By Subject Books

I did not live during their heyday, but this book provides an interesting overview of the organization. Their goals jarred American society--then in the Cold War--because it required the concession that a democracy was not treating everybody fairly.

Furthermore successfully winning the war for civil rights was not as simple as African Americans and other historically marginalized communities intergrating into the status quo.

A whole new society had to be built following a LARGE overhaul of the status quo.

A strength of the Black Panther Party was that it encouraged these disadvantaged communities to step up to the plate--and assume responsibilitity for taking care of themselves.

Raising the ire of then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, several of the ten point directives ironically would today be more likely to place the Black Panther Party as proponents of welfare reform--if not dismantlement. They believed in giving people a hand up as opposed to a hand out.

But then Chairman Huey P. Newton attempted to build alliances with 'the women and the gays'. Encouraging Party members to recognize how their own stereotypes undercut a successful creation of the revolutionary society, this directive sharply contrasted with most mainstream 'ultra macho' representations of the Party.

Newton's plan remains all the more radical today when some people attempt to sell out these communities.

While the visual study The Black Panthers could've been profiled in our Arts or Photography sections, it's reviewed here because no serious collection of titles on social issues and 1960s American history should be without it. The foundation of the coverage is black and white photos by Stephen Shames, which have taken nearly forty years to appear in book form. Shames was involved with the Panthers since a student at UC-Berkeley: his photos thus document the party from an insider's viewpoint, not your usual outsider's journalistic documentary approach, offering candid and rare glimpses behind the scenes.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Recently I posted on my blog an article passed on from the Partisan Defense Committee protesting the recent arrest of some former Black Panthers for crimes allegedly committed in the early 1970's. Apparently, when the government gets you in its sights you are there forever, especially if you are black. That article got me to thinking back to the days when we of the white left were head over heels in love with the Black Panthers as the epitome of revolutionary manhood (and it was mainly men) and of revolutionary struggle. Well, as we are all painfully aware, those days are long gone although the goals fought for in those days are still desperately in need of completion. Thus, some thoughts about the ups and downs of the Black Panther experience, the most militant and subjectively revolutionary part of the black liberation movement of the 1960's, and its role in the history of black liberation is in order.

It is extremely improbable that the phenomenal rise of the Black Panthers in California, and later elsewhere, would have occurred had it not been for the tidal wave of the black civil rights struggle in the South in the early 1960' s and the various ghetto uprisings in the mid-1960's. The victories achieved in the civil rights struggle, limited as they were, taught masses of blacks how to organize around their own interests. That those victories were limited became apparent with the hardheaded and hard-learned experience that those problems were only the tip of the iceberg for the black community as the struggle moved North and West. This contradiction played itself internally in the black liberation movement and eventually caused a profound political collision between the liberal integrationist, pacific wing epitomized by Martin Luther King and the separatist, nationalist, self-defense oriented Malcolm X wing , of which the Panthers were the heirs. A shorthand way of putting this is the black liberation variant of the age-old tension between revolutionary and reformist strategies for social change. The Black Panthers throughout their rise and fall never did successfully overcome that tension, to the detriment of militant leftists, black and white.

As any photograph taken of the Panthers from the period would demonstrate the Panthers and particularly the central leadership, Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Elridge Cleaver among others were not adverse to little provocative demonstrations or shock-value publicity. The FBI, however, early on had other plans for them and they were not pretty. If J. Edgar Hoover saw the placid Martin Luther King-led branch of the civil rights movement as some kind of communist conspiracy then he turned apoplectic at the thought of armed black men asserting their right to bear arms. Since early slavery times that possibility had always been the fear of whites and the response was no different this time. Over a very short period the Hoover-orchestrated federal and state drive against the Panthers left most of the key leaders and cadre dead, in jail, on bail or in hiding, This was not the first time a perceived leftist threat had been deal with this in this way. One can think of the International Workers of the World (Wobblies) in the World War I period, the Communist and Anarchist `red scare' raids and deportations after that war and more recently the anticommunist witch hunts of the 1950's. With this difference, however, in the case of the Panthers there was a concerted effort to kill off every one they could get their hands on.

