Arts and Culture Books

The swoon-inducing, jaw-dropping photo of young Johnny Cash at the Hollywood Bowl alone is worth the price of this book. But don't just look at the beautiful pictures (and there are many) - read the words. Well-written, insightful, and often funny, the stories from the mouths of the stars sparkle brighter than the rhinestones on the cover. Hillbilly Hollywood motivated me to search out and find the music of artists unfamiliar to me before, and I will forever be grateful to the author for introducing me to the wild brilliance of the almost-forgotten Maddox Bros. & Rose, and others like them. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves music, whether it be country-western, punk rock, or anything in between.

Debby Bulls book "Hillbilly Hollywood" gives us a great look at the almost-forgotten flashy country and western artists of radio and early western movies. We get a thorough insiders look at the glitz and the true 'ART' of rhinestone cowboy and cowgirl wear by the country artists of the '40's and 50's. There are wonderful color images and historical photos of my favorite country legends. The book itself would be at home on Elvis's coffee table. Yum! Yum! This book is a "Five Star" ten course feast for the eyes and soul for us wannabe cowboy and cowgirl types. A true collectors item.

I'm a very hard girl to buy for (and a music snob to boot)but my sweetheart did a very good thing when he purchased Hillbilly Hollywood for me as an early Valentine's Day gift!
It's just GORGEOUS,well-written,and chock-full of stunning color images of several historic pieces of country couture including rare photos of artists that I just adore like Johnny Cash,The Flying Burritto Bros.,and (gasp!) Rockabilly Goddess CHARLENE ARTHUR!!!
It's very difficult these days to find any information on the designers Nudie and Manuel but this book covers it ALL!!!
SO SATISFYING!!!
Always,
Grey DeLisle (wife of Murry Hammond:)

Who are into western wear.
I'm a cowgirl living in The Netherlands and books about westernwear are hard to find. 100 years of western wear by Tyler Beard was the one I found in Holland. Also a great book!!
Tyler send Hillbilly Hollywood to me, and I love every page of it! It's about stars and their love for the garb.

Debby Bull's HILLBILLY HOLLYWOOD is an astonishing book. Her writing is never tainted by nostalgia. It's fresh, original and cleverly surmised. The physical book is about as extravagant as Nudie's glorious Western regalia--complete with rhinestones on the cover. It's a tribute to a strange phenomenon--the gone, but not forgotten completely, country-western artists of the '40s who were (regrettably) bumped from the spotlight by rock 'n roll and leftist politics. It's great to see the spirit of this era so well communicated. As a native born hillbilly and the author of THE BEAUTIFUL AND ENDURING OZARKS and co-author with my wife Crystal of 3 books on Branson (often dubbed "the hillbilly Las Vegas") I feel credentialed to endorse this book. I'm going to order a six-pack later in the year for Christmas presents. I suspect there is a bunch of closet hillbillies out there that will get a real kick from this neat book.

The copy we received was a third edition, and it is very nice. Lots of information and nice photographs of the art. I have looked at the fifth edition in our local library, however, and I would say it is a great improvement. Some expanded sections, and more color photographs. All in all a great introduction to art history for kids or adults.

Oh my gosh! What a great read! very informative, and helped my greatly on my AP Art History exam. Highly recommended!

This is a wonderful book and, in my humble opinion, a better book for most users than the big textbook edition "History of Art". The only complaint I have about this edition is its name; I feel it should be titled "History of Art: Concise Edition" as "History of Art for Young People" makes it sound too much like a children's book. While certainly suitable for an intelligent child, it is a superb art overview and reference for all people.

If you desire a general art reference you won't go wrong with this gem and you'll not find anything better. I have the 3rd edition also and it is excellent but this 6th one is greatly expanded (e.g., lots more photos and color) while retaining the user-friendly nature of the earlier editions. The text is clear and interesting, not written in the dry, boring style of a textbook. The printing and reproductions are top-quality. This art book is truly itself a masterpiece!

