collage stuff and my totally tattered Nat Geos.

Lenore makes it look so easy! Her postcards are festive, amusing, deep and yet simple. I haven't yet made anything to compare to her little gems but then who could? By using 3 x 5 cardstock as collage support, I have learned the beauty and challenge of working very small.

I really like knowing that her art-cards went thru the USPS and were all delivered in such beautiful shape. I imagine postal workers stopping and gasping when they were privileged to find one in their care. In many cases, the stamp and even the postmark become part of the design. Love this book!!!

Having been a fan of Tawney's for years I was delighted to discover this publication. It is just beautiful and so inspiring.

"Tawney's postcards are rich, dynamic things. They develop a range of difficult themes--childhood, female sexuality, spirituality--in subtle ways. They can be treasured both for their hermetism and their wide cultural embrace. They can be read as treatises or valentines"--Holland Cotter, Art Critic, New York Times

and anyone else for that matter. Her postcards are wild! Plus the book itself is REALLY nice quality, with thick creamy stock the postcards almost jump off the pages! If you like Nick Bantock, you'll love the postcard art of Lenore Tawney.

This book is so incredible. From an artist's point of view it is pure eye candy. Every page is art. Every page is stimulating. Every page is a new adventure. Colour and reproductions are so perfect, they look real. If you love assemblage art, nostalgia, exquisite and elegant collage, buy this small book, it's just gorgeous - a tip though - don't ever lend it! Di, Brisbane, Australia

"A kaleidocycle is a closed chain of tetrahedra that can cycle endlessly through a center hole. ? Best known for his strangely realistic depictions of things that defy the laws of physics, Maurits Cornelis Escher became interested in problems of repetition and symmetry after traveling to the Alhambra, a 14th century Moorish castle in Granada, Spain. Fascinated by the periodic (i.e. regularly recurrent) designs of the castle's mosaics, he began to pursue the idea that a plane can be divided into uniform, interlocking figures, forming a pattern that repeats itself at set intervals, theoretically to infinity. Instead of simply combining abstract shapes to produce a pattern, however, Escher decided to use more meaningful figures--shells and starfish, angels and devils, for example--images that could be connected not just graphically but also conceptually. Kaleidocycles, created by mathematician Doris Schattschneider and graphic designer Wallace Walker, explores the three-dimensional implications of Escher's two-dimensional periodic designs. With a little glue, you can easily assemble the enclosed models--all printed with repeating patterns derived from the artist's original drawings--into various kaleidocycles and geometric solids. In doing so, you will transform Escher's beautiful designs into true examples of infinite repetition: the interlocking images will wrap endlessly over the surfaces of the three-dimensional objects. ? Kaleidocycles contains a 48-page book with over 80 reproductions and diagrams, assembly instructions, and a fascinating discussion of the geometric principles and artistic challenges underlying Escher's designs and their transformation to three-dimensional models; and seventeen die-cut, scored, three-dimensional models (11 kaleidocycles and 6 geometric solids) Cigar box-style packaging, size: 9-1/2 x 12-1/4 x 1-1/2". [Refers to revised edition:] ISBN: 0-7649-3110-5

KALEIDOCYCLES 3-D MODELS ONLY
"Purchase an extra set of the 17 models for each additional participant. Assembly instructions are not included. ISBN: 0-7649-3207-1."--? Pomegranate

This is the bet presentation and best manufactured kaleidocycles that I had bought. Sent in a very good and fast way.

Want to get your kids or students interested in math? Let them put together a geometric solid covered with interlocking trolls or other tesselated designs, then hang them from the playroom ceiling! Your kids will never get over it!

Beautifully colored, easily put together. and very, very neat...

If you are as fascinated with the graphics of Escher as I am; you'll be entertained,amazed and engrossed with this 'kit' which allows you to assemble and hold these wonderful models of intrigueing mathematics , coupled with the graphic art and figures of the master himself; M.C.Escher.
It is one thing to look at Escher's magnificient work in 2-dimension; but it is another experience entirely, to hold these 3-dimensional models and view the figures and patterns as you turn as fold these models on themselves,
One of the other reviewers talked about creating additional models; and that is obviously possible ,because there is all the information needed to do that; right here in the book.
I have had this kit for some time ; but hadn't actually constructed any of the models. I recently was told about a man who constructed ball and stick models. I contacted him,and visited him to see his models. I brought along with me a book ,
"Polyhedron Models" by Magnus Wenninger .This is an outstanding book covering the subject as well as 119 models. The man I was visiting ,had the book and even knew its author. This book deals with models whose surfaces are flat and made of cardboard or if desired ,other materials. To see what these fascinating models look like, look them up on the net under "Magnus Wenninger".
The man I visited constructs similar models;but uses only wooden balls and sticks. Think of those chemistry models of compounds,and you can imagine how beautiful and interesting they can be. All models begin with one of the known uniform polyhedra and from them the stellated models are formed. The variations are in the many millions.
Anyone who has much interest in this sort of stuff will find an excellent chapter ,Polyhedra,in "Mathematical Recreations and Essays" by W.W. Rouse Ball,a real classic in the subject of Mathematical Recreations.
The man I went to visit has been working on these models for many,many years. He has created his own techniques and even an intrigueing appratus to make the holes in the balls. The exactness is so critical,that making them by hand would be terribly difficult. To date he has made about 500 0f these ball and stick models.
So, after my visit,it was a real joy to sit down and construct some models.

