Amazon.com
Writing for the screen is quirky business. A writer must labor meticulously over his or her prose, yet very little of that prose is ever heard by filmgoers. The few words that do reach the audience, in the form of the characters' dialogue, are, according to Robert McKee, best left to last in the writing process. ("As Alfred Hitchcock once remarked, 'When the screenplay has been written and the dialogue has been added, we're ready to shoot.' ") In Story, McKee puts into book form what he has been teaching screenwriters for years in his seminar on story structure, which is considered by many to be a prerequisite to the film biz. (The long list of film and television projects that McKee's students have written, directed, or produced includes Air Force One, The Deer Hunter, E.R., A Fish Called Wanda, Forrest Gump, NYPD Blue, and Sleepless in Seattle.) Legions of writers flock to Hollywood in search of easy money, calculating the best way to get rich quick. This book is not for them. McKee is passionate about the art of screenwriting. "No one needs yet another recipe book on how to reheat Hollywood leftovers," he writes. "We need a rediscovery of the underlying tenets of our art, the guiding principles that liberate talent." Story is a true path to just such a rediscovery. In it, McKee offers so much sound advice, drawing from sources as wide ranging as Aristotle and Casablanca, Stanislavski and Chinatown, that it is impossible not to come away feeling immeasurably better equipped to write a screenplay and infinitely more inspired to write a brilliant one.--Jane Steinberg
Book Description
Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience.
In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.
Customer Reviews:
Get this book........2007-10-10
This is the quintessential screenwriter's bible. I've written tons of screenplays, and I still refer to this book again and again. If this isn't in your library, you're not serious about writing for film/TV!
Recommended by son, to mom and now you.......2007-09-23
Transforming a lifetime of short stories to screenplays has become my focus. Struggling with story, my son told me he had a teacher in film school suggest this book. It helped him. Now its helping me. Hopefully, you'll be next. Screenplays are perplexing if you've always written in short story or book form. McKee assists in making the necessary thought revisions you must in order to succeed.
A must read book.......2007-08-02
I bought this book three years ago, I keep referring to it whenever I am stuck in a script problem.I like the scene structure part very much, it is very focused, easy and helpful.
This is not a kind of book that you would read in the bus station or in one session.It is a lifetime friend once you decided to be a screenwriter.I am strongly convinced that "Story"is most useful for film and TV writers and not for any other writing genre.
Buy it, read it, re-read it and start writing knowing that it is a long journey.
There is only one way and that is McKee's way because he says so.......2007-07-30
If you can look past the contradictions, McKee's enormous ego, and writing as coherent and clear as that in Dianetics, you will occasionally find a helpful insight in this book.
Write the truth..........2007-06-26
In my experience books tested and proven before being written tend to be the best. A prime example - Angela's Ashes, won the Pulitzer Prize, fine tuned by the author McCourt doing a one man show talking about his wicked cruel childhood, growing up in Limerick, Ireland.
In the same way, Story evolved out of McKee giving lectures, and now, he continues to spread the word.
McKee is definitely an antagonist as opposed to a protagonist, and in person a funny and engaging fellow, and an excellent teacher. As you might expect, he does know how to tell a funny story, and he had a little fun at the expense of some of the sacred cows in the industry. I particularly liked his rant about Roger Ebert, who took his name in vain once but never again.
Anyway, the book shines a bright light on the elements of story. Conflict is to story what sound is to music. Story trumps dialogue in importance. Setups, payoffs, turning points, structure, inciting incident, protagonist vs antagonist, resonating and contrasting subplot, negation of the negation. Emotional value of scenes. Arc of the character. Act structure, rhythm and pacing. Text and subtext, beats, exposition. Character, dimension, step outline. All this and so much more.
Perhaps the most important single thing I learned from McKee is..treatment. The character treatment may be twice as long as the screenplay. This is the key difference between aspiring screenwriters, and successful ones.
I open my book, and look at his personal inscription to me, which I am sure he has written to many others... "Write the truth." I will, Mr McKee, I will.
