Adam Books

Published to accompany the exhibition "Unknown Territory: The Landscape of Andrew Wyeth" organised by the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1998, following the introduction two essays discusses the critical appraisal of the artist, his approach to his work and his painting methods; the easy are illustrated throughout in colour and black and white. The catalogue of work runs from pages 51 to 199. The book concludes with a further essay which includes a number of comments by the artist. There is also a list of works included in the exhibition but no bibliography.

In total there are approaching 200 illustrations, with the vast majority being in full colour, although the restrained nature of Wyeth's palette does not make this immediately apparent even in the main section of plates. The landscape format of the book accommodates well the predominantly similarly proportioned paintings and drawings, however sometimes the image is reproduced rather small relative to the page size.

A very useful publication which well demonstrates the range of the artist's output even with the designation of landscape.

If this were a hardbound edition (it may exist?) it would sell for an expensive price. The color plates, index and footnotes are exquisitely designed and printed in this softbound catalog edition. Anecdotes are plentiful, critical examination controversial, but this catalog of Wyeth's work is beautifully presented and great fun to examine. The words of critics are always oddly out of place and hard to swallow and fortunately there aren't many critic's editorials contained here. It's the dozens and dozens of paintings that are in this book-exquisite! As many of A.W.'s pieces were of a comparatively large dimension-as far as water-based works go, the plates do not capture the spatial and color phenomena of these paintings, but this is as good as it gets-next to a visit to a museum to view them "live!" One would be hard-pressed to find this many unpublished, heretofore unexhibited Wyeth pieces under one roof! A very enjoyable publication!

A collection containing a number of stunning watercolors loosely executed, rarely included in a book of Wyeth's works. Also includes many of his more labored tempera paintings.

The staff of the Whitney Museum for a 1998 Wyeth exhibition compiled this beautifully printed and bound book. The stock is heavy and glossy and the colors sharp and clear. Many watercolors included have not been publicly seen for years, as many private collectors contributed their paintings for this exhibition. The dates of the compositions range from the early 30's through the late 90's.

The two most recognized American artists of the 20th Century are Andys-Wyeth and Warhol, and they have more in common than their initials. Both are controversial and neither is as "realistic" as accused and/or categorized.

My enjoyment of Andrew Wyeth was never diminished by the fact that I had a lot of company. Popularity does not necessarily mean inferiority in spite of what the self-consuming art world tells us. True, you have to have a certain fondness for bleak settings to properly take pleasure in most of the paintings. I often idly wondered if Wyeth ever painted landscapes in spring or summer and why he was so enamored of bare earth and beige and brown compositions. I have never seen as many abstracts as are contained in this book.

The essays in the book are interesting, but not so prevalent as to overshadow the marvelous prints. My only complaint is the book is an unhandy shape, longer than it is tall, making it difficult to shelve. However, this is minor. Many hours of viewing pleasure are in store.

When you view the work of an artist, who is to be the arbiter of what, in this case the painting is about, what it means? Do you turn to the Professional Art Critic, Art History Majors, you the viewer, or the man or woman who created the work? In this case the Artist is well and painting, and his thoughts about his work are many and well documented.

This book on the paintings of Andrew Wyeth focuses primarily on the media of watercolor and drybrush as opposed to the egg tempera paintings that are the medium for so many of his most famous works. Mr. Wyeth takes up to 6 months for a tempera work, and completes as few as 2-4 a year. The images in this book are produced by the hundreds, and over his career amount to literally thousands of images. This book discusses and publishes many images that have never been publicly shown, and uses this body of work to advance various ideas.

The book is a valuable addition to those who are admirers of his work, the opinions that are expressed by people other than the artist, are either critical to the book on one extreme, or mostly ridiculous from where I sit.

Andrew Wyeth has been a target for the self-proclaimed tastemakers of Art for one reason; his art is widely admired, collected, and highly valued. These elements automatically qualify him for criticism that is so absurd; it adds a comedic aspect to the text. Then there are those who do love his work but feel they must demonstrate that, yes, he is what the critics say he is not, and even more!

