Themes Books

I am a proud Jersey Girl and my family and I visit Cape May every summer. I was thrilled to discover a book that captures the essence of this very magical place--in all seasons! I especially enjoyed the beautiful Christmas time photos, as I have never been able to visit Cape May during the winter months. Overall, a very enjoyable and beautiful book!

THIS BOOK IS GREAT FOR ANYONE WHO ONLY THINKS OF CAPE MAY AS A SUMMER TOWN. THE MANY BEAUTIFUL PICTURES WILL SHOW JUST HOW WONDERFUL THIS BEAUTIFUL TOWN IS ALL THE TIME. MY ONLY WORRY IS THAT EVEN MORE PEOPLE WILL BE HERE AFTER SEEING THE TOWN IN ALL SEASONS.

I was so pleased after I read the book. I am a big fan of Cape May and I try and go often during the summer. After reading the book, I'll be visiting every season!

Cape May is a beautiful town in New Jersey that my family and I visit every summer. Every time I leave, I wish I could take a piece of Cape May home with me. Now that I have Mary McCarthy's book, I can visit as often as I like. The book really does capture the essence of Cape May. I highly reccommend buying the book.

The color photography is beautiful and is the best Cape May has ever seen- we are really enjoying the book for when we can't be in Cape May

This is a great book for beginners or people who always seem to wonder "Why do everyone else's pictures always look so much better than mine?" The best thing about it is that it's short on text and long on visual examples. For visual learners, it's a dream.

This is a great book on photographing children, covering basic rules of good photography (eg, the rule of thirds) as well as more specific ideas particularly applicable to children. I especially liked that this book is full of photographic examples: every page has at least 2-3 photos displaying various options, which helps the reader to immediately get a clear visual sense of what makes for a "good" picture of children. The author begins by focusing on general principles such as composition and light, then moves on to address more specific topics, including photographing infants, setting the stage, and taking candid shots. He also focuses on picture-taking for special occasions, from sporting events (including how to position for each sport) to birthday parties to holidays. Finally, there is a small but helpful section on scrapbooking. Although this book covers children of all ages, it would make a great baby shower gift (which is why I bought it). Overall, this is an excellent picture-taking guide which I think would serve to help virtually anyone improve their pictures of not just children but people in general; highly recommended!

I was skeptical about whether I would learn anything new about taking pictures of my kids, but this book is great! Clear and concise rules are provided in an easy-to-read layout, with most lessons spelled out in a 2-page spread and accompanied by examples of both what not to do and what to do.

The author covers rules of composition and light, as well as techniques about where to place yourself to get the best shots. There are also sections specific to shooting sports, birthday parties, and holidays.

Very useful!

I was skeptical, but am glad I bought this book. It's easy to understand, and changed the way I see before I shoot. My pictures are actually worth looking at now. Good one.

A friend loaned this book to me with the recommendation "There are some decent tips in here." I initially put the book away, thinking that my two high school photography classes had been enough instruction for something as simple as taking snapshots of my daughter. Turns out I was wrong.

The book is filled with practical advice. And more importantly, each tip is illustrated with side-by-side photos to show what happens if you do it right, and what happens if you don't. With each chapter you learn a new tip or technique, understand the "why" behind it because you see it in the many photo comparisons, and you begin to internalize it. I imagine with time and a little practice, the tips will become second nature for me, and then I'll loan the book to someone else.

One last note. This isn't a book for photography buffs with big gear bags. All the photos were taken with a basic 35mm camera and no special lenses, and I found the content highly relevant for my own photography, which is 95% shot from an everyday Olympus digital camera.

If you like Cary Grant, you'll love this book. The photos are among the best I've seen. Jenny does a great job of summarizing Cary's life, sticking to the facts and leaving out the controversial rumors . I find my self constantly picking up this book just to gaze at the photos. This book will look great on any coffee table.

This is a must own book! It is so full of photos of Cary Grant and details so much of his life. I would call this a picture book, and promise you won't be disappointed! I had the privelege of meeting the author and having her sign my copy. She is a fellow eMail Warbride, is funny, witty, and a wonderful person. She has written several other books that are well worth owning as well. Do youself a favor, buy this book today! ...

Jenny does an excellent job showing off the magnificent CG. This is a must for all interested in Cary and his films. There are beautiful publicity shots and movie stills. Great Job Jenny!

P.S. Hey Brian Thanks!!!!!!

