Delaware Books

The more I think about Gangs of New York, the more I watch it, compare it to other films and to Scorsese's previous achievements the more I believe it is a truly great piece of filmmaking. Despite a somewhat disappointing central character, a love interest that lacks chemistry and a final third that erupts onscreen without pounding adrenaline in our hearts, this film remains miraculous. Many have criticised the script, which the shooting version is featured in this book, but having just read it I maintain it is one of the best scripts filmed in recent years. Rewritten, restructured and refined over 20 years the script boasts colourful characters, rich environments and exciting confrontations that are truly cinematic, so violently visceral in fact that maybe the screenwriters were pushing themselves knowing only Scorsese could pull it all off.

On a technical stand point Gangs is unrivalled. The ridiculously inventive and electrical editing, the epic, expensive, all-consuming set design, the raw, flamboyant yet accurate costumes, the densely researched music and flat out stunning cinematography render this film the true king of 2002, regardless of whatever miss-informed award ceremony decided at the time.

In this book you have interviews with all the production's key figures; the director, producer, an executive producer, scriptwriters, actors, costume designer, researcher, set designer, editor, cinematographer. I found Weinstein to be particularly interesting, with some humorous anecdotes that shed a smidgen of light on the much publicised heat between the director and producer (which they continuously refute as being overblown).

The film is responsible, like all films that portray real events, for igniting interest in the subject. As a result the press featured articles on New York during the 19th century and Asbury's book, among others, became Amazon bestsellers. The interviewees list a number of sources that they used to research to perform their jobs. As a result I will probably end up reading the referenced texts because I am now extremely interested in this period in America's young history.

I agree with one reviewer that the questions asked may have been repetitive and should have been more specific with each differing craft. I'm pretty sure the same person asked all these people the questions, however, in an ideal world, each person would have been interviewed by someone with a greater knowledge of what they do. So, to get to the point, why not get a student of editing to pose Thelma Schoonmaker questions regarding her process (what equipment did she use, how has her craft evolved, which scenes posed difficulty, what has influenced her, yadayadayada)? But that is not to say the questions asked are useless. In fact, having just read from cover to cover, I found all the interviewees to be extremely informative. Their answers were intelligent and CLEARLY showed that this film was made by great filmmakers. It would be interesting to just compile all the previous films these people worked on to see how experienced a crew it took to make this film. For a Making of publication, the content here is certainly of a high standard.

For me two things stood out in this book; Daniel Day-Lewis, and how Scorsese was revered by all the interviewees. Day-Lewis gave the performance of his career in this film, and in just a few pages this book reveals how complex, poetic, allusive and ultimately human his acting craft is. And then there is the main man himself, Mr Scorsese. His knowledge of film is legendary. His excitement and love of film unquestionable. His talent forever celebrated, and this book only reinforces the power of his image. He is an inspiration to us all.

The photographs are luscious however I wished there were more off-camera shots, revealing the crew, the cast at ease, where the set ends and where the Italian studio begins. There are however some striking images, especially one where Dicaprio and Lewis are sitting in their respective chairs, drenched in makeup following the final confrontation, distant in their own thoughts. This is where Making Of books tend to excel and this is no exception.

So, you get great pictures, great interviews, a complete screenplay AND a wonderful introduction from Luc Sante (who penned the most influential text for this film). If you are a die-hard fan of the film I would buy this book (no doubt obtainable at a discounted price due to the film's disappointing reception). It will be a priceless document in the future when people wake up from their comas and realise how great a film this truly is.

I was particularly impressed the "best of" recommendations. They were right on target. Neither bluebells nor waterfall classics escaped her attention. The maps, as you'd expect from the National Geographic Society, are clear and easy to follow. Anyone looking for a basic resource on the area should have this guide.

With each chapter given to a different Native American nation she tries, and in my opinion succedes,to make people understand the hopelessness the Native Americans found themselves in, and the only recourse they had was to fight to preserve their way of life, all too sadly with devestating consequences.

Through each chapter the same theme occurs, the whites cheat,steal, murder, and abuse the Native American and very few Whites tried to correct these wrong doings, and the biggest offender the US Government, and even today the US Government do not appear to be too interested in the Native Americans.

The book is "heavy going", and one can be forgiven in thinking, as they read through it, that I've been here before, because the facts are presented in the same way for every nation, but that notwithstanding, I feel this is a book that should be in anyones library who professes to have an interest in Native Americans.

Yes Helen Hunt Jackson was a brave pioneer to voice her opinions in favour of the redman all those years ago, had more people listend, perhaps the Native American culture in all its glory would still be with us today.

