5 comments about The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting.

1. This book is almost priceless to me. Not only are the illustrations well reproduced and are a huge benefit to the artist, but the text is a testament to the Spiritual eyes and heart of its authors. Few people are patient enough these days to really take the time to understand what these subjects really are...living, breathing, knowing life-forms. I have discovered a new way to look at the subjects I paint, they require one to sit and share conversation and acceptance on the deepest level. I will treasure this book more than any others in my collection.



2. A solid book that encompasses the subject matter very well. excellent as guide for learning techniques.



3. I really love this book . It has an old world flavor but is easy to understand . This isn,t a book to read but one to study for a lifetime .
   I,m a beginner brush painter and it has offered me many ways of looking at one subject. That is the true beauty of this art form .
   I,m very glad to have it in my library .



4. I am a student of Chinese painting and this book was recommended by our teacher as the most reliable reference book for Chinese painting. I am very pleased with this purchase since it is everything that I expected.



5. This manual has been used for centuries in China and Japan and illustrates all the basics needed to paint in oriental style, with helpful written pointers. Be aware that the black ink illustrations were originally wood-block prints so grey tones do not translate. Particularly useful for compositional study and models of outlline figures, animals and architectural elements. For more up-to-date and in-depth instruction in the Four Gentlemen, including stroke-by-stroke illustrations, try the "Book of Bamboo", "Book of Plum", "Book of Orchid" and "Book of Chrysanthemum" by Prof I-Hsiung Ju.

5 comments about Earth from Above: 366 Days.

1. I had no idea how much fun a book of pictures could be. Both my grandson and grand daughter love going through this book with me each time they visit. We all have learned a lot.



2. The only way I seem to be able get out and about these days is through the internet or books. So I indulge in travel books and books about the world. This is my idea of travel. You might as well be hanging out the bottom of a plane, the view is incredible. The colors so beautiful and the sights amazing. You learn so much about your world through this book. I had no idea some of these places exist and I'm pretty well travelled and knowledgeable so it was fun discovering new places - places I may never get to in my life time. But Yann takes you there. I wish he would do more!



3. I could give 5 stars for the pictures but becouse of a big mistake, stars come down. Okay the photos are good but somewhere I am very dissapointed. On page August 22, where the comments for the picture were about the genocide of Jewish, it was written that Turks did the same thing to Armenians. But that was a lie. Some nummamorous people told this allegation and the writer believes them. This is very sad. If someone writing a book, he/she must be very careful about his/her words. Books must not contain allegations. Or author must tell that it was an allegation, unless it is proved.



4. 
   For all intents and purposes this book is no different than the same author's book titled "Earth From Above 365 days". My comments are the same for this book as I wrote in my review of the other book;dated October 7,2004.The only difference is in the pictures. There are both good and poor aspects to this book and I have elaborated on them in my other review.



5. My husband and I love this book. We look at it every day. The text may be depressing, but it's a wake-up call to the destruction of beautiful areas like the ones depicted. The pictures are absolutely stunning and you will be astounded that there are such places in the world.

4 comments about Thinking In Pictures: The Making Of The Movie Matewan.

1. This book really gives an insight on the world of struggling independent film-makers. Following every compromise Sayles is forced to make between his creative ideas and the options that are actually feasible, one can realise the impact of every cent in the budget on every choice and consequentially on the finished film.



2. "Thinking in Pictures" is a very good guide to the processes involved in making movies. Sayles writes about the germination of the movie and then the myriad decisions and compromises and joys that went into realising it on screen. If you've ever wondered about the tensions between the creative and the logistic and financial, here's a book that lays out, with wit and detail, the ups and downs of an interesting small production. It's also relatively ego free.

   "Matewan" was an interesting small film, but this book is a gem.




3. I thought this book was very effective in taking me on the journey that John Sayles took while making the movie Matewan. I love movies and was fascinated with this book. Other books of this kind that I have enjoyed are Robert Rodriguez's Rebel Without a Crew.



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5 comments about Ricky Lauren, Cuisine, Lifestyle, and Legend of the Double RL Ranch.

