By Subject Books

Finding accurate accounts of historical turning points warrants careful scanning and careful elimination. There is much information to be read in articles, books and in the minds of academics who can give tid-bits of how we got to where we are today in a world of art and technology. But there are few people who can provide us with a rigorous account that actually has (1) depth and substance; and (2) an actual birthing of an era. This book provides us with both.

For the disciplined reader, Roy Ascott and Edward Shanken provide alluring, inventive and down right smart accounts of the time frame in which art evolved into a 21st century discipline; for the lazy reader, Roy Ascott's sentences are a crisp and inviting story of what it could behoove the artist to pay attention to.

Natasha Vita-More

This collection offers a unique and valuable history of art and technology from the 1960s to the 2000s as chronicled through the brilliant writings of Roy Ascott. A pioneer of cybernetic and telematic art, Ascott is generally recognized as a leading figure in the field of new media. His theoretical writings are inventive, prescient, and provocative, and are required reading for students and professionals who are interested in learning about the ideas that shaped interactivity, media art, and net art.

Shanken's introduction offers an erudite but highly readable and insighful guide to Ascott's work as an artist, theorist, and teacher, placing his many contributions in a broad context of art history, the history of ideas, and the history of technology. At 94 pages, this essay offers one of the most extensive art historical treatments of art and technology currently in print and makes an invaluable addition to the literature.

The book may be a bit pricey, but it is well worth it and this is one volume you'll be glad to have in hard-cover.

E. Shanken writes like a baton twirler with a Ph.D.

I did not like this book. It is too simple, with little imagination from author. The pictures are the so called "postals" in the photographic argot. I would expect a more innovative and more interesting book on this subject.

Interestingly engaging photos. The less stagey conceptual ones towards the end of the book work better for me. But what is with the production values. Many of the shots look digitally oversharpened, with compression artifacts everywhere, as if they were shot with a department store digicam.

Most of the photos a very specials, with a good focus

Joe Deal is another of my favourite photographers, from the new Topography movement of the 70's. I have been long aware of this project of Mr. Deal's.

The insight into the process involved is indeed fascinating. I would however personally preferred the writing to have been more secondary in this book, perhaps using a different layout and approach. Still a great book with some stunning imagery.

The transformation of one of the most imposing "wild" parcels of land in Los Angeles into what is now the Getty Center (Museum, etc.) is the story of these stunning, beautiful black and white photographs. These images and thoughtful essays will be appreciated by anyone interested in art, landscapes, culture and/or modern architecture.

If you are just getting started this may be helpful to you. It goes over basic photography techniques and composition rules. I feel it leaves out much, and one may be better served by some of the other landscape photography books out there.

This is a very good starting point to digital landscape photography. The author explains everything you need to know to capture and print quality nature photographs. This book will get you moving in the right direction and improve your photographic skills.

Very satisfied. Thanks for the excellent service. Cheers!
- Steve B., Librarian (Indianapolis)

After visiting Ohio and had the pleasure of visiting John Rankin's house in Ripley i became facinated in the story of the underground railway and the people who aided the slaves to freedom. what i liked about this book is that the chapters didnt go on and on where some books almost force you in to your mind wandering off to elesewhere. nicely written and to keep you interested it discusses and describes different people and their tales of involvement

This is an informal and accessible guide to Master Sengai's work, a man who in his study of Zen stumbled rather appropriately into the ink drawing art of sumi-e as a means of revealing for himself and others the essence of wisdom. It has been said that the secret of the Tao is so simple that if it were to suddenly become common knowledge, laughter would be heard everywhere. Looking at Sengai's art is to experience that truth and I recommend this as an antidote to the stifling austerity to which religious traditions are so often view as being caught up.

For the people interested in Zen this book is an excellent way to learn about one of the most influential monks in Zen history. Sengai was not only a monk, but a great artist whose art was expressed through his drawings. And this book written by D.T. Suzuki, author of numerous books about Zen, is focused mainly in explaining the meaning behind some of the Senagi's drawings. A negative aspect about this book is that the quality of the ilustration's prints is almost like the one of a newspaper. I tought I would find the same quality as the drawing from the cover but it was a big disappointment. Still, through the bad prints, we can appreciate the sublime art of Sengai.

