Cultural Arts Books

This is a charming and humorous book. It recalls humor from another perhaps less complicated era. Worthwhile.

This is by far my favorite collection of Ward's pinup art. From the gorgeous cover art and dust jacket to the high quality, glossy pages, this tops the other books available. Those of us lucky enough to have bought this rather limited release possess one of the best collections of pinup art from an undisputed master available.

I bought this book back in 2003 when it was freshly in print and it was, h'mmmm, $28.95 list (just checked the dust jacket). The $159 I referred to is what Amazon Marketplace dealers are asking for it as of late April 2007 - and that's the _least_ expensive price. Take it from me, though; this book is well worth the cost (and if you keep it in good condition, you'll find it appreciating further!) The first part of the book is given over to a comprehensive overview of Ward's life and career, with many illustrations (mostly in color). The heart of this volume, though, is the 130-some full-page reproductions, in B&W and sepia, of Ward's best cartoons featuring his sexy and elegant beauties from what I consider to be his finest body of work in the 1950's and 1960's. The theme-oriented chapters have headings such as "Phone Girls Part 1", "The Mating Game", "Working Girls", "Husbands and Wives", and all provide a splendid overview of Ward's unique "conte" drawing style and his fascination with the accouterments of feminine dress such as high heels, seamed stockings, figure-hugging dresses and gowns, picture hats and opera-length gloves. Compare and contrast with Taschen's new _The Wonderful World of Bill Ward_, which I will also be reviewing in the near future. Highly recommended, particularly in the hardback version (if you can afford it!!)

I don't think Bill Ward sits easily with what are generally considered pin-up artists like Elvgren, Petty, Vargas and the few dozen others who created the genre over the last seventy years but his huge output from 1950 to 1975 (which is the basis of this handsome book) means his work has to be considered.

Examples of Ward's comic art, shown in several color covers (Love Diary, Love Confessions, Love Scandals, Heart Throbs, Flaming Love and Torchy) clearly show how good a draughtsman he was but the clean-up of the market in the early fifties meant he had to find another publications to work for. Abe Goodman's Humorama titles solved the problem. These were cheaply-printed digest size magazines full of bad jokes, cheesecake photos and girlie cartoons. The author Alex Chun says Ward produced thirty cartoons a month for Humorama titles and over twenty-fives years probably drew an amazing 9,000 pin-ups.

Ward's Humorama art was probably the only reason anyone bought these tacky publications. Because he had to produce so much work quickly he developed his own unique style of using Conte crayon to draw pin-ups. This had the advantage of showing tonal quality almost like an airbrush and when the originals (up to eighteen by twenty-four inches) were reduced to the digest size pages they looked impressively slick.

There are 117 whole page Ward pin-ups, all from his Humorama period, in this book. The majority are printed in four-color sepia with white highlights (the front of the book has an essay and examples of his early comic and color pin-up work) and the sexually suggestive, exaggerated females with their black stockings, filmy negligees, skin-tight dresses, coiffure hair and impossibly high stilettos leap of the page. If you are interested in this little corner of American male pop culture I doubt there will be a better book of Bill Ward's voluptuous art.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This is a great book for fans of Bill Ward's pin-up art and features numerous full-page illustrations of his distinctive beauties. Most of the pin-ups are black and white Conte crayon drawings done on a beige colored paper. There are a few color pin-ups shown as well. The beginning of the book contains a concise biography of Ward along with samples of his comic-book art. There are several nice romance covers shown here. The book is printed on quality paper and the pin-ups shown at a nice size. This is an A+ effort. The only thing you could have asked for is more art, but at around 100 pin-ups this is a great tribute to Bill Ward.

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 is an exceptionally beautiful and interesting book. Even though I had no prior interest in chinese textiles I was quickly drawn in by the stunning photographs and the helpful essays. The book makes a great gift for anyone interested in Asian art or textiles in general!

This is a must read if you are interested in collecting Chinese Rank Badges.

A great reference book to identify the symbols, styles & the various techniques that was used. The color photos are just beautiful showing over 150 different types of Rank Badges.

I love this book! The two different parts of this book really works. In Part One, written by Beverley Jackson is an interesting look at Chinese culture and the journey to the mandarin squares. The fictional story of two boys and their different journeys brings the mandarin squares to life. The studying and sacrifices involved in order to wear the mandarin square are staggering. It heightens the appreciation of the squares themselves in Part Two.

In Part Two, David Hugus does an excellent job in dissecting and then explaining the elements making up the squares. Beyond the intellectual and technical issues, Hugus also discusses mandarin squares in the marketplace.

The two authors obviously have a great love and interest in the mandarin squares and the Chinese culture. I recommend this book highly.

This is the best and most complete book available on Mandarin Squares. A must read for the collector of these badges.

