4 comments about Soul in the Stone: Cemetery Art from America's Heartland.

1. Ok, so not everyone is into the "darker" side of life. We prefer to focus on sunflowers, streams and good old-fashioned values here in the midwest.
   To many people, gravestones are just plain creepy. Haven't we all watched horror movies where the dead crawl out from beneath a cracked headstone and kill innocent lovers?
   Mr. Brown's book made me look at the gravestones in a brighter (although not unentirely SAD) light. I saw the loss that families suffered through in the intricacy of massive stone mausoleums. I felt the emptiness of parents in the lifelike sculptures of their children. And I shook my head at the quirkiness of folks whose death markers are every bit as weird as they themselves must have been.
   I've had this book for 5 years and I STILL pick it up now and again to read the stories behind the cemeteries. I have also given it as a gift to people in my life who I know won't get totally freaked out by it. They LOVE it.
   It is a wonderful read/lookat/whatever.... just try it!--



2. My husband John and I love tombstone art and stomp around the countryside taking photos of cemeteries. This is one of our favorite books, with lots of wonderful photos of cemeteries around St. Louis and so forth. The author also writes a wonderful commentary on the nature of cemeteries, their conditions, and how we view them today as a modern American society. The photos of the children's graves are especially haunting. A must for collectors of tombstone art.



3. John Gary Brown, does an excellent job at showing the eccentricity and beauty of grave markers. He uses different angles, and points of view in his compositions, to bring out a morbid beauty, that is rarely seen by the naked eye. A truly impressive collection of masterpieces. Just when you think the works speak for themselves, Brown also includes wonderful poetry, which co-exists perfectly with the photographs. A must for anyone's artistic anthology collection.



4. While the photography is excellent, and the author offers several interesting insights into symbolism and customs, the facts about particular monuments are incorrect. He gives the wrong locations for several monuments (placing them in cemeteries across town), and the descriptions of the cemeteries themselves contain errors

1 comments about Tom Poulton: The Secret Art of an English Gentleman.

1. Mr Poulton gets the Taschen treatment in this well designed and printed book. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the contents because out of 183 illustrations only twenty-nine are what I would call finished art. The remaining 154 illustrations are basically rough sketches and interesting as they are I would have expected perhaps a few of them to show how the Poulton developed his ideas and the bulk of the book full of his completed erotic renderings.
   
   As a medical illustrator he obviously had the ability to show the human body correctly and you only have to look at his finished drawings to see that he also had the creativity to handle light and shade (always with a soft-lead pencil on tissue) but I don't think his style is particularly original. Plenty of art college students produce similar looking nude drawings though obviously not erotic ones.
   
   Jamie Maclean in the book's introduction rightly comments on the underground nature of Poulton's erotic art in fifties and early sixties England, no publisher would have dared to put out a book with such pictures but that is not to say that erotic artwork was not being created. Some English material is shown in another Taschen book Erotica Universalis, Volume II.
   
   This handsomely produced book ends up as a half-hearted coverage of Tom Poulton's work.

1 comments about Global Corporate Identity 3 (Global Corporate Identity).

1. This book is really global, gathering creative artwork from all over the globe, bits and pieces from all over the world.
   
   Its a true corporate identity and branding designer / conceptualist guideline. Lots of ideas are stacked in this book.
   
   I personally have 2 editions or copies, one for Beirut office and one for Dubai Office.
   
   It is a true must have book, a necessity in every art director, graphic designer, and creative individual's library, a real guide to logo and identity design.

No comments about American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum.

3 comments about Horse: From Noble Steeds to Beasts of Burden.

1. This is simply a beautiful book and a must have for any horse lover. This collection of horse art is the best I've seen. It's a jewel that packs a punch and would look great in any home. This book is part of a wonderful series that includes "Zoo", "Dog", "Cat", "Sex", and "Flora". They're great as a collection!



2. I enjoyed examining all works of art in this book to learn some techniques used by the masters, it's also a great book for ANYBODY(artist or not) who simply loves horses. It would have been nicer if it were bigger, but otherwise it's a great coffee table book.



3. In the same format as the popular books ZOO, CAT, DOG, SEX comes another overview of art and writings from ancient times to the present. Lavishly illustrated with all forms of art dealing with the Horse, author Harrison has blended academia with whimsy and the result is a treat for art and animal lovers of all ages. This is a terrific item for a gift.....

No comments about Interpreting Objects and Collections (Leicester Readers in Museum Studies).

1 comments about The American Century: Art and Culture, 1950-2000.

1. I strongly recomend this book for someone who wants a "Who's Who" of the American fine arts scene. I have spent many hours scanning the names and pictures, aborbing the exciting 50 years of American contempoary arts.

