Reviews (6)

Transport You Back to Another America - Amazing Research
For budding and practicing magicians who love history about their art - hard to go wrong in reading and absorbing this book throughly.
The True Story Told Finally and Faithfully
We just finished reading The Magician and the Cardsharp by Karl Johnson and are blown away.
the magician and the cardsharp
A book not for everyone, but well written about subjects I rarely am interested in...magic and gambling.True life, the dark side of small towns and of common folks drawn in. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1894-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. General    7. Historical - U.S.    8. Magicians    9. United States    10. Vernon, Dai,    11. Villasenor, Amador   

Reviews (49)

Good but Dated
The author gives some good tips on drawing the face, etc., but the style of the drawings reeks of the 1930's & 1940's.Also I felt like he was trying to cram too much into one book, giving some things the short shrift.

One of the best
This book is one of the best how to draw human figure books ever made. This contains so much information in so little pages. I just wished there was more on foreshortening and capturing the flow of the body, since I'm interested in animation.

Great for Beginners and Intermediate artists!
I bought this book two months ago, and I am not sorry that I did! It is an excellent drawing book, and I recommend it to all who want to learn how to draw, or improve their drawing skills. It definately helped me to improve mine! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Techniques - Drawing    4. Techniques - Life Drawing    5. Art techniques & materials    6. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    7. Drawing & drawings   

Reviews (212)

Great Read
Very Interesting and the photos are great. Beatle lovers will enjoy this anthology, but I would recommend the book The Beatles by Bob Spitz.

Everything you'd want to know!
There really isn't much to say about this book other than the fact that it is the best Beatles book out there.It is told by The Beatles, and has so many fantastic photos that are so awesome.It goes through the span of The Beatles career year through year, and describes many great stories, and gives some background information to some of their songs which is cool.It is so cool though, because you really get to see how wise and intellegant the members of The Beatles were.You really don't need any other Beatles book than this one, so buy it!

The Perfect Book About The Beatles -- Because It Was WRITTEN By The Beatles!
If you buy only one book about the Beatles, it needs to be this one. Not only does it contain unique information not found elsewhere, but this unique info comes right from the four guys who should know better than anyone -- John, Paul, George and Ringo. Even though this came out a few years ago, put it at the top of your xmas list for the Beatlemaniac in your life. There are a couple of other great Beatles books out there (TURN ME ON, DEAD MAN by Andru Reeve and JOHN by Cynthia Lennon are just two that come to mind), but be sure to get this one if you haven't already. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Beatles    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Composers & Musicians - Rock    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Genres & Styles - Rock    9. Historical - British    10. Rock    11. Rock music    12. Rock musicians    13. Biography & Autobiography / General    14. Biography: film, television & music    15. Music / Reference    16. Rock & pop   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (2)

Queen Elizabeth I (Historic Lives)
Elizabeth I (The British Library, Historic Lives Series) by Susan Doran is a really superb book! Though I have read many books about Queen Elizabeth this one, though concise, thoroughly captures the essence of the history of Elizabeth and her England.Susan Doran provides us a captivating glimpse into the complicated world facing Elizabeth both in her personal and majestic life as she confronts the dynamic political and religious world developing around her and the England she loves.Elizabeth I was a complex person ruling in a complicated world.In a very even handed way, Susan Doran presents how a dynamic Queen Elizabeth, at her best and worst, navigates as best she can, through the perils and complexities confronting her and England.Susan Doran gives us an Elizabeth who is real.She shows Elizabeth as a Queen who has human frailities, who is adept in propaganda, can be as cruel as she is rewarding, yet whose monarchy enthralls and inspires us to this day. Susan Doran's adept use ofa superb collection of illustrations throughout the book really provides a wonderful dimension to her protrayal of Elizabeth as a dynamic queen of England.This is a book I recommend to anyone who has an interest in Elizabeth I, Queen of England.

