Karl Gerstner: Review Of Seven Chapters Of Constructive Pictures, Etc.

Book Description

As a visual designer, Karl Gerstner led the double life of a graphic designer who worked on commission and an artist who worked according to his own directives. In the realm of the constructive, Gerstner's work is quite unique. He never composed pictures in the usual sense but rather made them as algorithms, i.e. through operations that generated endless possibilities. In each chapter of Review of Seven Chapters of Constructive Pictures, etc., Gerstner describes how he "found" a selection of individual pictures. The selected works span 50 years, from his early "serial pictures" of the 50s through participation objects which include the viewer as a co-designer, the "color forms" created on the basis of a color-and-form model developed by Gerstner, and his most recent production, in which he transfers the basic principles of fractal geometry to pictures.

Amazon.com

Ecology, a science scarcely a century old, aims to give its practitioners an approach to understanding how whole natural systems--for example, watersheds, deserts, and estuaries--work. Few books translate this aim as well as Earth from Above, a stunning collection of photographs that affords its viewers a window into the world's workings. It is something of a commonplace, for instance, that the large-scale logging now being visited on the world's rainforests is causing untold damage to tropical ecosystems. In French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand's hands, this problem is translated from arid fact to alarming image, giving immediate meaning to the statistics that underlie today's environmental headlines; his photographs of the ruins of rural Madagascar, where forests are being cleared at a rate of 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) annually, are a sad case in point.

Arthus-Bertrand, working with the support of UNESCO, has wandered the globe to gather this collection of more than 200 photographs, presented in a folio format. The images are uniformly striking, whether of stalagmite-like fans of algae spreading into the Mediterranean Sea, farmers working their fields in northern India, or destroyed Iraqi tanks littering the deserts of Kuwait. The accompanying text, captions, and short essays by some of France's leading scientists and social critics lend specific depth to the images, which will cheer few readers--but that will shock, and educate, and, with luck, inspire closer attention to the world around us. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The result of a five-year airborne odyssey across five continents and 60 countries, Earth from Above is the most revealing and spectacular portrait of our world ever created. From a heart-shaped mangrove forest in New Caledonia to a flock of red ibises in Venezuela, from a caravan of camels in Mauritania to Mt. Everest and Mammoth Hot Springs, renowned aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand presents striking color images that put our home planet in a whole new perspective. Produced under the sponsorship of UNESCO, the book is also a documentary record of the state of the world's fragile environment.

This vibrant new edition of the internationally acclaimed original features an updated design and nearly 60 stunning new photographs. All new captions and the addition of authoritative new texts by experts in various environmental fields illuminate Arthus-Bertand's monumental achievement.

Customer Reviews:

Item never recieved!.......2007-09-27

I ordered my book about a month ago and it is still not here! I can not review the book, but I can review the service, and it has been awful.

Cover.......2007-09-20

I think the photo of the cover is the best. Nice photos, no one to recall as very nice.

Beautiful photographs but some rather polemical commentaries.......2007-05-10

This is a book with some of the most beautiful and interesting photographs I have ever seen, all of which have been taken from the air above by the well known photographer Yann-Arthus Bertrand. It also comes with an alarming and urgent message that we (the citizens of the world) must all do our bit to bring to a halt the continuing and escalating damage to our environment before it is too late.

It's a big heavy book (38cm by 30 cm by 5cm), and one could say that its weight matches the importance of the topics being addressed. The book is divided into twelve sections:
* Building an Eco Economy
* World Population and the Environment
* Urban Landscapes, Landscapes of Urbanism
* Farmers of the World, the Price of our Future
* Water, Humanity's Heritage
* Biodiversity, a Question of Survival
* Seas and Oceans, Red Alert
* Climate Change, Doubts and Certainties
* Rethinking the World s Energy
* Sustainable Development
* Microcredit and the Future of Poverty
* Antartica, the Continent of hope
Each section is beautifully laid out, commencing with a 3 page commentary on the particular topic, which has been written by a well known scholar or expert, followed by a page of supporting facts and figures which provide the evidence to show the importance of the particular environmental issue under discussion. This is followed by a summary page of the 15 photographs in the section, and the double page photographs themselves. Because of its size, I found the best way to read this book was to put it down on my dining room table, and read a few pages at a time. And I did read it line by line and from cover to cover!