My 9-year-old son and I had tremendous fun assembling the models in this kit. Each of the models in the kit contains an adaptation of Escher's periodic design in a way that the geometric solid is continously covered with it. Though a unique personal experience, my son learned what tetrahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, cuboctahedron and kaleidocycle look like. This is the best project we ever worked on.

This is the first publication with his entire collection of works on canvas. Even lost paintings are represented by old black and white photographs. The images are not large, but the quality of this book is wonderful. By far the best buy for any Rothko fan (besides an original...)

Opening the package as it arrived from Amazon, easing this massive catalogue from its slipcase triggered a memory: walking to the edge of the Grand Canyon. With similar impact: awe. David Anfam brings the reader with him to encounter, view, & experience Rothko's work. His ten-year dedication paid off with the discovery of "lost" titles, setting the chronology of 836 works on canvas, (he couldn't have been afraid to get his hands dirty) & analyzing the slow struggle, sporadic leaps engendered by the painter in the evolution of the oeuvre. As scholar, teacher, critic, curator, & especially writer, Anfam proves the perfect choice to perform the daunting, almost impossible task of bringing Rothko into focus.

The author insightfully tracks the early representational beginnings, (his foray into narrative linked with crossing boundaries is totally appropriate for the artist from Dvinsk, Portland, New York) through the mythological (application of Kermode's distinction between "Chronos" & "Kairos" is utterly intriguing), & makes a case for Rembrandt as the source for Rothko's obsessions with tragedy & darkness, Vermeer his source for color's sensuality. Anfam traces in detail, using numerous examples of the brilliant reproductions, how the multiforms foreshadowed the work of the classic period. The architectural contexts for the Chapel are pure genius: Vincent Scully's, "The Earth, the Temple, & the Gods"; Joseph Rykwert's, "The Dancing Column"; & Leo Bersani's, Ulysse Dutoit's, "Arts of Impoverishment."

Anfam's breadth of vocabulary is English, yet he has benfitted from years in the States with a rapid, laconic language that impels the reader forward, informs succinctly. Purposely parrying time-worn quarrels, he unearths the more "thorny," "shady" aspects of dilemmas presented by such a complex art.

Two things happened as a result of reading MARK ROTHKO / THE WORKS on CANVAS / CATALOGUE RAISONNE. During a recent visit to C&M Gallery in NY for a show of eight Rothko's, alone in the second room, I heard them. A few nights ago I had a dream of a handwritten note on a table in the front room of an auction house that said, "The Last Painting." Rereading Helene Cixous's essay by that name (subtitled, "Or the Portrait of God"), she writes, "I think of the last Rembrandt. A man? Or a painting?" [in Cixous', "Coming to Writing and other Essays."] Anfam has presented us with the triumphant Rothko.

A work of major importance in the history of modernism, David Anfam's catalogue raisonne is brilliant, lively, entertaining, and handsome. Combining vigorous scholarship with creative imagination, it offers the best ever understanding of Rothko and must be considered a prerequisite to any and all encounters with Rothko. Anfam's eloquent text takes the reader through the paintings in a most delightful way while the paintings themselves are a joy to see thanks to what surely were monumental efforts on the part of all those involved with design and production. This book is the best of its kind in every way and a bargain at the price!

David Anfam has given students of twentieth-century art the much needed and previously missing in-depth study of Mark Rothko, a key figure in understanding the esoteric art of this century. Lesser studies by lesser minds have failed where Anfam has not -- scholarly attention to detail; carefully informed visual analysis of ALL the works on canvas; subtle conclusions; historical context. Anfam's rasionne is a must read!

Anfam's study is a great deal more than a much-needed reference book. Anyone interested in the history of modern art would find this study illuminating and exciting. Not only does it provide the first complete catalogue of Rothko's paintings on canvas (almost all in gorgeous color reproduction), it also includes numerous fresh and original insights concerning Rothko's intellectual and artistic sources. A monumental scholarly achievement, this volume will long remain a model for the field.