This is a beautiful book but not a lot of help if you're learning. It's more for an accomplished artist who would like to fine tune their craft. If I had seen the book before I bought it, I definetly would have saved my money.

This is a fabulous instructional book for artists and art lovers alike, specializing in wildlife of all sorts! Lavishly illustrated (both in color and B&W), this book is a rich sourcebook for sketching and or painting a wide variety of wildlife. Consisting of 6 chapters: Choosing a Subject, Collecting Reference Material, Painting Realistic Habitat, Posing and Composing, Techniques for Painting Textures, and Painting Wildlife Step-by-Step, this book contains 136 pgs. Some of the animals featured in this book are foxes, deer, wolves, cougars, wild turkeys, elk, raccoons, chickadees, woodpeckers, robins, grouse, dolphins, whales, and other aquatic life. I love the range of art techniques Patrick Seslar covers in this presentation, making it possible for the artist to "grow" and still benefit from the lessons contained therein.

Brian Burrell's book, "The Words we Live By" is a unique and quirky resource. Within its pages he follows in his father's path, collecting and attempting to understand the creeds, mottoes and pledges that have shaped the United States. Burrell's book starts with the Golden Rule, and notes how it has been mentioned by all major religions, and mentioned by those with none. He also discusses oaths, the Pledge of Allegiance, family mottoes, and even words carved in stone upon our public buildings.

With such diverse sources Burrell has quite a task, and attempts to categorize the various sayings, creeds, calls, and business codes of ethics into a coherent package. For the most part he is successful, although there is some redundancy in the text. But for those of us who enjoy ethics, and who wish to understand what motivates people to perform at their best, this book is a rare and interesting resource. Where else could you find The Hippocratic Oath, The Declaration of Principles of the Pacific Ice Cream Manufacturer's Association, AND the text carved upon the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

The book is well footnoted, and contains valuable pictures of some monuments or other visual sources discussed. It can be read from cover-to-cover, or enjoyed as a casual pick-up book. With such a expansive document, some items are omitted, and sometimes more detail would be appreciated. For instance, it would have been interesting if he had discussed more how monuments can distort words or events. Nevertheless, this book will provide those interested in ethical standards and guiding principles embedded within society a terrific and valuable reference. It is a pleasure to recommend this book.

Mr. Burrell hit on an interesting idea for a book: a compilation of just about every well-known motto, oath, pledge, et al., an historian could think of all cast under the rubrics of "Words We Live By." However, the book, though for the most part a good read, is flawed because of its omissions. The author, Burrell, for some odd reason left out one of the most important types of oaths ever sworn--in this case, by heads of state: the Coronation Oath. Historically, this type of oath is crucial in understanding the way in which medieval kings, though in some ways powerful, nevertheless were viewed, as per the oath, as servants of God and the people. "Under God" meant that the king had to observe Christian ethics and common law, including a just rule over the monarch's people. This became the forerunner of the notion under democracy that rulers are servants of the people, that no law stands higher than that of God and/or the constitution. Were it not for the coronation oath and feudal oaths as well, it is doubtful that Western mankind would have provided the fundamentals of democracy. The author also omitted any of the several types of pledges and oaths sworn at various levels in totalitarian states. Since Lenin's Russia was the first such state and regarded as a model to be followed by subsequent totalitarian states (Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany), it stands to reason that it would have been appropriate to include such words that those systems "lived by"! Instead, the author uses up space with a good deal of redundant preaching against such unseemly characters as, say, Sen. Joseph McCarthy. There is, in fact, an aura of political correctness hovering over Burrell's book but this is largely compensated for by the inclusion of much interesting, straight-quoted material in Part 2 of his book, where the original-source quotes are located. In the next edition, if there is one, the author would be advised to take some of the above criticism seriously.