The text did help me understand more about the method by which Mr. Wyeth creates these works, and the role they sometimes play in a major tempera piece. I loved his work before this book, and will continue to regardless of what "they" have to say. The only individual whose comments matter are Mr. Wyeth's. His thoughts are documented; I don't see the need for others to presume they know better than he what he paints, and what his intent was when he created the work.

The book is great for the new images it brings to the public. Everything about the construction of the book is as good as you will find in a commercial publication, and the color plates are excellent. As to the text, that is left for you to decide, I am placing the stars above for the Artist and his work, not for what others have to say about it.

Yo soy vegetariana estricta (vegana o que no consume ningun producto de origen animal, ni leche, huevos, etc.) y mi esposo es un carnivoro desenfrenado que fue criado sin comer muchas verduras, por ende consume mucha grasa animal y hay muchisimos vegetales que no conoce. Con este libro he logrado derribar sus prejuicios respecto a que las verduras son intrínsecamente malas. He logrado que coma muchas legumbres, que no las conocia ni de nombre y de paso he adquirido la capacidad de crear platos que se lucen en cualquier fiesta o reunión social.

Las recetas son buenísimas, y me encanta la recopilación de recetas italianas, griegas, mexicanas y de tantos otros países.

La fotografía es lindísima al punto de que mientras ojeas el libro para decidir que hacer, se te hace agua la boca.

Un excelente libro para tu biblioteca personal y ademas una opcion para regalar :D

pd: sin embargo no es una buena opcion para un vegano, ya que todas las recetas contienen huevos y mucho queso.

I've been a vegetarian for over 10 years, but my husband is not. This book is great even for the non-vegetarian. There are great pictures, easy instructions, and very unique recipes I haven't seen anywhere else. There aren't just pictures of the end result, but there are pictures of the process also (which is where I often get confused while cooking), so you can be an inexperienced chef, but still create gourmet meals.

You make pretty much everything from scratch, which is so healthy and it's also a lot of fun. If you buy one recipe book, this should be it.

This book gets more use than any other cookbook in our extensive collection, and we aren't even vegetarians, we just wanted to eat healthier. As a matter of fact, I'm making the Leek Souffle tonight, and I used the hummus recipe for a party.

The photographs make the food look so good that you're eager to try out the recipes, which are all fairly easy to make. The ingredients are fairly simple and easy to find at the grocery store.

So many of these recipes have become regulars on our menus. The baked eggs with leeks are a great lunch or breakfast, and I've made it so often, I don't even need to look at the book anymore. The vegetable pilau is a favorite, too. We've even used tabs on this book so we can hit our favorites easily (we have about 12 tabs in the book so far).

If you buy no other cookbook, buy this one. I can't believe how impressed we are with this book!!!

This book was given to me as a gift. I have tried many recipes from it, and all were delicious, not too difficult, and made with available ingredients. The instructions are presented in numbered steps, making it very easy to follow. What I liked best is the fact that every recipe includes color photos of the preparation process and the completed dish!

I have just recently become a vegetarian and this cookbook was bought for me as a gift. The recipes are very clear with plenty of pictures and handy tips. I now know how to sundry my own tomatoes and who knew you could substitute natural peanut butter for sesame tahini when making hummus. The Fried Noodles with bean sprouts and asparagus is one of my favorites. For a new vegetarian, like myself, I needed a cookbook that was not intimedating or that didn't include exotic ingredients. This is a perfect collection of delicious recipes.

I tried to order this from Amazon but then received a notice that the book would be available in 1-3 months, not 1-3 weeks as listed here. Having already waited 6 weeks for the book to arrive I ended up ordering directly from the publisher (Whitecap Books) and it arrived within 1 week!!! The price was higher but I would recommend this book at any price. There are some wonderful great recipes. Get a copy while you still can.

That's all there is to it. There's not a single miss in this book. Every recipe is a hit!! And the pictures are awesome too!! I'd pay $100 for this book if I had too. Do yourself a favor and get one. You won't regret it.

Some of my favourite recipes from the amazing whitewater cafe. They bring back great memories of growing up in the Koots, and my winter at the Whitewater ski hill...
And it's great food, with tastes coming together from around the world.