I received this book as a gift. It serves as an excellent guide to one of the most graceful and wonderful men of Hollywood. The pictures are beautifully arranged and capture the essence of who Mr. Grant was. Even the youngest Cary Grant fan will want to own this book.

Indeed, this book is one meant to be displayed. I was immediately struck by the slick, high-quality paper used to enhance the many, many photos of the dashing Cary Grant. Ms. Curtis leads us through Grant's life with comprehensive, yet concise captions beneath each photo. The dignity and charm in her writing reflect the beloved characteristics that personified Cary Grant.

Star Trek is one of those things I'd file under "favorite things in life". This book of piano sheet music covers *almost* everything you'd ever want to play from the Star Trek universe.

This was a purchase for my girlfriend as I do not play the piano (I wish!) so a lot of what I'm saying is in her words. After hearing a lot of these tracks played, I was very impressed by the arrangements of the songs since Star Trek on a piano *can* be a bit hard to do at times.

The music isn't overly simple yet it does feature some titles (such as the selection for Star Trek V, for example) that do showcase and require more advanced techniques.

A must buy for the piano-playing Star Trek lover! No piano - or Star Trek - collection is complete without these timeless piano arrangements.

The photo info has not been updated here at all. The 3rd edition has the theme to Enterprise and Insurrection added. I am guessing a 4th edition with Nemesis is on hold until Star Trek XI comes out next year.

I have been playing piano for years, and I absolutely love Star Trek. If you're like me, you will love this book! The songs are difficult, but not so hard that you won't be able to play them. The chords sound so much like the actual recording, it's amazing! Great product!

I don't play the piano but my wife does. I bought this music for her because she loves to play and she loves Star Trek. I do, however, have a wonderful sense of what is good music, especially, when it comes to piano versions. I hear a lot of music written for the piano that sounds like a poorly written poem. It's forced music and that doesn't do well in my way of thinking. I worried that I was taking a chance on this Star Trek Theme music being that the piano version may sound tinny with a lot of unnecessary notes plugged in to make it work. But to my surprise, when my wife played the music, it sounded wonderful. It sounded just like the original scores. It is quality music and you should be pleased with it too if you decide to purchase it.

M.D. Cummings

This is book of piano solos featuring Star Trek themes. It has all the television show themes through "Star Trek: Voyager" as well as the movie themes through "Star Trek: First Contact." Incidentally, those two pieces are my favorites. The "First Contact" theme in particular sounds very nice on the piano, and I have played it numerous times.

I am very pleased that this was offered as a piano solo edition. Many contemporary themes/song books are typically inundated with repetitive chords. But I think the arrangements in this book are very enjoyable to play.

The proficiency required to play the pieces is probably best described as intermediate. However, beginners/novices may find the "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager," and "First Contact" themes within their grasp (and worth playing as well; I personally dislike "big note" or "easy piano" editions of anything).

I guess it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that if those who like playing the piano and like "Star Trek" will enjoy this book. So if you fit that category, I highly recommend this book.

I love this book! Great as a gift or just to feast your eyes on celebrities. Top Quality Book - and I know what's sexy! - Kristy Welsh, Author of "Good Credit is Sexy"

though some of the featured celebrities weren't on my "sexy" list, they were presented very well and the photography was high quality. entertaining and creative shots, worth the price if not just for the alice in wonderland shot of drew barrymore on the first page. also includes some random text; very intelligent, provocative and fun. i keep this book out for frequent viewing.

Actually, I have two favorite celebrity photography books: this one and Rolling Stone: Photographers. I am an avid autograph collector; so, I use these books whenever I hear about a celebrity being in the area. At the moment, I have this book signed by Denis Leary and Stephen Dorf..with more to come, I hope. About the only photograph I didn't like was the two-pager of Alicia Silverstone. It doesn't really look like her. This is definitely a great book to have on the coffee table for company while you're still getting ready. :)

I cannot remember ever seeing a book of photography as filled with fun as this collection of images from Us Magazine. The humor is solid and clean, something that comedians have a hard time duplicating. The book is greatly enhanced by the special genius of Mark Seliger for this type of work.

Before going further, let me caution you that some images are of partially undressed women that would earn this material an R rating (on the soft side) if it were contained in a motion picture.

The photographs are reproduced in both color and black-and-white. The reproduction quality is very high, and the editors have chosen well where to use two-page spreads and where not to. Although not every image displays good-humored fun, about two-thirds of them do. The book probably would have worked even better if every image had followed that theme. In most cases, the image itself is a happy one that also contains a joke about the celebrity involved . . . creating two ways to have a fun with the image.