I would like to say that I am convinced by the scholarly nature of the commentaries, but I found myself "tuning out" some sections because of the unrelieved gloom and doom portrayed by the author of the article. The main problem I had with the style and tone of the commentaries was I was never quite sure as how much of what was being presented was fact as opposed to opinion masquerading as fact. There were some very interesting statistics, most of which seem to have been published in reports of the United Nations reports, but, again, I was never quite sure whether the author was just selecting those statistics which supported his case.

One of the underlying messages of the book seems to be that any progress we may make towards improving the way we live only ends up endangering Mother Earth and to make it worse for those who are struggling to survive in an ever more deteriorating environment, and that nearly all of the present solutions which have been offered to correct our environmental problems will also make matters worse. This means that the only hope we have to avoid disaster is for us (humanity) to change our ways. This requires, of course, that we should return to a simpler way of life, and that governments should be concerned with changing our attitudes accordingly.

My problem with this kind of reasoning is that human beings, by their very nature seem first and foremost to be self-oriented, It is true that at times we do display magnificent examples of altruism, but we are not colony insects like bees and ants. In my opinion, this means that solutions to our environmental problems HAVE to take into account how humans actually behave, individually and en masse, and not how they SHOULD behave! In my opinion, many of the solutions offered were rather high level and top down, and as is clear in most current political issues, the devil is usually in the details. I think that to be successful in persuading people to change their minds on important issues like this, you must appeal to their intelligence rather than employing the faith based reasoning of some of the commentaries For me, the most useful section was on Sustainable Development because I felt that the author of the commentary had done a very even handed job of presenting both sides of that particular issue.

Notwithstanding these comments, the commentaries are VERY interesting and did present many new facts which I was hitherto totally unaware of. I am very happy to have acquired the book, and I do recommend it to other readers. I am sure I will read it again , since it does successfully convey a vitally important message - and it is still open on my dining room table.

So much beauty around us we don't notice.......2007-03-21

The author has been able to collate in this book amazing images that will take you many coffees to sit and go through.
This isn't a tiny book.
If you want to exercise then this is a hefty book that is worth its weight.
The images taken from all over the planet aren't just of pretty clean items but the author has been able to show beauty in even the ugliest of images. This will be a book your friends will want to borrow and possibly keep, if you lend it to them. tell them to get their own. You will see why when you review it.

Great Pictures.......2007-03-11

I saw the exhibition a couple of years ago in Lyon, France. Big sized pictures hanging all over town with explaning text beside it. Too bad the books there were, what else?, in French. When I saw this book @ Amazon, I bought it straight away. When you look at the pictures you think: what a great job this guy has. Gets to visit the best spots on this planet and makes great pictures of them too. Just recently, end of 2006, I saw a new exhibition in Amsterdam with some familiar pics and some new ones. Too bad there wasn't a book with all new pics, It would have been another great asset.

Average customer rating:

Earth from Above, Third Edition
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUDKBO

Book Description

Kathy O’Beirne was sexually abused at eight, labeled “troublesome” by a psychiatrist, and sent to reform school. After being raped by a visiting priest, she was transferred to a psychiatric hospital and subjected to electric shock therapy. At 12, she ended up in a Magdalen laundry, the notorious workhouses where thousands of other “troublesome” girls were incarcerated, abused, and forced to slave in horrendous conditions. In unflinching detail, yet illuminated by strength and hope, Kathy’s Story recounts her harrowing experiences, remarkable survival, and campaign to help other victims of institutional abuse.

Average customer rating:

Wish I'd had this as a kid!
Think of Matt Groening as the Dante of modern childhood
35 year old childhood memories brought back to life
my first self-help book with fabulous sense of humor

Childhood Is Hell
Matt Groening
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0007180268

Book Description

Another Inevitable Mini-Jumbo Compendium of Hellish Cartoons by Child-At-Heart Matt Groening, author of Love Is Hell, Work Is Hell, School Is Hell, etc., etc., etc.

This pint-size yet chunky cartoon book contains dozens of zany, daffy, downright insolent comic strips-specially designed to be read under the covers late at night with a secret flashlight and a bowl of ice cream for nourishment. Don't let Mom catch you.

Childhood Is Hell is jam-packed with 48 of the wittiest and weirdest cartoons from Matt Groening's syndicated "Life in Hell" "RM" comic strip (seen weekly in the hippest newspapers from coast to coast). Not only do you get all 25 chapters of the painfully funny "Childhood Is Hell" maxiseries, you also get a whole bunch more bonus cartoons -- at practically no apparent added cost. Childhood Is Hell may not be all that cute and cuddly, but its peculiar insights could save you thousands of dollars in annoying therapy bills, as well as convulse you with childlike laughter and merriment.

