Oscar Books

This is a great book on the Mass. Every Catholic should read this book. It is an easy to read but very informational book. It will change your view on the Mass if you think Mass is boring or routine.

Even though this book is not a scholarly approach to worship and liturgy, it is good and easy reading for Catholics who want to deepen their knowledge of some interesting finer liturgical background for the most important ritual in the Church.

If you've been attending Mass all your life, but haven't experienced Jesus' presence all these years, you're not alone. Neither are you, if you've been guilty of treating the Mass as mere obligation.

The irony is that the Mass was never meant to be a burden. Rather, it has always been meant to help unite us with Jesus and the community of Catholics around the world!

In We worship: a guide to the Catholic Mass, Fr Oscar Lukefahr, C.M., a religious educator with over 40 years of experience, describes the Mass as a ritual, and compares it to the ritual of a baseball game: "Those who understand the rules and the rituals of baseball can have a great time at the game. Those who don't know baseball, on the other hand, will likely experience much confusion."

In a light-hearted, simple-to-read manner, Lukefahr gives good reasons to attend Mass, as well as a brief history showing how the Mass we celebrate goes way back to Jesus' time. He also takes a step-by-step walkthrough of the Mass, explaining along the way the significance of each part.

He also gives practical suggestions for participation at Mass in order to get more out of it, and then reveals why the Eucharist is key to the Mass, and the centre of all other sacraments of the Church (CCC# 1324).

To add value to the read, questions for reflections and activities for personal growth at the end of each chapter will help keep us engaged. A full chapter is devoted to addressing Frequently Asked Questions, which will likely satisfy most, if not all, of your own curiosity.

Not once during the read was I tempted to put the book down as dull or boring. In fact, the further I read, the more I wanted to know! Lukefahr provides a refreshing perspective on the Mass we attend each week, and promises to help the reader with the open heart to experience more fully the meaning of the Mass and the Eucharist.

For Catholics who want to deepen their knowledge on the Mass, or those who have lost the meaning of it, or those simply never understood it, We worship: a guide to the Catholic Mass makes a good read to help you appreciate and love the weekly hour-long devotion as the pinnacle of Christian prayer, where we come in full union with Jesus and the Church.

Being a cradle Catholic, I have attended thousands of Masses over the years, and I truly enjoyed this book. It started off with "why" we should attend Mass, and then moved to the history and progression of the Mass through the centuries. It finished with how to pray and live the Mass. I came away with new perspectives - it is so easy for something like Mass to be something you do on 'auto-pilot' and a new zeal for attending the Mass. We have a great gift in the Mass and I appreciate it even more now.

An interesting book that explains why we dress as we do and it also explains why it is called a Tuxedo in North America, a dinner jacket in the UK and a smoking in many other languages. Furthermore, some important faux paxs are also brought to the reader's attention.

This simple, "pocket size" book has proven to be extra-ordinary.
After I lost my entire wardrobe due to an apartment fire, I
bought this book and my new wardrobe is not only more elegant
but less expensive as well !

Do not be fooled by the "Pocket Guide" title: this book
covers everything from Suits, Shirts, Accessories, UnderClothes,
OverCoats, Formal Wear and much more. Must have for all
gentlemen.

This book is extremely useful as you search information about what to wear...and know few about it. History, materials, are well described but I feel somewhat disappointed as I found no photos, and few counselling about how to match the different items, and when...except for the excellent formal wear chapters.
But after all, this is a pocket book, well-done and quite instructing!

One of the more thoroughly historically informed works in the genre, this book features much background for each clothing type and also guidance. Perfect for those who'd rather not live in ignorance regarding the original meaning of their clothes and clothing conventions.

This is a very well contructed book, and it shows the evolution of the slap technique in the Latin Style and also demostrated once and again how well is Oscar Stangaro as a teacher, writter and bass player. Like we say in my language !!!BRAVO!!!


Heriberto Rojas

es un gran libro de latin!!!, contiene los ritmos mas importantes de este genero cada uno de tres formas con la banda completa,con la seccion de percusiones y play along. los ejercicios de slap estan geniales .contiene tablatura y notacion normal.
altamente recomendable no solo como libro de slap sino tambien de latin!!!!

I have found "Afro-Cuban Slap Bass Lines" to be very enjoyable. I have always wanted to learn new styles and this book, along with the CD has greatly improved my skills. The CD helped me develop the desired style, whether it be cha cha cha or Afro-Cubano, at a quick pace. I found myself playing along to the complete song tracks quickly and easily. I highly recommend this book.

