Turner Books

I've been reading about Lewis and Clark since I was a kid, but was happily surprised to find all these fascinating tidbits I didn't know. This book was just plain fun to read.

Steve Pomper
Author: Is There a Problem, Officer? (The Lyons Press, 2007)

This is the catalogue for the current Turner exhibition held at the National Gallery in Washington and which will later come to the Met in NYC. Many of the paintings come from American and British museums, as well as from private collections and it is also an opportunity to view a significant part of Turner's watercolor output.

The book is divided into three parts following a chronological pattern after an introduction that studies Turner's "desire to rise to the top of the British art world" and his pursuit of fame. Part one deals with Turner's beginnings and building of his career, from 1790 to 1824 (the historical and economic contexts are not omitted). Part two studies the painter at the peak of his art (1818-1839)and part three dwells on the role of history in his art, the study of his masterpieces on the burning of the Houses of Parliament (1831), his late seascapes (1835-1846) and his mastery of light (1840-1851). An interesting conclusion studies Turner's relationship with America, which he never visited, but where his works were collected in depth very early.

All the illustrations are of a high quality, including some close-ups of details.

A valuable addition to the literature on the artist.

Rodner's book was one of several top books from many thousands I went through in a long hegira through a college library with immense holdings in Art History. His immaculate chronology pulls back the curtain on what Turner experienced as the steam engine began its historical ascendancy in the first half of the 19th century. Even if you are very familiar with the works of Turner, this book will bring you far closer to the distinction and sensitivity of Turner's complex understanding of modernism. Many of Turner's paintings can be seen in the context of not only his travels, but how remarkably astute he was to the constantly changing pictorial impact of the industrial revolution. Further, as Rodner shows in a model of balanced intellectual enquiry, Turner recreates himself as artist as he engages History itself.
An all around great book and an outstanding eye-opener for students as well as Turner specialists.

Peter Ackroyd is a fine writer and continues his Brief Lives Series with this insightful biography of one of England's greatest painters, J.M.W. Turner. But readers beware - this is a book about the artist's life and is not a book to examine the artist's works. But there are plentiful other resources for viewing the magnificent paintings of light that Turner created.

Ackroyd adroitly explores Turner's humble background, elaborating on how this most elegant gentleman of the canvas began as a Cockney lad with little formal education. When he was 14 he entered the Royal Academy and within a year's time he was exhibiting his work! Turner was a man of nature and his misty seascapes and landscapes of England have won him permanent status in the pantheon of great painters. He was fascinated by light and the effect that light has through mists and clouds, storms and tree filtered glades. He had a particular affinity for architecture and his early works are primarily in watercolor and etchings. His experience with oil painting opened with his introduction to Italy.

Ackroyd, with a zest for truthful telling, emphasizes that Turner's private life was spent in the taverns, fathering illegitimate children and maintaining a mistress. Apparently a miser, he was not the rarefied 'gentleman' his paintings would suggest.

This is a fine little biography, filled with the facts about the personal life of Turner and a bit lacking on his artistic influences, but as an adjunct to other volumes on his work, books that neglect to look at the man holding the brush, this succinct 'life' affords important insights. Grady Harp, July 06

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

I believe that Jewel was one of the best books that I have read this year. It takes you there with Jewel throughout her life you feel her feelings. You get to know the charactors. It is one unique book!

This guide to Jewish living is a collection of articles which were originally published in 'The Jewish Chronicle'. Each one is a small gem of insight into Jewish living. The world of values which is expressed in this work are in my opinion that which the Jewish people needs now. Torah and Derech Eretz, true love of the land of Israel, a Judaism of devotion to the service
of God.
An outstanding work.