I needed to find a few good sources for an art history report and was lucky enough to pluck this book off the shelf at my local library. I ended up finding most everything I needed just in this book and was amazed at the detailed coverage of the history of each induvidual peice. I loved it so much that I bought it for myself, and it has probably been the best purchase I've ever made. The writing is excellent, the coloured pictures make it easy to distinguish certain important aspects of the art, and the background history on the artists, the impact of music, philosophies, or simply the work makes it the best all-around book on art history (especially for students) that I've ever read. It helps the reader to understand how the other influences of trade, literature etc. helped form periods in art history so that they may have a better understanding of the work in general. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in an art history class or any fellow art lover, it's wonderful.

As an art student in college, I slogged my way through several art history volumes, including Jansen's History of Art.Twenty years later, when attempting to revise an art enrichment program in my children's school, I was fortunate to come across Jansen's History of Art for Young People. Don't mistake the title as a reference to chronological age, but rather as aimed at anyone in an early (young) stage of fine art study. The book begins in prehistory and travels through to post-modernism, covering not only the art and artists, but the historical events that influenced the way the art developed. The text is very readable, with lots of key definitions, tables and line-illustrations right in the margins.There are four date based charts that organize the key achievements in Religion, Politics Science, Architecture and Art, emphasizing that art does not develop in a vacuum. Illustrations are well chosen with a fair number of color plates and sharp black and white pictures. Every page has some sort of visual aid, which makes it a pretty pleasant read for students. I highly recomend this book whether as a reference for learning about a particular artist or style, or as a foundation for designing an educational program. Jensen helps one turn the bits and pieces of art data that we all accumulate into a comprehensive sense of the breadth and influence of art in civilization. The depth of information is deep, but not so overwhelming as to drown the reader. If I were to make any criticism of this book, it would be only that it doesn't title itself as a history of WESTERN Art, which leaves an even larger portion of the world still unexplored.

WHAT?fS THE NEWS? WHAT?fS THE NEWS? This distinctly human obsession apparently dates all the way back to our original acquisition of the use of language itself. But the Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? presentation of that news that we are so used to today took us a bit longer to develop -- say, not till the middle of the nineteenth century -- as Stephens shows in this highly readable book.

Taking on the task of relating the entire history of news telling from its very beginnings lost in the prehistoric past all the way up to the cable television and Internet of today seems impossible; yet Stephens certainly makes a good try. He recreates the prehistoric period with sociological accounts of the vocal exchange of news in illiterate societies by the constant pestering of visitors from outside the village with ?gWhat?fs the news??h He uses the letters of Cicero, among others, to demonstrate the spread of news during the Roman Empire. He then goes on to the show the slow spread of the printing press, the development of, first, weekly newspapers, then dailies, and so on up to the instantaneous reporting of the Gulf War via CNN.

As he tells his tale, he leaps us from ancient Rome to ancient China and right back again so smoothly we hardly notice. Along the way he points out the vast changes that have taken place from the days our ancestors bemoaned the almost total lack of reliable news up to the present state in which we are constantly deluged with so much, we can?ft begin to keep up.

Still, I would have liked to see a more thorough description of the impact the instantaneousness of the telegraph had on news reporting, particularly as Stephens himself points out that it was the great cost of sending a single word over those erratic wires that led to the very precise reporting of news as every word now literally counted?DThough the description of the development of the news reporter as a profession he gives us instead (including the origin of the term ?gbeat?h reporter) is quite enlightening, it is also a bit longwinded. And contrary to the worldwide scope he gives us for the ancient period, for all practical purposes, from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards the title should read A History of AMERICAN News. Yet, these are only minor complaints about what is otherwise a very fine read.

. . . . and that being said about the read itself and so rated . . . .

