Book Description
Packed with more than 300 photographs from archives and private collections -- many published here for the first time -- entertaining anecdotes, political analysis, the dynamics of family relationships, and behind-the-scenes gossip, America's First Families offers the first up-close look at the families -- from John and Abigail Adams in 1800 to Bill and Hillary Clinton -- who have intrigued and entranced the American public for two centuries.
Carl Sferrazza Anthony opens the door to the world's most famous residence to reveal life as it was actually lived there. He takes readers into the heart of loyalties and estrangements, and the emotional pressures that politics brings to bear upon the forty White House families, from their arrivals to their "notices to vacate." Readers will enjoy an unprecedented tour of the previously unseen private rooms as used and decorated by each family. Revealed too are the personal proclivities of the presidents and how their families both sustained them through public crises and were used for political advantage. They'll get a firsthand look at the preparations for White House weddings and other occasions; meet the parents and children of the presidents -- as well as eccentric relatives; and discover the patterns of working, resting, and relaxing that shaped the nuts and bolts of family life.
A magnificent combination of visual delights and insider information, America's First Families is an irresistible invitation to spend some time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Customer Reviews:
America's First Families.......2007-01-19
This is a fascinating book. It is a wonderful compendium of trivia, probably not available in any other volume. It contains a wonderful assortment of pictures of First Families, some of which have never before been published. The book is well organized into chapters detailing various aspects of the Presidential families' lives and activities. for me, one of its prime attractions is that it does not include the politics or issues of the President's era.
At times, it is a little confusing, because the author skips from one family to another rather abruptly, so it requires a little getting used to in order to follow the narrative.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the social and "human" aspects of the White House families.
Enjoyable light historical reading.......2001-04-10
This book gives an insight into the private lives of the first families. We learn about their extended families, hobbies, illnesses, preparations for leaving the White House when their terms are completed, etc. The pictures are what really makes this book great. We see Lyndon Johnson in bed with his wife watching tv and we see the older George Bush in bed too (can you imagine Nixon or Clinton letting down his guard like this?). We see Gerald Ford in his bathrobe. If you always wanted to see such a sight, there is a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt in a bathing suit and a rare photo of Franklin in shorts with his polio ravaged legs exposed to the camera. We see painful personal moments such as the famous photo of Nixon hugging his daughter Julie when he made the decision to resign. In short this is, at times, a very rare personal and intimate glimpse into the lives of the first families. I enjoyed it and recommend it highly.
Oh, What a Lovely Piece of Work This Is!.......2001-01-12
I have been fortunate enough to read Mr. Anthony's brilliant "First Ladies" mini-opuses, and highly looked forward to this epic on the lives of our First Families. I sat for three hours stright with an almost constant smile on my face as I ran through the pages. What an amazing acheivement Mr. Anthony has pulled together! I can only imagine the painstaking research needed to find out the tidbits sprinkled throughout. There is so much information in this novel that it almost boggles the mind at times and is a bit overwhelming. I wondered if everything was sinking in, when I saw Mr. Anthony speak at the Richard Nixon library on CSPAN one night recounting the tales found here. Every story he told was instantly recalled and sentences finished before explaining. The sheer knowledge that one can gain from reading this novel is tremendous. (Where else can you find a list of President's favorite movies? By Reagan selecting Rambo, it does nothing but prove what a complete and utter moron we had occupying the White House under his reign).....Point proven further....When listing President's favorite reading options, Mr Anthony lays out beautiful examples of this. President Clinton enjoys biographies of his predecessors, Eisenhower military biographies and TR, anything he could get his hands on. Reagan? Newspaper comics.....I shall leave my review at that.
Entertaining look at White House hsitory.......2000-11-13
I purchased this book yesterday and I can't put it down. It is filled with great pictures and stories of the forty-one famlies who lived in the White House. This is a great source of presidential trivia and provides a human element to the most famous family in America. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in American history and the lives of the presidents.
Book Description
From the mid-16th century to the beginning of World War II, foreigners learned a great deal about China through trade contacts. This lavishly illustrated social history highlights the lives and lifestyles of the merchants, mercenaries, missionaries, adventurers and refugees who came to China during this period, set against the backdrop of China's great cities and the ancient culture of its people.
A short commentary on the history of the period sets the scene in each chapter, allowing readers to follow the dramatic changes that took place through these turbulent years. The informative text and hundreds of images, many never published before, brilliantly capture the atmosphere of China throughout the centuries.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful book........2005-02-09
I purchased this as a gift for a friend, and I was excited to see how beautiful it was. I am a Beatles fan as well and I was very tempted to keep it for myself. :)
It's a heavy, well made picture book. You can't help but smile when looking at some of the photos. You just wish you could have been there at that moment they were taken.
If you love the Beatles then I am very sure you'll love this book. Don't pass it up!
