Customer Reviews:
Was Lost and Now is Found.......2006-02-28
I owned a copy of this book when it came out in 1969 and sadly lost it somewhere along the decades since. I am so happy to find it again.
I agree with what the previous review has to say about the book; it certainly does give us insight into the social mindset of the times. Not only does Buck Rogers represent a compendium of social mores, it is worthy for the art and shows us a time line of changing artistic styles and conventions.
If you are a fan of social history, this is a grand addition to any eclectic collection.
Social history through a cartoon strip.......2004-11-13
When you compare it to modern comics, the design, dialog and story lines of the Buck Rogers cartoon strip are very weak. You read phrases like, " Well - jest watch what I do t' Dual an' Namtac fer pullin' this little surprise trick." Therefore, to enjoy this collection, you must adopt the mindset of the times. They were drawn in the early thirties, so you also see some of the racism so rampant in the United States at that time.
The first section of the collection deals with the threat from the Mongols, a demonstration of the perceived threat from the Asiatic masses. The Mongols are brutal, bloodthirsty, deceitful and cowardly and the American forces are noble. This is a demonstration of what I liked best about the collection, in that it demonstrates some of the collective mindset in the United States at that time. It is easy to see why the Japanese-Americans were interned after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The next section features a Martian attack on Earth. As was the case with the Mongols, the Martians are evil brutes who know only war and conquest. There is nothing about them that is redeeming or appealing. The cartoons are written for the masses, whose thoughts concerning aliens, whatever their point of origin, cannot see them as anything but barbarians.
To most people, Buck Rogers is science fiction, but to most readers of the genre, the cartoon is simplistic pulp and not science fiction. The themes are simple and the technology demonstrated in the strip is rendered without regard to the laws of physics. However, I enjoyed reading them, they were very popular in their time and high technology is still referred to as "Buck Rogers kind of stuff." The book is worth reading, but only if you accept the mindset of the time when they were created.
Customer Reviews:
A goldmine of information.......2000-04-10
The collected papers in this book answered many questions about Celtic Art that I have been asking for years. The book is written to scholarly standards that make the reading pretty tough going if you do not already have a pretty good grasp of the subject. Definitely not for the day tripper looking for romanticized Celtic thrills, this book is a collection of the work of the real experts in Medieval Art and Archaeology of the 7th to 10th centuries in Northern Britain and Ireland.
I am not an insider in academic circles so the question left unanswered that most troubles me is "How will I know when the next International Conference on Insular Art will be held so that I can try to attend it?"
Amazon.com
Catastrophic, world-altering events like the September 11 attacks on the United States place the millions of us who experience them on the "fault line where World History and Personal History collide." Most of us, however, cannot document that intersection with the force, compression, and poignancy expressed in Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers. As in his Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, cartoonist Spiegelman presents a highly personalized, political, and confessional diary of his experience of September 11 and its aftermath. In 10 large-scale pages of original, hard hitting material (composed from September 11, 2001 to August 31, 2003), two essays, and 10 old comic strip reproductions from the early 20th century, Spiegelman expresses his feelings of dislocation, grief, anxiety, and outrage over the horror of the attacks---and the subsequent "hijacking" of the event by the Bush administration to serve what he believes is a misguided and immoral political agenda. Readers who agree with Spiegelman's point of view will marvel at the brilliance of his images and the wit and accuracy of his commentary. Others, no doubt, will be jolted by his candor and, perhaps, be challenged to reexamine their position.
The central image in the sequence of original broadsides, which returns as a leitmotif in each strip, is Spiegelman's Impressionistic "vision of disintegration," of the North Tower, its "glowing bones...just before it vaporized." (As downtown New Yorkers, Spiegelman and his family experienced the event firsthand.) But the images and styles in the book are as fragmentary and ever-shifting as Spiegelman's reflections and reactions. The author's closing comment that "The towers have come to loom far larger than life...but they seem to get smaller every day" reflects a larger and more chilling irony that permeates In the Shadow of No Towers. Despite the ephemeral nature of the comic strip form, the old comics at the back of the book have outlasted the seemingly indestructible towers. In the same way, Spiegelman's heartfelt impressions have immortalized the towers that, imponderably, have now vanished. --Silvana Tropea
Book Description
For Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Maus, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were both highly personal and intensely political. In the Shadow of No Towers, his first new book of comics since the groundbreaking Maus, is a masterful and moving account of the events and aftermath of that tragic day.