The Ballad of Reading Gaol is truly a fascinating poem. Wilde's valorization of the tragic murderer, "...each man kills the thing he loves... the kindest use a knife because the dead so soon grow cold", provides a poignant commentary on the transience of love. However, this book is marred by what seem to be terrible typos: "But their were those amongst us all..." "And knew that, had each go his due..." "Mad mourners of a corse!" I haven't read any of the other versions of this poem, and can't tell you if they're better, but for the extra money this costs, I expected more from the publisher. Five stars for the poem, but only one for the presentation because of its errors.

As a student of Wilde's life and works, I find this is essential reading. Who needs Shakespeare to outline tradgey? Wilde was imprisoned after a second trial (the first was a no decision). He was confined in the horrid English jails for two years. "The wretched prisoner is then left a prey to the most weakening, depressing and humiliating malady.... punished with the greatest severity and brutality. Each and all these things I had to transform into a spirtual experience." The ballad

outlines the horrors he and others endure who are prisoners of conscience. A terrible tragedy.

Essential for any lover of great poetry, and certainly for any fan of Oscar Wilde is his great poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Scarcely the only thing he wrote after his return from his notorious 2-year prison term, The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a moving and tragic account of one man's suffering. One could go on and on - writing hundreds of pages in essay form - about the indignities and injustices of prison life, but this goes toward saying it much better than any ivory tower intellectual argument ever could. Wilde, winner of the infamous Newdigate Prize For Poetry at Oxford University, had long been an immaculate poet - an a born writer - but he practically anandoned the form after his marriage and the start of his career as a playwright in the early 1890's (aside from that strange amalgram of a poem, The Sphinx.) And yet, this is almost exclusively the only thing Wilde wrote after his release before his untimely death in 1900. Thankfully, the great artist went out with a bang. The Ballad fuses some of the best and clearest writing I have ever read in the English language with a poetic sensibility and a true and tragic sense of real suffering, thereby creating one of the great poems of all-time.

Many anthologies of Wilde's writings are available, and perhaps buying a book that simply includes this lone poem is questionable. I definitely suggest that you go for a Complete Works if you are new to the author; however, if you'd like a travel-worthy copy of certain smaller works - such as this poem - then editions such as this will serve you well. Besides, this edition has as well those beautiful paintings to go along with it - something I'm sure Oscar himself would've loved.

This tiny but substantial book carries a punch. To be featured in Contemporary World Architects publication, the architects must be critically acclaimed & that their works are ahead of their time & yet, they must be able to withstand the passing of time. Among the Board Members who made the decision are Richard Meier, Cesar Pelli, Graham Owen, Emilio Ambasz, Aaron Betsky, Charles Gwathmey, & the list continues. Therefore, we know that we are into something special when we read about Campo Baeza. Despite his relatively young age, he has produced quite a few number of works that are heavily featured in publications around the world except his hometown of Spain. The ever reliable & inquisitive Kenneth Frampton not only talks about his works but also, Campo as a mentor, a teacher, an inspiration for many up & coming idealists like himself. Campo is adamant that he doesn't belong to the Minimalist school despite that his name has been brought up again & again in some Minimalist books that defined him as a Meditarrean Minimalist architect. Campo is selective with his projects & he doesn't take on any projects. This book emphasises much about his much praised Turegano House, Gaspar House, et cetera. Here, we are shown his versatility with his involvements in not just residential houses, but also educational buildings & public buildings. An architect who is enthusiastic with strong form, the ever changing nature of light, the metaphorism of architecture which he derives from other art stream particularly Rembrandt's "Man In a Room", Johannes Verspronck's "Girl in Blue", Perez Villalta's "El Navegante Interior", the humanity of those buildings with its "right" proportion complementing the environment & their occupants. The Appendix consists of Selected Buildings in their timely sequence, location, & usage; List of Works & Credits: & Acknowledgments. A spendid book to read & browse through. Highly recommended. Having said that, the publication is done in 1997 & therefore, it would be ideal to have a new edition with addition of his later works.

just buy this book. beautiful pictures of beautiful buildings of one of the great european architects (but unfortunately still unknown in the netherlands)

Alberto Campo Baeza, one of Spain's outstanding modern architects and professor of architecture at American and European universities, has his elegant designs reviewed in Kenneth Frampton's book.