Overdone photo "memoir" book.......2004-07-12
Freeman really doesn;t have a lot to say about either the Beatles or the photos he took of them...no professional insights on photography and no intriguing thoughts on the Beatles in the context of the British pop culture scene in the 1960's. Photos are nothing new beyond the album covers, nothing we haven't scene in Hoffman's, Gunther's, Benson's and even Beatle Biographies from Davies, Schaffner and Norman, etc.
Don't waste your money - by Hoffman's or Lewisohn's chronicles book if you want nice photos, and more insightful text.
AND MAY I INTRODUCE TO YOU...MEET THE BEATLES!.......2004-04-08
This book is a treat anybody would love. There are a plethora of delightful photographs that will make readers, from the inveterate fans to those just becoming familiar with the Fab 4 feel as if they are "meeting" the Beatles.
This author has a real flair for natural expression and the writing style is crisp and fresh. This is a book with something to offer everyone and I cannot recommend it highly enough. As the only Beatles' fan in my family, I've "introduced" many relatives to the wonderful phenomenon that was the Beatles!
This one gets a stellar endorsement and an enthusiastic "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!" from me! I love it!
The best yet!.......2003-11-14
For anyone who thinks this is just a re-issue of the the previous book, think again. There are something like 30 "new" pictures. I just loved the new look on some of the older one's like Lennon with the Panda that's now in color and the pic of The Beatles with Mick Jagger really brings you back. This book was such a delight, I purchased the collector's edition that includes a limited edition print for my husband. At the price listed here on Amazon, you will not be disappointed by this book.
MEET THE BEATLES.......2003-10-21
This book makes you feel like you really met the Beatles! The NEW book has a revised text that is great and many new pictures I never saw before! This book is a winner and a must for every Beatles fan.
Product Description
Tricia Guild's status as a designer is legendary. Her company, Degigner's Guild sells her collections of fabrics, paints, wallpaper, and home furnishings all over the world. Here, in this truly personal book, Tricia reveals the many sources of her inspiration and gives insight to the way she works. Her passions are many and various: art and music; architecture and design; theater and opera; novels and poetry; food; flowers and gardening; the broad sweep of landscape and miraculous minutiae of nature; texture and form; light and shadow; and above all, color. This wonderful and eclectic mix of inspirations from all walks of life, and all corners of the globe is presented as a collection of photographs and text grouped together of juxtaposed, to form a dazzling, thought-provoking cornucopia of visual and literary delights.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring.......2007-09-17
This is book is nicely layed out.
My favorite book of hers is Tricia Guild Pattern, this book is sort of similar in that it draws on her inspirations even though some of her icons are a little mainstream and predictable (probably because this book is a little older 2004) its still a good book on to have on the creative & inspirational shelf.
Book Description
Photographer Sante d'Orazio's work graces the covers and interiors of the world's leading fashion magazines. He's an insider in that elite group of rich, famous, and beautiful jet-setters whose celebrity and pulchritude have become an almost obsessive fascination for a public that can't get enough of them. Now this dazzling collection of over 600 color and black-and white-photographs--both intimate and revealing--provides a window into the exciting life of the man whose portfolio resembles a "who's who" of entertainment and fashion. The faces and bodies--including many nudes--of supermodels, movie stars, musicians, and artists grace the pages of this lush volume in images from magazine and celebrity shoots as well as in candid photos which capture private moments with delicious spontaneity. And throughout, a collage of travel souvenirs and personal notes--written in d'Orazio's own hand--about his work, travels, and fascinating photographic encounters provide a startling window into the life of this remarkable artist. More than a mere photographic collection or celebrity journal, A Private View offers a voyeuristic vision of a lifestyle watched by many, but lived by few.
Customer Reviews:
JAY DAVIDSON FANS.......2002-12-15
D'Orazio's wonderful photo collection of the famous and not so famous is worth the price of the book just for the four pages devoted to the gender bending Jaye Davidson who has helped this gay reader accept and enjoy himself. Candid photo's of Christie and Naomi, Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper, Claudia Schiffer, John Travolta and on and on... give personal insights into celebities I have never encounterd in the fashion magazines or the tabloids. This collection is fun, revealing, and, at times, upsetting. And worth every penny.
Amusing?.......2002-04-02
The book gives a nice seleciton of some of sante D'Orazio's photos, but with an amusing and fun narrative by the photographer. The book works really well set out in the dairy format, which adds a great deal to the entertainment value of the book. I can see that some people, with a primary interest in the photos, could be disappointed at first, but its definately worth a look. When I first got the book I wasnt sure if I liked it or not, but when it comes down to it, there are some great photo's in the book and it has certainly grown on me. I find the perfect book to sit back on my balcony with on a sunny morning with a strong cup of coffee.
