I Stand in the Center of the Good: Interviews with Contemporary Native American Artists (American Indian Lives)

Book Description

What is Indian art? There have been many attempts to define it, but the so-called Santa Fe style of the 1930s--placid, two-dimensional depictions of traditional scenes--set the standard by which subsequent art by Native Americans would be judged. Art that radically challenged the stereotype--the work of Joe Herrera, Fritz Scholder, and T. C. Cannon, for example--met with resistance; questions were raised about its authenticity as Indian art.

Today's Indian art has resoundingly overturned old preconceptions: here are cartoon figures in throbbing neon colors, "decorated" grocery bags, messages to America on the Spectacolor billboard in Times Square, delicate abstractions and cubist images, work that ranges from monotype and photography to mixed media and clay, from humor and biting commentary to quiet introspection.

I Stand in the Center of Good, the first book of its kind, offers a forum for seventeen contemporary Native American artists to speak about the development of their art, their creative processes, how they define their art, and how it relates to their Indianness. The interviews are handsomely illustrated with works by the artists, who include Rick Glazer-Danay, Shan Goshorn, Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds, Rick Hill, G. Peter Jemison, Michael Kabotie, Frank LaPena, Carm Little Turtle, Linda Lomahaftewa, George Longfish, Mario Martinez, Nora Naranjo-Morse, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Susan Stewart, Frank Tuttle, Kay WalkingStick, and Emmi Whitehorse.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Foundation Reading for Native American Fine Art.......2005-08-27

This is a great survey of Native American contemporary fine art, with an excellent range of views in the artists' word. The issues raised by the artists are still very much in play today.

I is for Indian, A is for Art.......1998-09-26

Lawrence Abbott's I Stand in the Center of the Good is described on the book flyleaf as a forum of interviews that aims to address "what is Indian art?" Through the words of American Indian artists who challenge the public's conceptions of contemporary Native American art, Abbott's interviews attempt to cover several topics -- with mixed results. This collection of brief interviews dates from 1991-1992 when most of the artists were preparing works for Quincentennary exhibitions. Abbott has included interviews with seventeen personalities who have established themselves over the last twenty-five to thirty years as primary forces in the Native art scene; but except for Canadian-born George Longfish, the omission of Canada's First Nations artists is a serious problem to any book that purports to address contemporary Indian arts. Most members of this group have served as spokespersons for thematic Indian art since the early -1970s. A second serious problem is the absence of artists such as James Luna, Gerald McMaster, and the late Carl Beam who should not be omitted from any general survey of contemporary Indian art.

I wished the author had broadened the range of artists to include the "contemporary-traditionalists," -- those artists whose work is a direct link to older tribal based art traditions. Disappointed, I wondered if the editor inadvertently narrowed his list of artists too closely, losing a clear perspective on the variety and breadth of Indian arts produced today. One problem arising from a limited view point is the mistaken notion that American Indian "Fine Arts" exists as a singular category. The idea originated from older concepts surrounding Euro-Western art traditions and is limited to artists working in easel painting, sculpture, and graphic arts. I wished the editor had pursued the point of art training of the artists selected. The misperception persists that Native American artists create from an untrained, instinctual base articulated by the cult of the artist. Artists represented in Abbott's collection have clearly benefited from formal western art education and from training in prestigious arts academies and university art programs in this country, England, and Italy. A closer examination of this common ground could be useful to consideration of their work.

Abbott's intention to provide a forum for the artist's voice is neither new nor novel and the time has come for Native American artists to take a serious, critical approach to other germane issues. Have ideological theme museums, galleries, and patrons who have continued to define Native arts as qualifiers of difference effectively manipulated development of the arts? And, what of Native American artists who perceptively see advantages to maintaining the idea of "otherness" as profitable? Abbott skims perplexing, complex and politically charged issues that have merged into the study of Indian arts. This book is another well-intentioned but a non-critical look for those interested in the field of Indian art making. It is a general reader to be catalogued under 'I' for Indian, not 'A' for art.

