Reviews (11)

Inside Edward Gorey's house...
If you are an Ogdred Weary fan...this is a truly wonderful book.Photographs of the exterior (peeling paint and kind of saggy porch) and the interior rooms of the house on Cape Cod in Gorey lived and worked, along with his cats and figbashes, piles of thousands of books, assorted rocks and oddish things, and the expected miriad of curiosities.Alas, or delightfully...just the environment one would expect of the eccentric Edward.A cabinet of curiosities...a delight!

Not MUST HAVE, but definitely NICE to have
This book wouldn't mean much to anyone who isn't already a Gorey fan. I own (and love) the compilations 'Amphigorey', 'Amphigorey Too' & 'Amphogorey Also', so have a head start. I also have the auto(?) biography 'Ascending Peculiarity', which is almost a necessary co-requisite to this book - it helps explain the cats, and many other Gorey details. Now that the individual books are available again, I'm tempted to get them too, because they are such nice objects - but only if the kids promise to share with me!

A specialty item for the true Gorey collector
Even dedicated fans of Edward Gorey will probably know very little about his personal life: he was an enigmatic recluse and few were permitted past his front door. Photographer Kevin McDermott's Elephant House will delight students of architecture and photography, providing rich duotone works of Gorey's intriguing home and its contents. A specialty item for the true Gorey collector, Elephant House is an impressive photographic showcase and a welcome addition to both architectural studies and photographic studies reference collections. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1925-    2. Architectural & Industrial    3. Art    4. Artists, Architects, Photographers    5. Authors, American    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    8. Elephants in art    9. Gorey, Edward,    10. Homes and haunts    11. Intellectual life    12. Massachusetts    13. Techniques - Drawing    14. Yarmouth Port    15. Yarmouth Port (Mass.)    16. American English    17. Architecture    18. Biography: general    19. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    20. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -    21. Photoessays & Documentaries   

Reviews (1)

Great instructional book.
This books is great for those of us guitar geeks who like to know in depth details about the song's construction. Robby Krieger was contacted for this book and he submitted comments for it. The CD is great because it contains slower tempos, as do all Signature Licks books by Wolf Marshall.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Doors (Musical group)    3. General    4. Genres & Styles - Rock    5. Music    6. Music/Songbooks    7. Rock musicians    8. United States    9. Biography: film, television & music    10. Music / General    11. Rock & pop   

Reviews (12)

Great Gift Item!!!
I recently purchased this book to give to a family friend who was turning 80 years old.What do you buy for someone who already has everything?Well, she just loved this book.I'm sure it brought back memories from years ago.I also looked through the book before giving it to her and found it very interesting and readable.This is the kind of book you can pick up and browse through it for a few minutes or a few hours of entertainment.It's also nice for guests to look at when they visit your home.Nice photos as well.I'm buying more copies to give as gifts and looking forward to the next book on Leading Men to be published.

Superficial self promoting

Leading Ladies
I enjoyed "Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era," but was shocked not to have featured several actresses that were part of the studio system.I understand not all actresses can be included, but some actresses were unjustly omitted.Studio-era leading ladies Deanna Durbin (Universal), Jennifer Jones (Fox), Luise Rainer (MGM) and Shirley Temple (Fox) were not even mentioned.How about Mary Astor, Anne Baxter, Leslie Caron, Ruth Chatterton, Jeanne Crain, Dorothy Dandridge, Marie Dressler, Alice Faye, Joan Fontaine,Janet Gaynor (Oscar's first Best Actress), Betty Grable, Helen Hayes, Judy Holliday, Miriam Hopkins, Veronica Lake, Janet Leigh, Ida Lupino, Anna Magnani, Patricia Neal, Merle Oberon, Geraldine Page, Eleanor Parker, Eva Marie Saint, Simone Signoret, Jean Simmons, Margaret Sullavan, Claire Trevor, Shelley Winters, Joanne Woodward, Teresa Wright and Jane Wyman.There are many omissions.I sincerely hope Robert Osborne, Molly Haskell and TCM include them, among others I omitted, in a second edition. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cinema/Film: Book    2. Film & Video - General    3. Motion Picture Acting    4. Non-Classifiable    5. Nonfiction    6. Performing Arts    7. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    8. Films, cinema    9. Individual actors & performers    10. Performing Arts / Film / General   