The text is extremely informative and the most comprehensive on the subject. It has well over 100 beautiful pictures of many examples of the nine civil and nine military rank badges.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Chinese Textiles especially in the intricate embroidered Mandarin Squares and learn about their history.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Asian art and, in particular, the Chinese rank system and the textiles associated with it. I expect this book to become THE reference book on the subject. I highly recommend it to all those dealing in antique Chinese objects and museums specializing in Asian art. It is obvious to me that both authors have not only throughly researched their topics but also are impassioned by them.

Well written, informative and spectacular reproductions of his excellent drawings from his travels in Central America. Well worth the price.

A very well done, review of the life of Frederick Catherwood, as well as an excellent description of the mid 19th centuries London, Paris, and New York. The efforts of the first archeological efforts, and how were the must important archeological discoveries at that time. With the beautyful work and potraits of Catherwood

Excellent

In reading the The Lost Cities of the Mayas : The Life, Art, and Discoveries of Frederick Catherwood by Fabio Bourbon, one must first take in and enjoy the full folio size color reproductions of Catherwood's engravings and drawings. The vast aray of sumptous images and the clear and concise text that takes you on an adventure through the life of Frederick Catherwood, the first real Indiana Jones is a joy to read and imagine! Oh to have lived in the 19th c. and been on the first real archaeological journey through mexico and central america, documenting the opening up of an ancient civilization to the world. A must for the adventure reader and explorer.

Fans of Stephens and Catherwood should very much enjoy this volume. Catherwood is neither featured - nor ignored - in Stephens' "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan" set - their travels together being the source of most of the included drawings. This book, however, focuses not only on Catherwood's intriguing artwork, but reveals a good deal about the life of the man himself. Especially considering the price, this book is not only a must for those interested in the Mayan civilization, but also for the story of one of the first white men to discover and document this great culture for the rest of the world.

I have read all of John Loyd Stevens books and this is an excellent addition to my library. I would say this book is a must for all you amature Mayanists. Many times I have wished I could tag along with the great adventurers, Stevens and Catherwood, this is the next best thing! I also recomend all of John Loyd Stevens work. You might also check out "A Tourist in the Yucatan" A fun thriller, adventure set in the Yucatan.

I just bought this book last week, but I tore through it in about two days -- it covers hundreds of words from the amorous arts, and explains where they all came from, and how they've changed meaning over the centuries. For instance, I never knew that so many words for the penis existed (or used to exist)! And it's amazing to learn that the word "testicle" is related to the word "testify" (both come from a Latin source that means "witness," because according to the book the testicles were considered a "witness" to a man's virility in ancient times.) The book does a good job, too, of discussing how cultural attitudes are revealed through the language we use. It mentions, for instance, that the word "pudendum" comes from a Latin source that means "to be ashamed," which obviously reflects a negative cultural attitude toward women's genitalia! Not all of the words that are discussed in the book are so explicit, though -- lots of them are about love words, too. There's a chapter on terms of endearment, and one on words of desire, and one on words of beauty, and so on. The introduction also includes a web site address where you can go to read some samples from the book, and where you can also suggest other words that might be included in the next edition. It's http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~morton/lovers_tongue.htm in case you want to check out some sample excerpts. The book is often hilarious -- the author has a wicked sense of humor! I highly recommend this book for anyone who's interested in language (though it'd also make a good gift at a wedding shower or for valentine's day)! -- W.A.

The Lover's Tongue was reviewed by Michael Posner in The Globe and Mail on October 20, 2003. Here is the text of that review:

The word clitoris made its first appearance in the English language in the early 17th century. Now that I have your attention, let me add that its spelling is a straight anglicization of the Greek word kleitoris, which likely evolved from another Greek word meaning hill and, in turn, from an even older Indo-European word, klei, meaning to lean or slope (and from which some modern words, like recline and decline, are derived).

The word penis, on the other hand, is Latin, and means, for obvious reasons, tail. In common parlance, of course, synonyms for penis are frequently associated with weapons. In fact, the Hebrew word zayin, a slang word for penis, actually means weapon. Not incidentally, the letter zayin -- the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet -- is shaped like a rod with a crown on it.

I learned much of this thanks to The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex (Insomniac Press), a new book by Mark Morton, a mild-mannered assistant professor of English literature at the University of Winnipeg. I'm not sure how merry it is, but it is certainly exhaustive, a complete inventory of how words like clitoris, penis -- and scores of others that respectable family newspapers are not in the habit of printing -- arrived in the language.

Morton, who earlier wrote Cupboard Love: a Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities, as well as The End, a book about how previous eras celebrated the end of their millennia, says he was drawn to writing a book on the etymology of sex for a simple but compelling reason: He thought it would sell.

"I don't see much reason to write scholarly articles that nobody probably is going to read," says Morton. "But I like taking the academic research and making it accessible to people. Everyone is interested in sex and even people who don't know what etymology means are interested in it."

