Bruno Books

BRUNO'S DREAM is a remarkable novel. It features an ensemble of eight characters, none of them very noble, and the action essentially consists in the kaleidoscopic shifts in the relationships between and among these eight characters. The reader observes everything somewhat like a voyeur, with an attendant sense of embarrassment over their clumsy grapplings with their egos and their ids, their dreams and their desires. The setting is an admixture of the starkly realistic (middle- and working-class London in the 1960s) and the bizarre and almost fantastic (Bruno's tomb-like bedroom and a cataclysmic flood). Nonetheless, the story somehow manages to stay within the realm of possibility, and it is always captivating. In the course of its unfolding, Murdoch raises and explores, almost as asides and without belaboring, a number of philosophical or metaphysical concepts (love and death, the existence of God, the thralldom of memory, life as a dream).

This is my introduction to Iris Murdoch, so I don't know if BRUNO'S DREAM is typical of her work with its blend of philosophy, humor, probing of human relationships and the individual psyche, and sheer narrative intelligence. I hope so, because then I have much reading pleasure ahead of me. Written in 1969 but not dated in the least, the novel appears to be out of print. If, however, you enjoy intelligent and slyly witty fiction, it should be worth the effort of tracking down a copy, for it is better than most novels currently being presented and reviewed in our leading newspapers as the best of today's fiction.

Iris Murdoch has written one helluva' dream for her protagonist, but here's hoping ol' Bruno changed the sheets once he woke up.

Of all the whimsical, fictional worlds created by Iris Murdoch, this one is the most haunting and compelling. Her gift for "reading" the human condition is a given; her ability to find consistently some light in the darkest human soul is a gift. The novel's humor notwithstanding, this is a story of desperate people who, unbeknownst to them, live under the watchful, sheltering love of a strange, gentle man (Nigel), who is everywhere and nowhere, and who, along with his unwitting protege, Diana, represents the purest example I've seen in Murdoch's fiction of her concept of selfless love, the ability to be "good for nothing." The final scene between tortured, dying Bruno and spiritually exhausted Diana is as moving as any in literature. I've read all of Murdoch's novels, and each has its beauties. This one stays in my heart, like the memory of innocence.

Bruno's Dream is one of the forgotton books in the Murdoch oeuvre. While I would not encourage anyone new to Murdoch to start here I would suggest that anyone who enjoys her uneven but magical and haunting books should seek this one out.

It has an acute sense of place and the portrayal of the shabby and little known area of Chelsea, London near the Lots Road power station is powerful. It is one of the first times that I have felt a need to search out the actual physical location of a novel (not much changed actually).

This story of a dying man is a gentle and unfashionable book. I will never forget it.

Bruno's Dream is a wonderful novel and it's a shame it's out of print. I was so pleased to discover a copy in a used book store, and even more pleased upon reading it. The story revolves around Bruno, a dying old man, and the people in his life--both living and not. Murdoch once again demonstrates her incredible talent to explore the realities of human relationships, to get you thinking on the nature of friendship and love. The novel is at times humorous, serious, philisophical and bittersweet. A truly enjoyable read.

This was a great story. One of the best political thrillers I've read in a long time. I would recommend it.

James Bruno's CHASM resonates with the authority of a man who's deeply involved in the intelligence community. The novel postulates a secret plan to keep peace in the Balkans: America will take in dozens of war criminals. Unfortunately, old habits die hard and soon the criminals are back in action, but now in the streets of America. When one man's family is caught in the crossfire, he strikes back. Strong, angry stuff: reminded me of James Macomber's A Grave Breach, also set against the ethnic conflict in former Yugoslavia.

CHASM raises some serious questions about what goes on in the White House. Key figures are adept at manipulatively climbing the ladder, while at the same time running programs which destabilize our country. Bruno throws in romance, plenty of spy-thriller moments, and even a few good laughs (like a sex-crazed First Lady). I highly recommend CHASM!

James Bruno's first novel, Permanent Interests, was such a page-turner I could barely wait to see what he'd come up with next. He didn't let me down. This time it's Chasm, the name of a top secret government program to resettle Balkan war criminals in the U.S. The program goes awry as the bloody thugs continue their armed feuding and massacres in the U.S. The corpses pile up, including women and children, just like in Bosnia and Kosovo. Of course, top White House, NSC and State Department officials responsible for Chasm set out to save their own asses at all costs; they launch a coverup which results in still more murders, including silencing of potential government whistleblowers. It seems no one is safe.

