Arts Books

Highly Recommended! This is an excellent book for any one who is in the Music Industry or wants to understand how the Music Industry works. I purchased this book as part of the reading for Berklee Music Online course - "Inside the Record Industry". It helped me a lot with my course work and also in understanding how the Music Industry works. Thank you George !
Paulom

This book will take you step by step through all of the motions of getting yourself signed to a label. From press kits to the qualities that make a good manager, this book will hold your hand through the dark abyss that is the music industry. I would consider this a must read for anyone who would like to perform as a career. I personally have passed this on to all my bandmates, and many many friends. Do yourself a favor, and pick this up!

This is the book I needed when I was 15 years old, and grasping at any information to help move forward with a music career. Define where you are in your development as an artist, define where you would like to go, and more importantly why you want to go there. Then take action with the knowledge and confidence to realize your dreams and goals. Learn what labels look for in bands and artists, and how to position yourself to negotiate a win/win deal for yourself. Learn all the perspectives of the business of music from artist, label, distributor, publicity, and promotion, to management, and booking agents. Basically everything you need to understand to be successful, written in an understandable and accessible style, with a sense of humor. I loved it and learned so much I could write my own book with the research it inspired me to undertake. Don't just dream big, learn what it takes to do the work to become successful.

George Howard knows the music biz inside and out - reading this book is like having a top A&R guy as your personal coach. For everyone out there who wants to start a label or get a deal, the author dispels a lot of myths and helps you to focus systematically on the jobs you could and should be doing yourself. A very enjoyable read, this book is broken down into manageable chapters that give you the information and tools to help you reach your goals.

I am a folk singer/songwriter in Maine, and I purchased this book for use in a Berklee School of Music on-line course (taught by the author!)

This book answered all of my most pressing questions about record labels, their business processes, and what it takes to get their attention.

The information is anchored securely in the real world, and focuses on practical, down-to-earth details about how labels work, what you need to do to get noticed, and the preparation that you need to do in order to be successful in getting signed. Demo prodcution, promo package development, gigging, assembling your professional team, publicity and promotion, contract terms, it's all here.

The book also tells you how to find your own way as a label/artist, and what you need to do that will help you perform all the services for yourself that a lable would do for you.

I totally recommend this book; George Howard is an experienced music industry and record label pro, and knows what he's talking about. The book is fun, too - George has a sense of humor and knows how to use it to keep the reading interesting and engaging.

Definitely buy the book.

This is the best most spectacular book on leonardo to date.What can i say that hasnt already been said in the reviews above except that i cant believe that a couple of reviews gave 3 outof5 stars for this book. I think the book deserves 10 out of 10. The book is a masterpiece in itself. Keep up the great work.

I first saw this outstanding book at the Palm Springs Air Museum's Da Vinci exhibit last month. It is a comprehensive and beautiful tribute to Da Vinci's genius that young and old alike can enjoy for decades. Spending an hour glancing through its pages is a visual treat; reading it to more deeply appreciate his multiple talents will take years. Though the price of the book may seem high, it is an unique volume and worth the price.

without studying Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artist and would-be inventor of all time. He left us a legacy of paintings, drawings, diagrams, inventions, and even sculpture for all to see. He's known more than the Mona Lisa painting, he's an inventor of sorts as well as a very fine draughtsman.

This book should be a required course for art students everywhere.

this book is a daily source of admiration, exposed on our table and we change the page practically every day to have a new work of wonder to admire every day. combined with more and deeper information on leonardo da Vinci the true art becomes clear.

The massive size of this book is only dwarfed by the enormous amount of information it contains. Did you know Leonardo Da Vinci conceptualized the helicopter...or the x-ray machine...or even the engine???? He did indeed and it's all in this comprehensive anthem. I highly recommend this book for the Da Vinci neophyte as well as the most avid "Leo scholar" as both will be awed and amazed.

This scholarly and highly readable book is of importance to art historians, historians, and anyone with a serious interest in orientalism as both an art movement and a western cultural phenomenom. The illustrations are superb,and the additional profile articles on key orientalists (such as Richard F. Burton) are an added bonus. This book is certainly worth more than its price and will be of lasting value to future readers.