If you were to find this review helpful, please click yes.
Book Description
This book outlines chapter-by-chapter the steps involved in writing a thesis and proposal. The Introduction and chapters on Methods, Results, and Discussion sections outline the essential content of each section of the thesis. A concluding chapter on style offers practical tips on how to organize, explain, and produce forceful writing. The book presents seven major groupings of statistical analyses, with complete illustrations. It also demonstrates appropriate wording and statistical essentials and offers advice on what not to include.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Information .......2004-10-24
This book will help you in many aspects on your thesis writing.
EXCELLANT.......2004-04-18
This is the Best reference manual for anyone writing a thesis. I used only this book in writing my Master Thesis.
sharon the bear.......1999-08-01
Why do you recommend that your students buy so many how to books and what college are you affiliated to? The one the teddy bears have their picnic at?
Excellent reference for design, development, and writing!.......1999-05-27
As someone who works privately with students, helping them with theses, I highly recommend this book. When students call me in regard to assistance with their thesis, I recommend that they buy this book and use it as a reference. As the title states, this book addresses students' concerns about design, development, and writing, as well as presentation. In addition, it does an excellent job of walking students through the process of writing a thesis. It is a practical and easy to use guide.
Indespensible book for Seniors and Graduate Students.......1998-09-10
This is an EXCELLANT reference manual for anyone writing a senior project, a master's thesis, or a doctoral dissertation. The book is easy to read and offers step-by-step advice on how to pick a research topic, how to write your proposal, introduction, methods section, results, and discussion. Examples are included for each phase and the author even gives advice on what NOT to write, and how to avoid common mistakes. This is indispensable.
Book Description
Whether it's sleek leather pants, a shiny new Apple computer, or a designer toaster, we make important decisions as consumers every day based on our sensory experience. Sensory appeals are everywhere, and they are intensifying, radically changing how Americans live and work. The twenty-first century has become the age of aesthetics, and whether we realize it or not, this influence has taken over the marketplace, and much more.
In this penetrating, keenly observed book, Virginia Postrel makes the argument that appearance counts, that aesthetic value is real. Drawing from fields as diverse as fashion, real estate, politics, design, and economics, Postrel deftly chronicles our culture's aesthetic imperative and argues persuasively that it is a vital component of a healthy, forward-looking society.
Intelligent, incisive, and thought-provoking,
The Substance of Style is a groundbreaking portrait of the democratization of taste and a brilliant examination of the way we live now.
Customer Reviews:
Measuring aesthetics.......2007-05-05
Substance of Style is an interesting introduction to the long standing debate of value of aesthetics. The critics like to denounce 'styling' as form without content, not a source of value but a tool of deception and manipulation. Virginia Postrel, on the other hand, tries to make the case for aesthetics as an autonomous value - not a moral defense, or simply for its own sake, but as our natural preference.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the arguments are inconclusive at best. Both sides lack conclusive evidence, and it is unlikely that anyone will settle this debate in the near future. As with all things in design, it's up to the reader to decide on the camp. Overall, it's an interesting read, and serves a gentle introduction to the debate - if you're curious, it should be worth the invested time.
Maslow revisited.......2006-03-17
Postrel main idea is that Maslow's classical "Hierarchy of needs" is based on a misstated premise: that human beings pursue aesthetics needs only after fulfilling basic needs. She argues that even poor people, given a minimum of stability and sustenance, will enrich their lives by decorating their houses or by buying Gucci handbags. Thus, design and aesthetics in general become as important as function.
She proposes a variation to Maslow similar to microeconomics theory: the marginal value of some needs drops faster than others' as we move up on the ladder. Therefore, the pyramid is rather dynamic, and we move back and forth on the available options depending on what options are available and at what costs.
Is this a general human trait or just a 21st century phenomenon, driven by globalisation, more refined marketing techniques and access to new technologies?
Find out in this well-written, economically justified book full of psychological insight. An aesthetics manifesto.