Bruno was a State Department and military intelligence operative in a previous life, and he uses his insider's knowledge of Washington's power corridors to make the whole yarn come frighteningly to life. He writes in the same vein as thriller authors Ludlum, Forsythe and Silva; his writing is simultaneously polished and gripping. What sets him apart, however, is his nuts and bolts portrayal of how government offices and agents really do things, from the locks on the doors to the classified cables to the bureaucratic backstabbing.

Chasm sounds plausible. Most unsettling of all, the book's scariest character, Will Ferret, is taken straight from the case of William Bradford Bishop, a Foreign Service Officer who bludgeoned his wife, mother and kids to death at their Bethesda, Maryland home one dark night in 1976. Bishop remains at large; does Bruno depict the fictional Ferret to reveal some inside dope on Bishop's current whereabouts? And did you know that the government actually had a top secret program to resettle (Nazi) war criminals that went on until 1973? That's the tantalizing appeal of a Bruno book; the scariest and sleaziest parts might not be fiction at all. The action in Chasm is fast and taut; you never know who'll be next to die, and there's sex tawdry and tender. This one will keep you up all night.

I really enjoyed CHASM. I confess that the first few pages of CHASM did not grab me. However, a few days later I picked it up again, and devoured it in one sitting. The author clearly commands considerable insight into the personalities of operatives, the policies, and the corruption at several levels of government. CHASM provides plenty of real history, and weaves in much of what we imagine is going on secretly, to spin a very plausible and exciting tale. The author develops a convincing cast of characters (many just as despicable as those we have been reading about in the newspapers). CHASM has couple of minor rough spots, but they are hardly noticeable, since the reading is so engaging and fast-paced. I am looking forward to reading more of this author's works.

This is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. It was a real page turner, a notch above a lot of the stuff I've seen on the bookstore shelves lately.

I would reccomend Permanent Interests to anybody who wants to read a good book.

Other reviewers have already noted the great verisimilitude in Bruno's thriller story-lines and descriptive detail. Indeed, there is very little requirement to willingly suspend disbelief as the reader gets carried into the rush of a story that looks and feels familiar and real.

In addition, I was struck by the quality of the writing and Bruno's deft ability to handle the most difficult of creative challenges, that of sex and love. Bruno illuminates the passion without unnecessary pandering to mammalian mechanics. "...The denial made so delectable this moment. They were impatient, but loved slowly, savoring every second...Her delicate fingers undid the top button of his shirt, then the second and on down to his belt buckle." See the book for the rest. This is a good read all around.

Permanent Interests is a roller coaster experience -- past-paced intrigue that will entertain to the last. At every step Bruno's book pushes the reader to wonder how much of the story could be true and how much is merely fiction. I read this book a few months ago but I still find myself thinking about it, especially when I pick up the newspaper and read about the latest scandal. With recent revelations of a real-life Washington madam, Bruno's work came to life again for me. This fun read is provocative for its insight and candor.

James Bruno's Permanent Interests is a real thriller. Don't start this book when you go to bed unless you're prepared to be engaged in a page-turner until the wee hours of the morning.
Bruno's strong hand in this game is his knowledge of diplomacy, the U.S. Foreign Service, and the U.S. National Security Council Interagency process. Bruno simply knows his stuff, and unlike some national security thrillers, his writing is realistic and credible. In terms of credibility and knowledge, his writing and knowledge is similar to that of Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters, an Army Foreign Area Officer, who, like Bruno, spent more time in the field on the front line defending our country than behind a desk or "managing." If Peters was the type of officer that you would trust taking your children into battle with him, it is obvious from his writing in this novel that Bruno was the type of Foreign Service Officer whom you would want looking after your most precious interests overseas and within the Beltway.
What is really refreshing is that James Bruno knows how to criticize some of the failings of our government without the polemic whining and bitterness of the typical "expose" written by disgruntled and burned out ex government employees who couldn't cut the mustard in their careers and then turned to writing. To those of us who have served with him and his like, it is obvious that Bruno is a patriot and a hands on and articulate foreign service officer who cared little for the coiffured hair and expensive suit bureaucrats that he so aptly slams and pillories in this thriller! He realistically portrays Post-Soviet Russians who are adrift without the Soviet ideal; self-serving Washington careerists who have forgotten the people they serve, and the everyday American heroes of the Foreign Service and the Intelligence Community who are dedicated to our country and its service.
Also, Bruno's book is entertaining, witty, and fun to read. His portrayal of loutish gangsters pretending to be "legitimate businessmen" rivals The Godfather. The pace of his writing kept my attention throughout.
My only nit-pick is that he makes one error on the lineage of the Hungarian Secret Police, confusing some Romanian organizations with similar evil-doers in Budapest. But that error is only a passing reference, and as neither Budapest nor Bucharest are central to the plot of this thriller, one shouldn't find too much fault with it as his descriptions of other locales are detailed, accurate, and interesting.
I would make this book required reading for many undergraduate and graduate courses in foreign affairs or national security, and hope that it becomes familiar to the students at our service war colleges in Newport, Carlisle, and Maxwell Air Force Base. Although fiction, it should remind those in the public service in the fields of national security to constantly keep their bearings, as do the heroes of Bruno's book, as to where they come from and who they serve. Tom Clancy, Ralph Peters, and Pete Deutermann step aside! James Bruno is under way at flank speed! - Mark Carolla, Retired LCDR, USNR