"coffee table" art books are usually just vehicles to display reproductions of the paintings. Not here - Davie's writing would make compelling reading if it was published in regular book format. He mainly focuses on orientalist painting itself - and shatters the critics - but he also has a fascinating section on four famous 'orientalists' which include Richard Burton and Lady Digby.

The reproductions are are splendid very accurate ( i have the pleasure of having easy access to some of the original paintings) and capture the exquisite craft of "Orientalist" painters. often with close ups of parts of painting that allow the reader to see the elaborate detail.

Worth every penny. I find myself reading it again and again.

An outstanding volume providing high quality images and interesting commentary. Too many art books commit the sin of spreading large images over two pages so the picture gets lost in the spine - not this one. Orientalist paintings are crammed with detail to show the erudition of the artists and their patrons: for once you can see plenty, and you're not sold short by the layout or the print quality. Not a book if you're looking for lush pictures of harem lovelies, one of the aspects of orientalism not given such high prominence here. Over all impression? The many different effects created by light in Middle Eastern landscapes, and the skill of these artists in capturing it

Brilliant book completely covering the subject, solid research, perfect rare illustrations. Lots of forgotten and difficult to find names. Very useful and highly recommended - worth every penny!

Really I'd like to give this 5 stars but for the lack of women it's 4. I feel sort of silly doing so because the art is astonishing and the sheer beauty just magnifies how "art" has changed. I wonder if any artist alive today could come close to duplicating these masterpieces. I doubt it. And Mr Davies writing blends with the terrain and subject matter splendidly.

I have a collection of dozens of quilting books and this has to be the prettiest, most compelling and easiest to follow. I'm on my second quilt from this book and it couldn't be easier. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Very informational book on quilting processes. The pictures are helpful and the information is presented well.

Lots of Quick and Easy patterns in this book. Eleanor explains
things so that you can put them together quickly. My copy is a
class book, and my quilt turned out gorgeous. Has hung in my
quilt shop for several months now.

I enjoyed reading this book and learned a few new techniques for building blocks and I have decided to start some of the book's projects as soon as possible.

The instructions of this book are so good that I made the quarter log cabin quilt in just a few days. The illustrations are very helpful.

I have always been a museum addict. If the Metropolitan Museum of Art would let me place a cot somewhere, I would probably take up housekeeping. So, it was extremely rewarding to read this story of how so much of the stolen art from WW2 was found, protected, recovered and finally returned to rightful owners. These "Monuments Men" should all have received medals. The world owes much to them for making so many artistic marvels again available.

The illustrations are quite good. Many are available in other sources but so many, at least for me, were viewed here for the first time. The attempts to protect many objects - e.g., St. Marks in Venice - were also interesting. When I visited there a few years ago I was very appreciative.

Mr. Edsel is to be commended.

Excellent book with many historical pictures and historical comments of the war's effect on the art of many countries.

This book shows and tells another side of war. It is the story told in picture of Hitler and his Nazi thugs pillaging Europe and stealing priceless art objects, painting, statures, books, even ancient scrolls then hiding them in caves and bunkers in Germany. What I loved about this book were the photos of US Army units rescuing those stolen art treasures then returned them to the towns, churches and cities. The author has done an exemplary job of finding photos and stories which has made this an important work. Photos I've never seen and story I have never heard about. I think this book needs to be in every high school library in the country. Students need to be shown how our American Army worked to recover all this lost art. His book made me proud to have serviced in the US army.

Thank you for writing this book

I was really surprised by this book. I thought it was going to contain more text but it's really all about the art and the people who rescued it. The result is a very impressive, easily readable 'coffee table' style book that's beautiful and informative. Teachers should grab this up for the classroom and it also would make a great gift for anyone interested in WWII and it's aftermath. I can't say enough about the photos and the story they tell. Bravo!

This is one of the most fascinating books i have ever read. The period images are amazing, just the photo of italian masons bricking up Michaelangelo's iconic David is worth the purchase. After reading this book I was stunned that so few art treasures were destroyed. I had no idea that much of the treasures at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. was stored at Biltmore because of its remote setting. I was also blown away to see the images of workman removing winged victory from the Louvre, I just had no idea all of this went on leading up to the war and during the war. The German pillaging of the great European art treasures is disgusting of course, especially the art they looted from the weathy Jewry like the Rothchilds and others, some of which even to this day are trying to get back art work that is rightly theirs. I highly recommend this great book to anyone interested in art, history, art history, or frankly has an inquisive mind. I want to thank the authors for a job well done.