This book is simply enchanting! Nan Turner Waldron stayed at the outermost house for 16 years before writing this book. The book tells the story of naturalist Henry Beston and how he built the "Fo'c'sle" (as it was nick named) on the great beach of Cape Cod. The magic of the area worked it's spell on her and a quote form the book best sums it up, "I believe that being close to the natural environment inspires a quest, perhaps inherent in Man, to understand human nature." The blizzard of 1978 took the little house out to sea but luckily for us Ms. Waldron's book will allow it to live on. I was so moved by the book that I actually purchased the blueprints (order form found in the back)! This book is a must read!

This review is from Scott MacDougald in Canada:

Of all our story tellers Walter Macdougall, Past President of the Clan MacDougall Society of North America, is one of our best.

The old Gaelic admonition says: "Cuimhnich air na daoine o'n d' thàinig thu" - "Remember the men from whom you sprang." Accordingly, Walter journeyed to Argyll in 1981 to visit the old clan lands in Lorn and to meet friends and clansmen. There he gathered a treasury of knowledge which he recorded in a journal. His clear and colorful prose became a very readable account of his travels in the scenic land of Lorn where the past and present intertwine in humble ruins and proud estates. The resulting book was called "Journeying in MacDougall Country".

Unfortunately, since that time his book went out of print and was in danger of being lost to newer generations of readers. Now, with the assistance of a very able and dedicated editor, Suzanne O. McDougal, Walter has brought out a new edition of his book. While preserving the original material, this second edition includes new content gathered during subsequent journeys to Argyll.

The book opens with the trip by train from Glasgow to Oban. It soon becomes a journey through nature as well as a very useful geography lesson. Every place has a richly descriptive Gaelic name with a story waiting to be told. Then the narrative softly transitions to the stories of how many of those rugged hills, glens, and lochs form a part of clan history. Many of these tales are illustrated with diagrams or sketches.

At Dunollie Manor we meet Coline MacDougall of MacDougall, then the 30th Chief of Clan MacDougall. We hear of her family, and the old family manor house, before climbing the upward path to Dunollie Castle.

Every day is a new journey as we walk with Walter along the old footpaths and learn the old names. Guided by a hundred year old map we walk the old cattle drove roads, the highways over the land of yesteryear. On the next day we sail to Iona past ancient Hebrides islands whose names ring of history - Kerrera, Mull, Lismore, Iona - those stepping stones of the high prowed galleys of our seagoing clan. On another day we sail Loch Awe.

We journey in all directions. Northward to Ardchattan Priory where parliaments of Scotland were conducted in Gaelic. Later we visit Glen Etive's isolated grandeur and hear of the old Celtic tales that linger there. We travel circuitously through Southern Lorn, where bloody clan warfare flared for centuries. There the old MacDougall families of Raera, Corrielorne, Degnish and others once ruled, and some yet remain. Here lie stone circles and ancient Dunadd, the Dalriadic fort, where the kings of the Scotti were invested.

We walk the isle of Kerrera as Walter describes it as it was. Picture the drovers from the now vanished ferries arriving from other isles. Visit Gylen the little gem of a castle watching the sea while guarding the drove road and its revenue.

As you journey to all these places there is comfort in knowing the book contains a "Lore of Lorn" section filled with supporting notes, details, and maps. There you can search out detailed information about things such as omens, lamps, saints, septs and more. If you need to learn more about geography, or Chiefs, or flowers, or architecture, or family branches, this is where to look. Clear footnotes to the text and an extensive bibliography provide additional expert sources.

Over the centuries many people have left the Highlands, but the fortunate do come back. Whether you are returning or just remembering from where you sprang, you would be well served to have this book in your hand to read, and to guide your journeys.

My favorite book since early childhood, I have read and reread this novel and all of its subsequent parts too many times to count. This is a book for kids by arguably the most talented kids' writer that's ever lived. Lindgren remembered what it was like to be a child when she wrote, and it's obvious. Reading her writings is effortless and all-encompassing. I gladly drown in Karlsson On The Roof again and again. This novel is not nearly as well-known here as it is in Europe, and what a shame. American kids have been missing out for decades.