Book Description
The great Gothic cathedrals of Europe are among the most astonishing achievements of Western culture. Evoking feelings of awe and humility, they make us want to understand what inspired the people who had the audacity to build them. This engrossing book surveys an era that has fired the historical imagination for centuries. In it Robert A. Scott explores why medieval people built Gothic cathedrals, how they built them, what conception of the divine lay behind their creation, and how religious and secular leaders used cathedrals for social and political purposes. As a traveler's companion or a rich source of knowledge for the armchair enthusiast, The Gothic Enterprise helps us understand how ordinary people managed such tremendous feats of physical and creative energy at a time when technology was rudimentary, famine and disease were rampant, the climate was often harsh, and communal life was unstable and incessantly violent.
While most books about Gothic cathedrals focus on a particular building or on the cathedrals of a specific region, The Gothic Enterprise considers the idea of the cathedral as a humanly created space. Scott discusses why an impoverished people would commit so many social and personal resources to building something so physically stupendous and what this says about their ideas of the sacred, especially the vital role they ascribed to the divine as a protector against the dangers of everyday life.
Scott's narrative offers a wealth of fascinating details concerning daily life during medieval times. The author describes the difficulties master-builders faced in scheduling construction that wouldn't be completed during their own lifetimes, how they managed without adequate numeric systems or paper on which to make detailed drawings, and how climate, natural disasters, wars, variations in the hours of daylight throughout the year, and the celebration of holy days affected the pace and timing of work. Scott also explains such things as the role of relics, the quarrying and transporting of stone, and the incessant conflict cathedral-building projects caused within their communities. Finally, by drawing comparisons between Gothic cathedrals and other monumental building projects, such as Stonehenge, Scott expands our understanding of the human impulses that shape our landscape.
Customer Reviews:
A real pleasure.......2006-09-01
Well written and wonderfully informed, this well designed book presents a comprehensive review of the appearance and use of the great cathedrals and abbey churches built across the middle ages in France and England. It also includes a wonderfully precise presentation of the social, economic, and political order of the time, and it discusses how the great buildings were built and what is known of their builders. Overall, it is the best general introduction I know of, easily accessible to non experts and a wonderful review for the better informed.
Outstanding book.......2006-01-30
The people who reviewed this book before me did a great job of describing this wonderful book, so I'm not going to repeat their observations. However, one aspect of the work I personally appreciated was the way Scott examined the cathedrals as architectural responses to the cultural context. His analysis is clear and straightforward. Excellent book!
Grand undertaking.......2005-09-24
Author Robert Scott had much the same the experience at Salisbury Cathedral as I had - a sense of awe and wonder, and a desire to learn more about it, not just as a place, or as an architectural wonder, or as a place of worship, or as a cultural icon. Scott wanted to get at the heart of the idea of the Gothic enterprise as a whole - a trained sociologist, Scott knew that the bigger picture is sometimes lost by too narrow a focus on particular details to the exclusion of others. The sociology background also gave Scott a sense of wanting to understand the hearts and minds of the people involved.
While the principal focus of Scott's travels started with Salisbury Cathedral (in full, the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Salisbury), Scott draws examples from the breadth of the Gothic cathedrals, churches and other buildings. There are literally thousands of such dotted across the European and European-influenced landscapes. Each building has its own unique characteristics, but they share a common spirit.
Church building in particular was 'big business' in Christendom for a long time. Scott quotes estimates of that there are nearly 19,000 ecclesiastical buildings in England and Wales, nearly half of which date to the medieval period. The first Gothic church was the Abbey Church of St. Denis, just north of Paris, built under the direction of the 'founding father' of Gothic style, Abbot Suger.