Why did this great read set me back a whopping $53.95 when the physical book it?fs been incarcerated in LITERALLY flops??? Hold it in one hand; FLOP!?@Grab it with both hands; FLOP! FLOP! Slam it to the floor in disgust; FLOP! FLOP! FLOP! Compared to this flopping flounder masquerading as a trade paperback, comic books are printed on vellum and bound in leather! And (FLOP!) believe (FLOP!) me (FLOP!) all (FLOP!) this (FLOP!) FLOP!ing (FLOP!) makes (FLOP!) it (FLOP!) very (FLOP!) difficult (FLOP!) to (FLOP!) con(FLOP!)cen(FLOP!)trate (FLOP!) on (FLOP!) the (FLOP!) read! FLOP! FLOP! FLOP!

If all this flopping were priced a reasonable ten to possibly twenty dollars, I could still have spent my hours reading it contentedly thinking, ?gYeah, this is just about the read I wanted, all right!?h But $53.95????@I angrily spent those hours fuming instead, ?gI paid THAT much for THIS????

So, to whoever decided on the flimsy packaging and ridiculous price of this fine read, I just want to say . . . (alas, all Ma Amazon?fs rules allow me is) . . . SHAME ON YOU!!!

Once you read this book, everything that the news media do will become clear to you. It turns out that, other than minor differences in grammar and presentation, the actual writing and distribution of news hasn't changed since the earliest days of news.

Telling example, from the book: arguably, the very first newspaper dates back to ancient Rome, where scribes copied it onto the back of the minutes of Senate meetings that were going to the various officals outside the city. Other than the mandatory government notices, what were the three "departments" of "Annals of the City of Rome"? Crime, sports, and celebrities.

Stephens gives example after example from over two thousand years of journalism to demonstrate what we mean when we call something "news," and why journalists write it up the way they do. The writing is a bit dry, and there were times when I was ready to concede his point but he kept hammering us with more examples, but it is seriously worth it to read this book.

If you want to understand the news that you read, and understand why and how it got to you looking like it does, you must read _A History of News_. (And then, while you're at it, go on to Noam Chomsky's _Manufacturing Consent_.)

Once you read this book, everything that the news media do will become clear to you. It turns out that, other than minor differences in grammar and presentation, the actual writing and distribution of news hasn't changed since the earliest days of news.

Telling example, from the book: arguably, the very first newspaper dates back to ancient Rome, where scribes copied it onto the back of the minutes of Senate meetings that were going to the various officals outside the city. Other than the mandatory government notices, what were the three "departments" of "Annals of the City of Rome"? Crime, sports, and celebrities.

Stephens gives example after example from over two thousand years of journalism to demonstrate what we mean when we call something "news," and why journalists write it up the way they do. The writing is a bit dry, and there were times when I was ready to concede his point but he kept hammering us with more examples, but it is seriously worth it to read this book.

If you want to understand the news that you read, and understand why and how it got to you looking like it does, you must read _A History of News_. (And then, while you're at it, go on to Noam Chomsky's _Manufacturing Consent_.)

But not in this case. This book is a fabulous journalistic quamire of slow witted old English types wondering why the news has been covering nothing but Joe Dimaggio and nothing about Stanley Kubrick's recent death.

My dog is named Coco. He likes to run away from home all the time. I keep a journal of his behavior. It is filled with instances of when I have given him dog biscuits and he ate them on my bed leaving crumbs all over the sheets.

This book happened to be published at a time when several of my friends were getting married and it makes an excellent bridal shower gift for the friend who loves old movies. This book is similar in set up to Schreier's other great book "Hollywood Dressed & Undressed" in that there are photos of movies with a bit of text and director and costuming credits. It is a simple set up, but it lets you view the fabulous wedding scenes in films through the years, such as "Haystacks and Steeples" (1916) or "Show People" (1928) up to newer films like "Where The Heart Is" (2000) or "Runaway Bride" (1999). Scattered throughout are photos of real celebrity weddings such as that of Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg (1927) or Shirley Temple and John Agar (1945). Great book by this great fashion historian who owns the largest private collection of 20th century couture!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories and studying the pictures. Hollywood Gets Married focuses on a very important aspect of the movies and movie stars-weddings and all the trappings that go with getting married and unmarried. You can enjoy the beautiful pictures of brides, but all along you know that the real stories are what happens to the people, both as film characters and in real life.
If you are a film buff, get this book. Its focus on Hollywood weddings is lively and informative. If you love movies, you will love the book.

