Watson Books

Thoroughly enjoyed the great ideas in this book. Each project is so well thought out you can't go wrong. Very helpful preparation is spelled out so doing the craft for a group goes smoothly. Tried the hand felted butterfly and the garden stepping stone so far.

The crafts in this book are great! Your groups will love these ideas.

History of cinema as it stands has been basically changing over the last decade or so. Like all forms of history, the on-going quality of film history can affect how we regard the past. However with the DVD revolution and the like, more and more of such stuff as the Silent Era and foreign films is resurfacing, affecting how we view current cinema. For instance, it was a popular idea of the past that D.W. Griffith invented all of the techniques used towards how we edit movies today. With more and more pre-Griffith silents appearing, his height on that column is gradually decreasing...

This book is, in general, pretty up to date with the current times, ending roughly late nineties or so. Each section of film history has its own two-page spread, which is neat and VERY nice. Some of the choices are kind of surprising, but in a refreshing way, not a "what the--?" way.

I don't know much about how it would help someone who doesn't know that much about film, but it seems pretty user friendly and its conciseness prevents it from becoming too much a cineastes booklet. I don't agree with some of their opinions (I happen to like Abbott and Costello, I don't care what you say), but for a quick, "Okay so here's what's up" it is pretty well-made.

--PolarisDiB

This little book is as much fun to read as watching one of your favorite films. Not only is it entertaining and informative, but it manages to be comprehensive and highly discriminating at the same time. The authors are fully aware of the "auteurs" who count, of the films that matter. I've read hundreds of film books, and I can guarantee that you won't find a better value.

The best portrait of Liszt I have ever read, as described by a young woman who studied with him in his later years. Though Liszt dominates this book, other characters from that era -- such as Tausig, one of the most talented pianists who ever lived, and whose life was tragically cut short at 30 -- also come alive. Amy Fay, a candid observor with a lucid prose style, brings to life a bygone era, when the old 19th-century ideals of European culture were in full flower, and music was perhaps the most beloved art form of all. All music-lovers should read this book.

Amy Fay was a young and determined American piano student whose quest for a concert career impelled her to travel to Germany, the center of European musical culture, in the 1870s. Miss Fay's delightful memoir of her years in Berlin and hamburg is illuminated by her charming and ingenuous personality and her passion for good music. Her tantalizingly brief period of study in the conservatory of Carl Tausig ended by the master's untimely death, she sought other teachers, and succeeded in obtaining an introduction to Franz Liszt. Her first-hand descriptions of the playing of Liszt, Clara Schumann, Joseph Joachim, Anton Rubinstein, the aging and eccentric Herr Wieck, and other figures of nineteenth-century music are a delight to read, as are also her sharp observations of German manners and Americans abroad.

I haven't read one Hank Zipzer book I didn't love! And my son and I have read all of the them. This one is fun and shows lots of compassion and also made me laugh!

The entire series of Hank Zipzer books is GREAT!!! My son can't get enough of them. They are a wonderful read, especially for any child who suffers from a learning challenge. They are easy to relate to and help to build self-esteem for children who have learning challenges and help others to understand how the world works for them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Dear Ms. Cottle,

I recently finished your poetry book My Father's Speech, and I am amazed. I loved it! Your family's deep and powerful history was portrayed beautifully through your wonderful way with words. I really enjoyed the finale, "Digging to China." It felt so dreamy and monumental as a poem, yet, it's separated premise did not detract from the overall telling of your family's story.

My Father's Speech is a book that I really couldn't stop reading. I look forward to your next work very much. I'm using this one for inspiration to write my own poems now! Thank you so much for everything you've done for me.

I came across this chapbook and literally read it cover to cover in one sitting because I could not put it down. Knowing nothing about coal mining culture before reading this, I was transported into a dark landscape -- geographical and emotional -- that was absolutely gripping. One gets the sense of excavating the past through these poems as Cottle shares family stories through examination of photographs and other objects. But the richest find, in my opinion, is discovering "What I Don't Talk About" late in the collection. Beautifully simple and direct, it hauntingly suggests that just when you think you've dug deep, there's new territory to unearth.