Scott's first major section looks at how cathedrals were built, in terms of materials, architectural design, settings, and workforce. With regard to the workforce, the numbers were large and the division of labour highly specialised. In the records of the construction of Westminster Abbey, there were fifteen different categories of workers listed in 1253. Workers were often local, but supplemented by those who traveled, particularly if special skills were needed. Construction was often suspended in winter months, not just because of the cold, but because the number of daylight hours greatly diminished (in England, there can be fewer than 8 hours of daylight in the winter months).
Scott's second major section explores the history involved. The Gothic enterprise grew up out of the feudal system as it was trying to define itself in a sea of shifting political structures. It is no mistake that the Gothic ideal was born in an Abbey rather than a Cathedral; bishops had become increasingly involved in secular and political matters, while the monasteries remained closer to the common people and closer to the spiritual ideals of the church. 'Monasticism was a continuous effort to surmount sense perception and intellectual understanding to achieve knowledge of God, to experience communion with God, and by so doing to reveal the divine mystery and achieve special favour in the eyes of God.' Still, the particular abbey of Gothic's foundation, the Abbey of St. Denis, had a particular attachment to the French monarchs, and for a time the Abbey enjoyed a supreme reputation, 'from 1124 onward the Abbey Church of St. Denis became the religious and, in an important sense, the political capital of France.' From this place, the influence of Gothic style spread through the Paris region, then outward into France and beyond.
In the third section, Scott highlights some of the classic details of what the Gothic look entails. There is a geometric symmetry involved, which, 'when followed consistently, gives Gothic cathedrals their characteristic organic unity.' There is a logic and harmony built into the design. High vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, pointed arches are other features. However, the key element in Gothic design is light, and it is in aid of this aspect that the other elements are enlisted. Gothic cathedrals in comparison with the dimly lit Romanesque predecessors are flooded with light. Be it clear or stained glass, the incorporation of windows and lighting techniques hitherto not done makes the Gothic space a brighter surrounding. Heaven would be a place of light, and the Gothic cathedral is intended as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.
The fourth section explores the religious experience in Gothic structures, and how liturgies and worship are carried out, how they serve as temples of the imagination in addition to being the centre of worship, and how they become a repository of history. Part of this history was the incorporation of the memory and power of the dead into the fabric of the cathedrals - many became pilgrimage sites or burial sites; royal and other notable society figures also became part of the structures of cathedrals and churches. According to Scott, the cathedrals provided the saints with a focal point of veneration, and the saints in return provided a steady income (from the pilgrims) for the buildings to be completed.
The final section looks at the community that surrounded the Gothic enterprise, be they parish churches, abbey churches or cathedrals. Scott explores the living standards of the time, the stratification and specialisation of people in the different roles in society, and the questions not only of how the communities built the churches, but how the churches and cathedrals in turn built the communities. 'We might ...imagine that the long time required to build Gothic cathedrals added to the depth of the collective identity they engendered.' Indeed, in some regards, the building of a cathedral was never supposed to be completed. Spanning generations (sometimes, as in the case of Canterbury Cathedral, nearly 400 years) such enterprises defined the community in ways that no building project in modern times could approach.
Scott ends with a small essay regarding Stonehenge, not too far from Salisbury Cathedral, showing some similarities and differences in the way people built and found identity then.
Scott quotes Samuel Johnson as declaring Salisbury Cathedral 'the last perfection in architecture'; however, it is clear that there is much perfection to go around when it comes to all things Gothic. Scott's passion for the material and love of discovery is apparent on every page. A good writer, he serves as teacher, tour guide, and co-discoverer of ideas with the reader. This is a wonderful book.
A New Perspective on Gothic Cathedrals.......2004-01-15
I would highly recommend Robert A. Scott's new book, The Gothic Enterprise. Although many books have been published on the topic of Gothic Cathedrals, Scott has approached his subject with a new perspective. He asks the reader to think as much about the "why" of cathedral building as the "how." The reader will still find lots of information about the practical aspects of cathedral building, most helpfully enhanced by a discussion of the social, political, economic, and even climatological factors that complicated such long and challenging construction projects. But above and beyond this, Scott is interested in the people who conceived, designed, and built these great churches. What motivated them? How did hundreds of people with varying and often conflicting interests work collectively over long periods of time? What did an individual or a community expect in return for their contribution to such a bold undertaking?