What a wonderful book! I just loved all the pictures and the fabulous stories. And this is not a book about weddings, but about Hollywood...such fun! It is the perfect gift for anyone who likes to be entertained.

Sandy Schreier's "Hollywood Gets Married" is a delectable bon-bon of a book, and great reading for anyone who is either starstruck or interested in movie costume design. She admits in her foreword to being subject to those twin little girls dreams of a) being a movie star and b) being a bride, and her infectious enthusiasm for both subjects comes across brilliantly here.

Schreier offers us a delightful overview of Hollywood weddings here, with everything from silent films to modern-day set pieces to real-life Hollywood brides in both their Hollywood and their personal incarnations as brides. As you might expect, there are some omissions here (what, no Liza Minnelli? No Cher? No Lucille Ball? No Jane Fonda?), but for the most part, Schreier does a super job of hitting high points of Hollywood wedding lore including, of course, the much-married Elizabeth Taylor (who graces the front cover of the book and gets her own special section inside).

Aside from the terrific photographs--many of which I'd never seen, and I own entirely too many movie-oriented books--the eye candy is more than matched by the many anecdotes, like:

1) Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy's bridal gown designer was African-American;
2) "Bride of Frankenstein" actress Elsa Lanchester's bridal hairdo in the film was inspired by ancient profiles of Egyptian queen Nefertiti;
3) Olivia de Havilland kept her Dior costumes from the 1962 bridal picture "Light in the Piazza" and when she sold them later at auction, the successful bidder was the House of Dior, buying them for their collection;
4) Marilyn Monroe's gown from her first marriage (at age sixteen in 1942) was later worn, sans sleeves, by Monroe's niece on her first date.

This is a wonderful book and reading it is a completely pleasant way to spend an hour or two.

Hollywood Gets Married put a huge smile on my face! It's so exciting reading through all the funny antetodes and trust me, the Hollywood pictures are GREAT. I had read Hollywood Dressed & Undressed - Schreier's previous book - which I loved by the way, but this one I think is even better!

If you're a fan of Hollywood then you need to be a fan of Schreier's - buy the book.

Been looking for a good resource for trivia and information about the horses from various TV shows and movies. This is it. Some wonderful pictures accompany the informative text. This is a good compilation for anyone who loves horses and remembers them from the TV or Movie screen.

This is an excellent book on horses in pop culture. Well written, lots of great pics. From Muyrbridge's first equine moving images of the horse (1879), to The Lord of the Rings, the equine stars of almost every major (and lots of minor) horse movies are profiled.

Not just the horses, the stunt doubles and wrangler are profiled here as well. Stories about the wranglers and hollywood horse suppliers abound.

The section on the rise of Humane treatment of horses in movies is very interesting. Esepcially the role of Errol Flynn, who led the humane crusade after witnessing the destruction of horses injured in the filming of a scene.

Great present for your horse loving friends.

More than I expected. Informative, great pictures, good text. Nice hardback book. A great deal for the $$$.

Reading the review/description on Amazon I rapidly came to the conclusion that words can never do this book justice; it's just too incredible. This is a beautiful and very informative coffee table book with exceptional photographs and movie poster art. Although it does not include information on every horse movie it does an amazing job on most films from the start of motion pictures to things like "Spirit," "Lord of the Rings," and "Hildalgo." Ms. Mitchum spent a ton of time interviewing the top stunt riders and horse trainers in Hollywood and it shows - every page is filled with insightful stories about filming, training, and actors. Well worth the cover price, you won't want to put it down!