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The Good I Stand On
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
Great read, lots of action and emotion
What a fantastic story
Wonderfully told story

The Good I Stand On
David Tucholski
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0595368247

Book Description

“That summer had started off as a good one, but that was before it all went crashing down into the bottom of a ravine.”

So begins this account of a young boy's crumbling innocence. The Good I Stand On chronicles the life of twelve-year-old Ben Grogan during the summer his entire world changes forever.

Before that summer, Ben's life consisted of exploring the small corners of his rural Virginia town with his little brother, Christopher, and their vulgar eccentric friend, Martin. But a single and tragic event that takes place on an old railroad bridge will change everything and send him down a frightening and dangerous path. Ben will face not only self-preservation, but also the hardest challenge any child must face—responsibility for another person.

Along the way, the truth of his little country town will finally be revealed, and his perception of that world and the people in it will never be the same. In the end, everything he knows will be challenged: his understanding of morality and truth and—most importantly—his innocence.

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'That summer had started off as a good one, but that was before it all went crashing down into the bottom of a ravine."

So begins this account of a young boy's crumbling innocence. The Good I Stand On chronicles the life of twelve-year-old Ben Grogan during the summer his entire world changes forever.

Customer Reviews:

The Good I Stand On.......2007-07-14

Ten year old Ben Grogan was on the top of the world. He was in the fifth grade and next year he and his friends would be the oldest at the school. They'd run the school and get all sorts of women. Ben also had the utmost of his little brother, Christopher, whom Ben loved to tell stories. For Ben life was good, that is until an accident, a death, and a cover up would change Ben's perceptions forever.

The Good I Stand On kind of resembles a more focused and personalized version of Stand By Me. In this case, the boys actually play a role in the death and the novel focuses on the reactions of one of the boys, Ben. In this way, the author spends a great deal of time and attention on the cover up of the death and how that act weighs on the mind of the main character.

Reviewed by Barb Radmore.......2007-02-10

A debut publication of a new author is always a cause for festivity and joy. The dream of writing is one that haunts many but few can claim to have attained. But when the novelist also understand the writing craft, the power of the written word and the strength of a story it is an occasion to celebrate. David Tucholski's first novel, The Good I Stand On, is one of those moments.

Ben is the good boy, the big brother every boy would love to have, the little brother grown boys want to have. He has a quiet life in the his corner of rural Virginia, never straying far from home, accepting the world around him as he has always known it. But when he and his brother Christopher begin to explore farther and farther with their new friend Martin, all that changes. Martin is a lonely boy, living with only his remote mother after his father dies. He encourages the boys to explore farther and farther in areas the boys have never been. It is on one of those adventures that Ben's life explodes into a nightmare of mammoth dimensions.

It is not only that strong story line that moves this story. Tucholski has interwoven the plot fabric of a child's lost innocence with threads of loss of father's love, betrayal and loves thwarted. Not only Ben loses his innocence by the end of the book, but an entire village is tossed into the upheaval. In a stunning, unexpected waves of disclosures rock the village and the pace of the novel, the reader is drawn into the demise of peace in small town America.

The characters that inhabit this novel become very real for the reader. While some of them are sharply detailed, others wander through out the novel, not a large part of the story but on the periphery. A fascinating example is the deputy who dogs Ben's heels, causes the final outcomes but is never clearly described. But it is these peripheral characters that ultimately come into focus by the end, that affect the turn of events, just as they do in real life. It is the people who wander on the edges of our daily life who can often have the most dramatic effect on our futures. Tucholski understands and portray this in a forceful explosion of an ending.

In this age of developing publishing resources where the larger publishing houses no longer control the market, The Good I Stand On is a shining example of the power of the smaller presses. iUniverse deserves applause for recognizing and supporting this talented newcomer. Other publishers will lament not obtaining the talents of this up and coming author. Now we just await his next work.

Great read, lots of action and emotion.......2006-02-09

Genre: Fiction
Title: The Good I Stand On
AUTHOR: David Tucholski
Every young boy looks up to his older brother and Ben Grogan is definitely Chris' hero. The boys live in rural Virginia where life can be boring or exciting depending on the day. Friend and fellow explorer Martin, talks the boys into a trip to the old quarry but a grim discovery on the old railroad bridge turns into their worst nightmare. The town of Venice, Virginia will never be the same again.