Nice, compact photo book.......2001-12-03
I find this to be a great book. Personally, I like the small, compact size of it over big hardback coffee table books. This book fits nicely on my shelf. The only problem I have with this book, is the cover. After looking at it for a bit, the cover started to bend and crease. The binding comes undone easily, and the book itself doesn't look very nice on the outside after this. But with some light care, I'm sure it will be fine. At the local bookstore here, almost all of the books had been looked through and had this problem. Other than that, I really loved this book. If you are familiar with Sante D'orazio's work, then this book is a must have. The collection of images are grand, and the "diary" type writing gives it a personal touch. Some images in the book are aimed to people over the age of 18, and I think maybe males would prefer this book over most females, due to the taste and manner of some images. But, I find this book to have a very personal gallery of some of the best photo's he has taken. If you like b&w sketchbook style, this book is nice for you!
Really, really good........2001-11-14
After browsing through the photography section at my local bookstore I was surprised to find the most impressive work I've seen in years not in one of the many, many large expensive hardcover coffee-table books but a compact, paperback folio. The women are tremendously glamorous and if I may say so D'Orazio's photographs of men are much sexier than those found in most so called "gay" photography books. His images have the natural, spontaneous feel of Bruce Weber or Steven Meisel rather than that contrived, fetishistic, posed style typical of Herb Ritts or Mapplethorpe. Along with an out-of-print book by French photographer RV Lebeaupin titled Photographies: Joue-Le Moi Plaisir this is one of the sexiest photo books I've come across.
Not next Avedon, but fun!.......2001-10-04
If you are remotely interested in glamour photography and/or supermodels, you will undoubtedly recognize some of the pictures in the book. His main theme is not subtle - how to turn out stunning pictures of scantily clad (if clothed at all) beautiful women - mostly supermodels. Deep? Technical prowess? Innovator? Probably not. Sexy and fun is the name of the game here. In fact, the overwhelming impression one gets from the book is that the models and the photographer are having real fun. The strength of his pictures lie in the apparent spontaneity and the naturalness or the genuineness of the moment that you feel. Some of the pictures are impressive in that he gets away with publishing them!
I should mention that he also has shots of men (Keanu Reeves, Stones, Guns & Roses, etc), which did not have as much impact as his pictures of women; maybe this is my problem.
More than half the pictures are in bw and the book is not in large format. However, I enjoyed the book, which is quite reasonably priced considering the number of prints.
Customer Reviews:
Full of Criative Imaginations.......2007-09-03
Herbert Kohl is a specialist for childrens' literature.But this book seem s to be something different.
Based on a classical biology which is prior to the molecular biology,the authors told readers this world is made of many creatures. You can't think it as a matter of course. Because he cited von Uexkull, it does not mean the "objective" world is made of diverse worlds of creatures but the world for human being is a part of worlds.Doing so, the authors guide us to the last chapter "Views of the Oak".At the end, we realize we can't deside even whether the oak is hard or soft, tall or small.Because depending on the relations to the oak, it can be changed.
You can ask yourself why the title of last chapter is different from the title of this book. And enjoy this world view which is quite simillar to the world view of buddism. If children can read it and expand their imagination, how happy they are!
Fascinating.......2006-08-25
With the exception of the one false sentence about Columbus, this book is very insightful. It provides a fascinating possible portrait of life from the perspective of ticks, spiders, dogs, birds, etc. A great read.
Superb.......2000-11-14
I am very happy to see that this book has been reprinted. I have two copies from the mid-70's, well-thumbed and dog-eared from being read so often. What the authors have to say about the way perception affects the world that we and other animals perceive, and how they say it, is timeless. To be read and enoyed by everyone, from ages 10 and up.
Book Description
The most famous scientist of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein was also one of the century's most outspoken political activists. Deeply engaged with the events of his tumultuous times, from the two world wars and the Holocaust, to the atomic bomb and the Cold War, to the effort to establish a Jewish homeland, Einstein was a remarkably prolific political writer, someone who took courageous and often unpopular stands against nationalism, militarism, anti-Semitism, racism, and McCarthyism. In Einstein on Politics, leading Einstein scholars David Rowe and Robert Schulmann gather Einstein's most important public and private political writings and put them into historical context. The book reveals a little-known Einstein--not the ineffectual and naïve idealist of popular imagination, but a principled, shrewd pragmatist whose stands on political issues reflected the depth of his humanity.
Nothing encapsulates Einstein's profound involvement in twentieth-century politics like the atomic bomb. Here we read the former militant pacifist's 1939 letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning that Germany might try to develop an atomic bomb. But the book also documents how Einstein tried to explain this action to Japanese pacifists after the United States used atomic weapons to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki, events that spurred Einstein to call for international control of nuclear technology.
A vivid firsthand view of how one of the twentieth century's greatest minds responded to the greatest political challenges of his day, Einstein on Politics will forever change our picture of Einstein's public activism and private motivations.