I purchased two editions of this book. One for my Husband who is a western movie buff and the other for our adult son who is in the horse business and knows many of the people in the book. Both spent half of Christmas day perusing their books and discussing many of the old and current horse trainers.

Featuring condition scale, current values, and full color photography of almost every item featured, Joe Caro's Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles is the definitive price guide for dedicated Hopalong Cassidy memorabilia collectors. The quality photography of hundreds of items, ranging from books to clothing, food ads, magazine articles, games, school items, toys and much more make Joe Caro's Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles ideal for Hopalong Cassiday fans who don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend on these vintage treasures, but are interested in browsing through the these many minute artifacts of American popular culture. Most items have only a brief description, but some have slightly more involved commentary.

Like many fans of Hopalong Cassidy I had toys and other items connected with the TV show collecting dust in my attic. I didn't realize how many Hoppy souveneirs I could collect. This book gave me price ranges but it also brought back some great memories with its detailed pictures and descriptions. Clearly this author knows his subject. I can't wait to increase my collection.

This is the book. Whether you are a serious Hoppy collector, a novice beginner, or simply a fan of one of the greatest western character heroes ever, this book is a must. Extremely well written and organized it is a trip down memory lane. William Boyd, who played Hoppy, was one of the first cowboy stars who was also a marketing genius. This book shows why. This beautifully illustrated price guide encompasses the myriad of Hoppy collectibles that swept not only the U.S. but the world in the 1950s. Every kid wanted to be like Hoppy and as this price guide shows a trip to the store could fulfill that fantasy. You do not have to be a collector to enjoy this book. It will rekindle memories of the things you had as a child and might still have in your attic. To the collector this is an invaluable tool to assist you in evaluating what you have and what to search for. Well done Joe!

I am happy to state that I have added Joe Caro's "Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles" to my library. It is worth every penny! As a writer, I can fully appreciate the hard work that went into this study - a must for every serious collector of Hoppy material as well as the novice who wants to know originals, reproductions and items that existed only in someone's "mind". A wonderful and colorful display gauranteed to bring out even the most "shy kid" back to when America was a gentler nation and everyone looked up to Hoppy - youngsters and adults and how we all wanted a Hoppy collectibles - whether it was a flashlight or a holster set! The reading is easy, the color photos dazzling and the market values makes the cost of this book minuscule compared to knowing what the curent values of these wonderful collectibles bring today! Joe Caro is to be congratulated for his exhaustive effort to make us smile again as we get re-acquainted with our he! ro - Hoppy! There is one drawback: Careful, pardners, it'll turn you into a kid again! Job well done!

I have Joe Caro's first Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles book, plus his little known updated book.Joe's new Hopalong Cassidy Collectibles book has all the contents of the first two plus more. The merchandise Value guide on each collectible(original, reproduction and some fantasy items) gives the advanced and novice collector a price spread that's consistent with the Hoppy collecting market. With the collectibles being pictured in color, it gives the serious collector detail and brings out visual differences, in the many variations, that are being discovered by collectors, everyday. This book covers every catagory of Hopalong Cassidy collectibles so thoroughly and with such enthusiasm, by the author, that after an hour or so, of absorbing every page, imagining I was a kid again I found myself wanting to go out and start collecting Hoppy, as soon as I put the book down.

A fine companion piece to HORROR FILMS OF THE 1970s, this is another tremendously entertaining overview of an entire decade of fear flicks. This was so much fun revisiting these films that I grew up with. The author is interesting and informative throughout. Highly recommended!