Overall, this is not a bad account, the only minor complaints are some inconsistencies (one section deals with Khallid Muhammad;s death and later in the book, White speculates on Khallid as a future NOI leader) and some historical errors here and there. That aside, White's description of the NOI (an organization which, as a believer in the brotherhood of humanity, I personally have little regard for), makes it clear that little has changed in this organization since Malcolm X (wisely) left it in the 1960s in regards to it's exploitation of angry, confused, and disfranchised Blacks. Some better editing would improve the book, but it's core lesson should be heeded to potential converts to groups like the NOI-"Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

After spending over a decade in the Nation of Islam, I found Mr. White's experiences to be true, unbiased and very factual.

What he has shared with the entire world has been the usual day to day operations of the NOI. The group is inclined to Black Nationalism and preaches a Christian mixed with Muslim mixed with Masonry mixed with Mysticism doctrine. Although the NOI has established a track record of turning around some of society's worst individuals, they ability to keep these individuals in the organization is an ongoing problem because of the verbal abuse, misuse of one's time, energy and resources. Simply put, people get tired of being used.

Mr. White give an excellent accounting of NOI business practices and its financial chaos and ruin. The average member in the NOI does not know of the financial mishaps and moreso, the ones that are responsible for such bad financial descision making.

This is an excellent read for anyone who wants to join the NOI or who is seriously considering.

I only wish this book was in print before I wasted many years inside that organization.

Bravo Mr. White.

I certainly have to say that this is an intriging and interesting book, but Dr. White has left some concerns that we as readers need to be careful of. For example, eventhough Dr. White has an upper hand of what goes on in both the general membership and the hierchy of the Nation of Islam, many of his views, beliefs and descriptions in the book have been flawed with anger and emotion. Due to this fact, he's doing nothing more than to continue to give Minister Farrakhan and other members and officials in the Nation injustice, eventhough some of the things that he said may have been true. When I saw that his book was forwarded by 60 Minutes host Mike Wallace, I knew that Dr. White's book on Minister Farrakhan and the Nation is biased because Mr. Wallace has been known for his bashing of the original Nation of Islam under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad when he and African-American Journalist, Louis Lomax made a show in 1959 called "The Hate That Hate Produced." Even some parts of both World Islamic History and Nation of Islam history are inaccurate. For example, Dr. White mentioned that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came from the tribe of Shabazz. This is false. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came from a prominent Arab tribe called the Qur'aish. The tribe of Shabazz was a name given by both Nation of Islam founder from the East, Master W.F. Muhammad and his successor, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad referring to African-Americans. Another thing that Dr. White didn't make clear was that he didn't specify that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's son, Imam Wallace D. Mohammed became the leader of the Nation of Islam in 1975 after his Father's death. Furthermore, Imam Mohammed continued to lead the Nation of Islam until his resignation from his leadership in August of 2003. During his leadership, Imam led his followers to practice Islam based on the Holy Qur'an and the model character of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Nation of Islam that Farrakhan leads was a new group that he formed in 1977. Farrakhan was a Minister and Imam (Muslim Minister) under Imam Mohammed for two and a half years, until he became dissatisfied with the changes that Imam Mohammed made when he became the leader. The original teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, which Minister Farrakhan's teachings are based on, dealt mainly with knowledge of self, some Muslim concepts and unIslamic beliefs such as the belief that Nation of Islam's founder, Master Fard Muhammad, is G'd. As Muslims we worship the Creator, not creation.

Dr. White writes an interesting expose on the current political and financial status of the Nation of Islam. However, he fails to make his argument on why Black Muslims should follow orthodox Islam and not the NOI's teachings. He does a good job of showing Farrakhan's supporters how the Minister may not be staying true to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, but fails to throw any meaningful criticism at the teachings themselves. Yet this doesn't stop Dr. White from waiting until the end of his book to suggest to Muslims that they follow Orthodox Islam. A religion is not a horse race who's credibility is determined by the number of followers who `bet' on it. So his argument that Black Muslims in America should practice and follow Orthodox Islam because this is what millions of other Muslims around the world are doing is not convincing. Orthodox Islam is filled with a lot of Arab culture and is therefore better suited for Arabs (I'm sure many Sunni Muslims disagree). But Black Muslims, and African Americans in general, still need a program that teaches them how to become spiritually, economically, politically, and socially empowered. Elijah Muhammad's program teaches this. Whether or not Farrakhan and today's NOI is teaching it remains to be seen and White's book does a good job showing this.

