1 comments about Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 19721981.

1. As a person who grew up in the heart of the Bible belt and in the shadow of the "Ozark Jubilee" and "Grand Old Opry" I knew I'd like this book. Many of my Jr. High Class mates were part of the "Wagon Wheelers Square Dancers" on the national televised "Jubilee." It was a common occurrence to see Red Foley, and enormously popular preteen singer Brenda Lee and some of the people photographed in this book strolling down the street. My parent's CPA was also Red Foley's accountant. That's my bias in reviewing this book. I'm so glad Henry had the insight to document this fascinating and important part of American Music lore. Honky Tonk refers to Southwestern and Southern bars with musical entertainment and sometimes dancing. It is also subgenre of USA country-western music. If an upright piano player or small group of musicians weren't playing at the bar there was usually a jukebox. Sometimes there were both.
   As a young photographer who loved Honky Tonk music, Henry Horenstein was selling cover photos to Rounder Records and that little known company arranged for the young photographer to get backstage at WSM's Grand Old Opry and from 1972-1981 Henry made the photographs in this fascinating visual history. He also made photographs of individual Honky Tonk legends on tour, at their homes and at various Honky Tonk bars such as the legendary Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville, TN and the Hill Billy Ranch in Boston. Some of this readers favorite pictures were taken of the typical working class patron of these bars. One of my favorites was a close-up picture of woman standing directly in front of the camera holding out an open HAV-A-TAMPA cigar box with a handwritten sign stating "Band Plays for Tips Only--Thank You--Very Much." Who is the beautiful woman posing for this picture while she makes the rounds of the bar patrons looking for contributions. Most of the money in box is change and two or three one dollar bills. It doesn't appear that the band is going to make much money on this particular night. The obviously pleased to be having her picture taken subject is wearing what looks like a form fitting leather dress and may well be a member of the band or one of the band members wives or girl friends. It's a great picture that appears to have been taken on a Rolleiflex camera with a strobe right on the camera. The square formatted picture asks many questions that the viewer can only guess at answering. Another series of pictures from Tootsie's Orchid Lounge is mostly still life pictures of the programs, flyers and autographed pictures and album jackets completely covering the walls. The series includes many terrific portraits of the typical Honk Tonk patrons and café/bar/road house staff surrounded by the autographed and graffiti covered walls.
   Most of the book is simple flash on camera straight-forward, unadorned portraits of the performers. Ernest Tubb and fans is another of my favorites included in the book. It shows a smiling cowboy clad Tubb surrounded by his adoring fans. A young boy appears transfixed while looking up into his face while an older woman has both her hands holding onto his right lower arm and shirtsleeve as she stares lovingly into his face that reminds me of a Ancient Greek Theater Mask with it's frozen-in-time- waxlike smile and piercing eyes.
   There are lots of outstanding and very telling portraits of the various musicians usually staring directly into the camera. There are so many good ones that it would be impossible to even list them all here. I liked seeing the ones of Mother Maybelle Carter, Porter Wagner, a very young looking Dolly Parton, Hank Williams Jr., Tex Ritter, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis lighting a cigar as he sits at his Honky Tonk upright piano, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Don Stover (cover photo), Jeannie C. Riley, Hank Snow, Anita Carter, Stringbean, Nathan Abshire at home next to his old fashioned washing machine and pickup truck, Del Reeves. Lester Flatt, Emmy Lou Harris, Ray Acuff, Banjo pickin' dog, Hillybilly Tex at Boston's Hillbilly Ranch, an Acme Boots representative, sponsor of show, Bluegrass music fan Frank Brown, and lots and lots of other wonderful black and white portraits.
   The brief, but enlightening text for the book was supplied by the photographer, Eddie Stubbs, and Charles McGovern of the Smithsonian Institution. This is a wonderful documentation of a vanished part of American Music history and we are all very blessed that Henry Horenstein not only took the pictures, but saw that they were published 25 years later when their historical significance became obvious to everyone. Studying it makes me really miss the old, always rocking, tobacco smoke-filled Hill Billy Ranch that was located on the fringes of Boston's Theater District and the city's infamous Combat Zone. Great job Henry!