An Excellent Overview
This slim volume is only 144 pages including index. Susan Doran has written a complete, if brief, biography of Elizabeth I that hits all the main points of her life and rule. Nothing important seems to have been left out, and the narrative seems unhurried. One could read this book in a fairly short time, and have an understanding of Elizabeth's reign. However, for those who would like a bit more elaboration, Doran includes a Further Reading List at the end.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1533-1603    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Elizabeth    7. Elizabeth, 1558-1603    8. Great Britain    9. Historical - British    10. History    11. Queen of England,    12. Queens    13. Royalty    14. Women    15. Biography & Autobiography / Royalty    16. Biography: royalty    17. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    18. ELIZABETH I, QUEEN OF ENGLAND, 1533-1603    19. United Kingdom, Great Britain   

Reviews (2)

Read this engrossing little book before Marie-mania breaks out.
Arriving on the eve ofSofia Coppola's film about Marie Antoinette is Ms. Haig's gorgeous book, packed with facts, sidebars, and many of the author's own collection of illustrations. Beginning with her introduction to the French court outside Versailles, Marie Antoinette's ascent to fame and fast fall is documented by Ms. Haig in a style that is both objective and yet with a clear affection for her subject matter.
A tour of Paris from the view of one of history's most iconic figures, the often adored, but often reviled, Marie Antoinette.
Although I am an enthusiastic fan of Diana Reid Haig's Walks Through Napoleon and Josephine's Paris, her new book is an even more engrossing blend of education and entertainment.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Biography: historical    6. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    7. France    8. Museum, historic sites, gallery & art guides    9. c 1700 to c 1800   

Editorial Review

Celebrated Stanford University historian Clayborne Carson is the director and editor of the Martin Luther King Papers Project; with thousands of King's essays, notes, letters, speeches, and sermons at his disposal, Carson has organized King's writings into a posthumous autobiography. In an early student essay, King prophetically penned: "We cannot have an enlightened democracy with one great group living in ignorance.... We cannot have a nation orderly and sound with one group so ground down and thwarted that it is almost forced into unsocial attitudes and crime." Such statements, made throughout King's career, are skillfully woven together into a coherent narrative of the quest for social justice. The autobiography delves, for example, into the philosophical training King received at Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University, where he consolidated the teachings of Afro-American theologian Benjamin Mays with the philosophies of Locke, Rousseau, Gandhi, and Thoreau. Through King's voice, the reader intimately shares in his trials and triumphs, including the Montgomery Boycott, the 1963 "I Have a Dream Speech," the Selma March, and the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. In one of his last speeches, King reminded his audience that "in the final analysis, God does not judge us by the separate incidents or the separate mistakes that we make, but by the total bent of our lives." Carson's skillful editing has created an original argument in King's favor that draws directly from the source, illuminating the circumstances of King's life without deifying his person. Read more

Reviews (37)

like Malcolm X's autobiography
I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X earlier this year, and it gave one radical image of the civil rights movement.Then I read the Autobiography of Martin Luther King, which gave another radical view of the civil rights movement.In my history class, I argued that MLK was over glorified by history, and none of the students read this book.It shows how he was a simple man who was tired of segregation and wanted to fight it, through nonviolent means.
Excellent
I couldn't describe in words how amazing this book is. I read it and felt its beauty.The DVD, "USA THE MOVIE" also has excellent segments that are haunting in which Dr. King speaks over intense footage, DEFINITELY worth watching.I read this book twice and it left me thinking.

Martin Luther King Jr.
Bang! and just like that perhaps the greatest Civil rights leader was assonated, shot, and killed. Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929. He was raised in a Baptist church where his father was a pastor. Then after childhood King went to Morehouse University in 1944. After he received his masters degree Martin became a pastor like his father and married. Later Martin Luther King organized black leaders in the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). After writing a book and making a trip to India King returned to be a pastor with his father in 1960. Then in 1963 King's way of peaceful protest was becoming difficult because of police brutality beating and arresting blacks. King is arrested and writes "A Letter from Birmingham Prison" to keep up black spirit. Towards the end of 63 and the beginning of 64 King won Person of the Year and the Nobel Peace Prize. Also soon after that he joined the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). It seemed things were leading to integration until April 4, 1968 when king was on the balcony of a black hotel with to other Black Leaders when he was hit in the neck with a rifle bullet. King died to soon to see integration but his dream would live on.I would recommend The biography of Martin Luther King Jr. because it is a good book about a man's dream to see blacks with whites.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - U.S.    5. Political    6. Religious    7. Biography & Autobiography / People of Color   