But, as he prudently notes in his introduction, it's a book that best lends itself to an occasional, well, probe, rather than an extended sitting. Dipping in and out, one can learn that the origin of the infamous f-word is probably not, as is commonly thought, an abbreviation of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, but more likely derives from old Scandinavian words fukka (Norwegian) and focka (Swedish) meaning to copulate.

Similarly, you may be both surprised and enlightened to learn that the word orchid comes from the Greek orkhis, which means testicle. And orkhis itself evolved from an older Indo-European word ergh, meaning to mount. Thus, explains Morton, who for 10 years has also been resident etymologist on CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, do we have the modern English word orchestra -- evolved from the Greek orkheisthai, meaning dance -- perhaps owing to how dance simulates sex.

There are dozens of such linguistic jewels sprinkled through Morton's breezily readable text. He spent three months writing it, another nine months researching, a task greatly facilitated, he says, by the Internet. The Oxford English Dictionary is available on-line, which allowed him to rummage through its entire data base in quest of words with sexual connotations.

Other books on language, of course, have taken titillating aim at the subject of sex. There are densely academic three-volume sets to be digested on sex in English literature under the Stuarts, for example, as well as myriad titles taking a popular approach to sexual slang. But The Lover's Tongue may well be the most comprehensive etymological treatment. Anal, oral, body parts -- it's all here in what amounts to a linguistic history of smut.

Some words now effectively taboo in civilized discourse were once in common usage, including the vulgar term for the female sex organ. The precise origins of that well-known c-word, Morton concedes, are obscure, with possible Greek, Latin, Arabic, Germanic and Sanskrit antecedents. Morton posits that it may also be related to the word quaint, which was used in 14th-century England to mean intricately designed, and which in turn developed out of the Latin cognitum, meaning knowledgeable.

And in modern times, at least, he notes, many common descriptives of the vagina carry decidedly negative associations, including gristle-grabber, snatch, red snapper and dick muncher. "They're all manifestations of what Freud called the vagina dentata."

Working in the basement of his north-end Winnipeg home, Morton says, he found nothing remotely erotic about the enterprise. And it shows: His tone throughout combines detached bemusement with scholarly, straight-ahead explication. "Even if you're dealing with a word that denotes extremely erotic activity, you're thinking about it in a way that somehow blunts all that. But now that I read it, I'm sometimes shocked, even to the point of thinking, 'I don't know if I want my mom to read this.' I don't know if she'll be buying copies and sending it to friends."

Even Morton's colleagues at the U of W, he hints, are having some trouble with it, though that may be less a function of its salacious content than the fact that so commercial an exercise strays dangerously off the traditional academic paths.

There is little in Morton's background that would make him an obvious candidate for writing a book of sexual etymology. He grew up on a wheat farm outside Weyburn, Sask., a vast, treeless plain that prompted the young Morton to wonder about his own origins and how he ended up there. "I think that's somehow related to my interest in etymology."

And although there was no library in the house, there was "a big, old dictionary which even as a child, I remember poring over." He taught himself Latin phrases and tried to learn Greek at 12. "The fascination with language is very deep in me."

Now, he intends to broaden his range with his next book, a cultural history of emotions. Says Morton: "I think it's a much bigger subject than just etymology."

Have you ever wondered where the word vagina comes from? Me neither, but after reading Mark Morton's new book, The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex, I can tell you.

Vagina is a Latin word, which means sheath, or scabbard-basically a holster for a sword. Pretty vivid imagery, huh? After reading Morton's book, I can assure you that the imagery becomes even racier (racy is a seventeenth-century word describing wine, specifically, a sprightly wine).

Morton's book reads like a dirty dictionary. He describes all of the bad words you know, and then a whole lot more which you've probably never even heard of. The subjects range from words related to anatomical parts, to sexual acts and even to words describing sexual orientation. Did you know that heterosexuals are known as straight because homosexuals used to be called "bent"?

Morton not only fills readers in with this fun trivia, but he provides highly researched histories of each word. He explains the etymological links between words in language easy enough for his bawdy readers to understand. Best of all, Morton writes with a relentless, self-aware humour. When describing the word tongue and all of its dirty counterparts, he notes, "As for the phrase tongue-in-cheek, fear not: that idiom has nothing to do with the buttocks, so you can continue to use it in polite company." Morton's prose is subtle, eloquent, but sure to take every opportunity for a below-the-belt pun.

Throughout the book, Morton quotes classical writers, celebrities and historical figures to provide another take on the subject. These are separated from the central text in small text bubbles, so that if you become extremely engrossed in the chapter about copulation words, you can just skip over the line from Shakespeare.

The biggest problem with Morton's book is that it is essentially a reference book without an index. While he acknowledges that readers will likely not want to read through the whole work in one sitting, he doesn't realize they might not want to sit through one even chapter. I would like to be able to pick up the book when I have an itching to know about a particular word, and then be able to find that word quickly.