5 comments about Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11.

1. David Friend has collected some outstanding pictures and informative interviews in Watching the World Change. And he is certainly right in his argument that the 9/11 terrorism made every citizen a potential photojournalist and went a long way to cementing digital photography's triumph over film. He is also exactly right in capturing both the global nature of the event and how quickly people became witnesses to it. In other words, his book validates the reality of nearly instantaneous global information. The book is annoying, however, because while Friend tiptoes up to, he does not really address the issue of how much of that instantaneously available information, especially graphic photographs, the public really needs to know, how such photos should be handled by both photographer and the media. He dodges any judgement and consistently refuses to criticize any photographer's behavior, no matter how boorish or sensational it might be. In short, Friend provides little help in the question of "where are the boundaries?". If this question matters, and I think it does, Friend's book -- while an excellent chronicle of who shot what with what kind of camera when -- is less than it could have been.



2. A very well written book in an "intimate" style, it shares many heretofore unavailable "takes" of that day. While I was surprised at the small number of photographs the book actually contained when I received it, the true value of the book is in "filling in the blanks" about the images it does discuss. This becomes apparent as the book is read. It also becomes obvious that only a limited number of images could be "explained" as thoroughly as Mr. Friend does without the book becoming exceedingly bulky.
   
   Some of the images in "Watching..." border on the farcical - such as a pregnant German woman. Hands on her stomach in an apparent takeoff of the modeling magazines, she languidly poses for the camera as the Twin Towers smoulder in the background. Must be a German thing, this ennui regarding mass murder.
   
   Others, such as an image of one of the "jumpers," is accutely haunting, searing itself into one's consciousness like a branding iron. Reading Mr. Friend's explanation of the image, in which the probable identity and work location of that poor soul become apparent, the horror becomes even more immediate, as we feel we "kind of know him."
   
   For those of us who love New York but (thank God!) weren't there to witness the perdition in the flesh, Mr. Friend's book probably gives the reader the closest possible approximation of what it feels like to have lost a loved one that day. He manages to "put a face" on many of the victims. They come to seem like friends.
   
   I love and hate this book. It's a "magic telescope" which "brings it all back" so effectively that it almost seems to stretch time backwards to that horrid day. It is masterfully done. Americans must never forget what was done to Americans that day. Mr. Friend's book should make the "Day of Infamy" comprehensible, almost immediate, to future Americans. Well Done!



3. This book had incredible stories, I have read this book several times and continue to pick it up and read it again. The only thing that bothered me was the lack of photographs. Not enough photographs, especially ones more closely related to the stories. I have many books on this subject and felt there easliy could have been more photographs. It just frustrated me to find so few. Barring that, the stories were solidly told and that day will never be forgotten.



4. Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11 tells stories behind the now-familiar shots taken by bystanders and professionals of 9/11 events, taking the reader back through the years to dialy events experienced by families and the nation. From how some of the most harrowing photos were taken of events to their lasting effects on photographer and viewers alike, WATCHING THE WORLD CHANGE questions how modern history comes to life with images, reveals the lasting traumas of events of 9/11, and draws important connections between observer, reporter, and daily life. Public libraries and college collections strong in the social sciences will find this a hard-hitting survey.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. I really enjoyed knowing more about the photographers behind the photos. Some of the technical information was more than I needed, but it was very well written and I would recommend it.

5 comments about Sunsets.

1. A great book of sunsets and unique pictures with inspiring quotes. A must for every coffee table.



2. The photography is brilliant! Makes me want to go by a airplaine ticket. I also loved the quotes! They make me want to live life to its fullest and be a better person.



3. This is a wonderful book. The photography is first class and the quotes make it fun. An excellent addition to anyones coffee table. I especially love the kissing couple on page 74.