Spiegelman and his family bore witness to the attacks in their lower Manhattan neighborhood: his teenage daughter had started school directly below the towers days earlier, and they had lived in the area for years. But the horrors they survived that morning were only the beginning for Spiegelman, as his anguish was quickly displaced by fury at the U.S. government, which shamelessly co-opted the events for its own preconceived agenda.
He responded in the way he knows best. In an oversized, two-page-spread format that echoes the scale of the earliest newspaper comics (which Spiegelman says brought him solace after the attacks), he relates his experience of the national tragedy in drawings and text that convey—with his singular artistry and his characteristic provocation, outrage, and wit—the unfathomable enormity of the event itself, the obvious and insidious effects it had on his life, and the extraordinary, often hidden changes that have been enacted in the name of post-9/11 national security and that have begun to undermine the very foundation of American democracy.
Customer Reviews:
Dull.......2007-03-09
In a small series of comic strips originally designed to be printed as large, two-page newspaper spreads, Spiegelman illustrates his personal experiences of the attack on the World Trade Center. He focuses mainly upon four themes: his concern over the safety of his daughter who was attending a school right near the towers, his growing paranoia over the government, the funny but disturbing display of blind patriotism that arose amongst the US population and media following the tragedy, and, lastly, how slow he is at producing comic strips.
Given the emotions still surrounding 9/11, it would take extraordinarily bad writing to fail to get any reaction from a reader, and perhaps that is why Spiegelman is so lazy and sloppy here. I'm sure he felt emotions while he was writing this, and he DOES do a good job of making the reader feel some of his anxiety over his daughter's safety, and some of his anecdotes are interesting (his never-used TV interview about how "American" 9/11 made him feel -- it didn't -- is quite humourous). But overall the writing lacks direction, is amateurish and hackneyed, and surprisingly ineffective at eliciting a strong emotional reaction from the reader given the subject matter. It usually wasn't so much Spiegelman's writing that made me feel emotions, but the memories it drew from inside of me (like the images of people falling from the towers). Without those memories, it was just history.
The problem may in part be due to the format of his stories. In each spread we tend to get a glimpse of a storyline, then we get to the next strip and we see basically the same glimpse of a storyline with much repetition and little progression, rendering his storytelling completely choppy. It reminded me of newscasts where they keep repeating the same "coming up" message over and over again, and when they finally get to the story itself, it winds up being even shorter and less informative than any of the multiple previews you sat through. And sometimes he doesn't even go that far. To illustrate, Spiegelman repeatedly tells you how paranoid he felt. But he does not get his feeling of paranoia across. He doesn't make the reader feel any of his paranoia or really show its effects on his life (other than some lost sleep). And it comes across as completely matter-of-fact. He might as well be telling us that he ate a salami sandwich for lunch yesterday without even describing its taste, his hunger, etc.
Some of his artwork is interesting as he draws upon classic strips from the early 20th century for inspiration, but this technique rarely adds any depth to the story's content. It is interesting style, but that's all it is -- style. It makes for pretty pictures, but fails to redeem the text.
Overall, Spiegelman has nothing new to say on the subject of 9/11. It has all been done far more competently and compellingly elsewhere by numbers too great to count. Ultimately lightweight, Shadow is printed on nice, thick boards to create the illusion that it is far more substantial than it is. It includes reprints of several interesting vintage comic strips which are included both to allow the reader less versed in comics to see where Spiegelman drew stylistic inspiration, and to pad out the books extremely small page count.
Not quite what I expected.......2006-04-02
I thought this would be more of a story of the artist's personal experience & less political. I don't disagree with his politics, but it was still somewhat of a disappointment. Spiegelman's artwork is always amazing, often moving & thought provoking. I was really moved by his quote: "I finally understand why some Jews didn't leave Berlin right after Kristallnacht!" I also enjoyed the section on old political cartoons
"I finally understand why some Jews didn't leave Berlin after Kristallnacht"---Art Spiegelman.......2006-02-17
Before this book, I had never picked up a book on 9/11, being that I assumed they are all so politically biased (be it one extreme or another). There are also so many of them, some released very soon after the attack. It is frustrating to look at the "new books" section of the local library and see ½ the shelves filled with 9/11 books. I couldn't help myself with this curio, however. I am a fan of history and comics. Browsing through the large, thick, colorful cardboard panels of "In the Shadow of No Towers", I saw a vintage newspaper page on the shooting of President McKinley (the author doesn't elaborate on why this was used, must be the terrorism theme, in this case anarchism) and what looked like on first glance a vintage comic on the Titanic (it turned out to be an even older comic). I knew this book was right up my alley. Having never read Maus, I wasn't sure what to expect but looked forward to checking it out.