Over the years I've had the pleasure of visiting the Whitewater Resort and the Fresh Tracks Cafe many times and neither I, nor anyone in my family has ever been disappointed in the food that we've had - we've always enjoyed it. So when I found out that they had a cookbook, I immediately bought it - and again, I have not been disappointed.

It's full of great recipes (I've tried several and LOVE them all) that are fresh, easy and yummy. The recipes tend to be on the healthy side (which I like) but are not lacking in flavor in anyway - they are some of the most flavorful I've had. They are also very simple and most could be made quickly on a weeknight. This is a definite keeper for us!

I love this cookbook. The pictures alone are wonderful, and the recipes themselves turn out both beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. I've made about ten of the recipes. So far, our favorites are the black bean vegetarian chili, the corn bread, and the white chocolate-hazelnut brownies. The only criticism I have is that the book is poorly edited. Some of the ingredients are not specific enough (for example, "1 tsp mint"; dried? extract? fresh chopped?) and the instructions are sometimes incomplete. Still, by guessing as best I could, the recipes turned out well. I hope that the next edition of this book is more complete and specific.

I didn't understand before buying this book that it was just a collection of short quotes - but it's hilarious! If you've ever felt frustrated dealing with men, you need this!

A wonderful and funny collection of women's quotations.

certainly this book is a great collection of the thoughts of women regarding the oxymoron knownn as men. i found my self laughing outloud & unable to stop reading.

With such a witty and insightful book, woul you expect any less from the website? Check it out, you can even buy Men Are From Hell T-Shirts and other various things... http://www.menarefromhell.com

This book is histerically funny! If you have ever had a relationship with a man, good or bad, you will enjoy the insightful quotes in this book. I am sending copies to all my women friends.

Being a cat-centric person, just about anything about cats amuses me... and this was highly amusing, not just for the witty written content but also Hollander's wonderful illustrations. My only complaint is that it's not the size of "Gone With the Wind" because I want MORE MORE MORE!

This quick-read makes a perfect gift for the woman who really does love cats too much -- like me. It is thoughtful and it delivers a chuckle on every page, and the illustrations are cute. A lot of the points made in the book will really hit home for cat lovers.

This book was HILARIOUS>^..^< I am an admitted Cat-aholic so I could totally relate to this book. Especailly since I spent 3 hours putting a perch together for them yesterday before I read the book:-) Nothing is too good for my furrbabies!

No matter how many times I read this book, I always LOL (Laugh Out Loud) -- maybe because it's so true!

As I sit here in the middle of the night typing this, my cat sits on my lap as she purrs away and I hit the keyboard while my elbows are uncomfortably extended out straight...of course I won't bend them...I wouldn't want to disturb my baby. She's comfortable. Thank you Allia for letting me know that there are others out there and I am not alone. At last, group therapy may be available!!!

If your wallet contains a photo of your cat or perhaps if the feline decides what's for dinner tonight, then get this little book. You will laugh and laugh. The full-color illustrations are funny as they depict you and I too well! Many meows to you all.

X-Men: The Asgardian Wars was one of the very first trade paperbacks I purchased when I started collecting comics, and to this day remains one of my all-time favorite X-Men sagas. The 1985 series brought the X-Men, Alpha Flight, and the New Mutants together, both on Earth and in Asgard, against the trickster god Loki, whose sinister plans will push our heroes to the absolute limit.

The saga starts off with the 2-issue X-Men/Alpha Flight limited series by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith. Claremont of course pretty much single-handedly saved the X-Men from extinction in the 70's, and was THE X-Men authority throughout the 80's. Smith's previous run on the Uncanny X-Men was amazing, and his artwork here is just as impressive. In this series the X-Men and Alpha Flight are drawn north to discover the answer to all humanity's problems...courtesy of Loki himself. Loki's gift couldn't have strings attached, could it?

The second half of the story spanned the New Mutants Special #1 and the Uncanny X-Men Annual #9, again written by Claremont with unforgettable artwork by Arthur Adams. This is vintage Adams, back before his style got so cartoonish. In this story, a ticked-off Loki exacts his revenge against the X-Men, but his minions instead fetch him the New Mutants, who are all radically changed by their time in Asgard. The X-Men come to the rescue eventually, but will their students even want to go back to Earth after these events?