I really enjoyed Permanent Interests! James Bruno does a great job of developing strong characters and weaving a compelling story which ties the Russian and Italian mobs with a corrupt American government. It makes the reader consider whether politicians are by nature paranoid and dishonest, and that the next election is really what matters most to them. Bruno goes beyond that by suggesting that those in power grab what they can get "and screw everybody else, but gloss it over through the mythology of hype". I got a kick out of the fancy French meals the White House heads would gluttonize over, plotting their next move. There's humor, sarcasm, and love (gotta have that!) and I think this would make a great movie! Anybody buying?

Ion Davidov is my favorite Bel Ami model. If you saw him in Lucky Lukas, you would understand. He is so lovely. While looking at these pictures I literally lost my breath. This boy is exquisite! I'll keep this book forever.

Ion Davidov has got to be one of the most handsome Bel Ami models of all. These color images of him alone and with other Bel Ami models are beautifully done, and quite stunning. Ion knows how to react with the camera and display his inner and outer beauty in the fullest. These are relaxed very natural poses, and some are extremely erotic. Another great book in the Euros Edition Series. Of all the 17 books published in the Euros Series this is probably Number #1 on my list. A must for the collection!

Full of pictures of Bel Ami film star Ion Davidov.

Excellent photo book of Ion Davidov. Nicely toned and sculpted physique, photos are in a variety of settings showing Ion both alone and with other models. As with most of the Euros series there are no hardcore shots. Most shots are in color and well done. 4 Stars and highly recommended for any collector of Male Erotica.

This book has to be one of the best coffee table books of its kind. The photos are brilliant and bring the model(s) to life before your eyes. If you want great photos of the Bel Ami stars then this is a definate 'must have'.

Save Now or Die Trying should be required reading for all young adults. Parents, this book is the best gift you can give your children. The "have it all generation" needs an immediate wake up call to think about tomorrow today.
I strongly recommend this book.
Jeffrey S. Harvey

Great book! It is an easy read and full of hard facts presented in a chummy sort of way that does not scare you away. It's really difficult to list all the good things about this book; there are so many. I really liked the recommendations about what to do with pay rises and knowing your own weaknesses.

Only two minor criticisms:

The first edition contains five times more typos than it should (e.g., "Adjusted Growth Income"), but they are really obvious when you see them, and not really a bother. I am sure that Bruno will correct them all for the second edition.

I think Bruno gives the misleading impression in the text (e.g., p46) that contributing to a 401K increases your take home pay. I think Bruno should be more explicit that compared to doing nothing, contributing to a 401K *decreases* your take home pay. It is only when *compared to contributing on an after-tax basis* that the 401K increases your relative take home pay (as shown clearly in his Table 5.1). I suggest Bruno add a third column of numbers to Table 5.1 (p45) showing what happens if you contribute nothing: take home pay = $36,500 (higher than the other two contribution scenarios). He could then tell you why contributing nothing is a bad idea.

I am very happy to have read this book, and I plan to read it again ASAP to cement it all in my head.

Bruno makes an important point that none of us should forget: "No one will take care of your retirement except you." We live longer, and expenses for things such as health care, medication and insurance continue to increase, it's important that we think about retirement now. Who knows where Social Security will be in 20 or 30 years from now? The good news is that Bruno has a straightforward strategy to help out.