Written from the perspective of a ten-year old boy, this tale is captivating and filled with suspense. This is a book you won't be able to put down from the first page to the last. Will the truth finally be revealed? Has Ben failed his loyal younger brother? Is acerbic Martin really who he portrays or is there more to this boy than meets the eye?

Author David Tucholski is a skilled master of suspense and mystery. His descriptions are vivid and his characters are realistic. The dialogue reflects the local character as well as the simple vocabulary of the young. His own upbringing in rural Virginia helps to set the stage for the boys' adventures and readers of all ages easily identify with the towns people.

David Tucholski lives in Washington DC and is working on his second novel.
His assiduous style is constant throughout and his literary skill is apparent. This reviewer awaits more from this talented author.
Highly recommended by reviewer: Shirley Roe, Allbooks Reviews.

Title: The Good I Stand On
Author: David Tucholski
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0-595-36824-7
Pages: 233
Price: $15.95
Feb. 2006

What a fantastic story.......2006-01-27

This novel was a captivating coming of age story that speaks to the true meaning of friendship, trust and doing the right thing. The corky personalities of the small town and the banter between Ben, Christopher and Martin provide a humorous side of the story while the events that develop engage you into a deeper more thought provoking view on all the characters. I truly enjoyed this novel and had a hard time putting it down.

Wonderfully told story.......2005-12-12

Not only did this book get me hooked from the opening line, but it kept me hooked on through to the very end. This is a wonderfully written story about a little boy who is forced to become a man before he makes it to thirteen. Ben Grogan is the main character, a twelve year old boy, who lives in a small "town" in rural Virginia. On the surface, it seems to be an ideal place to grow up. He and his little brother Christopher spend their days "exploring" this little town and like most young boys, treat life as one big adventure. But this ideal existence changes when Ben meets Carter Babcock, introduced to him accidentally by his older brother, Frank. Carter is a poor, old alcoholic who doesn't seem to quiet belong in this perfect country town and frightens Ben in their first encounter. That meeting will not be their last, as they will cross paths a few more times throughout the story. But it is their final meeting that turns young Ben's life upside down. Without giving away too much, since this is the focus of the story, this experience will force Ben to grow up quickly and assume responsibility for Christopher. He does whatever he can to protect him and eventually it will all open his eyes to the dirty little secrets of his ideal country town.

There are other characters I feel I should mention because they really helped to round out the story, particularly Martin. This kid is a Grade-A jerk! (Which, of course, makes him one of the best characters in my opinion.) His one-liners are what did it for me! And there are others too, like the creepy hermit Mrs. Cutler and the pretentious millionaire Mr. Birchwood who has dirty little secrets of his own. They all serve to enrich what is already a well-told and deserving story with a beautifully done ending that proves that appearances are not always what they seem. Whether you are a lover of literary novels, or just plain good fiction, this book is well worth the read.

Here I stand: the religion of "piece.".(ODD ANGRY SHOT): An article from: Guns Magazine

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Here I stand: the religion of "piece.".(ODD ANGRY SHOT): An article from: Guns Magazine
John Connor
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Guns Magazine, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1129 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: Here I stand: the religion of "piece.".(ODD ANGRY SHOT)
Author: John Connor
Publication: Guns Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53 Issue: 6 Page: 94(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

I STAND IN THE CENTER OF THE GOOD: INTERVIEWS WITH CONTEMPORY NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS.(Review) (book review): An article from: The Oral History Review

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I STAND IN THE CENTER OF THE GOOD: INTERVIEWS WITH CONTEMPORY NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS.(Review) (book review): An article from: The Oral History Review
Richard Candida Smith
Manufacturer: Oral History Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008GYB60
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Oral History Association on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1291 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: I STAND IN THE CENTER OF THE GOOD: INTERVIEWS WITH CONTEMPORY NATIVE AMERICAN ARTISTS.(Review) (book review)
Author: Richard Candida Smith
Publication: The Oral History Review (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2000
Publisher: Oral History Association
Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Page: 157

