Average customer rating:
- Essential for any SERIOUS dance student
- Why isn't this still in print?
- Wonderful glimpse into an intriguing, demanding world
- Excellent, revealing, thouroughly enjoyable
- Excellent, Fascinating, Absorbing
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Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal
Toni Bentley
Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0813027055 |
Customer Reviews:
Essential for any SERIOUS dance student.......2006-07-05
This is a beautifully written very open look at the world of a professional dancer. The difficulties and joys of life in a world class ballet company are clearly and thoughtfully laid out by Bentley. The pride she had for her place in NYCB, and the sadness of standing in the background while others danced in the spotlight in front of her. But ultimately we are allowed to see the great joy finds in her dancing, and the struggle and work it took to get her there, as well as the struggle and hard work it took to keep her there. Overall I thought that Bentley was very candid and very honest about her life in NYCB. Every dance student planning a life as a professional dancer should read this book.
Why isn't this still in print?.......2002-09-06
Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal is the exquisite chronicle of a ballet dancer's experiences with the New York City Ballet. The dancer, Toni Bentley, claims a certain naivetee, but I don't believe it's innocent ignorance as much as it is simple yearning for experiences she rarely has.
She has a delicate flair for words, and her prose couldn't be any less lovely than her pliees and tondus.
Dancing with a world-famous ballet company is gruelling. The dancers are overworked, underfed, and have little understanding of how the "real world" works, yet it would seem they like it that way. Ballet companies thusly have much in common with military outfits: soldiers and dancers work brutally hard, but have their concerns looked after by the higher-ups. Balanchine is the dancers' general.
With the incredibly long hours and the accompanying mental and physical exhaustion, how did Toni get the time to write this book?
She writes,
"We are hairless. We have no leg hairs, no pubic hair, no armpit hair, no facial hair, no neck hair and only a solid little lump at the top of our heads. Any sign of stubble must be closely watched out for and removed.
"That is not all. We don't eat food, we eat music. We need artistic sustenance only. Emotional, inspiring sustenance. Al our physical energy is the overflow of spiritual feelings. We live on faith, belief, love, inspiration, vitamins and Tab."
Toni eventually does break free of the NYC Ballet machine, but she's drawn inexorably back. After all, as she says, "We live only to dance. If living were not an essential prerequisite, we would abstain."
Wonderful glimpse into an intriguing, demanding world.......2000-06-17
With "Winter Season," Toni Bentley allows her audience to see a real picture of the incredibly tough, demanding and creative world of professional ballet. We see George Balanchine at the end of the career, and such greats as Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins. The incredible, difficult, almost insane demands put on the dancers are clearly drawn, as is Ms. Bentley's love for her art. Especially evocative is her struggle with reconciling art with her demanding profession.
Often, artistic memoirs focus on the superstars, the Tallchiefs and Nureyevs, for instance. The view from the corps de ballet is all the more interesting for being so rare. This book is beautiful, wry, humorous and exquisitely-written. I wish Ms. Bentley had written several other volumes.
Excellent, revealing, thouroughly enjoyable.......1998-11-28
I really enjoyed this book. It gave a wonderful glimpse into the real world of professional dancing. Miss Bentley told this story with beautiful language, her words flowed like water. I found it wonderful to know what it was like to live the life of a dancer, to know the struggles and the victories, the fantasies and the realities. I recommend this book for all who love dance and for anyone interested in show business or simply anyone who enjoys a good read.
Excellent, Fascinating, Absorbing.......1998-02-17
I enjoyed this book. It was an absorbing, eye-opening look into the world of the ballet written by an insider - a young, intense and highly intelligent young woman, a dancer with the NYC Ballet, who exposes life in this elite and unique world.