The repression of the Panthers became so intense that in many ways they became a de facto legal defense organization. That was quite a difference from the wild, revolutionary black nationalist days when they believed that they could go it alone on the streets with a cadre of black street militants in an American version of a `third world' guerilla warfare- driven national liberation front. Their nationalism initially alienated them from the black community (except, perhaps in their home base of Oakland, California) as until very late the ordinary black worker could not relate to the Panther political line despite the fact that even then the East Bay and other locales where the Panthers had influence were solidly working class areas. In short, they were looking in the streets not in the factories to organize the revolution.

The state repression also caused a shift in strategy as a matter of self-defense. However, the price the Panthers would pay for this was a capitulation to Democratic Party reformism through the vehicle of the Communist Party's legal defense organizations, which they latched onto out of desperation. I have personal experience of this change. A fair number of blacks I had known from various earlier political struggles drifted into the Panther revolutionary nationalist orbit in revulsion against Martin Luther King's non-violent strategy for social change, the incessant racism of American society and the barely hidden paternalism of the white liberal establishment and a fair part of the left. For a period in the late 1960's it was almost impossible for white radicals and revolutionaries to talk or to socialize with many Panthers, especially the rank and file. On more than one occasion I was either snubbed by or threatened by Panthers for attempting to argue for an integrated black and white alliance around a common program to fight the beast of American imperialism. Then in the very early seventies all of a sudden I was invited to various Panther support meetings and social affairs. Obviously the line had changed (through the concept of the united front against fascism) and now I was a comrade again

Even a cursory glance at the current American class structure points out that blacks (and more recently Hispanics) are heavily concentrated in the working class so that in order to be successful the struggle for socialism will have to deal with the fact that blacks will be a central component in the leadership of, and the struggle for, those goals. This is where the sad lessons of the demise of the Panthers between the rock of black nationalism and the hard place of democratic reformist politics is especially important. Looking back at the history of the 'sixties' black liberation struggle one can see little turning points where if hard communists had had enough forces they could have shifted the axis of the struggle away from black nationalism and democratic reformism. A working class program to break from the Democratic Party and struggle independently for a freedom/workers party could have gained a cadre. Do you not think that such a program would have not gotten a hearing from the landless rural workers in the South and the black industrial proletariat of the North and West? That, dear readers, is the ultimate tragedy of the demise of the Black Panthers. Enough said.

Stephen Shames' The Black Panthers provides some very powerful and insightful documentary images of the Black Panther Party. Shames served as their official photographer- and was actually close to publishing this book decades ago until convicted felon and Vice President Spiro Agnew told his golf buddy (and publishing honcho) that he best not publish any such book.

This book also serves to remind us how our government first denigrates, infiltrates and then obliterates any political movement committed to the direct service of its people and community.

First off peace to all those panthers that are still living and fighting for freedom (FREE ASSATA SHAKUR!!!!!!!!). This book is awesome!!!!!!!!!! Has great historical value, unseen articles and never before seen pictures of the panthers. I was looking for a christmas present for my brothers and it looks like I found it!!!!!!! I love my people and my history and recommend this book for anyone who wants to enrich their book collection or enlighten someone in the dark.

I bought this because I wanted to preserve my impressions after viewing the DVD. The DVD was exceptional as is the story of these children and how quick they were to pick up a camera and be able to do something with it. I'm still working on that. This is a nice companion to the DVD but if I had it to do over again I would probably pass.

Zana Briski came up with a unique idea. Give the children in Calcutta's red-light district their own cameras and let them take pictures of their lives. The result was a documentary of extraordinary children born into the most wretched of circumstances where the girls were destined to enter their mother's trade of prostitution and the boys would join related criminal enterprises. The award-winning film documentary has now produced a unique and extraordinary coffee-table book of photography showcasing Zana Briski's own work in collaboration with these children's photography over a period of seven years. This is also the story of how Briski began holding photography workshops to instruct these children in the basics of photography from lighting and composition to editing and narrative sequencing. Some of these children became so skilled and adept that their developed and developing photography skills could eventually be the source of their emancipation from the lowest rung of Calcutta social and cultural ladder. Highly recommended reading, "Born Into Brothels" would make a stellar addition to academic and community library Photography collections, Indian Studies reference shelves, and Women's Studies supplemental reading lists.

