Amazon.com
This study of the visual horror genre from Dr. Caligari to Dr. Hannibal Lecter starts with a discussion of Diane Arbus's photographs of freaks. David Skal then suggests that he will seek to "explain why the images resonated in the culture ... [and] why so much of our imaginative life in the 20th century has been devoted to peeling back the masks and scabs of civilization, to finding, cultivating, and projecting nightmare images of the secret self." Whether or not you agree with his thesis that horror is a symptom of society's ills (war, disease, poverty), you will find much of value in this thorough, highly readable history--especially the detailed accounts of the work of filmmaker Tod Browning, and of how Frankenstein and Dracula made their way from books to plays to films. The book is handsomely designed (hardcover has dust jacket by Edward Gorey), with illustrations, footnotes, and index.
Book Description
Illuminating the dark side of the American century, The Monster Show uncovers the surprising links between horror entertainment and the great social crises of our time, as well as horror's function as a pop analogue to surrealism and other artistic movements.
With penetrating analyses and revealing anecdotes, David J. Skal chronicles one of our most popular and pervasive modes of cultural expression. He explores the disguised form in which Hollywood's classic horror movies played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control catalyzed by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in visceral, transformative special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the AIDS epidemic and the current fascination with vampires; and much more. Now with a new Afterword by the author that looks at horror's popular renaissance in the last decade, The Monster Show is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America's obsession with the macabre.
Customer Reviews:
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
David J. Skal's The Monster Show manages to strike a balance. It is reasonably interesting and indepth, but it is not so dry that you are wondering about how that paint is doing in the bathroom. So, a bit of entertainment here in his reasonably broad coverage of the genre of horror entertainment and media.
An insightful must-read for anyone interested in pop culture and the history of horror.......2006-07-15
Horror historian David J. Skal is the rare combination of an authoritative voice with a truly entertaining and readable writing style. His in-depth insights into everyone from Bram Stoker to Tod Browning are fascinating, and his combination of little known facts, biographical details, rarely seen photographs, and analytical insights into the broader social context of each major horror phenomena makes The Monster Show a must read. Highly recommended.
A minor masterpiece!.......2005-09-07
'The Monster Show' plays to David J. Skal's strengths - specifically the genesis of early-twentieth century Hollywood Gothic - and the results are a book that belongs on the shelf of any serious fan of the genre. Well-written and riddled with original and interesting research, Skal treads what will be a familiar path to many horror fans, but crucially places it in context and finds a few truly novel angles on the topic. Not everybody will agree with all of his analysis - I certainly didn't - but 'The Monster Show' manages to be provocative in just the right measure.
An odyssey into dodgy cultural analysis.......2005-07-15
This is simply one of the worst books on horror I've ever read.
Before you purchase this book, know what you are getting: the first half of the book focuses on the horror films of the twenties and thirties, and is embroiled (as would be expected) with anecdotes, stories and information about people like James Whale, Tod Browning and Bela Lugosi. This is all highly interesting, but unfortunately the author makes some very far-reaching conclusions about the cultural place of horror films in the 1930s, and especially about Frankenstein and Dracula, the two subjects to which he devotes the most time. In the second half, the book starts collapsing under the weight of its own grand conclusions and impossible correlations. Gradually, almost unnoticeably, facts and figures are entirely replaced with dodgy social and cultural analysis.
Mr. Skal completely fails to mention Jesus Franco, Ruggero Deodato, Lucio Fulci and other famous Italian horror directors. Hammer Horror has less than a page devoted to it. Roger Corman is mentioned in passing in a rambling two-page essay about "Masque of the Red Death". Even Dario Argento, who should be known to all but the least knowledgeable cinephiles, is not mentioned at all in this book. Instead, Skal spends 80 pages discussing AIDS, vampirism and Anne Rice. The author reaches conclusions that are drawn from a set of banal connections: for instance, in the chapter "Bad Blood", Michael Jackson is made out to be a modern-day Lon Chaney. The connection? That both practiced physical transformation (Jackson is a pop star with plastic surgery, Lon Chaney was a make-up pioneer film-star. The connection is superficial at best). Horror icons are constantly made out to be "christ figures".
This book is full of holes when it comes to the subject it's supposed to be a "comprehensive" study of: Italian/Spanish horror, Indian horror and Asian horror are not mentioned at all, and neither is the VHS revolution in the 80s. To add to insult, the cultural analysis is weak and contrived, delivered in hyper-eloquent, grandiose prose and takes up about half of the book. Go with Steven J. Schneiders "The Horror Film and Psychoanalysis: Freud's Worst Nightmares" instead, which covers much of the same subjects in an infinitely better package.
