Non-Western Art: A Brief Guide (2nd Edition)

Customer Reviews:

Good overview.......2005-09-15

While this book doesn't go in too much depth, it covers a ton of different cultures' artforms. It is enough for the non-art person to understand but still satisfy a passionate art lover (at least in my case). I bought the book to study for the NYSTCE CSTs in visual arts and I thought it was helpful in that regard. It covered a lot of areas in a short amount of time and gave me an understanding those non-western cultures.

easy reading.......2000-12-19

I thought this book was a great text book. The chapters were orgaized well and so was the information in them. I also thought that the information was easy to follow. One suggestion, the chapter numbers on each page were very hard to read becasue they were almost stuck in the binding of the book, I would suggest puting them on the bottom or top right hand and left hand corners.

Non-Western Art: A Brief Guide (2nd Edition)

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Non-Western Art: A Brief Guide (2nd Edition)
Lynn MacKenzie
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIXHLC

Book Description

arsenalpulp.com :

Every man has the capacity to grow facial hair, but the decision to do so has always come with layers of meaning. Facial hair has traditionally marked a passage into manhood, but its various manifestations have been determined by class, religious belief, historical precedent, and occupational status. Beards have at one time or another come to represent wisdom, goodness, sorcery, diabolism, psychological depth, and revolution; they have been purchased, elaborately trimmed, adorned, and dyed, and deracinated as a form of torture. To this day, the act of displaying facial hair is still regarded as a form of ultimate cool.

With wit and insight, One Thousand Beards explores the historical meaning of beards, moustaches, sideburns, and other forms of facial hair, from Freud's psychoanalytic interpretation, to a wild trip through history, to a rogue's gallery of famous bearded or moustached men, including Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Stalin, Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean, and Yosemite Sam.

Customer Reviews:

Fun Reading.......2006-02-01

I read constantly and have dozens and dozens of books waiting for me to read-but when this one arrived I read it right away. I had to know all about beards. I LOVE facial hair on men though I don't particularly like beards. Make sense??? What I'm saying is that I like sideburns, goatees, soul patches, goatees without moustache, etc. Just seeing a man with a heavy shadow and the proverbial 5 o'clock shadow. ALL very sexy!! I would have liked more present day photos, but I liked it all. I wish someone would write a book about men's hairy legs. One thousand sets of hairy legs. Then I would really go crazy!!

A cliff notes history of beards.......2005-06-24

I found this book moderately amusing when I first came across it but that was before I discovered Fashions in Hair (2001-9th edition) by Richard Corson, certainly the ultimate, definitive source on the history of facial hair. This is sort of the cliff notes version of that book...lightweight, whimsical, jokey, brief, lacking the almost overwhelming detail, historical illustrations and info of the Corson book (first published in the 60's and updated numerous times since). The Corson book is the way to go if you're a beard afficianado.

Beard? Weird!.......2002-11-22

I, for one, find body hair of any description totally abhorrent, so I found this book one of the most difficult and challenging reads of my life. Peterkin's description of hair follicles, for example, borders, at times, on the pornographic.
I had to skip the chapter where he waxes lyrical about the curl-to-density ratio of pubic hair because I became too nauseous to carry on reading.

A fun and informative book.......2002-08-30

I don't have a beard myself, but I know a lot of people who do, and this is a fascinating account of the history of facial hair that provides some interesting factoids and insight into the meaning of why some of us choose to wear hair on our faces. I gave this book to some of my bearded friends, and they loved it. It's a real winner.

History, meaning, and how-to.......2002-02-19

Psychiatrist and writer Allan Peterkin has a playful and curious mind, and an obvious love of research. His past wanderings have taken him into the vagaries and varieties of the language of erotics, which he tackled enthusiastically - with a thesaurus, no less. The subject of beards is one that he admits he had never given much thought until one morning a few years ago.

His interest was piqued, he says in his introduction to this delightful book, in "one of those perverse moments of inspiration." Walking to work in downtown Toronto, "rather than indulging my own thoughts as usual," he started noticing faces, and he then noticed that more than a third of the males were in some fashion bearded, soul patched, sideburned, mustachioed - and so it began. He wanted to uncover the meanings of facial hair, the "unconscious reasons" that men grew and tended beards, and even the "ritualistic symbolism of shaving." He wondered what women thought about beards. His survey expanded to his colleagues, his psychotherapy patients, and strap-hangers on the Toronto subway. (You might guess that he asked his friends, too.) He was off and running.