I saw this book and was amazed that someone had written descriptions and reviews of most of the horror movies made in the 80's. I was even more impressed after I started reading it. Just like what other reviewers have said, John Muir has a love for horror films and it shows in how he comments and categorizes them. His reviews of these movies make you feel like he's your best friend sitting beside you watching these films and either hating or loving them with you. There were many movies he commented on that I would never have watched because either they were in an overdone series (Friday the 13th Part 3) or because they look completely hokey (Re-Animator). But because of his reviews, I did and am glad for it.
Something other reviewers didn't mention but I love, is how he comments on the directors themselves and mentions how their individual style comes through all of their movies (or are edited out by their producers creating a bad movie). I learned about such great directors as Cronenberg, Tobe Hooper and Thom Eberhardt who I knew only a little about before. I recommend this book to anyone who even had a passing interests in horror movies and wants to relive some of the great ones (and horrible ones) from the 80's.

It can be argued that the decade of the 1980's was the most important ever for horror films. While the films may not have always been good, and many were downright terrible, the advent of home video soon taught filmmakers that they could turn a profit even with direct-to-video releases. "Horror Films of the 1980's" by John Kenneth Muir, is an exhaustive guide to perhaps the most memorable era of horror films. Over 300 films are covered in detail within this massive, 800 plus page hardcover tome.

Anyone who has ever read one of the fine books from McFarland knows that they don't do fluff, and this book is no different. This isn't merely a listing of films and stars like you get in some books. Each film gets at least two pages of coverage that includes full cast and crew credits, rating (one to four stars) running time, detailed plot synopsis, commentary by Muir, as well as selected critic's comments from the time that the film came out.

The films are listed alphabetically, by decade, beginning with "Alligator" in 1980 and ending with "Stepfather 2" in 1989. Even if you think you know your 80's horror films well, you're sure to find some films you probably never heard of such as The Killing Hour, Bloodkill, and New York Ripper.

As I thumbed through the book I felt like I was looking at an old scrapbook or photo album of friends and family members that I had not seen in many years. I have not seen a lot of these films since their original debuts over twenty years ago and I fondly recalled many nights at the drive-in where I saw quite a few of these films. I loved reading about these old friends, Motel Hell, One Dark, Night, Gates of Hell, The Keep, Near Dark, Night of the Demons, and countless others.

Muir, and his small group of reviewers show a depth of knowledge, but more importantly, a true love of this era of horror films, often resulting in ratings that are a bit more generous than I would have given. A lot of films included here are not true horror films. There are sprinklings of sci-fi (Saturn 3, Lifeforce, Moontrap, Terminator), thrillers (Ten to Midnight, Jaws 3D, Blood Simple, Body Double) and comedy horrors (Ghoulies, Critters, Gremlins), but their inclusions are welcome nonetheless.

The book concludes with several interesting appendices that feature the 1980's Horror Hall of Fame, Recommended Viewing Then & Now, and Memorable Ad Lines. Heres' something fun...read one of the ad lines and see if your friends can guess the film. This is simply one of the finest horror reference books I've ever read. Well worth the $60 price tag!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

I am a huge horror film fan, and try to read every book I can on the subject. As such, I was thrilled when I received this huge release for my birthday last month. However, I honestly had no idea that it would be as entertaining and insightful as it is. I have now read up through 1988, and must say that I've never in my life read such astute critique of genre films -- generally reviewers either stick to the plot basics or try to impose some sort of critical theory on it ("the male gaze" and all that). Muir on the other hand manages to recognize and explain sub-texts that I never, EVER would have noticed by myself -- then when I think back to the films he's describing, I realize, "My God! He's RIGHT!" Plus his book has encouraged me to buy a whole bunch of horror films I'd never have considered seeing (ex. I'm no vampire film fan so I wouldn't have bothered with "Near Dark" had he not put it on his "Top 15 of the '80s" list. But wow! What a fantastic movie!)

My only problem now is that I'm dying to read his '70s book and it's not being re-released for another month!

Muir's "Horror Films of the 1980's" is an excellent companion to his like-titled "Horror Films of the 1970's". While not all-inclusive (an impossible task) it does take all of the important films (and many (many) of the obscure films) and succinctly dissects them from various viewpoints. The author is an obvious expert in the genre, easily able to cross-reference the production with what was happening in society at the time.