Editorial Review

Nobody can match George Plimpton as an adroit weaver of interviews into a tight narrative fabric. Plimpton can make even a negligible life into a magic-carpet ride, as in his editing of Jean Stein's perennial bestseller, Read more

Reviews (18)

A Capote Reader
I really liked this book. I am a Truman Capote fan, and the book was wonderful. A must read for Capote fans especially!

TRUMAN
Honestly, Capote would have loved this book, he loved the subject above all others.Ths late Plimpton does a fine job getting many of Capote's friends and admirors, as well as detractors, to give an insightful look at this singular man.Capote was complex and manipulative, but people were drawn to him, he was the ultimate self promoter.I really think even those who hated him, missed him when he died.He could be heartless and cruel, but he had a certain quality, I guess it's called star power, that made him a very powerful friend to have, he rode the success of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffanys to the apex of society.He was painfully insecure and it's sad that he felt people were only his friend because of his ability to write great books, it's tragic that late in life he felt the need to make up the fact that he was writing this masterpiece, I think he was terrified of writing the book that would follow In Cold Blood, that I believe is what lead him to write the ill advised Unaswered Prayers. You will really want to avert your eyes when the vail is pulled away on Capote.

A great look at Capote
This book is one of the best biographies I have read.Quoting from people who knew him instead of having the author interpret Capote's life from the interview smakes the reader feel as if he is getting to really see what Capote waslike.It also gives the reader a glimps of the society that Capote was raised and lived in. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1924-    2. 20th century    3. American authors    4. Authors, American    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Capote, Truman,    10. Historical - U.S.    11. Literary    12. Biography & Autobiography / Literary   

Reviews (5)

What A character
The early interviews are best.Dylan was pretty outrageous when putting on the interviewer.There is quite a bit of repetitive information in the writer's introduction prior to the interviews.

Never dull.
Bob Dylan may be one of the most loquacious enigmas of all time.As lovingly presented here by Jonathon Cott, Dylan goes on and on and on to all sorts of interviewers, sometime comedian, sometime huckster, sometime philosoher, sometime preacher, but always fascinating.

Dylan remains the enigma, even after this book
Let me just say that I am a big Dylan fan, and intruiged by his personality. I loved Dylan's "Chronicles Volume 1" autobiography, even if it did brought about more questions than answers. But then, isn't that the Dylan way?
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Subjects:  1. 1941-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Composers & Musicians - General    7. Dylan, Bob,    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    9. General    10. Genres & Styles - Folk & Traditional    11. Genres & Styles - Rock    12. Interviews    13. Rock Music    14. Singers    15. United States    16. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Editorial Review