This marvelous and generously-illustrated book is the result of his considerable ability to tackle his subject with energy, brainpower, humor and a sense of fun. It's a documentary, a history, a survey, an appreciation, and a catalogue. There are hundreds of black and white illustrations, and topical quotations from famous and not so famous beard-wearers. Chapter 6 deals with the (usually) unwanted thing: "The Feminine Beard." The compulsory beard (the Taliban being a recent and dramatic example of mandatory beardedness) is examined, too - in a chapter on religious beards. There's a "Timeline of Queer Facial Hair" among other remarkable bits of information in the chapter "The Gay Beard."

Facial hair's inevitable products and labors (shaving cream, razors, clippers, trimmers, and more) are included. Chapter 13, "The Personal Beard: Grooming Strategies" is a sort of owner's manual. If Great-grand-dad is no longer around to show you how to strop a razor, you can use Peterkin's instructions.

There are a lot of useful addresses and websites listed at this book's end (even "Where to Order False Facial Hair" should you need some), an extensive bibliography but, unfortunately, no index. Nonetheless this is a delightful book that is comprehensive and smart - and also a lot of fun. I know that I won't look at or think about facial hair in quite the same way ever again.

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ONE THOUSAND CHRISTMAS BEARDS
Roger. Illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. Duvoisin
Manufacturer: World's Work Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P8YLH0

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One Thousand Christmas Beards
Duvoisin
Manufacturer: Alfred A Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NPVGV4

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One thousand Christmas beards
Roger Duvoisin
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006AU7GQ

Book Description

The immortal samurai, Manji, and his charge, Rin have lost their best chance to avenge the death of Rin`s parents at the hands of Anotsu Kagehisa`s renegade sword school, the deadly Itto-ryu. Manji and Rin`s alliance with the mysterious Mugai-ryu assassins has failed, and now for Rin to pursue her parents` killer, she must pass through the Shogun`s checkpoints that control the roads out of Edo, a task she must perform without Manji, who is one of the most wanted men in all Japan and she is sure to be detected. When Manji discovers Rin has gone, he faces the impossible choice of storming the checkpoint by force or leaving Rin to face Anotsu and his trained killers alone. And when Rin is falsely named as an accomplice in a savage murder, the stakes are raised ever higher as she faces even greater odds to fulfill her blood oath! Collecting issues #1-8 of The Gathering series.

Customer Reviews:

Starting in the Middle.......2002-09-24

One of the drawbacks of diving into a lengthy manga series is that it is not always obvious where to start. In this particular case, I found myself in front of a shelf full of volumes of Hiroaki Samura's popular series without a clue to which were the first. So, totally at random, I selected this book and its sequel ('The Gathering, Part II'), guessing from the titles that they at least represented a single story. Typical reviewer's luck, I got home to discover that I had managed to start right in the middle.

Unlike novels in a series, which often feel the need to provide some background, these manga start right in. Without even knowing the characters' names, I was busy trying to pick up the details of the plot. Gradually I pieced together that Manji was an immortal swordsman who could not die until he killed 1000 villains. He travels with Rin, a young swordswoman, helping her track down the murderers of her parents.

'The Gathering' starts out in an inn where Manji and Rin are resting after a failed attempt on the life of Anotsu Kagehisa head of the Itto-ryu sword school. All they know is that Anotsu has left Edo for Kaga. Rin is determined to follow him, but there is a hitch. Travel in 18th Century Japan was severely restricted, and neither Manji nor Rin have the credentials to pass the checkpoints. Rin is so determined though that she ignores Manji's warnings and heads off on her own. Manji has no choice but to follow her. Their situation is complicated by the fact that they have been charged with murder and their sketches have been posted all over the path to Kaga.

This volume traces Manji and Rin's individual paths as they each try to acquire the coveted pass (tegata). True to their natures, Rin chooses the less violent path of subterfuge and Manji follows the swordsman's path. But neither finds progress easy. Without question, this is a two-volume problem.

The series is drawn with great elegance and style - much better than many of the manga I have seen. And once you figure out what exactly is going on, the story progresses smoothly. There is a great deal of depth to the characters coupled with a strong plot. The details of late 18th Century Japanese society are worth the price of admission on their own.

One thing I did find hard to follow was the depiction of fighting. With very little dialog other than sound effects these have a much different style from U.S. Comic violence. They are far more violent and have a disjointed style that takes more concentration to follow. However, this is just a matter of acclimatization. Taken as a whole, it is certainly no surprise that 'Blade of the Immortal' enjoys extensive popularity both in Japan and elsewhere.

The best manga? you bet........2002-07-04

(please excuse my english mistakes, i am german) If you enjoy manga, and samurais, there is nowhere else you should look (well perhaps lone wolf club....) other than Blade of the Immortal. BOTI not only has incredible art work all done in pencil and ink the story is beyond in-depth with a variety of characters and plenty of unuique battle sequences. The main character Manji, is often refered to as being one of the best main characters in both manga and anime alike. However, manji is far from the only cool character in the series....even the badguys (for the most part) are incredible...often times i find myself hating one but by the end of a battle you begin to understand the badguy and realise they may not have been as bad as you once thought. Also this series just continues to get better as it goes along rather than trail off like most mnagas i have read. As stated before if u like samurai/manga i would highly recomend this series of novels novels to you.