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Queenisha Renae claims that she takes no mess from no man-that is until she meets Zeke Washington, a handsome Denzel Washington look-alike, at a charity fundraiser-and buys him lock, stock, and barrel for one night. Determined to get her money's worth, Queenie approaches their first date with one goal in mind: to make Zeke her one and only man, no matter what the cost. With the help of her best friend, Poetta, who schemes to put a 'voodoo hex' on Zeke to help lure him in, Queenie gets more than she bargained for when she meets Zeke's highly unusual roommate, Sweet Willie. In the meantime, she is being relentlessly pursued by co-worker Raymondo Carlos Castillo Morales-a man she wants no part of, even if he was the last man walking the earth. And Poetta has problems of her own when the married man she's in love with suddenly drops dead from a love spell gone wrong. The High Price of a Good Man is a hilarious and unexpectedly touching story about two women's misadventures in love.

Customer Reviews:

Looking For Love in all the Wrong Places.......2005-05-17

Queenie is far from insecure. She'll let you know that not even her plus size frame can make her vulnerable to no good men. She loves herself. All 6 feet of herself! She has no problem with turning the heads of men. She just wishes she can find a man of her own.

The Queen encounters Zeke Washington and fights to make him hers. She tries to change herself inside and out, even listens to her best friend Poetta's advice on throwing in a voodoo love charm.

Raymo starts a war of his own. He fights to make the Queen his forever. He loves Queenie just the way she is. His only problem is being too short, so she thinks, along with being a pest!

The High Price of A Good Man is another "looking for love in all the wrong places" read. We give all we have to man who can't accept us for who we are, while the true men of our dreams pass us right on by.
Still, with the many twists and turns, and the surprise Raymo has in store, makes The High Price of A good Man a delightful, sassy, fun read.

Rolanda,
Nothing BUT Page Turners Book Club

You'll never know where you'll find true love........2004-06-08

This book is hysterically funny. It had me laughing out loud on the New York subway. Especially the parts where Queen interacts with her co-worker Raymo and her dates roommate, "Sweet Willie". Where does Debra come up with this stuff? If you're looking for a good read, I highly recommend this book.

L. Hayes, author of "Afroetry".

Lord Why Do I Always Get the Wrong Man.......2004-03-18

Queenisha Renae Sutton is a full-figured diva, large and in charge, and she doesn't care who knows it!! Queenie begins this book by saying, "First of all, just for the record, I love me some me." Her infectious sass and go-getter attitude sparkle throughout the book.

Queenie has two constants in her life--her best friend Poetta James, a "candle-burning, incantation chanting" sister, whose specialty is "the beautification of hair;" and Raymundo Carlos Morales Castillo, or "Raymo", the male buyer at Macy's, where Queenie works. Not only is Raymo Queenie's male counterpart, he is hopelessly in love with her, and goes out of his way to show her his affection. Unfortunately Miss Queenie persists in degrading and embarrassing the man as much as possible without putting her job in jeopardy. Raymo reminds Queenie too much of Monroe, her first Latin lover, the man who broke her heart.

Into every diva's life an obstacle must fall--Queenie's obstacle comes in the form of a man by the name of Ezekiel "Zeke" Washington. Zeke is a Denzel Washington look-alike up for auction at an AIDS Date-a-thon, which Queenie attends after being pressured by Poetta. After paying over $1200 to date Zeke for one night, Queenie comes up with several elaborate schemes to persuade Zeke that she is the woman he needs. Zeke's only concern is Queenie's size. He even gives her "herbal pills" to assist her in losing weight. Not only does Queenie begin to lose weight; she also loses her self-esteem in her quest to make Zeke her man. Her stunts range from amusing to outrageous, but the reader will feel Queenie's pain.

Debra Phillips weaves a wonderful story in The High Price of a Good Man. When I first began to read it, I immediately thought "ghetto fiction", however, at its conclusion, I deemed it a very good story, filled with drama and comedy; with just enough "ghetto flavor" to keep it interesting to the younger reader, yet not turn off older readers. I must add that I especially loved the poem on the dedication page. It's touching and sweet.