Scott answers these questions and more. In turn he challenges the reader to see the cathedral in a new light, not only as an example of great architecture, but as tangible evidence of the commitment, creativity, hope, and faith of the people who, against great odds, undertook such a bold and difficult enterprise.
Having visited dozens of cathedrals, I think Scott is right on target. A cathedral is more than an amalgamation of stone, timber, and glass. If we look closely, we can still see traces of the contributors: in a mason's mark, the carved face of an 800 year-old effigy, a bishop's ring, or an irreverent carving high in the rooftops. It is the collective presence of these long-dead individuals, as much as the grandeur of the architecture that makes a cathedral so memorable, so tangibly the result of a collective human enterprise.
Scott's book is beautifully packaged with many photos and charming illustrations. It would be a handy guide for a traveler visiting cathedrals or a great read for an armchair traveler. I suspect the reader of The Gothic Enterprise will never see a cathedral in quite the same way again.
Great for both new and experienced enthusiasts.......2004-01-07
This book is both a wondrous introduction to Gothic Cathedrals for those who are newly curious about them and a concise but thorough resource for those who have long admired and read about the Gothic Cathedral. The author often takes a personal approach in his narrative, which seems quite appropriate given the personal impression these buildings were designed to make (and have made on most who will read this book). The book is both well-researched and easy to read, a difficult achievement. Its description of the elements of Gothic architecture, for example, is one of the most complete and clear treatments I have read.
The broad perspective taken (historical, intellectual, religious, architectural, sociological) helps bring together into one coherent whole the many different faces of the cathedral. Even those who may know the historical and intellectual origins of the cathedral will learn much about its other aspects here. For example, some of the details on construction techniques and parts of the discussion of "sacred spaces" within the cathedral were new even to someone who has read many books on the subject.
Medieval intellectual history and its relationship to the cathedrals is explored, and the coexistence of the potentially conflicting reason and faith in a single building is explained. Some discussion of how the cathedrals and their attached schools gave rise to the medieval (and hence the modern) university would have been helpful.
Overall, though, the book provides an excellent introduction to the topic and a comprehensive explanation of the "why" and "how" of Gothic Cathedrals (in addition to the more mundane, but still important, "who", "when", and "where").
Before this book, one would have to read many volumes to get such a complete picture of the Gothic Cathedral. This book is appropriate for anyone with an interest in the subject. It is the book that I'm sure many Gothic Cathedral enthusiasts wish they had written.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Architectural Science Review, published by University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture on June 1, 2004. The length of the article is 531 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The social background of the Gothic cathedrals.(Book Reviews)(Book Review)
Publication:
Architectural Science Review (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture
Volume: 47
Issue: 2
Page: 209(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Don't bother!.......2006-07-17
This book is extremely dated. It lacks practical "how to" information and technical detail for cabochon cutting. There is more detail for faceting, but not enough to actually do faceting. The language is stilted and verbose. It is written in a "tour guide" style, you would not get the impression that the author had actually done any of this kind of work himself. Don't bother!
Great lapidary for beginners!.......2005-08-03
This book will appeal to all rock hounds. It provides great lapidary techniques for everyone, from the novice to the expert.
If you want to take a rough gem all the way to its full beauty, this book - and a few dollars that all hobbies require - will assist you through all the steps.