1. Ricky Lauren wife of Ralph Lauren has published a great book with allot of recipes and pictures of their Double RL Ranch. I just wish they would have chosen a better quality of paper for this wonderful book. For the price I feel that should have been done. But I am still happy with this purchase, I love their style Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Lauren are American Classics.
   Isis Primus
   Scottsdale, AZ



2. 
   And, yes, a beauty of a book is exactly what one expects from Ricky Lauren, wife of a preeminent arbiter of taste, Ralph Lauren. However, this satisfying volume is far from a glossy paged fashion journal, it's the narrative of a life well lived remembered through seasons of the year and meals shared.
   
   The Laurens bought their Colorado ranch in early 1982. For Ricky, she says it was a dream come true because as a child she had watched Western movies and longed to be a cowgirl. Little did she know then that her childhood imagining would actually come true. In this richly illustrated coffee table book filled with thoughts and recipes she shares the fruition of her early dream.
   
   Beginning with summer she describes the meadows that have come alive with flowers and the startling blue of the vast Colorado sky. She loves the natural beauty that surrounds them as is evident by her description of an early morning hike: "Here we are, the mesa, the meadows, the pines, the mountains, the flowers, and me, all bathed in the same glorious sunlight under the deep, rich Colorado blue sky." Glorious double page photos are testament to her words.
   
   Fall at the ranch is another palette of colors and there is frost in the air. Meals are hearty with full breakfasts to start the day. A typical morning menu consists of Challah French Toast, Buckwheat Fruit Crepes, Lox, Eggs & Onions with Assorted Bagels, and Corn Muffins with Strawberry Preserves. (Recipes for all of the menu items are included.)
   
   Winter brings snow and after a two-day snowfall the accumulation was two feet high in some places with drifts reaching to five feet. It's warm inside but the Lauren family can't resist saddling up to explore the white vastness or ride their snowmobiles. A lunch of Elk Draw Chicken Potpie or Deep Dish Pizza is welcome and warming.
   
   Spring unfolds with a world of promise and as Ricky puts it " a life affirming energy."
   
   Gorgeous photographs, bits of history, tempting recipes, and personal musings all in one lovely volume - enjoy!
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   - Gail Cooke



3. A lovely coffee-table book, with plenty of glossy photos of Lauren's glitzy ranch and his family in Ridgway, Colorado. For those of us who live in Ridgway, very few of recipe ingredients are available locally. Best to live in New York City close to Zabar's Deli to take full advantage of the "western" meals. The book also includes an inaccurate, but romantic, history of the area surrounding Lauren's atypical cattle ranch,a created nirvana where the western image is more evident and important than a authentic "working ranch."



4. Unique take on cuisine, this book is easy for anyone to follow. It is refreshing to see a cookbook that contains menus for everyone in the house. We are a family of vegetarians as well as carnivores so this cookbook was thumbs up for us. As a cookbook collector I am glad to say this book not only is a beautiful addition to my collection but it has taken center stage on the must use recipe shelf. The photos have capture the eyes of several house guest but the recipes made them order a copy for their own home. Thanks Ricky!



5. I thought that this book though very nice would have more photos from the region instead of so many recipes. My dad lives in the area, so I was interested in photographs of the area.

5 comments about The Magic of Digital Close-Up Photography (A Lark Photography Book).

1. A beautiful and inspiring book. As a retired microscopist I am glad to find this book that not only describes useful equipment and photographs that illustrates the effects of using the equipment. The results are inspiring. Going from photomicrograph's to photomacrographs is a great adventure.



2. This is a really good book for both new photographers and those of us moving from 35mm to digital photography.



3. I bought this book based on the fact that it was advertising techniques for the enthusiast to advanced users. What I got was a book that gave a fairly basic, broad overview with very little to offer me. I read through the book in only a couple of hours, with nothing grabbing me to go "Wow! I had never thought of that before!" Yes, there is a couple of unusual things in there, with close-up image capture utilising scanners and close-up stands, but the vast majority of people would never use that. A disappointing purchase.



4. I ordered this book along with "Closeup Shooting" expecting to learn some techniques for macro photography with digital and film SLRs. I got a lot out of "Closeup Shooting" - but this one not so much. (Sorry, it's hard for me not to compare the two.)
   