Frightfully good.......2004-08-06
Wonderfully witty and well written, this is a cultural history that well deserves its name. The first half plays up to Skal's strength as a film historian but the second half, which detours into comic books, Stephen King, monster models, the Adams Family, etc. is marred with passages of psychobabble and strained analysis. Mostly however this is an entertaining and near definitive exploration of things delightfully horrible. And the illustrations are great!
Amazon.com
In this academic work of film and literary criticism, Judith Halberstam examines the monster as cultural object. She discusses classic gothic texts such as Frankenstein and Dracula, and then looks at the impact of changing technology (horror movies with special effects) for depicting monsters. Her argument is that the gothic in its more lurid, unabashedly violent, and perverse forms may be more empowering to the reader/viewer than in its carefully articulated, understated, and sublimated forms. H-Net Reviews calls Skin Shows an "intelligent, well-informed, and provocative piece of writing" and writes that its "greatest strength ... is that it allows for other critics of the Gothic to proceed more self-consciously about the presuppositions that particularly psychoanalysis has introduced into the academic discussion." One caveat, though: the language is somewhat turgid, with awkward verbs such as "gothicize" and "metaphorize."
Book Description
In this examination of the monster as cultural object, Judith Halberstam offers a rereading of the monstrous that revises our view of the Gothic. Moving from the nineteenth century and the works of Shelley, Stevenson, Stoker, and Wilde to contemporary horror film exemplified by such movies as Silence of the Lambs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Candyman, Skin Shows understands the Gothic as a versatile technology, a means of producing monsters that is constantly being rewritten by historically and culturally conditioned fears generated by a shared sense of otherness and difference.
Deploying feminist and queer approaches to the monstrous body, Halberstam views the Gothic as a broad-based cultural phenomenon that supports and sustains the economic, social, and sexual hierarchies of the time. She resists familiar psychoanalytic critiques and cautions against any interpretive attempt to reduce the affective power of the monstrous to a single factor. The nineteenth-century monster is shown, for example, as configuring otherness as an amalgam of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Invoking Foucault, Halberstam describes the history of monsters in terms of its shifting relation to the body and its representations. As a result, her readings of familiar texts are radically new. She locates psychoanalysis itself within the gothic tradition and sees sexuality as a beast created in nineteenth century literature. Excessive interpretability, Halberstam argues, whether in film, literature, or in the culture at large, is the actual hallmark of monstrosity.
Customer Reviews:
A New Approach to Gothic.......2000-05-08
Indeed, the literary genre that we know as the gothic is inexhaustible in its interpretive capacity. From Freud's theory of the Uncanny and Mourning/Melancholia, to Feminist theories and reader response approaches (such as that of Norman Holland's), the gothic as a literary outsider has come a long way from its inception as a marginal form of literature to become one of the most studied and complex form of writing. Halberstam's book is one of the latest critical offerings of reading the Gothic, and it is indeed a timely arrival of an otherwise over-determined reading of this particular genre from the various theoretical approaches (interesting as they may be). Halberstam's approach, grounded in history and racism, renews the gothic's early preoccupation with otherness and the fear of it, but which emphasizes the societal fear of the alien/foreign other, and not so much the struggle between the public and private selves (the beloved of psychoanalytical theory). Her most interesting chapter is the reading of Stoker's `Dracula' as an anti-semitic propoganda text; indeed, I have appropriated some of her ideas in my view on postcolonial gothic, for I find that her theoretical stance has much to offer in this new and under-emphasized aspect of gothic literature. Halberstam's careful and brilliant intertwining of psychoanalysis, race-relations theory (history) and literary deconstruction is also critically executed in clear, precise language. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to have a fresh outlook on gothic literature.
Average customer rating:
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MONSTER SHOW: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF HORROR
David J. Skal
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Skal, David J.
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Horror Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: B000OJ67CW |
Average customer rating:
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The Monster Show: a Cultural History of Horror
David J. Skal
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Skal, David J.
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Horror Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: B000N76QGM |
Customer Reviews:
One of the Best!.......2001-01-11
This is an incredibly well written and illustrated book; it is simply one of the best of its kind. Musically knowledgeable about Gershwin's place within the intersecting genres of jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and classical music, the book describes Gershwin's early and professional life, his compositions, plays, and songs.
Almost every page has multiple portraits, drawings (including some beautiful ones by Gershwin), programs, candid and set photos, and scores. There's a picture of Gershwin's piano, an ad he did for Steinway, and photos of such associated luminaries as Fred and Adele Astaire, Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Hermes Pan, Irving Berlin, Ferde Grofe, Florenz Zeigfeld, Gertrude Lawrence, Ira Gershwin, and many others. The riches of these memorabilia are almost overwhelming.
These visual treasures complement the outstanding review of Gershwin's musical and social circles, and the critiques of his prodigious output. (All of this in just over 100 pages!). By all means, look for and get this book!