Book Description
There is an EcoJournal for each of the four seasons. A Kid's Winter EcoJournal invites kids to write about nature on pages exquisitely illustrated by Margaret Brandt. The author has included short entries from her nature journals, which express her irrepressible and unflagging delight in the natural world. Kids love to read about Trickle Creek, where cardinals and bluejays are like Christmas ornaments in the evergreens and the groundhog hibernates in its burrow. The Winter EcoJournal is packed with nature activities for exploring winter. Kids can decorate a tree or a snowman for birds, make a collecting caddy and collect winter potpourri, make woodpecker pizza and bird biscuits, test for acid snow with cabbage water, and enjoy dozens of other fall activities that teach them to love the world of nature. Based on solid science. Grades 3-up.
Average customer rating:
- Hot and cold
- Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone
- Great story...
- We're never alone, even when we're by ourselves
- It's all about remembering
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Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone
John Daniel
Manufacturer: Shoemaker & Hoard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1593761058 |
Book Description
In November of 2000, after the presidential election but before the final results had been handed down by the Supreme Court, John Daniel climbed into his pickup, drove to a remote location in Oregon's Rogue River Canyon, and quit civilization. The strictures were severe with no two-way human communication — not even with his wife — and no radio, no music, not even his cat. He would isolate himself in a cabin sure to be snowed in soon after his arrival, intent on hearing no human voice but his own until spring thawed the road. This experiment in solitude was an attempt to clarify his identity while pursuing daily life without the distractions of the world at large. Daniel had spent a week or two alone before, but this would be an entirely new challenge, and as he drove off into the mountains he felt a fear-tinged freedom. Rogue River Journal chronicles his journey in solitude, a season of memory, and his search for a coherent place to stand on the earth.
Customer Reviews:
Hot and cold.......2006-11-25
The book has four themes: journal and musings while in the Oregon wilderness, auto biography, and father's biography. It's tough to write an interesting journal - face it, most lives aren't that interesting. Daniel has led an interesting life, but not that interesting. I enjoyed spending time with him in the wilderness, became bored with his reflections on his self-absorbed youth, and had to go for my own solitary walk to escape his musings on current politics - sorry, not interested in ruminations on Bill Clinton and Monica, the decriminalization of drugs, and the merits of Bush and Gore.
The sections on his father and the labor movement were fascinating and hope that Daniel can work through the emotional issues enough to write a full, more dispassionalte biography.
There are plenty of great nuggets to mine here, for example his experience as a choker in Washington forest, and having many fathers, that make the book worth reading. But often I could almost hear Franz Daniel saying, that's enough John, now get out and DO something.
Rogue River Journal: A Winter Alone.......2006-10-02
I was encouraged to read this book by the cover quote from Mary Oliver and was rewarded appropriately. A beautifully written, thoughtful journey of self discovery. And a special gift at the end for anyone exploring their own path in becoming a writer, the author offers insight and direction that resonates as true.
Great story..........2006-08-25
This is a great 'get-away' book. It conveys what it must really be like to be alone in the wilderness for months, in a beautiful place, and the journey of a person's thoughts without the distractions of modern life. It also is a powerful story about the author's relationship with his father. Highly recommended.
We're never alone, even when we're by ourselves.......2005-08-01
I loved this book, and I'm glad the author brought us along on his journey. I have often wondered what it would be like to take off for awhile, and leave the bustle of everyday life behind.
From reading I discovered that I would never really be alone, because all of the people that I have been fortunate to know have shaped my life. They are part of me, and hopefully I am part of them. Our friends and family are there in spirit all of time - good and bad. It all makes up a portion of the fabric which is us, which makes nothing bad. It's all good.
The natural setting for the adventure is top-notch, and I do plan on exploring the Rogue River. I certainly need to bring my fly-rod.
Thanks for sharing your life with us, John.
It's all about remembering.......2005-06-06
Poet and nonfiction writer John Daniel spent four and a half months living by himself in a cabin in the Rogue River canyon of southwestern Oregon. Though his original intent was to go there to write, he did some nature observation and terrain exploration as well. He chose to make his retreat during the winter of 2000-2001, beginning just after election day. We who were stuck back here in civilization can only envy his self-made cocoon of quiet, blissfully removed from the incessant media analysis of the Bush-Gore-Florida quandry. We can merely shake our heads, remembering.