The book will change your life..........2005-12-09
And I'm not being stupid. Seriously, Virginia Postrel's Substance of Style has had about as big a practical impact on me that any book could possibly have. Why? Well, she documents something that we're witness to every day, i.e. the rise of design-consciousness and aesthetic sensibility that has swept over the country.
For me, the big takeaway from the book was the phrase "Smart and Pretty," which becomes a motif that weaves through the book once it's introduced. Postrel posits that "smart and pretty" is the new normal if you will. Used to be that design was frilly, important only on the margins. Like, it's the content that counts. She's documenting ways in which nowadays that's changing (and has already changed) and that style has become substantive.
For me, it was a tremendous read because, as someone who's always insisting things look good, she made me feel justified in my instistence. Like, looks aren't just important on the margins--they symbolize clear thinking and intellectual richesse. If you want to be able to win a fight about dressing up your work, you should definitely read this book.
more than skin deep.......2005-12-08
We often think of style and fashion as frivoloous things: certainly the debate over the teaching of evolution in Kansas' schools, or the war in Iraq, or abuses of eminent domain should rank as higher priorities in our intellectual lives than mere style. Beauty, after all, is only skin deep.
Right? Well, while it's tempting to dismiss style as something that concerns only the flighty classes, there is a surprising amount of substance to the question of style. Postrel applies a sort of study of semiotics to the question of style, and finds that style, and awareness of it, permeates our culture, in both high and low places. Fine European fashion houses like Chanel and Armani, which have branded themselves as the pre-eminent exemplars of "style" in clothing are obvious examples of how important style is to a given industry. But, as Postrel points out, much of mall-based American retail is an exercise in style as well: Target competes successfully against Wal-Mart precisely because it has developed a niche of delvering style to the masses.
A highly recommended book.
No Substance to 'Substance'.......2005-09-03
I was disappointed with this purchase. If you read the book jacket, you have gotten about all of the information out of it that's coming.
Book Description
If economics is about the allocation of resources, then what is the most precious resource in our new information economy? Certainly not information, for we are drowning in it. No, what we are short of is the attention to make sense of that information.
With all the verve and erudition that have established his earlier books as classics, Richard A. Lanham here traces our epochal move from an economy of things and objects to an economy of attention. According to Lanham, the central commodity in our new age of information is not stuff but style, for style is what competes for our attention amidst the din and deluge of new media. In such a world, intellectual property will become more central to the economy than real property, while the arts and letters will grow to be more crucial than engineering, the physical sciences, and indeed economics as conventionally practiced. For Lanham, the arts and letters are the disciplines that study how human attention is allocated and how cultural capital is created and traded. In an economy of attention, style and substance change places. The new attention economy, therefore, will anoint a new set of moguls in the business world—not the CEOs or fund managers of yesteryear, but new masters of attention with a grounding in the humanities and liberal arts.
Lanham’s The Electronic Word was one of the earliest and most influential books on new electronic culture. The Economics of Attention builds on the best insights of that seminal book to map the new frontier that information technologies have created.
Customer Reviews:
Rambling wreck.......2007-08-16
The reviewer here, Henry Berry, has given a wonderful summary of the main point of the book. Reading the book will not advance your understanding any further than that. It is an undisciplined meandering hodgepodge of undigested readings and odd memories. I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I look for substance. As another reviewer notes, it's quite ironic that a book with this title doesn't bother to demonstrate its value to a reader with a limited span of life.
Didn't hold my Attention.......2007-01-19
I gave up on this book after 80 pages. Either he doesn't have much of value to say, or he doesn't realize reader attention is scarce enough that he needs to show early on that the book contains valuable ideas.