Customer Reviews:

Wish I'd had this as a kid!.......2007-09-23

I love this book. It's so honest about what it's like to be a kid, the good the bad and the ugly. Love the types of moms and dads, the stuff about growing up at every age. "Your Childhood Trauma Checklist" is the best. I think I never knew that anyone else felt this way before I saw this book!

Think of Matt Groening as the Dante of modern childhood.......2003-06-06

After a while Bongo, the young rabbit that Matt Groening insists on drawing with ony one ear (I think the left one is right) really creeps me out after a while. I prefer to get my insolent wisdom from Binky or even Akbar and Jeff, but Bongo shows up in the fast majority of the 48 cartoons from Groening's syndicated "Life is Hell" comic circa 1983-1988. The actual "Childhood is Hell" maxi-series consists of 25 chapters specifically intended to teach kids about wising up before it is too late, starting with "Tips for Tots" and providing sage advise for being all you can be for kids at odd ages 1 (Wily) through 9 (Naughty), with 10 (Twisted) thrown in for good measure. There are also several one panel cartoons, including two that totally capture the Christmas spirit that parents will find useful at before and after the opening of presents (show the little kiddies that Santa is not the only one who knows exactly what they are thinking in their warped little minds). As is the case with the more famous Matt Groening creation, "The Simpsons," the sad truth is that "Childhood is Hell" is too good for those who are still experiencing that particular state of arrested development. But unlike Bart and company, Binky, Bongo, Sheba and the rest of the gang are all wallowing much more in the depth of despair. However, if you are actually part of the age group that is intended to benefit from the weird wisdom collected within these pages, do follow the instructions provided on the back cover: read this book under the covers late at night with a secret flashlight and a bowl of ice cream for nourishment. But even if your Mom does not catch you remember that childhood is hell and none of us get out of it alive.

35 year old childhood memories brought back to life.......1999-07-10

This book in the life is hell series is a great parady of childhood.I am 40 years old and this book brought back memories I forgot that I ever had of being a kid.Every page is full of #%&@s and giggles!!If you are a fan of kids and old memories of childhood past? you will enjoy every page of this Mat Groening satire.

my first self-help book with fabulous sense of humor.......1999-01-01

I first bought this book in the eight grade and Matt Groening's wry humor got me to understand that I wasn't the only kid with these problems; and that when you think about it, it's all pretty funny. I still have have my original copy and evey other "Life is Hell" book. An early fan has become a life-long fan! EXCELLENT! :)

Kathy's Story: A Childhood Hell Inside the Magdalen Laundries

Average customer rating:

heartbreaking story
Truth or Lies???
Haunting and Painful but a story that needed to be told
Harrowing read
A hard read, but a good one.

Kathy's Story: A Childhood Hell Inside the Magdalen Laundries
Kathy O'Beirne
Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1840189681
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Customer Reviews:

heartbreaking story.......2007-03-28

there is a possiblity that this is a hoax. thousands of irish children did suffer at the hands of those there to care and protect them. this book shows how this was achieved, with fear, excuses, lies, control and hate by members of the catholic orders. whilst this book may or maynot be true, the fact is that the nuns, priest, christian brothers and those charged with doing their works, did abuse, physically, mentally and sexually, children in ways that the 21st century knows nothing about.
the real sinners are those that ignored it, those that instigated it, those that did nothing, because, real or a hoax, these things happened in institutions run by the catholic church. there were above the law, and the vatican knows. do they care?
highly recommend the god squad by paddy doyle, this is not a hoax. The God Squad: The Bestselling Story of One Child's Triumph over Adversity

Truth or Lies???.......2006-09-21

Author's family say abuse memoir is cruel hoax.
Doubt has been cast on the 'childhood hell' in a Catholic institution recalled by an Irish writer
IT IS a harrowing story of a young woman's life destroyed by nuns and priests, and it has raced to the top of the bestseller list. But now a chorus of voices, including those of the author's own family, claim that the ordeal described by Kathy O'Beirne simply does not ring true and is nothing more than a cruel hoax.