Cronkite's prose has the same stately cadences as that famous voice, reinforcing the grandfatherly persona that made him America's most trusted anchorman until his retirement in 1981. He also has a dry sense of humor, so his memoirs are dignified rather than pompous. Chapters on the early days of radio and television broadcasting are colorful; the more episodic later portions contain some good anecdotes, plus a frank account of Cronkite's dismay at the direction CBS News took under Van Gordon Sauter. Just the book you'd expect from Uncle Walter. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Modern American History Through the Eyes of Walter Cronkite
To live the life of Walter Cronkite is to live a thousand years.For nearly half a decade Walter Cronkite served as the voice of reason to millions of Americans who looked to his print, radio, and television reports for information and reassurance.This autobiography covers the life of Walter Cronkite from his early life as a lowly radio announcer to his ultimate stand at the pinnacle of journalism.
"Revolutionary forces are already at work [outside the US] today, and they have man's dreams on their side."
In a fascinating and thought-provoking autobiography (1996), Walter Cronkite reflects on his career in journalism, from the earliest days in which he listened to radio on a crystal set, through his own participation in world events as a television journalist.Without the ego one usually associates with newscaster-celebrities, Cronkite gives the history of journalism--radio, newspapers, news syndicates, and television--by giving anecdotes from his own long career, always showing what he learned from his mistakes (which he is remarkably candid and often humorous in describing), and giving ample credit to the people who helped him.His thoughtful observations about the impact of television and its negative effects on voting participation, along with his predictions for the future of this country, offer a broader perspective and warning about our national vision.
very good but could be better organized
For me who watched Walter Cronkite almost every night from the 1960's to the 1980's when Dan Rather took over, this is most enlightening book. Behind the scene stories were given for a lot of news stories.Unlike Eric Sevaried, Cronkite never stated any of his personal feelings and comments on the air. Quite a lot of them were found in this book.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Cronkite, Walter    6. Editors, Journalists, Publishers    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Television Personalities    8. General    9. Journalists    10. United States    11. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    12. Biography: film, television & music    13. Radio & television industry   

Reviews (3)

Get to Know this Complex Woman
Berthe was obviously an anomaly in her day and age... and, being self-deprecating and reticent, might've actually wished to be forgotten.She WAS literally forgotten for many years after her death.I am grateful to Ms. Higonnet for writing the book, but I felt throughout the reading that, although it was obvious Ms. H. admired Berthe, she didn't truly understand her.It bothered me that most of the book was about OTHER people, although her life DID seem to be about OTHER people.Berthe was generous and hidden, yet daring and "out there."It was probably very difficult to find the true Berthe.She was obviously very much beloved by the other Impressionists and her contributions as the catalyst of the group were immeasurable.But I wanted to know more.I didn't like it that each time she had an accomplishment, it seemed to be overshadowed, in the biography, by moving on to the accomplishments of one of the other more luminous figures in her world.Berthe was beautiful, dedicated, a wonderful mother and wife... after years of pressure by society and her own parents whose biggest fear was that she was to stay a "spinster" (who the HECK invented that word???)...I really felt for Berthe.But was she bulimic?Was she anorexic?What WAS the true nature of her mental challenges?I'd like to have seen some more of that area explored - as it has been so deeply investigated in the case of Vincent van Gogh.Whatever her maladies, we've got to admire the fact that she, unlike Mary Cassatt, DID have it all - career, family, home life, social recognition... and balanced it all so beautifully. But I wished Ms. Higonnet had given us just a bit more to grasp onto.

Berthe Morisot
GREAT BOOK!!I bought this book used from That Book Lady, Thorough and perceptive
My first reaction to Anne Higonnet's biography of Berthe Morisot was that it was a bit stiff. I had recently read Dominique Bona's "Berthe Morisot: Le secret de la femme en noir" and found that book to be well done, even though lacking documentation and even though indulging in "maybe it was like this" speculations from time to time. But I very much liked Dominique Bona's informal style, referring to Berthe Morisot as "Berthe", while Anne Higonnet almost always refers to her as "Morisot" (a small issue but one that is quite representative of the stylistic difference in the two biographies).Read more

Subjects:  1. 1841-1895    2. Artists    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. France    9. Individual Painters - 19th Century    10. Morisot, Berthe,    11. Art / General    12. Biography: general    13. Impressionism    14. Individual artists    15. Morisot, Berthe    16. Painting & paintings    17. Post-Impressionism   

