Image Books

Yet another book that makes me long for the New Orleans of old. The Author fills in those lingering questions I've always had about the Canal Streetcar, amongst wonderful pictures.

This is an excellent pictorial and written history of the Canal Streetcar line and New Orleans also. I loved reading it, it's a quick read, and easy to understand and since I am a native New Orleanian, some of the pictures from days past were fascinating since Canal Street doesn't really look like it did 50 years ago. My father is 71 years old and a real history buff and LOVED it and gives it very high marks also!

Edward Branley's title is fascinating. It's a look at one of the oldest institutions here in the New Orleans area. Branley does the subject justice. Readers, this title is unique in that it has an overabundance of photographs. From 1861 to 2003. I say - wow to that!

The book is 128 pages packed with photos. There are pictures of all kinds of streetcars, buses and other things. There are scenes from New Orleans that only a native, or visitor, could appreciate.

I can't get over the pictures. So many favorites. So many memories. So many dreams....

Canal Street will never be the same. And, plus, the street cars are back. Bravo, Mr. Branley...

I'm fairly new to New Orleans, but have enjoyed the streetcars since my first visit 20 years ago. Not only is this an interesting history of streetcars, but of downtown New Orleans. Although I wasn't here to witness all the changes in the last 100 years, it is enjoyable to ride the newly opened Canal Streetcar line while looking through the pictures of different eras covered in the book. Mr. Branley makes history come alive!

This book is pleasant light reading, with many historical photos of the track, equipment, buildings, and even boats of the NWPRR. Since traces of that railroad still exist all over Northern California, this book is a useful guide to finding the old main lines and spur tracks.

I bought this book "for auld lang syne"...the photos & narrative are excellent...this one is for my Dad.Thank you !!.

A very good book featuring photos that I have rarely, if ever, seen. While not the definitive book on the NWP, it is a great suppliment and an absolute must have for the NWP fan. Lots of early photos and information on the railroad. A great tribute to an often overlooked railroad.

Great production of historical photographs and educational captions. Soft cover with all black and white pitctures. Material on freight, passenger, and ferry traffic. Links company origins to present day situation. Good reference for railroad historians, modelers, and students.

The female nude has been a staple of western art for at least the last half-millenium. More often than not, male artists and male viewers (me included) approach that vision with a rational esthetic edged with an animal desire. The thing is, others look at women's beauty with animal desire, too.

Other women, for example. Sex being what it is to our species, even minor differences in approach take on large meanings. Likewise, even large differences can take on minor meanings, or none at all. This remarkable collection shows both aspects of that contrast (or lack) between the lesbian and the classically straight images of desire. That cover shot appeals to me, for example. I've always liked the woman's figure that radiates physical power so different from men's.

All that said, I come away from this collection with mixed impressions. Parts of it seem more documentary. Yes, some ladies do have a muff nearly from knee to navel and fuzzy bits in other unfashionable locations, but the same hormones that tend toward body hair also tend to intensify sexual expressiveness, as at least one model demonstrates. I'm not one to take prettiness for beauty - if you prefer to think of it this way, "God doesn't make mistakes." There's a strong fetish element in this collection, often with leather and occasionally with pain, that does nothing for me, likewise the femme extreme of seamed stockings, lingerie unrelated to real underclothes, and tottery heels. Other exaggerations don't appeal to me either. I don't see that much distinction between the super-butch and the macho man, or control play no matter who controls whom or how harshly. But others parts attract me strongly. Gentle play always appeals to me, even solo or gentle-with-an-edge; given that, the specific players tend to matter less to me. And simple photographic statements that a woman's figure is a really cool thing, well, I'm right there for it.

I'm not in this collection's target demographic, even though I'm in its target species, so parts of its esthetic passed by me. Many of the photos captivated me, though. Many others documented a view that I don't share, and so piqued my interest. On the whole, I find this collection decidedly mixed in its match to my preferences.

Your milage may vary, and almost certainly will.

