Alexander Technique Books

I'm the current librarian for a calligraphy guild, and stumbled on an older printing of this book as I was getting acquainted with my new duties. Dover Books are unassailable in general: you always get so much for so little. And the subject matter somehow always interests me.

In this book's case, it's the quality of illustrations and coverage of more obscure hands that really stand out. In particular, it's hard to find much information on the Spanish Redondilla and German Kanzlei scripts. This book includes some detail of both, as well as some rather granular taxonomy covering scripts I've never heard of before: French Ronde, Batârde Coulee, Mercantile, and whatnot.

I recommend this book to palaeographers and any calligraphers who occasionally tire of the same old standby scripts, as well as anyone who wants to refine his grasp of alphabetic taxonomy. I personally measure the value of design and calligraphy books by how long they stay relevant. This book is just as useful today as it was fifty years ago. My only complaint is that for some of the scripts, especially the more obscure ones, complete alphabets are not always presented, so don't expect it to serve as an exemplar.

Walker works in the oldest style of printmaking - it goes back to the middle ages in the West, with roots much farther back. While working with the traditional materials, his innovations in tools and imagery make this a very current body of work.

Woodcut, as the name implies, incises its image into the surface of a wooden block. The traditional craft uses knives and gouges to create imagery, normally working in the negative space around the inked imagery. It's never been a spontaneous medium. Even the apparent spontaneity in some Japanese woodcut is an illusion, painstakingly worked to create the illusion of free and easy drawing. Using modern power tools, Walker has achieved what others spent hundreds of years imitating: a woodcut style as loose and spontaneous as a drawing.

The result can be startling and delightful. I first noticed the freehand line in plate 6, "Raguel, angel of vengeance." That style really comes into its own in plates 42 and 43, though. The first, "Lovers", lets Walker use his loose and curving lines express the close and curving forms of the embracing couple. The second, "The Kiss", matches Walker's humanistic lines to the very human affection of the couple.

There's not a lot of text in this book: commentary on each of the 70+ featured images, plus a little about Walker's life and manner of working. That helps explain why his work is so little-known. Much of it has gone into handcrafted books of which only one or two hundred were ever printed, and into collections that rarely circulate outside the printmaking community. Even though the uniqueness of each impression is lost in reproducing the works for a wider audience, I'm very glad that he has made it available in this lovely edition. It's fascinating work, sure to be welcome in any library on prints and printmaking.

//wiredweird

An excellent introduction to woodcut and wood engraving. One potential problem with all art How-To books is that the reader's impression of the book is often based on how much they like the author's own examples in the book. If the reader is impressed with those examples, or with the author's work in general, the book will rise in the reader's estimation. This book was written in 1945, when, for obvious reasons, western printmakers were not likely to look to Japan for inspiration or helpful advice. Whatever the reason, Mr. Mueller's work as shown here is solidly embedded in mid-twentieth-century western traditions of block printing and illustration; his draftsmanship is unquestionable and his compositions are powerful. However, with a few exceptions, he doesn't move beyond the established German-Expressionist look of western woodcuts, even when his medium is wood engraving. His engravings appear to be slab-side woodcuts with subtler shading. His wood engravings look like woodcuts. The exceptions to the heavy, dark traditional woodcut look of most of his work are the utilitarian how-to spot illustrations he did for the instructional chapters: how to hold the knife, how to ink the block, etc. They are light, loose and charming.
Another problem area is color. The color woodcuts included in this book are in the western style, and generally unimpressive.
So if you can set aside prejudices for or against western-style relief prints, this book is a good introduction to the tools and methods of woodcut and wood engraving. Then, after finding out the basics, I can recommend Rebecca Salter's Japanese Woodblock Printing for a different approach. This approach uses some of the same tools, more specific types of wood, and a more individualized impression process to yield prints that are as subtle and detailed as lithographs or serigraphs. Another good source is George Walker's The Woodcut Artist's Handbook, which, like this one, treats of both woodcut and wood engraving, but includes modern examples. Among the examples are period pieces as well as the work of modern printmakers working in different idioms.