This is the sort of reference that you will return to time and time again and continue to be surprised by the depth of the content.

I can't wait for "Horror Films of the 1990's".

What a great time I had reading this book. As a fan of the TV series and Hyacinth herself, I was delighted to read the daily account of one year in her life. Very very funny and entertaining. A definite must for anyone who's a fan and a must for anyone who enjoys a great laugh!!!

This adorable little book is ostensibly a copy of Hyacinth Bucket's one-year diary (a gift from Richard). As with any diary, the entries are (of course) handwritten. Also, there are copies of newspaper clippings, invitations, a few annotated photographs, and so on, throughout. The first page, as one might expect, is a list of important phone numbers (all filled in and suitably annotated by Hyacinth with comments such as "dirty hands--must NOT touch wallpaper" next to the electrician's number, for example).

Though the diary makes reference to people and places that were introduced in the series--like Marston Hall (Hyacinth's rural retreat) and C.P. Benedict (the Garden Centre king), it is not a script-based book as is her Book of Etiquette. In fact, it includes incidents that never appeared in the series at all, such as a visit to the Antiques Roadshow. Also, from various comments included in the diary, the reader begins to wonder fairly early on whether or not Richard is seeing another woman (which adds quite an interesting twist!).

In short, this is a light-hearted and thoroughly entertaining (not to mention insightful) book, and it is a must-have addition to the series for all who love this priceless British comedy and that precious Bucket woman. Highly recommended!

I ordered this book on Feb 14, 1999 and have not yet recived this book! 3-5 weeks has turned into 3 months!

The book is pure Hyacinth. It's like reading her mind!

This book is so well written, it really makes you question the type of babble that we sell for books here in this country. The comedic content is wonderful - it's all there - timing and everything!!

This is a book full of interesting information-- no question there. However, it's not super reader-friendly and I just couldn't get into it. I wanted a random-information book I could read straight through-- this isn't it. However, it is a pretty cool book-- maybe a nice coffee table book addition.

If you are one of those people who likes browsing in drug stores at 3:00 for that hit of domesticated weirdness---such as meat-free Shnookums and Meat pasta or 666 Cold Medicine---then you will savor this book like a fine can of 7 Up Gold.

Also worth looking for are issues of "Beer Frame," Lukas's delightful zine, and "Object Lessons: Songs about Products," a Lukas-inspired EP featuring the highly hummable (seriously) song "Golden Boy Peanuts."

As Sigue Sigue Sputnik so weirdly proved back in the '80s, _anything_ can be a product (even a rock band). This well-written, researched and hilarious book takes us from Thirst and Musk LifeSavers (a favorite in the former penal colony known as Australia) to microwave pork rinds and the smoker's robot (read to believe). The perfect read-to-your-friend-in-the-car-while-roadtripping book

Paul has a talent for looking twice at products we usually take for granted. It's the "how did we ever miss this?" attitude he takes that makes his book and writing so fun -- he's got a great wit and eye for the absurd in everyday life. After reading his book (and his zine, Beer Frame), I've never been able to go to the supermarket in the same way again

I always wondered if I was the only person in the world who was blown away by products like "Armour Pork Brains in Milk Gravy". Paul Lukas has proven that a) I'm not alone and b) if I was more talented I could have made money writing a book about bizarre products. My only complaint about this book was that it ended. I was ready for hundreds of more examples, particularly the weird foods.