-- wiredweird

A provactive look at real lesbian sexual life at the edge. Some of the photographs are artistically brilliant, some are fascinating, and some may be repellent, but all have an honesty and intensity which is refreshing and unusual. As a photographer, I highly recommend it. Some of the images are quite graphic and powerful.

This is an amazing collection. Explicit photos and top of the line production quality.

I enjoyed how the chapters and photographs were presented. The introductions do a great job explaining to the reader what they are about to see and they should not be skipped. The first four sections (labeled Dyke, C*unt, Butch and Sex) carry a huge spectrum of images from the lovely to the not so lovely, from the sensual to the outrageous. I can't imagine the editors believe all the images would appeal to all the readers so I chose to enjoy what I found appealing, study those I didn't and move on.

I initially bought the book as it has a wealth of material by the artist Tee A. Corinne and devotes 8 pages to her and another 5 of her images are carried in other sections. The other major artists profiled are Honey Lee Cottrell, Della Grace, Morgan Gwenwald and Jil Posener.

I especially enjoyed the sidebar that accompanied many of the pages `Behind the Camera: Interviews with the Artists'. The candid replies by the artists made for exceptional reading. The topics:
Family
Coming out
Feminist politics
Camera
S/M
School days
Lesbian porn
First picture, first camera
Shooting sex
Cruising
Femme
Money and fame
First dirty picture
Censorship
Lesbian erotica
The art world

I do love this book! It's so far removed from the glossy, polished, airbrushed world so many perceive as the norm for Lesbians, all their (mis) information having come from the fantasy world of pornography, a world run by mostly male or compliant, obedient, submissive women. Real lesbians are more likely to have hairy underarms and vaginas, have their own behaviours and love rituals, possibly even involving hurting each other and the subsequent compassion of that shared pain and they mostly don't live in the Penthouses and Billion dollar properties that high gloss image creators can afford to hire for a day's photo-shoot.

Real lesbians are often overweight by comparison (as are most of the straight peers to the glamour/fantasy industry's girls), living real and normal lives in real and normal places and suffering the same real and normal emotional harrowings the rest of us do on life's path.

I enjoy the casual candour of this book, so accepting of everything from some pretty `out there' behaviours to the same casual acceptance of the possibility of lesbians wanting sex with a man now and then (often a demonized lust in the `scene' circles where we men are sometimes more perceived as `the enemy' by the militant).

I don't care what your `thing' is, gay, straight, outrageously kinky, bizarre or whatever. What I will always applaud is open acceptance of anyone's behaviour that doesn't interfere with any other's right to the same (and that protects the aged, the children and the infirm-the responsibility of all of us who are blessed not to be in the vulnerable categories). The other thing I love about this book is it so readily acknowledges the power and force of female sex drive-That connection to the sacred when in it's purest form there is no taboo-Where it can be Blood, saliva, vaginal fluid, menstrual discharge, where all is felt, expressed and experienced with abandon and total absorption in the fragility and momentary nature of our humanity and the indestructibility and eternity of our spirituality. For all the books about sexuality and `guides' by people who write like it's a manual and provide pictures that are so sterile and unemotional they could make a red blooded bloke contemplate celibacy, it's almost a pity that the heights and power provided by abandon and surrender is found in a gay womens' manuscript, but who cares? At least someone is acknowledging it and maybe it's some compensation for Lesbians having to deal with being a marginalized minority most of the time. (Access to `the secret'?!!)
Cheers
Lloyd

This is the best book that I've ever read on this very important subject. Now, more than ever fathers are as involved with their children's upbringing as Ms. Lipper points out in her eloquent book. We form an intimacy link with our children. They are our most precious resources. Every parent in America should read this book!

Anyone who reads this beautiful and insightful book will gain something that they can apply with their own children. Sue Lipper utilizes her years of experience to share her knowledge and ideas with us. She writes with such love and emotion, that this book is truly from the heart. I learned so much from it! Thank you Ms. Lipper!