BORN INTO BROTHELS is a welcome addition to the books on color photography. Granted these shots are extracted from the award winning film, a feature documentary exploring the sad and at times sordid lives of these eight children born to prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta, India. But what photographer Zana Briski has captured in richly brilliant colors is not focused on tragedy or the smarmy aspect of the places in which these children live. Instead she has found the beauty in the innocence of these children, living in a closed world without much hope of escape - except through the gracious ingenuity of Briski who held classes, teaching these children how to use the camera, offering a transient glimpse of a world they might never know.

The children are extraordinarily photogenic, but the dazzling colors of the cloths, jewels, streets, glitter and scents from the spices are palpable. This book stands alone on its merits of color photography: the fact that it holds the message it does makes it incredibly touching and unique. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

Born into Brothels shows what can happen when children in desperate circumstances are given the opportunity to talk about their lives by making pictures. The pictures that the young people make provide evidence that a camera in the hands of a child can be an empowering device that provide the voice that they might otherwise not have. A powerful testament to the power of photographs and the power of pictures.

After watching the DVD and looking at this book, it has compelled me to take action... It's incredibly moving and very powerful!

I am quickly becoming Adam Raphael's biggest fan, this fantastic book has some of the best photography I've ever seen.

FRIENDS by Adam Raphael is as refreshing a book of new photography as you are likely to enconter. Though Raphael photographs fashion, sports/fitness, children, portraits both single and of couples, here he captures in almost chapter format his male friends. And the friends make excellent "models" not so much because they appear to know how to react to a camera: they success of this portfolio is the apparent warm relationship of honesty between the photographer and subject. As Raphael says in his all too brief Forward, these sessions for each friend lasted from twenty minutes to several days. The quality of the images is superb, the design of the book is clean and crisp, and the impact of re-reading FRIENDS is that we have encountered a photographer about whom we will doubtless hear more!

It is very common to find total nudity. In fact, just about any newstand is filled with it. But tasteful, shirtless photography where the subject is more important than explicit body parts is VERY hard to find. Here is a book which celebrates the young male with handsome, elegant photography whose focus (excuse the pun) is obviously the photographic output rather than anything sexual. This is a photographer who deserves a wider audience. If you are seeking taste and fine photography, you will enjoy "Friends." My only criticism is the size of the prints. Perhaps his next book could be printed in a larger size so that the images have more impact.

This is a very fine collection of erotic photography by Adam Raphael that eschews graphic displays of monstrous genitalia or simulated sex in favor of more subtle aspects of sensuality. Here eyes and lips become the purveyors of eroticism, with all their promises of delights to come.

Raphael's models are handsome, accessible young men - accessible because they could easily be men living next door to you or taking a class with you or shopping in the same mall. They don't intimidate you the way some professional models can. They're real, and you'd like to get to know them better. I believe I prefer Lucas above all. He's got a sweet lack of awareness of his own beauty that makes him all that more alluring.

Raphael's technique is as simple as the men he has chosen to shoot. The style doesn't call attention to itself; thus we are able to enjoy his subjects more thoroughly. I share the complaint of other reviewers, however, that the format of the book doesn't fit the photographs; it should have been a larger edition. That's a minor complaint though.

I look forward to more work by Mr. Raphael.

Adam Raphael's Friends are a handsome, healthy lot! These are regular guys, wholesome and appealing, who are brilliantly photographed. They might not be professional models (yet), but they surely give the older pros a run for their money. Highly recommended.