I thought this really captured the artist in me. I don't know if I would say Bess is my favorite fairy thou but I see a lot of myself in her she's messy, and likes to paint when wants to. I read this fairly quickly it is somewhere in the mid range for a chapter book not too easy and not to hard but definitely an enjoyable story

My nine year old daughter loves fairy books about Tinkerbell and her friends. She absolutely devours them as soon as I get them. What a boost for her imagination!

We own all of this series! Started reading them when my daughter was 4 (she just turned 5 now), and they are age appropriate. Not too scary and always a happy ending. One book only takes us about 4-5 nights worth of reading together. The longer ones are good too "Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg" and "Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand", but they are a little bit scarrier than the short books (more appropriate for ages 5-7 I would think).

The story a masterpiece for Bees the main conflict was, about a fairy name Bees who loves to paint in her studio. One day Bees figured that she would make a portrait for tinker bell since she fixed her best Palette knife she ever had. That day tinker bell showed everyone her new portrait. Then all of the other fairies wanted one just like tinker bell's, they asked tinker bell what was the occasion of Bees making her a panting tinker bell said oh not a thing it was a surprise to me because I just fixed her best palette knife she ever had and she said she wanted to give me something in return. Of me doing that for her so she made me a portrait of myself to hang up in my room since I needed some spices in my room.'' I had asked her for one before and she never had the time to make me one. The next day Bees got a knock on her door it was Dulice the fairy most known for his poppy puff rolls. Dulice asked Bees did she want any of his famous poppy puff rolls. Bees said "of course thank you a lot" then Bees said "what can". Before she got to finish her sentence Dulice said oh yeah can paint a picture of me and my rolls. Bees was pleased to make Dulice a picture it would be the first time that Bess painted a picture with a fairy holding something in their hands. Then she got another knock on her door with roses, then another, another, and another everybody wanted her to paint a picture of them. It was over 100 fairies who Bees had to paint a portrait of. She was so tried every time she went some were and some one help her out Bees always say what can I so they always say a picture would be good before she got to finish talking. After Bees finished 15 portraits some of the fairies were complaining about how their wing are not the right size, their face does not look right, and they need a do over. Bees got angry and had a really good idea in her head but could not get it out because of the thing's she have been doing for the past few days. That afternoon, Bees left a note on her studio door that said "sorry I can not paint all of the fairies pictures at one time have to get back with you another day because today I need time by myself". Bees had went far away into the forest were no one could find her while she was painting a portrait of the sky and the trees then a storm had came it was, lighting and, thundering but bees still was painting she was happy that she got her own time to her self. While bees was painting a storm fairy was passing by she saw Bees painting and went back to tell the other fairies were she had seen Bees all of them were mad at Bees because she had gone off to do her own thing instead of paint their pictures. That night Bees decides to stay to tinker bell house so no one would come knocking on her door while she was resting just to ask for a painting. Then another fairy seen Bees with a big portrait in her hand then all of the fairies thought it was of them. Until Bees came to show them that it was a portrait of nature all of the fairies got mad at her and Said well where is our portrait's Bess told them that she did not want to make a portraits of fairies anymore, because she got tried of doing the same thing over, and over and wanted to get the new idea out of her head but couldn't because of all the drama. Then all of the fairies walked off and then the meanest fairy of them all Vida told Bees that she loved her painting and did not care what the other fairies said about it. Since Vida told Bees that her painting was beautiful Bess figured that she will let Vida have her portrait. Bees was happy that some on had liked her painting and felt good to give it away to someone who cared about it. But she did not want the other fairies to pick on her and say she was the meanest fairy because she did not paint their painting .Bess did not know what to do until her friend Quill told her that she did the right thing because usually all of the fairies did not give out thing's like that. In maybe the only reason they did that was because they wanted you to paint a painting of them bees was not mad at what Quill said. Finally the problem was resolved when Bees and Quill walked into the Tearoom and everyone was looking at Rosetta dress saying how pretty her dress was and where did she get it from.Rosetta loved that she had all eyes on her. She stood there with her pink flower In her head, blue top, pink dress, and her pink shoes on. Everyone wanted a dress just like that they all asked who made the dress Rosetta said, "why I did of course" all of the fairies said would you make me one please. Rosetta told all of them yes. Rosetta was happier then ever to see that everyone wanted her to make a dress for them. Then lots of people told Bess that they did not want a painting of themselves anymore. Bees did not reply to them and was just happy the pressure was off of her.

Good reading books for 9 year olds +. My 10 year old granddaughter loves this series of books. I have purchased her 5 different stories and she has re-read them several times. Loves them.