Book Description
"Dora Apel mounts a careful and convincing analysis of a set of extremely difficult, often literally terrifying images, and provides the necessary contexts for readers to understand the practice of lynching and the terms of its representation by photographers and artists."—Richard Meyer, author of Outlaw Representation: Censorship and Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century American Art
"This book makes a major contribution to the scholarship on both lynching and the artistic representation of racism in the United States. It will undoubtedly be a foundational work for subsequent research by historians and art historians alike."—W. Fitzhugh Brundage, author of Under Sentence of Death and Lynching in the New South
"In concise and compelling language, Dora Apel traces the origins and histories of images of lynching in order to foreground their role in both normalizing and challenging particular concepts of racial and national identity. She forces us to look at scenes most would prefer to ignore, and exposes the horror and logic of torture. At a time when grotesque deaths are increasingly framed as `entertainment' by today's news media, Apel's book is a sober reminder of the political expediency and personal pain behind such graphic displays."—Frances K. Pohl, author of Framing America: A Social History of American Art
Outside of the classroom and scholarly publications, lynching has long been a taboo subject. Nice people, it is felt, do not talk about it, and they certainly do not look at images representing the atrocity.
In Imagery of Lynching, Dora Apel contests this adopted stance of ignorance. Through a careful and compelling analysis of over one hundred representations of lynching, she shows how the visual documentation of such crimes can be a central vehicle for the construction and reinforcement of racial hierarchies. She examines how lynching was often orchestrated explicitly for the camera, how these images circulated on postcards, but also how they eventually were appropriated by antilynching forces and artists from the 1930s to the present. She further investigates the role that gender played in these visual representations, how photographs were used to construct ideologies of "whiteness" and "blackness," and how interracial desire became part of the imagery.
Offering the fullest and most systematic discussion of the depiction of lynching in diverse visual forms, this book addresses questions about race, class, gender, and dissent in the shaping of American society. Although we may want to avert our gaze, Apel holds it with her sophisticated interpretations of traumatic images and the uses to which they have been put.
Customer Reviews:
Good buy, great for classroom use.......2007-10-02
I read this book both in college and as a teacher, I used excerpts for my high school classroom. This book is great b/c it uses images not only to show the horrors of lynching but also to show how art and images were used in anti-lynching campaigns. The book gives an overview of how lynching imagery has been used throughout history and I find there to be enough pictures. The text itself provides many speicifc examples which is why it has a lot of text. Each image is carefully analyzed and then background for the time period is given. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about lynching in a greater historical context rather than just a simplisitic view. If you are interested in more than just how terrible lynching was, this book as a lot of chapters on the impact and what it means today.
Erudite, Incisive, But Mostly Text and Few Photos.......2007-07-04
This is not the book I was expecting. For that, go to Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America, which I rate at five stars and which so sickened me that I thought of Ike Eisenhower ordering that all those living near the death camps be ordered to march past slowly to see what they tolerated in their midst.
This is without question a very respected academic work, an one line jumps out from the first chapter "On Looking." It captures the essence of this book perfectly:
"The power and seduction of specatacle lynching, and its social and moral legitimacy as the embodiment of communal values of law and order, white masculine affirmation, family honor, and white supremacy, depended on the crowd's act of looking." (page 15).
My mind swirled around this, thinking of other books (listed below), of genocide, of eugenics (Henry Kissinger's favorite word), of injustice, of moral perversion and cowardliness, of those who allowed the Jews to be persecuted by the Nazis.
I am reminded of at least one other author, it may have been Francis Lappe Moore in Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life, who noted that "white supremacy" has been the death of democracy in America. To that I would add the perversion of the corporation, which stole a legacy intended for freed people of color, and turned into a lifetime license to steal from all.
Where this book lost me was in its emphasis in the remainder of the book on how lynching are depicted in art--the wood cuttings and other art images outnumber the actual photographs. All very worthy, to be sure, but at this point the book moves into the realm of the academic rather than the visceral, which is why if you buy only one book, I recommend Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America instead.
I won;'t even try to get into today's continued injustice, including red lining black districts to turn them into ghettos, then buying up the real estate at a fraction of its true value, before gentryfing it for resale and much higher prices.