This is the book if you are new to RF radio frequency design. I lost my original copy so I had to get a new one. The printing is perfect.

I have owned two copies of this book for as long as I can recall; one for me to keep on-hand, and one that is constantly on loan to colleagues that ask to learn about impedance matching, Smith charts, filter design, transmission lines, small signal amplifier design, etc. Nearly everyone that borrows my copy ends up buying their own shortly thereafter. The text is readable by anyone with a good knowledge of electronics, and the depth of subject is an excellent "just right" balance of practice and theory. Finally, it's very refreshing that this excellent book is available at such a reasonable price - I would venture to say that Bowick's book is likely the best value on my bookshelf in terms of "usefulness per dollar spent"!

Easy to read, understand. Good reference book for basic buliding blocks in RF circuit design. The book only has solved example problems and is not very helpful for practise.

We have used Chris's book for training and refreshing engineers for years. We have literally worn the cover off and I can't begin to tell you how many pages have been dog eared for future reference. The previous comments regarding "outdated" are, in my opinion, misguided since the focus of this book is more on the fundamentals and foundation of RF circuit design which HAS NOT changed since the first edition of the book was written. The information in this book is diverse and condensed very well. We haven't purchased the 2nd edition yet, but likely will in the new year to replace our reference copy.

If Chris's book sounds too technical, you may want to start with Jon Hagen's "Radio Frequency Electronics" or if you are more into the magnetics side of it try Jerry Sevick's "Transmission Line Transformers". Lastly, if you need some general testing guidance, Joseph Carr's book "Practical Radio Frequency Test & Measurement" will likely be of some benefit.

Having worked with the industry leaders in this field, I can honestly say that Chris and his colleagues are among the best in the industry and Chris's experience shows in the content of this very fine work.

I ordered this book to assist in refreshing my memory about RF Circuit Design and associated equations. I found it to be a great source of advice on the "how to's", as well as a wonderful reference source for the basic equations involved, which I haven't used actively in some time. Since my old reference/school books are in storage, I needed a concise, compact and easy to understand presentation of the application of the math to real world design considerations. I highly recommend it for self-tutoring, for general reference, and especially for those "breaking away from theory and into the real world" of design.

My sister stole my first copy, my other sister stole my second copy, I gave my third copy to a friend (but only because I knew she would love it as much as I do). My fourth copy doesn't have the dog-eared pages and underlining that my first copy had (I fall into the category of people who think tattered edges and scribbly notes add character to books). And I gave a fifth copy to another friend who was frustrated drafting an admissions essay for grad school. One of the best books on writing (generally) on the market. Funny and entertaining, with excellent advice.

This is a fine book about the mechanics of writing. Here's the rub. Appendix 1 and 2 were replaced by duplicates of chapters 14 and 15 in the book I read. Otherwise this book is worth 5 stars.

this book is full of fundamental ideas that are always good to remember as well as practical ideas and examples.
i look forward to having it alongside me whenever i am writing.

wow. this book is a must for any writer, experienced or novice. not only is it a useful tool, but it is a fabulous read with witty references and comments throughout.

This is your average grammar book, but with a sense of humor. I discovered nothing new in it.

This is a must own for anyone who has ever needed to know why something works the way it does in Star Trek. This covers almost everything you can imagine in how Deep Space Nine and space craft work. If it isn't covered in this book it is covered in the TNG Tech Manual. If you write Fan Fiction, play a character in a Trek RPG, or operate a Trek Website You will treat the Tech Manuals as your gospal in Trek technology. Other good books are out there, but they don't compete with this book.

The tech isn't much different in manner from the TNG Tech Manual, but the images in this, the DS9, manual are far superior. All Trek Geeks (come on, fess up) need this book.

I never picked up a copy of this wonderous guide when it was published. There were a few mistakes I made last decade, not buying this book was one of them.