Randy Shilts's intricately researched biography of one of the greatest gay activists of all time, Harvey Milk, is not only a political biography, but a chronology of an entire political movement.
This is the second book I've read by Randy Shilts, the first being And the Band Played On. While there are certainly some differences between the two, Shilts's imaginative narrative writing is the same. The Mayor of Castro Street is proof positive that he [the author] can turn even the most mundane of political machinations into high drama.
Starting out when Harvey Milk was growing up in Woodmere, New York, the book traces his life from there. From his high school athletic career, to his college years, his time with the Navy, and his Manhattan years. When Harvey makes the move from New York to San Francisco, the book changes pace, and a gay political hero is born. The book is filled with snippets of his speeches, and in the back appendices, the eloquent words of Harvey Milk come alive, as some of his more famous speeches are reprinted there.
At a solid 380 pages (including appendices and sources) the book never drags. Everything appears to be cause and effect, which makes for some white-knuckle reading even if the reader is already familiar with the budding gay movement, Harvey Milk's participation in it, and the untimely tragic assassination of he and Mayor George Moscone by a homophobic zealot.
I must admit, there were certain parts of this book that gave me chills: Harvey Milk's beautiful speeches, the candlelight vigils, the many marches, and the White Night Riots. The sheer epic proportions of it all can overwhelming.
However, epic or not, this remains the simple story of a man and his dream, vision, and hope for his gay brothers and sisters, and all of humanity.

Beyond the frank and up front story of the life of Harvey Milk, this book is an incredible source of information and understanding of the gay rights movement from before its beginning to after the death of Supervisor Milk. Easy to read, albeit long, it's definitely worth the effort. No matter your sexual orientation, this brings new light to an often misunderstood movement.

In The Mayor of Castro Street, the late Randy Shilts paints a vivid picture, not only of the life of gay politician Harvey Milk, but of the fight for gay rights in 1970's San Francisco and the nation as a whole. After a description of the events immediately following Milk's death, Shilts begins the book with Milk's youth in New York City. He briefly describes Milk's years in New York, and spends the vast majority of the book on Milk's last five years in San Francisco. It was during his San Francisco years that Milk made his critical contributions to gay history, including encouraging the development of the Castro into a gay Mecca, and running for, and finally winning, elected office as an openly gay man in a time when most thought such things simply couldn't happen.

Shilts is a meticulous reporter. In his section on source material he details how he extensively interviewed Milk's former lovers, including Scott Smith and Joe Campbell. Many of the dialogues for the biography come directly from the personal diary of Michael Wong, a longtime Milk supporter. According to Shilts, dialogues with others who knew Milk virtually always corroborated those in Wong's diary. Shilts's history of the Castro area came from over one hundred interviews he conducted with area residents.

One of the best qualities of the biography is its astonishingly objective posture. Achieving something like objectivity is a tremendous challenge for the author of any modern-day history, and nowhere is this more true than in histories of the gay liberation movement. The living participants in that history inevitably portray it in a range of ways and often fight vigorously for placement of credit where they feel credit is due. Shilts allows those participants to speak for themselves, and focuses on telling the details of the story, rather than interpreting that story for the reader. It is this author's unique degree of commitment to researching and conveying all the details that allows him to present such an apparently unbiased account.

It is also Shilts's attention to detail that makes the book so tough to put down. It reads more like a novel than a history, and each segment leads into the next with a sense of a tremendous plot unfolding. In a style that would come to characterize his later books, such as And The Band Played On, as well as Conduct Unbecoming, Shilts manages to draw the reader into multiple stories of individuals that end in cliffhangers, only to be picked up again in a later chapter. It is these stories that make up the fabric of gay history in San Francisco and a portion of that larger tapestry called gay liberation.

I read a lot of biographies and, while I love the genre, I'm often disappointed with the writing. This book, by the late Randy Shilts, is an exception. Shilts was a great writer, able to take a variety of facts and put them into readable passages (his "And the Band Played On" is another good example of this). Harvey Milk and the San Francisco of the 1970s come to life in this book. The tragedy of Milk's assassination and its aftermath are rendered in gripping detail.

Randy Shilts has taken great pains to present the man honestly, exploring his political and personal lives. The result is an illimunitating portrait of the Gay Rights champion, documenting his triumphs and ideals alongside his personal ambiguities and foibles. Milk's rise to power, as well as the city's rich gay history, are depicted with candor and clarity.

The assassinations are reported in graphic detail, as is the reaction of the people. Intial shock and grief turn to righteous indignation when, on May 21, 1979 White is convicted on two counts of "valuntary manslaughter" with a maximum sentence of seven years, eight months. The city explodes. Justice is thwarted. A martyr is born. Milk's murder galvanizes the Gay Community to stand up and take their rightful place in society. A great book.