Commercials Books

The Artist's Survival Manual is just that. Any artist, beginning or long time professional can find something invaluable in this easy to follow clearly written manual. Subjects ranging from contracts to tax issues are approached in an informative straight forward manner not without some humorous observations to boot.Another aspect of this book is the way that Toby has thoughtfully acknowledged topics like creative blocks,and general morale for artists through the long haul. There are chapters with detailed information along with anecdotes from Toby's very experienced and succesful art business. A section with simple forms and contracts that can be used by the artist.A more than basic primer that covers the ins and outs of everything from galleries,group exibitions,and having an open studio,as well as basic sales ethics blending together making for a sharp informative read that leads to a better sense of what is going on in the art world,and how to approach it all with more confidence. I highly reccomend it.

This is a "must-have" book for every visual artist involved in marketing his or her own artwork. All the important issues involved in marketing one's own artwork are dealt with in this book by Ms. Klayman, who has long been a visual artist herself as well as an expert on laws, contracts and royalties for visual artists and currently an instructor in an arts administration program at Golden Gate University. As an artist in San Francisco, I have used this book to educate myself about the various issues involved in marketing my own work.

Ms. Klayman guides us step-by-step through the often dreaded maze of dealing with copyright issues, pricing issues, commission issues, multiples as a way to enhance an artist's offerings and earnings, consignment arrangements, artist-gallery relationships, bookkeeping for tax purposes, avoiding problems with the IRS, to name a few. Potential pitfalls of all kinds are held up for our inspection and clear directions are given for their avoidance. A wealth of sample forms are included in the book (which can be used with written permission of the author)--Artist-Gallery Agreement, Resume, Consignment Receipt Form, Installment Sales Agreement, among others. Every artist needs to be ready with the tools presented in this book in order to be a successful business person-and these days every artist must be a successful business person as well as an artist in order to survive in the marketplace.

Klayman's book also delves into the complex personal situations every artist faces upon commitment to being an artist in society. Since most artists need a second job in order to survive financially as an artist (and many studies support this fact), there are some very specific dilemmas almost every artist faces related to balancing time and energy--these are discussed. Also explored are slumps, the importance of keeping in touch with one's collectors, the sometimes difficult relationships with other artists, definition of success, believing in one's own work, insurance issues and even writing a will.

Every artist entertaining the idea of selling work or in the midst of being represented by galleries and dealers or even just selling work in the studio NEEDS this book.

This book, like Arts and Crafts Houses II, covers only three houses, in this case William Morris's Red House (designed by Phillip Webb), William Richard Lethaby's Melsetter House, and Sir Edward Luteyns' Goddards, but it covers them beautifully and thoroughly. There are site plans, floor plans, elevations, beautiful black and white photos and stunning color photos, significant introductory essays, and lists of references. This is a beautiful book at an amazing price.

These are three of the major works of the Arts and Crafts Movement beginning with the fabulous Red House which brought together many of William Morris' ideas in shaping this movement. Philip Webb worked with Morris to create this resplendent design, inspired by the earlier neo-Gothic movement, but pointing the direction to a new architecture. There are many fine color photos as well as key details of the house that give you a very good impression of this seminal work in the English Freestyle.

Lethaby and Lutyens carried the movement forward. They, along with C.F.A. Voysey, were the leading figures in the Arts and Crafts Movement, and shown here are their key works. The Melsetter House is a tour-de-force, stripped of most of the Neo-Gothic trappings, this house offers a more refined version of the English Manor House of the late 19th century. The site plan shows the beautiful configuration that Lethaby came up with to anchor the house on the large site with its radiating gardens. There are many beautifully detailed drawings, including molding profiles of the enormous fireplaces, which graced this mansion. But probably the most evocative photos and drawings are those of the chapel which was an extension of the main house.

Lutyens was a very eclectic architect, drawing on many classical themes as well as Neo-Gothic themes. Goddards represents a closer adherance to the Arts and Crafts Style, but in the introduction the author gives the reader a wide sampling of Lutyens' style. Goddards has elements of timber architecture and is more earthy in its appearance. The skewed wings open up the courtyard to the countryside beyond, and Lutyen's richly detailed chimneys rise as strong tower elements in the otherwise horizontal house. Lots of wonderful sections and detail drawings to give the reader a full impression of this manor house.