Here are my favorite images in the book:

Drew Barrymore (cover shot) holding boxing globes up as a visual bra as she stands in a sparring pose in a boxing ring by Mark Seliger;

Elizabeth Shue nude holding a dog by Mark Seliger;

Patrick Swayze in a slip by Mary Ellen Mark;

Emma Thompson undressed but covered by the bottom of a stage curtain wrapped around her by Neil Davenport;

A puckish looking Hugh Grant by Jon Ragel;

Kato Kaelin in a swimming pool that magnifies the size of his torso by Mary Ellen Mark;

Jodie Foster laughing by Mark Seliger;

Ashley Judd as Marilyn Monroe wrapped in a sheet in bed by Mark Seliger;

Jason Priestley as an urban cowboy tough guy by Lance Staedler;

Whoopi Goldberg looking alarmed by Mark Seliger;

Helen Hunt half-wearing a man's white shirt with a wistful smile by Mark Seliger;

Sharon Stone looking like a 40's pinup or a 50's Playboy model with lots of fluff by Andrew MacPherson;

Julie Louis-Dreyfus spitting water like a fountain statue by Jon Ragel;

Garry Shandling seriously sitting in business attire in front of a burning desk he cannot see behind him by Mark Seliger;

Leonardo DiCaprio thinking in mismatched, outrageous clothing by Mark Seliger;

Kennedy wearing a veil, and using an arm and a hand to create modesty over an otherwise nude body in a take-off on the classic ways to pose nude women without being too revealing by Mark Seliger;

Smiling Rosie Perez by Dewey Nicks;

Sting in a bathtub with rubber duckies by Max Vadukul;

Siegfried and Roy doing an illusion by Mark Seliger;

Juliette Lewis featuring her face and the soles of her feet by Peggy Sirota;

Smiling Lisa Kudrow by Davis Factor;

Matthew Perry by Andrew D. Berstein;

Gamine-like Sandra Bullock by Kate Garner;

a funny, foreshortened Paul Hartman by Mark Seliger; and

David Schwimmer curtseying in a t-shirt and khakis.

"You are a vision of nowness" is the description of this book written inside. I personally found the images more timeless than that. You get a sense of what is universally appealing at all times and to almost all people.

After looking at these happy images, think about the ways that fun appeals to your better nature. How can you experience that kind of fun more often? How can you surround yourself with an environment that teems with such fun? How can you extend and share that fun with others?

Have a great giggle . . . as often as possible!

In this book, there are lots of pictures of celebrities. There is also a selection of quotes from celebrities. It is worth the money.

I have just recieved Cathy Johnson's new book, "Creating Nature in Watercolor, an Artists Guide." I sat down and read it through, and found it felt like an beautifully illustrated letter from a good friend, who is encouraging me to join her in her love of nature and creating. The art work is superb of course, as I expected, since I already own several of her books, and recently took one of her wonderful Online Classes...and she has been drawing and painting for her whole life...but I also found much more in it than artwork. She not only shares many, many, many valuable techniques and tips...but they seem unique to her charming way of helping us out with some of the little things that become big things when you dont know how to deal with them. And she adds so many details and makes them all so interesting!
Her 'personal relationship' with nature pulls the reader and artist into a close connection with creation and creating.
It is a book for everyone...beginning and professional artists as well as all who appreciate nature.
For me this is her best book....so far...:)

I found this newest Cathy Johnson book to be every bit as informative and entertaining as her many previous books. The artist's love of nature shines gloriously within these pages. Not only does she give clear and easily understood instructions to 'capture nature', she also inspires you! This book is both working text and entertainment.

Having used 2 of Ms. Johnson's books before ("Creating
Textures in Watercolor" and "Watercolor Pencil Magic-sadly
out of print") I had great hopes for this new volume, and it
does not disappoint. More than a collection of pretty
watercolor studies to be admired -though it is full of
them! - this book breaks down the process and tells you
how to get the result you're looking for. Ms. Johnson even
gives tips on the practicalities of capturing the
uncooperative moving creatures of nature on paper! I have found something valuable on every page.

