Artists Books

I grew up in towns along the fringe of the Meadowlands and went to school with kids who spent weekends with their fathers trapping and hunting for scrap metal in that vast swamp. Quinn's book is by far the best evocation of this unique area -- far superior to Robert Sullivan's book. The lovely illustrations of Meadowlands scenes are worth the price in themselves.

Quinn, who grew up in one of the small suburban towns that dot the meadowlands, really captures the essense of this wilderness in the middle of the megalopolis. I never knew about how many people used (and still use) the meadowlands for hunting, trapping, fishing, etc.

While other authors deal with the cultural significance of something like the meadowlands, Quinn takes the position of a passionate naturalist and friend of the meadowlands, describing in detail wildlife, regional ecology and geology, history of the area and the many pressures the meadows face today.

A must if you're a fan of urban ecology, New Jersey, or just well-written nonfiction.

To all caring and compassionate environmentalists out there, Fields of Sun and Grass, the latest offering by gifted naturalist, writer, and artist John R. Quinn, is a glorious cry of victory via a remarkable portrayal of some of the most durable and stubbornly determined survivors in the faunal and floral kindgdom.

The setting is the New Jersey Meadowlands, a wild and reedy tract located a mere six miles west of New York's Times Square. It is considered by many as nothing more than a "toxic wasteland," but is in fact home to a dazzling array of often overlooked plants and animals. While there is little doubt that many of the life forms that once thrived here are long gone, many others remain, and these are the primary focus of this book. Many, many species are discussed; far too many to list here. Suffice it to say Quinn leaves no stones unturned.

The book has three central parts, respectively called "Yesterday," "Today," and "Tomorrow." Each covers a different time period in the ecological life of the Meadowlands. There also is an "Introduction," a "Starting Point," an "Epilogue," a bibliography, an index, and an interesting sort of "hands-on" chapter called "Exploring the Meadowlands." This will be of particular interest to anyone who lives within traveling distance of the region. It gives helpful and experienced advice on enjoyed the Meadowlands firsthand through boating, fishing, hiking, and the visiting of local parks.

Quinn's text is thorough, complete, and offered in a beautifully poetic yet pragmatic prose, making the read that much more pleasant and inviting. A memorable example can be found right at the beginning of the introduction-"Six miles-and ten thousand years-to the west of Manhattan's Times Square lies one of the grandest environmental paradoxes on Earth. Here, beneath a sun often obscured by smoky industrial exhalations, a river of many bends makes its way to the sea." It is peppered throughout with the occasional personal anecdote, like the touching retelling of an experience an eight-year-old Quinn had with his beloved grandfather in the summer of 1946 called "Grandpa and the Red Herring" (page 36). The paperback version is 348 pages in length, and much to Quinn's credit, a great deal of it is made up of his thoughtful and well-researched text.

The author's artwork is perhaps the aspect of the book that most effectively haunts you. It is simple black-and-white ink sketches, but there is an emotional complexity to each that is hard to describe, yet easy to appreciate. Quinn's clever focus on the wildlife while making sure to almost always include some image from man's industrial intervention does a marvelous job of hammering the book's point home. A glaring example of this can be found on pages 124 and 125, where we see a lone kestrel perched on the peak of a weed, while in the background looms the vague but unmistakable figure of a pair of tractors and a group of hard-hatted workers. Somehow the lack of colorization adds to the feeling of both positive and negative, of humankind's destructiveness (both intentional and inadvertent), and of the wildlife's determination to go on.

John Quinn is no stranger to the region, having been born and raised in the Village of Ridgefield Park, which rests on the Meadowland's northern edge. According to the author bio, he has published ten other books on nature and science. A potential reader can be comforted and assured by the fact that Quinn's experience and sincerity are deeply invested into every word and every drawing. In this age of the slipshod, assembly-line product, here we find an honest and lovingly crafted work by a man who genuinely cares about what he's doing.

As a proud and concerned naturalist myself, I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of Fields of Sun and Grass.