Most of the sculpture described in this book is to be found in the British Museum, which indeed is where I purchased Dr. Reade's book. However, "Assyrian Sculpture" should appeal to a broad audience, especially those of us who have been following recent events in Iraq and would like a brief overview of this country's ancient imperial megalomaniacs. Even as we pulled down monuments to Saddam Hussein, so did successive dynasties of Assyrian kings loot the palaces of their predecessors and proclaim their own glory. Visitors to their palaces were forced to view a procession of triumphalist scenes, depicting the king at war, his exploits in the hunting field, and his status as exalted by Assyrian gods and genies.

For almost three centuries, until 612 B.C., the small kingdom of Assyria dominated the Middle East, its empire at one point extending from Iran to Egypt. "Assyrian Sculpture" relates the story of those years in sculpted stone, and more rarely in glazed brick, and offers its readers a glimpse of a long-lost civilization.

The archaeological discovery, starting in 1843, of a wealth of artifacts from the ancient Assyrian Empire brought to the attention of Europeans a form of artistic production that was unique and unexpectedly striking to many contemporary eyes. Roughly comparable arrays of ancient Assyrian artifacts found by both French and English excavators and transported with great difficulty to Europe, were put on display almost simultaneously in the Louvre and British Museum, starting in 1847.

The first archaeologists to explore ancient Assyrian ruins were Paul-Emile Botta, a French diplomat, and Austen Henry Layard, an adventurous English lawyer. In the mid-nineteenth century they both explored mounds in and near present-day Mosul, a city in northern Iraq that embraces the site of ancient Nineveh. Between the two of them, they uncovered the remains of five Assyrian palaces.

One, excavated by Layard in Nineveh, was the "palace without rival" of Sennacherib, perhaps the greatest of the Assyrian kings. The inner walls and courtyards were lined with two miles of sculptured stone slabs depicting the king's various campaigns, from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. It was under his rule that a system of canals and aqueducts brought water fifty miles from the Zagros Mountains to the parks, orchards, and gardens of Nineveh.

Within the palace Layard discovered thousands of clay cuneiform tablets, constituting the world's earliest-known comprehensive collection of written knowledge. In the chapter, "Biblical History in Assyrian Sculpture" the author states that although there is little direct evidence for the historicity of the biblical accounts that emerged from Layard's excavations, they did confirm that "the early history of Palestine, as recorded in the Bible, was more than a work of fiction."

Buy this book for its magnificent reproductions of Assyrian animal sculpture, for its fascinating biography of Austen Henry Layard, and for its concise overview of an ancient Mesopotamian civilization.

Note: There still exists an ethnic minority who call themselves Assyrians. They are a remnant of the Aramaic (or Syriac) speaking Christian community of northern Iraq, eastern Turkey, and western Iran.

Assyrian sculpture is one of the highest points (as is gold jewelry discovered in Nimrod, so called Nimrod Gold) of Assyrian art. Animal depictions especially are vivid, powerful and rather realistic, which is a rare occurence in those times. The Russian writer Ljubimov wrote in his book about ancient art, that if there were only one sculpture of this nation (The wounded Lioness) discovered we would know that the Assyrians had great art and thus the great soul. This book's fime illustrations prove Ljubimov's point.

As for depicting the ancient Assyrians as cruel looters, etc, they have not done anything what was not customary during those times and they were not as cruel as the Bible depicts them. The Bible was written by a nation which was conquered by Assyrian, that's why we hear tales of Assyrian cruelty for more than 2500 years already. But writers of the Bible have done the same things to the nations they conquered - khanaan, etc. So stop it already!

Can't you just enjoy beautiful art without spilling out your ingrained historical hatred?

You can not longer build and live so close to the water's edge but these beauties are grandfathered in on beautiful Muskoka and Rousseau, et. al. I thought of my boyhood days on a lake in Northern Minnesota. I remember smaller and less grand boathouses where the sundappled water reflected off the rafters inside. You were really one with the water. This book captures the essence of it all--I could almost smell the water, wood, paint, varnish, canvas, wet rattan and wicker--

At the water's edge

Muskokaá Boathouses.

This book gives the reeder a chance of dreaming back to the early yaers of the 20th century and experiance how the riche and famuose people spent there weekends and holidays. If you are intrested in old houses, especially bothouses, and architect designs this book is a must.

This book is my best inspiration ever.

Peter Östlund Stockholm Sweden

Discovered Atlas of Rare City Maps at Micawber books in Princeton, NJ. The college student/clerk said it was her favorite book in the store. I read it. Loved it. Gave it to the City Administrator in our town. He's so delighted by it that, after skimming it, he decided to read it one city at a time; like a morning devotional reading!