Intriguing, enlightening, excruciatingly detailed...if you have a passion for mlb history you will not be able to quit this exhaustive analysis.
It exposes how, nothing less than corruption was overlooked for the benefit of the continued success of the Bronx Bombers. Jeff Katz is a baseball scholar that has written an exposé that captures all the details while keeping you captive for more!

If even half this well-researched, well-written, and well-argued volume is true, then-Commissioner Ford ("It's a league matter") Frick, who seemed to spend more time jerryrigging the obstruction of any attempts to break Babe Ruth's records than he did shepherding baseball, was derelict in his duties as the steward of the game. And, an awful lot of baseball fans---in New York, Philadelphia, and Kansas City alike---were had.

The incestuous relationship between Arnold Johnson and Del Webb should have been one of baseball's most grotesque scandals, enough to make the dubious manner in which the eventual Yankee sale to CBS went down (reference Bill Veeck, "The Hustler's Handbook") resemble a gentleman's agreement. Baseball government's apparent silence/inaction during the height of that relationship (although, to his rare credit, then-Cleveland Indians general manager Frank Lane did harrumph to anyone who'd listen---unlikely, considering Lane's own dubious ways of running the Tribe in those years---that, if he'd known his prime young right fielder Roger Maris would end up a Yankee, he wouldn't have swapped Maris to the A's himself) should be considered at least as much a stain on the great and glorious game as were such affairs as the gambling scandals of the 1910s-1920s, the Pete Rose contretemps, and today's contretemps over actual or alleged performance-enhancing drugs.

Yankee haters won't like this, but the shameful story of the 1950s Yankee administration viz the Kansas City Athletics makes the worst excercises of the Steinbrenner era seem tame aberrations. I'd thought for a long time that a good book needed to be written about that story, and here it is.

I grew up as a Yankee fan in the 1950s and it was obvious that this was going on. Kansas City never had a good ball club but whenever they got talent they traded the player to the Yankees for very little in return. Sometimes it was just cash. The biggest gain was when KC got Roger Maris from Cleveland and after one strong year with KC he was tradedf to the Yankees where he hit 39 home runs in 1960 and 61 in 1961. The As were essentially a farm system of the Yankees but instead of being sent down to the minors a Yankee who needed seasoning was traded to KC where he could face major leaguers including the Yankees. When the Yankees thought the player was ready they brought him back. Here are some of the Yankees that went back and forth: Norm Siebern, Bob Cerv, Irv Noren Marv Throneberry, Hector Lopez. The Yankees got Bud Daley and Bobby Shantz in addition to Maris from the KC As. Billy Martin was traded to KC but only because the Yankees thought he was a bad influence on Mantle. They didn't plan to ever bring Martin back.

Of course the Commissioner ignored the obvious as he let the iwners do whatever they wanted. I never could understand why Kansas City wuld do this. This book explains it all as the KC owner seemed to share outside business interests with Topping and Webb, the Yankee owners.

Kansas City is certainly not up to date. The city's citizens are constantly being made the patsies in any deal, whether it involves the organized crime of the Pendergast era, the attempt to stop light rail in the city or the building of its baseball/football complex out in Independence. Author Jeff Katz shines a bright light on baseball's cold-war era, focussing on the horrific collusion scandal of the 1950s, whereby the hated New York Yankees swiped all of KC's good baseball players under a secrecy that rivals today's steroid cover-up.

Of course, the citizens of KC always knew what was going on but couldn't stop it. Organized crime flourished and KC was appalled. Did they do anything about it? No, not for years.

The citizens knew a ball park belonged in KC's downtown, but they couldn't stop the building of two stadiums in Independence. Now, KC is in deep doo-doo trying to revive its downtown, after once again refusing the chance to move the stadiums there and with the "great" Sprint Center for basketball and hockey way behind schedule.

Katz, in his poorly-titled book, uses mostly contemporary 1950s newspaper articles to build his case against the Yankees during a time when they were using the Kansas City A's as a "minor-league" outlet for fire-sale bargains. Maris, Lopez, Maas, Trucks, Dickson and many more good KC players became Yankees because the Yankees controlled the KC team and Commissioner Ford Frick and even the United States Congress allowed it to go on illegally for years. And the KC fans? They let it happen too, just as they might let a great light rail plan be emasculated by the city's so-called power brokers here in 2007.