Readincolor Reviewers
Rowena Winfrey

Entertaining, witty, and honest........2003-12-29

I really liked "The High Price of a Good Man." It was a little wordy and slow reading in the beginning but once we met Sweet Willie things picked up. Women "big or small" can appreciate the humor and camaraderie between these characters. I found the story entertaining and the situations painfully true. I admire the honesty, the wit and humor applied to the topics of friendship, love, self-esteem, and weight. We have to love ourselves before we can love anyone else!

Love don't cost a thang.......2003-12-17

Hats off to Debra what a funny and enjoyable book.The book was a wonderful story that kept the reader wanting more,never a dull moment. The story will make you laugh out loud a must buy if you want a good funny book about two friends and their crazy love connections. Love will make you do strange things. Can't wait for your next novel this one was great.

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The High Price of a Good Man: A Novel
Debra Phillips
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT9RZQ

Book Description

The first full-length translation in English of an essential work of postmodernist thought

Customer Reviews:

Baudrillard's Great Science Fiction Novel.......2007-04-12

This is Baudrillard's most famous work, and indeed, it is a must-read for those who wish to acquaint themselves with the basics of postmodern thought. It is beautifully written, and comes across like a sort of non-fiction equivalent of William Gibson's Neuromancer with its glittering display of polished, gleaming words patterned into strange, mercurial sentences that are not always easy to follow. But, as with Finnegans Wake, it is not so much the particular thought of the moment that counts, as it is the impression and impact upon the mental sensorium of the total experience. Baudrillard is a dazzling word-smith and it is likely that you will come away from this book with one or two new words to add to your vocabulary.

One of the things, of course, that has made this book so popular is its visual quotation in the science fiction film The Matrix, but I must say that the book does little towards an elucidation of that film. Indeed, Baudrillard himself has stated his dislike of the film (see the book "The Conspiracy of Art" for his comments), and he has stated how it compares less favorably with films built around similar themes such as The Truman Show, Mulholland Drive and others (I think David Cronenberg's Existenz is a much better take on the virtual reality theme. The Matrix seems cliched by comparison, especially since Cronenberg was already there first with his early 80's classic Videodrome). The theme of hyperreality displacing the real is not really what The Matrix is all about (there is too little in it irony for that; and no ambiguity; instead it concerns how technology robs the human soul of its spiritual potentialities) but it is what Simulacra and Simulation is about.

The French philosophers are fond of developing a single metaphysical concept and then exploring its ramifications in numerous books and their sequels: Debord's "Spectacle," for instance, is essentially equivalent to Baudrillard's hyperreality; Foucault's "episteme," though a completely different idea, is nonetheless monolithic in Foucault's thought. And much of Baudrillard's writings are an exploration of his concept of the hyperreal and how it has displaced the real.

The point of the book is that we postmoderns live inside a media-generated dome that seals us off from the "real" world. Indeed, we are so convinced by our own fabrications that we can no longer differentiate reality from its simulacrum. When spending money on gambling in Las Vegas, are we really losing all that money, or is it just a part of the "game"?

The best essay in the book is "The Precession of the Simulacra," and it is also the longest. I saved it for last and began with the shorter essays. Baudrillard's piece on J.G. Ballard's novel Crash is one of the best in the collection, as is his essay on "Hypermarket and Hypercommodity" and "The Beauborg Effect." Each of these pieces feels more like reading a science fiction novel than anything else but, let's face it, we live in a world that is stranger than science fiction. It takes an artist to make the contours of such a world visible to our perception, and Baudrillard does a fine job of this. He is, however, less successful with his pitiful one page ramblings on Apocalypse Now, which is disappointing and sheds almost no light on Coppola's masterpiece. (For this, the reader would do well to consult Ebert's Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons).