   This one is much more shallow in the areas I'm interested in than what I expected. A key reason for this is that so many of this book's 192 pages cover topics that I didn't expect given its title. For example, over 40 pages are devoted to creating images with scanners. The entire last chapter describes how to use copy stands. And as another reviewer pointed out, there are no exposure details provided with the example photos in the book. For me looking for tips on taking my cameras out into the world to make nice images these were all disappointments.
   
   But it's not all bad. I did learn a few things from this book. The information on lighting, in particular, I found to be pretty good.
   
   I'll keep this book, but if I had found it in a bookstore I never would have bought it. I blame Amazon as much as the author/publisher since there is no good description provided. Chalk it up to the perils of online shopping. I am very happy with "Closeup Shooting" though.



5. It's good, only if what you're looking for is a concise guide - for both digital and film photography.
   No camera info for the photos! (!)

No comments about Simple Lighting Techniques for Portrait Photographers (Amherst Media, Inc.).

5 comments about 365 Ways to Save the Earth.

1. This is a compact hardback book with some incredible photographs of various places and things in our natural world. It does have some good tips for helping the environment although these suggestions are basically repeated towards the middle of the book. The book is worth it for the pictures alone.



2. The pictures are all beautiful! The ways they have to help the Earth are well organized and very practical!



3. Good photos and points made, but #1: Recycle?
   
   Yes, yes, that's why not ONE page of this book is made from post-consumer material (i.e., the paper stock that this book uses isn't even recycled, despite recycling being the first point made in the book!)
   
   SO, #1: don't buy this book, get it from a library instead.



4. I have ordered this book as a gift for numerous friends and family members. It is a beautiful and thought-provoking introduction to environmentally-friendly behaviors in a time when most Americans aren't thinking about the problems we have created in our environment.



5. I bought 5 copies as gifts for Christmas.
   
   I gave it to some friends, to my grandmother. The whole family was looking at the beautiful pictures. I had my uncle reading the daily inspiring messages.
   
   "It brings me peace when I read this book, a day at a time" my grandmother said.
   
   Highly recommended! I even kept a copy for myself.

5 comments about The Best of Robert Service.

1. I was actually very disappointed with the condition of this book when I received it. It had been packed in an envelope that was close to being too small, and the jacket was torn in several places. I purchased this book among others, as a 45 year anniversary gift to my wife. Robert Service had been a particular favorite of her father, and I knew she would treasure the book. I will just have to tell her that I meant well, but it didn't turn out so well.



2. I am very happy with this book. It combines a lot of Service's greatest poems with great Photos of the land and people he wrote about. It is a lovely book that you can be proud to have in your collection.



3. I love Robert Service's raw tones and poems. He tells them with a grit that is true to heart and really just gives you a feel for what is going on and what it was like to be in the real wilderness days. I have heard he described as crude and if that's how you want to view it...go ahead but these poems aren't crude...they tell the true spirit of the classic days with great detail and life.



4. I first stumbled upon Robert W. Service when I found a small volume of his poetry from before and during World War One in an antique shop in Maine. I hungered for more, searched the internet, and was thrilled to find this book available, as well as others. Service's poetry is what poetry should be, at least in my mind. It flows evenly, it rhymes, it tells stories about human beings' lives, feelings, and struggles. Plus, he deals with people, places, and times in history that interest me, especially World War One, northern North America, Europe, etc. This is an excellent, excellent collection of his works.



5. Robert Service, if anyone, could be called "the grandfather of cowboy poets." This has been a popular genre over the past few years and much of the work done by these wonderful men and women can be traced back to Service's poems and style. Being called the "Bard of the Yukon" is certainly true, but sells this particular writer short. His works include so much more that just the delightful poems of the Canadian Territory. Simply written, with a story, they are quite a delight for both old and young alike. I recent years, some of our elitist in our academic world have been less than kind to this poet. This is all well and good with me. They simply don't get it. Service's work will quite likely endure far longer than some of the ranting I read in the professional journals. I read these poems to young folks in my classes, and they seldom fail to delight and indeed, inspire. It is difficult to go wrong with this one. Highly recommend.