Despite the lack of `quick-access,' this book is very tempting. It's fun, sexy and laugh-out-loud funny. This is linguistic entertainment at its best. After all, where else could you find five pages of words for the penis? For your ribald friend, this will make a perfect holiday gift.

[The preceding review first appeared in The Link, authored by Karen Bisken, and published by Concordia University.]

I just bought this book last week, but I tore through it in about two days -- it covers hundreds of words from the amorous arts, and explains where they all came from, and how they've changed meaning over the centuries. For instance, I never knew that so many words for the penis existed (or used to exist)! And it's amazing to learn that the word "testicle" is related to the word "testify" (both come from a Latin source that means "witness," because according to the book the testicles were considered a "witness" to a man's virility in ancient times.) The book does a good job, too, of discussing how cultural attitudes are revealed through the language we use. It mentions, for instance, that the word "pudendum" comes from a Latin source that means "to be ashamed," which obviously reflects a negative cultural attitude toward women's genitalia! Not all of the words that are discussed in the book are so explicit, though -- lots of them are about love words, too. There's a chapter on terms of endearment, and one on words of desire, and one on words of beauty, and so on. The introduction also includes a web site address where you can go to read some samples from the book, and where you can also suggest other words that might be included in the next edition. ... The book is often hilarious -- the author has a wicked sense of humor! I highly recommend this book for anyone who's interested in language (though it'd also make a good gift at a wedding shower or for valentine's day)! -- W.A.

The Lover's Tongue was reviewed by Michael Posner in Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail on October 20, 2003. Here is the text of that review:

The word "clitoris" made its first appearance in the English language in the early 17th century. Now that I have your attention, let me add that its spelling is a straight anglicization of the Greek word "kleitoris," which likely evolved from another Greek word meaning "hill" and, in turn, from an even older Indo-European word, "klei," meaning "to lean or slope" (and from which some modern words, like "recline" and "decline," are derived).

The word "penis," on the other hand, is Latin, and means, for obvious reasons, "tail." In common parlance, of course, synonyms for "penis" are frequently associated with weapons. In fact, the Hebrew word "zayin," a slang word for "penis," actually means "weapon." Not incidentally, the letter zayin -- the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet -- is shaped like a rod with a crown on it.

I learned much of this thanks to The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex (Insomniac Press), a new book by Mark Morton, a mild-mannered assistant professor of English literature at the University of Winnipeg. I'm not sure how merry it is, but it is certainly exhaustive, a complete inventory of how words like clitoris, penis -- and scores of others that respectable family newspapers are not in the habit of printing -- arrived in the language.

Morton, who earlier wrote Cupboard Love: a Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities, as well as The End, a book about how previous eras celebrated the end of their millennia, says he was drawn to writing a book on the etymology of sex for a simple but compelling reason: He thought it would sell.

"I don't see much reason to write scholarly articles that nobody probably is going to read," says Morton. "But I like taking the academic research and making it accessible to people. Everyone is interested in sex and even people who don't know what etymology means are interested in it."

But, as he prudently notes in his introduction, it's a book that best lends itself to an occasional, well, probe, rather than an extended sitting. Dipping in and out, one can learn that the origin of the infamous f-word is probably not, as is commonly thought, an abbreviation of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, but more likely derives from old Scandinavian words "fukka" (Norwegian) and "focka" (Swedish) meaning "to copulate."

Similarly, you may be both surprised and enlightened to learn that the word "orchid" comes from the Greek "orkhis," which means "testicle." And "orkhis" itself evolved from an older Indo-European word "ergh," meaning "to mount." Thus, explains Morton, who for 10 years has also been resident etymologist on CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, do we have the modern English word "orchestra" -- evolved from the Greek "orkheisthai," meaning "dance" -- perhaps owing to how dance simulates sex.

There are dozens of such linguistic jewels sprinkled through Morton's breezily readable text. He spent three months writing it, another nine months researching, a task greatly facilitated, he says, by the Internet. The Oxford English Dictionary is available on-line, which allowed him to rummage through its entire data base in quest of words with sexual connotations.

Other books on language, of course, have taken titillating aim at the subject of sex. There are densely academic three-volume sets to be digested on sex in English literature under the Stuarts, for example, as well as myriad titles taking a popular approach to sexual slang. But The Lover's Tongue may well be the most comprehensive etymological treatment. Anal, oral, body parts -- it's all here in what amounts to a linguistic history of smut.

Some words now effectively taboo in civilized discourse were once in common usage, including the vulgar term for the female sex organ. The precise origins of that well-known c-word, Morton concedes, are obscure, with possible Greek, Latin, Arabic, Germanic and Sanskrit antecedents. Morton posits that it may also be related to the word "quaint," which was used in 14th-century England to mean "intricately designed," and which in turn developed out of the Latin "cognitum," meaning "knowledgeable."