I confess that there are paragraphs I did not understand and words that sound as if they are made up, but this is actually true of most authors who have something profound to say (Lewis Mumford, for instance, or Heidegger). But Simulacra and Simulation is an important work and should be read despite its difficulties. Read it just the way you would a poem by Holderlin or Rilke. That is, don't try too hard to understand it, just let the imagery sink into your consciousness and enjoy the alterations that it produces upon you.
--John David Ebert
author, Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons: Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society

The Key to Understanding Jean Baudrillard.......2007-01-09

Baudrillard's classic is neither easy to read, nor is it the last word in continental postmodernism. It is also replete with ideas of questionable merit. So, why I have rated it with fives stars? Because buried within its pages, among the dross and the drivel, are enough intellectual gems to make the entire exercise more than worthwhile! Even with its flaws, Simulacra and Simulation reveals Jean Baudrillard to be one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century. Any person deeply interested in critically understanding the postmodern, media saturated era in which we live, needs to read this book.

The most useless book I have ever read........2006-09-19

Hardly being a serious look into the (supposed) simulated world, Simulacra and Simulation unnecessarily confuses, compounds, and over-estimates the reality of simulation, and implies simulation in virtually everything while failing to give any real evidence or examples for this phenomenon. Through and through, Baudrillard fails to adequately define his terms, concerns, and sources for his critiques. While never settling on one particular point, his arbitrary method of critiquing never moves beyond the realm of opinion. Critical analysis of the subject matter (whatever that is) is never applied, instead being sacrificed for ever more obscured superficial observations. Baudrillard gives us no example as to the cause of his concerns (whatever those may be) let alone giving us any real solutions as to how we may pierce through our alleged self created illusions. Nor does he give us any real insight as to how these critiques can be applied in any useful way to our education or our daily life. If this is what is passing for philosophy today, I can only imagine how useless the field will become in fifty years if we continue to look to Baudrillard as the top of his field. Superfluous and meaningless double-talk is all you will get out of this useless excuse for a book. For anyone interested in reading "Simulacra and Simulation", I would sooner recommend Dr. Seuss "Green Eggs and Ham." You will have more fun reading it, and you will probably learn more as well.

Where is real?.......2006-09-08

What is real anymore? Where can I find it at? In our mass-multi-media world, is there really anything "real" anywhere? Or is it all just one large simulation? I do not claim to be on the Postmodern bandwagon, or to 100% agree with their ideas and thoughts, but this was a very interesting read that will possibly make you ask "What is real?"

Jean Baudrillard is a Rockstar.......2006-04-15

Jean Baudrillard is not practical. He discusses the death of the real in an often persuasive way, but offers no conclusions as to how this should affect the practice of cultural theory or human behavior. Nor does he offer suggestions for preventing the death of the real--he just wallows in it.

Still, Baudrillard sure is a hoot. I love reading him the way I love reading J.G. Ballard and watching David Cronenberg movies. He offers a great, cynical rush: highly recommended to masturbatory pessimists and fans of new wave science-fiction.

Reading Simulacra: Fatal Theories for Postmodernity (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture)

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Reading Simulacra: Fatal Theories for Postmodernity (S U N Y Series in Postmodern Culture)
M. W. Smith
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Simulacra and Simulation (The Body, In Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism)

ASIN: 0791450643

Book Description

Traces the ways in which our culture has increasingly become a culture of simulations, and offers strategies for discerning meaning in a world where the difference between what is real and what is simulated has collapsed.

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Addicting, Perverse, and Just ODD....
One of Dick's More Political and Psychological Novels
Papoolas, Secret Governments and Advertisment Mind Control
Anarchic energy
Another good mind-pounder from the sci-fi master

The Simulacra
Philip K. Dick
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375719261
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Book Description

Set in the middle of the twenty-first century, The Simulacra is the story of an America where the whole government is a fraud and the President is an android. Against this backdrop Dr. Superb, the sole remaining psychotherapist, is struggling to practice in a world full of the maladjusted. Ian Duncan is desperately in love with the first lady, Nicole Thibideaux, who he has never met. Richard Kongrosian refuses to see anyone because he is convinced his body odor is lethal. And the fascistic Bertold Goltz is trying to overthrow the government. With wonderful aplomb, Philip K. Dick brings this story to a crashing conclusion and in classic fashion shows there is always another layer of conspiracy beneath the one we see.

Customer Reviews:

Addicting, Perverse, and Just ODD...........2006-01-12

I dont see how this could get 4.5 stars.