The diagrams are very detailed with explanations and assignments for individual positions, hole assignments, techniques and the various looks that make the Wing-T successful.

One of the best features of this book is the extensive review of the playcalling system. It's straightforward and easy to remember...the system virtually eliminates confusion and miscommunication between the sideline and huddle, and makes it easy to fully train a player for a new position in a matter of minutes. The sheer flexibility that the system offers makes this book worth reading, even if you never plan to run a wing-t formation.

Definately on par with the other Art & Science of Coaching books, one of the best I've read.

The writing is poor, but this is still a good read.

Another bothersome impediment to the reader is the cover (or dust jacket on the hard cover version). It features a drawing that makes one think the book is for teenagers. The book, although accessible to young adults, is not written specifically for them and I'm afraid has lost some adult readership as a result.

All in all, though, this is a book worth reading.

As a direct descendant of Christian Fast I could check many of the facts in the book. Except for some questions about ages of individuals they were accurate. The author is an amateur historian and his facts and fictionalized conversations have an authentic feel.

The writing is poor, but this is still a good read.

Another bothersome impediment to the reader is the cover (or dust jacket on the hard cover version). It features a drawing that makes one think the book is for teenagers. The book, although accessible to young adults, is not written specifically for them and I'm afraid has lost some adult readership as a result.

All in all, though, this is a book worth reading.

My only serious objection to this edition is that University of Delaware Press, for some unaccountable reason, has elected to publish this book only in an expensive hardback edition. The story, along with Tuttle's illuminating introduction and clear explanatory notes, would be highly suitable as a teaching text if the book were available in a reasonably-priced paper edition.

This was a very extensive explanation of the Tocks Island Dam project as well as the development of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It went into great detail regarding the rise and fall of, and the details of this project.

This book is not for everyone to read and it requires alot of concentration to read, however I enjoyed it thoroughly. I wish I had kept notes throughout to total how much money has been spent on a dam that has yet to be and hopefully will not be built. The countryside is beautiful as a National Recreation Area and a project such as the Tocks Island Dam would be devastating to the whole surrounding area. This valley should be kept as a treasure for generations to enjoy.

The author, Richard Albert, provides an insider's perspective. Most recently, he was a supervising engineer and basin planner for the Delaware River Basin Commission. He's been involved in river studies for three decades.

The Delaware is a fairly small river, draining only four-tenths of one percent of the continental U.S. Yet almost ten percent of the nation's population relies on its basin for water, and Delaware Bay is within a day's drive of about 40 percent of the entire U.S. population. Various groups have wanted dams on the Delaware to provide water, electrical power and flood control. As Albert explains, no dams have been built because New York City, New York State, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware could never fully agree on a project. At the top end of the river, New York City wants to protect its drinking water supply, which is based on huge reservoirs near the headwaters of the Delaware in upstate New York. At the bottom end, fishermen and others want to assure clean, regular water flow, something that could be diminished by one or more dams. In between, there are many opinions about the potential impact of one or more dams on the river.

Albert provides a long historical perspective, beginning in the colonial era, when navigation was the primary use of the river. States along the river agreed to prohibit dams, and this perspective ruled until the early twentieth century. Water supply, hydrological power, flood control and recreation became important issues in the twentieth century, and Albert gives them detailed treatment.

His description of the 1960s and 1970s includes some bizarre twists to the story. Two examples stand out for me. First, there's eutrophication. That's the overproduction of algae and plants caused by too much phosphorus or nitrogen in water. It stinks, too. Environmental studies suggested that the large number of poultry farms upstream of the proposed Tock's Island Dam would turn the new reservoir into "one gigantic cesspool." I call this segment of the story, "How Chicken Poop Saved the Delaware." Second, the whole land acquisition process went sour. The Corps of Engineers began acquiring land for a huge National Recreation Area above and below the Delaware Water Gap in 1964. By 1970 the project was still on hold, and "hippy" squatters began settling on the new public lands. Local residents were already concerned about the impact of tens of thousands of visitors on their roads, water supply, power supply, etc., and they were none too happy to see Haight-Ashbury move its act into rural New Jersey. In the end, unpaid local activists played an important role in helping to achieve the 1982 "Good Faith Agreement" among the mayor of New York and the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Everyone agreed to leave the river free-running until after the year 2000 - and then reconsider the dam as a water supply source.

A friend and I canoed from Port Jervis, New York to the Delaware Water Gap in August 1999, and we camped right where the dam was proposed. Those who want to enjoy the Delaware as a free-flowing river after 2001 might want to pick up a copy of this book.