And in modern times, at least, he notes, many common descriptives of the vagina carry decidedly negative associations, including "gristle-grabber," "snatch," "red snapper" and "dick muncher." "They're all manifestations of what Freud called the vagina dentata."

Working in the basement of his north-end Winnipeg home, Morton says, he found nothing remotely erotic about the enterprise. And it shows: His tone throughout combines detached bemusement with scholarly, straight-ahead explication. "Even if you're dealing with a word that denotes extremely erotic activity, you're thinking about it in a way that somehow blunts all that. But now that I read it, I'm sometimes shocked, even to the point of thinking, 'I don't know if I want my mom to read this.' I don't know if she'll be buying copies and sending it to friends."

Even Morton's colleagues at the U of W, he hints, are having some trouble with it, though that may be less a function of its salacious content than the fact that so commercial an exercise strays dangerously off the traditional academic paths.

There is little in Morton's background that would make him an obvious candidate for writing a book of sexual etymology. He grew up on a wheat farm outside Weyburn, Sask., a vast, treeless plain that prompted the young Morton to wonder about his own origins and how he ended up there. "I think that's somehow related to my interest in etymology."

And although there was no library in the house, there was "a big, old dictionary which even as a child, I remember poring over." He taught himself Latin phrases and tried to learn Greek at 12. "The fascination with language is very deep in me."

Now, he intends to broaden his range with his next book, a cultural history of emotions. Says Morton: "I think it's a much bigger subject than just etymology."

I though that some parts overdone with comic characters and Japanese attitudes but overall fascinating. I loved examining the photos of some of the earlier robots over 200 years old. Some look incredibly intricate as well as beautiful.

I also felt inspired to get one of these modern robots too.

All of my life, I have been promised that the age of the robot is just around the corner. It seems like one of those things that is always in the immediate future, and always just out of reach, an eternal carrot that we keep moving towards, always one step ahead. Fifty years ago, they figured we would all be living with robots in our homes by now, doing domestic chores, entertaining us, educating us. Our plastic pal whose fun to be with!

"Loving the Machine" again makes this promise, and again I am inclined to believe it. Author Timothy Hornyak plays show and tell, taking you on a guided tour through robotics from the primitive first attempts to the modern marvels of Asimo and the semi-android Replee Q1expo. They really are stunning, and one can almost feel the fire of creativity and inspiration driving modern robotics research. The scientists are building robots out of passion, out of a real sense of discovery rather than commerce, and that is what always drives technology forward. All of the different fields are coming together, mixing software with hardware, sharing breakthroughs and triumphs that far outnumber failures and disappointments.

Ostensibly, "Loving the Machine" is also about Japan's relationship with the robot, and it is. Japan's culture of robots stretches back into its distant past, with the Karakuri automatons that are still wonders of ancient technology, unable to be replicated today. Whereas Western cultures have Superman, Japan has Mighty Atom, the robot superboy. Whereas the US has GI Joe, Japan has the super robots Gundam and Mazinger Z. Japan has nurtured a deep-seated love for the robot, and the whole country holds its collective breath waiting for the first truly intelligent robot to announce its own birthday. However, in attempting to contrast cultures, this is where the book loses its footing. The author makes much of The Terminator and the Replicants from "Blade Runner", stressing the West's fear of technology out of control, but never mentions R2-D2 and C-3PO from "Star Wars", Rosie the Robot Maid from "The Jetsons" Johnny 5 from the films "Short Circuit," Bender from "Futurama," or Isaac Asimov's heartbreaking hero from "The Bicentennial Man" There is not even a mention of how the fearsome Terminator returns for a second movie, this time as the hero saving a young boy. While not on the same level, the West has also long had a love affair with cute, friendly robots who are friends and companions rather than just functional machines.

I've been let down before, but "Loving the Machine" has given me a boost, returning me to the childhood where, when asked to draw a picture of what I thought life would be like in the year 2000, I drew a happy home complete with robot butler and flying car. The flying car may be out of the question, but there is at least still some hope that I might live to see the first truly intelligent robot announce its own birthday. Frankly, I can't wait.

What else can I say that my title doesn't convey?

My only carp--perhaps--is that the author fails satisfactorily to address the issue of why robots, so very hyped (albeit less so than, say, thirty years ago), have failed to establish significant inroads in domestic settings. Visit a Japanese automobile factory and you'll see robots everywhere--mounting parts, soldering, painting (even painting one another--accidentally, one hopes!). But in the home--as comedically immortalized in Woody Allen's 1974 hootfest, "Sleeper"--you don't see robots other than as curiosities, such as non-pooping "dogs."