I feel very sad for Kansas City fans. They get dumped on so easily, but they always seem to smile and forget. Maybe that's what makes this city so easy to fool. Maybe being the perfect patsy makes KC great in some, warped, crazy-little-woman way.

by Larry Rochelle, author of TEN MILE CREEK, DEATH AND DEVOTION, CRACKED CRYSTALS and BLUE ICE

"The Wrong Half of the Yankees" is about the bizarre relationship between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics in the years 1955-1960. The principal characters are A's owner Arnold Johnson and Yankees co-owners Del Webb and Dan Topping. The 3 had deep interests in the Automatic Canteen Company and Topping/Webb sold Yankee Stadium to Johnson. The Yanks main farm team was in KC. Del and Dan just happened to include in the Stadium deal the sale of the Kansas City ballpark to Johnson as well! Moreover, Del and Dan then strong-armed the American League to rubber stamp Johnson's purchase of the moribund Philadelphia A's and to approve the franchise shift from Philly to KC. This, despite the fact that higher offers were on the table, with at least one from interests that might have kept the A's in Philly. Once Johnson was safely ensconced in KC, the teams engaged in some 20 trades, nearly all favoring the Yankees. The fodder for a fine baseball story is all here but author Katz takes far too pages to tell it. Included in the text are a history of the Philly franchise and infighting twixt various members of the Mack family, who had controlled the A's for decades. The result is an almost deadening load of information which might have been fascinating had it only been served in smaller portions. WHY is one of those works which cry out for that proverbial stern editor with a sharp blue pencil to trim down the text. Not until Chapter 11 does Katz cover the good stuff: those trades. These encompass the period when this reviewer was just a kid- and a Yankee fan. Even a boy could smell a rat at some of these transactions. Most may cavil at the lopsided deal for Roger Maris but this observer recalls the round trip trades for pitcher Ralph Terry. A young RT plainly needed seasoning and wasn't going to get it in the Bronx bull pen, so he was farmed to the A's in 1957 (the Billy Martin trade). In 1959, the by then seasoned Terry was back in pinstripes! Even a 12 year old Yankees fan smelled something fishy. A nice inclusion is the images of 78 trading cards for many players. Included are 4 of Harry "Suitcase" Simpson and the '57 card of pitcher Art Ditmar listed as a Yankee -but plainly in an A's uniform! The back of that card actually acknowledged the misprint The bottom line: Insufficient space is given to the trades, far too much to kvetching about franchise shifts, stadium deals and Mack family squabbling. One suspects that some of the text qualifies as mere filler. A scaled down WHY would be excellent as a feature article in a magazine. As a full length, 200 page book it falls short.

Samuel Gottscho's wonderful photographs combine an architect's eye with the mood of an Edward Hopper painting. Cool but never cold, these photos are simply beautiful. The noir-flavored night shots are among the finest, with the chiaroscuro of a John Alton film. Gottscho had the luck to be living during one of New York's most photogenic periods, after most of the Art Deco classics had been built but before the postwar clutter of shoebox skyscrapers had set in.

Technically, this collection is very well produced, with sharp, lustrous photos on high-quality paper. Highly recommended for any fan of vintage urban photographs.

A friend of mine travelled to NYC not long ago and fell in love with this city. So my idea was to find a beautiful album about NY as a birthday present, but I didn't want to buy anything with average photographs of skyscrapers that repeat from one calendar to another.
Thanks to the snapshots provided to this book review I felt that it should have a personal touch and wouldn't be boring. It turned out to be true! now I'm thinking about ordering another one for myself.

This book was a total waste of money and time. Boring, repetitive and uninspired photos taken years ago by an architectural photographer for his clients and I have no idea why someone thought this worthy of publication.

I'm planning on returning it.