Memory comes into play quite a bit here. After taking care of his immediate needs and taking in the natural world around him, Daniel spends much of his alone time considering the past. Or two pasts, really: his father's and his own. Something he sees or thinks about at the cabin will remind him of something else from the past, and he follows that tangent. He writes about his father and traces the man's work in the American labor movement as well as his struggle with alcoholism. At the same time, he reveals much about his own life and about growing up in a 1960s culture that was both anti-Vietnam and pro-drugs. "Rogue River Journal" is as much about Daniel's voyage of self-discovery as it is a temporary escape from society. By the end of his sojourn, it seems as if he has come to terms with all of it: his relationship with his father, his own varied and sometimes illegal activities of his younger days, his writing career, even the choice to enforce this self-imposed confinement. Daniel gets *very* personal, yet this is not a pure autobiography. It's funny, it's sad, it's thought-provoking, it's Life.
Daniel writes, "I thought I might find two books here -- one about the experience of solitude, the other the story of my coming of age and my father. From the start though, the two wanted to loop and weave together, and I saw no reason, and see none now, to discourage their union." (p. 301) The result honors both men. Obviously Franz Daniel passed the story-telling gene onto his son John. He has a knack for offering vivid descriptions and the tales to go with them, knowing just when to bring one segment to a temporary close so that we'll want to turn the page to discover what happened next. Baby Boomer readers will have no problem reminiscing on their own, inspired by Daniel's candid ruminations. This book is more contemplative than most "Walden" wannabees.
John Daniel uncovers two truths for us: We need occasional solitude in order to understand who we are as individuals. And we also need distance from the past in order to comprehend its contribution to our personalities and lives. Thanks for the reminders, John!
Customer Reviews:
a view from where the sun shines now.......2007-01-22
Have you ever had a simple sandwich and felt like it was the finest meal because you hadn't eaten in awhile? Now imagine being parched and so hungry and coming upon a 5 star restaurant with good food that fills the plate and a sign over the door that reads, "Grand Opening: All you can eat for $0.00". This book was in front of my eyes when I desperately needed to hear its message. It may not move you as much if you're battling hangnails but when you're struggling for air and you pant for a reassuring reminder of God's ways with His own, and His utter faithfulness to you, this book will quite simply bless your heart.
Average customer rating:
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Winter
Cedco
Manufacturer: Cedco Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0768326591 |
Book Description
Jules Feiffer, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, and the late Al Hirschfeld talk with each other about their art. Four of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th Century come together to talk about their lives, careers, influences, passions and preferences in art, literature, comics, film, theater and more, reflecting the rich well of their 200+ years of collective experience as artists in a series of once-in-a-lifetime conversations and interviews. Maus author Art Spiegelman chats with the late, great Al Hirschfeld and interviews fellow Pulitzer-prize winner Jules Feiffer, who is also interviewed by TCJ founder Gary Groth and chats with young lion Chris Ware. The only thing more extraordinary than these conversations taking place at all is to have so many of them between two covers!
If that weren't enough: The issue also includes essays and criticism on a broad range of topics—including The Simpsons, Lyonel Feininger, Phoebe Gloeckner, Milt Gross, Ben Katchor and William Blake—written by the Journal's finest critics, such as Donald Phelps, Robert Fiore, Bill Blackbeard and R.C. Harvey, as well as short "Pass It On" essays on rising cartoonists you need to know about and a massive tribute section to Hirschfeld and Bill Mauldin, from their peers and admirers in the fields of art, literature, film, politics, theatre and beyond!