Cathy Johnson's newest book, Creating Nature in Watercolor, is a most delightful read and it's filled with tips and techniques on appreciating nature and capturing your interpretation of that observation in watercolor. Whether you want to learn how to document botanical samples in a journal or compose an extensive landscape on a full sheet of watercolor paper, this book is a must have! Cathy has a teaching style that encourages everyone to jump right in and have fun learning. This book contains short exercises as well as step-by-step lessons for painting landscapes. A beginner will find this book to be a tremendous start off point and a professional will find many useful tips and notes to help them progress in their treatment of nature and landscapes.

Cathy Johnson's newest book is a work of art in itself. The inside page design is simply beautiful. The illustrations by Ms. Johnson are very inspiring. And her tone is one of gentle encouragement ("yes, you can do this too"). I just received my copy recently and have already spent hours savoring it. Many of Ms. Johnson's books seem deceptively simple. One could quickly glance over her notes and paintings and then set the book on the shelf. The real value comes from taking her books, page by page, and actually DOING the exercises she provides. Pay attention to her teaching, follow her examples, and wonderful things will happen with your artwork. Creating Nature in Watercolor is a wonderful book and I am thankful that the artist took the time to create it.

Great book. Great timesaving techniques taught in this book that can be applied to many other projects. Great picures.

I like the book. It has easy to follow instractions and consept is very interesting. I recomend it to all quilters

Jan Krentz's Diamond Quilts & Beyond: From The Basics To Dazzling Designs tells how to turn a quilt literally into a work of art, using Impressionist painting inspirations to translate to fabric with diamond patterns. Particularly notable is a gallery of quilts which feature hand-painted and diamond patterns, flowers and figures in diamond quilts, and much more. An inspiriting collection.

The Diammond Quilts & Beyond book has so much information that I've already re-read it three times. The project directions are well written and thorough. But the concept really inspires me to design an original diamond quilt - the "Beyond" in the title!

Great book. Very good directions. Just what I had been looking for.

i had seen this book before I purchased it so I knew it was a good product...The book was in excelent condition and arrived quickly with no problems

but the templates are off.

i've only tried two of the designs so far, but the templates for even simplest one are so far off that i would have been better off making my own and not tracing the ones from the book.

the second set of templates was not as skewed, but still not accurate.

this is a massive shame, since the designs are absolutely inspirational. sudo has no fear of curves, or y-seams, or teeny tiny pieces. and her results are fabulous.

but you may end up having to draft the patterns yourself in order to get accurate templates.

I just purchased and read this book today. Kumiko Sudo's use of color and form is phenomenal. Her designs are kaleidoscopic, and may be challenging to create, but even if I never make one of her quilt block designs I will be affected by her choices of color, focus on the use of fabric and its design, and stories of how each design came about.

I really recommend this book; it will definitely encourage you to think more about color and form as you choose fabrics for quilts.

The author uses simple design elements from traditional Western quilt traditions in a new and very fresh way. Her designs are intriguing and suitable for thousands of different interpretations. This lady is a real artist.

Sudo's use of repeated curves and straight lines is amazing! The quilts and blocks all look so balanced and even, but in an unusual way. There's a wonderful, off-center sort of flair to the patterns- a sort of creation of harmony from disharmony. I haven't quilted much with curved forms (they have always sounded daunting) and this book contains the first pattern that even makes me want to try. And the wonder of the book is that I would really like to try most of the patterns... What a great, creative compilation!

A fine introduction to the extraordinary art of an Austrian painter doomed to a short but productive life.

Professor Rudolf Leopold is a master of explaining the style of Egon Schiele, while revealing to the reader the physical origin of the specific impulse behind many of Schiele's land- and cityscapes.

I urge those with any interest in modern art to buy this book, and, if at all possible, visit the originals in the great museums of Vienna, especially the Leopold.

This book is centered on a hitherto less well-known aspect of Egon Schiele's art, i.e. his landscapes. The catalogue for a 2004 exhibition held at the Leopold Museum in Vienna (the largest Schiele collection in the world), it was written by Rudolph Leopold himself (the founder of the museum and largest Schiele collector in the world). It lists most of the landscapes painted by Schiele chronologically, whether painting or drawing, and describes each of them very thoroughly. Some works which at the time (2004) were believed lost (a magnificent Krumau landscape and a beautiful sunflower painting) have since then reappeared on the art market and made headlines as they sold for record prices.

The illustrations are of a good quality, even though not as perfect as the ones that grace another available book on the same subject, "Egon Schiele's landscapes, between ruin and renewal" which is a more literary and less purely factual work.