I have come to treasure Fields of Sun and Grass - it is worthy of a keepsake box like those reserved for special shells and rocks. Mr. Quinn has created a labor of love as well crafted as any story quilt, full of fascinating animal and landscape sketches; historical reenactments on a personal scale; and easily read, well-researched passages on the human and geological history of a forsaken, not forgotten, ecological wonder. One comes away exposed to a deeply stirring portrait of the meadows that dares you not to care about their future.

L. Charkey, Co-Director, Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network (Bergen SWAN); Administrator, Hackensack River Watershed Fund

The first time I met John R. Quinn was a few years ago he was deeply involved in the gathering of stories that make up the Soul of the New Jersey meadows. His journalistic background was in control and he wanted to present as complete a picture as possible regarding the current controversey surrounding the future of the Meadowlands. At the time I was assisting the New Jersey Audubon Society by providing boat rides to conduct a migratory bird habitat inventory of the Meadowlands( published by NJAS and available to the public). We invited John to join us for a day on the River and he honored all of us by chronicling the trip in Fields of Sun and Grass. Now I can relive the personal experiences of that glorius day any time I want thanks to Johns eye for detail and his skill at turning a day of field research into a story about our adventure in the Urban Wilderness. Putting controveresy and advocacy aside I recommend this book to teachers througout the Hackensack River Watershed Everytime I take their students out on the Boat or go in to their classrooms to "talk to the children". As Riverkeeper I am contacted frequently by people who are requesting information about the Meadowlands thanks to John I have a ready reference and I have learned a lot about the estuary of the Hackensack that allows me to be a more effective advocate and a better Riverkeeper Captain Bill Sheehan Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc.

For those of us who could never afford a Lichtenfels piece, this is the next best thing. The realism and detail she is able to achieve in cloth is phenomenal. The beautiful large-format all-color photography does justice to these amazing works. One of the most important artists in the field.

You don't have to be a doll collector to appreciate the art dolls created by Lisa Lichtenfels. Her dolls are more like people than anything else. The work she does with needle and thread, batting, wire and nylons is phenomenal. If you are a doll artist, then this is the book to take you to the next level in doll artistry. I would highly recommend this book for the art collector, doll collector as well as doll makers who want to become doll artists like Lisa.

Outstanding book on a unique artist with the professional photography that matches her work.

Buy for yourself, coffee table, inspiration!

A must have for all doll makers for whatever reason!

For those of us who could never afford a Lichtenfels piece, this is the next best thing. The realism and detail she is able to achieve in cloth is phenomenal. The beautiful large-format all-color photography does justice to these amazing works. One of the most important artists in the field.

For those of us who could never afford a Lichtenfels piece, this is the next best thing. The realism and detail she is able to achieve in cloth is astonishing. The beautiful large-format all-color photography does justice to these amazing works. One of the most important artists in the field.

A novel of the end of the Soviet Union----shortly after the collapse of Communism and the Berlin Wall. As Russia crumbles within and all around them, the Muslims, and the peoples of surrounding providence's and middle Asia revolt. The main character is a hedonist painter, with a small group of characters stuck in the unintentional web. We see the effects of culture and prejudice and how it determines peoples thinking.

Peters is a former army officer who has toured these areas and understands the culture. He brings out the miserableness of Communism----the people----the unhappiness----the lostness----the falseness. Peters has an ability for variability in his writing, and an uncanny eye for detail. He is unique in the way he gets inside an individuals' head. I think he is one of our great versatile writers of our time. The only negative I found in this novel was some unnecessary graphic details.

Wish you well
Scott

Peters does it again. A magnificent combination of strong characters and geopolitical reality and a fine primer on the political importance of Uzbekistan that was written nearly a decade before 9/11.

This book may be in the wrong category. I would not really place it in the action group becuase it is a display of a deep character driven novel. It is really a very interesting look at this difficult time for Russian's. It was also much more enjoyable then I thought it would be. The descriptions of the locations and main home were very good. I also liked the characters that were created. They had depth and feeling, not just scratch the surface to fill pages. The book is not the feel good hit of the year, it does had a rich plot that you need to keep up with, but the author rewards your efforts with a masterly written book. I think when it comes down to it that is the strength here, the writing is just very good, a lot of feeling comes out.