Reviews (1)

Deftly written, much to be enjoyed
It is difficult enough to write engagingly about someone who died over two hundred years ago; David Bodanis has written an excellent history not merely of one interesting person but of two:Emilie du Chatelet and her sometime lover Voltaire.In a narrative spanning (in detail) nearly two decades, in which Voltaire's fortunes rose, sank, rose, sank, and rose again and in which Emilie herself underwent tribulations both common (failed love affairs) and uncommon (struggling to create a place for herself amongst the first rank of European thinkers), Bodanis succeeds admirably in engaging our interest and sympathy.
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Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Authors, French    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Europe - France    8. Europe - General    9. France    10. France - History    11. Historical - General    12. Literary    13. Mistresses    14. Scientists    15. Scientists - General    16. History / General   

Reviews (4)

Fantastic portraits
Have always enjoyed "The Meaning of Life" page on Esquire - and to see a large collection of these - and many that i've missed - in one book is just great!
Good book
I found this book very interesting.I found out a lot about people that I liked and learned about new ones as well.Very good book, light reading and fun.Highly recommend.

Insightful, Interesting, and Fun
Opinions on some of life's most talked about subjects from past and present; writers, painters, musicians, politicians, actors, etc.... great stories and insightful views on religion, sex, faith, gender differences, relationships, etc..... easy to read and very witty. If your interested in what shapes extraordinary people into who they are then this book is for you. I loved it from the first page. I read this book from start to finish in one sitting. Thats a first. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Celebrities    5. Entertainers    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Motivational & Inspirational    8. Popular Culture    9. Popular Culture - General    10. Reference    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. United States    14. BG-MIND/BODY/SPIRIT - BG-ASTROLOGY/OCCULT    15. Other prose: from c 1900 -    16. Reference / Personal & Practical Guides    17. Sale Books   

Reviews (20)

Four and a half stars...
I would not have chosen to read a book about Henry Ward Beecher, but I received The Most Popular Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher by Debby Applegate as a gift.I was pleasantly surprised by this engrossing and well-written story.
Great read -- about a fascinating man
I thought I knew Henry Ward Beecher's story fairly well; after reading this terrific book I realize I hardly knew it at all. More important -- whether you know the man's story or not, Applegate's book is a wonderful account of mid-nineteenth-century American political and cultural history, and a rich portrait of a highly complex figure. I would recommend it highly.

Amazing Life and Times Captured in Great Prose

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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Clergy    6. Congregational churches    7. Historical - General    8. Historical - U.S.    9. Religious    10. Specific Religious Congregations And Orders    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Editorial Review

On August 5, 1949, lightning came crashing down in the vast spruce forest above Seeley Lake, Montana, and touched off a roaring blaze. As every Westerner knows, lightning means fire, but the fire that raged through Mann Gulch that day was huge--the sort that occurs only every few decades. A battery of paratrooper-firefighters, many of them fresh veterans of World War II, had been anticipating it, and even looking forward to the chance to fight a great fire. Before the day ended thirteen of those smokejumpers lay dead, their charred remains evidence that something had gone terribly wrong. Norman Maclean gives a thorough account of the incident in language not meant for the squeamish: "Burning to death on a mountainside is dying at least three times ... first, considerably ahead of the fire, you reach the verge of death in your boots and your legs; next, as you fail, you sink back in the region of strange gases and red and blue darts where there is no oxygen and here you die in your lungs; then you sink in prayer into the main fire that consumes." After August 1949, he notes, the Forest Service came to recognize that not all fires need to be fought and that fire benefits most forest ecosystems. ... Read more

Reviews (66)

The beginning of wildland safety
Living in Montana and being a a Wildland firefighter as well. This book shows the true speed, power and ultimately the violence that a full blown fire can build to. The men that died in Mann Gulch created in death the first vestiges of the high level of training and safety we now all use when in similar situations. Along with fire on the mountain, required reading if you want to see as fire as we do!

What a Blowhard
The book is way to long it could be 200 pages. Maclean babbles on for paragraphs about something that could be said in a paragraph or two.