Hornyak could have made the book more entertaining by including the anecdote about Herbie--had he known it. Herbie was a non-anthropomorphic robot that delivered inter-office mail in an AT&T facility in Silver Spring, Maryland. His route was not preprogrammed, but was "taught" to him by spray-painting a gradually fading metallic stripe onto the carpet: Herbie would follow the stripe, stopping whenever someone stood in his path. (Herbie was very polite: not only did he move slowly, but he did not step on feet.) One conniver thought it would be funny to spray-paint the stripe right over to the fifth-floor picture window, whereby Herbie committed hara-kiri in a spectacular blaze. (The jokester was less upset at being fired than at the eighty-thousand-dollar legal judgment.)

Do you want to know what's going on in the world of human-like robots? This book will bring you up to the present and it's happening in Japan. It's good light reading with the right balance of photos of robots. Not any kind of depth - just a light entertaining read. Kid's will like it as well as any adult who's interested in cartoon robots and real cutting edge human-like robots.

The book really shows how easily human-like robots are slipping in the psychie of Japan (and eventually the rest of us). Are we really ready for the coming robot world? Doesn't matter. We're all being softened up by these friendly and so nice robots. Nice, nice robots. Step by step with the help of their human inventors and advertisers, they've started their march into human society. I'd suggest watching the movie "I Robot" after you've read the book, or give both as a gift.

Loving The Machine: The Art And Science Of Japanese Robots is a fascinating and informative tribute to Japanese popular culture and its love affair with humanoid robots ranging from anime's Astro Boy to automatons imagined in speculative fiction to have existed in the Edo period of Japanese history. In stark contrast to American movies portraying robots as ruthless, Terminator-style killing machines, Japanese cinema and television has a tradition of gentler robots that mimic human activities. Full-color photographs on every page illustrate this unique analysis of what Japanese culture celebrates robots, Japan's historical connections to robots, and what modern technology indicates the future holds. Loving The Machine is very highly recommended reading -- especially for modern Japanese culture buffs.

Escher's work is so engaging and interesting. Everyone has seen Escher's work, even if they don't know the name. I've used his work to teach math, graphics, and problem solving. My college students love analyzing his work.

I bought this book as a gift, and it was an excellent choice. There are many example works in the book, plus interesting explanations.

In The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher, Bruno Ernst, an acquaintance of Escher's until Escher's death in 1972, presents a thorough summary of the life and work of Escher. Ernst devotes a chapter to the life of Escher, and uses the rest of the book to describe his amazing work. He includes the different themes and styles that Escher used, and devotes a good amount of space to each work discussed. The book is extremely thorough and includes large clear illustrations of the works themselves and also of earlier drafts of the works and mathematical descriptions to assist the reader. This is the most concise book of Escher and his work I have ever seen, and Ernst has done a fabulous job on it.

The work of Escher has captured the imagination of many people and in this book Bruno Ernst (a personal friend of Escher) expands our understanding of the artist. After a brief but concise biography, the author throughly analyses the most important facets of Escher's artistic output: the illusion in drawing, the use of perspective, the creation of impossible realities, simultaneous and contrasting realities, crystals, and the infinite. Escher was an artist who was unique in in his work, he stands by himself, and this book is a helping tool in understanding and appreciating the unparalleled magic of his work.

The greatness of this book on the work of M.C. Escher is that it shows how he worked up his ideas for various pieces. It also gives a thorough explanation of his thought and design process. It is truely a shame that this book has gone out of print. I sincerely hope that the publisher brings it back.

I just picked this book up thinking that there has been a "NEW" book published on M.C.Escher's work.When I got it home ,I checked it against other Escher books and was disappointed to find it is the same book published several times before and by different publishers.
As you can see the ,publication date of this edition is shown as April 6,2007.Therefore, the reviewers here must have been looking at a previous publication,possibly the one also listed here as a paperback in 1987.The copy I had was even earlier,published by Ballantine in 1976.
The quality of this Taschen Edition is very good, in fact, superior to the paperback editions I have seen; and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes M.C. Esher's work ;but the material included has not changed.
I believe this is an excellent book ,and agree with the reviews already written on other editions.
I guess what we have here is A 25 Year Celebration of its first publication.
This is an excellent chance to obtain this book and will be enjoyed,particularly by people new to Escher's work.The fact that this edition has now come out speaks volumes about what a great book this was,and it's great to see it available again.

I am happy that Gingko Press has brought out this handsome 50th anniversary edition of Marshall McLuhan's _The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man_, and I am looking forward to seeing _The Complete Mechanical Bride_ that Gingko Press plans to publish in the near future. I'd like to provide some background information here regarding McLuhan's first book.

It is hard to say exactly when Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) started gathering the materials and writing the short essays that were published as _The Mechanical Bride_ in 1951. However, Walter J. Ong, S.J. (1912-2003), has reported that McLuhan was working on this project when Ong studied under him at Saint Louis University in the late 1930s and early 1940s. During this same period McLuhan was also working on his Cambridge University doctoral dissertation on Thomas Nashe and the verbal arts in his time, which was accepted in 1943 and published by Gingko Press in 2006.