Since Peters came out with Red Army, I have read all of his works. I have enjoyed them all, but this is his best to date.

The prologue. Ralph Peters gives you the perspective, the eyesight, of a Soviet Third Shock Army officer stationed in East Germany, 1989. Inside the Magdeberg headquarters, you drink vodka with the Russion generals. You smell the stink of their fear-sweat. You hear their outrage and lack of understanding as the East Germans protest down the streets against them. Against you.

Ralph Peters gets you so close to them, you not only feel the scratchy wool of their uniforms, but when word comes that the locals are tearing down the Berlin Wall... it hits you with the same end-of-the-world kidney punch as it must have hit real-life Soviet officers.

And that's just the first few pages. Next up, we have exotic locals, both hot and cold, intrigue, plots, Islamic terror, and some of the hottest (...romance) to ever land on the pages of a hardcover novel.

Plus the usual heaping dose Ralph Peters of tragedy.

Beg, borrow, buy, or steal this book.

This little book is perfect if you want to send a quick 'Helloh, 'Thinking of You' or any other special occasion. It's quick and easy and Cicely Mary Barker captures these lovely,graceful and whimiscal fairies in great settings.

This calendar kept me up to date on things I had to do. Not the best in graphics, but it's a calendar.

I looked everywhere for a list of what fairies were included in this postcard book - wanting to know if it would be useful for my Nature table - and finally just had to purchase it "sight-unseen". For those of you who may want to know the same thing, or are looking especially for a favorite illustration, here they are:
The Strawberry Fairy
The Chicory Fairy
The Heliotrope Fairy
The Canterbury Bell Fairy
The Candytuft Fairy
The Crocus Fairies
The Tulip Fairy
The Almond Blossom Fairy
The Pear Blossom Fairy
The Nasturtium Fairy
The Ragged Robin Fairy
The Wallflower Fairy
The Zinnia Fairy
The Double Daisy Fairy
The Cornflower Fairy
The Cowslip Fairy
The Fuchsia Fairy
The Columbine Fairy
The Lilac Fairy
The Lily-of-the-Valley Fairy
The Phlox Fairy
The Guelder Rose Fairy
The Pansy Fairy
The Winter Jasmine Fairy
The Michaelmas Daisy Fairy
The Red Campion Fairy
The Rose-Bay Willow-Herb Fairy
The Beechnut Fairy
The Elderberry Fairy
The Gorse Fairies

I was NOT disappointed with this purchase. The postcards are adorable just as the work of Cicely Mark Barker. I can't wait to give it to my sister as a gift with The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies.

My four year old loves to thumb through these beautiful pictures, but when we had to send thank you notes for her birthday party gifts, we carefully tore a few out to send to her friends. Everyone liked them so much that I see them hanging on walls in refrigerators in her friends' houses. Charming! Highly recommended!

This is an unbelievably interesting art book -- record album cover art by the man who (it turns out) created the first record album covers. He is obviously an incredibly imaginative and talented artist and designer and the book is not only a tribute to his creativity, but also very evocative of a time that is precious to those of us who remember records!

This book is very good for people who want to know more about cover albuns design. Alex Steinweiss are genious! =)

It was a 23-year-old graphic designer who invented the illustrated album cover for phonograph records in 1939: before that they came in plain wrappers. For The Record documents the life and work of Alex Steinweiss, gathering over a hundred of his original graphics and providing a lavish color display of his works along with a history of his involvements in the music industry.

alex steinweiss is a fantastic human being. generous, funny and full of great stories from his time at columbia records in the early 40's. He is tremendously talented and not just created the concept of album covers, designing more than 800 of them (start looking at your old collection in the attic :-)) but has been for the last 20 years a major accomplished painter. He has gotten awards after awards and stays humble and wise. He lives in Sarasota, Florida.

This book does credit to a great man. Steinweiss was a true artist and a pioneer. The man created the concept of album cover as art. McKnight-Trontz does a masterful job of celebrating the artist through dazzling illustrations and informative, entertaining narrative. The casual reader will enjoy this book, as will the academic: it's all there between the brilliant covers (Steinweiss design - of course); it is the individual reader's choice as to how deep he or she wants to delve into this fascinating subject of a true twentieth-century art form.