This is about as much fun as a superhero comic can get. You get gods, monsters, mutants, elves, dwarves, Valkyries, and plenty of action, page after gorgeously illustrated page. Claremont has a tendency to let his characters monologue things no one would ever say, but the story as a whole is so much fun you can overlook that. If you love the classic X-Men lineup, Marvel's version of Asgard, or just enjoy fun, over the top superheroics, you'll love X-Men: The Asgardian Wars.

It's a shame this trade paperback is out of print. I know the X-Men and New Mutants of 1985 don't exactly fit in with today's movie-driven X-image, but this is still a bright spot in the X-Men's history. I'd love to see it reissued in Marvel's Premiere Classic hardcover format, because my copy is literally falling apart from the number of times I've reread it over the years.

For any fan of comic art, this book is a must have. Arthur Adams attention to detail started a revolution in the mid-80's, and the medium has never been the same since. For X-men fans, this series of annuals showcases some facinating character development.

This volume reprints two separate stories and represent among the best writings by Chris Claremont. The first one is an X-Men/Alpha Flight story drawn by the legendary Paul Smith. The second one is an Art Adams classic New Mutants tale. The two stories both deal with Asgardians (chiefly the trickster god, Loki).

As the usual Claremont formula is, the X-characters sit around their mansion (or Danger Room, or sunbathing at the beach, etc.) and they get attacked by a baddie (why can't anyone ever leave these poor muties alone?). In this case, the baddie is Loki. In the first story, he offers the X-Men a chance to build a utopia with a price. In the second story, he kidnaps Storm to be his bride and also teleports the New Mutants to Asgard (their experiences in Asgard forever changes them). For longtime readers, these stories were especially rewarding - we have the first announcement that Madelyne Pryor was pregnant (with baby Cable), the first meeting of Rachel Summers with Scott Summers, the "slimming-down" of Karma, Dani Moonstar's transformation into a Valkyrie, Rahne Sinclair's meeting with the Wolf-Prince of Asgard, another Wolverine-Snowbird meeting, and the tragic story of a well-intentioned Madelyne Pryor (as Anodyne) trying to save her team-mates.

The moral of this story: Don't let false gods *bleep* with your lives. Especially if you're mutants!

This story ranks right up there with "DARK PHOENIX" and the "Mutant Massacre". It feature beautiful art by Arthur Adams, (whose art has never looked as good since)and Paul Smith, and an intricate story by Chris Claremont. It features two stories, one with the X-men and Alpha Flight going up against the Asgardian god of lies Loki, and one featuring the X-men and New Mutants trying to rescue Their leader Storm from Loki (who intends to turn her into his wife and use her to conquer Asgard). I highly recommend this story for anyone who is a fan of the X-men. This is one of the high points of Claremonts long run as X-men writer.

What makes this book so good is the collection of characters. Probably the best X-Men team ever (perhaps for the exception of Rachel instead of Jean). Besides that: Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, Storm, and Wolverine. The story is very compelling, and the New Mutants play a key role as well. This is a *MUST HAVE* for any New Mutant fans as it is a pivotal point in the character developments of Mirage (Dani Moonstar) as well as Karma. Additionally, we get a very good glimpse of the different mutants personalities as each one has a miniature solo adventure as the plot begins to tie together. The storytelling is great, and the art is superb (especially for the era). I will note that the genre is more fantasy/mythology than typical superhero "street level" fare, but perhaps this is what makes it so alluring. My highest praises.

This is a fun little gift. It's small and cute, what's not to like. The book provides a few recipes and some useful facts.

I enjoy finding unique books and this one definitely falls under that category. In addition to the dog biscuit recipes the book includes five cookie cutters to cut your treats into the shape of a dog bone, heart, cat, fire hydrant, or doghouse. The obvious question to many readers is why bother to make your own dog biscuits when you can buy them so readily at the store? If you have to ask then you really don't understand the bond between many dog owners and their dog. For me it is because I can control the ingredients and I can create the "perfect" training snack. My dog is quite finicky about dog treats and doesn't like most of the store brands, so using them as a reward just doesn't work. On the other hand the recipe for Cheddar Liver in this book makes a perfect training reward that she will do almost anything to get. The book itself contains 24 different recipes for everything from basic cheese biscuits to liver and oat, liver leather, multigrain herb, grain-free and even carob biscuits. All are easy to make, although several do require a food processor to puree the ingredients. The attached box with the cutters in it is pretty flimsy and soon falls apart. However, the pages of the book are connected to the box via three metal split rings so the box can be removed, the cutters placed in a kitchen drawer or other appropriate place and the book placed on the bookshelf. This took a lot of thought to put the book together in this fashion so it can be easily converted to a standard book and was greatly appreciated on my part. You Bake `Em Dog Biscuits is highly recommended to dog lovers everywhere and a perfect gift for that friend who treats their dog as a part of the family.