This book is an absolue delight, a most wonderful portrait of one of the most interesting figures in history. When people think of Oscar Wilde, they think scandals and love affairs. Wilde has most certainly been made into a larger than life character. This book humanizes Wilde, gives him a chance to speak for himself, to show what he really was. His business corrospondnce, letters to his children, these simple writings from his everyday life show a sign of Wilde that people do not think about. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

As one of those people who has always found Oscar Wilde an interesting and inscrutable character I had great expectations and an insatiable desire to finally peruse the epistolary output of this remarkable man. Sadly and I will add through no fault of the editors of this opus this compilation will probably leave most readers still searching for insight. Many of these letters (if not the majority) deal with very mundane issues (e.g. business arrangements,inquiries to publishers, very conventional thank you notes and in the post-gaol notes a good number of entreaties for money). Of course this book does contain De Profundis which does present some fascinating insights about the way his mind was functioning during his incarceration as well as the great indignities attendant with this. I would still recommend this to the diehard Wilde fanatic but to the novice would recommend a good standard biography (Ellman's for example).

Though Mr. Wilde is indeed dead, his memory and writing is still with us. With this new book, "THE COMPLETE LETTERS OF OSCAR WILDE" you get a total new insiders glance on Oscar Wilde and his life. If you are a fan of Oscar Wilde, merely just heard of him, or a fan of literature, this is a must-have!

I saw Nader T. speak at a lecture here in Detroit. The reviewer that said that the book does not capture the degree of thoughtfulness that is involved in their design process is absolutely correct. Perhaps it is because the text is not their own words? who knows. Even so, this book has some of the most intriguing manipulations to seemingly standard materials and construction. This book shows how Office dA take their hand to urban planning, furniture design, and architecture. Each of the physical models shown are a feat of craftsmanship, almost comparable to the complexity of Morphosis models, yet I tend to side with office dA for SUBSTANCE and technology (no offense, Thomas Mayne.) Office dA is one of the most sophisticated thinkers in small/medium scale architecture in the United States right now. According to their last lecture here in Detroit, we will be seeing larger projects in the near future.

The fact that most of their work in this book is unbuilt makes little difference. The models are so meticulously detailed that it might as well be built.

-Nicholas Kothari

I've never understood architecture monographs that rely almost solely on text and photos. Design is about drawing, and without sketches, details, section and plans, the resulting building exists in a vacuum. For that reason, I really enjoyed this book. The use of working drawings gives you an understanding of the thought and technique that results in some very creative and beautiful designs. The photographs (and there are quite a few of them) do a great job of bringing out the subtle details of Office dA's work. Granted, it's not all architecture (there are furniture and sculpture pieces) and not much of it is built (8 out of 11 projects are in model form), but it's engaging and inspiring nonetheless. It was also nice (and, as a student, instructive) to see scale models of such a high quality, instead of the usual computer-generated renderings. It's a great book for anyone interested in current design, and a must-have for architecture students.

While most monographs are unfortunately stuffed with photos of built work, Office dA has very little built work, this one is is pleasantly filled with many sketches and working drawings. There are two completed projects (as seen in Architecture) and many uncompleted projects. I heard Nader Tehrani speak at the Wexner Center and unfortunately the book cannot begin to describe the thoughtful manner of their designs. Otherwise, it is an excellent book that shows the process of their design. For a monograph this is an excellent book.

In this urban planning classic, Newman addresses the question of why some public housing projects are insanely dangerous, and others only moderately so. Generally, he emphasizes the importance of surveillance- that is, that crime is lower where residents can see what is going on around the building. He also believes that such projects should not be too large [with over 1000 residents] or too dense [over 50 units per acre].

Some of his other key points:

*Streets near housing projects should not be closed off, and their lobbies should face public streets, because "streets provide security in the form of prominent paths for concentrated pedestrian and vehicular movements; windows and doorways, when facing streets, extend the zone of residents' territorial commitments and allow for the continual casual surveillance by police in passing cars." (P. 25) At a minimum, lobbies should be in a straight line from public streets because "Winding access paths provide many opportunities for muggers to conceal themselves while awaiting the arrival of a victim." (P. 82).

*Housing projects should be designed so that residents can see bordering streets from their windows; where housing projects look inward on themselves, "these bordering streets have been deprived of continual surveillance by residents and have proven unsafe to walk along". (p. 80) Newman prefers rowhouse neighborhoods because police and neighbors can "spot at a glance any peculiar activity" (p. 81).

*People generally feel safer on "heavily trafficked public streets and arteries combining both intense vehicular and pedestrian movement" because "the presence of many people is seen as a possible force in deterring criminals." (P. 109) Some commentators have asserted that Newman is a critic of mixed use, because he states that crime is higher in projects near certain land uses- in particular, high schools and other teenage hangouts. But it appears to me that Newman is making a much narrower argument: that land uses that primarily attract teenagers are particularly problematic, probably because teenagers are particularly likely to commit crimes.