A triumph of style over substance.......2006-12-28
When I ordered this book, even when I packed it for winter holiday in the Midwest, I had high hopes - it was well-reviewed in Amazon, and Lanham is a well-respected scholar. Yet the only point on which the book succeeds is Chapter 3, in which Lanham fully develops a theory of the benefits of self-conscious artifice - which has little, if anything, to do with economic theory. Lanham admits he is no economist; this might explain his adoration of libertarian economic thought, which of course, is more a faith than a theory. "Don't worry, be happy" is Lanham's response to anyone who questions any possible negatives associated with technology or the market. Ultimately, these are the only real "lessons" of the book - awareness of communicative "styles" make us better communicators (a valid point, but hardly new), and a McFerrinesque attitude towards risk and responsibility. Hardly worthy of the pulp it is printed on.
an updated, timely reading of the Internet in contemporary culture.......2006-12-01
"Seeing clearly what is happening as the word moves from page to screen seems...to depend on seeing clearly what is happening in the world that expressive field has to express," the noted, influential rhetorician Lanham remarks in the beginning of his "Preface." His metaphor of an economy for this "expressive world" is literarily, generally, and perceptively apt. It's more than a useful image. In this economy, "attention is the commodity in short supply." In this economy, individuals "budget" their attention; and web designers, software engineers, computer makers, marketers, and more and more writers are in competition for the attention of consumers, users, and readers; which attention is often leads in one way or another to earnings. Anyone who has used the Internet to find information, buy something, communicate with others, pay bills, and other activities both common and innovative will have a feel for what Lanham proposes and investigates. The terms "cyperspace" and "virtual reality" no longer suffice to relevantly denote the substantive place the digital world with its operations and potentials has taken in most persons' lives. Such terms now seem exotic or frivolous considering, as Lanham recognizes, how the considerably arbitrary, yet essential and formulative trait of attention has ineluctably moved to the computer screen.
The Economics of Attention.......2006-07-01
Lanham has been a university professor for about 40-years, Yale-educated, English lit and rhetoric. He came of age pre-computer revolution, when writing meant manual type-writers and white-out and transcription. This series of connected essays are his ideas about what the digital revolution means for the future of books, universities and what he calls "the economics of attention" - how the world operates when information is plentiful and the scarce resource are "eyeballs" (attention). We are flooded with high-quality art, news, books, movies, data of every type - it is not an "information economy" because information is as plentiful as air - the scarce resource is peoples attention. In that environment, style (the wrapping paper, the ornamentation, packaging, literary style, etc..) becomes more important than substance - style is the substance (think for example all the crazy cultural things that come out of Japan - all style, no substance). He also discusses how we interact with things: we look "at" them, or we look "through" them - ie. we enjoy them for what they are, or we analyze them. We read a novel/movie on a literary level and dissect how it was created or and historical context, or we "get lost in the book" and enjoy it for what it is. These two forces are in a constant tug of war with every object we own - cars for example, utilitarian or style (or some combo usually). In the end Lanham concludes it is the liberal arts that will save the day for they are the ones who are trained to filter (critics) and create design and style (the new substance). He also provides the most detailed and lucid explanation I've seen on why paper books have not been replaced by the digital medium.
Book Description
Advice from Peggy Noonan:"The most moving thing in a speech is its logic. It's not the flowery words or flourishes, it's not the sentimental exhortations, it's never the faux poetry we're all subjected to these days. It's the logic behind your case. A good case well argued and well said is inherently moving. It shows respect for the brains of the listeners. There is an implicit compliment in it. It shows you're a serious person and understand that you are talking to other serious people.
No speech should last more than 20 minutes. Why? Because Ronald Reagan said so. Reagan used to say that no one wants to sit in an audience in respectful silence for longer than that, if that. He knew 20 minutes was more than enough time to say the biggest, most important thing in the world. The Gettysburg Address went five minutes, the Sermon on the Mount probably the same.
Some communications professionals will tell you there are specific gestures to use when you make a speech, particular ways to move your hands or use your voice. I do not think this counsel helpful. Be yourself in your presentation, because although there have already been Vince Lombardis and Dan Rathers and Jesse Jacksons, there has never been a you before. So you might as well be you and have a good time. Authenticity isn't just half the battle, it's a real achievement."
Customer Reviews:
The Basics: Presented Well.......2006-05-01
Better know today as a conservative columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan also has a very strong pedigree as a political speech-writer for George H. Bush and Ronald Reagan.