Haunting and Painful but a story that needed to be told.......2006-03-13

Ms O'Brian tells a bitter painful tale of abuse, the most horrifying is that it is all true and Ms. O'Brian was not the only victim. Thousands of Ireland's daughters were treated the same way by their families, their country and their church. The adults who refused to believe that evil and sickness can come cloaked in the veil of religion. A society so cloaked in shame that a wife will stay with a husband so abusive that he routinely starved, abused and savagely beat his children. A society so steeped in myth that a priest can openly molest little girls time and time again without fear of reprisal because no one could think the good father could ever do such a thing. A society where women who give themselves to God are so revered and respected that they can operate not one not two but dozens of houses of horrors for girls many of whom their only crime is being born. SHAME ON IRELAND, SHAME ON THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SHAME ON ALL PEOPLE WHO HIDE BEHIND THIER HANDS AND FAIL TO SPEAK WHEN INJUSTICE IS BEFORE THEIR EYES. MAY WE NEVER BE THAT NAIEVE AGAIN

Harrowing read.......2005-08-18

This book made me really angry. It is an indictiment on how the neglect of the state allowed the church to exploit many young people and destoyed the lives of many children through reform school, psychiatric units as well as the Magdalene Laundries. How could they have gotten away with it? The most disgusting bit was when letters from Kathy's mother was with held from her by the nun in the reform school and only brought to light in a meeting 30 years after to throw her off balance. That was just callous and cruel. It strikes me how conveniently perpetrators of evil always manage to justify their acts by referring to religion, law, or 'good' when their actions lack humanity of any sort and only lead to the destruction of innocent lives. Kathy's personal strength in overcoming the odds and yet maintaining a loving, caring, empathetic core is remarkable, but what about others who are not able to find that strength within themselves? I hope that Kathy's case and that of many others get resolved soon so that these institutions and people can be publicly named and shamed and made to compensate for their horrendous abuse of power and the number of young lives they have ruined.

A hard read, but a good one........2005-08-05

Ms. O'Beirne tells hre hautnting and horrific story through her eyes as a child and as an adult. The content can be very difficult to read, as she encountered continual abuse emotionally and physically. Her story is a compelling one, and I applaud her for her continued efforts to confront the people and agencies responsible for her torture. This book gives a detailed account of the extensive abuse, dismissal of each person/child as a valuable, precious being and the cover ups of the chuch and laundries. A very good book.

From Milano to New York by Way of Hell: Fascism and the Odyssey of a Young Italian Jew

Average customer rating:

From Milano to New York by Way of Hell: Fascism and the Odyssey of a Young Italian Jew
Guilio Cantoni
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Prisoners of Hope: The Silver Age of the Italian Jews, 1924-1974

ASIN: 059500475X

Book Description

This is the story of a young Italian Jew who in 1938 in response to the enactment by the Fascist government of antisemitic legislation decided that he should leave his comfortable home in Milano with his mother and sister and seek refuge first in England and later in the United States. However, as the result of Italy's entry in the war, he faced unexpected obstacles and real dangers. On June 11, 1940 when he was ready to board the Britannic and sail to New York from Liverpool, he was arrested as an enemy alien. A few days laer he was shipped behind barbed wire across the Atlantic, then infested with German U boats, interned in Canada for fourteen months as a prisoner of war. Eventually his status as a "refugee" was recognized by the British Government but legal technicalities prevented his immigration to the US from Canada and imposed a detour to Cuba. Finally after a long wait and with the sponsorship of Arturo Toscanini he was able to rejoin his mother and sister in New York just a few days before Pearl Harbor.

Average customer rating:

Gisela: from Hell to Heaven
Gisela M. Venable
Manufacturer: Authorhouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Great Book of Historical Significance

Hay, hell, kids, and cattle
Dillard H Gates
Manufacturer: D.H. Gates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

Great Book of Historical Significance.......2003-03-17

This was a great book, with the exception of some slow parts about different kinds of tractors and whatnot. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Hell and High Water on Hinkle Creek
Patrick H. Odle
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1403351503

Book Description

Written in a humorous vein and Hinkle Creek lingo, a boy sent by his blind father to his harsh Uncle after the loss of his Mother. A child forced, rather abruptly, into a manâ??s responsibilities.

HELL WAS EMPTY: A BIOGRAPHY FROM THE THIRD REICH

Average customer rating:

Story to tell, but not well told

HELL WAS EMPTY: A BIOGRAPHY FROM THE THIRD REICH
Dieter W. Gombert
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Story to tell, but not well told.......2005-05-04

Hell Was Empty: A Biography From The Third Reich by Dieter W. Gombert, AuthorHouse, 557p.