Bruno lays everything out on the line in his book. He is completely honest, even addressing his own mistakes in his investing, and comes off as a good buddy with great advice. Without being too preachy, he makes it very clear that our generation needs to take action in securing our financial futures. Bruno does a fantastic job of explaining investment options while giving his opinion on which options work for different people. After reading the book, I have already taken action toward securing my retirement by participating in a more agressive 401k and opening up a Roth IRA. Thanks Mark.

As a Baby Boomer of a certain age, I flipped through this to get the mind-set of the generation which will fund the pyramid scheme of my Social Security. Good news for us if those in their 20s and 30s read this book. It is filled with amusing anecdotes of the author's friends, from the worker bees to the grasshoppers, and solutions for each. Even the charts are readable. If a kid has a copy of Bruno's book together with Carnegie's How to Win Friends, etc., he will be ahead of the game.

Also, a great tool to capture your student's attention outside the daily book work. This book allows the students to use their creativity to apply knowledge learned in a fun engaging activity.

This book contains great ideas to have kids learn through easy and engaging hands-on activities. All the ideas provided are organized in alphabetical order, and for each activity you will find suggestions on how to apply it through different areas across the curriculum. Some of the ideas included are how to make and use: door hangers, flags, journals, pop-up books, puzzles, chains, paper bag activities, shape books, triaramas and quadriaramas (which are beautiful and easy-to-make paper dioramas for reading comprehension, science, etc), mobiles and many more. Some ideas require basic materials like construction paper, envelopes, boxes, paper plates, and other household items. If the activity requires a specific template, the book contains a section of patterns that can be photocopied (like for example the pattern to make cubes, door hangers, pop-up cards, visors, and much more). Most of the activities require no further preparation and most can be done with the every day resources that most teachers keep in their classrooms.

This is a great book for elementary teachers no matter what subject they teach, because most of the ideas can be applied across the curriculum. If you want something innovative for your students, this book will help you give a twist to your lessons and you will definitely use fewer worksheets and obtain better results!

I always refer to this book when I need a new idea or activity to do in class. The activities are simple and can be adapted to virtually any subject. The appendix contains all the templates you need, however most lessons do not require copying. Puzzles, quilts, box activities, journals, mobiles, flags, and recipes are just a sampling of what this book has to offer.

My wife and I have used this (we refer to it as the "yellow book" in our teaching). I'm a 3rd-4th grade teacher and I can say that Alternatives to Worksheets is excellent when you want to get away from the ever-present dittos. The activities are fun and they let you students be as creative as they want to be. I even let my students choose what they want to do from this book and its sequel MORE Alternative to Worksheets. It is excellent for English language learners because they are visually rich and not hard to do projects. Fun, fun, fun. Fun for the teacher too, because it's a break from the same ole'-same ole'!

Each page in this book is a potential great idea to be used as is or adapted for the classroom or even at home. Projects include accordion books, cubes, journals, paper bag activities, and patterns. Although some of the ideas are not novel, they are all brought together and packaged in a handy dandy book.

If you have seen any of Titan Media's videos you know the men are hot, hairy, humpy, muscled, beefy - definitely my type of guys! This is a top-notch collection of many of the hunks you'd see in the various Titan videos. It's definitely worth adding to your collection!

Treat yourself to this book, you won't be disappointed. The men are extraordinarily handsome with the right stuff in all the right places. As the other reviewer stated, don't expect any scrawny, chicken-legged twinks in this. Full of well-endowed beefcakes with hairy chests to the max! Enjoy!

From body-language.com: "Another Bruno Gmunder wonder! If you've seen any of the Titan videos you know what these hunks look like. If you are a twinkie fan, this is NOT for you. If you like REAL MEN, Titan Men will be the book you want or to give as a gift. After looking thru Titan Men you are going to run out and buy steroids and vitamins!"

"Bruno Gmunder presents Titan Men. A book with a great look at the sexiest men from [T]itan [M]en magazine. Men hanging out looking fine as ever. You deserve a look. Don`t Miss this 2006 Collector's Edition! FULL COLOR!"--© zebraz

Rugged, rough, sexy, sleazy, hypermasuline, poetic...these are only some of the words that describe this photo journey through the studs of Titan.

