Curtis Books

This was such a compelling book that I just had to become an animal rights supporter. I think I'l start marching for this serious issue. it's worth reading and much, much more!

An excellent Book. A must to have in any collection of information related to the ancient world and early civilizations. Very little is known about ancient Eritrea and the early cultures that existed in the horn of Africa until the recent work by the authors of this book. It covers in great detail the wealth of important ancient sites Eritrea as well as an interesting look into the scientific processes involved in their study. The book contains much thorough technical detail but is engaging and easy to read. I give this book my highest recommendation.

Un gran y detalldo trabajo, nos brindo a mi y a mis compañeros un sistema realista, entretenido y de muy buen nivel.

"Art and Empire" is a good-looking catalog of Assyrian artifacts in the British Museum. The book begins with chapters on the discovery, history and civilization of Assyria and then come eleven chapters on the museum collections, some of which are: Reliefs and Sculptures; Palaces and Temples; Magic and Religion and Literature and Science. Each begins with a nice introduction including the history of the finds.The strength of the catalog is of course the photos of the discoveries, drawings and paintings. A very informative and attractive production. Henry Layard would be proud.

This is a beautiful book. An illustrated history of clubs, balls, and accessories. More than 100 full-color photographs from the USGA Museum, beautifully capturing the aesthetics of the sport and its' natural arena. A hit for any golf nut.

I just finished reviewing another scratchboard book titled Scratchboard for Illustration by Ruth Lozner. This book by Cecile Curtis is just as good. In fact, it is an even toss-up as to which book is better. I enjoy them both equally.

The book starts off with the history of scratchboard and etching art techniques as well as a thorough overview of the materials available.

The next chapters focus on various techniques along with combining scratch techniques with pen & ink. The author will give advice beside each subject shown as to what tips and techniques where used to achieve certain effects and why she chose them.

There are discussions on subjects such as value & light and even concern for various techniques on how the art will look when reproduced. She also discusses approaches to various subjects and whether a particular subject might lend itself better to an all-black scratchboard or rather a white scratchboard with some black areas and/or pen & ink. There are chapters on combining scratched details with pen & ink and also color applications and for experimental and even some mixed media effects.

Step-by-step instructions are given for creating a good composition and then using tracing paper to transfer the drawing to the scratchboard. One of my favorite chapters in this book is titled Tricks of the Trade in Illustrating. This chapter gives hints and tips for creating dynamic and interesting scratchboard art particularly if one is working on a commissioned piece. Actually, the information given is useful for any work of art whether commercial or fine art.

The middle section of the book has color plates showcasing scratchboard with color and shows artwork not only by the author but by other artists as well.

Throughout the book there are a wealth of subjects illustrated. Everything from portraits & people to wildlife art (a LOT of wildlife art - the artist is an official artist for the World Wildlife Fund) to architecture interiors/exteriors and landscapes.

This is an excellent scratchboard book and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning scratchboard.

A well written science fiction short story that is very hard to put down. The fast moving story line keeps the reader anxious for more.

What a great book! As soon as I put it down, someone else in the family grabs it and is soon chuckling.

This book I read many years ago. What Dale has done with this book is he had asked kids and adults that have questions about the game of baseball to step forward and ask away. He answers all of the question with answers that actually make since to the kids who asked. If a 10 year old asks how can I improve my swing, he does not go into the concept of speed of the bat, angle of the bat, etc. etc. He talks about practice makes perfect, look at yourself in a mirrior and correct what doesn't look right. Mr. Murphy was my hero as a kid, and when I read this book it convienced me even more, that Dale cares about what people see him as. The book was easy to read, and I recommend it for any kid that is interested in the game of baseball.

...Author David Korn reveals a compelling tale of how Arafat and his PLO organization kidnapped and assasinated two American diplomats. In the minutes before 7 p.m. on March 1, 1973, a routine diplomatic reception was breaking up at the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. But as the ambassadors left the party and disbursed to find their drivers, a volley of machine-gun bullets suddenly interrupted the quiet scene. Eight masked gunmen of "Black September", a covert Palestinian organization, burst into the embassy's main reception room. There, the diplomats were forced to sit on the floor and identify themselves by nationality. The masked men then proceeded to release most of the reception attendeed, keeping just five: two Americans (Ambassador Cleo Allen Noel, Jr. and Chargé d'Affaires George Curtis Moore), a Belgian, a Jordanian, and a Saudi. The gunmen then sent out a list of their demands, which included the freeing of jailed Palestinian terrorists, including Abu Daoud, a leader of the "Black September" organization; the freeing of Sirhan Sirhan, Robert Kennedy's killer, from jail in California; and the freeing of "Palestinian women in prison in Israel."

Twenty-six hours of feverish negotiations then went by. On the evening of the 2nd, the Beirut headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) sent an order of execution to the terrorists via radio broadcast: "Why are you waiting? The people's blood in the Cold River cries for vengeance" ("Cold River" was the code word for executing the captives). Yasir Arafat, chairman of the PLO then as now, personally delivered this order to murder. Soon after he did, the two Americans and the Belgian were bound, lined up against a basement wall, and executed in gangland fashion -- all eight gunmen simultaneously pulling on their triggers.

A decade earlier, the author David Korn, had worked Moore, one of the two dead Americans. During the siege at the Khartoum embassy, Korn worked at the Department of State's Operations Center, doing what little he could to save the lives of his two colleagues. Unsuccessful in that effort, he kept the story in mind and now, twenty years later, has published a study which suitably remembers the victims and honors their memory.

But Assassination in Khartoum does more: it has a current significance the author could not possibly have anticipated. Korn's meticulous inquiry into the killings at Khartoum raises important questions about the PLO as an institution, the character of its chairman Arafat, and American policy towards them.

Bringing the murder of Noel and Moore back to public attention highlights the unpleasant fact that the PLO has on a number of occasions attacked American citizens. Probably the best-known of these attacks took place in October 1985 when Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly invalid, was shot in the chest, and the other passengers were forced to throw his body and wheelchair over the side of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. In contrast, the most costly incident in terms of American lives is also one of the most completely forgotten: the bombing of TWA flight 707 in September 1974 en route from Tel Aviv to New York. A high-explosive bomb went off in a rear cargo compartment, sending the plane into the Ionian Sea and killing all eighty-eight persons aboard.

Korn's work clearly reveals that Americans have their own, serious problem with the PLO quite independent of Israel's.