There is not much storyline given away here. Mostly background info regarding the Cardassians, Bajorans and the Federation. Deep Space Nine was the best "Star Trek" series, in my humble opinion. This guide is useful to those who wish to write about the series of the future, as well as daydreamers like myself. The thrill of walking down every corridor, knowing the details of Quark's bar and Ops...

It is all like dream, now that it is over. I never watched the original broadcast in the 1990s. What a loss on my behalf. Now in the age of hopelessly dull reality T.V., what a better way to pass the time than watching the epic unfold on DVD. Though a little overpriced, to an avid fan like myself, worth every penny! Make sure you have a copy of this manual sitting close by!

This book is amazing. I read it from cover to cover and ended up satisfied with all the details the authors placed in them. The book carries details ranging from the subspace communications system to the weapons and even the environmental system of the station. The information on it is not contained only to details about the station but everything connected to it including the Runabouts, and the Defiant. It gives off an effect that there is really a station named Deep Space Nine. The paper used was high quality glossy paper which doesn't crumple easily and the numerous images in them were in color. Although it could have been better with a hard cover, it's excellent the way it is.

First off, this book is anything but a disappointment. It is a packed with information on the series and its fictional technology from the station's basic layout to things like tricorders and sensor probes. It has great illustrations, mostly rendered in 3D by Doug Drexler and all in color. This is a quite obvious advancement since the STTNG Technical Manual.

One reason why I like the DS9 Technical Manual less than its "sister manual" is that its reliability is lacking. This is in part not the fault of the authors, considering that technical specs and especially the size of the station and of the Defiant were always subject to change throughout DS9. Nevertheless, it is dissatisfactory that none of the size figures given in the book correspond with the schematic diagrams in the same book, the latter of which consistently show a smaller 120m Defiant and a station diameter of at most 1000m. The section on starships is even much worse, since ship types and specs are arbitrarily and hastily made up, sizes of well-known ships are wrong and the Saber and Norway class even have exactly the same specs. Considering that many fans who took the specs for their websites didn't even notice the latter error, I may be overly critical, but from an officical manual I would expact much more carefulness than that.

The other point of criticism is that the Deep Space Nine Technical Manual isn't very technical and it isn't useful as a manual. It is rather like prose that has been supplemented with a certain limited amount of Technobabble, a couple of size figures and many nice images. It doesn't care about the technology in such detail as the STTNG Technical Manual, and if it is only shown how to operate it. Summarizing, as a novel the book is rather boring, while it is just not complete enough for a technical manual. Anyway, at least the drawings are great, especially the fold-outs, and most of the book with the exception of the starship section is pleasant reading, so I recommend to buy it.

While I am a long time Star Trek fan, I tend to stay away from books such as this one because I just see it as another way for Paramount to get into our pocket books. I just lightly browsed this book one day in a book store and next thing I knew almost an hour had gone by!

This has to be one of the most engrossing works of fictional tech I have ever seen. There are times where you almost wonder if some form of prototype exists for the items they discuss.

Both richly written and illustrated this book is a absolute must buy for the die hard Star Trek fan! And if your favorite Star Trek is DS9 (like myself), I am not sure how you have lived without this book!

This is a great Book! We used this book in a sign language class I took. It is easy to read and understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to talk to the deaf or hard of hearing.

This book covers numerous "word groupings" in 17 chapters. Some of these groupings include, "Days of the Week & Time"; "School & Education"; "Descriptions,Thoughts& Emotions"; "The body& Health"; "Mealtime& Food"; "Home&Clothing"; "Numbers,Math Terms,Quantity &Money"; "Pronouns,People&Relationships"; "Actions"; as well as many more.
I especially like this book for the photographic illustrations. So far this is the only ASL book I have found with photographic illustrations.

With each word there are specific instructions for the proper hand shape, position, and movement to go with each sign as well as a visual reminder for memory. At the bottom of each page there is a photographic guide as a visual reminder of all the proper hand shapes that are used in all the signs for that particular page.

I would highly recommend this book for any with the desire to learn Sign Language.

This book was a required text for a Sign Language I course. The pictures are very clear, it gives good description of hand shape, location and movement. I really like that it gives a hint of how to visualize each sign, it makes it much easier to remember.