2 comments about San Francisco: The City's Sights and Secrets.

1. I'm planning a trip to San Francisco. Beyond a travel guide, the photos inspire me and let me know what not to miss, in a visual way.



2. My wife and I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years, and prefer San Francisco over every other American city that we know--and we've visited most of the big ones. Naturally that means that we take many out-of-state visitors for a day in the city, and have a mental list of the things they might enjoy seeing and doing. Many of our frequent targets is represented in San Francisco : The City's Sights and Secrets, so that we're using the book with prospective visitors to plan their day in the city. The pictures are vibrant with accurate captions, and brief but excellent accompanying text.

   We've also started to use this book as a token of appreciation for our hosts when we travel. When they thank us for it, it is usually with enough enthusiasm that we know they are pleased to have it.

   The reader should be aware that this is not a complete guide book. It deals only with the sights and sounds of the city--not with the practical details such as accomodation, travel connections, restaurants, city and area maps, ... But then, you can get those from AAA publications or similar sources. We see this book as simply for communicating to others why we are so keen on San Francisco, and to help them plan their own visits.

   It may interest the reader that we are endorsing this short review with a new order for a dozen copies!

5 comments about Generation Loss.

1. I am new to Elizabeth Hand, and tried "Generation Loss" because of its unusual themes of Maine, art/photography, punk, and more. Hmm, what was she going to do with that? The result was crisply done, yet somewhat creepy, without a bunch of detours into background and filler that a lesser writer might have indulged in so as not to "waste" research. As two fitting examples, I learned enough about Maine and about the art scene to be interested and not overwhelmed.
   
   Cass Neary, as the burned-out artist stumbling through life, is largely unappealing and unsympathetic. Perhaps Ms. Hand went a bit overboard there, or perhaps I am too simplistic and sentimental in preferring main characters with a positive attribute or two. Even as she gets involved in the mystery and takes decisive action, Cass is still far from angelic. That's cool, because an epiphany that changed Cass into a completely different person would have been grossly out of place.
   
   I liked the idea of tying a plot to photography, which seemed quite fresh. Maine served as a fine backdrop, too, with local color. Who needs another art-oriented story playing out entirely in NYC or LA? Some of the edge was taken off, however, because I guessed a couple of the key secrets well before the end. Maybe I got lucky or maybe the clues were clear or maybe there weren't very many options possible. Whatever it was, that was ok, because the crispness propelled everything along to a sharp ending.



2. Elizabeth Hand ("Waking the Moon," "Mortal Love," among others), known for her poetic and utterly dark fantasies, attempts a more conventional Gothic tale this time, and succeeds beautifully. The characters are memorable; the conclusion is crisp. There are no wasted scenes.
   
   Her protagonist, Cass Neary, a burned-out sociopathic leftover from the 1970s punk era, was "famous long ago" for a photography book in which she photographed dead people.
   
   Now, an old friend from back in the day gives her an assignment to interview another formerly famous photographer, who lives alone on an island in Northern Maine.
   
   Cass soon finds herself enmeshed in a world of missing teens, former hippies, ruined buildings, and mysterious animals--among other things--and Ms. Hand, with her tricky plot, dares you to figure out where she's going with the tale before she's ready to reveal the answers. (I doubt you will figure things out.)
   
   And, along the way, some of her readers will learn a great deal about the almost vanished art of taking pictures with film cameras, while others will nod and smile, and remember the days of grainy Kodak Tri-X black and white.
   
   I was surprised that Ms. Hand has written something so conventional, something so within the boundaries of the Gothic (I was casting the movie version in my head--something I've never done with any of this author's novels before), and equally surprised how well she brought it off.



3. 
   