Because rhetoric has long been understood in Western culture as the art of persuasion, we need to take into account that McLuhan was studying the history of rhetoric in detail when he was assembling the artifacts of American popular culture and writing the witty commentaries about them that came to be published in _The Mechanical Bride_. To spell out the obvious, the artifacts aim to persuade us to buy a product and to imagine ourselves as associating with and perhaps even identifying with the imagery employed in each artifact.

But why bother to write witty commentaries about the artifacts? McLuhan was under the influence of the New Criticism he had studied under I. A. Richards and F. R. Leavis at Cambridge University. Thus the short essays in _The Mechanical Bride_ can be understood as exercises in practical criticism (to borrow the title of Richards's most widely known book). To be sure, McLuhan is critical of popular culture, but he takes it seriously enough to write intelligently about it. His short essays are witty and amusing.

--Thomas J. Farrell, author of Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies: The Phenomenology of the Word and I-Thou Communication (Media Ecology)

This, McLuhan's first book, serves as a good introduction to him, since he has not yet begun to formulate his theories about media that would later make him so famous. Consequently, it is easier to read than, say, The Gutenberg Galaxy or Understanding Media. It is also much more fun.

The reader should keep in mind that this is still premature McLuhan, for he had not yet read Harold Innis's 1950 classic--which represents the true birth of media studies--Empire and Communications. This book hit McLuhan like an atomic bomb, for it completely ruptured his thinking regarding media. In The Mechanical Bride, he is still analyzing the content of the media, deciphering what the subliminal messages are saying to us unconsciously; but after reading Innis, he realized that it was not the message that was important (at least not for him) but rather the type of medium through which the message was conveyed, for Innis's discussions of how particular kinds of media affected the nature and structure of ancient empires caused McLuhan to realize that it was actually the medium that was the important thing. Whether a culture used clay or papyrus as its means of communication, Innis asserted, determined much about the fate of that culture.

With that caveat in mind, then, the reader is free to roam through these pages, observing a McLuhan that would never exist in the same way again. He comments, sometimes hilariously, on one advertisement, movie poster or magazine after the next. He has interesting things to say about genres like the Western or the soap opera (for instance, he says that the Western is the masculine equivalent to the soap opera, for its values are the opposite of those of the domestic drama) and we also find here, for the first time, his speculations on Sherlock Holmes, a theme that will recur in many of his later writings.

McLuhan at this point had read and metabolized such key thinkers for him as Lewis Mumford and Siegfried Giedion, and they are referred to often in the body of the text. (There even occurs a reference to Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces; apparently the only book he ever read by Campbell, his Irish intellectual colleague who was more concerned with deciphering the messages than the media themselves). McLuhan, in The Mechanical Bride, is still feeling his way, and he is not yet sure of himself. But it is a delight for the reader to watch this great American thinker--the equivalent, easily, of any of the great French postmodernists (this book bears certain similarities, for instance, to Barthes' Mythologies)--tentatively poking his way about in the middenheap of popular culture, looking for ways in which to organize it into something one can get a grasp on.

I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did. But do let me know if you don't.
--John David Ebert, author
Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons: Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society

The "modern gal" knows that "getting ahead" means being the first on her block to articulate the ways her body and cultural practices are transformed into parts and routines -- she reads The Mechanical Bride to "stay in the know" regarding the ways that reflection on the discourse of her body can be used to advance her academic career! And "guys on their way to the top", in academic circles ranging from media history to cultural studies, tune into The Mechanical Bride to find out the latest "swinging styles" in everything from discourse analysis to popular tropes for identity production. Keep it in mind, all you Sirens and Sages of the Academy: When it "comes to success" there is "deep consolation" in knowing that the "cream of the crop" always "rises to the top" because it never "falls out of step" with the latest critical styles -- in a liberal era and place, such as our own, this really is Freedom "American Style"!

This is McLuhan's first book, originally published in 1951 and has been long out of print. It precedes his second book and cult classic 'The Gutenberg Galaxy', by a decade and a half. This is also quite unique in that it has no relationship with McLuhan's more famous theoretical ramblings.

In this book, McLuhan takes on myth-making in US society by showing how film posters, comic strips, advertisements, magazine covers, newspaper layout and articles etc., try to persuade people into something, and yet a close observation of their inherent contradictions allows you to escape their machinations.

The book celebrates deliberate misreading of commonplace things like advertising to show how the persuasive trap of mass culture/consumer culture can be escaped.

All articles in the book follow the format of article/poster/ad, its analysis and some sharp witty aphoristic observations in a boxed area that serve as liberating repartees against the messages that these products of consumer culture intend to send.