I have always felt that there is USUALLY miscommunication between elementary teachers and the parents of their students. THIS MARVELOUS BOOK tells all of us, parents and teachers, alike how to NURTURE each individual child while preparing them for the future. Teaching is not just the ABC's and even though a lot of educators KNOW THIS, they get caught up in the politics of public education. This book is a reminder of the things we should all instinctively know when we are involved with kids. Susan Lipper is the teacher I wish I had had when I was young and the person I would like to be educating my own children. I hope that every parent, teacher and future parents and teachers grab this book and hold it tight. The new millenium just might see some well rounded, HAPPY and self assured children in the years to come. Thank you Ms. Lipper.

I found Ms. Lipper to be the most open minded, nurturing, refreshing teacher I have encountered in a very long time. As the mother of three, now teenagers, kids and an advocate of all children plus an early childhood teacher, I think Ms. Lipper's book is SO IMPORTANTand NECESSARY for all of us who are involved with kids. The book is pleasurable to read, funny in parts, and tells us all that the key to Nurturing Successful Children is love and understanding each individual child's needs. I encourage everyone, young and old, to read this book and think a little bit more about what our children face daily and how we might be able to help them to grow up happy, healthy and SUCCESSFUL...

The girls are cute maybe a followup should be done on them to see where they are now and how they have held up.

As a local newspaper reporter, I have conducted extensive research into the history of Ocean City. With his third book, once again, Miller proves that he is truly an expert on this resort's history. He presents the events and happenings that shaped the island and its culture in a way that is not only accurate, but also interesting to natives and visitors alike. Miller is both an outstanding storyteller and a meticulous historian.

Fred Miller hits the nail on the head again with his recent view of our growing-up-years in Ocean City, NJ. Many era postcard views, period photographs, and other memorabilia are included in the book to remind us of what OC was like in years gone by. While the images are fasinating in their own right, where this book exceeded my expectations was in the depth and research shown with the captioning. It's obvious that the author spent many hours researching the history of the images and Ocean City. A wonderful addition to anyone's OCNJ collection.

Another look at the history of Ocean City, NJ by Fred Miller and another great book by this author! Miller's third book on Ocean City's history (his other two are "Ocean City:America's Greatest family Resort" and "Ocean City Beach Patrol") continues his facinating look at the history of this very interesting seashore resort. Thoroughly enjoyable!

This was yet another great sequel in the Dorsetville series and I once again had trouble laying it down.

The mischievous Gallagher twins are playing ice hockey at the beginning of this story, and a horrible accident occurs when Rodney falls over into the pond which is smothered in ice. Dexter, terrified for his twin chases him and falls in too. The rescue team manages to get both boys out of the ice. Rodney only has a case of hypothermia from which he rapidly recovers, but Dexter is near death and in a serious coma.

The whole church family of St. Cecilia's and Father James gathers round with prayers, even though the doctors know that Dexter will never wake up. As time goes on, the hospital staff is asking their parents to pull the plug, and they just cannot bear it. Time will tell here what happens.

Arlene Campbell is trying to stick with her husband Fred who is becoming worse with his Alzheimer's condition. Things become more and more difficult with Fred, especially after he nearly starts a big fire and almost burns the house down. It is then that Arlene knows she must consider a nursing home.

Deputy Hill is more wreckless then ever while driving and wrecks another cruiser again. Sherriff Bromley is about to give up on him until Hill saves the governor's life in a car accident.

Wendy, the devoted waitress is having her own share of troubles. On top of everything else, she fears that her husband is having another affair.

The book is very down home and what I call a cozy read. The people in Dorsetville all have a strong faith that carries them through life and the many turns of events.

I love Katherine Valentine's subject matter, her characters and her lively and humorous writing style. I read this book in one sitting, then immediately purchased the next 3 Dorsetville books, and the first book in what I hope will be another series.

The only reason I've given the book 4 stars instead of 5 is because the story is almost too idyllic. Yes, we'd all love to believe that somewhere out there a town filled with people like this exists, but for most of us, it just sounds too good to be true.

Despite that, I still loved these books and they all have a permanent place in my collection because I know I'll read them all again, and again.

Katherine Valentine is one Christian writer who can deliver an uplifting message without being preachy or sappy. Her latest installment about the folks at St. Cecilia's is no exception. I can't wait to see what she does in her new series (?) about Bend Oaks due out in June 2006!