This book contains some of the loveliest reproductions of old maps I have ever scene. Aside from the beautiful pictures, the author includes interesting and valuable commentary to help the reader understand these city plans in the context of history and geography. All those interested in urban design should read the eloquent forward of this book. It would be highly beneficial if more of our political leaders, and just people in general, understood this era in urban design- the end of the traditional and the beginning of the modern. With the help of this book, perhaps we can bring about a new commitment to intelligent and beautiful urban planning for the future.

As a "working actor" I wish I had known 20 years ago even 1 of these techniques or pieces of information. It would have changed my career. John Shepard's book is beyond informative -its a miracle.

Nancy Mimless

This is a terrific book. Acting is a craft, so like any other craft it has it's changes. It should come as no surprise that there are growing number of facets where knowledge can give you an edge. No actor can be expected to know everything. Enter John Shepard. Here's a book that spells out the variety of camera work out there. Should you find yourself up for a commercial, industrial, creating CD Roms, Soap Opera, film, or episodic TV, Shepard has a chapter on each one. Everything, from what you wear to the details of auditioning techniques, is laid out. Do you expect to be working on location? Shepard tells you what you can expect as well as what's expected of you. There are sample scripts, scenes to practice and exercises to sharpen your skills. This book is full of good stuff.

A must for B-24 Buffs! Wally has expanded his format to include data on AF Wings and their component bomb groups for most of the USAAF. His B17 Nose Art Directory was concerned with the 8th, 15th, and 20th AFs. And rather than searching the total list for group aircraft he has listed the a/c assigned to each group by group number. Definitely a source book for important data (names, serial numbers, photo availability) on this aircraft.

For my purposes, the book is phenomenal. I often need to know the accompanying Bomb Groups and Squadrons for a given B-24 so that I may paint the nose art on A-2 jackets. As the description states, it does list the Nose Art names with the associated Bomb Groups and Squadrons if available. It does also list the serial numbers for the B-24s and if there is a known picture in existence. I also like that Forman listed the B-24s alphabetically, but also went a step further and listed them by Bombardment group as well which makes it very easy to reference the bombers.

THERE ARE VERY FEW PICTURES IN THIS BOOK, IT IS BASICALLY A LONG LIST OF NAMES AND SERIAL NUMBERS. IF PICTURES IS WHAT YOU WANT, GET "VINTAGE AIRCRAFT NOSE ART" by Gary M Valant AS THAT HAS NEARLY 1000 PICTURES OF DIFFERENT NOSE ART SAMPLES. Incredible amount of information packed into this book. if you're a true WWII buff, get this when you can as it seems to go in and out of print and sometimes is hard to get.

This was a "coffee table" book in a beach house we rented. We were really excited about it and ordered one for ourself and one for our daughter's family. We also ordered the SC and GA one for another daughter. The writing style is so homey and comfortable and the pictures are beatiful and relaxing. The stories and the paintings made us want to see all of the lighthouses. Therefore, we are planning a trip this year to see as many of them as we can. We have also found it exciting to know so much more about the 5-6 lighthouses in our area. This book really piqued our interest in lighthouses with its enjoyable writing and lovely art.

Bansemer's Book of Florida Lighthouses is the best book on lighthouses that I have ever read. Inside, is beautiful and colorful artwork of every Florida Lighthouse. This book contains very descriptive information and how to get to the lighthouses. I have read every book on Florida Lighthouses and this one is the BEST and will be for a long time!

Endersby and fellow authors, using an intelligent combination of pictures, drawings, and text to successfully depict both finished buildings and structural detail, have written the definitive book on barns. They trace the lineage of American barns from their European roots in a lively, readable, informative format. In addition to it's functional qualities, the book is quite handsome, a stunning addition to the library of anyone who likes barns. Quite simply, this is the best book on barns I have ever seen.

This book is truely an inspiration... the images and descriptions will bring great memories of Barns to your mind, will bring tears to your eyes if you spent childhood fantasies in "the barn", and might inspire you to save, build, or restore a barn someday... thank you Elric, Alexander , and David, whoever and wherever you are for presenting such a work...It stays on the table, within easy reach...

I used this book during a summer session and thought it was great! It is thorough, easy to understand and even humorous in places. It made learning statistics less of a bear to tackle. I give it a B+!

I used this book during a summer session and thought it was great! It is thorough, easy to understand and even humorous in places. It made learning statistics less of a bear to tackle. I give it a B+!