My husband and I used this beautiful book as a guestbook at our wedding.
We met and fell in love in New York City. Now that we live abroad, we miss the place tremendously. The photos in the book are gorgeous and capture our love for the City. Our guests were very creative in using the book's format to write their wishes for us. I highly recommend this book if you love NYC!

I thought it was very apt to use the word mythic in the title of this wonderful book. Surely Samuel Gottscho as much as anyone helped to create the popular visual concept of the dynamic American metropolis, a city of towers by day and a kaleidoscope of dazzling light by night, his work must have especially influenced creative folk from comic book artists to Hollywood art directors, the graphic city image is straight out of his photos.

Apart from the short intro essay the book is basically photos, divided into several sections and covering, for instance, bridges, Times Square, business, commercial and residential areas of Manhattan plus a few photos of the 1939 New York World's Fair. It is with the night photos where Gottscho really excelled. To achieve his luminous effect he took two exposures, one at dusk to define the building shapes and another some hours later to capture all the blazing window lights. I think these photos plus the ones of Times Square at night look quite stunning.

Another reason I like the book is the coverage of streamline design that keeps on appearing in many of the photos, not just the skyscrapers but interiors of retail units, Radio City, some of the apartment interiors and obviously the '39 World's Fair.

The book is well printed and designed and the paper makes the photos sparkle with their 200 dpi screen. The captions are basically the location, date and architect though frequently there is more detail provided where necessary. Overall I thought this was a fascinating photobook of what New York looked like in the recent past.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Edward S. Curtis' work is absolutely beautiful, his work shows his in dept knowledge, respect and affection to his subjects. This edition featured Mr. Curtis' significant works, the reproductions of the photos were outstanding in every detail. I highly recommend this book and is a must for evry photographer's and anthropologist's library

Regardless of your personal feelings about Edward Curtis as a photographer of native Americans, the quality of his photography is superb and the reproductions in this compilation are outstanding. Instead of using the conventional halftone printing technique, the publisher used the digital Agfa CristalRaster(TM) technology which produces reproductions of exceptional clarity and sharpness. This volume is far superior, technically, to the recently released compilation entitled "Sacred Legacy" by the same authors and if you only want one book for your library "Native Nations" is the one.

What a beautiful book this is! Everyone that looks at it has trouble putting it down. Sure, some of the politically correct will say that Curtis exploited the Native American and that scenes at times appear posed-I hate to tell you this but that was the ways things were at the time-period. Just the fact that Curtis traveled to these places at that point in history is a marvel. His images are magical at times and I thank him for his artistry. I am sure that the people in his portraits were willing participants and have gained an immortality of sorts with the beauty of his work. Enjoy this book for what it is-not what you think it should have been.

Edward S. Curtis' work is absolutely beautiful, his work shows his in dept knowledge, respect and affection to his subjects. This edition featured Mr. Curtis' significant works, the reproductions of the photos were outstanding in every detail. I highly recommend this book and is a must for evry photographer's and anthropologist's library

I had an opportunity to learn of this book through a documentary film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Anne Makepeace tells the incredible story of how Edward Curtis devoted his life's work to writing and producing photographs for 20 volumes on 88 American Indian tribes. I expect that few anthropological studies of this scope and depth exist. His respect and deep knowledge of the Indian culture comes through clearly. He went largely unrecognized during his life time-a Van Gogh-like figure. His work is a must for any serious student of anthropology or history.

This book is exceptionally well done and an inspiration to anyone interested in wildlife and art.

This book was a gift to an inmate, so I don't know anything about it. Sorry!

This book like the artist is top notch. It's hard to find a book done by a world class artist. Terry Isaac is such an artist. Any one of the concepts presented in this book it worth the books price. All aspects of his thought processes and painting technics are revealed. Terry shows step by step examples of how he created works that he exhibits, not stuff whipped out to create a book. If your looking for a book on wildlife painting or landscape painting your not going to find a better book.