I just LOVE the characters in this series and Katherine Valentine's newest installment does not disappoint. Just a few pages into the first chapter, and I'm transported back to this wonderful New England town filled with funny and heartwarming characters. I feel like I never left.

On A Wing and A Prayer begins when the Gallagher twins fall through the ice while playing hockey. Rodney is saved, but by the time the rescue team arrives to save Dudley, his prognosis is bleak. Making matters worse, Doc Hammon must entrust his patient to a stranger in order to undergo heart surgury. As always, the people in Dorsetville rally round, stocking the Gallagher's freezer to overflowing with food, and round the clock prayers. The ending was quite a surprise and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

One Of Ourselves by James Robert Carroll isn't your usual historical/biographical focus on John F. Kennedy's assassination, but rather a finely crafted survey recalling JFK's happier times. Any fan of Presidently Kennedy will find year-round enjoyment in this superbly presented treatise which surveys his Irish roots, his meaning to Irish-Americans, and his visit to Ireland in 1963. A revealing celebration of his world, lovingly portrayed, One Of Ourselves is a welcome addition to personal and community library American History collections.

One Of Ourselves: John Fitzgerald Kennedy In Ireland by professional journalist James Robert Carroll is an informed and informative study of American President Kennedy's three and one-half day visit to Ireland in June of 1963. 44 black-and-white photographs and prints nicely illustrate the president's "homecoming" and its meaning at the time to both Americans and Irish alike. Meticulous attention to detail enhances a superbly written text in bringing to life this particular and unique intersection of human heritage and national office. No personal, academic, or community library Kennedy Studies collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of James Robert Carroll's One Of Ourselves!

This large, excellent complete chronicle of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy return to our ancestral homelands must be read by every American and every Irishman, and everyone else in between.

This little known historic journey which took place a mere six months before his bloody and cowardly murder by still hidden hands reveals much about the stature of the man, unequalled since by any President but Carter, and the apposition of the dynastic Nero and Caligula we suffer since the departure of that second greatest modern President.

Perhaps the present reader unfamiliar with those past times of honor, dignity, morality, truth, justice, equality, openness and compassion may suffer vertigo to contemplate such a different world, to which our present times resemble Superman's Bizarro land, where hello is good-bye and war is peace. But let us bravely recall those great days, that we may strive to live them once more as a nation, now deeply impoverished and abandoned, but a nation once again.

James Robert Carroll competently, carefully, academically, completely presents the historical record of those days, from the preparation of the voyage to the burial of our slain fallen last great leader, considering fully the context and meaning of those times. Several selections from the photogrpahic record also serve to bring those times more closely to us, now a more visually learning than a literate people. This book must be read, and read again, by one and by all.

I thought I had enough JFK books - the clan, the crises, the concubines. I used to read them all; now I find myself skipping through the pages of new books, over the same familiar stories. Even a good historian like Robert Dallek can only make news by turning up more tales of girls & pills. It starts to feel like aversion therapy. Please, I don't want to read any more!
Please!
I wanted to read this book, though - maybe for the same reason JFK wanted to go to Ireland. The trip was a sidelight. His advisors thought it a waste of time - he already had all the Irish votes! And Ireland was hardly a front line in the Cold War - he'd just been to Berlin and was about to face up to 'regime change' in Vietnam. But he wanted to go & he went - it's good to be the president. And his reason for going - like the trip itself - shows a side of him that's much less familiar than what we usually see. I have assorted ideas of what Kennedy was like (I'm a few years too young to remember him - if your first presidential bonding was with Lyndon Johnson - Vietnam, not civil rights, vintage - you can understand the interest in JFK) - but emotion - the tenderer emotions - isn't the first to mind.
That's what this book so wonderfully celebrates - Kennedy's 4-day sentimental journey to Ireland. It wasn't a typical homecoming - not with helicopters, motorcades, speeches, public ceremonies. The whole country seemed to turn out to meet him - you get a very vivid sense here of the excitement - & pride - that Kennedy stirred in the Irish - & that they roused in him. The book covers all that beautifully, it makes you both part of Kennedy's travel party - & one of the Irish crowd, with fresh interviews of those who were there - family, reporters, Irish whose brush with JFK is a dearest memory. But what I liked best - & found most moving - were the little, more private moments. In the house of distant cousins, Kennedy sat down, sipped tea in front of a turf fire, looked around him & saw "Kennedy faces." And in a crowd of thousands, JFK found an old man who reminded him of his grandfather - "And his name is Fitzgerald!" Kennedy didn't like singing in public - for the same reason he didn't wear funny hats - but in Ireland he sang - offkey but with feeling.
And the feeling from 'the 3 happiest days I've ever spent in my life' lasted. Back home he couldn't stop talking about it. He watched the films over & over.
So it was reading 'One of Ourselves'. The feeling of the trip comes through & stays. This is the first Kennedy book in a long time that I've really wanted to dwell on.
(I'm not Irish but I love Irish music & poetry. The book's loaded with wonderful songs & verse -
Thus returned from travels long,
Years of exile, years of pain,
To see old Shannon's face again,
O'er the waters dancing.