Last but hardly least is our "Cartoonists On" section, boasting of comics-form essays, short stories and vignettes from today's finest cartoonists—including the likes of R. Crumb, Chris Ware, Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Arnold Roth, Phoebe Gloeckner, Bill Griffith, Gary Panter and dozens of other cartooning English-language cartoonists, as well as new work from European and Japanese comics greats for the very first time—on the topic of "The Shock of Recognition" (the event, experience, or work of art that had a profound effect on them and their art).
Book Description
A stunning new Archive Edition collecting Silver Age HAWKMAN#1-8 (1964-1965)! This volume , which opens with Hawkman's first appearancein his own title, pits the Winged Warrior against foes old and new. Plus,an intro by cartoonist and comics historian R.C. Harvey.
Average customer rating:
- In Praise of Idiocy
- Good imagination, bad plot
- The Heritage Universe
- Read "Convergent Series" First
- Dropped Into the Middle of a Series
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Transvergence (Heritage Universe)
Charles Sheffield
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0671578375 |
Customer Reviews:
In Praise of Idiocy.......2003-11-11
Transvergence is the the combined edition of the 3rd and 4th books in the Heritage Universe series about a quest to find the "Builders" of a series of mysterious "Artifacts" left behind in our galaxy.
Perhaps the most aggrivating thing about Transvergence (and the "Heritage Universe" series in general) is that it is written with the craftsmanship of an eigth-grader's cribbed book report.
As before, our band of adventurers (some of whom are supposed to be the galaxy's best troubleshooters or super-human intelligences) manage to stumble blindly through a series of adventures, surviving by luck alone. Every character in the book survies to the end only with the help of various deus ex-machina plot devices. ("Hey, who left that ship there? Thanks Builders!")
The book also stretches suspension of disbelief beyond its normal limits as the protagonists - who are often separated by planets or entire solar systems - REPEATEDLY regroup by accident. It's almost as if the seven of them spent the weekend at a cabin together instead of separately running around the galaxy's spiral arm.
Logistical and intelligence problems aside, each of the two sub-books (like their predecessors) offer new explanations for the Artifacts (and the Builders' motivations) which contradict and/or invalidate the explanations given in the previous books. It's somewhat like a dadaist attempt at storytelling, because after the third explanation, you're not sure what to believe.
The worst explanation of them all comes at the end of sub-book #2 ("Convergence") in what is sure to go down as one of the great "WTF?" moments in sci-fi history. Without giving anything away, the book might as well have told us the Artifacts were decorations left over from a Builder office party.
That's not to say all is wrong with this book (even with its clumsy attempts at low-brow humor.) There are some neat ideas for the hard sci-fi buff to chew on, such as macroscopic quantum effects and the multiply-connected spaces inside the artifacts. It's just that all the interesting ideas are hampered by the book's flawed execution.
Good imagination, bad plot.......2001-03-05
When I got this book I though "oh... spaceships and dangerous aliens, sounds good!" Sheffield has a lot of interesting ideas, but they don't fit together to form a coherent world. His heros are pretty stupid and survive purely on luck, as opposed to any kind of skill.
The Heritage Universe.......2000-11-10
Agree this is an excellent series. Readers should also be aware that the first three books were published by Guild America books under the title "The Heritage Universe".
Read "Convergent Series" First.......2000-06-08
This series is an excellent series, but the title shifting and confusion that has been done in the reprinting of it is unfortunate. The first two books in the series, "Summertide" and "Divergence" were reprinted as a double book in October 1998 called "Convergent Series". This was an unfortunate choice of name since the fourth book of the series is named "Convergence" and it appears together with the third book of the series "Transcendence" in a double book released in November 1999 named "Transvergence", the book subject to this review.
Dropped Into the Middle of a Series.......2000-05-04
First off, before you even consider picking up this title, you need to be aware of the fact that Transvergence is the reprinting of the 3rd and 4th volumes of 'The Convergent Series.' Unfortunately the 1st and 2nd parts of this series are currently out of print (although I believe this will change with the release of Convergent Series in June 2000) and as such the reader is essentially dropped into the middle of an ongoing story.