I find the book very interesting to get the basic idea about his work and technique. Some nice tips and some explanation on how to paint the fur, but if you really want to see him in action and get a real step by step, you are better off buying his DVD. I have the book and the DVD and I much prefer the DVD. Although the book as some very nice painting and material that is not in the DVD. I guess I could say that both are valuable tool. I don't regret buying the book as it was not expensive and worth it.

I like this book, it is very attentitive to small details, the resulting paintings are very naturalistic and often very dramatic as well. The artist knows about nature and it shows.
The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and you just sit there, stuck and fascinated.

The book is using acrylic paints, but the book can be absolutely and utterly recommended for oil and watercolor as well. Even if you aren't an artist it is well worth just for browsing on the coffee table... Buy it, steal it, borrow it, just Get it.

I loved this book, the pictures were great and some very candid shots you could only get being so close.

Is there anything Jeff Bridges can't do? From Tron to The Big Lebowski to the Mirror Has Two Faces, he captures his co-stars and crew brilliantly. No candids here. He uses a camera with a really wide angle, so his pictures spread across two pages of the book. Hard to put down! Sprinkled with anecdotes from the various movie sets.

I'm a photographer and a couple of years ago I saw Jeff Bridges on some entertainment show and he was talking about photo books that he would make as gifts for cast and crew members on films that he worked on, and how he used special Widelux cameras. The Widelux models that Jeff uses are no longer made, which is a shame, because it was one of the very few panorama cameras that used 35mm film. (The bigger Widelux model which uses 120 and 220 film is still made, but it's much larger and heavier than the 35mm model.) After seeing the interview with Jeff I went out and bought one (I now own 3) and it's one of my favorite cameras to work with, and that's why I was so excited when I learned of Jeff's book.

This is a great book by a photographer with a good eye in an interesting format. The pictures are beautiful and the subjects interesting. The Widelux is not an easy camera to work with and I can appreciate the effort that went into making these pictures. There are a plethora of photo books from the famous that are published simply because the shooter is famous. Jeff Bridges is a photographer and this is a refreshing, interesting book.

And though the Widelux F series has been discontinued, you can still find them on eBay and at used camera stores.

I'm sure the fact that Jeff Bridges starred in 2 of my all time favorite films; The Last Picture Show and The Big Lebowski, doesn't have much to do with my high recommendation for this book. For it is a great book in it's own right.

I'm a bit of a sucker for photography books, especially ones with black and white photos, and needless to say, I've bought more than my fair share. Some I have regretted buying, having only looked at them once or twice. Pictures by Jeff Bridges is one of the few books I don't regret spending money on. In fact, my purchase was totally guilt-free because Jeff Bridges is donating all the proceeds to a non profit organization.

But maybe I like this book so much because I am a photographer myself and have worked in feature film production. In fact, one of the companies I have worked for did the special effects for Starman.

That aside, Jeff Bridges offers a unique window of opportunity to gain a glimpse of what it's like on movie sets, from the point of view of one of the members of the cast. Stars like Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfieffer and Gary Busey are featured. Although members of the production crew are also featured, I wish they would be featured even more (as a member of 'the crew' myself, I often feel like our contributions are overshadowed by the celebrities).

Jeff Bridges' special perspective is not only represented in the subject matter of the photos, but also in the panoramic format. There is something cinematic about these wide shots and the format suits the subject matter of moviemaking wonderfully. Further, Bridges has some stories and hand written notes throughout the book, a very nice touch, entertaining and appreciated.

The book is nearly 200 pages, seems sturdy and is put together quite well. Whether you are a fan of Jeff Bridges, filmmaking, black and white, panoramic photography, or all of the above, this is a comprehensive book you won't regret buying. Heck, I've bought photo books that cost way more yet only include a handful of photos. Pictures by Jeff Bridges is definitely a book in which you get your money's worth.

I was hoping for much more from Bridges in this collection of on-set photos. With such a rare opportunity to capture his fellow actors candidly, he just didn't. When you think of the great films he's been a part of and how long he's been shooting photos, you'd think he's have a better collection. If he does, they didn't make into this book. Not recommended.