In Simply Speaking she outlines very simply and coherently the basic rules of good speech writing and communication. As with most of the good books written on speech writing you are not likely to find major new insights. You will however find the key elements she addresses well illustrated with relevant speeches - many of which, by the way, she helped draft e.g. George H. Bush's acceptance speech at the Republican convention 1988 and Ronald Reagan's fortieth anniversary D-Day speech at Pointe du Hoc. Noonan goes through the speeches in detail, helping the reader to better appreciate the context and genesis for the respective speeches.
Noonan suggestions include:
A speech should never be more than twenty minutes.
Write the text out.
Humor is essential.
Sentences should be short and simple.
The book is a bit limited in that the author constantly returns to Reagan and his oratorical style but other speeches that Noonan quotes in a worthwhile book include Christopher Reeve's speech at the 1996 Democratic convention, John F Kennedy's Inaugural, Bill Clinton's Inaugural - which she pans and Mother Teresa's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast which reads well, but it was this amazing nun's presence and credibility which truly impacted the room.
I return to this book reasonably often because it is interesting and hits the key points for a speaker. But, the book could benefit from a good checklist and summary of key points. Noonan also shows her political colors too much in a book about speech writing. The reader doesn't need to know about her palpable disdain for the Clintons, a disdain which colors her judgment on the former President's communication ability which is often exceptional.
However, Simply Speaking is a good book for the budding speechwriter and speechmaker: a worthwhile and interesting refresher for the experienced speaker.
Good Grief!.......2005-11-18
I love reading Peggy Noonan's WSJ column; so let's get that out of the way right now. Peggy generally writes in a stream-of-consciousness form that I like. It captures my attention from the first sentence and holds me to the end. But not this book. After a page or two I noticed I was skipping ahead, looking for the bait and the hook. It's not there. That's Writing 101. She knows that! What I suspect is this: Her publisher contracted with her for a give-back linked to something else, and she wasnt interested in the project. It shows!
On Speaking Well by Peggy Noonan.......2005-08-03
The book was cheaper than in the store, was shipped the same day as ordered, and arrived in new condition (it was new!) so I am well pleased.
Be a "Great Communicator".......2005-03-17
Written by former presidential speechwriter, Peggy Noonan, On Speaking Well will teach you how to write and deliver effective speeches. Although much can be learned from this book, I hesitate to recommend it to political neophytes, because Noonan's fallback theory on politics is that you should just "be yourself." Obviously I agree -- who wants to vote for a phony? But inexperienced readers might misconstrue this to mean they don't have to study how to win -- and that would be a shame for them. As Mrs. Noonan points out, even President Reagan made it a point to spend time learning how to be a "Great Communicator."
I actually tried to rely on this book for a presentation..........2004-01-29
I couldn't beleive how bad this book is. Not really a presentation on how to speak well, but full of recollections of her career-long speaking days. There was nothing useful in this book, except if you want to hear her reflections on talking her grades up with the professors in college back in the '60's. A complete waste of time and money.
Customer Reviews:
Substance and Style: Instruction and Practice in Copyediting.......2000-05-25
Whether you're new to the business or just need a review, this is a good book to practice with. Almost as good as taking a course.
Book Description
After college, Anne Thomas Soffee journeyed to Los Angeles to start a career as a rock journalist and small-time heavy metal flack. This hilarious peek into the early years of the hair-band era reveals the hierarchy of fishnets, bustiers, and chicks with the Holy Grail—a backstage pass. A taste for other people’s prescriptions and too much beer edges her freelance journalism work right off her schedule. She struggles with not being thin enough, pretty enough, or cool enough when, in the midst of the L.A. riots, Soffee is offered a coveted slot in Virginia Commonwealth University's MFA writing program. Determined to pull herself out of current habits, Soffee starts turning her life around, making a stop at rehab before she heads off to graduate school. Her quarter-life crisis is packed with offbeat characters that prove that fact is often funnier than fiction.