I have read this book several times and recommend it to any "true" wrestling fan. If you think wrestling began with Hulk Hogan in the 1980's, don't read this. If you know that wrestling existed before Ric Flair, Hogan, et al came on the scene READ this book. It tells a great story of how one man was able to overcome adversity to attain "the American Dream."

This book was very good but also had some negatives. The positive side was a fine, detailed history of wrestling when it was wrestling. Sammartino takes the reader down the now-familiar stories of every wrestler's rough start in the business. In this book you will see wrestling when it was still viewed as being a legitamate competition, so much that sports sections in newspapers carried the results alongside of the NFL and Boxing match results. This brought back pleasant memories for wrestling fans like myself who detest what wrestling has evolved into. The negative side of the book are conspicuous misspellings, typos and other grammatical errors starting with page one and continuing onward. Also, and this may or may not be a "negative," but Bruno NEVER breaks kayfabe in the book. He actually goes to great lengths to support the legitamacy of wrestling--so much as to even deny that razor blades were ever used to draw blood. His exact quote (regarding the use of "blading" in the ring) is "Again, if such a thing has happened, I don't know about it." He then defends his answer saying there is no way a wrestler could smuggle a blade into the ring and cut himself during a match without anybody seeing it. He makes the point that he never even wore tape on his wrists to hide a razor blade. This, of course, is irrelevant as some men (Bruiser Brody, et. al.) hid them in their inner lips. Others (Hogan, et. al.) hid them in their tights. He also makes painful efforts to deny that matches are ever predetermined. This book was written in the early 90s--when wrestling was still somewhat protected. Also, before people like Superstar Billy Graham (who took the title from Sammartino) as well as Ventura, DiBiase, Hogan, etc. openly admitted that razor blades were always used to draw blood and that the outcomes of matches were always predetermined. I find it hard to believe that everybody was in on the angle except the World Champ at the time! (Can you imagine Graham pulling Bruno aside and saying, "Bruno, I gotta let you in on something--I was just playing the whole time. We all were. We were going to tell you, but it was like spilling the beans about Santa Clause to a 3 year old!") To Sammartino's credit, wreslters were and are wonderful atheletes and no matter how much "kayfabe" Bruce puts into the book, I would still strongly recommend it to any fan. It gives a glimmer of hope into the mind of a genuine old-school wrestler. I just wish wrestling was like it used to be in the early 80s and before. I will always be a fan of Bruno Sammartino!

Bruno Sammartino: The story of Wrestling's Living Legend is not only a story about the life of a pro wrestler, it also is a story about the quest for the American Dream. Sammartino came to America from Italy and found that "the roads were indeed paved with gold." The beginning of the book deals primarily with his life in Italy during World War II. When he became a professional wrestler, Sammartino rose to fame rapidly. But unlike most athletes of today, Sammartino never forgot about his fans. He never took the image of a "bad guy" in his career. Sammartino talks honestly about his dealings in the World Wrestling Federation, where he ruled as champion in two reigns that stretched over an 11-year period. The author also talks frankly about the state of wrestling today. This makes for some very interesting verbiage. If you are a wrestling fan, as I am, and if you watched Bruno Sammartino wrestle, as I did, you will truly enjoy this book. If you are not a wrestling fan, you will enjoy a true look at how someone from another country achieves the American Dream.

The other reviewers are absolutely correct. This is the best book of its kind; Bruno and his co-authors are to be thanked for putting into print not only a great life-story but perhaps the best overview of 20 or so of wrestling's greatest years. Brono's story contains informative, interesting glimpses at mat legends like Killer Kowalski, Primo Carrera, and Gorilla Monsoon, and thrilling blow-by-blow recaps of some of his legendary matches. Add to that the very enlightening and often touching scenes of life-on-the-road, away from family, and the blood-boiling indictment of today's wrestling and promoters' throat-cutting (guess who?) of their stars, makes this THE book on wrestling.

Brunos' book is the most realistic autobiography you could ever read. I should know because I'm a close personal friend of the family. The book not only deals with wrestling but it also tells of his personal life. He is a great role model for people of all ages. The book tells of the sacrifices that his family had to make for him to become the Legend that he is. It will inspire both young and old to overcome all obstacles to achieve thier dreams. There are few role models left of his stature, this is a must read for all who wish for genuine people.

I used the source code in this book when I implemented buddy system in my OS.
Bruno's code is very effective and the design is excellent too.
I've learned a lot of things in this book.
So, I'd like to recommend this book absolutely!