The reproductions in this book are dark compared to the originals I've seen, but the text is informative and does a good job of exploring Church as an artist and his influence on the artists who followed him.

This book is a must have if you love Fredric Church and want to find out more about his life and career. The paintings are breath taking. For admirers of the Hudson River School and American landscapes this is a must.

A strikingly pretty book. The text is informative, but not at all challenging to read. Unlike many art books, this really is a straightforward informative biography with lots of well-done, accurate reproductions. It's pricey, but you get what you pay for with the prints. One might want a bit more criical an appraisal of the artist and his choice of subject matter, but maybe you just want the art.

FREDERICK EDWIN CHURCH - COMPARISIONS OF THE TWO BOOKS

Book #1: By Franklin Kelly - National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Press (1989)
Book #2: By John K. Howat - Yale University Press (2005)

(All numbers given, are for the numbered reproductions in Book #2.)

Paintings in Book #2 (in Color), that are NOT in Book #1 -
#1, 9, 10, 13, 15, 18, 24, 25, 27, 29, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 60, 66, 67, 68, 70, 73, 74, 75, 81, 82, 86, 94, 95, 96, 97, 114, 115, 120, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 140, 142, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 169, 182, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195

Paintings in Color in Book #2, that are ONLY in Black & White in Book #1 -
#16, 21, 117, 124, 126, 134, 177, 181, 185, 189

(I didn't include any of the details, drawings, sketches, or photographs.)

I made comparisons of every reproduction, where both books had the same paintings. Here is a simplified overview, of which book had the best reproduction:

REPRODUCTIONS THAT WERE MUCH BETTER IN BOOK #1 -
#22, 26, 46, 53, 65, 72, 92, 118, 137, 175

REPRODUCTIONS THAT WERE MUCH BETTER IN BOOK #2 -
#17, 28, 31, 33, 34, 38, 41, 47, 49, 50, 51, 69, 71, 83, 113, 116, 125, 128, 168, 178, 180

The others were either EQUAL, or there was just a slight preference between the two.

Overall, the printing and the paper stock, is better in Book #2.

The main fault of the reproductions in Book #2 (that are better in Book #1), is they are too dark. And the main fault of the reproductions in Book #1, is that many of the reproductions are too yellow (or red, etc.).

The TITLES were different (most likely wrong in Book #1) for these paintings -
#49 (!), 53, 134, 179 (!), 185

#160 is CROPPED in Book #2! (The entire bottom, and the right-hand side).

There were many differences in the SIZE of the reproductions - too many to mention.
(Overall, Book #1 had larger reproductions, but of course had fewer paintings.)

Book #1: "FREDERICK EDWIN CHURCH" - 205 illustrations, 75 in color - 211 pages
Book #2: "FREDERICK CHURCH" - 198 illustrations, 154 in color - 213 pages

Geoffrey Chandler - February 15, 2007 - San Francisco, California

P.S. The guy who wrote the earlier review was dead wrong. This is NOT "pricey", it's a bargain!

Terrific book. One of the best biographies of an artist that I have read and stunning reproductions of his work. Church seemed to be an anomaly of his time because his talent and painting skills were so "over the top" that he dwarfed other painters of his time. Even the highly esteemed English artists of the 1800's were amazed by his paintings and British art critic John Ruskin praised his work. Church's output and work ethic was amazing and Howat does a great job describing his life and painting techniques. I certainly recommend this book.

Robert Reynolds

An excellent biography of the funniest man who ever stole a gag from another comedian. Yes it's Benny Hill, a man who took a name because is sounded Jewish and wrote some of the funniest songs ever using the most recycled of jokes.

His humour was what the people wanted in the seventies, coarse slightly obscene and saucy. He deserved the title of the the worlds most popular comedian. It was a shame that Benny ended up as a target for feminists and other politically correct groups and was eventually sacked for his humour. The people that hounded him must have been very humourless, cold hearted people indeed.

The book is great though there are few mistakes here and there with respect to show titles and content. I recommend anyone who is interested in British actors and theatre read this book.