In the opening pages of this book, Author's Reflections, Dieter Gombert states "much has been reported about the Holocaust and the incredible sufferings of the Jews, but they were not the only victims of the monstrous Nazi Regime. Many German gentiles, who were social Democrats, Communists, or plain dissenters, were tortured and murdered. Those perilous times brought out the best and the worst of human society." This is the only insight into the book's contents since there is no cover overview or description, nor is any provided by listings with book distributors. What follows is a story told by the author about his German father and Jewish mother and his own experiences. The beginning of the book covers father, Wilhelm Gombert, a recognized opera performer, who encounters problems because of his marital situation. Most of the book, however is mainly devoted to Dieter Gombert's personal experiences from 1933 until 1948. It is better classified as an autobiography rather than a biography. The book is well illustrated with pictures of family and friends, various residences of the family, and the personalities referenced in the book.

Hell Was Empty is published in larger than average print size and the style is very informal. This may have been done to give the presentation a personalized feeling, but this reader felt as though he was reading a diary or informal ramblings. Unfortunately there are many spelling and typographical errors.

Mr. Dieter is continually in search of himself, and, while he attempts many activities, his main objective seems to be a theatrical career with emphasis on acting, dancing and singing. This brings him into contact with a variety of people whom he always describes very clearly as to physical features and attire. He has very strong opinions about the people introduced and offers insights into their past activities, making future references to them when they are affected by the war. He is clearly a womanizer and describes many affairs during his discourse. At times his adventures almost sound like a travelogue with details of places visited on bike rides and other excursions. Life seems to go on despite the war and this appears to be his purpose in such descriptions. These scenarios are periodically interrupted with a statement or two about the political and war situation. These are situations that required additional comment, but are only addressed by personal wishes that Hitler would be ousted. It is clear this was not a national desire.

The War is covered in more detail as the United States enters the conflict toward the latter part of the book. The effects of the bombings on civilians and the encounters in the bomb shelters as well as the devastation have a very emotional impact. His efforts to leave Germany and go to Sweden become the main theme of the book as he encounters the obstacles presented by Nazi officials and border crossings. He is continually at odds with the United States for not ending the war and offers some armchair advice for reaching that objective. He finally succeeds in reaching Sweden, where the family is eventually re-united. In 1948 he immigrated to the United States.

Mr. Dieter has a story to tell. There are many apparent remembrances and dangers he experienced as a resident in Germany during World War II. He was not permitted to serve because he was not a pure Aryan and his Jewish status was a constant barrier to his activities. There are many materials available today on the subject of the Holocaust and those who opposed Hitler's regime, but the depth of such resistance is not presented in this book in a readable and convincing manner. Much of this has to do with the writing style and rambling of much of the text. There is also a failure to expand on discussions with family and friends without detail which would better help to understand conditions, in general and viewpoints in Germany at the time. .

Average customer rating:

IS CHILDHOOD HELL. A Cartoon Book.
Matt Groening
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M2KK4M

Average customer rating:

LIVIN PO IN SANDBED HELL!
Livin Po
Suffering and Humor are the Sources of Value
A Remarkable Memoir by a Master Story-teller
Livin Po in Sandbed Hell

Livin PO in Sandbed Hell
Gordon Long
Manufacturer: Southern Charm Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

South | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0970219075

Book Description

Livin PO in Sandbed Hell is a nonfiction, humorous autobiographical memoir about desperation and the "Poverty Motivational Method." There are no pretensions. The language is vintage Country PO, sometimes quite plain and coarse. Many will identify the grinding poverty and the resulting indignities to the mind, body and soul. To win was to ESCAPE! The book is amusing, sad, and sometimes gut busting funny.

The endless back breaking work in the sun roasted fields, planting, plowing, and harvesting on an eighty acre row crop farm is vivid. In the rural south, poverty was an "Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Condition" for both whites and blacks. "Saving for a rainy day" was an absurd concept, since it was always monsoon season for the PO. Being "Poor" was way upscale from "PO", and I shall forever present it in capital letters!

Customer Reviews:

LIVIN PO IN SANDBED HELL!.......2002-05-10

I finished the book on a trip that I had to go on to Chicago. I know the people on the aircraft thought I had lost it. I have not enjoyed a book that much in a long time. I guess it could have something to do with knowing the guy that wrote it. I thought of my dad telling me about many of the things you talked about in the book. I can see you pulling some of the pranks and I can better understand why you dressed me down for not giving a test I made a 92 on a better effort. I will never forget you telling me that my southern roots would be both a hindrance and a help. I am now using them to be a positive.

Thanks for all the fun reading this great book.