The philosophy of the book is derived from McLuhan's premise (borrowed from Edgar Allan Poe's story 'The Maelstrom') that to escape a maelstrom you need to study things going down and things that resurface and align yourself with things that resurface.

In this respect, it can be considered a jargon-free precursor of latter-day deconstructive literary and cultural criticism. And it is much more liberating and enlightening to a lay reader than jargon ridden discussions or purely vehement denuciations of the power of mass culture which don't help laymen liberate themselves anyway, because of their highly inaccessible prose.

Originally published in 1951, The Mechanical Bride: Folklore Of Industrial Man by the influential philosopher and cultural observer Marshall McLuhan is a thoughtful and thought-provoking treatise that seeks to unveil the subtle and sometimes venomous effects of media and modern mass communication. Thoughtful, sometimes philosophical, sometimes prediction with deadpan seriousness, The Mechanical Bride is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago and highly recommended reading for students of Mass Communications and Journalism, Contemporary American Sociology, and Modern Philosophy.

I purchased several copies of this book and sent them to my friends and relatives across the country.

Everybody loved it.

Eric's photography shows his ultimate commitment to artistic perfection. Each photo is a work of art and carefully composed. The essays capture the meaning and beauty of the mountains of Colorado. I am honored to be his uncle.

This is one of the better Colorado photography books out there. While the photos are not consistently great, they are consistently good. Wunrow spent a lot of time hiking to remote areas of Colorado, which is to be commended. I do recommend 'Colorado II' by David Muench over this book, but I have ranked 'Mountains of Colorado' as the third best book on my list of 'Best Colorado Picture Books' (which can be seen by clicking on my name and looking at the Listmania lists).

I moved to Colorado in 1989. Without fail, when friends and relatives come to visit, they marvel at the beauty of the scenery, awesome landscape and amazing sights nature has handmade in Colorado's mountains. This book has made a perfect holiday gift for all those friends and relatives who only dream of being here in Colorado every day! From winter to summer, the Mountains of Colorado has it all! Without a doubt, the most beautiful photpgraphs I have ever seen!

Catch a glimpse of some of the more rare and overlooked vistas that this amazing state has to offer. Wunrow offers an incredible visual aesthetic in both photography and book design that takes the reader on a voyage to all corners of this wonderfully diverse state. A keen eye for composition, combined with strenuous backcountry hiking to areas unknown to even avid backpackers like myself, the images are striking and sometimes haunting. Former Governor Lamm's essays are engaging and well written, and form a wonderful complement to the photographs. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy the most uniquely magnificent and previously unpublished views of America's most beautiful state.

A VERY GOOD JOB ON DOING WHAT YOU DO BEST I BELIEVE THERE'S ONLY ONE MISTAKE IN LIFE AN THAT WOULD BE NOT GETTING YOURSELF RIGHT WITH THE (LORD)BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR LAST BREATH ANYTHING ELSE,IS MEANT TO HAPPEN TO LEARN FROM, AN BEOME A BETTER PERSON FROM IT. THANKYOU!

I can't say enough about these Two Great Minds of Tavis Smiley&Tom Joyner.it's important to bring to Light about Slave AUctions at Christys? folks have to Understand that Majority of AMericans don't Care about No African-Americans.Slavery is treated like Properity or a joke.folks don't really want to know the full History of this country and how the past is still very much the present.it's Important that our voices are heard mad Props to Brother Tavis&to the Hardest working Man on Radio Brother Tom Joyner.Thank you for Given up The Real On The ONE.

Mr. Smiley receives two thumbs up, two snaps, one exaggerated smile (all teeth included), a complete roll of the eyes, and a full Sista girl neck rotation. Tavis did not talk off the "cuff" but had back-up for his commentaries. It is great to know someone is letting actions speak louder than words. Tavis, Keep on! Keeping on!

If you're a Tom Joyner Morning Show listerner, you will be quite familiar with this one. It is an easy read since it refreshes your memory of Tavis' commentaries and those well known campaigns; like saving Living Single & New York Undercover, Texaco's boardroom racism, Christie's planned auction of slave "memorabilia?" and bringing hate crime cases to light. As I read it I could hear and feel the voice and emotion of the original spoken words. I really liked it and read it in just one day.

If you catch Tavis Smiley on BET here's your chance to read what millions of radio listeners get to hear each week. As the cover and text designer for this title, I had a coveted front row seat for Mr.Smiley's "AIR" show. This book is a welcome insite into the author's advocacy (a planned- then aborted auction of slave memorabilia at Christies in New York), opinions and reflections on a variety of subjects from voter registration to Tiger Woods. He's at his candid, passionate, verbose and articulate best.

Too bad we in the central NY/NJ area don't get the Tom Joyner Morning Show! Every radio within range would surely be tuned in for the fun and commentary. I look for it on the dial whenever I'm out of town. So why didn't I give it a 10? I wanted more!

The Best to Tavis, Tom, and Denise!