Chaplin Books

I had so much fun reading Silent Traces. I'm a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin and get so much pleasure out of watching his movies. If you're anything like me you can watch his movies over and over and find something new each time. This book helps highlight where scenes were shot and gives background on why certain locations were selected. Its fun to watch the movies, yet again, and hunt for certain landmarks that Silent Traces pointed out. In recounting Chaplin's movies and set locations you also get an idea of how rural Los Angeles was 80 years ago. The contrast in pictures of the same areas from 80+ years ago vs. today are absolutely striking. I found Silent Traces an absolutely fascinating book that I continue to pick up and flip through on a regular basis! This would make an excellent gift for any Charlie Chaplin fan, the silent movie buff, and possibly someone who wants to get an idea of what Los Angeles was like before all the glitz and glam! Enjoy!

As an admirer of John Bengtson's Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton, I was delighted to learn of his follow-up book on Charlie Chaplin. One quick glance through the 300 pages of Silent Traces told me that Mr. Bengtson has not only matched his earlier work, he has topped it. The layout of the book is more visually interesting than Silent Echoes, and the photo selection even more comprehensive. As for the groundbreaking detective work of the author, it too has been honed to perfection. I had always thought of Chaplin's films as being studio-bound, and not applicable to this type of then-and-now approach. I was surprised, therefore, to see so many areas of Los Angeles depicted where Chaplin shot his classic scenes. John Bengtson clearly shows us the locations of these scenes as they appear in the twenty-first century.

Excellent book with great number of photographies and explained of very detailed form. I recommend them for buying futures.

Bengston is insane. He's also a genius. Only crazy person would put as much work as he did into creating a masterpiece in an art and science that, until he came along, no one ever dreamed of.

Think "silent film archeology," but instead of digging into the earth. Bengston dug *above* ground in today's Hollywood to find remnants of the vanished world Charlie Chaplin used as a backdrop. And he found them - lots and lots of them.

Bengston is a man who deeply loves Chaplin's work, the world Chaplin worked in and the world we live in now and he's expressed that love in an entirely unique unprecedented way. This book is beyond great. It's a WONDER. Get it before it goes out of print. Bengston's similar work on Buster Keaton is selling at a massive premium as well it should.

Add me to the list of people raving about this book. If you have the Keaton book (Silent Echoes) you'll love this one too. I can't imagine a Chaplin fan (or any fan of classic movies) who wouldn't want to add this to their collection. That "Add To Shopping Cart" button is calling your name!

David Robinson has written the definitive biography of Charlie Chaplin. It is largely the basis for the movie "Chaplin" because it was authorized by the legend himself and thoroughly explores his life to a greater extent than his autobiography. It is truly a moving and informative work.

Robinson begins his chronology of Chaplin's life in his childhood. He was largely orphaned by his alcoholic father and was only allowed to spend time with his mother while she was mentally healthy. It was through a failed performance of his mother than he got his first taste of acting as a child. From this point, he would devote almost all of the rest of his 87 years to entertainment. In his youth, he specialized in the stage productions which entertained England. He got his first taste of America on one of these traveling tours. On a later tour, he was offered a contract by an American film company. Chaplin agreed to honor his stage contract before beginning his film career.

The book documents with reasonably precise details the process of each film he released in addition to one the public never saw and the final project he never started. Through this filmography, we see the development of "the tramp" character. With each film, the character moves closer to the final product we know.

Chaplin's personal life is well documented. Unlike the autobiography all four wives are addressed, even the one Chaplin was not very fond of discussing. The fact that his first two wives were young is not avoided. However, it must be put in perspective that people did marry and have babies a lot sooner in those days. It is only unique in Chaplin's case because the husband/father is famous and much older. Despite his work for America during war time and a professed love for the country, the slanderous allegations of McCarthyism, also known as the 1950's witch hunt for communists, forced him to finish his life away from the country he loved. Truly the red scare is made to be a more terrible embarrassment to America by this result.