My dogs and many neighborhood dogs have sampled several of these recipes. All biscuits were well received and I found them easy to make. The nice thing about these recipes is that you can make little changes or forget an ingredient and no one complains. The dogs love the treats, period! I plan to make the fishy treats again and cut smaller pieces that my cat can enjoy, too. I love this book and all the goodies that came with it, the cutters and the little gift bags are cute. This whole package makes a very nice gift.

I got this set as a gift and I have been having fun with it ever since. My three English Springer Spaniels love home-made bones and I have to admit, I loving making them. I have a few dog treat books and each have their own unique appeal. This one is excellent for hard, crunchy biscuits. The Peanut Butter Bones (page 24) are the guy's all time favorite. I make them without the filling and have had to quadruple the recipe. Not just for my dogs but for their friends too. It has become a Saturday morning ritual they won't let me out of. This book has seriously spoiled them.
You can make your own "green breath freshening" type treats by adding 1/2 cup mint leaves to the "Spinach Bones" on page 35. Just lower the temperature to 200 and bake longer to retain the bright green color. I really like the heavy use of whole wheat flour since this makes a harder biscuit and is also so much healthier. The best thing about "You Bake 'Em" is how it follows a basic formula that once mastered, lets you create your own combinations. This was really a great gift!

My three labradors and I love this recipe book! One of my dogs has lots of allergy problems and has problems with many commercially available treats and foods, so the recipes in this book offer many options for my allergic dog. I've found the recipes easy to make and also very adaptable to substitutions in ingredients if needed. Everything is well organized and easy to read and understand in an attractive, appealing design. The inclusion of the fun dog-themed cookie cutters makes it even more enjoyable to make special treats for my dogs and to make creative gifts for our doggie friends. My dogs have loved every treat recipe we've tried, as have all the pooches who've gotten them as gifts. I've found this book to be a perfect and unique gift for dog loving friends. If you enjoy doing special things with and FOR your dogs, this "kit" will give you lots of hours of fun and instant popularity with the canines!

"10 Ways To Screw Up An Ad Campaign" is one of the best business books I've read on the subject of advertising and marketing. The information that Barry shares is absolutely amazing. It's easy to read and to implement in any business. I strongly recommend that you read this book before spending another dime on advertising.

This book is filled with simple, sensible, yet creative ideas on how businesses and professional practices of all sizes can increase sales through marketing and advertising. It's extremely easy to read and offers practical advice that even businesses with very limited budgets can use to reevaluate strategies and maximize their advertising. There is an important chapter on realistic expectations and measurement of results. I can't imagine not discovering at least a few ideas you can implement immediately from this book.

For the price, you can't expect to find a better written book on advertising. This book not only gives you insights on creating sucessful advertising campaigns, it also will force you to focus on what sets your business apart from the competition. After reading it, you may re-invent your business as well as your marketing!

This book is witty and insightful with great examples on how to use various advertising methods and techniques. It has charts, toolkits bullet points, references and a glossary. I enjoyed it very much. It is well worth the price.

I liked many of the tips in here. I really liked the chord progression tips the most. The scales he does as the first tip is nice and opens up some nice info for me to learn. I like how he refers to them as patterns because I can memorize patterns and formulas very easy in math so I figure that it may help me here too.

I've been playing guitar for 5 years (self taught), have a band going but never really played live much until recently and I never really knew much about effects, amps and guitar "tech" type stuff. I ordered this book because I spent all my time learning how to play well, but not learning much about gear etc. And it's a little embarrassing being able to play fairly decent but not knowing crap anything else. This book certainly helped in that department.