Customer Reviews:
Not bad but..........2007-02-05
...not great either. I think I was expecting a real rock and roll expose but only got a few hints and snippets of what really went on in that world at that time. Most of the story takes place at a bar and focuses on the author's increasing disillusion with her chosen life, and her subsequent substance abuse -- unfortuantely a tale that's been done to death nowadays. I liked "Snake Hips" much better, if only because it was not the story of a drug-and-booze-fueled downfall, but of a woman finally finding herself and some insights on life and creativity. Anne's style, I will say, is very engaging. Truly she comes across like your "snarky best friend" and the text pulls you right into her world. I read this book in one sitting because I literally could not put it down, and yet I was left wanting more from the story than she gave. She's got sarcasm down to a science, but I kept waiting for something to really *happen* besides a few brushes with lesser-known musicians and a disastrous affair with a name-deleted "punk icon". C'mon, Anne, if you're really THAT hardcore of a rock chick you'd name some names here, lawsuits be damned. And you'd give a lot more gory detail on the naughty bits, too. The drag queens were hilarious but we never really got to know any of them up close. You circle around the edge of telling us what really happened out there and how it made you feel, but always pull back before we can get to see the whole picture. I was expecting a rock documentary, but only ended up with a few fuzzy snapshots. Oh well. Better that you're now a sober bellydancing author than just another street kid in L.A. who becomes a statistic. I will say that Glenn Danzig sounded like an interesting guy... but again, too bad you didn't get close enough to him to get more details. I would say to Amazon customers that this book is an OK read, but it's not a real "insider tell-all" if that's what you're looking for. And definitely don't read it if you're looking to be inspired by the rock scene, because you will come away depressed. In the end you will start to root for Anne's family, who keeps trying desperately to get her to come home. (And a good thing she did, otherwise we'd never have had "Snake Hips".) Call me square but I like her tale of bellydancing sobriety much better.
Nerd Girl does rock!.......2005-10-06
I read a lot of books where the writing is good, but the subject matter isn't so interesting and vice versa, but this is a gem. Anne's writing style is like a welcome letter from your favorite snarky friend. Well-balanced self-deprecation (no one can accuse her of being self-aggrandizing, but it's no pity party either) carry the reader through her attempts to go from small time VA press to journalist at the major rock rags. In her adventure, the reader is treated to dish about small time industry insiders, Glenn Danzig, Kelsey Grammer, Riki Rachtman, a certain unnamed (but easily figured out) skeezy figurehead of the punk rock scene, GWAR, and a host of catty drag queens.
Never a dull moment! As a former Richmonder, I admit to having a soft spot for the cracked out wanna-be boyfriend story, involving a member of a well known local band. Names withheld to protect the less-than-innocent.
If you liked Snake Hips, you'll like this. If you like tell-all punk and metal bios, you'll like this. If you like both of those things? This is the book you've been waiting for.
Keëping it Nërd.......2005-09-15
... Ms. Søffëe delivers another laugh-your-brains-oüt memoir. Armed with moxie and idealism, the author heads for Los Angeles to make her mark in the music journalism world, determined to keep it rockin' while hair metal is on its last gasp and being supplanted by grunge and alternative. While slightly more discreet than in her previous Snake Hips, Ms. Soffee names names which had me crowing in recognition. Her ability to laugh at herself in hindsight and make others follow her through the bum boyfriends, getting leeched by a Big Name and the benzos chased with beer without feeling like they're watching a trainwreck and gorefest. I highly recommend!
I knew you when.......2005-09-11
OK, I haven't read it yet, but I intend to. The thing is that I went to high school with the author and am thrilled to suddenly discover what has become of her.
The last I saw her I was running from a Grateful Dead concert having a severely bad acid trip. That was over twenty years ago.
I expect to enjoy her writing and look forward to the adult who has emerged from the teenager of my memory.
Not your typical memoir.......2005-09-10
Another memoir of a pivotal time of her life, but certainly not the same old memoir you find on bookstore shelves today. This one addresses the author's attempts to make it in LA as music journalist, and true to her chosen career path, the book is written less as an angsty, emotion laden memoir and more as a review.