It didn't take long to find the politically-biased stuff I dreaded.. On the very first plate: "In those first few days after 9/11 I got lost constructing conspiracy theories about my government's complicity in what had happened that would have done a Frenchman proud. (My susceptibility for conspiracy goes back a long ways but had reached its previous peak after the 2000 elections)." In fact, in his "...No Towers" comics that make up the first 10 panels of the 18-plate book, the author reveals a preoccupation with the 2000 elections. At one point he calls George W. Bush that "creature in the White House" (7). This book came out before the 2004 elections, so one can only wonder if the author has yet to let 2000 go. On panel 7, he has a red/blue zone look at the 2000 elections "the one that put the loser in office," with what I'm guessing is the percentage of the popular vote showing Gore the winner (of course, it is not the popular vote that determines the winner).
The "...No Towers" strips are very aesthetically interesting with computer images mixed with colorful comic artwork. The author relives his experiences during the tragedy, getting his daughter from the UN school near the towers, a run-in with a predictable crazy lady living on the street, etc. He then goes into his own internal struggles with what had transpired and the aftermath. My favorite line is "sometimes complaining is the only solace" (9). The vintage comics section I found to be the most intriguing as I enjoy (though I don't often understand) that early 20th century humor. Spiegelman chose is 8 comics, it seems, based on themes of buildings and American patriotism. I am grateful he includes an explanation of them, especially the Krazy Kat comic, as I would probably not understand the connection he drew between them and 9/11 otherwise. Actually, I was a little disappointed in the vintage comics used. I thought they'd deal with how comic writers dealt with other tragedies. My favorite vintage comic is the first one used in plate 1 "Etymological Vaudeville" where Happy Hooligan gets ready for bed and takes off one of his shoes that goes "Klomp!" Not wanting to wake his family, he quietly takes off the other shoe and goes to bed only to be awakened by his family cussing and yelling, "Drop the other @*g! shoe so we can go to sleep!".
What strikes me the most is the reoccurring theme that the end of the world is upon us. I think that probably people from every generation felt this away about the tragic events of their time, be it war, famine, plague, etc. Spiegelman makes statements like "I worry whether New York City or I will still be around" (7). I think we all are guilty of taking our time on earth too seriously. We like to think that we witnessed the worst thing to ever happen in the history of man. Horror is all relative of course, but in the scheme of history, as horrible as 9/11 was, it was not the worst thing to happen on earth. Worse things have happened in the past and will happen in the future. Spiegelman himself hints at this at the end of his introduction: "I still believe the world is ending, but I concede that it seems to be ending more slowly than I once thought" (i).
Go Shopping and Be Afraid.......2006-02-04
There's no way this project could be as tremendous as Spiegelman's life's work, "Maus," but it's tough not to make comparisons. This book consists of just ten large-scale comic strips that Spiegelman created to explore his feelings about 9/11 and its aftermath. Spiegelman's personal experience of the disaster – his family lives and works literally next to the World Trade Center – gives his accounts a direct poignancy, with more strength and emotion than the jingoism you get from pundits who weren't there. And as always, Spiegelman's artwork is outstandingly expressive, with his gifts for artistic allegory and surrealism in full eye-popping display. However, things go asunder when Spiegelman extends his comic strips to the political aftermath of 9/11. I don't disagree with the idea that the Bush administration has used the disaster to consolidate votes and bully a fearful public into backing their political agenda, and I won't accuse Spiegelman of conspiracy theorizing as others have. However, Spiegelman's social and political philosophy is rather undeveloped and sketchy, and frankly too weak to stand next to his outstanding artwork. Meanwhile, the second half of this very meager book consists of reprints of old comic strips from the early 1900's, which Spiegelman says have influenced his artwork and his opinions on the post-9/11 American political landscape. These strips are certainly interesting from a historical standpoint, but I'm not really buying Spiegelman's claims of a direct connection to the rest of the book. [~doomsdayer520~]
Deeply moving, but ill-informed.......2005-12-26
With Maus, Spiegelman showed how well he could tug at our emotions and portray a sense of struggling and grasping in the most hopeless scenarios. Here, however Spiegelman tries to weave the same effect based on conspiracies and propaganda, and the result is to cheapen Maus and Spiegelman alike. Readers of Maus are advised to steer clear of this book, as it will destroy the power of Spiegelman's narration by destroying the credibility and the sense of a frank and honest witness to the events.