For the record, saying that `there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (PBUH) is his Messenger' (the Shahada) in one breath, and saying `Allah appeared in the person of Master Fard Muhammad and Elijah is his Messenger' in another breath is NOT a contradiction. White should know this. With true enlightenment, Allah appears in all of us. He (Allah) can have more than one Messenger (not to be confused with `Prophet'). Anyone who speaks the word of God is a Messenger as he is bringing God's message to the people. Hence, there is no contradiction in Farrakhan disseminating Elijah's teachings while taking his Shahada.

His excerpts and interpretation of Farrakhan's statements and speeches could have easily been copied from the New York Times who has always been biased against Min. Farrakhan and the NOI. I strongly suggest that if one wishes to learn more about Farrakhan's thoughts on certain issues, they listen to the speeches themselves and NOT get their interpretation from Dr. White's book.

White's poor editing also served as an intellectual turnoff. Earlier in the book, he talks about Khallid Muhammad's death while later envisioning him as a great leader in the future as if the man is still alive(???). In the same earlier chapter he mentions that Khallid received his doctorate from Xavier University (page 93) then turns around later (page 119) and questions his `Doctor' title by noting how the alleged university that Khalid received his doctorate from, Dillard University, has no record of Khallid ever receiving his Doctorate )???).

Nonetheless, White's book is useful information for the individual who considers joining or supporting the NOI without first questioning the organization's political and financial motives and practices.

In 1995 Loius Farrakan was big news with his Million Man March, which he promised would bring black power to politics. Within a year his organization, The Nation of Islam, became a focus of controversy when one of his ministers said that Jews were responsible for the holocaust. Then Malcom X's daughter blamed Farrakan for his assassination, something he denied, but sort of apologized for on 60 Minutes.

This is the first good book on the "black muslims" since Louis Lomax wrote his aacout of Elijah Muhammad and Malcom X in the 1960's and is the only book written by someone who was a member of the NOI - except Malcom X's book - which is a classic.

White gives a penetrating acount into the NOI. To me his potrayal makes the organization look like a cult around Farrakan. Everything in it is geared to promoting his public image and money is raised to maintain that. Much of what the NOI does is just show. The Million Man March, accomplished nothing, except to raise Farrakan money. Farrakan talks - but really does few concrete initiatives. His trips to the Middle East with "world leaders" is an example of this - all show, but no real substance. Just acting to give the appearance of being more important than he really is and to keep his followers excited about what he might do or say next.

This is why Farrakan has a tendency to say something insulting - or anti-semitic from time to time - it gets him news coverage, attention, and makes him look like an important and contervsial figure. It gets him members, which is the bottom line.

One thing that surpised me in this book is the shabby financial condition that the NOI is in. I would guess that one day it will eventually go bankrupt - probably after Farrakan retires or passes away from the scene. I've never seen a detailed account of the NOI business structure and finances - but here it is in this book.

Although, White gives plenty of ammo for critics of the NOI I saw his book as a sensitive treatment of them. Adding some of his own story to the book is helpeful to show how/why someone would join the organization. Although some of the leaders may be rotten, many of the members are looking to improve their lives and make the world a better place, even if they have been misled.

This is an important book for people who want to understand the legacy of the nationalist strain in black America. From Marcus Garvey to Elijah Muhummad to the Black Panthers to Louis Farrakan there will always be a strain of black leaders of the nationalist bent. This book is one of the best sources for understanding this in contemporary times - and in the past 20 years.