A fitting tribute
Norman Maclean was born to write this book. As an outdoorsman, a wildland firefighter of the same generation as the books subjects and one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Norman Maclean's voice becomes the ideal homage to the hero's of Mann Gulch. While fans of Maclean's fiction might miss some of the poetry of his previous works, they will visit a new side of the author in this work as he pieces together the puzzle of Mann Gulch and makes peace with his own personal ghosts. Here the author, in his words, seeks to let the "tragedy become a story". The tragedy is told in detail, both honestly and reverently. Maclean labors to remain dispassionate and honest, to, "not become to sentimental". The tragedy he relates is horrible, the story of the tragedy is beautiful. It is a fitting tribute to the crosses of Mann Gulch and the memories of those who died there. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Forest fires    3. Historical - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Mann Gulch    6. Montana    7. Natural Disasters    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Prevention and control    11. Smokejumpers    12. Trees & Forests - General    13. United States    14. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    15. Fire services    16. Nature / Trees    17. Social history    18. USA    19. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (85)

Non fiction that reads like fiction.
I love history stories that read like fiction. I learned a lot in the book and in addition enjoyed the the story.

Like A Renaissance "Star Trek"
This book is fascinating.
well worth the trouble
Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan departed the known world in 1519 to find a new route to the lucrative spice islands for Spain. One of his five ships returned to Spain three years later: the first to circumnavigate the globe.
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Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Civilization    6. Explorers    7. Historical - General    8. History    9. History: World    10. Maritime History    11. Portugal    12. Special Interest - Adventure    13. Voyages around the world    14. World - General    15. History / World   

Editorial Review

There is a clarity, elegance, and beauty to Conway's Read more

Reviews (42)

no title
I related to and thoroughly enjoyed this book. Conway's descriptions of Australia are beautiful.She has written a follow-up book which I would like to read also.And on second reading, I feel more and more that perhaps her mother had some chemical imbalance, because she changed so drastically.Either that, or her repressed emotions after the deaths of her husband and her oldest son in the space of five years, led her to the bitter old woman she became.

An Excellent Choice - The Road from Coorain
I'd recommend the The Road from Coorain anytime.I thought Jill Ker Conway's description of Australia was wonderfully descriptive. I felt I was there as she described her life in the bush as well as the city.Her ability to convey her feelings and her understanding of her situation growing up in a less than idealic life came through the pages as each situation developed. The book left me admiring her strength of character and understanding.
I loved this one and loved Sujoya Roy's novel too
If you enjoyed this book, try For Ganesh: Remover of Obstacles, by Sujoya Roy. Both books tell compelling stories of coming of age of trailblazing women who came to the U.S. from other countries to pursue education. Ker Conway brought her Australian experience; Roy's heroine brought Hindu and India culture. Both have contributed significantly to our world. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1934-    2. Australia    3. Australia & New Zealand - Australia    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Childhood and youth    9. Conway, Jill K.,    10. Country life    11. Historical - General    12. Literary    13. Presidents    14. Smith College    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    17. Biography: general    18. Conway, Jill K    19. Reading Group Guide   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (5)

It's one thing to know the right words,but another when and how to use them.

Wit Beyond Comparison
I received this book as a birthday gift from my lovely wife.I loved this book so much I bought is twice more as a gift for a departing superior and for a friend of 10 years.Anyone who has a love of history (particularly this era) will love this book, anyone in possession of a sense of humor will appreciate this book as well.
Very Enjoyable
This relatively small book is divided into several sections with slices from Churchill's life and quotations related to politics, speaches, friends, animals, family, etc.
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Subjects:  1. 1874-1965    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Churchill, Winston,    5. General    6. Humor    7. Presidents & Heads of State    8. Quotations    9. Quotations, English    10. Sir,    11. Biography: general    12. Humor / General    13. Humour    14. Reference/Quotations    15. USA   

Reviews (46)