This book shows how I.L.M. made most of their films. It goes into full detail about special effects for their films

Thomas Smith was general manager of Industrial Light and Magic a year before he came to write this impressive book. The book is centred around the film special effects creations of ILM between 1975 and 1985. This includes the then "Star Wars" trilogy, two Indiana Jones movies and other lesser known projects. For the Star Wars fan theres plenty to learn about one of your favourite movies. This book is lavishly illustrated with full colour photos including triple page or gatefold images. The focus though is on how the effects are done and who did them at ILM. From the art work in developing concepts of storylines, through modelling, creature creation, the actual filming methods and matte image creation to the finishing touches of animation and optical compositing this book gives a gradual demonstration of the work of a special effects company. For someone with no knowledge what so ever of special effects this is a good introduction and to those involved it must be fascinating as well. As Thomas Smith points out, while film fans still love the movies from this era (1975-85), movie goers constantly seek new visions on screen. The digital era has brought movies like Toy Story etc but these were just figments of imagination at the writing of this book so its worth noting Thomas Smith's far-sightedness in the final chapter on digitized movies. The format of the book is to take each department of the special effects process and show what it does and where its part comes in the crafting of a movie. In each chapter there are short biographies of the leading people in each area of effects, this is a nice touch as it can serve as guide for those interested in getting involved. Its worth noting, many of those profiled have a long interest in their specialty going back to their youth and through the various twists and turns of working in an industry knew of other members of the ILM company before actually joining this now esteemed organisation. Thomas Smith by no means is setting out to sell ILM's considerable expertise though he tells the story of a company making dreams into reality, itself moving from an idea to a serious business proposition. (As a final note another book on movies of this period Paul Sammons "Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner" contains insightful descriptions about the crafting of a movie not least its special effects.)

No one would ever have guessed that when Industrial Light & Magic opened its doors in Maren County that day way back in 1975 that they would produce the standard by which other special effects and other effects houses would be judged. ILM has formed the cornerstone of LucasFilm Ltd. a company that has spawned more spin-offs such as THX Sound, Skywalker Sound, all held neatly under the Lucas Digitial banner. Back in the days of Star Wars it was mostly using what was already known, and inventing everything else. ILM has been at the forefront ever since, from the early days of motion control cameras controlled by Apple computers the latest CG marvel like Galaxy Quest, Phantom Menace or Mission to Mars.

The Art of Special Effects deals more with the older films-those before 1986, illustrating a time when computers were not so large a part in the film-making process. It gives the reader a great look at the sheer amount of detail that went into the models, the props, costumes from Star Wars to Explorers, from Raiders of the Lost Ark to the some of the Star Trek films, ILM constantly and consistently proven to innovative. The book as a whole is on a level lower than, say, Cinefex magazine, assuming that the reader doesn't know how blue screening and rotoscoping works or how miniatures are lensed. It is light reading without getting itself bogged down in too much technicality, for those who want that, read Cinefex.

It also strikes me that this book is also best at presenting a dying era. A time when model makers kit bashed hundreds of plastic models just to build a Super Star Destroyer - few companies bother with that any more when everything can be rendered on a Silicon Graphics box and Maya and Soft Image software. Such films as Star Trek: Insurrection used few practical models and a completely CG Enterprise-E. The time of the supremely detailed, hand crafted model or set may be at an end, and I think the industry will be sadder for it. Partially because when I read Cinefex, a lot of what I see is the same-different movie, different space ship, but they're all rendered the same way and most use the same software, with only minor modifications or original code going into it to get a certain look or solve a certain problem.

I suspect the Digital Realm of the movies, while producing better special effects, lacks the mystique of knowing that several people labored for months to build that model. That instead it was modeled by a few people over a period of a week. (Though it should be noted that a lot of films, including the Phantom Menace, used practical models). I suspect their days are number.

Pér tutti quelli che vogliono sapere come fanno i film, per tutti quelli che amano Star Wars con tutti i suoi segreti, direi che questo è il libro che fà propio al caso vostro.Scritto in un inglese molto facile è un libro che può veramente appassionare

Years ago I longed for this book, as it sat on the shelf in the local book store(it was not cheap). I received it with much gratitude on my birthday. Now as a teenager I found a reinterest in this book, and was overjoyed when the next book "into the digital realm" came out. For anyone who is captured by the magic of special effects, this is for you.