Average customer rating:
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Sin la sombra de las torres/ In the Shadow of No Towers/ Spanish Edition
Art Spiegelman
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ASIN: 1594970882 |
Book Description
In his first new book of comics since the Pulitzer-Prize winning Maus, Art Spiegelman gives us a deeply personal, politically charged, graphically and emotionally stunning account of the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001. In a large, two-page-spread format that echoes the scale of the earliest newspaper comics, Spiegelman conveys--through his singular artistry, his outrage and wit--the unfathomable enormity of the event itself, the obvious and insidious effects it had on his life, and the extraordinary, often hidden changes that have been enacted in the name of post-9/11 national security and that have begun to undermine the very foundation of American democracy.
Customer Reviews:
I loved it.......2005-12-03
I totally loved this book. I felt as if I had taken a trip to France. The author did not leave any detail out. The story is rich. A real page turner.
A Postcard from France.......2004-04-20
When Sabine's father passes away, she discovers a secret package that her mother had left for her when she passed away many years before. Her mother had been French, but never spoke of her past, so it didn't make sense that she would leave Sabine with old photographs and what looked like a deed to a house...
Sabine decides to go to France - to the province of Perigord - to see if she can get some answers. What encounters a family that doesn't want her. They try to run her back to England, but she won't leave until she finds out the truth about who she is.
What she finds is that she is the heir to a vineyard called Chateau La Tour Monchauzet, but more importantly, she finds true love in the vineyards keeper, Rohan Saint Yves.
But does Rohan only want her to get the vineyard? Can they overcome the hatred and distrust the family has for Sabine?
This Harlequin Presents novel is full of gorgeous descriptions of all things French, the landscape, the traditions, and the food. You'll finish this book and then want to call your travel agent!
A Harlequin Dreamers Review by Tiffany Ann
Book Description
An American comic icon tells the story of his second–act rise from obscurity to multimedia stardom.
"When I was a kid," writes Rodney Dangerfield, "I worked tough places in show business––places like Fonzo's Knuckle Room. Or Aldo's, formerly Vito's, formerly Nunzio's. That was a tough joint. I looked at the menu. They had broken leg of lamb." For once, one of America's most beloved comic icons isn't kidding. Dangerfield has seen every aspect of the entertainment industry: the rough–and–tumble nightclubs, the backstage gag–writing sessions, the drugs, the hookers, the lousy day jobs – and the red–carpet star treatment. As he traces his route from a poor childhood on Long Island to his enshrinement as a comedy legend, he takes readers on a roller–coaster ride through a life that has been alternately touching, sordid, funny, raunchy, and uplifting – equal parts "Little Orphan Annie" and "Caligula." And unlike most celebrity autobiographers, he seems to have no qualms about delivering the unfiltered whole story, warts and all.
Dangerfield's personal story is also a rollicking show business tale, full of marquee name–droppings (Adam Sandler, Sam Kinison, Jim Carrey, Johnny Carson, Jerry Seinfeld) and good stories about same. Defying the old saws about the fleeting nature of fame and the dearth of second acts in American life, Dangerfield transformed himself from a debt–ridden aluminium–siding salesman named Jack Roy to a multimedia superstar – and stayed an icon for decades. His catchphrase – "I get no respect" – has entered the lexicon, and he remains a visible cultural presence and perennial talk–show guest.
Dangerfield's hilarious and inspiring musings should thrill comedy fans and pop–culture watchers, and his second–act comeback will strike a chord with readers of all stripes. Maybe he'll even get some respect.
Customer Reviews:
The real life of Dangerfield that we only glimpse through his jokes.......2007-08-08
In my opinion, Rodney Dangerfield is the funniest person who ever lived. He was one of the few people that I would always stay up late to see on "The Tonight Show." He always cracked me up yet I wondered what his life was really like. His jokes about his wife, doctor and family always seemed to have a bitter edge of truth to them.
This book is Dangerfield's autobiography, written after his eightieth birthday. From it, we learn that there was some truth to his jokes, particularly about his family. His parents were distant and he received almost nothing in the way of parental or familial affection. His first marriage was unhappy and a failure, and early in his life he was more successful selling aluminum siding than he was as a comic.
His is a classic case of persistence, dedication and a firm belief in yourself leading to eventual success. After he was a failure as a singer and a comic, Dangerfield was an effective salesman. It would have been easy for him to become comfortable with that existence, avoiding making the gamble to re-enter show business after an absence of many years.