Today's cinematic audience has little appreciation for the roots of the art form. Charlie Chaplin was a revolutionary and founding father in the film industry. Reading about his life is only a step in appreciating his brilliant work.

Robinson is the premier researcher on the life of Charles Chaplin, and this book is the result - a fact filled, balanced book that allows equal focus on Chaplins films and personal life. Most books tend to focus on WAY too much personal life and innuendo, but Robinson avoids this problem, and makes a good book that truly encompasses the entire life of Chaplin.

Robinson's book includes a well detailed filmography, scripts from several early Keystone films, excellent appendices, and many rare pictures. My only complaint is that many of the pictures could be printed much better, and larger too.

Superb reading!

David Robinson's book is the finest biography extant of this indispensable genius of movies. I first read this monumental book 22 years ago and it has remained an indelible part of my understanding of movies and of the life and work of this complex, infuriating, somewhat naive but always questing and humanistic comedian, whose movies are finally being issued on DVD in luminous copies of his own carefully preserved originals.

At the time of Robinson's book, and for a number of years after, Buster Keaton was the preferred choice in silent comics. To take nothing away from Keaton, whom I regard as sui generis ("The General" is a masterpiece, and "The Navigator" is the funniest movie I've ever seen) this may have been more a reflection of the then-current attitudes of "cool," reacting against Chaplin's perceived sentimentality, than an argument for Keaton as the greater artist. Chaplin has recently become of greater interest, and at present his star seems much more firmly fixed, due in large part I think to the recent availability of his work on DVD. Robinson himself, in tandem with the silent cinema scholar Kevin Brownlow, is partly responsible through his access to Chaplin's mint copies of his own movies, which resulted in the superb Thames documentary "The Unknown Chaplin." In any case, it's much easier now to see and to recognize Chaplin's innate (yet painstakingly arrived-at) genius for mixing uproarious physical comedy and subtle pathos; if there is a more moving finale in all of American movies than the last moments of "City Lights," I'm not aware of it.

Robinson's approach is both scholarly and eminently accessible. And he dispels a great many erroneous "facts" that have accrued to Chaplin over the decades, many of them directly attributable to Charlie's own myth-making. The author also refutes some aspects Chaplin's late (and appallingly egocentric) memoir "My Autobiography," whose appearance in the 1960s shocked and saddened many of his former creative collaborators, who found themselves conspicuously absent from Chaplin's over-stuffed tome. If this book is not definitive -- and who can say what future writers may produce in the fullness of time? -- it is at the very least the one fixed starting point for all serious Chaplin research.

There are only two books necessary for the true Chaplin fan; "My Autobiograpy", by Chaplin himself, and this book by Robinson. While there are scores of other books on the market concerning Chaplin's life, Robinson's is THE definitive work.

If Charlie had been around to read this work, he might have amended his famous phrase from "If you want to know me, see my movies," to "If you want to know me, see my movies and read this book".

This book, though thicker than brick, is a swift and fascinating read. You'll wish you'd known old Charlie, you really will. Robinson doesn't care for those who don't care for Chaplin, and that's a little too evident. It's hard to blame him. Overall, a stupendous piece of work.

This is one of the books in my gardening library I refer to time and again. It is a "companion book" in that it has no pictures and no in-depth information on the individual plants. However, it is absolutely invaluable when looking for a plant for a particular situation. It also has tidbits of wisdom and advice from numerous Florida nursery owners, landscapers and Extension Agents.

I think this is a top notch book for any gardener...but...It needs pictures! I am new to Florida and very interested in gardening, I know a lot of the flowers, but not all of them. And as far knowing trees or shrubs I am lost. It is a very descriptive book, with plenty of advice from the authors. Just no pictures! I highly recommend this though for in depth information on plants that will grow.

We love lists and, as a gardener, this is THE book for Florida gardeners! It has everything nicely categorized, wonderfully organized and understandable ... by the novice, newbie to Florida as well as an experienced Florida gardener. OK, it's not in depth, not really a cultural guide for specific plants but wow, the information!! Shady spot? Wet spot? Ground covers? It's all there and more. A 'must have' to point you in the right directions.