The book "Talking With Your Hands, Listening With Your Eyes" is a great book for people wanting to start learning sign language. The photographs of the signs are very clear. I especially like the additional material throughout the book about Deaf Culture and history. I recommend this book and enjoyed reading it even though I have been a student of sign language for 5 years.

Love the book, first borrowed it from my local library. The binding does tend to crack with much use, so I broke my book's binding and put all the pages in clear cover sheets in a 3 ring binder. Cost a little more but it was worth it because now I don't have to worry about destroying it and my book will last a lot longer. I found this book the most helpful in explaining how to do the signs as well as illustrating them in very clear photos. I highly recommend!!!

To be precise, this is a perfectly fascinating book. I've been a Tintin affionado for decades, along with my children and now my grandchildren, and had no real understanding of how Herge's work intersected with 20th century history. Learning this in detail, and getting a notion of how the stories and their portrayal evolved, have greatly increased my already great appreciation for Herge's genius.

If you are a Tin Tin fan then you will love this book. I have to confess that I have not read the whole thing but what I have read is insightful and interesting. It gives excellent information about each Tin Tin story as well as a unique insight into Hergés life. I high recommend this book for any serious Tin Tin devote.

My kides are a little geeky and are enthralled by any of the series. It is good clasis sci fi for them. Suggested if you kids like adventure kid stories and sci fi.

This book has used the extensive archive of Herge, to which the author was granted unlimited access. The book is certainly enlightening and offers great insight into Herge's mind. The author rightly presents each Tintin adventure in its proper historical context, and exposes fascinating parallels of the adventures with Herge's own life. Most of the illustrations are juxtapositions of Tintin frames and concepts against the source material from Herge's archive of newspaper clips and books. Some comparisons are very convincing. Some comparisons are stretched, for example, the alleged inspiration for the carnival costumes of Les Joyeux Turlurons in Tintin and the Picaros. Groucho Marx amongst the crowd ogling at a blonde? I don't know about that... Please note that some of these comparisons are extracted by the author, who tried to read into Herge's mind. We will never know for sure what inspired Herge.

The criticism of the stories occasionally is uneven. The author knocks Flight 714 for stretching reality with its extraterrestrials and flying saucers. How about the Shooting Star, where a meteorite the size of an island drops out of the sky? Giant popping mushrooms and mutant arthropods, I don't know about that...

The text sometimes is dry, and sometimes too esoteric and only relevant to readers of the English editions of Tintin. I have read all Tintin books in French, so I could not care less about the subtleties of the English translations of French names. For other readers, this trivia may be interesting. Finally, the book ends abruptly, without as much as one paragraph of an epilogue, a reflection on the total Herge oeuvre.

Why the small print? The print is so tiny you almost need a magnifying glass. This is not a physics paper, it is a book about comics, and in comics readability is paramount.

Overall, this book undoubtedly was well researched. It definitely was worth the money. I came out with a renewed appreciation of Tintin and Herge. I wish the author was a more compelling writer.

A strange book! The information and illustrations in it is great, but there are curious qualities to it. The writer is a native speaker of English, but from errors in sentence structure and some obvious mistakes in word usage, this publication was translated from French. There are curious recurring preoccupations and repetitions, almost suggesting that each chapter appeared separately, possibly in a magazine. For example, the comparison of Herge's work and that of his studio with that of Raphael and his assistant Giulio Romano occurs at least three times! The reproduction of pictorial archival material from Herge's collections and elsewhere alongside panels from the books is fascinating. But Farr often dedicates a lot of space to discussion of the source of a particular image or set of images -- and then there's no illustration. At other times there are illustrations that are scarcely mentioned in the text.

Still, we have to be grateful for all the data given here. I remember an old Tibetan lama looking at "Tintin in Tibet" with my children, and pointing out corners he knew in the panoramic picture of Katmandu, being puzzled by the Abominable Snowman, and laughing at the pictures showing levitation. In the '60's I camped all through through Yugoslavia; my young kids were reading "King Ottakar's Scepter" and constantly pointed out details in the landscape that matched the book. Herge did his homework, and it's great to have the sources laid out.

Despite its flaws, this book is a keeper.