One of the Best!.......2001-01-06
This is an incredibly well written and illustrated book; it is simply one of the best of its kind. Musically knowledgeable about Gershwin's place within the intersecting genres of jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and classical music, the book describes Gershwin's early and professional life, his compositions, plays, and songs.
Almost every page has multiple portraits, drawings (including some beautiful ones by Gershwin), programs, candid and set photos, and scores. There are rarely seen photos, such as a picture of his piano, and an ad he did for Steinway. Other photographs depict such associated luminaries as Fred and Adele Astaire, Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Hermes Pan, Irving Berlin, Ferde Grofe, Florenz Zeigfeld, Gertrude Lawrence, Ira Gershwin, and many others. The riches of these memorabilia are almost overwhelming.
These visual treasures complement the outstanding review of Gershwin's musical and social circles, the thorugh research, and the critiques of his prodigious output. (All of this in just over 100 pages!). It is incomprehensible that this outstanding book may be difficult to locate - - write to the publishing company (Treves) and ask that they publish a new edition. Hopefully, Amazon can get it for you. By all means, look for and get this book!
Wonderful - an unsung gem!.......1998-10-28
This book - one of a series on great composers by a small NY publisher - is truly a delight waiting to be discovered. The author writes in a lively, compelling style about Gershwin the man and Gershwin the musician. I dare you to pick up this book and read only one page. You can't do it; you'll end up reading another, then another, then you'll get comfortable in a chair and by the time you look up, you'll have devoured 20 or 30 pages. Best of all, the book is gorgeously illustrated, not only with photos of Gershwin, his family and his colleagues, but with photos that place Gershwin in the theatrical and musical world of his time. I am the daughter of the author and it is my fondest wish that as many people as possible enjoy my late mother's beautiful work.
Average customer rating:
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Gershwin (Portraits of Greatness)
Manufacturer: Theodore Presser Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9998892058 |
Amazon.com
By the standards of computer game books, this is a staggering tome. That it covers the solutions to all seven King's Quest games doesn't account for its length and richness--not even when you take into account that it leads to multiple solutions of many problems. This is more than just a computer game solution book: it's a fantasy novel in its own right. In The King's Quest Companion we often follow the narrative stories of the King's Quest characters, seeing their world through their eyes, hearing their voices and thoughts, seeing them not as on-screen game pieces but as fully developed characters. That might even be too mild a description, because Spear insists throughout that the world of Daventry is "real" and that these stories all really happened. Certainly, the characters have become real for the devoted players who've followed their exploits since the first King's Quest changed the face of computer gaming in 1984. Spear's strategy guide offers solutions to the puzzles that have driven players to distraction for years, but more than that, he adds new depth to the King's Quest experience.
Book Description
This one-of-a-kind computer game book has a large and dedicated following. Previous editions have sold a total of 60,842 copies. Sierra On-Line's King's Quest, the strategy game for which this book was written continues to have a huge following as well. According to the author, King's Quest is considered to be one of the greatest game series ever published. In addition, Computer Retail Week statistics place this game series in the top five most profitable series. Osborne has demonstrated that there is a consistent and lasting market for the book, and we're sure to catch devoted readers of author Peter Spear, and of the game itself, in this fourth edition.
Customer Reviews:
Well Done.......2007-10-03
I used to own the King's Quest Companion back in the glory days of Roberta's oh-so-nostalgic PC games, but of course time has passed and I lost my book to a basement flood several years ago. When the compilation came out I decided to reorder the guidebook not only to help me out (who can turn Mannanan into a cat all by themself?!), but for the brilliant stories that Peter Spear creates for the world of Daventry and its royal family. Plus, only paying $3.25 for such a treasure was appealing to me as well.
Of course, the book is just as I remember it being--full of illustrations from scenes of the game, helpful tips from Prince Alexander's perspective, and of course what the book was written for: complete walkthroughs to each game; maps and charts for where the character was to go; and item lists with the points value beside them. Spear was lucky to be the one to think of telling the stories this way. He is a very smart man.
The only reason that I do not give this book the five stars it deserved was because it did not contain help for the seventh game. This was partly my own fault (I suppose that I could have read the description more thoroughly), and not truly the author's fault, but I was saddened to discover that I'd have to find an alternate help source in guiding Rosella and Valanice through Etheria.
Howeve, despite my one complaint, I was otherwise completely happy with the book and recommend it to anybody who is looking for help in the 7-game series.
I'm a big fan of the KQ series..........2000-10-25
...However, I've never really liked the KQ companion series of books. I just prefer to make up my own backstories for the events that occur in the games.
Fulfills Expectation.......2000-09-22
This book does exactly what it claims. It walks you through the King's Quest series step by step ensuring you get maximum gaming from the series. It also adds a story version to each setup. If you want the fast way to solve the series, I'd definately buy this book.