Tim Brimelow
Melbourne Australia

This is a fascinating, first-rate biography of one of the twentieth century's most beloved comedy figures; a man who is now largely overlooked in his home country despite having been its most successful comic export outside of Charlie Chaplin. Benny Hill was a complex man who led a simple (if somewhat peculiar) life, and this book provides tremendous insight into not only his personal foibles and professional endeavors, but also the motivations and reasons for his intriguing private behavior and public rise and fall. Drawing on extensive research and fresh interviews with many of the key figures in Benny's life, Mark Lewisohn's writing combines warmth, empathy and humor with analysis, objectivity and attention to detail -- the comic inventiveness and outright stealing of other artists' ideas; the abnormally excessive frugality; the sexual indulgences and hopelessly failed relationships... whether you want to know about the man's career, his love life or the fact that he just loved a quick game of Kalooki, it's all here. Buy this book!

This is one of the finest biographies I have read in years -- it penetrates deeply into the formative experiences and motivations of this strange and reclusive figure, and brings him vividly to life. Many interviewees discouraged the author from this task, but he persevered, and we have much to thank him for. All Benny Hill fans will now watch and enjoy his familiar sketches -- shamelessly recycled over the years -- with an added appreciation for their origins and rationale. Lewisohn helps us to delve into the psyche of this mysterious man, at once the embodiment of little Englishness, yet also a sensitive soul and a student of foreign cultures and languages.

The book is not unblemished. Benny's 50s farce, "Who Done It", is not nearly as abysmal as the author suggests (it's adequate slapstick with a few laughs -- how many 50s British movies has Lewisohn seen, there are many worse!). Benny's frugality is surely comprehensible in a man who had withstood wartime privations; and that character trait, combined with the much-hyped locker-room chit-chat with Bob Monkhouse, was regrettable but entirely standard male behavior for the 1950s. Despite all the conventional wisdom to the contrary, Benny did evolve. And--again with respect to Lewisohn--Benny scaled some of his finest heights of inspiration during his latest years with Thames. I am thinking of the Chubby Dodds documentary, and Murder on the Orient Express, and the "Family" skit, which bring smiles and laughter without fail, though I know them back to front. Of course, he was a comedian who operated rather too comfortably within his decent but clearly defined artistic parameters. Yet what was comforting for Benny was also reassuring for us... Lewisohn is right that Benny Hill's work will return to favor some day. It deserves to.

This book is a tremendously thorough examination of Benny's life, and there are some surprises here for those who are only aware of him through his television shows. Lewisohn pulls no punches and leaves very little unturned, both good and bad. It is unfortunate that Benny is now almost taboo in his own country. Having read this book, I will appreciate his comedy in a different light.

Good but slightly flawed

I bought this book not only because BCCA started to run the half-hour series again, but because I remembered reading a story in the paper a number of years ago how Benny Hill died alone in a sparsely furnished apartment, unloved.

What I got was a tremendous insight into English vaudeville and its morphing into radio and then television. I also got a tremendous amount of information about Hill's life, as other reviews note. I would, however, like to focus this review on the author's highly critical look at Benny Hill's work after he brought together the Hill's angels. The author unabashedly takes the feminist line that these programs were sexist, and there's no doubt that while the programs themselves were probably enough to get the feminists atwitter, now that BBCA is showing the uncut hour long shows, Hill's on air ridicule of the feminists was what really did it. I hadn't seen the hour long shows when I read the biography, so I more or less took the author at his word. Now that I've seen them, I have two comments. In no way are the Hill's Angels in any way objectionable. The author's comment, what did they have to do with comedy, is misdirected because they had everything to do with framing the skits that were carried within the performances. I think some of Hill's best work was done in these years.

My second comment is more of a revelation. I've always wondered exactly what it was that set Hill apart, the quality that no one else could or ever will duplicate. I realized watching these later shows that Hill had done something no one else had ever been able to do. He brought vaudeville, in its true form, to television. From childhood, he was steeped in, although unsuitable for, vaudeville. Television gave his strength, an acute eye for vaudeville, and his weakness, an inability to project beyond the tenth row of seats, the perfect format. It happened once, and that's the only time it will ever happen.

