Close Books

Rob Bell's podcasted interview of Alan Close on developing this first issue of Dust Press notes that the Baal mask on the cover is an actual artifact found by archeologists. Anyone who follows NOOMAs will recognize DUST as part of the discipleship complex. I look forward to more issues!

I bought this little paperback when visiting the Bergen art center. The woman at the gift/book shop asked if I had read it . I confessed I hadn't . At first I balked , I saw it again at a Bergen book store.I looked at it again . Munch explains his attitude to women in the chapter woman and death. His depiction of a woman as a vampire expresses his fear of woman. He thought women weakened a man and that destroyed his creativity.We learn that Munch hated Vigeland, the sculpture of the huge park in Oslo.Norway spent over a million dollars on Vigeland's work ,money he felt would have been better spent on him.Stenersen tries to show the intimate side of Munch. Most of the biographries of the artist further aggrandize the artist.From Stenersen,we learn that his artist/friend Karsten (who he once got into a brawl with) he considered his color was better than his. Munch felt his black and whites were his best.Stenersen has succeeded in his sub-title, "a close up of a genius."I have over fouteen books on Munch . I started reading it in the harbor on the boat to Stavanger.. It was easy and a pleasure to read, for someone like myself who has read many books on Munch,or for the person who wants to get an insiders view of the artist it is worthwhile.There are portraits of the author and his wife plus all of the famous images of death and love that made Munch famous.The latter have over-shadowed the socially conscious side of Munch. He would have voted a liberal or labor ticket had he voted according to the author.178 pages of details of a king pin of Expressionism for a few dollars you will be rewarded with insight and information of Norway's contribution to radical 20th century art.

This unique, provocative picture book shows the chief cities of Europe in a completely new dimension. Every picture is an aerial photograph, taken from a few hundred yards in the air by one of the best-known photographers in the United States.

Here are city squares old and new, castles, cathedrals, chateaux, famous shopping and pleasure places, networks of streets, boulevards and courtyards (some of the photgraphs are vitually pictorial maps), rivers, bridges and glimpses of some old unchanging villages and countryside. Among the cities that may be seen here - with the jog of surprise and discovery by the earth-bound beholder - are London, Oxford, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Rome, Venice, Athens and Madrid.

With an informative and engaging text and captions accompanying the photographs, this is a book that will provide the retrospect and recognition all travelers delight in.

I wrote this mystery about a movie being made at the Don CeSar Resort Hotel in St. Pete Beach after I worked as Personal Assistant to director Robert Altman when he was at the same hotel shooting a movie called H*E*A*L*T*H. It's my favorite of my three books because I love movies. At the time I wrote it, I never dreamed I would someday be in Hollywood myself. Lary Crews

Jonathan Safran Foer has written a novel for our times, a story so deeply affecting and wise that it has to potential to have an impact far beyond that of most novels. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a collage about the world we live in: its terrorism, its beauty, its love, its mysteries, its absurdities, its people. Oskar is a precocious nine-year old who writes letters to famously intelligent people asking to be their protégé, invents a "googolplex" of devices (such as an ambulance that tells people when a loved one is inside and a lollipop that tells people how they are feeling), who knows a tremendous amount of facts (many of which he wishes he didn't know) - and who has lost his beloved father in the World Trade Center bombings. Oskar harbors a secret about that day that he cannot bring to share with anyone, not even his mother or grandmother. When he discovers a strange key among his father's possessions, he sets out in the five boroughs of New York to see what it unlocks. His narrative is punctuated by that of his grandfather, a man left speechless by what he experienced during the bombing of Dresden, and his grandmother, also a survivor of the Dresden firebombing, who loves Oskar in ways his mother cannot and who tries to make sense of why her husband left her before the birth of their son. The relationships are complex and heartfelt, and are marked by an affection that will make readers laugh from the pleasure of them. Just when you think Foer can't get any deeper with his insights, he does.

Foer embraces postmodernism by including stock photographs that don't have a depth of meaning until the text gives it to them, as well as letters, email, handwritten notes, and a numerical conversation between Oskar's grandparents. This is not cold postmodernism, though; the artifacts contained here illustrate the depth of Oskar's longing and the complexity of the world we live in. Many will make readers smile as they make the connections to Oskar's "story of my life." At first this novel reminded me somewhat of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, but it quickly plunges into something much more multifaceted and universal: it ultimately is about surviving love. Its quirky humor - how can a novel about the WTC tragedy be so funny? - makes even the most difficult moments easier to read.