Until I read this book, I was unaware that Dangerfield was instrumental in giving many comics such as Roseanne Barr and Jim Carrey their start. Furthermore, he was present when Barbara Streisand had one of her first auditions.
Dangerfield is also very honest about his bouts with depression and his drug use. He firmly believes that his marijuana smoking was a positive influence on his career, although he is negative about cocaine. Some of his best jokes are interspersed in the text and they are so memorable I can still remember him using some of them on "The Tonight Show" back in the seventies.
Dangerfield's signature line was, "I don't get no respect", which was funny but also false. He was a good friend and mentor to many people and he is to be admired for becoming a success through hard work, dedication and a belief in his abilities.
Respect At Last!.......2007-08-04
Anyone who appreciates the comedic genius of the late, great Rodney Dangerfield should not pass this book up. In his own inimitable way, Rodney recounts his impoverished childhood in Queens, his strained relationship with his parents, his lifelong battle with depression, his failed first marriage, the monumental setbacks he suffered as he struggled to make a career in show business. Sounds pretty depressing, right? Wrong! This book is pure Dangerfield, chock full of hilarious memories of some of the most celebrated entertainers of the day, not to mention the classic one-liners spread throughout these pages - "I told my landlord I wanted to live in a more expensive apartment. He raised my rent," or "With my wife, I don't get no respect. The other night there was a knock on the front door. My wife told me to hide in the closet." Rodney Dangerfield was truly in a class by himself (and I don't mean facing the wall wearing a "dunce" cap). For anyone who enjoys a good laugh, this book is a must. Trust me on this one and enjoy.
Willing it to Happen.......2007-06-28
As a comedian and author myself, I can tell you that Rodney Dangerfield was the comedian every up and coming act wanted to work with at some point. He was one of the last guys who did things for you if he liked you. He'd get you big gigs, get you on his HBO special (which launched several big names), or put you in one of his movies (Sam Kinison, for example). Mostly, he was just a fun guy that everyone in the industry loved and respected. I never had the honor of meeting him but reading his book was the next best thing. It is quite good and demonstrates his incredible will to make things happen. His angle of "no respect" took years in and out of comedy to develop and once he got it, he found his niche and his respect. Really good stuff for a most deserving talent.
"He who laughs last didn't get the joke in the first place.".......2006-12-06
It's hard to believe that there is anyone who has never been entertained by his "don't get no respect" line of jokes.Now, find out what the man behind the jokes is really like. Rodney,now 82,has spent over 70 years in making a life in show business.In this book he tells us of all the hopes,struggles,hardships,disappointments,and eventual success; that he and others go through making a life in show business.While overall Dangerfield's story has been a happy one;just think of all those who never experienced anything but heartache and obscurity for all their efforts.
The book does a marvelous job of telling a story that covered over 70 years.It does not get bogged down in details and it is hard to put it down,once you pick it up.Personally,I read it in one day.
The book has lots of photographs and there is at least one joke per page.
There is so mugh negativity in the world and so much lack of respect that it was good to see that Dangerfield had none of that.The only thing he wanted to do was to make a go of it in the business.Despite all the obsticles he encountered;it's hard to believe he ever hated anyone.He just wanted to get along with everyone;and in the final analysis,he susceeded.
Thanks for all the laughs you gave us over the years and may you enjoy many more years of happiness.
Like No Other Auto-Bio You've Read.......2006-05-22
I believe it was Errol Flynn's Autobiography where he made fun of those that start off with "my parents sitting by the fireplace..." Rodney's book is awseome in so many ways; it tells the tale of his life, does so with humor, with some "joke lines' put in between segments, but is constructed in a way that brings about pathos.
The subject never says "hey...feel sorry for me!" - yet one cannot help it, while also laughing and reading great anecdotes. Not only can the reader laugh and understand "funny," and learn how to be "funny," but also how to take our lives...the blessings and the curses...and move forward and not be weighed down by the defeats.
This is not like any bio I have every read...and that is a great thing. I plan on purchasing this for all my friends and loved ones over the next year (on birthdays, etc.).
Books:
- The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, Book 1)
- The Death of Vishnu: A Novel
- The Dog of the Marriage: Stories
- The Far Pavilions
- The Farming of Bones
- The Feast of Roses: A Novel
- The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering: A Story for Anyone Who Thinks She Can't Save the World
- The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Seven Unforgettable Stories (Greatest)
- The Hadassah Covenant
- The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
Books Index
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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
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Buck Rogers