The Great Communicator Writes Too!
The Great Communicator has done it again!"An American Life" takes the reader from his birth in Tampico, Illinois to the return to California with mission accomplished.Ronald Reagan earned the moniker "The Great Communicator" for his ability to reach an audience."An American Life" proves that he could do it in ink too.His writing is direct, easy to follow and engaging.The theme of the book is the optimistic world view of the Reagan we knew.There is little introspection.Reagan knew what he believed and told it with gusto!Many of the stories are ones with which we are familiar.This book is the Gipper's exposition of his belief in family values and the individual. The readers are drawn into the issues which defined the Reagan Administration.
Interesting reading
This autobiography is interesting reading indeed, in that Ronald Reagan was a very fascinating person and his life certainly amazign in every aspect. I hesitate to give it a raving review and more than 3 stars, as it doesnt seem to fully live up to the subject matter. It lacks analysis and sophistication, but is still worth a read.

please note it is abridged and disordered!
I got this audio book CD rented (...), and soon found the editor of the CD seems misplaced the section of the orginal book. It is quite frustrating to me when I want to "look" at the book while listening to it!!!
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. General    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Politics and government    8. Presidents    9. Reagan, Ronald    10. U.S. History - 1980s    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (7)

Great little book
This is a great book to have if you appreciate all that President Reagan represented and accomplished, or if you were not around to understand the massive impact he had on our nation, then this is a greeat introduction to our 40th president.
My shop's best seller
Visitors to the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home buy more copies of this book than any other that we sell.Filled with positive little tidbits from a family perspective!It's great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple but worthwhile...
I was born just two years before Ronald Reagan was elected president, so I have virtually no memories of his work as a politician.However, my limited study of recent history left me with the impression that Reagan's life warranted further investigation.
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Subjects:  1. 1945-1989    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Historical - U.S.    6. Politics and government    7. Presidents    8. Presidents & Heads of State    9. Quotations    10. Quotations, maxims, etc    11. Reagan, Ronald    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Presidents   

Reviews (11)

subtle and manipulative propoganda
Chacour has a huge (somewhat justifiable) prejudiced axe to grind and he does it in a sneaky manipulative beeding-heart manner that draws you into his family's pain and paints a false picture of the current struggle.
Justice in the Middle East.
A must read for everyone interested in international justice. It shows the irresponsible hand of British and United States administrations in their handling of the Palestine affairs, and how they gave in to Zionist pressure. If you are seeking to find why the is "terrorism" coming from this area, this book will explain why. Yet the most interesting part is Abouna Elias Chacour's formula... May Allah, Jehova and God praise him. Down with the power hungry military zealots in the area. Peace will come when your average citizen revolts and turns them down through Chacour's formula, naturlich!!

essential reading
This is my very favorite book. When I read it in college, it had a huge impact on me and I greatly respect and look up to Abuna Chacour as an example of how I want to live my life. It has played a big role in how I see the conflict. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1939-    2. Arab-Israeli conflict    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Chacour, Elias,    6. Galilee    7. Historical - General    8. Israel    9. Middle East - General    10. Palestinian Arabs    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Religious    13. Chacour, Elias    14. Current Events / Political   

Reviews (13)

The rich biography behind the candy bar
Michael D'Antonio has achieved a rare balance in this best-selling biography. He recounts a complex life story that it is often as vividly exciting as a good novel, but he carefully and factually grounds it as solid history. What's more, he balances an element of exposé with respect for his subject. D'Antonio shares all the lurid gossip about Milton S. Hershey and outlines all of the chocolate manufacturer's flaws and limitations. Nevertheless, he retains a respectful tone in absorbing, readable prose.
A good anechdotal piece of research but poorly placed in an historical context
Michael D'Antonio chose a very interesting person to write a biography on, M.S. Hershey, whose name is quite literally still all over the world.He not only built an empire but he also had visions of a eutopia he tried to build in Pennsylvania.The research seemed to have been flawless but much of the writing was anechdotal rather than empirical.Many quotes about Hershey are included but, when describing the company's growth, D'Antonio doesn't place it in the context of the greater business or economic cycles.One comes away from this book with some reasonably balanced knowledge of the man and, to a lessor extent, the company and the school it funded but a discerning reader can't help but conclude that the research done was not nicely tied together and greater discussion given to other utopian visionies and locales along with greater emphasis given to comparisons and contrasts to other philantropists of his age. This could have been a great book about a great company in a great age.Sadly, it was not.That said, it was a quick read and an interesting account of the man himself can be found within its pages.