Everyone should read this novel. You will not emerge unchanged. This novel will be known as the quintessential 9/11 novel, the one that will forever categorize all that the tragedy unleashed in America.

This is one of those truly exceptional books which is well written and more importantly well researched.
The topic of the book deals with the 98 men who won not only the knights Cross, but the close combat clasp in gold, awarded for 50 days in close combat.
Hitler viewed this award as even higher than the knights Cross and special privileges were given to the receipient that were not offered to knights Cross winners, eg being removed from the frontline and sent to the rear notably to training schools.
The book deals with each individual winner and gives a full biography including other medals won, the dates of the various levels of the close combat clasp won,some excellent photos of the winners and what happended to them.
It also lists the actions involved that resulted in the knights Cross being awarded.
There is also a section at the end which in keeping with the authours excellent research, a list of disputed or unresolved cases where one or the other of the award is in doubt.
I cannot speak more highly of this book, it is printed on fine glossy paper for excellent photo reproduction, and is over 600 pages long packed with information.
My only negative comment would be that it would have been great in a large format type book,however that really is being a little picky on what is a superb book.
One thing to remember is that the Victoria Cross or Medal of Honor could be awarded for a single act of bravery in the face of enemy fire, the Close Combat Clasp and Knights Cross were only awarded after continued bravery having gone through the various progressions of the award.
All in all I would recommend this book for your collection and is money well spent.

Lord and group take on a lot of simple things that will never make money, but should always be first in assessing fall risks and arranging prophylactic actions:
Test reaction times...why? because so very many older folks are taking too much medicine and reaction times are extended--AND no one is checking!
Never wear bifocal/trifocals to walk...why? because the focal length is adjusted for 12 to 18 inches, NOT 5 feet, where the step edge or the dropped item is. (the solution is to carry a pair of walking glasses, set at a refractory length of five feet.)
There is a lot here that you won't find in the US med ed system or it's practitioners. It's a great book for fifty year olds to read--for their own futures and for their parents daily lives.
Very highest recommendations

Finding The People Who Flaked The Stone At English Camp: San Juan Island by Angela E. Close (Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington) is a seminal and scholarly study of American approaches to lithic analysis - that is, attempts to learn more about natural history through the study of the stones of the earth. Especially focusing upon the excavation of English Camp on San Juan island, Finding The People Who Flaked The Stone At English Camp applies an approach based on attempts to trace the life-histories of all excavated artifacts, from raw material procurement to discard and entry into archaeological record, and concludes that women did a great deal of the tool manufacture at the English Camp site. A highly precise and technical scientific study and persuasive discourse.

Former US Air Force Commando Jake Thunder remains paralyzed during an incident in Somalia, but he believes he will one day walk again though the medical profession tells him otherwise. Using a wheelchair to get around Boston, Jake runs a private investigative firm.

Beautiful and wealthy Mrs. Vanessa Patterson wants to hire Jake, but is stunned by his wheelchair and his sarcasm. Still she employs him to find out who killed her sister Melinda who was estranged from the family. The police have not anything done anything involving the case writing it off as not worth the effort. Jake with the help of his friend Homicide Detective Frank McCloskey, makes inquires starting with Melinda's sleazy boyfriend Don Woolery.

This engaging private investigative tale stars a terrific unique optimist who refuses to allow his physical impairment from making the rounds and doing his job. The who-done-it is engaging as Jake cajoles his police pal to "help" him with insider information. Jake's wise cracking is amusing although how he keeps a client is questionable because who would want to pay someone tearing off your skin in double entendres. Fans of strong detective tales will enjoy this fine story due to the inspirational protagonist.

Harriet Klausner

Golden Books are best known for their gold foil spines on titles aimed at young readers. The Science Close-Up series is not those books.

Gemstones is geared toward slightly older readers and is more educational. Explaining what gemstones are, where they are found and how they used, this book could have been a rather dry, boring read for kids. Instead, with a few interesting stories mixed in with the useful facts, Gemstones will appeal to readers. All of this makes it a great tool for reports and a quick way to learn a lot - even for adults!