Moreover, this book does not seem to endorse low-density sprawl; he admits that "a correlation between density and crime rate for all New York City projects reveals that there is no evident pattern until one reaches a density of fifty units per acre" - far more dense than most urban neighborhoods outside New York City, let alone suburbs.

I did notice a couple of weaknesses in Newman's analysis. His use of statistics is not always persuasive; among low-rise buildings with over 1000 residents, the median crime rate was 45 crimes per 1000 people, while high-rise buildings had 67 (p. 28). However, the standard deviation among the latter group was 24- a fact which suggests that this difference might not be statistically significant.

And although Newman provides readers with some pictures, I wish he had added even more: sometimes I found it hard to understand him without visual aids.

Also, his own figures show that the crime rate for high-rise buildings with under 1000 residents is almost as low as the crime rate for low-rise buildings. Doesn't this fact suggest that his critique of high-rises is erroneous?

This is a greate book about the way architecture affects the lives of people who live in it. If you want an explanation for the recent two weeks of riots in France's banlieus, you will find part of the explanation here. This is MUST reading for anyone interested in urban planning, or in modern urban society. I give it the highest possible recommendation.

I used this book as my "bible" when writing my undergrduate honors thesis. The theories Newman sets forth in this book are genius and timeless. IF you're interested in public housing and the effects of the architecture on its inhabitants PLEASE do yourself a favor and get a copy of this wonderful book. Every architect and planner should read this book regardless of what they design as these guidelines will improve any building built or any city planned.

Eli Whitney ranks as one of the great inventors of American history. Associated in innumerable textbooks with the cotton gin that he developed, his contribution to the development of the American economy extended far beyond this simple device. Constance McL. Green explains his impact on our history in this brief biography, one that serves both as a study of his life and of the evolution of early American industry.

Whitney displayed his mechanical aptitude from an early age. Growing up in colonial Massachusetts, he preferred tinkering in his father's workshop to his various chores on the family farm. Though his family was middle class by the standards of the age, his request to go to college was nonetheless a considerable burden on the family finances, though one to which his father assented. Whitney attended Yale, which Green sees as a decision with critical consequences, as his subsequent career would be greatly aided by his fellow alumni.

After his graduation in 1792, Whitney's acceptance of an tutoring position brought him to Georgia, where he made the acquaintance of the remarkable Catherine Greene, the widow of General Nathaniel Greene. It was while he was staying at her plantation that he set himself to solving one of the most perplexing problems the South faced - how to process green-seed cotton cheaply. Here the author provides a valuable context, explaining the new nation's economic straits in the aftermath of the American Revolution. With America now cut off from most British markets and with her industry undeveloped, many believed that the solution was to develop a new staple product to export. The Industrial Revolution was stimulating a growing demand for raw cotton for the new machines to weave into cloth, but the green seeds of the dominant American variety were prohibitively difficult to separate from the fibers.

Eli Whitney solved this problem by building a machine the separated the seeds from the fiber easily. His new device, the cotton gin, was quickly seen as the revolutionary device it was, energizing the economy of a region that until then was bereft of a role. Filing a patent for it, he went into business with Greene's plantation manager, Phineas Miller. Their plan to gin cotton for 2/5 of the crop soon encountered hostility from numerous Southern cotton growers, however, who preferred to copy the gin and do it themselves. The subsequent legal battles dragged on for another decade, and resulted in judgements that brought in only a fraction of the money Whitney and Miller had hoped to make.

Yet Whitney's efforts on the cotton gin were to lead to an even more revolutionary innovation. To produce the number of machines believed his company would need, Whitney developed a standardized production process, one which he soon sought to apply to the production of muskets. After his struggles with marketing the cotton gin, Whitney turned to musket manufacturing as an endeavor that ensured a guaranteed income through federal contracts. His promise to deliver thousands of muskets rested not on a new design of the weapon, but on the application of his "uniformity system" to their production. This, as Green notes, was Whitney's "unique contribution to American industrial development . . his execution of a carefully-thought-out system, of which every separate type of machine was a part." Such a system offset the shortage of labor plaguing the young nation, and permanently transformed both American manufacturing and the American economy.

Green's book is a good examination of both the man and his legacy. Drawing upon a range of materials, it describes his inventions and his business activities in a clear and accessible manner. More than just a portrait of Whitney, it is a study of a pivotal moment in the history of the American economy and in the development of American technology, with lessons and insights that are as applicable today as they were in his age.