The hunt for Anotsu Kagehisa continues..........2001-09-13

Think it would be great to live forever? Manji, a crass ronin of eighteenth century Japan, doesn't agree. Cursed to immortal life for prior misdeeds, he must dispatch a thousand evil men to the judgment of the Buddha in order to die himself. Joining a young girl on her quest for vengeance against the rebellious Itto-Ryu sword school, Manji soon has dire need for his twelve blades as he faces a motley of hardened warriors, psychopaths, philosophers and just plain jokers. The thousand-man requiem is met by the painful stroke of give-and-take; and is told in a fashion that puts most modern epics to shame.

In The Gathering, the seventh BoTI compilation released on western shores, Hiroaki Samura continues to experiment with his storytelling style and artwork presentation. The character interactions are slower and more involved, the artwork less showy though always superb. One can see a definite maturation of style between, say, _Blood of a Thousand_ and this graphic novel: the `death murals' are gone; the battles longer and more defined; the development of conflict more pronounced and, ultimately, more effective. But some things never change, Manji's smirk and Rin's determination among them.

This compilation contains the first half of `The Gathering' storyline, focusing mostly on Rin's hunt for Anotsu Kagehisa, leader of the Itto-Ryu. The action doesn't really start until the last third, when Manji must duke it out with three warriors in order to procure a travel pass from one prefecture to the next. This quickly evolves into one of the most violent and desperate battles so far, though the reader will have to wait for the next compilation for a climax and conclusion to the story elements presented here.

Book Description

While the immortal samurai, Manji, has his hands full with a trio of skillful and merciless killers of the renegade Ittö-ryü sword school, Manji's charge, Rin, prepares to make her way through government checkpoints to leave Edo and find Anotsu Kagehisa -- lord of the Ittö-ryü and murderer of her parents -- and fulfill her quest of vengeance. Unjustly wanted for murder, Rin must try to pass in disguise, but the checkpoint officers are no fools, and she will not pass without a thorough interrogation -- and one slip will mean Rin's execution!

Customer Reviews:

Terrific volume!.......2004-01-25

The only problem I can see in this volume is the fight at the beginning. It is a little hard to read. The panels don't seem flipped right in a few instances. Manji, though, fights his toughest opponent yet. There are quite a few badguys in the itto-ryu that have a reputation besides Anotsu. Higa is one of those guys who has his own personality. I noticed one faded drawing in BOTI a while back. It was suppose to be kinda hard to see, but you can make out some of the people. I think it was DREAMSONG. The itto-ryu were all standing and you saw Anotsu in the center. To the right are Magatsu, and others who are too hard to define. To his left are what I think to be Higa, and, again, others who are too hard to define. Higa definietly earns a spot next to Anotsu seeing as how Manji can NOT keep up with him.

Hyakurin and Shinriji have some parts. I never read the first volume, but there is a guy who knows Manji. I am not quite familiar with him. Anywho, this novel is pretty cool. there are a lot of fights, a really cool badguy, and a neat segment on weapons at the end. Great book! Get volume one first. Next is SECRETS if my memory serves me correct.

The Unkindest Cuts.......2002-10-01

Readers please note that this review is specific to Part Two of the 'The Gathering.' [online store] has decided to treat the two volumes as if they were the same, which is unfortunate. While nothing written here really reveals and significant plot details that would hurt your enjoyment of the first volume, I do suggest you read my previous review first.

Having managed to get over my confusion at finding myself directly in the middle of the action in the previous volume, I somehow expected that its sequel would be easier to manage. After all, I had done my homework and discovered what Hiroaki Samura's real story arcs were, and I had even stolen a few peeks at the first few manage. I allowed this to give me a sense of false confidence as I picked up this volume.

What I was unprepared for was that fully on half of this volume is a detailed study of a fight between Manji and three opponents. This battle started in the previous volume and reaches genuinely heroic proportions as Manji is slowly chopped to bits. Apparently, this is standard operating procedure for the immortal samurai, who manages to survive injuries that would have made short work of a vampire. Since we know Manji will survive - the manga is his story - we are pushed right up to the point where all the hacking and slashing seems a bit funny.

The story of Rin's own efforts to get to Kaga and seek vengeance for her father's death is far less violent. The swordswoman seeks the aid of an innkeeper and his wife, hoping that she may masquerade as a relative in order to pass through the control point between Edo and Kaga. She discovers that this will take more than simple subterfuge and must use all her resources of courage to make her way.