I think I said it all right there. Great for intermediate/advanced c++ users. It also contains sections on various algorithms which implement many of the data structures discussed in previous chapters. Just get the book already!

The book has a detailed introduction and explanation to the subject and clearly explains how to analyze and implement in programming. This is done all in C++ and it is suited to students in Computer Science Courses. The exercises at the end of the chapters are quite useful.

Believe the summary...this book is for 2nd and 3rd year post-secondary students. I am an experienced C++ programmer, but Grade 12 math isn't enough to cut through the explanations to get to the code, which I can understand perfectly well.

Who should buy this book? Students with a good grasp of basic calculus, who want a thoroughly academic treatment of algorithms in C++ in order to pass Computer Science.

Who should not? A C++ programmer that wants clear, effectively presented information on implementing standard algorithms and data structures in order to get their project done.

I'm of the Keep It Simple school of thought, and the practical theory and implementations in this book could have been presented much more effectively without the adademic bafflegab.

I am currently working on my calculus skills in my spare time, and as my familiarity with the mathematical notation grows, I may be able to put this book to good use. Untill then I wish I'd bought something else, programming doesn't need to be as dense as this book makes it.

This is a great book for one who has had a formal study of undergraduate Calculus/Algebra and a very good understanding of the C++ language. The book starts off with explaining the fundamentals that will be applied to measure the effectiveness of a piece of code, and is very helpful for those who wants to understand the basic theory applied in the later chapters. This books treats almost all the basic data structures and have been presented in a very simple non-profounding way, like keeping the class design and hiearchy the same throughout. All the data structures have been explained using the (easy to use) arrays as well as link-lists. This makes it easier for a novice to grasp the fundamentals and go on to implement more complex and effective data structures using link lists. Overall, I found this book extremely helpful in getting a sound footing on this topic.

Dirty Little Drawings is a wonderful book full of erotic drawings featuring the male body in every concievable way. The erotic poses are wonderful! If you are considering buying some books of illustrations, some of the artists have books of their own, so you can kind of preview their work to see if you want more.

I would hardly call this a little book, as it weighs in at 322 pages! Also, as you turn the pages over a period of time, you seem to discover more and more little nasty things you missed the first time through...YUM!

When purchasing the book, I was not aware of the background of the process of how the artwork was created for a show. Turning the pages of the book is like walking through a gallery. A small portable gallery of Male Erotic Art.

Aficionados of male figurative art come in many shapes and sizes; Dirty Littly Drawings will appeal to all of them. For those tired of the same old insipid, slick, hackneyed photo spreads in the stroke mags, Dirty Little Drawings is a welcome departure: this little book will kick-start your libido like a juiced-up set of jumper cables. Even the looser, sketchier, more abstract pieces radiate an intense sexuality, the boldness of their lines and headiness of their colours imbuing the images with more sensuality than most photography can muster. Whether your fascination is for fine art in general, super-charged erotic imagery, or something to "hang over the sofa," this book has something for you.

One of the greatest assets of this collection is its enormous variety of subject matter, styles, and media. In its 320 pages, Dirty Little Drawings houses a stable of 291 images, created by 72 artists, ranging from delicate, slender, coming-of-age youths to improbably muscled and impossibly endowed muscle gods to down-and-dirty leather daddies and their slaves. Dirty Little Drawings also pulls no punches in the action its images depict, with vivid representations of just about every scene imaginable (the only acts missing are those of the yellow- and brown-stripe variety). Providing a point of context, some of the drawings even depict the models in situ, giving the viewer a privileged glimpse into both the Queer Men's Erotic Art Workshop's clandestine, underground lair and the process itself.

In terms of artistic styles, DLD contains a wide range: Max Ernst-ish pen-and-ink caricatures, Old Master-style charcoal and pencil studies, delicate French Academie/Prud'hon-like compositions, Fauvist crayon abstractions, Expressionist/Egon Schiele-inspired watercolours, and photorealistic coloured pencil pieces. Some funky images decorated with metallic ink scrawls even call to mind Keith Haring's work. Although very few of the pieces could be considered masterworks (limited primarily by their requisite small size), the general level of craftsmanship is high, and many of the artists are clearly at the top of their game here.

