Clark Books

Most would be familiar with the image of Munchausen telling implausible tales with happy glee. The Raspe version is the "canonical" Munchausen story and it's very entertaining. I think that stories for children that mock reality are very good for both amusement and education and this book certainly has its share - for instance the Baron's famous pulling himself out of a bog by his own hair (in an alternate version by the bootstraps, which seems to have formed the origin for the word "bootstrapping" and a general metaphor). His tales also have the classic sense of unbelievable exploration tradition from works like the Arabian Nights and Marco Polo's travels, where exotic lands are described as being populated with people with one giant foot each and other niceties.

We laugh at Munchausen but not only so much for the tallness of his stories but also for his character traits such as his pomp and sense of self-importance. As is the case with MANY good children's books, they are philosophical and suit adults as well.

The only possible dent may be the portrayal of the Turks which would seem racist by some today. However, this is extremely mild compared to racism in many other classic works, and was certainly not enough to detract from my enjoyment (as was the case with certain other authors from the last few centuries).

Anyone who ever laughed at the exploits of tall-tale heroes such as Paul Bunyan will instantly recognize the character of the Baron von Munchausen as the king of such heroes. His amazing and daring exploits are rife with hilarity and implausibility. It's part fairytale, part tall tale. The Baron is a figure of pure imagination (loosely based on a real person), a Quixotic figure. Do not confuse this book with a biography or history! Clearly the purpose of the book is to entertain and delight, which it does. The writing displays a superb creativity and imagination, combined with brilliant storytelling of the highest level. Just as you would not read Journey to the West seeking information on beauracratic procedures of ancient China, or Don Quixote de la Mancha seeking knowledge about Spanish funerary customs, you should not read this book looking to learn about the Munchausen family's history or current state. You should read it for the pure thrill of reading a good tale.

The memoir by Dr. Farmer is the most profound and moving essay I have ever read on Smith - his editing is insightful as well and carefully done.
As one of the very last persons who knew Smith personally, his insights are of enormous value. Smith devotees should be beating down his door to pick his brain while he still lives.

Clark Ashton Smith's Arabian Nights novel, The Black Diamonds, published by Hippocampus Press in 2002, was thought to be the most significant of Smith's juvenile writings. But the revelation that Smith wrote another full-scale novel, The Sword of Zagan, shortly after The Black Diamonds, underscores the prodigious fecundity of Smith's teenage years. This volume contains a sheaf of never-before published material by Smith: The Sword of Zagan, another thrilling Arabian Nights adventure featuring two janissaries who experience numerous close brushes with death and engage in battles with swords and fists in quest of the affections of Fatima, the Sultan's niece; nearly a dozen short stories set in India or the Middle East; and an array of poems and fragments that reveal Smith's youthful immersion into exotic realms of wonder and fantasy. Original illustrations by artist Jason C. Eckhardt capture the action and evoke an Oriental setting.
--- from book's back cover

Visual, easy to follow receipes. The pastry making instructions are particularly good. Yummy sweet & savory receipes, everything I have cooked has turned out looking very professional.

The Tarts book has numerous delicious recipes. What is outstanding about this book are the pictures. There are step by step pictures showing how to make pastry dough like puff pastry. For every tart there is a recipe with directions as well as a beautiful, colored illustration to coax you into making that tart. The pictures are macro quality so you can see it with your eyes and taste it with your imagination. Yummy!

The lurid title sounds deceptive, but there's really not all that much lust in "Teenage Lust," Larry Clark's second classic book of photography. For the most part, it continues in the autobiographical vein of "Tulsa," his first work. Many people from "Tulsa," including the two principal characters, also appear here. Some of the photographs here were clearly taken at the same time as some of those from "Tulsa." For instance, the picture of Roper drawing and aiming a gun across a room is reprised, except now his hand is lowered.

But "Teenage Lust" is a much more free-form kind of work than "Tulsa." It lacks the tight thematic focus of its predecessor, the grainy aesthetic, and the mystique. On the contrary, here Clark seems determined to expose the whole backstory behind the images in both books. There are many more captions, as well as excerpts of newspaper articles about Clark's run-ins with the law, and the book ends with a very long, ranting stream-of-consciousness text telling the story of Clark's entire life. This actually somewhat lessens the dramatic impact of the work, because it gets in the way of the images, keeping them from telling the whole story.

As the book goes on, it draws away from the characters of "Tulsa" and turns to teenage runaways, photographed by Clark in various cities and hotels. It is here that the book takes on the theme expressed in its title; where "Tulsa" was dark and frightening, "Teenage Lust" just has a kind of wistful sadness about it. This part of the book is surprisingly lyrical; even in the most disturbing situations, it seems to suggest that a kind of gentleness is present, as if the characters don't really intend to use or hurt one another, but rather are trying to attain oblivion together.

Many images are brilliant. The one of the three young people under the waterfall is almost light-hearted, perfectly capturing a sense of blissful abandon. There's a stark photograph of a couple in a dark room, bringing out the tangible drabness of their surroundings in contrast to their fleeting pleasure. The cover image might be Clark's most iconic photograph; the girl's face isn't very attractive or interesting or memorable, but the moment imparts it with great fragility, and the photograph is still feverish over twenty years later. The one of the two young men and the girl in the hotel room would have been horrifying, if not for the girl's strangely vacant expression, which turns it into an illustration of the self-destructive, careless intoxication that Clark has always seen in youth.