I had high expectations about this book as a Mets fan. After all, the title says it all. Although I enjoyed reading it (a fast and easy read), I was taken aback by some of the poor research and mistakes. Most notably, the author blames Bob Ojeda for the tragic boat accident that claimed the lives of Tim Crews and Steve Olin. Bob Ojeda,who suffered from survivor's guilt for years, was not driving as stated by the author; and the only reason he didn't have his head taken off was that he was slouched down in his seat on the boat (having your head scalped is not a minor injury Mr. Liebenthal). The facts of that tragic night are so well known, it makes one wonder why the author would go beyond emblishment and venture into possible libel merely to smear a beloved Met. Read this book only as a guide and to bring back some memories, but don't rely on it for facts or accuracy. There are better sources.

I was highly anticipating reading this book, but found that it fell flat at only 94 pages. The author, in his introduction, states that he's going to write about the 21 best and worst deals the Mets had made. In his conclusion, he said he took poetic license and limited it to 18. Well, if you took each chapter by themselves and totaled them up, there are 32 total deals. The author says 18 because the chapters are essentially broken up. Chapter #1 is a high quality move, and what would be chapter #2 is really called low quality move #1.
Now, I just mentioned high quality and low quality. This is the authors way of denoting if the deal was good (high) or bad (low). The author has a total of (if you count each chapter by itself) 14 good, 14 bad, and 4 that were in-between. Sometimes the author will talk about the player and how he fared before he played for the Mets, and then talk little about that players days as a Met. I found myself feeling that not much effort was put into making this book. The author states that has been a Mets fan since 1969. If that's the case, he would know how to spell their names! He spells manager Davey Johnson's first name D-A-V-Y, and spells Gregg Jefferies name with only one G instead of two.
To save you time and money, here are the deals mentioned in the book, in order:

High: acquire Tom Seaver through draft lottery
Low: trade Tom Seaver
High: acquire Tom Seaver (again)
Low: Tom Seaver signs as free agent elsewhere
High: bring in Casey Stengel as manager
Low: bring in Jeff Torborg as manager
High: acquire Donn Clendenon
Low: trade Amos Otis
High: bring in Gil Hodges as manager
Low: trade Nolan Ryan
High & Low: acquire Willie Mays
High & Low: acquire Rusty Staub
High & Low: M. Donald Grant is fired and replaced by Linda DeRoulet
High: Team sold to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon
High: Rusty Staub signs as a free agent
Low: Frank Cashen retains Joe Torre as manager
Low: Claudell Washington and Dave Kingman sign as free agents elsewhere
Low: acquire Ellis Valentine
High: acquire Keith Hernandez
High: acquire Ron Darling
High: draft Dwight Gooden
Low: acquire George Foster
High: acquire Howard Johnson, Gary Carter, and Sid Fernandez
Low: Ray Knight signs as a free agent elsewhere; trade Kevin Mitchell
Low: trade Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, and Mookie Wilson
High & Low: acquire Bob Ojeda (bad only because of hedge trimmer finger incident and future boating accident with Cleveland)
Low: Darryl Strawberry signs as free agent elsewhere
Low: acquire Vince Coleman
Low: acquire Bobby Bonilla
High: bring in Bobby Valentine as manager
High: acquire John Olerud
High: acquire Mike Piazza

The author states on the back cover that "I know I have only scrached the surface of the Mets' transactions." I'm sure Mets fans out there will agree that there are a lot more deals that should have made this book.

the person who wrote the review above does not know what they are talking about. This is a great book but there is no part about tennis or topsy turvy day. Anyways who is the wizard of Roz. DONT PAY ATTENTION TO THE REVIEW ABOVE