My bottom line: we need two Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in America, the first to bring out in the open all of the evils that the white race has inflicted on people of color from the Native Americans to the black slaves to the Chinese slaves to the current dispossessed that now include a heavy leavening of poor whites. The second, with Nelson Mandela and Lee Kuan Yew as co-chairs, can examine the history of the UK and US as colonial powers, unilateral militarists, and predatory capitalists looting the commonwealths of all other lesser developed nations, with the consequence that we have five billion poor instead of seven billion billionaires.
See also
Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America
Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
The Big White Lie: The CIA and the Cocaine/Crack Epidemic
The Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution and the Industrial System
Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin
The Corporation
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on December 22, 2006. The length of the article is 545 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Imagery of Lynching: Black Men, White Women and the Mob.(Book review)
Author: Vincent Mikkelsen
Publication:
The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 68
Issue: 4
Page: 825(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Imagery of Lynching: Black Men, White Women, and the Mob.(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Southern History
Leslie Parr
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B000EQIJO4
Release Date: 2006-02-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 626 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Imagery of Lynching: Black Men, White Women, and the Mob.(Book Review)
Author: Leslie Parr
Publication:
Journal of Southern History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 72
Issue: 1
Page: 214(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2007-03-08
it is one of the most essential books you should have , it is easy written and easely to study from.
Great Deal!!!.......2007-01-19
Excellent! One of the best guide books on the art of Baguazhang. Also check out the book on the subject by Mr. Liang, Dr. Yang and Mr. Wu. Mr. Wu is my teacher here in RI and is one of the nicest men I have met in the martial arts world. He also very knowledgeable on the subject and has all the proper credentials to back up his teaching skills.
In this particular book though, it takes Baguazhang from a different point of view. It is more like a dance stepping graphic look at the stepping pattern. Which becomes extremely helpful when linked with Mr. Wu's book. The two complement each other really well.
So if you want to nail down the concept of Baguazhang, get the two volumes of this book and the book on Baguazhang by Mr. Liang. Dr. Yang and Mr. Wen-Ching Wu.
real kung fu - martial arts.......2006-09-04
what a humble and truthful insight to the life and art of a real Chinese martial art master! love it.
Good intro........2005-07-07
Good introduction to Pa Kua. However, there is a lot missing. There is so much more to Pa Kua than what this book covers. It would also benifit greatly to have a video to supplement the illustrations.
Superb introduction into BaGua mechanics.......2004-06-21
~I'm finally glad they got Vol. 1 on this website. I'd written a review for Vol.2 awhile ago, but had to imply that there was a Vol.1 to be read, as well. It's been a while, and others have already gotten to it, but I thought I'd plug in my 2 cents...
WONDERFUL!
In retrospect, there is some mystery here. BaGua, as with many Chinese martial arts styles, is all about your instructor, your instructor's instructor, etc.. Your lineage is key. BaGua has a very complex geneaology, stemming~~ from Dong Hai Chuan (various phonetic spellings) the legendary Grandmaster. In fact, two key branches of BaGua (since Dong Hai Chuan only taught experienced martial artists-- most whom he purportedly defeated in combat) are those that seem very BaGua like, and those that seem Hsing-Yi-ified. Those are my terms. In my experience, you can take the forty or so BaGua styles, and classify them as fairly "pure" BaGua (circular, evasive, fine, intricate), and those that have integreated~~ significant Hsing-Yi principles-- linear, power, direct.
Park Bok Nam's style is more pure BaGua in terms of evasiveness, footwork, and hand-techniques. His teacher, the legendary Lu Shue-Tien, is a bit of an unknown... Even in this book, there is no real claim as to who taught Lu Shue-Tien. Other sources I have speculate...