This is not to disparage the book or to say that it is emotionless, because it's not. It just doesn't bog itself down with so much extraneous whining like many of the 400 page pity parties that are in print now. She doesn't back away from sharing intimate details, but she also doesn't feel the need to delve endlessly into the why and wherefor of her actions. She is unapologetic in her life recap, and that is something that is hard to find in the modern memoir.
If you remember the age of the hair bands, you will love this book for its insider information as much as for the overall story. This was a lot of fun to read.
Average customer rating:
- a first-rate addition to any Japanese art library
|
Floating World of Ukiyo-E: Shadows, Dreams and Substance
Dr. Sandy Kita ,
James Douglas Farquhar ,
Lawrence E. Marceau , and
Katherine L. Blood
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Asian
| Regional
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Museums & Collections
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Exhibition Catalogs
| Museums
| Museums & Collections
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Japan
| Asia
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0810941694 |
Book Description
The exquisite, colorful Japanese woodblock prints that represent the art of Ukiyo-e first flourished in 17th-century Edo (now Tokyo). Today these "pictures of the floating world" are the most popular form of Japanese art. This elegant book takes a fresh look at Ukiyo-e, showcasing a never-before-published trove of Japanese prints, drawings, and books from the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Known masterpieces by such names as Hiroshige and Hokusai stand alongside rare and unusual works. Colors are exceptionally vivid, in part because the art has never been exhibited and is rarely handled. The beauty of the book will delight art lovers, while the cutting-edge scholarship and unusually comprehensive bibliography will also excite the specialist and collector.
160 illustrations in full color, 232 pages, 9 x 11"September
Customer Reviews:
a first-rate addition to any Japanese art library.......2001-11-26
Writing on Edo-period Japanese prints tends to be dominated by studies of single artists, print series by single artists, and chronological histories. Against this background, "The Floating World of Ukiyoe: Shadows, Dreams, and Substance," produced in conjunction with an exhibition, is a most welcome contribution. Here the emphasis is on showcasing a diverse and rarely seen collection--the woodblock prints and woodblock-printed books of the Library of Congress-- and on presenting expert essays that put the genre of "ukiyoe" in a broad aesthetic and social context. Added bonuses include such features as the "raking light" photograph on page 118, which illustrates the effects created by print embossing. "The Floating World" has been superbly designed by Abrams and well edited. It is worth noting too that the index has been prepared with exceptional care. Meanwhile, the bibliography--which covers 309 items and runs more than 20 pages--is a wonderful guide to woodblock-printed books in the Library of Congress: for scholars of Japanese art, culture, and publishing, this alone will justify acquisition of this book.
Average customer rating:
- The definitive text on the subject
|
Waiting For The Man (Music)
Shapiro
Manufacturer: HELTER SKELTER PUBLISHING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
History & Criticism
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Popular
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Pop Culture
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Drug Dependency
| Recovery
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Social Services & Welfare
| Poverty
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Can't Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945-2000
-
The Haight-Ashbury: A History
ASIN: 1900924080 |
Book Description
Drugs counsellor and rock journalist Shapiro documents the favoured drug of each era of pop history and studies in detail the most famous casualties-Charlie Parker, Hendrix, Keith Moon, Jim Morrison et al-while examining the disturbing collusion between two billion-dollar industries. First published in 1988, this new edition features over 100 pages of new material on Tupac, Cobain and the rise of Acid House.
Customer Reviews:
The definitive text on the subject.......2000-04-23
I enjoyed the first edition of this book 10 years ago. Recently, I was pleased to discover that it has been revised and updated, and I bought the new edition immediately.
'Waiting For The Man' is the definitive history of drugs and popular music. It's a compelling study that covers a lot of ground - the histories of various drugs; how they work (and work against the user); why they have been popular with musicians (and others) at various times; and how the rest of society has reacted to this drug use (and, in turn, how drug use in itself is a reaction to the times).