This is a wonderful book written by Liebenthal and very detailed. What else can you say about the Mets for the past 43 seasons you come to suspect the worst from this team from the Ryan-Fregosi deal to the Kazmir-Zambrano trade? This book although short and just gives a lot what of "what ifs" what if the Mets never traded for Nolan Ryan for Fregosi or Amos Otis for Joe Foy; Who??, or have given Seaver the proper contract he deserved or trade Staub, McGraw? The list goes on and on about bad trades and also the bad free agent signings like, Vince Coleman, Bobby Bonilla (Biggest Bust ever) you can throw in the Brett Saberhagen deal in there too; despite a 14-4 start to the strike season of '94. The worst trade was the Juan Samuel trade to the Mets for Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell. (Definitely a killer move there) Also another bad move for the Mets was not giving Strawberry a contract to keep him as a Met instead he went on to sign with the LA Dodgers and went on to ruin his career with altercations with drugs and alcohol and spousal abuse. Liebenthal doesn't talk much about the brutal moves that Steve Phillips made with Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar (which at the time was a no brainer until his hall of fame credibility was almost shattered in NY with his shoddy defense and lackluster 240 batting average that they had no choice but to trade him to the White Sox so at least he would have retained some of that hall of fame status that he was when he played in a bandbox like Camden yards and Jacobs Field. Just imagine what Alomar's career would be like if he played mostly at a ballpark that was similar to Shea stadium. I guarantee that his career statistics would be a lot less attractive and he would've been one of those players that come and go. Liebentahl also talks about the great moves the Mets have made throughout the years of existence, like bringing in Gil Hodges to manage the Mets in 1968, the Tom Seaver move which only worked because Atlanta at the time violate a rule, which stated that no team was aloud to sign players still playing for a collegiate team at the time. So it came down to three teams Mets, Phillies and the Cardinals all put in a hat and Seaver pulled out the paper and it said Mets and the rest is history. Signing Jerry Koosman who was later trade to Minnesota in exchange for a youngster name Jesse Orosco, who later on became a big part of the Mets 1986 World Championship team. Also moves that brought in Rusty Staub and even though he was at the tail end of his career, Willie Mays. Liebenthal also talks about the great moves the Mets made bring in Keith Hernandez to the Mets from St. Louis and sending Neil Allen in return. Moves like drafting Strawberry and Gooden. The trade that sent Hubie Brooks, Floyd Youmanns to the Montreal Expos for catcher Gary Carter in the winter of 1984.Trading for Bobby Ojeda and Ron Darling. The list goes on and on. This book written by Liebenthal would intrigue any Met fan who is interested in wanting to know what the franchise was like from birth to its glory year of '69 and '86 to the most dismal years of the late '70's to early '80's and the early to mid '90's.

This book was written by someone who obviously is a loyal and dedicated Mets fan, and he clearly put a great deal of passion and effort into it.

However, Mr. Liebenthal either relied too much on a faulty memory or did not do enough fact-checking, and this resulted in a number of errors, too many for someone claiming to be an "expert" on his topic.

For example, the author states on page 1 that after being illegally signed by the Atlanta Braves and having his contract voided, Tom Seaver was awarded to the Mets in a lottery involving the Mets, Braves, and Dodgers. Actually, the Braves were forbidden from signing Seaver, and the lottery involved the Mets, Indians, and Phillies. Also, on page 88, he states that the Mets beat the Braves in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS in 13 innings, when in fact the game went 15 innings.

More minor, but also glaring (to this reader) was the repeated misspelling of the name of former manager DAVEY (not Davy) Johnson.

In addition, the author writes in a very cumbersome style, with unexplained assertions and questionable choice of words. Staying on page 88, he states that Todd Zeile's "moniker" (why not just say "name?") starts with "Ze, an interesting juxtaposition." Why is that an interesting juxtaposition? The author doesn't explain.

On the same page, in describing Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, the author states that the Mets had a one-run lead and that reliever Armando Benitez "should have been able to hold the vanguard." HOLD THE VANGUARD?? What the heck does that mean? The closest definition of vanguard is "the forefront in any movement, field, activity, or the like." Why not keep it simple and just say "hold the lead?"

Finally, the author strained my concentration with repeated cliches like "lidlifter" to describe the opening game of a series.

Mr. Liebenthal obviously has plenty of knowledge of and passion for the Mets, but I wish I hadn't spent the money on this book.