Marketing for Dummies is one of the best books a person can read to achieve a comprehensive understanding of marketing and its influence on the business world. The book's use of descriptive, understandable language and its focus on the essential "4 P's of Marketing" make it a much needed read for anyone new to the business world. The author carefully lays out the necessities of a marketing position, the goals of the marketing department, and powerful tools used to perform this essential part of business effectively and as economically as possible.

This book comes with a video CD which is very nice for reviewing the operative steps. Overall, very good.

Lawson's goal is to categorize different printing types ("fonts" in the computer world) "... in a logical system based first upon their structure and seondly upon their historical derivation." The kind of font makes a real difference in the feel and sense of the work written in it, so this isn't just a mouse-milking exercise in taxnomic detail for its own sake.

This book goes a long way towards meeting its goal. It describes the major structural families of Roman letter forms, based on stroke weights and emphasis, style of serifs (if any), and historical origin. There are plenty of visual examples for most of the text, critical for training the eye. This brief book is certainly a good start.

It's just a start, though. Lawson chose a brief format for this book. That avoided tedium, but necessarily omitted examples and discussions that could heve deepened the presentation. The section on display fonts is the briefest, probably because the range of display fonts is widest and hardest to divide into tidy compartments. Instead, Lawson relegates all special cases to the "hell box," the bin where damaged type was dumped on its way to being melted down. This, I think, is a symptom of the book's weakness: the tendency to force type faces into his Procrustean categories, and gloss over whatever didn't fit.

He acknowledges that "Exact classification of the many types which can conceivably be listed as decorative is not easy." I would argue that rigid classification is not always desirable and is often impossible. Lawson mentions Knuth's MetaFont program in passing, and that tool (or another like it) inflicts mortal wounds on any body of categories. Whatever the diagnostic point that separates one class from another, in serifs and bracketing, emphasis, decoration, etc., the clever artist can defeat it. It would be a freshman computing exercise to morph two (or more!) fonts into each other, straddling the line of distinction with one foot firmly on each side of the divide.

If not taken to dogmatic extremes, type taxonomy can be helpful in a variety of ways. It establishes a common language, allowing terse exchange of complex ideas. When classification fails, as it surely will at some point, the typographer needs a descriptive vocabulary that calls out a font's unique structure in equally concise words. Lawson seems to have become so dedicated to classification that he under-represents the rich descriptive vocabulary needed for the second half of the job.

This is a good introduction, and may work well if type is a tool rather than a passion for you. This book will probably disappoint the specialist or advanced student, however. Other books give more detailed description and in more specific terms.

//wiredweird

The original book written in Russian was then translated into German. The German edition had many photographs, the only aspect I missed in this English abridged version. Otherwise Ivashkin conversations with Schnittke are very revealing of his world, and of his vision on the state of classical music.

The simple views that empty virtuosity is not enough, the view that the orchestra is like the universe, thus boundless and not an elitist frozen past are refreshing at a time where so many formations are in dire financial situation, principally because of the lack of imagination of their music directors. Check how many orchestras have programmed Schnittke's orchestra music this season and you'll understand...
The intricacy of good and evil, so present in his works are revealed to the reader.

Follows a series of more technical dissertations on XX Century works by other composers. I felt I was lacking the technical basis for fully benefiting from the discussion.
Portraits by friends were revealing about Schnittke but also about the friends own personalities: Rostropovitch preface in that regard is more about himself than anything else...

So in conclusion, a worthy effort in English by A. Ivashkin who should be commended for his relentless efforts in a time where the soup of the politically correct is our musical diet!

Its rare to see a sculptor's notebooks, & this is a great read. He doesn't waffle endlessly, and what he does say succinctly will teach you plenty and he draws very clear diagrams. the book is also printed very nicely, large size, black n white. he talks about form, studios, techniques, tool choices, all sorts of things. explains several of his own works & the techniques he used. the section on anatomy is only a few pages at the end but packed with invaluable info. i'm very glad i have this book. the only downside is that there are not many photos of the finished works he did (though he's drawn beaut pictures). still, i guess it'd be easy to find photos on the net & i'd rather have his explanations & drawings in his own notebook. recommended for sculptors who want to learn trad techniques and/or do figurative stuff.

This is a book full of beautiful ideas to enhance, declutter and decorate a living room. Jane looks at what the living room is used for and discusses various decoration themes based on the main use of the room.