   I cannot recommend this book as an especially well-written commentary on that scene, however. Some sentences contain refrences to handfulls of artists with little direction or explanation. Of course the authors were required to give fair coverage to thousands of artists who had their 15 minutes of fame in US art galleries. I follow this scene pretty closely professionally. I can report that I did not find any glaring ommissions from their collection of artists. As you might expect, regional artists received barely a nod and little is said about "outside" art.

   If you are looking for a great explanation of "modern" art, try "The Shock of the New" by Robert Hughes, which Amazon indicates is still in print (and rated 5 stars, almost).

   But if you are interested in the "Sears Catalog" of the fine arts in the past 50 years, this is the book you want.

1 comments about Diego Rivera: Postcards (Collectible Postcards).

1. I bought these for my 7 year old grandson, who had just read about Rivera at school. I usually buy books, but this a a great alternative to add variety to learning.

No comments about Comic Abstraction: Image Breaking, Image Making.

5 comments about Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks.

1. This book is a "must have" for any Disney enthusiast. You may or may not personally approve of the gay-lesbian life style, but regardless of that, this book is guaranteed to make you laugh. Keep in mind that this book is a serious guide book, thus it has tons of information about the Disney parks and is very informative. But just as you've learned something educational, the authors throw in some information that will have you laughing at everything you see. I can guarantee that you'll never look at the Disney parks in the same way that you did in the past!



2. Queens in the Kingdom is a perfect overview of Disney and a great read by the hilarious authors Jeffrey Epstein and Eddie Shapiro. The book is chock-full of helpful information and martini-dry witticisms.
   
   While planning my next trip to Disney, the book helped me pick between two hotels on property I was considering, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge (you have to read the book to find out which hotel they prefer and why). The book is also filled with many fun "Fairy Facts" - clever bits of trivia following many of their reviews.
   
   In sum, if you want an informative and fun Disney Guide, this book is for you.



3. I ordered this book with low hopes... I consider myself a bit of a Disney nerd, and have been visiting the parks since the one in Orlando opened back in the 70's. I've also read a number of guide books and searched out all sorts of "hidden disney secrets" from a variety of sources. I expected this book to be a rehash of all the usual tips and tricks with a few clever quips thrown in.
   
   WOW - was I wrong... the book is a wealth of information, and is an incredibly entertaining read. By the end, you feel like you know the authors and are laughing right along with their jokes about each other.
   
   Now I don't agree with all the opinions in the book -- e.g. they didn't rank "Soarin'" as the best ride at Epcot - whatever. And they prefer the "new and improved" Tiki Bird show at WDW vs the "classic" one at Disneyland. (I'm guessing they might be too young to appreciate the nostalgia of the classic version). And they seem to appreciate "Stitch" which is just blasphemy, although they do knock the ride for encouraging poor behavior in the younger Disney visitors. Thank goodness they showed the appropriate respect for "Carousel of Progress" which needs all the help it can get right now, poor ride.
   
   But they've included lots of tips like details on restaurant menu's vs most of the guide books I have that just say "hamburgers and other fast food items." And their reviews of hotel rooms etc are spot on. (Though don't look to this book to cover the 100000 hotels nearby but not operated by Disney). And what other guide book lists the best places to, uh, well, steal a few moments of romance in the park (nowwwww I understand why the lines for the Haunted Mansion are so darn long).
   
   If this is your first visit to WDW, I don't think this should be your only guide book - and can't imagine the authors advocating that. But this is a great supplement to another guide if you're a first-timer, or if you've already earned your stripes, this is probably all you need to see the park with from a different... and wonderful... (magical?) perspective.
   
   It's cheaper than a pizza for goodness sake, order the book!



4. We bought this book based on an article we read about Disney guide books. I'm so glad we did! It surpassed my expectations! Maybe I should say up front that I'm hetero, so I can't be a good judge on the information focusing on the best gay friendly clubs and hot spots. But as a Disney park fan, I'm a very good judge on that focus on the book. The writing style is very funny, including the quotes from other people, and I enjoyed how it speaks to the reader as an adult. Plus, even though I have been to Disney World 30 times and read a number of other books, QUEENS still gave me new information. That includes a way to save money on park tickets if you're someone who visits Disney often. Thanks, Jeffrey and Eddie! Like someone said, the maps are very simplistic, but this didn't bother me. I wasn't looking for that kind of thing; after all, I can get interactive ones and ones I can customize for us for free on disney.com, so it didn't affect my review. This is not a book to plan your day, telling you to go here, do this and then that, but an insight into rides, dining, and atmosphere. I've already recommended this book to my family and friends who are both gay and straight.



5. I found this book to be plenty comprehensive, except where it says it isn't. But most of all, I found it to be funny, well written and a nice way to get the most out of visiting the parks as well as a pleasant reminder of what's so fun (and lame) about the parks, when you're not there... like, say, in Detroit for instance.