There are a few different kinds of tips in here. Some are technique, music theory and exercises, which are mixed in throughout. Most of those I didn't really find all that useful because I have my own ways of practicing and such, but having all the modes written out was nice to have as a reference.

Then there are stage tips and guitar/amp maintenance tips. Most of these were helpful to me. A lot are just random things about stringing, adjusting action, picks, pedal boards, travel, and most types of effects are explained in an easy to understand basic way.

This book will probably be too "primitive" for professional guitar players, but of course thats not who it's really targeted at. For people starting to play live, or looking for some general advice on basic guitar stuff this will probably serve as a helpful starting guide to having a more well rounded knowledge of guitar.

I have yet to purchase this book, but I saw it in Guitar Center a few months ago and I skimmed through it. Very nice. more than just how to play certain riffs, lots of good little nuggets of advice, like the more live experience the better, and I think this was in there, how you should always tuck your chord in the inside of your strap. Very practical and useful information.

101 Guitar Tips is the result of my own 30 years playing experience, plus knowledge gathered from the hundreds of celebrity interviews I've conducted through the past 20 years as editor of www.Guitar.com, as an author and editor for music publisher Hal Leonard (for whom I've worked on numerous excellent guitar instructional books covering blues, jazz, rock, country, scales, chords, and more), and as a writer for most of the major U.S. guitar magazines and many of America's largest newspapers.

I've also worked for Fender, D'Addario, Guitar Center, Musician's Friend and smaller music stores, and I ran vintage guitar site Gbase.com for a couple of years. I've guitar teched for Sammy Hagar, and of course I've played in countless bands.

101 Guitar Tips covers a lot of ground, including scales, chords, riffs, music theory, gear setup and maintenance, equipment selection, career advice, things to make your music-making trouble-free and more enjoyable, and much more. There's something for everyone in this book, whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player. All musical examples are written out in notation AND tablature, and many are illustrated with neck diagrams as well.

I've included many excellent tips and suggestions that I got first-hand from celebrities such as B.B. King, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam), Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers), Rene Martinez (Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tech), Tom Dowd (legendary producer), and many, many more.

And the 53-track CD (included at no extra charge) offers you the opportunity to learn and work on many of the riffs and chord progressions described in the book. You can use it as a play-along, jam tool as well.

I've written this book to be an easy, fun read, with just a touch of dry humor (or is it simply a veteran musician's hard-earned sarcasm?) thrown in for good measure. I hope you'll get a good laugh out of some of it, because a sense of humor is definitely a plus for any musician!

101 Guitar Tips makes an excellent learning product, and a great gift. I'm currently (November, 2003) working on my follow up book, "101 Recording Tips," which will help solve problems and create better recordings for anyone with a home studio or heading into a pro studio. Watch for this book to come out through Hal Leonard in 2004.

Other books I've authored or edited for Hal Leonard include "The Picture Chord Encyclopedia" (yes, that's 2,640 pictures of my left hand, playing every chord imaginable), "Incredible Scale Finder," "Blues Solos for Guitar," "Country Solos for Guitar," "Hard Rock Solos for Guitar," and "Jazz Solos for Guitar."

If you've purchased my book 101 Guitar Tips, and want me to clarify anything in the book, feel free to contact me at adam@guitar.com.

Keep on pickin'!

Adam St. James
November 14, 2003
Editor, www.Guitar.com

One hundred and fifty years after his death, Abraham Lincoln continues to fascinate. It's fair to say that more books have been written on our 16th President than any other American historic figure; new titles appearing year after year. Dyed-in-the-wool Lincoln fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this new volume covering various aspects of Lincoln's life and times.

Author Brian Thornton's goal is to separate the man from the myth. He takes us through Lincoln's life in 101 mini-chapters, examining Lincoln matters big and small - how Lincoln got Mary Todd to marry him, his changing views of abolition, Lincoln's relationship with his father, his brief military career, the impact of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, why he grew a beard, his personal relationships, how John Wilkes Booth's brother saved one of Lincoln's sons from death, his legacy and so on.

There is a great deal of fascinating information packed in the book's 231 pages. One section I found especially interesting contained comparisons of Lincoln with Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Buchanan, Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas and Jefferson Davis.