Hybrid scrapbooking is the best thing that could happen to scrapbooking. It gives the traditional paper scrapbooker "permission" to explore the digital world, under the pretense that they are just adding a few digital embellishments to their paper layouts. This book by May Flaum and Audrey Neal shows the paper scrapbooker how to use digital elements. But, it also can inspire the digital scrapbooker to considered using paper elements in their digital layouts.

The book comes with a CD filled with 12 digital kits and the book's 40 lessons show the reader how to create layouts with these kits. The authors begin by discussing what hybrid scrapbooking is to them and what the reader needs in terms of supplies to get started. The book is separated into four major categories with several lessons in each, ranging from beginner to advanced. Although the book strives to cover both Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop Elements software, the lessons for Word cover only beginner-level techniques. This is understandable due to the limited features of Word. I would suggest that the reader have a copy of Photoshop Elements to get the most out of the lessons. Each major group of lessons begins with a few "helpful hints" and the book's Gallery of Ideas helps to bring everything together.

It seems that any book about scrapbooking covers editing of photos. This information has been covered in so many books and online resources, that I question the assumption that anyone who can use a digital camera and download their photos onto their computer still needs instructions on basic editing. That being said, the authors do make covering this topic as painless as possible by covering photo editing basics and quickly moving on to the purpose of the book, which is creative techniques for hybrid scrapbooking with your photos including collages, filters, tents, brushes, frames and masks.

The next sections are about text, backgrounds and embellishments. The authors begin with Microsoft Word's built-in word art and move up to creating your own text effects and elements with filters, layers and brushes. Background papers are important to any layout and the authors cover this topic very nicely, from simple altering of digital papers with overlays and filters to creating our own patterned papers with shapes and text. Lastly, the authors cover the topic of digital embellishments. They show the reader how to alter digital elements, how to make their own elements and incorporate these into their hybrid layouts. The authors end the book by discussing layouts created by nine designers that demonstrate how to bring all these techniques together.

May Flaum and Audrey Neal are both life-long paper crafters who, in their individual ways, have made the move up to hybrid scrapbooking.

This was a birthday present and I really enjoyed the fresh ideas. It is about hyprid scrapbooking. Using the computer to create part of a scrapbook layout and then finishing it with a paper layout. A lot of fresh ideas. In each section there is Begginer, Indermediate and Advanced lessons. So this book is for everyone who is scrapbooking. The lessons are short and fairly easy to follow.

I just received this book and it is chalk full of inspiration, ideas and instructions. On top of that, it comes with a CD full of digital elements that you can use to make your digital/hybrid pages, cards or altered projects. You won't be disappointed!

Awesome book !! Easy to follow...directions are right on...If you have ever wanted to combine traditional scrapbooking with the new digital craze, THIS is the book to get !! May and Audrey have made it easy for the beginner AND included challenges for the intermediate and advanced scrapper! The color step by step tutorials are clear and easy to follow ! This one...is a MUST HAVE !!