That being said, this book is a wonderful, detailed work that describes basic techniques-- footwork, some foot-trapping, and elementary strikes down to the~~ smallest level of biomechanics. How to move your feet, knees, pelvis, abdoman, to generate power, for example. In more detail than in any other book on any other style I've ever read. Superb for anyone who is trying to understand the underlying principles of this art, or even for the advanced practitioner trying to compare this or that, or to glean insights.
This is not a forms book. Park Bok Nam gives some simple palm changes that are basically qi gong postures with circle walking. ~~ It's a mechanics book. A superb one.
Finally, the lineage is important. BaGua varies significantly from style to style. The techniques can be dramatically different, as can the mechanics at the more superficial level. But I think from a basic concepts level, the biomechanics are all pretty much the same. So this is an insight into one family, not all. But I think confining it to mechanics kept it manageable, and pure. No hullabaloo or flash. And eminently useful.
Wonderful,~~ clearly written, adequate pictures (get the videos for better illustration of Park's technique). A must for the martial artist.~
Average customer rating:
- Simply the best original comic!
- Nice re-issue, need to release more volumes.
- Overpriced edition; Series needs an "Essential" offering!
- A comic book ahead of its time...
- An Interesting Look at the Viet Nam Conflict
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The 'Nam, Vol. 1
Doug Murray
Manufacturer: Marvel Entertainment Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0871352842 |
Customer Reviews:
Simply the best original comic!.......2006-08-15
I just read this in Iraq, funny thing is change the uniforms a little and the country and BAM! It still rings pretty damn true today. I wish Marvel would bring it back as a monthly series again. Golden the artist is amazing. I loved every thing about the book except it was too short! I have been looking all over for volume 2 and have it in the mail. I have read it a couple of times already in 140 degree heat and it is covered in sweat now, but I am going to carry it around for the rest of the war until I get home. The last time I fell in love with a comic or graphic novel like this was Dark Knight Returns about ten years ago.
You can't go wrong with the book even though it is a quick read. It just sucks that it leaves you wanting more. I know I am going to be digging thru comic bins for the next 2 years trying to get the complete series.
Nice re-issue, need to release more volumes........2005-07-05
The Nam was an cool comic book when it first came out, but after the first twenty-four issues the storyline started to stray from the title's orignal theme and ideals. Too bad for them but the first four issues were but together in a comic album format. Why did Marvel only rel-reease the first volume
edition of The NAM and charge a higher price for it? The least they could have done was follow the military career of Ed Marks. He was one of the most intersting characters in Marvel Comics. They sure knew how to destroy comic lines.
First New Universe and now this! Marvel needs to put out the first two years of The Nam out on bookshelf format. But this one is a good start.
Strongly recommended.
Overpriced edition; Series needs an "Essential" offering!.......2005-05-18
There is no better Marvel series that deserves to be one of the first 1980s titles collected in the "phone book-style" Essential format. The story is brilliantly told in a very realistic, hard-hitting style. Michael Golden's pencils were also magnificent!
But while this may be an acceptable collection if you want to introduce yourself (or a loved one) to Marvel's groundbreaking war comic, which ran for 7 years from 1986 to 1993, the price is ridiculous.
$15 for a 96-page collected volume? You gotta be kidding me! This was actually the third printing of this book, the first was $4.95 and the 2nd cost $6.95. Slapping a "Marvel's Finest" logo on a nice, new cover did not justify the price hike. But at least they put it back in print.
(You can easily pick up Near-Mint, first-printing copies of the first 5 or 6 issues for the same price at your local or online comic shop!)
Well here we are 5 years later, and this series *demands* a new re-release! Marvel, please release "The Essential 'Nam" and make it at least 2 volumes! That would cover the first half of the series, and trust me, there are a lot of Vietnam vets who would appreciate it!
A comic book ahead of its time..........2004-04-20
I can remember when this title came out in the '80s right at the height of renewed interest in the Viet Nam War. Along with Oliver Stone's movie, Platoon and the TV series Tour of Duty, there was the comic book, The 'Nam.