I have read a number of books on Lincoln but still found pleasures anew in this book from Adams Media. Nicely priced at $9.95, it's a great introduction to "father Abraham."

This book is small - 6"x6"x1" - but it packs a wallop. It covers the entirety of Abe Lincoln's life, providing fascinating glimpses into the forces that shaped his character and made him one of America's most effective and beloved presidents.

Author Brian Thornton is not out to create hagiography. He lets us in on fascinating secrets of Lincoln's life, such as his distance from his father, his poison-pen pranking that landed him in a duel with an opponent, his tragic first love and his emotional aloofness from his high-strung wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. Along the way, Thornton addresses myths of Lincoln's supposed homosexuality (people, he just rented one side of a bed!) and his purported ownership of slaves. Lincoln's rise from abject poverty to fame as a litigator is laid out pretty well, as are the national crises (The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision) that shaped his views and his destiny.

"101 Things" is always fresh, always level-headed, and always informative. It's a book that is very hard to put down, and (inch for inch) is a great way to learn about the breadth of Lincoln's life and influence.

When I was given a copy of Brian Thornton's 101 Things You Didn't Know About Lincoln, I was pretty smug. I thought, I'll know just about everything in here. All modesty aside, I know lots about Abe. I know what the inscription is on the inside of Mary Todd Lincoln's ring. I know about his poetry. I know the quote about his ambition. I think the Gettysburg Address is nearly perfect.
Once again, I was kicked in the shin, hard, by hubris. Did I know Lincoln? You bet. Did I know as much as Mr. Thornton? Not even close. His knowledge of Lincoln runs the gamut from A to Zed and back again. I would use the word `encyclopedic' except that, for me, encyclopedic denotes a rather dry recitation of fact, and this book is anything but dry.
The format itself is interesting, and has set me a-ponderin'...by addressing faqs does one get a true, soul and elbows picture of Lincoln? After all, Mr. Thornton himself states that this is his intention, to make us see the man. Does he succeed? You bet, and how. But I still wonder if the format would work so completely without Mr. Thornton's obvious passion for the subject and his engaging, informative writing style. So I've asked a question I can't answer, because I'm smitten with the writing itself.
But I suspect it does work. One can't answer discourse on subjects like Lincoln's shifting views of abolition ( #53), the South Carolina Secession Crisis (#73) or Congressional Spot Resolutions (#43) without going into detail. And in giving the reader all sorts of fascinating tidbits such as; was Mary Todd Lincoln crazy? Who was the other Mary in Abe's life? What was Abe's middle name? Abe Lincoln's patent, what was that? How did Abe's assassin's brother save Abe's son's life? , Brian Thornton fleshes out the rather iconic image we have branded in the forecourts of our brains.
I never knew that Lincoln refused the governorship of the Oregon Territory. He refused because he thought that Oregon was not an ideal springboard for a leap onto the national political scene and he refused because he feared his son's weak chest might not survive such a move. He cited a third reason for his refusal. I found in this tidbit the quintessential Lincoln, the ambitious man who loved his family but who remained always, even inexplicably, private.
Historians and writers of history often seem to feel that they are not doing their job unless they produce a thick, dense prose (no matter how slim the volume) that reminds this reader of slogging up a steep incline of mud, wearing ice skates. Mr. Thornton's words live on the page; they are lively, informative, and entertaining. I just lent this book to an eighteen year old college freshman who loved it, I just bought it for my eleven year old nephew. My husband is slated for it next. The point is, it is accessible to almost everyone, and yet scholarly enough to be taken seriously.
I recommend it highly. If you like Lincoln, love Lincoln, or feel you should know something of the man who is arguably our greatest President, dive right in. You won't be sorry.

This book was a great read. I found that in nearly one of the 101 chapters (Thornton wrote a mini-chapter for each "thing you didn't know") I learned something new. It addresses nearly aspect of Lincoln's life, including his political savvy, his presidency, his life (including whether or not he was really born in a log cabin), as well as the much debated question of whether Lincoln was gay. It's a fun read, with a very readable style. Thornton has a good sense of humor, making this much better than some of the typical history tomes. I recommend it highly!