Of all the Schiele monographs I own, this is my favourite one. I love Schiele's drawings and watercolors, I can get lost in them, mesmerized by a single casual line that defines a thigh or an arm; I love his portraits, his oils... but most of all I love his townscapes and landscapes, so this book as an absolute treasure.
Great quality reproductions, wonderful b/w photographs of places/towns/buildings he painted (taken from the same perspective as they appear in his paintings).
Highly recommended.

The credit for the first notion of publishing a book strictly devoted to Schiele's landscapes (and cityscapes) deservedly goes to Kimberly A. Smith/Yale University Press. One might say that it was a bit sneaky of Rudolf Leopold & the Leopold Museum, after having been interviewed and providing reproductions for said effort to in the same year mount this comprehensive exhibition and publish this sumptuous catalogue.

I'm not saying that, because the reproductions are better and the text doesn't suffer from the pompousnous of Deconstructionism. This is a gorgeous book. As well, some of the paintings are paired with period photos/postcards of the actual scenes Schiele painted. Leopold vastly expounded upon this conceit by researching and seeking out with camera a large number of photographs of Schiele's motifs. It's hugely interesting to see how little certain corners of Austria have changed in nearly a hundred years.

Of particularly poignant, and instructive, note, is the volume's side-by-side reproduction of Schiele's "Autumn Trees I" of 1911, held in a private collection. The original, as widely reproduced--indeed in the Smith/Yale book, albeit poorly--has been ruined by a "restorer" who decided that the pink striations in the sky had been added by a later hand.

If you're interested in Schiele's landscapes, buy this book. Buy this book and turn to pages 84-5 and weep with me.

A chronological presentation of Egon Shielle's landscape paintings, commencing with works produced when he was only sixteen. Each painting is reproduced in colour on one page with brief informative explanatory notes on the facing page, and invariably with additional photographs usually of the actual scene depicted in the painting, and occasionally Shielle's own preliminary sketches. The book concludes with a brief illustrated biography, and bibliography. A most informative and beautifully illustrated publication with text kept to a minimum and free from pompous waffle.

This book is one I've come back to several times as it gives me pictures of various types of men in different stages/sonditions of their life. The photographs show male sexuality in a very honest, sincere and touching way. Seeing men with real bodies is the most refreshing as their is no pretense, no relentless striving to be the "super male" found within the pages of this book.

I have this book in my stack of books on the coffee table in my living room, where my guests wait while I'm putting the finishing touches on dinner. It always ends up at the top of the pile somehow, and it's usually the guys who check it out first. The photos are simply gorgeous, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. But my straight male friends tell me how rare and cool it is to find a thoughtful piece on what it's like to be a man in our world, or to see things that reflect their experiences, and I think that's why people I know have liked the book. It's unusual. It's beautiful in a way that is comfortable and thought-provoking at once, in my opinion. Anyway, I love it, and some of the men in my life will be getting it for Xmas this year.

I liked this book a lot. It has real portraits of real people. The men in it looked so happy and normal -- like people we all know. The personality of each subject showed through in a way that made these portraits very appealing.

I like these photos very much. I believe this is the first set of male nudes that I can say that of. They're really not eroticized, and they're not mythologized either. These are pictures of guys who are pretty comfortable in their bodies.

And they're very fine pictures. I'm picky, especially about people pictures (which I've been trying to take myself for 30 years), and these work excellently for me. They're about the subjects, not primarily about the photographer. And they're all different.

The fine *technical* quality of the photos and the printing of the book don't hurt a thing either.

You should give these photos a try.

Familiar Men takes on unfamiliar subject matter: nude males. In Western visual art, women have long gotten the nude treatment, thoroughly and repeatedly. In recent times female nudes are even becoming slightly more diverse in their appearance (Edison contributed greatly to this diversification in her other book of photo portraits, Women en Large). But men are less frequent subjects of photography, and nude men even less so. Mostly what's out there from a photo-visual perspective are chiseled youth with disaffected eyes modeling underwear--almost nudes who are barely there.

This paucity of portraiture is rightly addressed in Familiar Men. Not only do the men represent a wide range of ages, races, sizes, and abilities, but their gazes show you clearly that these men are not objects, but subjects. They know what they are doing. They thought about revealing themselves for the camera, with all of its inherent risks, and went for it.

This book is a proud, strong presentation of male vulnerability, and the black-and-white photography is beautiful itself. I'm a big fan of art as a medium for social change, and this is a wonderful addition to discussions around masculinity, beauty, and the human form.

Real men pose nude.