Cottle is truly a welcome new voice in poetry as far as this reader is concerned.

John Varley's Persistence of Vision is superb writing, recommended highly. A previous reviewer gloated over the title piece, so I'll merely concur and note that other pieces (such as Phantom of Kansas) are nearly equally riveting. Out of print awhile, but should be reprinted.

John Varley's novella 'The persistence of vision' deals with a group of deaf and blind people who take their lives in their own hand.Together they invent an entirely new way of living and communicating with eachother. Riveting.Ian Watsons book I do not know, but the double is worth buying for the second half anyway. Who knows, it might be equally good

There are plenty of books on home renovation, but very few on modern renovations and additions for older homes, and fewer still that have the quantity of examples, images and floor plans that this book has. In this book the additions and renovations are contemporary whereas most of the homes are older and more traditional. At 228 pages with 300 photos, editors Il Kim and James Grayson Trulove have the space to present these unique American makeovers in detail. New American Additions and Renovations is intended for the professional community of practitioners and clients but will appeal to any fan of architecture.

This book brings together twenty-five additions/renovations. Most of these projects are what I term avante garde, or object like home additions, meaning that the new portion of the building relates to, but does not necessarily match the existing building. It is interesting to compare and contrast this book to Taunton Press' "Design Ideas for Great American Houses - Additions" which features more conservatively designed seamless additions - also an excellent addition sourcebook.

Most of the projects are designed by seasoned and up and coming young architects. In most cases there is a display of exceptional rigor, which makes these projects very unpredictable. Most projects employ superb craftsmanship. The book's large format makes a beautiful presentation of these projects. As the owner of an architectural firm that does a lot of additions, I found this book to be a great inspiration and highly recommend it.

James Trulove knows Landscape Architects and has selected a wide ranging group of styles and projects from some of America's best Landscape Architects. To the point text forces the reader to focus on the garden as image, as environment, as designed space! I particularly liked the refreshing, bold, and imaginative tropical gardens of Raymond Jungles, Inc.

This is an excellent book that looks at many exciting designers and some of their gardens (A.E. Bye, Raymond Jungles, Dan Kiley, Steve Martino, Susan Child, Rios Assoc., Murase, Cardasis, Delaney, Isobelle C. Greene, etc). It is a great inspiration to a landscape designer, and is helpful in that it tells the reader the plant and hard materials that have been used in the featured gardens. It also cites the project brief as well as the site limitations for each garden. A really great book that looks nice on my coffee table AND is useful to me in my work as a landscape designer. Truly inspirational, well-researched, and beauftifully presented. BUY IT!

This book provides an excellent alternative method of using egg tempera to the traditional methods detailed in Daniel Thompson's book. The author shows that egg tempera is a lot more flexible medium than many people believe. Mr Vickrey attempts to show how some of the myths about egg tempera are self limiting. Vickrey's paintings themeselves have at times the air of whimsical magical realism tinged with a nostalgia for lost childhood days. They may or may not be your cup of tea, but if you are interested in Tempera painters and the techniques and materials required to paint this way then I highly recommend this book.

I found this painter sometime in the 1970's where Purdue University gave him a show. Fascinated by his "clown" picture I soon found a large print of his "Parakeet" and not being able to afford the price of that print, I did it anyway.

Vickrey is simply a classic American Artist. A major artist of that century.

Glad he's still living and hoping to see more of his work in a new book.

Anyone interested in the pasts of music, New York or theater should grab this book. Funny, well-written and meticulously researched, it is also chockful of great sheet music covers from the early 19th to late 20th centuries. Grab this one!

Nancy did a wonderful job on this! (Caution--some of my research is mentioned in this book.) I've personally listened to hundreds of obscure but very worthwhile NYC songs. My only quibble is this: where's the CD, so people (unlike us, who don't have constant access to the NYPL's Rodgers & Hammerstein Archive of Recorded Sound) can listen to some of these obscure classics? It's really too bad that Groce didn't consult for Ric Burns' documentary on NEW YORK (which has a weak CD that doesn't include even the George M. Cohan and Frank Sinatra standards). C'mon, Nancy, give us the music! "It's up to you..."