   Damaged goods. Punk music scene photographer Cass "Scary" Neary achieves a sort of aberrant notoriety with her book "Dead Girls". Drawn to the nihilistic mentality of the 70s punk movement, the drug-fueled Cass revels in anti-materialistic rebellion, careless of her body, pushing to the edge and over, increasingly drawn to the pure, if dark, images of subjects no longer animated by a life force. Enamored of the bridge between here and gone, Cass lurks with her camera in shadowy corners, filthy alleys, recording the last moments of wasted lives. Her second book barely acknowledged, Cass remains inspired by those photographers who capture the stark underbelly of the real world. Thirty years later, Neary is as disconnected as ever, living frugally, seeking respite in drugs and alcohol. When she is offered a gig interviewing her idol, the iconic photographer Aphrodite Kamestos, who lives on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, a more-seasoned Cass is drawn one more time into an adventure that is as treacherous as it is seductive.
   
   Danger is familiar to a woman who still bears the scars of a traumatic encounter in a vacant lot ("It's always 4 a.m. beneath a broken street lamp."), her instinctively ignoring warning signs to pay homage to a long love affair with the eye of the camera, the infinite beauty of genius. Such is the early work of Aphrodite, removed from the prying eyes of hangers-on and acolytes. To be in the presence of such talent is its own reward, regardless of Aphrodite's reaction to any intrusion. From the familiar squalor of her digs in New York City, Cass plunges into the heart-stopping chill of Maine, ill-prepared but determined to garner some nugget, proof that her long search for perfection is not in vain. Genius is like fool's gold, irresistible. Accidentally meeting Aphrodite's son the night before her choppy passage to Paswegas Island, Cass is jarred by a vague intuition of danger, distracted as well by a profusion of posters of the lost, tattered notices, "Have you seen this person"? A world-weary survivor, Cass's instincts are self-serving, cynical, a driven woman whose hopefulness is buried under years of disaffection and regret, her imagined and drug-addled responses routinely confrontational.
   
   Her passage into unfamiliar territory sprinkled with epithets, Hand's protagonist challenges us to see beyond the façade, to care about Cass in spite of her behavior, blazing through the eccentric lives of island residents, sniffing out dishonesty, danger and genius in equal measure. Island dramas tragically play out, Cass the unlikely catalyst who is more in sync with her surroundings than she will admit. In an adrenaline-shot climax, Cass meets genius and evil face to face, haunted by the hypnotic images that call to her artist's soul. A provocative and unpredictable character, Cass is compelling in her abandon, her struggle to reclaim sanity in the face of annihilation, a prickly, surprising heroine. Hand captures that most elusive of subjects, the artist's quest for the perfect, redemptive image and the chaos that attends such vision. Never ethereal or pure, this is murky territory, strewn with despair and failure, as heady as the first injection of heroin into a throbbing vein, a reckless impulse to discover the Holy Grail or know the searing touch of the hand of God. Luan Gaines/ 2008.



4. Hasbeen photographer's horror isle.
   
   
   It seems neither Hand or King make you want to rush out and book a holiday in isolated parts of Maine.
   
   While the cover points out the story is about a character of the 70s punk era, this book is not about music or musicians at all, just a character of that era.
   
   She became briefly famous for a photography project at a young age, and just drifted into a vaguely sordid low-rent existence afterwards.
   
   Surprisingly, she is offered a project involving a famous artist, and not so suprisingly agrees.
   
   Cue suspense and move towards Thomas Harris territory later in the book.
   
   
   3.5 out of 5



5. Cass is a has-been photographer in her 40s who achieved momentary fame as a chronicler of the wasted punk scene in New York City in the late 1970s. Since then has been a slow slide into obscurity and despair; she's now as dead as you can be while still having a pulse.
   
   Then she gets an offer to go to rural Maine to interview a reclusive woman photographer who once pioneered a dreamlike photography technique. Cass leaves her rancid NYC apartment for the harsh and frozen shore of Maine. There she meets a strange young man who simultaneously repels and attracts her, and a troubled teenage girl who will go missing. Those are just the first of the lunatics and psychopaths she meets. As she gets better acquainted with the townfolk, she uncovers a dark secret that stretches back to the reckless actions of mystical group of drop-outs in the late 1960s.
   
   Cass herself is an unforgettable character who gets several very funny lines. Aside from the pleasures of accompanying such a complex person through such a spooky landscape, you learn a lot about photography in a subtle way that never slows the action. This is a precise, realistic, and haunting mystery. Longer review at BellaOnline Mystery Books (BellaOnline-dot-com).