This small book can save you hours and hours of research and reading. Everything neatly categorized into meaningful lists. Examples:shrubs with fragrant flowers, nightbloomers, vines that withstand drought. Hundreds of lists in categories that relate to specific needs or desires on the part of Florida gardeners. I got it from the library and just had to order my own copy from Amazon. Highly recommended.

I have been trying to get an idea of what long-lived, pest-free tree options I have in Central Florida and this is the only book I've found yet that tells me. I have nearly seven "Florida" gardening books and this is the one I always turn to first. For instance, just today I had a semi-shady, dry spot I wanted a fragrant blue-flowering vine in. I found exactly what I needed within minutes. Most of gardening is finding the right kind of plant to thrive in your chosen space. This book gives you the information that you need. It answers all the little particulars to find you the right plant. (For instance, is it going to look dead and disgusting in the winter, or stay leafy) Extremely recommended.

Christians in the Arts

All people have a worldview, a certain set of assumptions about what is real and is not real, which enables the individual to function within and with the world that exist. Although few individuals ever sit down and try to analyze their worldview-and we all have one-that worldview finds expression in how we live. The individual's worldview can be seen in the product of the individual's labor. For the creative person, e.g., the artist, poet, writer, etc.,his or her worldview is apparent to the critic's trained eye in the creative product. Great art, it has been said, is but the coming together of worldview and technique.
The Christian who wishes to express his or her creative gifts must learn to live in tension. Christianity, especially in America, has not been friendly to the creative spirit. In ART & SOUL: SIGNPOSTS FOR CHRISTIANS IN THE ARTS, Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin argue that artistic expression is a natural byproduct of human beings created in the image of God. This does not mean that the Christian artist will paint only praying hands or write only religious romances, either of which are about as artistic as a velvet painting of Elvis. "All the products of human creativity, even the finest and most glorious, are products of a sin-infested world" (50). The Christian artist, like the non-Christian artist of merit, will seek to truthfully portray the world in all its complexity to an adult audience. To do so, write Brand and Chaplin, "the artist must learn to create a complex weave of dark and light. It means learning to use the full palate of shades, confident that in hands-that have learned their craft-they will not all merge into muddy grey" (55). The Christian worldview of the Christian artist will be evident to the discerning observer.
The arts are but one focus of the spiritual war that is being waged within the created order, as well as in the heavenly realm. To divide the arts into the "secular" and the "Christian" is a false dualism. At the heart of the Christian message, as the authors point out, there is a duality in contradistinction to a dualism. It is "a very real battle between opposing forces of good and evil." It is a battle in which "the battlelines between good and evil run across all aspects of culture and every facet of life" (68).
ART & SOUL is a well-written, well-illustrated study of the relationship between the creative arts and Christianity. Whether an artist seeking justification for being such, or a layperson who desires a better understanding of why human beings feel compelled to "create," this book is a good place to begin the quest.

This is a quality book, heavy white paper with great photos of art work and terrific quotes in the margins.

It is written from a Christian perspective, linking art and spirituality together.

The book starts out where we are today, in a post-modern world. Art "thrives on paradox, fragmentation and impossible juxtaposition of styles, techniques and imagery... It can be a bouncy castle or your own faeces, a dead cow or a sleeping actress."

"The exciting possibility that post modernism offers is the blurring of high and low art." Laura Lasworth

Graham Cray points out that, "A generation that calls itself post something probably doesn't yet know what it is." Heading into the third millennium give Christians an opportunity to shape its values and ideas.

Along the centuries artists changed their social standing. In the Middle Ages the artists work was considered a spiritual service to the church. They were workers of their trade same as any other trade.

In the 18th and 19th centuries in the age of Romanticism art somehow took on a higher meaning, an activity above mere mortal's work. And today we have artists with a capital A. The idea of artists as anti-social and eccentric has continued to this day.

The arts were once part and parcel of church life yet in the church today art seems to have been forgotten.