While I cannot help but pick on a series of extraordinarily violent episodes, but the truth is that Samura's art remains at a consistently high level, regardless of subject matter. In addition, he displays a great depth of knowledge of 18th century Japan. I find the subtext of the competition between sword schools and the stratification of Japanese society eye opening, much more vivid than what the history books provide. While the story is uniquely Japanese in its telling it appeals to values of indomitable will and courage which are admirable anywhere. This continues to be a masterful series.

must have.......2002-06-12

if you are jus getting into this series u need to start from the begining. with a glance of the first paperback edition it might seem like a manga with lots of violence and gore, which is what got me into this manga. however, as you progress into the manga many characters began to take form and start to develope in the most interesting way.

the manga delve into human perceptions, at times the bad guys seems good, and the good guys are just bad. i feel its a great representation of our society as it is.

the drawing is done in rough lines, but with that it makes the characters to seems alive. espiecially in a fight sequence it adds the feeling of motion to it. there is also couple superbe drawing of finishing moves, quite dramatic.

Product Description

Black & white manga comic book published by Dark Horse Comics. The adventures of the immortal Ronin Manji, who must slay 1,000 evil men before he can be granted the release of death. Story and art by Hiroaki Samura.

The Gathering (Blade of the Immortal (Sagebrush))

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The Gathering (Blade of the Immortal (Sagebrush))
Hiroaki Samura
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Blade of the Immortal #55 (The Gathering Part 13 of 15) March 2001

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Blade of the Immortal #55 (The Gathering Part 13 of 15) March 2001
Hiroaki Samura
Manufacturer: Dark Horse Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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Product Description

The Gathering "Cloudburst Part 1"

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The master gives us a few more chuckles

More corn then Oklahoma, shows the heart of the man

Not only unfunny but embarassing

Asimov rules his humor stinks

A remarkable piece of work

Asimov Laughs Again: More Than 700 Jokes, Limericks, and Anecdotes
Isaac Asimov
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor

Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts

Isaac Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space

Asimov's Chronology of the World

I.Asimov: A Memoir

ASIN: 0060924489

Book Description

Here are more than 700 of Isaac Asimov's favorite jokes, cleverest limericks and funniest stories.

Customer Reviews:

The master gives us a few more chuckles.......2006-05-21

Not counting his volumes of limericks, this is Isaac Asimov's second jokebook, following Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor. Like that first book, however, this is much more than simply a collection of jokes. Asimov discusses, in his usual prolific style, the nature of jokes and joketelling, what makes some things funny and others fall flat, and why he prefers some jokes to others. Although he intentionally steers away from topical humor, some of the jokes are still outdated simply because of the evolution of language and culture, but the book is still a great read and a full of laughs. It's a lot of fun.

More corn then Oklahoma, shows the heart of the man.......2000-07-25

This book is more helpful then some of my fellow reviews suggest, as it reflects greatly on who Asimov the man actually was.

He was an unrepentant sexist, as many men of his generation were. He was arrogant, as many successful men are. He was self centred, as most of us are.

However, through this book you can see the pain of the failure of his first marriage and his love for his second wife and daughter. You can see many of the people he liked.

Sure some of it is unfunny, some of it is just plain crude and some of it is rambling. I liked it and return to it every couple of years.

One reason I did like it was it showed how autobiographical much of Asimov's other writings were. If you cross check some of the Foundation series, you can see a reflection in Issac's own life at the time of writing. This makes this volume a worthy addition for any Issac-ophile.

Not only unfunny but embarassing.......2000-01-04

Isaac Asimov was one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, but this book showed that there was a limit to even his talents. Most of the "jokes" are (a) not his; (b) not funny; (c) corny; and (d) sexually boring and/or gross. I was astonished that this was published in the 90's. It was so dated, I thought (before I checked the copyright notice) that it was published in the '70's and was supposed to be "shocking."

Put this down and reread the Foundation series!

Asimov rules his humor stinks.......1999-11-16

Asimov is a great author but this book just isn't funny. I found myself struggling to stay awake through out the entire book. The majority of the jokes aren't even his, he is just retelling someone elses joke. Overall very boring.

A remarkable piece of work.......1999-04-08

This book was a source of many laughs for me. How Asimov tells you the jokes from his point of view is truly something. And the stories of his experiences are a good enough reason for any Asimov fan to buy this book. I encourige fans to check this book out, because it's brilliant!!

Asimov Laughs Again: More Than 700 Favorite Jokes, Limericks, and Anecdotes

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Asimov Laughs Again: More Than 700 Favorite Jokes, Limericks, and Anecdotes
Isaac Asimov
Manufacturer: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Limericks & Humorous Verse | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OJN2LQ

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