A lot of the information presented in 'Waiting for The Man' is fascinating and surprising. For example - early this century, marijuana could be found growing wild along the banks of the Mississippi; LSD was once used as a psychiatric tool, and Cary Grant gave it high praise; and the heroin-and-cocaine 'cocktail' known as the speedball was not invented by rock stars, but by American GIs during the Korean War - to counter the adverse effects of their government-issue amphetamines.
As well, 'Waiting For the Man' is written in a highly-readable style which contains many witty observations - such as "the worst thing that could happen to a Mod was to have his parents understand him", and "as usual, the press took 2 and 2 and made 137".
So, if you're looking for an informative, thought-provoking and entertaining look at why drugs and popular music have always seemed to go together, 'Waiting for The Man' is the book you need.
Customer Reviews:
More oversight than helpfulness........2006-03-03
Jensen's brief volume is in many ways a wonderful entry into the dialogue on the visual arts. She is clearly familiar with the popular debates, whether it be the nature of "Christian art," iconography, or interaction with secular artistry. The overview of these vital issues is done with a scholarly touch; I think especially of her interaction with catacombs archaeology.
Who benefits from this book? Having used it with a church's book club, I found well-educated Christians benefiting from it. A few, those who hadn't been exposed to many of these theological-artistic issues before, struggled to synthesize it.
Jensen's readability is a bit deceptive, much like reading the gospel of John. Where THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS SEEN and John's gospel diverge, however, is in content. The uniqueness of the incarnate Word, so prevalent in scripture, is exchanged by Jensen for an exacerbated natural theology. "The notion that theological insight can come through an artist's creative expression," Jensen claims, "is justified at the very center of our confession of faith" (12). In other words, she sees God sending his only begotten son into the world as permission to "materialize" God at the artist's will. God can be seen through nature and our creativity, supposedly because God once walked among us in human flesh. This aberrant epistemology may be useful for giving art a latent power, but it undercuts the action of God in his special revelation.
Under this operating system, Jensen is able to unpack her values. Sacred and secular art is immensely valuable, holding the possibility of beauty and prophetic critique. Icons are justifiable through and through. There is no way for the Church to judge an art piece's merit. There is no such thing as an idol, only an idolatrous attitude. And as a crown: the visual media become as important as the preached word. And how apparent this becomes: helpful pictures abound in the book; use of scripture does not.
As fundamentally flawed as the book should appear to Evangelical and/or Reformed audiences, it is not without merit. Jensen's pensive journey through the uses of art through painting and architecture is informative. I found many worthwhile ideas that, at the very least, prompted fresh thought. For those grappling with the art question and hoping to take it past the surface debate, a selective reading is worthwhile. For the rest, classics by F. Schaeffer (Sr. and Jr.) or Veith or Ryken may be the better starting point.
Books:
- Studio Lighting Solutions: Expert Professional Techniques for Artistic and Commercial Success (Pdnpros)
- Taylor's Guide to Shade Gardening: More Than 350 Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers That Thrive Under Difficult Conditions, Illustrated with Color Photographs and Detailed Drawings (Taylor's Gardening Guides)
- The Barefoot Home: Dressed-Down Design for Casual Living
- The Best 30-minute Recipe: A Best Recipe Classic (Best Recipe Series)
- The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life
- The Color of Magic
- The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors
- The COMPLETE GUIDE TO FURNITURE STYLES (ENLARGED EDITION)
- The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type
- The Going-To-Bed Book
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Greed and Glory on Wall Street: The Fall of the House of Lehman
- What Every Woman Should Know about Divorce and Custody
- Pathways: A Guide for Energizing & Enriching Band, Orchestra, & Choral Programs
- Spider-Man: Venom vs. Carnage
- SQL For Dummies
- To Love a Thief
- The Things They Carried
- How To Start Day Trading Futures, Options, and Indices
- Social Culture and High-Tech Economic Development: The Technopolis Columns
- Evan Help Us
The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
Creating Unforgettable Characters
Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Making a Good Script Great