Scripture provides, "a biblical framework within which the arts, like all other human activity, can be evaluated and understood."

This book addresses the artist, art as a calling, art as an honest job and best of all, it will make you excited to create and imagine.

"I want to suggest to you that the day of the artists has come. That there are things about symbols and the genuine indirectness of art with integrity that can speak into a lost and stuck imagination... We are awakening the imagination of people who have become cynical about the old 'grand stories' that have done so much harm. We are sowing the possibility that there might be one which could actually set them free." Graham Cray

This is a very informative interesting book. Easy to read, hard to put down. A great overview of past and present Art, how Art has shaped and been shaped, down through history and its relevance to us as Artists today. Thoroughly recommend.

In ART AND SOUL, Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin explore the full spectrum of issues and concerns that face a Christian who is interested in working within any of the creative arts. They address questions ranging from postmodern assumptions about art through the very practical issue of who might (or should) support the artist in his/her work. This book seeks to explain why and how the arts impact the audience, and even if a reader may disagree with some of the authors' conclusions, the very fact that they have attempted to find purpose and meaning in the arts
distinguishes this book from the multitude of contemporary aesthetic theories which tend to emphasize the utter subjectivity and "meaninglessness" of works of art. To support their discussion, Brand and Chaplin provide abundant examples of artistic works, including references to literature, music, and (especially) the visual arts. While some of these examples derive from the long history of the Christian church's interaction with the arts, most are current, involving the work of living artists in the news (such as the recent "Sensation" exhibit that created turmoil in Brooklyn)--and some whose work has undeservingly remained unknown. In addition, the authors cite numerous artists' views on the arts, as well as contemporary theorists such as Nicholas Wolterstorff and Calvin Seerveld. ART AND SOUL is by far the most comprehensive and most knowledgable study of the issues faced by Christians entering the arts. It is also quite accessible, with clearly defined terminology so that even a
nonartist could follow the discussion without hesitation. Furthermore, because Brand and Chaplin have so thoroughly addressed the issues facing today's artists, this book would be a useful study for anyone seeking a better understanding of these questions. I enthusiastically recommend ART AND SOUL for anyone who seeks a greater understanding of the contemporary arts, the issues facing the arts, and the ways in which Christians can integrate the arts within their life (as well as integrating
their life & faith into their art).

I'm not sure what I expected, but I assume that, when a book has a narrow focus, such as this one, there should be a very in depth discussion and understanding of the material covered. That, unfortunately, is not the case here. Some of these reviews are just as cursory as the ones in the 40 year old "Films of Charlie Chaplin" book. It's a shame, really, as all of these films are now available in some form (the Keystones on a multitude of cheap crummy ripoff dvds, and the Essanays on the superb series produced by David Shepard.).

Part of the problem with this book is that the audience is undefined. Is this book written for the rapidly diminishing group of fans who are still collecting 8mm films of Chaplin? Then a large portion of the book serves some purpose, as it is a listing of all the known films and their alternate titles. Most people, however, are content to watch this on dvds, so this section of the book is almost useless.

Also, I purchased this book expecting a new insight into the films as I watch them. Instead, many of films are quickly dismissed. I can dismiss a film quite easily by myself, thank you, I need help appreciating them!

It's a good read, but not really what I expected.

Perhaps the wierdest moment of all was realizing that several of my old Amazon reviews had been quoted (and fully acknowledged) in this book! It's a shame, really - they aren't even very good reviews!

Excellent book with great number of photographies and explained of very detailed form. I recommend them for buying futures.

The primitive Keystones and transitional Essanays have been terribly overlooked in studies of Chaplin when compared to coverage from the Mutual period and after. Ted Okuda and Dave Maska have done a nice job of examining this early period of Chaplin's career, when crude slapstick evolved into physical comedy with finesse, and primitive acting techniques evolved into a timeless character with substance. Their assessments and accompanying reviews from a variety of disparate sources for each film makes for a fascinating study about some very significant early movies. The only period of Chaplin's career that has gotten little analysis, the Keystone and Essanay films are essential early efforts from perhaps the single most important figure in the history of motion pictures.