The majority of the pieces are done on coloured armatures, from delicately hued pastel papers to Bristol board laden with op art-intense acrylics, but the black-and-white images are no less striking. Tai Lin, the artist whose work graces the cover, achieves an incredibly striking, luminescent effect with an extremely limited chromatic palette of pastels on black paper, while Enrico Gomez creates works of sublime sensuality and ethereal vagueness using lines of graphite and charcoal smudges nibbled away by kneaded eraser on cream-coloured Strathmore paper. Other artists, such as Chuck Nitzberg, achieve an extraordinary effect by combing the two methods, working for the most part monochromatically, with a few accents of colour - bright orange cock heads, blazing-red nipples, etc. - to highlight the points of interest. Although oil paint as a medium is absent (canvas loaded with oil paint being too heavy for the exhibition's hanging requirements), some of the pastel images do attain a painterly quality in their play and blending of colour and looseness of strokes.

My only complaints would be that Tai Lin's hauntingly arresting portrait, which graces the cover, is not reproduced anywhere within the book - on the cover, it's obscured by the title and list of artists' names. It also would have been nice if the artists' names were reprinted in list form inside the book as well, along with contact information for purchasing and commissioning purposes - one can only get a complete listing of the artists by combing through the index pages in the back. Also, the lack of page numbers or artist names beneath the full-size images makes it difficult to find one's favourite pieces. While it is arguably preferable to have the reproductions cover the entire page as they do here, thereby increasing their immediacy, it does make it difficult to identify the pieces (an index at the back of the book reprints each as a thumbnail in the order it appears in the book, along with the artist's name, but since the pages are not numbered, the viewer can only approximate where in the book each piece appears based on its order in the index). Finally, while Dirty Little Drawings was clearly created with exceptionally high production values, with a heavy, rock-solid cover and thick, glossy paper stock, the slight sheen on the pages makes it a little difficult to get a clear view of the artwork - one has to tilt the book just so to minimize the glare.

Despite these minor flaws, though, Dirty Little Drawings is an incredibly eye- (and zipper-) opening treasure trove of newcomers to and icons in the gay erotic art scene that perfectly captures the phenomenon that is the Queer Men's Erotic Art Workshop. In purely sensual terms, the book has a satisfying heft to it, the relatively small size makes it feel personal, private, even covetable, the cover and pages have a sumptuous texture (almost naughty, like satin sheets), and the quality of construction and artwork contained therein make it feel like it's worth a good deal more than Amazon is currently charging for it. It makes a great gift...just make sure you get an extra copy to keep for yourself!

(Note: To keep this review short, I have appended it in the Comments section with detailed information about the physical aspects of the book, as well as a brief history of the Queer Men's Erotic Art Workshop and background information on the exhibit from which the book's images were drawn - hope it's of use!)

The book DIRTY LITTLE DRAWINGS is an artwork in itself. Measuring about 6 1/2" by 6 1/2" it not only contains some superb art but it also serves as a catalogue for a project from a unique event that began in December 2000. Harvey Redding hired an adventuresome model and posed for a group of fourteen artists, each of whom sketched and drew from the model's input 'to expand the boundaries of academic nude figure drawing,' - 'full out, rock hard, unapologetic, sexual posing: nothing held back, nothing sacred.' The result was a collection of gay erotic art that became an exhibition of art works identically sized and priced. The exhibition and sale was so successful that there have been subsequent shows creating a collectors' dream and a new New York art scene.

This book may be small in size, but the artworks are vigorous, erotically charged and visually stunning. They range from simple head portraits to S and M influenced scenes, sex acts, and coupling and solitary pleasures. The variety of art types ranges form the hastily sketched pencil or crayon outline to fastidiously detailed drawings. The quality of the works may vary in degree of craftsmanship, but this selection of richly colorful works has one thing in common: the works are full of sensual energy.

The book and the concept are the work of Harvey Redding, Robert W. Richards, and Rob Hugh Rosen, the three directors of the Queer Men's Erotic Art Workshop in New York. The book is produced with finesse by Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh. This is a fine art collection that started out to be a reaction to academic art. It is a superb little book! Grady Harp, December 07

Don't let the compact dimensions of this erotic art book fool you. Inside, each individual page is filled with a stunning slice of erotic imagery. The whole concept of this book is wonderful and exciting in itself...when you look at this art, you can just imagine the atmosphere in the studio where real men posed in these explicit positions, surrounded by a group of artists who splashed across a page their own interpretations of the fantasies frozen before them.