Ultimately, whatever weaknesses "Teenage Lust" may have compared to "Tulsa," it is an equally powerful document. Unfortunately, while "Tulsa" has been reprinted in an affordable edition, "Teenage Lust" has not been, and so your best bet would be looking at auctions or old curiousity shops.

larry clark is ace, if you can get a copy of any of his books grab them at any cost.

Let me start by saying that I'm not one of those people who'll give a book a lowered star rating just for lascivious, anti-religious, pornographic content. Teratologist has them all, and it strings them together with a fascinating and twisted plot. Farrington is a billionaire who keeps a harem of living nightmares, and the only way he can get off is by trysting with his various "abominations." Lee and White let us peek in on some of these scenes, and the voyeuristic style of writing is reminiscent of the Marquis de Sade's "La philosophie dans le boudoir." Much like Sade, Lee and White relish in narrative repetition and an almost diabolical descriptive excess--after you get over the initial wave of repugnance, the reading becomes quite a pleasurable process. All in all, Teratologist is one of the most imaginative, deliciously disturbing works I've ever read.

This "double-author" thing must be a hassle because there is a glaring screw-up that is driving me crazy, and I'm only 48 pages into it! Is the guy's name Farrington or is it Farringworth? When the author and journalist are told their stay would be extended, the name becomes Farringworth. There are also some glaring typos in the preceding 48 pages which; if you think I'm wrong just read it, you'll notice them, makes me wonder, "How hard is it to get a job at OCP?," because their editing/proofreading department is a bunch of dolts. I love Edward Lee and Wrath James White( especially his collaboration with P.J. O'Rourke's "Poisoning Eros" )but isn't this a disservice to their name with all these errors? And at $34.95 to boot! Get your s*@t together Overlook!

A relative of mine made the trip to Oregon in 1845 and took the Meek Cutoff. Stories of it abound in the family lore. I was trying to reconstruct some family history and found this book to be valuable - it clarified a great deal about the adventures of those who took that path. It is well written and entertaining as well as full of facts. There must have been an enormous amount of work and research done to complete the book. Highly recommended, especially if you have relatives who made that trip.

This project is by far the best accounting of the ill-fated 1845 Stephen Meek led wagon train I have ever read. The authors have done an exceptional job in piecing together the tragic events and human errors that contibuted to making this one of the most moving stories from the Manifest Destiny era. The genealogical references alone make this document a must for every family researcher.

This book features the work of four nature photographers whose photos have appeared in such national magazines as National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, and Birder's World. Indeed, the primary focus of this book is on the bird life along the Texas Gulf Coast with a few chrome and glass pauses in Houston, Galveston, and Corpus Christi. Places also featured in this book are Goliad and the Rio Grande Valley.

What struck me most about the book was the visual diversity of the region called the Texsa Coastal Plains, a relatively small area by Texas standards. It was like taking a visual tour through the area I live in, and seeing anew the beauty and history that surrounds me. An excellent gift book, and just one of several simliar books in the Texas Impressions series.

This little book has incredibly beautiful photographs from all over the Texas Gulf coast. It was impossible to pick a favorite photo, but I think the ones of the anglers and boats silhouetted against dramatic fiery sunsets were the ones that caught my eye and held my attention the most.

The buildings were beautifully photographed and the nature photos are a tribute to the incredibly talented photographers of KAC Productions.

The introduction written by Gary Clark is chock full of interesting facts but also riddled with phrases that are pure poetry for the soul of this Galveston born reader. The tidbits of info in the photo captions were interesting and tweaked my curiosity to find out more.

The words on the back cover, "Impression ... A strong effect produced on the intellect, feelings, conscience; a notion, remembrance" are perfect to describe what this book does to the reader. I believe everyone will thoroughly enjoy this book, but I believe those born and/or raised on the Texas Gulf coast will treasure it.

I was amazed at the exceptional quality of the printing on this book.
I've seen similar size and quality at much higher prices. I plan to get several more for gifts.

Patti Edens (using the account of Randall Edens)

It was a really good book and has some really good stories in it. I really recomend it to anyone interested in Ghost stories.

This book is a great collection of ghost stories in and around the capital region of New York State. It has been a favorite of mine for many years. I lost my copy a while back but am pleased that I found it here on Amazon.com. I am glad to have it back in my collection of books again.

I have absolutely zero natural sense of direction so this guide is perfect in its level of detail. It seems to cover every inch of Portland, including a full street index in the back that makes it easy to locate an address.

I have purchased the Thomas Guides for Portland for the last several years and have found them to be an absolutely indespensible navigational aid. Every street in the metro area and surrounding suburbs is detailed within this guide. Its comprehensive detail and ease of use make it a real help. If you have to drive in Portland even occassionally I cannot recommend strongly enough that you buy this guide.

This is a beautiful book -- a joy and delight to hold and peruse. The quality of the reproductions does justice to the art works -- visually, whether one approaches the book from front to back or dips into it at random one discovers one image after another to fall in love with. You will savor this book on a purely visual level, leafing through and stopping, probably at every page, to take in one image or another. You will treasure it for the learning experience as you read and study the essays and see the path of development of this great American master -- how he was inspired and influenced, and his place in contemporary American art. Truly a must-have for all with an interest in and love for Art -- imperative for those who know and love the work of this artist.

This book is an amazing, comprehensive mid career overview of an important American artist. Great biographical information coupled with never before seen reproductions of art work provide a clear view of this painter and his work. A must have for those interested in contemporary, American artists!