Many books on Charlie Chaplin deal only summarily with his earliest (and often crudest) films, and authors almost apologize for having to mention them at all. This book reminds us that these Keystone and Essanay productions of 1913-16 represent more than half of Chaplin's output, and film buffs will enjoy reading so much new material.

When Ted Okuda and David Maska told this writer about the publication of this book, I was intrigued by their novel approach to the subject: concentrating entirely upon these often neglected comedies, Okuda and Maska viewed the films in chronological order. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that this simple and very effective approach has been applied to Chaplin. The results are praiseworthy.

We can follow Chaplin's screen character (and his own blossoming talents as a filmmaker) during its formative stages, in the proper sequence. The authors even offer some new evidence that certain films were produced or released in a different order than most Chaplin filmographies indicate.

Okuda and Maska examine the "body of evidence" with objective eyes. This isn't the usual pedantic Chaplin discourse; the tone is disarmingly casual, and meets the reader on common ground as a fellow viewer or a video enthusiast. There are so many alternate versions of the early Chaplin films, and so many bad bootleg prints and videos, that the authors take pains to steer readers toward the optimal viewing experience, and warn them about films that are incomplete or not well preserved.

Not everything Chaplin did was golden: Okuda and Maska are sometimes candid about those improvisational films that were simply haphazard fights or pants-kicking festivals. But the authors do show respect for other tastes, by following their own assessments with a variety of critical viewpoints.

Longtime collectors and home-movie enthusiasts will especially enjoy reading about the dozens and dozens of alternate versions of the Keystones and Essanays. There are also some excellent vintage illustrations, including a beauty of a one-sheet poster from the 1914 comedy "The Knockout" -- this 1920 reissue boldly promotes Chaplin over the actual star, Roscoe Arbuckle.

If you like Charlie Chaplin, you'll like this book. If you love Charlie Chaplin, it's essential reading.

As the title implies, Joyce E. Chaplin has a dual purpose. She describes slave agriculture in the colonial to the pre-antebellum period and studies the Lower South's notions of Western modernity and innovation. While southern whites were aware of and tried to apply modern ideas and innovations, they could not, in the end, disassociate themselves from being slaveholders. In a nutshell the Lower South was characterized by continuity as well as, in Chaplin's words, change and persistence. It was anything but static.

In her analysis, Chaplin found that whites frequently used Scottish enlightened thought as an historical framework for assessing their own chances of achieving socio-economic improvement. The Scottish school, Chaplin proposes, is a way to show how whites' were informed of modern contemporary theory from newspapers, books, and local authors. The Reverend Alexander Hewitt wrote a 1770s account of the rise and progress of the Lower South and David Ramsey, a physician and early North American historian, modeled the Scottish statistical efforts of Sir john Sinclair.

Landholders were keeping up with the times and not at all languishing in the backwaters enjoying mint juleps on verandahs. Still, while they adjusted to national and world events and adapted their crops, capital and labor, they did not, in the end, relinquish their reliance on slavery. Chaplin's tries to understand this aspect of slavery in order to discover why racism is so persistent.

Chaplin offers a cautionary comment in the preface. She says she doesn't want to come across as cynical toward humanity's ability to overcome racism. She succeeds in adhering to her scholarly purpose until, interestingly, at the end of her book she expresses some skepticism. While whites in the Lower South adopted notions of modernity, they adhered to slavery in order to achieve their own ends. In doing so they rejected an opportunity to use their wealth, resources and leadership for reform. Instead they chose to avoid the instability that would be necessary to move beyond slavery.

Many histories of the South have focused exclusively on the antebellum period, characterizing the region as economically undiverse, intellectually out of touch with Enlightenment ideals, and culturally static. These assesments create the impression that southerners were backward people who should have known that the society they created was not maintainable. Joyce Chaplin argues that during the period from 1730 to 1815, the region was in actuality a dynamic and innovative place that fell victim only to its own success. To do so, she has compiled an enormous amount of evidence, based on sources ranging from specialized secondary literature on economics, philosophy, and culture, as well as primary documents such as period newspapers, public records, and private correspondence.