That aside, Transvergence is actually an enjoyable read by itself. Having missed out on the first part of the series the reader has to catch up with the various characters and situations of the story, but there is usually enough recapping done to bring you up to speed. The only complaint I have is that after reading the first part of Transvergence the second part tends to follow the same predictable plotline. Heroes go separate ways->Heroes have adventures->Heroes come back together under extraordinary circumstances.
All in all though the storylines are good even though they do feel somewhat rushed towards the finales. You may want to wait and see if the first part of the series is reprinted before picking this book up, but if you can get past that then Transvergence is actually a good way to kill an afternoon.
Amazon.com
Todd Wilbur, the master of fast food replication, is back, and accompanying him are 37 new recipes. More Top Secret Recipes follows triumphantly in the footsteps of his first tryout with kitchen clones, Top Secret Recipes. Included in this new collection are recipes that fans steadfastly demanded--including A&W Root Beer and an easy concoction for creating the perfect Oreo in less than an hour. All that's needed for this magical cookie is cake mix, shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Simplicity is the key to success for all of Wilbur's duplicates--nothing more than simple ingredients and basic cooking skills are required. Other culinary clones include Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls, Little Caesar's Crazy Bread, and a divine recipe for Bailey's Original Irish Cream. Quirky diagrams of these tempting bites illustrate the book throughout. Snack time has never been this much fun! --Naomi Gesinger
Customer Reviews:
Awesome!!!!.......2007-04-06
What a great book! I actually had it before and lost it in a divorce. I really missed this book.
Check the table of contents first!.......2006-10-19
I LOVE this book simply because I've been trying to recreate popeye's fried chicken on my own and failed miserably! I checked the table of contents and found it was there and that alone was worth the $9 investment. I'm not going to make everything but its fun to see how you could make Mary Jane's. :D
Check the table of contents first, then if there's a recipe you would like, take a chance. Most times, its pretty good!
Oh and the chicken recipe? Its not exactly right but it's pretty darn close and makes really good spicy fried chicken!
Thrallz.......2006-03-13
This is a very cool cook book, lots of fun recipes to try and of favorites. My husband and I had fun just flipping through it when it first arrived planning what we could fix.
The Olive Garden Alfredo is yummy and so close to the original chain version.
Are Charles Holcomb and Melissa actually Douglas Hensley (and Pattie Hensley's husband)?.......2006-01-07
A reviewer, "Charles Holcomb", has reviewed all the books written by Douglas Hensley and Pattie Hensley. Reviewer "Melissa" is also now curiously reviewing the same list as "Charles Holcomb". He has also reviewed several competing books -- such as this one -- and used those reviews as an opportunity to mention the "superior quality" of the book written by Douglas Hensley or Pattie Hensley. The Hensley titles are as follows:
- "Lost Stories From Hell" by Douglas Hensley
- "Magic Voodoo Spells" by Douglas Hensley
- "Hell's Gate: Terror at Bobby Mackey's Music World" by Douglas Hensley
- "Automobile Sales Training and Tips From The Pros" by Douglas Hensley
- "Book of Dreams & Dream Interpretations" by Douglas Hensley
- "Bloody Bones" by Douglas Hensley
- "Grandma's Cook Book and Recipes" by Pattie Hensley
- "Grandma's Country Recipes" by Pattie Hensley
- "Copycat Restaurant and Bakery Recipes" by Pattie Hensley
My Wife says pass on this one.......2006-01-01
JUST OK. My wife says to look under COPYCAT RESTAURANT RECIPES or COPYCAT RESTAURANT COOK BOOKS here on Amazon to find a better selection.
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- A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening: A Novel
- A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu Tome IV: Sodome et Gomorrhe Volumes 1-2
- A Singular Man
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass: And What Alice Found There (Oxford World's Classics)
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