Written by actual Viet vet Doug Murray and beautifully illustrated (for the first 13 or so issues) by Michael Golden, this series followed the one year tour of duty of PFC Ed Marks. Murray dedicated one issue to one month of Mark's tour and crammed in all kinds of period speak and slang that the troops used while in country. This gives the stories and the characters a real feeling of authenticity that was missing from war comics for a long time.
The 'Nam was one of those rare comics that wasn't afraid to address death (even major, beloved characters died during the series) in an unflinchingly honest and touching way or present unlikable characters. It covered all sorts of aspects of the war, from going on R'n'R, to the death of a close friend to the dangerous jobs of Tunnel Rats. I am hard-pressed to think of any other comic exclusively dedicated to this war before The 'Nam or since.
Michael Golden's artwork is another thing that made The 'Nam so good. His stint was the finest work of the series and was never equaled after he left. Even though his style is a bit on the cartoonish side, he made it work perfectly by giving each character their own distinctive look that was important so that one could distinguish who was who in all those similar green uniforms. What I liked so much about his style of illustrating is the cinematic quality to it. I could easily see his artwork transformed into a movie as he employed all sorts of moody, atmospheric lighting techniques and colours that really brought the action on the page to life.
Sadly, this collection is a bit of a bust as it only collects the first four issues. Murray and Golden were a team for at least the first 12 (maybe 13?) of the series. They are definitely worth tracking down as this was one of the finest war comics ever published.
An Interesting Look at the Viet Nam Conflict.......2004-02-24
"The 'Nam" is an unusual way of looking at war--in comics. While anime does such things frequently, such a realistic look at war from an American company is rare, and serves as an interesting side note to other Viet Nam pop culture icons such as Billy Joel's "Goodnight Saigon" and Robin William's Adrian Cronaur in "Good Morning Vietnam."
Product Description
Viet Nam era (navy blue and white cover) paperback (7 3/4 X 10 inches X 1/2 inch thick) Mathematics Volume 1 BUREAU OF NAVAL PERSONNEL Navy Training Course (NAVPERS 10069-C) 1966 Edition (1970-1971 Reprint). The Preface of this book states that the purpose of this Navy Taining Course is to aid those enlisted men who need a basic knowledge of mathematics to carry out their Navy duties.
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The 'Nam ("From Cedar Falls, With Love", Vol. 1, No. 12)
Doug Murray
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
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ASIN: B000NNKXP6 |
Product Description
Printed: Nov. 1987
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The 'Nam ("Guerrilla Action", Vol. 1, No. 10)
Doug Murray
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
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ASIN: B000NNMTVW |
Product Description
Printed: Sept. 1987
Average customer rating:
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The 'Nam ("Tis the Season", Vol. 1, No. 11)
Doug Murray
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Marvel
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NNKX5G |
Product Description
Printed: Oct. 1987
Average customer rating:
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The 'Nam (Vol 1 No 23)
Manufacturer: marvel comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000IAX7AW |
Average customer rating:
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The 'Nam (vol 1 no 24)
Manufacturer: marvel comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000IAVFKG |
Average customer rating:
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The 'Nam (vol 1 no 3)
Manufacturer: marvel comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000IAUFZC |
Books:
- The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design
- The Inner Harmony of the Japanese House
- The Natural House: A Complete Guide to Healthy, Energy-Efficient, Environmental Homes
- The New Cottage Home: A Tour of Unique American Dwellings
- The Phenomenon of Life: The Nature of Order, Book 1 An Essay of the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe (The Nature of Order, Book 1)
- The Poetics of Space
- The Portfolio: An Architectural Student's Handbook (Architectural Students Handbooks)
- The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
- The Process of Creating Life: The Nature of Order, Book 2 An Essay of the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe (The Nature of Order, Book 2)
- The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling
Books Index
Books Home
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The Gothic Cathedral
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Medieval Architecture (Oxford History of Art)