4. The photography is brilliant and the accompanying quotations equally choice. This is the perfect coffee table book--and gift. Forget the bottles of wine you have been bringing as a dinner guest. This book is a much more meaningful offering!
   
   Congratulations to Lora Drasner and may her next book be as powerful.



5. Please take some time to look at a book that will make you buy a airline ticket. This book will also get you to see some exciting places that you might never get to go to. Perfect book for the coffee table.
   
   Great book!!!!

1 comments about Sonoran Desert Wildflowers: A Field Guide to the Common Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert, Including Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Saguaro National Park, Organ Pipe National Monument, Ironwood Forest National Monument, and the Sonoran Portion of Joshua Tree National Park.

1. A must-have book for your library of Desert Wildflower books. It is arranged by color of bloom, has beautiful photographs, and the text is very informative. Each plant description also has a comment of something unusual or interesting about it, which is a novelty for a flower book.

4 comments about Elements of Black and White Photography: The Making of Twenty Images.

1. THIS BOOK WAS GREAT FROM THE START. IT GAVE ME A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS AND EVEN MORE INSIGHT TO THE TECHN. ON TAKING UNIQUE AND AWESOME BLACK & WHITE PHOTOS. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE. IT IS EASY TO FOLLOW AND HAS GREAT PICTURES AND IDEAS!



2. I have several books on B&w photography and George Todd's The Making of Twenty Images is the best I've read so far. I particulary like the fact that he includes his negatives as he reveals what went into each photograph, from composition to film development, printing and mounting.



3. I got this book at the same time as I got Barry Thornton's Edge of Darkness. I found they were complementary is many ways. George Todd has been at this craft of making monochrome pictures for several decades, and his skill and picture and printmaking ability shine through. Mr Todd has got the picturemaker's trinity of 'tone, detail and texture' pretty much down pat, and the book gives us fine example after fine example of that. Wheras Mr Thornton in Edge of Darkness tells us as much about his heart and his head as about his superb pictures, George Todd has provided an extremely detailed account of each picture from before the shutter was tripped to when the print was ready to mount. There is something for everyone here - technicians, printmakers, photographers, and the house guest who simply browses a well produced book of outstanding images over a cup of coffee. They won't need to read one word - the pictures will speak to them. I like the book most of all because it showcases the ability of medium format so well. If the negative sizes were not detailed, I'm sure most would think these prints were from large format negatives. I'm glad I have it in my library.



4. I got this book at the same time as I got Barry Thornton's Edge of Darkness. I found they were complementary is many ways. George Todd has been at this craft of making monochrome pictures for several decades, and his skill and picture and printmaking ability shine through. Mr Todd has got the picturemaker's trinity of 'tone, detail and texture' pretty much down pat, and the book gives us fine example after fine example of that. Wheras Mr Thornton in Edge of Darkness tells us as much about his heart and his head as about his superb pictures, George Todd has provided an extremely detailed account of each picture from before the shutter was tripped to when the print was ready to mount. There is something for everyone here - technicians, printmakers, photographers, and the house guest who simply browses a well produced book of outstanding images over a cup of coffee. They won't need to read one word - the pictures will speak to them. I like the book most of all because it showcases the ability of medium format so well. If the negative sizes were not detailed, I'm sure most would think these prints were from large format negatives. I'm glad I have it in my library.

No comments about Elizabeth Taylor: A Life in Pictures.

1 comments about The World: Flying High.

1. I just bought this book from our local natural history museum. It has some of the most incredible photographs I have ever seen (all in blazing color and all taken from the air). The book is divided into sections (e.g., mountains, forests, realms of water, deserts, cities, archaic sites like Stonehenge and Petra). There are some essays as well, but I have not read them yet. I'm still trying to take in all the photographs, and there are A LOT. This book is well worth having, just to show us what a wonderful world we really live in.

3 comments about New York Then and Now (Then & Now).