Finally, as to his death alone in a sparsely furnished room. The picture of Hill dead looks pretty bleak. However, the author makes one thing clear. Benny Hill did in life exactly as he pleased, lived his life exactly the way he wanted to live it, and knowing he was going to die soon, died exactly the way he wanted to die, eating candy bars, drinking, and watching his beloved TV. He had no regrets about anything in life and he was surrounded by people who loved him dearly. Even his failed romances weren't romances, but attempts to reach for unattainable women so he never had to make a commitment that would limit his freedom to do as he pleased. The one time he was expected to make a commitment, he ran fast. Hill did what he wanted in life, and to do that, he had to live and travel alone, and that's exactly what he did. Definitely buy this book, but don't let the author's prejudices dissuade you from enjoying all of Hill's work. As to the author's hope the British return to an appreciation of Hill, it'll never happen, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying him.

Artists should read this book & make note of all the marketing methods Edith Gregor Halpert employed to make it in the art world ... (actually this should be required reading for all gallery owners & curators too...) Come to think of it , anyone involved somehow in art should read this book ... (also , it is interesting how possibly the lead in oil paints caused ear troubles & related brain tumor in those working close to paint- makes one think that is what Van Gogh also suffered from - lead poisoning ...makes one re-evaluate toxicity & proximity as well as ear problems in artists , starting with tinnitus , like a ringing in one's ears ... is madness among artists just lead poisoning ?) ... fascinating stuff...great read ...

The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.

There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.

It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.

Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.

Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.

I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....

Fascinating and excellent read.

This is a charming and humorous book. It recalls humor from another perhaps less complicated era. Worthwhile.

This is by far my favorite collection of Ward's pinup art. From the gorgeous cover art and dust jacket to the high quality, glossy pages, this tops the other books available. Those of us lucky enough to have bought this rather limited release possess one of the best collections of pinup art from an undisputed master available.

I bought this book back in 2003 when it was freshly in print and it was, h'mmmm, $28.95 list (just checked the dust jacket). The $159 I referred to is what Amazon Marketplace dealers are asking for it as of late April 2007 - and that's the _least_ expensive price. Take it from me, though; this book is well worth the cost (and if you keep it in good condition, you'll find it appreciating further!) The first part of the book is given over to a comprehensive overview of Ward's life and career, with many illustrations (mostly in color). The heart of this volume, though, is the 130-some full-page reproductions, in B&W and sepia, of Ward's best cartoons featuring his sexy and elegant beauties from what I consider to be his finest body of work in the 1950's and 1960's. The theme-oriented chapters have headings such as "Phone Girls Part 1", "The Mating Game", "Working Girls", "Husbands and Wives", and all provide a splendid overview of Ward's unique "conte" drawing style and his fascination with the accouterments of feminine dress such as high heels, seamed stockings, figure-hugging dresses and gowns, picture hats and opera-length gloves. Compare and contrast with Taschen's new _The Wonderful World of Bill Ward_, which I will also be reviewing in the near future. Highly recommended, particularly in the hardback version (if you can afford it!!)

I don't think Bill Ward sits easily with what are generally considered pin-up artists like Elvgren, Petty, Vargas and the few dozen others who created the genre over the last seventy years but his huge output from 1950 to 1975 (which is the basis of this handsome book) means his work has to be considered.

Examples of Ward's comic art, shown in several color covers (Love Diary, Love Confessions, Love Scandals, Heart Throbs, Flaming Love and Torchy) clearly show how good a draughtsman he was but the clean-up of the market in the early fifties meant he had to find another publications to work for. Abe Goodman's Humorama titles solved the problem. These were cheaply-printed digest size magazines full of bad jokes, cheesecake photos and girlie cartoons. The author Alex Chun says Ward produced thirty cartoons a month for Humorama titles and over twenty-fives years probably drew an amazing 9,000 pin-ups.