I'd mostly have to agree with Miles' review on the matter. Its not quite finished and the ending is rushed. He doesnt explain alot of things, like the acctual 'von lessinger' principle (which i can tolerate)

But he never quite explains the EME, the chuppers, what Bertold Goltz was really up to, the history of der Alte, not to mention who the man is that saves Dr. Superb in the beggining, and how he was contacted and why. Also, I had a hard time following why they wanted Goebbles there in the first place, and what the NP and Pembroke were all about.

Really i am saddened how a thing that showed such promise could just fade and rush into a scetchy and verry glossy ending.

Also, some of the stuff turns into a joke, while funny at first, especialy with Kongrosian.

Some of it is very uncinematic, especailly if you read the back of the book.

There is no point to Al Miller or Ian duncan, and i wont ruin the book for you, but theres no REAL point, maybe to show the power and influence of Nicole (the fact that they want to perform for her)

The charicters dont interact enough, and some of them dont even know of eachothers existence. And some charicters arent updated enough.

Definitely Not his best.

One of Dick's More Political and Psychological Novels.......2005-04-15

Maybe it's my own political bent, but I consider this one of Dick's best novels-- it especially resonates today, over 40 years later. The "President" is an android figurehead who regurgitates what its masters want, and the true battle is which cartel will produce the "President" (shades of Dubya). The First Lady is an eternally youthful woman replaced every generation with a new actress-- shades of the smiling empty-vessel First Ladies we've come to expect (demand?) and the sniffling over pretty strangers like Princess Di. Better than any other SF writer, Dick shows how we live in a bubble of media myth manufactured by those who hold the reins. While the goverment presents this perfect facade, it is secretly arranging "talks" with Goebbels through time travel, apparently to negotiate an end to the past Nazi menace, unbenownst to the benighted masses. Typical.

There are plenty of other great Dick ideas in this novel, such as the fact that the pharmaceutical cartels have arranged for psychotherapy to be outlawed. No more talking cure, just jack up the serotonin. How could Dick see our future present, when even M.D.s are prescribing Prozac merely to increase somatic energy levels? He also shows a world where people pay outlandish prices to be a member of a particular "community," and how these communities become xenophobic about outsiders and strive to rise above them-- yet another insight into the mind of the human animal, so eager to rally around any totem.

There can be no doubt about it: Dick was a genius. This is one of his better works in my book, up there with Martian Time-Slip, before he became overly abstract and theological (see Valis and especially his Exegesis).

Papoolas, Secret Governments and Advertisment Mind Control.......2005-01-22

Nichole Thibodeaux is the First Lady who through her Martha Stewert type personality has remained in control of the government for over 70 years with daily White House television shows that have transfixed a nation conditioned by automatic advertisements that have the ability of thought control, meaning that the last line of defense, Dr. Superb, a psychotherapist, must try to maintain his capicity in society, even though his business has been outlawed by drug companies like A.G Chemie, who sponsor the mind control adverts and influence the government who have a time machine and are able to control the future somewhat except for the precogs in society who can tilt the balance.

There is no hope left for humanity in a world that is becoming ever maladjusted to the electronic conditioning, their love for Nichole and conforming to what she likes, except to grab a Loony Luke Jalopy and head off for mars for an alternative life. Luke has a sales papoola, a synthetic man made alien lifeform from mars that can influence people to like whatever the owners wants. One of Lukes workers steals the papoola to impress Nichole at the White House only to uncover a sinister plot where all is not as it seems and the Presidential executive all might be actors and Simulacra robots.

A secret policeman ND, Pembroke, has allowed Dr. Superb to work as a psychotherapist, so that he will meet someone who the doctor will fail to treat, as the time machine Lessinger apparatus predicted, unless the person seeks chemical treatment from A.G Chemie, become cured, and put the whole fabric of society in jeopardy. While all this is happening special mutant musician, Richard Kongrosian, who can play the keyboard with his mind, is having an emotional breakdown and believes he is becoming both invisible and smelly, only to start finding out things about himself that makes the government afraid of him.