1. A city that has changed and continues to change with the speed and energy that New York does, invites books like these. Annette Witheridge's "New York: Then and Now" is a gorgeous collection of photos from days past juxtaposed with recent shots. For me there are two effects of this juxtaposition: one is a sense of loss. Many of the old buildings, now gone, were beautiful. But, more strongly, is the sense of admiration for New York's eternal dedication to progress. "New York: Then and Now" gives the reader an appreciation of the labor that has gone into the building of the greatest city on Earth.

   PS--Most photo books have great photos, but the print quality is mediocre. The print quality of this book is marvelous.

   Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS




2. This book of photos should really be called Manhattan - Then And Now since all of the photos are of this Burough of New York. The book begins with photos of lower Manhattan and continues slowly uptown showing just about all of the important landmarks. This book was published after the 9/11 tragedy and some emphasis has been placed in showing the area in lower Manhattan before and after the terrorist attack.



3. Many old New York City Photos and one of the same picture as it looks today. Great for people that enjoy comparing things that were to things that are today.

1 comments about Silver Springs: The Underwater Photography of Bruce Mozert.

1. This is not your typical underwater photography coffee table book!! It is a quirky collection of carefully-posed photographs taken for crowd-pleasing effect, made for publicity pictures and postcards at Silver Springs. The effects are variously surreal, amusing, risque and kitsch. The photographer Bruce Mozert spent an entire career thinking of wacky scenes to shoot, and some of the ideas are brilliant. It's also a testament to the photographer's professionalism and achievement in making the best of the practical constraints (shallow fresh water, breath-holding models, buoyancy). The photographer and the models obviously had a lot of fun doing it. It's great fun to read. There are no stunning world-class masterpieces of technique or artistry here, but there's a style that grows on you. And to my surprise, there are a couple of hidden gems about underwater photography technique. Most of all - you're supposed to enjoy it.

5 comments about Chicago at the Turn of the Century in Photographs: 122 Historic Views from the Collections of the Chicago Historical Society.

1. If you don't believe that Chicago was the world leader in architecture at the end of the 19th century, buy this book - you might just change your mind!
   
   First off, there are maps that show the location of each photograph. If you don't know the city, that helps you get things organized in your mind. If you know the city, you can do your own "then and now" comparison based on your latest visit. Most of these gems are long gone, and were replaced by poor substitutes. The author then does a good job of explaining about the photographs themselves. When and why they were taken, how they were used, the equipment involved, and why these particular negatives were chosen.
   
   And then, you are allowed to feast your eyes on 122 full-page shots of old Chicago. The focus is on architecture, but you'll see some of the people, the river commerce, the "El", and the bustle of commerce. You do have to live with the photographic constraints of the day, e.g. everything is black and white, and the street scenes contain blurs of motion from people and vehicles, owing to the long exposure times. Some of the negatives are damaged, particularly around the edges, but to the author's credit, there is no attempt at photoshopping to fix the problems. What you see is the best, most accurate presentation possible.
   
   This is a great look at a lost time, and lost architecture. Highly recommended.



2. This deserves 10 stars! A large format book with the finest photo's I have ever seen of Chicago's historical architecture. You will love it!



3. This book contains full page photos, many of which I had never seen before. The clarity of the photographs is comparable to the digital photos we are able to take now. Although the book consists mainly of photos of buildings (of course) there are many which include pedestrians, carriages, automobiles, signs, etc. I think this book would be interesting to anyone studying Chicago, the history of the time period, architecture, clothing or photography, or to anyone who simply loves old photographs. The only complaint I have is that some of the photos were not dated. Very good book!



4. Great look into the "City of Big Shoulders" at the turn of the century. Good aid to understanding of urban America at the beginning of the 20Th Century



5. I have been to Chicago many years since I lived in IL from 1933 to 1963. My mother's people came to Chicago in the 1830's.
   I found the early photos extremely interesting as I am a former teacher of both high school & college history. I reall liked this book as I had seen it before & could not locate another copy until I saw it on Amazon.
   Many Thanks for stocking this item.