Excellent book! The author presents the life of Eli Whitney from birth to death, and all his accomplishments. I found that Eli was more gifted than previously thought and accomplished much more than is covered in simple biographies.

She shows how Eli was mechanical from a young age, and how through perseverence in the many tribulations he faced, he finally reached the success he desired.

The author used the letters and papers from Eli's life to write the biography and inserts their text throughout the biography.

When I walked in to class the first day of school , he told us get out some paper and write this down. I thought O.K. just probally those boring class rules again. He said read Eli Whitney and the Birth of American Technology,I thought oh how cool we get to read a book! So I found the book and read it.Here is my comments and summary.I was amazed to learn that we were not doing to good economical in the 1700s. England got mad at us because we were no longer doing things they hoped America would,so we went our way and they went thiers.America started declining in economics because we no longer had the machinery that England had supplied us with. We kept declining because we no longer knew how to do anything independantly. Suddenly we could grow cotton! Pulling the seeds out of the cotton was hard labor and the colonists could only produce 1 pound a day. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin to make the labor of picking seeds out of cotton easier. He was not very good at reading, but doing figures was easy.This helped him majorly in inventing the cotton gin and many other inventions. If you are interested in America's struggle for economics in thr 1700s,I would highly recommend this great book.

I AM STARTING UP A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS. AS THE BOOK MAY HAVE TECHNICALLY CORRECT PICTURES,THEY DO NOT TELL THE READER ANY OF THE CAMERA TECHINIQUES USED AT ALL. THE ONLY TECHNIQUE MENTIONED IS HIS USE OF LIGHTS. IT DOESN'T GO IN DEPTH OF THE TYPE OF LIGHTING. IT JUST TELLS THE READER OF THE POSITIONING. ALL OF THE PICTURES IN THE ENTIRE BOOK ARE BASED UPON CHARACTERS OF THE MEXICAN RELIGOUS HOLIDAY OF "DIA DE LOS MUERTOS" DAY OF THE DEAD A.K.A ALL SOULS DAY. IT IS A FESTIVAL DATING BACK TO THE ADVANCED AZTEC INDIANS. IT IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY IN WHERE THE DEAD ARE HONORED AND DEATH IS VIEWED IN A HUMEROUS MANNER SO NOBODY MAY LIVE IN FEAR OF THE NATURAL PROCESS OF DEATH. PEOPLE DRESS UP IN COSTUM AND MAKE-UP REPRESENTING DEATH AND DANCE WHILE THEY PARADE THROUGH THE STREETS. OSCAR LAZOYA DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB IN CATCHING THE ESSENCE OF THE CHARACTERS. HIS IMAGES ARE EXPRESSIVE AS WELL AS POWERFUL. LAZOYA THOUGH FAILS TO DISCLOSE ANY OF THE TECHNIQUES HE USED TO CAPTURE THESE IMAGES. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK THAT IS UNDER THE TITLE CAN BE VERY MISLEADING TO THE WOULD BE PERSON BUYING THE BOOK TO LEARN TECHNIQUES OF PHOTOGRAPHY. IT IS RATHER A BOOK MORE TOWARD A GALLERY OF IMAGES. PERHAPS THE TITLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN"LAZOYA'S IMAGES OF ALL SOUL'S DAY" BUT THEN, THE COMPANY THAT PUBLISHED THE BOOK MIGHT NOT HAVE FOOLED AS MANY PEOPLE INTO BUYING THIS BOOK UNDER DIFFERENT PRETENSES.

I very much disagree with SkyHunerV about the absence of technical details. The Author illustrates what lights went where, plus what camera and lenses were used. Yet I highly recommend this book for its glimpse of Mr. Lozoya's bold photographic and cultural vision. It's not "about" Dia de los Muertos, or even the Hispanic Southwest, although these are often its subjects. This is "about" Lozoya's unique perspective on our cultural myths of love and death and innocence. It's playfully bright and solidly graphic. No, this is not (strictly speaking) a how-to book, although most techniques are clearly explained. It's more about talented vision, personal passion and having fun with your camera, family and friends.

Oscar Lozoya's book is an outstanding body of work that very few people can duplicate. The lighting, the posing , the attention to detail is absolutely marvelous. It is a unique style that Mr. Lozoya masters very well and I strongly beleive that it does not matter if you are a beginer or an old timer at photography, this book is worth it. This is what great Black and White photography is all about. Perfect lighting, perfect poses, perfect negative equals a perfect print. A great Master no doubt.