I read positive reviews of this book so I bought it. The beginning is really wordy and I skipped it until I got the the real pitching information. The introduction could be edited out. The rest of the book has great info.

This book should be mandatory reading for any coach who is going to impact a pitcher's throwing abilities. This book breaks down pitcher's mechanics and it's not just a pass over look. They're really stressed to 1) help avoid injury and to 2)maximize performance. Mental attitude needed to play the game, along with strength and conditioning, and so much more. It would be ideal for young men, whether a pitcher or fielder, to read and to see the exercises created to improve or adjust different parts of the throwing process.
If you need a book to to identify elements of being a pitcher and to also visually identify them too.... this book is for you!

The best pitching book I've read. It covers in detail all aspects of pitching and provides excellent photos and text descriptions. A book that can be applied to all age groups and levels from little league to the pros. Covers left and right handed pitching with grips, diagrams and exercises for pitching and conditioning. As thorough and complete a book on pitching as one would want. It leaves no question or concept about pitching unanswered.

I have read/watched dozens of books and DVDs and attended several clinics in my quest to help my sons become better pitchers. This is far and away the most comprehensive pitching instruction I have ever seen. I was amazed at how thick this book was when it arrived - almost 400 pages, with hundreds of pictures. Dr. Bagonzi explains everthing in great detail. I have never seen anyone spend as much time on the finer details of pitching grips, for example. But all the information in usable - the author does a very good job of explaining things clearly and concisely. I never felt as if I was lost in minutia, as I have with other instructional materials.

It is very easy to spend hundreds of dollars on one-or-another guru's pitching instruction program. I know - I have done it myself. And while I think some of these programs are worth every penny, at under $20, there is NOTHING that can beat the value of this book.

One caveat: if you happen to be in the camp that believes long toss, weighted balls, strength training, pushing off the rubber, etc. are bad, then you will probably disagree with much of what the author has to say. Although he has been around a while, Dr. Bagonzi is on the leading edge of such techniques and training concepts, and is a big proponent of some ideas that a few people may find controversial. I personally have had great success with these techniques, and see only a couple hold outs among the contemporary pitching "gurus" who disagree. However, fair warning if you happen to be one of them (or one of their disciples). By the way, Dr. Bagonzi recognizes these areas of controversy, and is very respectful of those who might disagree.

Bottom line recommendation: if you only buy one pitching program, make it this book.

I have an eighth grader that has been helped, and will continue to be helped, by this comprehensive guide for pitchers. It is a book that can be read cover to cover, or used as a reference book where you just take the information that is needed at the moment. Either way, the information is presented in a concise yet complete way. I highly recommend this guide.

I don't know what reviewer "K Raustol" (a couple reviews down)has been smoking, but this work, along with Ansel's body of B&W work is to my mind the finest large-format photography ever produced. This book is ALL about composition and capturing the subtle naunces of the changing light, and this book represents that concept better than any other published color work that I've ever seen. As another reviewer mentioned, if you're serious about photography, this book in an absolute MUST.

Having been to Cape Cod a lot of times, I'm intrigued by the nature. I read the reviews and thought the book would be special, with a focus on nature of Cap Cod. This was not the case. Most of the pictures could have been taken anywhere in the world... I'm not a professional photographer, but have to say that the compositions was not very exciting, quite boring actually.

I love the pictures of my old haunt. Ptown has some of the worlds most beautiful light.

I first saw this book while i was looking through the photography section at the University of Guelph library. This book probably influenced my photography more than any other. Unfortunately, it also made me start doing shots with my nikon that are better suited for a large format system. The introductory interview with the photographer is possibly the most interesting discussion on the topic of light and photography. If you plan to become anything more than an amature photographer, PLEASE get this book NOW.

Ansel Adams said that this book was his favorite book of color photographs (the reason I bought it, long ago). Meyerowitz's use of little contrast, incomparible colors, and unusual subject matter makes this a must MEMORIZE book for all serious photographers. If you don't go nuts over his photographs, you don't like photography as much as you thought you did.......

john in texas