Editorial Review

Mark Twain grew up with America. Born in 1835, he reached adulthood as the country was expanding and threatening to splinter all at once. Along with his towering talent and personality, his timing and instinct for finding the action allowed him to play a major role in pushing the boundaries of American culture and mythology by creating a new approach to literature. "Breaching the ranks of New England literary culture was Clemens's most important achievement (short of his actual works), and a signal liberating event in the country's imaginative history," writes Ron Powers in this dazzling biography. Not only did he observe and chronicle this cultural shift, he participated in it, allowing him to report "from the yeasty perspective of the common man." While still Sam Clemens, he worked as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River and experienced the Wild West of the Nevada Territory as a miner, land prospector, and newspaperman. Later, while still the people's champion, he married into wealth and ran with the moneyed class of the Gilded Age--until his money ran out--and toured the world meeting with the famous and powerful at every stop. He was, as Powers puts it, "the nation's first rock star." But Twain was more than just a writer and Powers strives to cover all sides of this complex man. Employing an approach he calls "interpretive portraiture," he explores Twain's personal relations, temperament, religious skepticism, and psychology as closely as his written work. He discusses Twain's zeal for life along with his "chronic insecurity," and describes how this eternally optimistic and forward-looking man was prone to spells of nihilism and despair. Powers is a talented and lively writer clearly up to the task of covering this American legend, and his book vividly and thoroughly explains why Twain was "Read more

Reviews (22)

Great account of a remarkable American life
An interesting biography of Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens, a journalist and a writer.
3.5, Round Up to 4 Stars.
You don't need to be incredibly familiar with Mark Twain's novels to follow this biography.In an apparently un-Twain-like linear fashion, Powers discusses the sources of Sam Clemens' stories while describing the formative years of his life.He then references these early experiences in later chapters when discussing the motivation behind each of Twain's works.He goes into great detail about the writing process, how manuscripts can begin vigorously, be set aside for a decade, then finished when enough inspiration has accumulated or enough memories have congealed to round out the story.
Simply THE best Mark Twain biography
Mr. Powers leaves every other Mark Twain biographer in the dust.This work is not only beautifully detailed and researched; it is a constantly engaging 'page turner.'Beyond all that Mr. Power's own gift as a writer is extraordinary...his words literally leap from the page.One of the best reads I have had in a long time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. American - Southern    3. Authors, American    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Humorists, American    9. Journalists    10. Literary    11. Twain, Mark 1835-1910    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (21)

First Rate Biography
I've always enjoyed Ava Gardner's screen performances and wanted to know more about her as a person.This biography was most informative and the best I've read about Ava, including warts and all.She was the most beautiful woman I've even seen and Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were merely also-rans in my estimation. She was generous and honest to a fault but most unlucky in love with her choices of men.Admittedly she was a flawed person and a product of her times and upbringing, but aren't we all?The author captured the very essence of this woman and after reading the biography I felt I knew this lovely lady.

Interesting and tragic (As expected)
This is a well researched and written biography.It's fun to hear about many other celebrities in a book about Ava.Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, George C. Scott, Miles Davis, were all real people with a good side and bad side. She lived in a generation with Judy Garland, and suffered many of the same demons, except she was prettier than Judy.Partying and sex get a lot of them.But the book was still wonderful, and made Ava a glamorous, yet normal, human being.

Great writer, vapid subject
Lee Server's biography of Robert Mitchum was a brilliant page-turning narrative of a fascinating, unique, and enigmatic movie icon. This book on Ava Gardner, however, is a disappointment, a poor choice of subject, and an ultimately tiresome account of a woman who had all the breaks and all the luck in the world and did nothing with them. It's a tiresome chronicle of her drinking and sexual excesses from which the reader learns little about life. It's really a sad, depressing portrait of a vapid actress who lived off her iconic beauty like a parasite. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1922-    2. 1922-1990    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Gardner, Ava,    9. Individual Actors And Actresses    10. Motion picture actors and actresses    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Editorial Review

They had faces then, in the golden age of Hollywood when a publicity photo could make or break a star. The visual power of George Hurrell's portraits, with their Rembrandtesque lighting and dramatic poses, shaped the careers of such stars as Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Jane Russell, and did as much or more to establish them as their film performances. Mark Vieira, who adopted Hurrell's techniques and uses them to this day, explains how the master portraitist lit and retouched his photographs--a portrait of Crawford before and after retouching reveals what an artist the one-time painter really was--and analyzes their impact. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
This book -- how beautiful.I have photography books by several of the great portrait photographers of the 20th Century, and this one is the best.There are a wealth of photographs, and the story of Hurrell's life is also interesting.If you ever thought about seriously learning about photography and taking some good pictures, this book will take any hesitation out of your mind.Gorgeous!!

Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits
This book is everything I expected.The pictures are great and the text very informative.I am enjoying it very much and it is a valued addition to my film library.

EXCELLENT BOOK! Vieira's mastery of the written word brings that era to life.
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through and then reading this beautiful tribute to the legendary work of George Hurrell.As compelling as Hurrell's photos are it is the author's indepth knowledge and understanding of Hollywood and Hurrell that set this book apart.
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Subjects:  1. 1904-1992    2. Glamour photography    3. Hurrell, George,    4. Individual Photographer    5. Individual Photographers And Their Work    6. Motion picture actors and actr    7. Motion picture actors and actresses    8. Photo Essays    9. Photography    10. Portraits    11. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    14. Chapman, Bill    15. Films, cinema    16. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    17. Hurrell, George    18. Individual artists    19. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    20. Photograph collections    21. Photographs: portraits    22. Second World War, 1939-1945    23. USA   

Reviews (54)

Loving Tribute
This book was exactly what I was looking for.A mixture of obscure RENT facts mixed with the personal life of Anthony Rapp.He is just as much an amazing writer as he is a gifted singer!I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know Anthony better.Also, this is a great book for anyone who has ever gone through the loss of a relative.Very, very highly recommended!

Please- may I have some more sir?Rent... that is.
I'm a fan of the show... not really a "renthead" but have seen it a few times (3 I think to be exact) over the past 10 years.I did see Anthony in the orignal cast (SRO) and the original west coast cast.. then again in NYC about 4 years ago. So.. I thinkI can say I like it... a lot.Anyone reading this review probably has a history with the show.. and a favorable one at that.I read Anthony's book and found him to be a credible author (I wonder if he received any assistance from his brother with the manuscript.. I don't see any acknolwedgement of such in the book). I didn't find the narrative to be smooth and enjoyed the interweaving of his past into this present but he never lost focus on the crux of his story - his relationship with a mother who was dieing way too soon.Added to that were snippets of his growing up, coming out, and Rent story. I wanted more of each of those... how he came to be this child actor... that seems to come out of nowhere but is somewhat extraordinary for a kid from Joliet don't you think.And.. I really wanted more about the evolution of Rent. He was there from the beginning.Where was the story of the evolution of the show?That said.. it's a good read for fans of the genre - musical theater, theater, coming of age and coming out stories and love and loss of a loved one.

Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical Rent
What a fantastically written book ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Actors    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Larson, Jonathan.    9. Literary    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Rapp, Anthony    12. Rent    13. United States    14. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Reviews (2)

Hollywood's most famous vocal "Ghost" appears in the shimmering flesh!
Marni Nixon's was one of those famous people who fascinated me from the moment I heard her story of being the vocal "ghost" in three of Hollywood's most remarkable musicals.Her's is a story I was waiting to hear, and with this great book, it was worth the wait.
My Fair and Wonderful Lady
"I Could Have Sung All Night" by Marni Nixon is a wonderful, enjoyable autobiography of her life.Marni Nixon has dubbed singers Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady), Deborah Kerr (The King and I), and to my surprise Natalie Wood (West Side Story).Growing up with these movie musicals I knew about Marni Nixon's dubbing in "My Fair Lady", but when reading the chapter on "West Side Story" regarding the dubbing for Natalie Wood, I was surprised. When watching West Side Story, I really thought it was Natalie Wood doing her own singing!
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Composers & Musicians - General    5. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    6. Instruction & Study - Voice    7. Performing Arts (General)    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Vocal Music    10. Women    11. Biography: film, television & music   

Subjects:  1. 1965-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Composers & Musicians - Rock    6. Diaries    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Love, Courtney,    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Rock musicians    11. United States    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts   