Chaplin begins her study with a treatment of the predominant economic and political theories of the late 17th century, arguing that southerners accepted the theories of the Scottish school that a commercial society was most conducive to individual wealth creation, and thereby a stronger and more harmonious society. To find products that would create the most wealth, southerners experimented and innovated with various crops and productive means, reflecting the Enlightenment values of scientific pursuit and rationality. In the process, they created a culture that celebrated the right of the individual to pursue prosperity, but that relied upon government aid and regulation, as well as black slavery. Both of the latter aspects were seen as potentially disruptive to their fragile new society, but also unavoidable if individual (and thereby societal) betterment was to be achieved. Even as southerners came to fear the potential of government and slaves (who Chaplin shows to be far from powerless) to challenge their authority, they found that they could not do away with them without undermining the culture of white achievement they had fostered.

Chaplin shows that southereners were not hostile to manufacturing, engaging in it on a small scale particularly during times of market disruption, such as during the Revolution and the War of 1812. Cotton and rice production returned as the dominant economic activities of the South because they were by far the least risky and most profitable, not because of any intellectual opposition to non-agricultural forms of capitalization. Chaplin believes that if only the region had continued its economic diversification, the South would not have been so heavily tied to slavery, and would not have experienced its eventual economic and social stagnation.

Stunningly well researched book, with a wealth of information about Chaplin. The author knows his stuff. If you are a Chaplin fan, you will NOT be disappointed.

For any lover of Chaplin and his films, this is a marvelous "must" book to own. It offers an incredibly comprehensive analysis of every one of his pictures, fascinating bios of many of his cinematic contemporaries and supporting cast menbers, as well as interesting critical judgments regarding his work. Again, anyone who is truly interested in Chaplin should buy this book. It's quite simply one of the best!!

This book holds up today. I've owned it for 20 years now, and still refer to it. Anyone interested in film comedy's history must own this book.

No one understands and appreciates movie comedy better than Leonard Maltin, and here he has written a book on the subject that is simply perfect. His enthusiasm and love of these comedians and their comedies is infectious, and he gives us a giddy yearning to watch the movies he cites. If one is an aspiring comedian, too, this is an inspirational book, filling one with the wonderful possibilities of making an audience laugh. It is difficult to fully describe the unpretentious, simple manner in which Mr. Maltin nails down the very essence of comedy in these pages. How often those who write about comedy smother their subject with detailed theories on its socialogical and psychological implications. Mr. Maltin understands better than anyone the subtle art of analyzing comedy without killing it, making his book an absolute joy.

This is a great little book for kids, adults, and teachers. The signs are easy to follow with the colorful pictures. It is published by Gallaudet University Press. Gallaudet, which is a beautiful place by the way, is a University (primarily for the deaf) located in DC. Their publications have accurate signs, unlike many other "learn to sign" books. I have seen so many sign language books that are just mediocre and some that are downright terrible. If you want to teach your baby signs, this book would be a great start too.

I am buying a second copy of this book. My son, now 3 1/2, was given this book when he was about 2 years old. I am a professional sign language interpreter and had taught him a few signs. However he picked up 26 new signs from this book. On one side a large and small letter is printed with a picture of the letter fingerspelled in sign language. Across on the opposite page is a picture of an object that starts with that letter, such as 'a' for apple. There is also a picture of the sign for apple. My son quickly learned to recognize both small and upper-case printed letters and to associate words that begin with those letters, along with accompanying fingerspelling and signs. My 1 1/2 yr old daughter is also learning from this book which is now falling apart from so much use.

If you're taking a composition class or teaching a composition class, this book IS the thing to use. It teaches you the basics, what will work, what might work, what won't work.

It's wonderful!

This book is a masterpiece of creative and technical inspiration for choreographers eveywhere. It breaks dance down to its most minute details, and slowly builds into a work of art. This book is truly at the forefront of dance literature.