Ward's Humorama art was probably the only reason anyone bought these tacky publications. Because he had to produce so much work quickly he developed his own unique style of using Conte crayon to draw pin-ups. This had the advantage of showing tonal quality almost like an airbrush and when the originals (up to eighteen by twenty-four inches) were reduced to the digest size pages they looked impressively slick.

There are 117 whole page Ward pin-ups, all from his Humorama period, in this book. The majority are printed in four-color sepia with white highlights (the front of the book has an essay and examples of his early comic and color pin-up work) and the sexually suggestive, exaggerated females with their black stockings, filmy negligees, skin-tight dresses, coiffure hair and impossibly high stilettos leap of the page. If you are interested in this little corner of American male pop culture I doubt there will be a better book of Bill Ward's voluptuous art.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This is a great book for fans of Bill Ward's pin-up art and features numerous full-page illustrations of his distinctive beauties. Most of the pin-ups are black and white Conte crayon drawings done on a beige colored paper. There are a few color pin-ups shown as well. The beginning of the book contains a concise biography of Ward along with samples of his comic-book art. There are several nice romance covers shown here. The book is printed on quality paper and the pin-ups shown at a nice size. This is an A+ effort. The only thing you could have asked for is more art, but at around 100 pin-ups this is a great tribute to Bill Ward.

As an artist with an Master's degree in painting, I was amazed by the stunning reproductions in this "children's" book, and kept looking at it, and looking at it. The reproductions are so vivid, the text so appropriate, and the book so well designed that I could almost imagine I was walking through the chapel myself. It was the first time I'd seen the frescos in an order the artist intended, which made them even more powerful. Eventually the book went to a friend who admires frescos, but there was such a sense of intimacy in it that I've been searching for another copy for well over a year. The text and the images meld beautifully, and I can honestly say it's the first story of Christ's life I've seen where I felt the illustrations or text didn't "get in the way". Even if you're a fesco fan who's more interested in Giotto than in the story, tear up your check for that expensive art book and buy this first.

I bought this as a gift for my niece/goddaughter about 11 years ago and have wished I'd got one for myself ever since. It is simply gorgeous with a very moving text. You don't have to be a committed believer to enjoy this lovely book.

I remember reading this book in the store when it first came out, and it has stuck with me since. Madeline L' Engle gives a thoughtful, sensitive twist on a timeless story, and writes iin such a prose that you could easily imagine reading aloud to young children. I have searched for it for years, and am pleased to discover it in print again.

As an art educator, church librarian, and special lecture person who links art with religion at my church, I can highly recommend this gorgeous book to you. Madeleine L'Engle is one of my favorite writers and she presents the life of Christ in flowing prose. I even picked up a few facts I did not know. The book is illustrated using various panels from the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy which adds sumptuousness to its narrative. As a child I was drawn to picture books like this because of their medieval, almost Oriental appearance, so if you wish to influence your children to appreciate a good story well told and illustrated, select this book. The text is on an 9-13 year old level. The "glorious impossible" is something that cannot be explained but only rejoiced in, and I think that sums up God's gift of Jesus to us in a very satisfying way. Enjoy.

Are you looking for a book to read to your children to share your faith, tell the story of Christ, and inspire your child and yourself to feel the joys of giving, forgiveness, commitment, and love? This is THE book for you. L'Engle's extraodinary and inspiring writing style was never so beautiful as in this faithful retelling of the Gospels. It uses both simple, everyday language and the more complex quotes of the Bible to render a tale that is both easy to read and mystical- a hard task in Children's Bible literature. Her comments on the feelings and activities of both Jesus and others are so spiritually aware that adults will end up thinking about it long after the book is finished. In particular, her thoughts on Judas and his motivation were thoughtful, compassionate, and shed the first positive light I have ever seen given to this character. She brings up points I had never considered--- After Jesus rose He said "Peace be with you" not "Where were you when I needed you" - with such simplicity that one can't help wonder why they didn't consider it before. Along side L'Engle's rich prose is artwork beautiful enough to be awed over by adults, but detailed enough you'll laugh as children comment, "Hey, Lazarus really looks dead!" "The Glorious Impossible" is beautiful, gentle, rich, and assuring- a perfect book to introduce not only Christ but what he taught as well.