Livin Po.......2001-10-12

LIVIN PO is an excellent and accurately descriptive book about life in the south during and shortly after the depression. Dr. Long's book brings back many vivid memories of that era. I enjoyed reading the true story of his family and I am thankful that circumstances have improved. H.Davis

Suffering and Humor are the Sources of Value.......2001-09-27

Dr. Long's book should be read by all those who take our contemporary lifestyle for granted. Through his perseverance in working in union with family while suffering the indignities of poverty during the depression, he gives us a glimpse of the character of many of our ancestors which laid the basis for the strong values and motivation to succeed of the generation that followed. A well written and entertaining biography.

A Remarkable Memoir by a Master Story-teller.......2001-09-16

Gordon Long's *Livin Po in Sandbed Hell* does for Georgia's flatland poor what the hugely popular *Foxfire* series did for north Georgia Mountain folk. He puts Girard, Georgia on the map with stories that will be laughed at for generations to come.

Structured as a well-written and incredibly funny memoir--which it is--Long's book also serves as an overview of Georgia farm life during the 1940s and 1950s not depicted anywhere else.

Gordon Long is a masterful story-teller. Readers will quickly have a sense of sitting on a front porch with a gifted and remarkable man. He tells his stories with just the right dose of humor as he describes the farm life of his youth. These tales range from blowing up stumps with dynamite to the perils of using a two-man crosscut saw; then offers details of: mule psychology and "motivation" needed to plow the fields; the ritual of hog-killing for meat, sausage and crackling; milking cows; quail hunting and country dogs; country privies; hunting and fishing trips that bonded families and communities; efforts to save the farm from foreclosure; "dirt farming" for cotton, peanuts, peas and corn; country meals and how food was stored and cooked.

The closing chapters offer a remarkable story how Long, as a young man worked hard to gain a public education to qualify him for entrance into college; attending rural church services, revival meetings and "dinner on the grounds"; wakes and funerals; and, a memorable 4-H camp.

This is a candid, funny and thoroughly enjoyable memoir that will serve as a wonderful education for city-folks who are interested in the skills, traditions, and daily life of Georgia farm life.

Long went on from Girard, Georgia to earn his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, and his master's and dctorate in Business Administration. He then worked for years in corporate boardrooms, later to bring his skills and experiece to Georgia College & State University where he was one of the most dynamic and respected faculty in that University's College Business.

Livin Po in Sandbed Hell.......2001-09-01

I really enjoyed this book, it is a real page turner, I learned a lot never realizing that so many people had such a hard life, and how far one can go with deterination.
I feel this book is good for everyone to read and see how really easy we all have thing today.
This book also shows there is no difference between the races when it comes to being PO.

Customer Reviews:

Wild Bill Sullivan: King of the Hollow.......2000-06-14

Wild Bill Sullivan is probably the most colorful character that South Mississippi has ever produced. Born in mid-18th century, he was the King of Sullivan's Hollow and was accused of 50 killings. He was also the center of numerous pranks and jokes. Because she was a college history professor, the author skillfully weaves the sometimes far-fetched tales into an account of an atypical frontier culture. The narrative also includes pictures and a description of one of the oldest homes in South Mississippi, the Sullivan Home, now on the National Register of Homes. At the beginning of this small but fascinating book, Ms. Hammons, the great-granddaughter of Wild Bill, traces the Sullivans' Irish Roots back to the 1750's. Thomas Sullivan, founder of the Mississippi branch of the clan, had 22 children, 11 by his white legal wife and 11 by his common-law Indian wife. A genealogy of the family is located in the appendix of the book. The latter section of the book centers around the years 1900-1980 and concentrates on other Smith County stories. The book is well-researched with footnotes and bibliograhpy. Here's an example of one of the humorous tales in the book: Outsiders in the late 1800's feared stopping over in the Hollow because of Wild Bill's reputed antipathy towards strangers. One traveler got caught at dark and stopped at the edge of the Hollow. He was cordially greeted, fed, given a bed by the fire, and served a plentiful country breakfast. His host refused any pay for these services. The traveler thanked his host and expressed his relief that he had met such a nice family and had avoided Wild Bill. In reality, Wild Bill had been his host, but he sent the man on his way without revealing his identity. The book also includes a graphic account, in Wild Bill's own words (in 1929 to his grandson-in-law) of the Battle of Shiloh Church, a battle in which several of the Sullivans were killed. After a later incident, Wild Bill and his son Neece had to hide out in the woods for 2 years. However, Bill was only indicted for one killing--of his own brother Wilson!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books