Sherosky argues that corporations, like people, have a character and a soul and a set of values--and that molding toward humanistic values and away from those driven by greed is a central mandate for our time. Written well before the 2002-03 round of business scandals, it seems eerily prescient, if a bit dated in places.

A brief excerpt:

"...this whole corporate concept is still somewhat of an enigma. Governments do not know how to deal with it because legally there is this illusion of a lack of the human element. We never sat in conversation that the 'people within corporation X' did something. We just say that 'X did this or that'. We point to a collective entity as a singular, impersonal unit despite the fact that living human beings push the buttons... "Profit is not a sin, but it is the real motive and charter of corporate entities. In order to obtain a profit, those within the structure not only produce products and services, but legally hide if improprieties are used to garner the profit. Corporate structures become havens for profiteers with unscrupulous character.

"Since the corporate entity is not traditionally looked upon as a person, there appears a sense of inhumanity that is truly frightening.

"It explains how oil spills, price fixing and product failures can be treated so cold[ly] that human emotions appear missing. This inhuman quality, although a legal safeguard, is also a key ingredient to all business failures and bad press." (pp.67-68)

While the book is somewhat densely written and could have benefited by a good edit, his message is important and worth the effort.

With the recent bombshell of the Enron failure, it is becoming increasingly apparent that somethings are amiss in Corporate America. Those "somethings" are explored in this revealing expose' by Sherosky, a veteran himself of corporate structures both large and small. Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers once said, "winning isn't everything, its the only thing". This attitude has permeated the corporate world - nothing else matters except the "bottom line". Whether a company is a good citizen, or a concerned employer, or environmentaly conscientious has no relevance! Greed is god. Sherosky shows how this manageent philosophy is leaving a lot of money on the table. He counsels that attention to character and virtue in the market place and the workplace would result in ever-growing profits for consumer, employer and employee. If we continue the business practices of the past into the 21st century we will continue to reap the same disfunctional results. This book shows how that can be avoided. Must reading for the progressive and enlightened citizen.

Character is a quality issue, too. Integral to every business process, human nature is the greatest shaping force of corporate performance. Insightful lessons of this book promotes a deeper understanding of human nature; and teaches how to positively contribute toward perfecting total organizational quality. Audience: * Working Personnel of all levels, Managers, Union Leaders * Self-Help: Individual and Organizational Training Reading Advantanges: * Author's 28 years includes Saturn Corps. Launch Team * Exceptional insight into the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of human, organizational character development * Challenges the hot issues of teamwork, diversities of race, gender, position and empowerment

As a Professional Career Coach for women, I can see that the author has obviously spent a great deal of time thinking and researching his work. This is not your usual 'corporate strategy' book -- rather it is a work in progress. Sherosky has brought into focus the main issues between corporate success and spiritual happiness. Does one have to lose one to gain the other -- not according to the author. I agree. You can have both. His chapter on "Tapping the Power of Gender Teamwork" is one of the reasons I recommend his book to my clients. I recommend any professional, seeking a better understanding of the corporate world to read this book.

the book excellently discusses PS 4 from a pro's perspective. it delves on photography. however, i was disappointed when i saw tht it barely touched on effects. photos and color and all that, yes. hi-tech stuff, no.

This book teaches photographers which of Photoshops many features are most useful for their specific photographic needs. The lessons are clear and concise, and a CD is included which has all the files the authors created and use in the text.

If you know Ansel Adams' Zone System you'll feel comfortable here since they use this as a framework in some of the lessons.

After working through the entire book I feel my knowledge of Photoshop has increased several fold.

There are a lot of Photoshop books out there, but few are oriented toward the serious photographer who uses this program. P4A is written especially for photographers, and it is a good tutorial book. Highly recommended.

As a tech editor for New Riders Press, I receive many computer books to use as reference for my assignments. I thought _Photoshop 4 Artistry_ was by far the best of all the Photoshop books I reviewed, and I am now using it as the required text for an advanced digital imaging class that I teach at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, Canada.