Philip K. Dick conjures a frightening realistic world where people adore leaders based on image, are afraid to think outside of the norm or else are reduced in status... while living in a time where entertainment, coporate drugs companies and shadow governments control the world... all written back in 1964... over thirty years ago... and more is relevant than ever today.

The Simulacra is strong on dialogue given that this is one of his Philip K. Dicks early works. There are references to characters in his award winning book The Man in the High Castle with the same sort of everything comes home type of surreal adventure... the endings are both somewhat similar, although The Simulacra has a much more black humerious one.

Like we have said, given the current times, this book stands out as more important than ever. Sci Fi comes true yet again. This book is listed as number 57 in science fiction masteroworks released by Orion publishers. I recommend if new to Dick that you start with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, The Man in the High Castle, Ubik and then this one. I will be moving onto Clans of Alphane Moon next. See you for a review there.

Anarchic energy.......2004-06-07

This is a grab bag of almost all the themes and character types found in Dick's other novels written in the early 60s. Everything is here: a repressive police state, a ruling elite in conflict with huge cartels, a charismatic cult leader, a fascinating and ruthless woman, time travel, psychic powers, Nazis, androids, emigration to Mars, and mind-manipulating media and simulacra. It shows that the way society appears to be structured is a complete fake, and that media manipulation conceals the real centers of power. Dick crowds more characters and different points of view into the anarchic pages of pages of this novel than in any of his other books. But it does not seem to go anywhere: it is a plunge into the deeper waters of Dick's universe, but without any clear re-emergence into the air. The energy is more frenetic than transformative. Such a tour de force lacks the impact of Dick's major works, though it is a dazzling ride. It's pure PKD.

Another good mind-pounder from the sci-fi master.......2003-12-29

Another good mind-pounder from the sci-fi master. Although, occasionally you want to scream at the book, because he didn't foresee such simple everyday items as cellphones.

He did, however, foresee the day when the "health care" cartel would replace psychoanalysis with drugs, and the day when our national leaders would be recruited from the ranks of famous actors (including a famous actor who played the lead in a film adapted from a Philip K. Dick novel).

Plus, all the sci-fi authors of the 60s assumed we'd have colonies on the moon and Mars by now. Maybe the moon landings were faked after all ...

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Simulacra
John Michell
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson Ltd
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0500271593

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4 Book Set By Philip K. Dick; Ubik; a Maze of Death; the Penultimate Truth; the Simulacra.
Philip K. Dick
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ASIN: B000WS6QVM

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4 Book Set By Philip K. Dick; Ubik; a Maze of Death; the Penultimate Truth; the Simulacra.

Phantasm & simulacra: The Drawings of Pierre Klossowski

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Phantasm & simulacra: The Drawings of Pierre Klossowski
Paul et al (eds.) Foss
Manufacturer: Art & Text
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Self and Simulacra
Liz Waldner
Manufacturer: Alice James Books
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ASIN: 1882295323

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From airy lyric to ornate lament, couched in the Latinate language of Gray's Botany or the lushness of Sir Thomas Browne, Self and Simulacra explores the motive force of longing in the growing of identity.

Signs of Culture: Simulacra and the Real (Literary and Cultural Theory, Vol. 7)

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Signs of Culture: Simulacra and the Real (Literary and Cultural Theory, Vol. 7)

Manufacturer: Peter Lang Pub Inc
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Simulacra
Kate Delos , and Rena Rosenwasser
Manufacturer: Kelsey Street Press
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ASIN: 0932716210

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"Taking the Via Sacra to the city of Seven Hills, banishing centuries between Civitas Populi and La Roma, a poet and a painter capture Rome. The bright garments of a worldly powers shading into decadence return to us in the poetry and images with which these contemporary artists have stamped their simulacra." Barbara Guest

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The Simulacra
Philip K. Dick
Manufacturer: NY Ace Books 1964.
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A note

Huna: A Beginner's Guide
Enid Hoffman
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
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A note.......2005-08-27

One interesting thing about this second edition of Huna: A Beginner's Guide is that it features a long autobiographical introduction by Enid Hoffman, explaining what in her own life led her to Huna, tapping into her High, middle and low selves.

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