Feng shui techniques are used, energy flow is explored, colour and fabric use is discussed and aromatherapy basics are introduced. Energy cleansing techniques and simple blessings are also touched on briefly, and ways of using sound and textures are also considered. Creative storage ideas and finishing touches lend a practical aspect.

Beautiful illustrations enhance this simple book, written in an easy to follow, conversational tone, making this a useful resource for designing, creating and decorating a relaxing, pratical and gorgeous family living space.

Today's satellite images allow us to peer into the most remote places on Earth. We have weather images, erupting volcanoes, and oil spills. Some satellites can identify individual vehicles. "The Age of Exploration", usually viewed as that era of sailing ships that gave European society its first indication of the Western Hemisphere, Australia and detailed Africa and Asia, is a limited definition. Many internal lands remained out of ken for decades, even centuries. One man capped the end of pre-satellite exploration with extensive travels in many places. This account of the life of Wilfred Thesiger traces his many journeys from wanderings in Abyssinia, across the Arabian desert lands and around East Africa. It's a gripping account of an enigmatic figure - one we'll never see again. Maitland's highly detailed narrative, culled from documents and personal acquaintance with Thesiger, will not be easily displaced.

The son of a diplomat in Addis Abbaba, capital of what was then Abyssinia, Thesiger had an adventuresome childhood. The life toughened him from an early age. It also led both to an unsettled existence matched by an enduring desire to return there throughout his life. Even when far afield, the Ethiopian hills beckoned him. Adding to that lure was a friendship with a man who ultimately became Emperor of that nation, Haile Salassie. Family circumstances removed him from Addis, and he found ways to exercise his wanderlust. The intrusion of WWII gave Thesiger an opportunity to put his exploration and language skills to work. Having mastered Arabic in addition to his academic training, he was able to negotiate arrangements with various tribes. In the Western Desert, after El Alamein, his exploits are exciting reading.

The disruptive era of war lingered in the Middle East as oil became the focus of The Powers. Thesiger's deep aversion to the internal combustion engine kept him away from petroleum exploration. Instead, he was commissioned to hunt locusts! The job allowed him to penetrate into Arabia's "Empty Quarter" where some people had never seen a European. These jaunts nearly had Thesiger incarcerated or killed as local sheikhs resented European intrusion. In other exercises, Thesiger is largely credited with bringing to view Iraq's "Marsh Arabs". These enigmatic people lived an isolated existence in an immense area. Thesiger spent long, fruitful periods with them, often acting as a medical technician [he had no formal medical training]. His fondness for young Arab men gained a further hold in those years. As a semi-official circumcisor for the locals, there was ample opportunity.

Maitland, while not overly adulatory of Thesiger in this book, notes some of his subject's more disparate thoughts and habits. Apart from his detestation of the internal combustion engine, the wanderer never found the need for music. That's a bit out of character for a man who manifested the "Old School" attitudes of middle-class Britons. He even over-dressed on many unlikely occasions, rejecting an appeal to "peel some layers" at a dinner in Kenya. His attachment to his mother was intense. The loss of his father and Kathleen's later re-marriage only seem to have strengthened that tie. Perhaps, suggests Maitland, the years spent with an abusive headmaster of Thesiger's preparatory school drove him from "father figures" and may have led to his propensity for young men. Although all those relationships appear to be platonic, Thesiger seems to have avoided sex as demeaning or repulsive.

Thesiger left a legacy of writings of his travels and the people he met. Maitland suggests Thesiger's orientation was always toward people over places. Geography was merely background to be dealt with as he visited, exchanged greetings, partook of the same fare as the locals and generally "blended in". He fit in, sometimes uncomfortably, with the mob of others producing similar travel accounts. He stood above those other writers, however, to become the giant of 20th Century voyagers on the ground. The most compelling of his works, which Maitland draws on extensively, is "The Life of My Choice", his autobiographical rendition. As Maitland makes clear, that book remains only the beginning in depicting this rather fabulous figure. Never truly Arab - he never considered becoming a Muslim - yet certainly not really British, despite his attitudes, Thesiger was a man without a country, yet of many. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]