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Celebrities    3. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    4. Inspirational    5. Mentoring    6. Motivational & Inspirational    7. Self-Help    8. Self-Help / Motivational   

Subjects:  1. 1901-1966    2. Animators    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Disney, Walt,    8. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Movie Directors    9. General    10. Historical - U.S.    11. Individual Directors And Producers    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (29)

A great read on a fascinating subject by a fine writer
Reading this book makes you feel the writer is talking to you personally - it is written in a conversational style .
Required Reading...
This is not a text book, but it should be required reading for anyone who wants a career in the motion picture industry - or anyone who loves film in general.Why is it not a textbook?Because it is one heck of an entertaining read.The book runs almost six-hundred pages and I devoured it in just a couple of days.
Mixed feelings about this book
It's hard to review this book.On the one hand, I agree with a lot of what Goldman says (as well as what he says in his follow-up book, "Which Lie Did I Tell?").There's little doubt, unless you're under 25 and still think digital effects are the reason to go to movies, that Hollywood is rotting from the inside out.On the other hand, I get the feeling that Goldman would be coming up with excuses for why he never really quite made it as big in Hollywood as it looked like he once would, even if none of the problems with Hollywood existed.Because--and here's a secret--Goldman really isn't a great screenwriter.I know I'm going against the trend here.I know he worked on some major 70s films and I know he used to make bread most of us can only dream about, but honestly, his greatest contributions are Butch Cassidy and The Princess Bride, and Butch really isn't a great screenplay (it's a great *idea* for a screenplay, though) and even Princess Bride--despite all the hype in a relatively boring year--is merely so-so.If I had to pick a favorite Goldman work, of all the ones I've seen I'd vote for All The President's Men.
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Subjects:  1. 1931-    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Cinema/Film: Book    4. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Movie Directors    5. Film & Video - Screenwriting    6. Goldman, William,    7. Motion picture authorship    8. Motion picture industry    9. Motion picture plays    10. Performing Arts    11. United States    12. Performing Arts / Film / Screenwriting   

Editorial Review

When the editors of the Read more

Reviews (385)

Intriguing!
This book is great in that it's both a very personal story about Minor (the "madman") and Murray (the "professor") but also about what went into making the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). For the most part, I was more interested in the latter because of the detail and, surprisingly, community that went into creating The Dictionary. It was certainly not the work of a few posh men sitting in an attic; rather, the entire nation (as well as the United States) were involved in scouring works in the English language to contribute samples to go in the OED. That to me was the most fascinating part.
And you thought dictionaries were boring!
Winchester takes an academic subject and makes it read like a Victorian thriller.He weaves together the lives of two strange and complex men to tell a story that has touched the entire English speaking world-- the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary: THE authority on the progression of the English language over the past millenium.If you love history, language, literature, and tragedies this is a book for you.Beware, this book will make you want to run out and buy your own OED -- well, a full set will run you at least $1000!There are compact and CD-ROM versions available for under $200.I guess I'll just add it to my amazon wish list and hope....

An excellent story excellently told
Some readers, I know, dislike Simon Winchester's conversational, discursive, sometimes off-on-a-tangent narrative style, but I for one find it richly rewarding. I first discovered it in "Krakatoa," his book about that Indonesian volcano where it's even more in evidence than it is in this title. But even here, reading Winchester is like settling into a chair, or around a fire, to listen to a talented storyteller weave an entrancing tale. If your taste in history runs to deliberate, just-the-facts reportage, then Simon Winchester probably isn't for you. But if you're willing to trust the author and follow where he's leading you, I predict you'll find reading "The Professor and the Madman" a most satisfying experience.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - British    5. Historical - General    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Lexicography    8. Linguistics    9. Literary    10. Specific Groups - Special Needs    11. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Subjects:  1. Conducting    2. Conductors (Music)    3. History & Criticism - By Composer    4. Music    5. Pictorial works    6. Portraits    7. Composers & musicians    8. Photographs: portraits   

Reviews (1)