A #1 Kings Quest Guide!.......2000-03-29
The Kings Quest Companion Is Excellent! It's #1! If You Play The Games, Or If You Are In Need Of A Great Thing To Read, The Kings Quest Companion's More Than A Guide, It Details Each Game In Novels! Read It!
Not What I Expected.......2000-02-09
This book is a long-winded way of exploring the Kings Quest series. With NO illustrations I was disappointed with this book.I thought we may have gotten an insight into characters and places with pictures and drawings from the storyboard stages.NO WAY! The only tid bit of information that seemed interesting was on the lost plot in Kings Quest 6 (the best game). Only buy this book if you need help on getting through all seven games.
Book Description
Written and field-tested by practicing consultants, The Consultant’s Tool Kit will save consultants both time and money-as it makes their work with clients much more effective. Each tool or activity is designed to solve a common consulting problem. Reproducible worksheets, exercises, and questionnaires are easily downloaded from the web and customized by consultants to fit the exact needs of each client—and help them effectively implement the solutions.
This collection of field-tested tools, customizable questionnaires, and techniques for working with clients provides crucial problem-solving help in areas such as:
• Managing and leading change
• Organizational initiatives
• Assessing team and organizational functioning
• Improving relationships between departments and business units
• Creative problem-solving techniques
Mel Silberman, Ph.D., (Princeton, NJ) is a best-selling author and editor. A professor of adult and organization development at Temple University, he is the author of Active Training.
Download Description
Written and field-tested by practicing consultants, The Consultant's Tool Kit will save consultants both time and money-as it makes their work with clients much more effective. Each tool or activity is designed to solve a common consulting problem. Reproducible worksheets, exercises, and questionnaires are easily downloaded from the web and customized by consultants to fit the exact needs of each client¿and help them effectively implement the solutions.
Customer Reviews:
A Solution Seeking A Problem?.......2007-09-08
A good book with some solid approaches to consulting that many have found to be useful.
The only downside, if you can call it that, is that quite a number of the solutions may not work well in a good number of real-world consulting assignments.
Overall not a bad read and worth further investigation if you're looking for something to lead you step-by-step through solving certain client problems.
Worth the Price.......2007-02-19
Part of my consulting practice is to create and facilitate group learning for various situations. I enjoy leafing through this book to both remind myself of tools, techniques and concepts I have explored in the past, and also to expand my options to incorporate new material into the mix. It is a bit like hanging out with a bunch of other consultants for a day to share ideas.
Valuable Book.......2006-07-17
This is a wonderful book that combines the expertise of a wide range of experts in the consulting field. Due to the different styles of the authors, the reader is bound to find several that really address their concerns.
The book is a useful toolkit as it has templates that one can easily adapt to meet their needs. Most of the common consulting problems are addressed. Among the readily useable tools are the various exercises, questionnaires and reproducible worksheets and techniques for working with clients, among others, which make this a very user friendly book that makes life easier for a consultant, particularly those like me that are relatively new to the profession.
This is a well written book that is easy to follow and understand and that should be a valuable tool to both the seasoned professional and the novice. It is certainly a very valuable reference book that can be used as a checklist when delivering services.
Awesome for Actionable Purchase.......2006-02-19
This book led me to synergist my P2P bottom-line best practices, to synergize both inside and outside the box, to leverage a value-added, results-driven mindset for their B2B core competencies in which their historical trends have led me to conclude that by doubling or even tripling their efforts of efficiency on the office front, it will yield a new entity of massive synergistic proportions.
A Good Thought Jogger.......2005-03-30
Silberman has brought together 45 different tools to help the consultant carry out a variety of projects. The book is probably due for a new edition, but many of the tools are as relevant now as they were when the book was published.
Because the book's scope is broad, it's best used as a way to frame your thinking on how to solve a problem, or to suggest a summary approach to a client issue. It's a good reference to be sure you're not leaving things out that you should think about, rather than a comprehensive guide to engagement problem-solving.
This is an ambitious book with lots of great ideas.
Michael McLaughlin, coauthor with Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants.
Books:
- The Original Million Dollar Mermaid: The Annette Kellerman Story
- The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories (Everyman's Library Classics)
- The Round-Up: A Pictorial History of Western Movie and Television Stars Through the Years
- The Sexiest Man Alive : A Biography of Warren Beatty
- Thomas Hardy on Screen
- Understanding Curriculum As Racial Text: Representations of Identity and Difference in Education (Suny Series, Feminist Theory in Education)
- V Is for Vampire: The A-Z Guide to Everything Undead
- Vixens, Floozies and Molls: 28 Actresses of Late 1920s and 1930s Hollywood
- Vulgar Modernism: Writing on Movies and Other Media (Culture and the Moving Image Series)
- Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement
Books Index
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Horror: A Thematic History in Fiction and Film
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