ON PACIFISM
"When those who are bound together by pacifist ideals hold a meeting they are always consorting with their own kind only. They are like sheep huddled together while the wolves wait outside. I think pacifist speakers have this difficulty: they usually reach their own crowd, who are pacifists already. The sheep's voice does not get beyond this circle and therefore is ineffective. . . . Real pacifists, those who are not up in the clouds but who think and count realities, must fearlessly try to do things of practical value to the cause and not merely speak about pacifism. Deeds are needed. Mere words do not get pacifists anywhere."--Two Percent Speech, New York, 1930
ON HITLER
"Hitler appeared, a man with limited intellectual abilities and unfit for any useful work, bursting with envy and bitterness against all whom circumstance and nature had favored over him. Springing from the lower middle class, he had just enough class conceit to hate even the working class which was struggling for greater equality in living standards. But it was the culture and education which had been denied him forever that he hated most of all. In his desperate ambition for power he discovered that his speeches, confused and pervaded with hate as they were, received wild acclaim by those whose situa-tion and orientation resembled his own. He picked up this human flotsam on the streets and in the taverns and organized them around himself. This is the way he launched his political career."--On Hitler, 1935
ON ZIONISM
"Just one more personal word on the question of partition. I should much rath-er see reasonable agreement with the Arabs on the basis of living together in peace than the creation of a Jewish state. Apart from practical consideration, my awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain--especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state."-- Our Debt to Zionism, 1938
ON MILITARISM
"I must frankly confess that the foreign policy of the United States since the termination of hostilities has reminded me, sometimes irresistibly, of the attitude of Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II. . . . It is characteristic of the military mentality that non-human factors (atom bombs, strategic bases, weapons of all sorts, the possession of raw materials, etc.) are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thought--in short, the psychological factors--are considered as unimportant and secondary. . . . The general inse-curity that goes hand in hand with this results in the sacrifice of the citizen's civil rights to the supposed welfare of the state. Political witch-hunting, controls of all sorts (e.g., control of teaching and research, of the press, and so forth) appear inevitable, and for this reason do not encounter that popular resistance, which, were it not for the military mentality, would provide a protection."--The Military Mentality, 1947
Book Description
Sante D'Orazio: A Private View
During the 1980s and 1990s, top fashion photographer Sante D'Orazio kept a diary that he published in 1998 in his first book A Private View. Featuring photographs of stars alongside pages from this diary, with Polaroid snaps, air tickets, notes, and other kinds of personal souvenirs, it provided a peep behind the scenes of his work and at the stars he worked with, such as Julia Roberts, Keanu Reeves, the Rolling Stones, Johnny Depp, John Travolta, Kate Moss and many others. An instant international bestseller, the unique book was quickly sold out. It is finally available again in an unchanged second edition.
Edited by David Fahey
Text by Francesco Clemente
Sante D'Orazio, born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1956, has worked for all major fashion and lifestyle magazines. He lives in New York.
David Fahey is a Fine Art Photography dealer in Los Angeles representing Herb Ritts, Steve Shapiro, William Claxton and others.
Francesco Clemente, born in Naples in 1952, won international acclaim as a leader of the return-to-figuration movement in modern painting. Living in New York since 1980, his signature subjects are the human form, his own image, sexuality, myth and spirituality, non-Western symbols, and dreamlike visions.
600 color and duotone plates.
Book Description
This dazzling sequel to Hollywood at Home takes readers on an international tour of the most spectacular homes that have graced the pages of Architectural Digest, the worldÂ's leading design publication since Paige Rense became editor in chief in 1970.
Featuring thirty homes, Private Views collects in one volume the best in interior design and architecture as determined by Paige Rense and her editors. Readers will learn the virtues of island living through David Bowie and ImanÂ's idyllic Caribbean retreat; take in the breathtaking views from Giorgio ArmaniÂ's cliffside villa; wander the rooms and sprawling grounds of the Duke and Duchess of NorthumberlandÂ's castle; and tour Catherine the GreatÂ's Chinese-inspired jewel box of a house, among many others.
Books:
- Building with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs): Strength and Energy Efficiency Through Structural Panel Construction
- Byzantine Dress: Representations of Secular Dress in Eighth- to Twelfth-century Painting (The New Middle Ages)
- Christmas in Camelot (Magic Tree House #29)
- Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers
- Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers
- Color in Interior Design
- Complete Home Bartender's Guide: 780 Recipes for the Perfect Drink
- Concrete Countertops: Design, Form, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath
- Construction Drawings and Details for Interiors: Basic Skills
- Contemporary Thai
Books Index
Books Home
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Presidents & Heads of State
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families
First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait of White House Wives
Real Life at the White House: 200 Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence
Secret Lives Of The First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About The Women of The White House
First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