Luxe, Calme, Moderne: The Quiet Richness of Christian Liaigre
Christian Liaigre. If the name is unfamiliar, the French designer's style-or at least a popularized version of it-is ubiquitous. His palette of warm browns, rich creams, and calmly varied neutrals is the color scheme of a thousand-and-one stylish hotel lobbies, and his sexy low-slung furnishings have been copied for mass consumption by furniture makers worldwide. Yet, if you think you know the man by the knock-offs, you've got another thought coming.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Interior Design    3. Interior Design - General    4. Interior decoration    5. Liaigre, Christian    6. Individual designers   

Reviews (5)

Well intentioned, good quick read
I just read this while on vacation last month and what a great beach read this book was. What Tommy may lack in sophisticated prose he certainly makes up for in genuine charm. Throughout the book Tommy jumps back and forth between his early life (focusing somewhat specifically on his childhood) and the events leading up to and including his incarceration. Curiously, he does not talk about his comedy career that much, so those looking for insight into his relationship with Cheech and the movies they made together might be a bit disappointed.The book is short, and actually could have even been even shorter. Tommy tries hard to fill up the 224 pages with material as he tends to drift off topic with various tangents and the occasional spiritual rant.This is all fine though because, as usual, Tommy's heart is in the right place at all times and he comes off as being so likeable that I enjoyed reading whatever he had to say.Tommy seems to be a pretty simple guy with a somewhat utopian outlook on life, but this actually serves as a nice contrast to his grim situation. The most important thing is that the subject matter regarding his whole "Operation Pipe Dream" ordeal was always fascinating.I might also add that his prison experience, or more specifically, his approach to the experience was very interesting, and quite frankly refreshing. The positive attitude that Tommy maintained throughout his unjust situation could serve as an inspiration for many. Highly recommended.

So glad he wrote this book
I remember the head line of when they arrested Tommy Chong. I couldn't help but wonder why the federal government would persue Tommy Chong. This book answered my question with Tommy Chong's honest portail of his life and arrest.
A good book with a lot of everything..
Tommy had a lot of things to say about his bust and the government in general when he was putting this book together. He's still mad as hell. He wants to show and tell you his side of all the problems he had in 2003 with the stupid "bong bust". Yes, he did get taken for a long expensive ride on the Bush railroad, no question. He did his time and has come out of it clean and (for the moment) dried out. The book is full of a lot emotion and contradiction. The Chong brain is firing away in all directions with every page... Tommy is a very spiritual guy but not in the flaming christian sense. He believes, as he states in his book that life for you is so much easier if you put your enemies down and forgive them. Then you don't have enemies anymore. I believe that he believes that with all his heart and soul. Except for one area. If he could punish all the people involved for his bust, I think he would do it. He's still hot about it. I think he's having a tough time putting that part of his present day life aside.. This book, no doubt is part of that therapy.On to the lighter stuff; Tommy talks a good bit about his upbringing in Canada, giving a lot of space to his mother, father and brother. He is insightful about his career. His recommendation to any actor wanna-be's is to know when you are and when you aren't. Acting that is. AND I think thats the problem we ALL (Including the Feds) sort of have with Tommy. He is so good that we were never exactly certain where the stoned hippy-dude started and stopped. He's no dummy. He's done great for himself. He lives in an LA neigborhoodwith many of the Hollywood fluff-and-puff set. My problem with this book is that it wanders a lot. Lots of good stuff about prison life, his past, refelections... then BOOM, off on another rant about the government. Nine months in even a lightweight prison like he was in can do that to you I guess. His following of "I CHING" was interesting and has no doubt sparked a few search engines to life looking for information. Tommy talks about a lot of things in this book besides the main topic. He's a smart dude man...Very quotable. I'd like to see another book from Tommy when he calms down a bit more. If anything, there's still a lot of good thoughts in the head of that 66 year old hippie. It won't likely happen but it would be fun to see him and Cheech do another......anything together. Cheech gets lots of mentions in the book too by the way. Rock on Chong! ... Read more

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