Customer Reviews:
Deceptive Title, Poorly Proofread, Major Historical Blunders.......2004-10-19
Having great deal of respect for the Readers and Writers series in general, I was truly disappointed by Joe Lee's _History of Clowns for Beginners_. First of all, be forewarned: Lee's subject is not so much circus clowns per se (they get about two pages), but the various incarnations of the trickster archetype in general, from the Paleolithic era through the present.
Besides the utterly groundless statements made about the disposition and mentality of preliterate civilizations, there are numerous major historical errors of an elementary nature. For example, Lee claims that no text of a Greek satyr play has survived--if, in fact, any "had ever even existed." What on Earth is he talking about? Evidently Lee isn't familiar with Euripides' _Cyclops_ or the fragments we have of dozens of other satyr plays. Another of Lee's bizarre statements is that Erasmus translated the New Testament "into Latin and Greek." Apparently Lee is unaware that the original language of the New Testament is, in fact, Greek.
Neither of the silly errors should have escaped the notice of a decent editor. Nor should the countless grammatical and punctuation errors which riddle the text, sometimes rendering it unintelligible.
After spotting various errors on subjects in which I am well versed, I began wondering how much I could trust Lee's representation of periods and concepts relatively unfamilar to me. And it's hard for a reader in that kind of skeptical posture to be impressed or intrigued by anything at all.
In short, this book was a disappointment--it's such a shame, since it's such a good idea for a book in the first place. I can only hope that Writers and Readers releases a new edition of _Clowns for Beginners_ after subjecting it to a major overhaul.
To Lee's credit, some of his wordplay is funny and his art is excellent.
A very well written book........2000-06-12
I thought the book was exceptionally written despite the fact that it lost it's meaning many times throught the important sections.
Book Description
The world of classic films is rich and overwhelming. HOLLYWOOD PICKS THE CLASSICS focuses on the movies of the Golden Age from 1930 to 1960; breaks down the movies into categories such as Film Noir, Romance, Good Guys/Bad Guys, and Damsels and Dames; and gives the must-sees in each category. Also included is a yearbook of the stars and directors from the movies described.HOLLYWOOD PICKS THE CLASSICS includes plot synopses, casts and crews, famous quotes, trivia, facts about the stars and awards, and behind-the-scenes gossip. But what makes this book unique are the dozens of personal top-ten favorite lists from Hollywood stars, directors, and writers. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of pictures, many of which have never been seen, jam-packed with information, and with an introduction by screen legend Esther Williams, HOLLYWOOD PICKS THE CLASSICS is an entertaining and visually exciting guide for the film novice as well as the film buff.
Customer Reviews:
Eye Candy for the Cinema Buff!.......2007-04-26
Here is a well-rounded, nicely illustrated guide to classic Hollywood flicks from the '30s to the 1960s. In terms of coverage, there aren't many surprises; all the "usual suspects" are here but as an introduction to some ageless films, it's a nice piece of work.
Author Afton Fraser divides the films into various chapters: Must See, Drama, Suspense, Film Noir, Good Guys & Bad Guys, Comedy, Screen Teams and so on. Each film typically gets two pages of coverage, a mixture of text and four-six photos. Aside from a short plot summary, brief production notes, information on the stars and tidbits on the movie are given. Each section is preceded by a one-two page summary on why Fraser picked the films found in that section.
The book is sub-titled 'A Guide for the Beginner and the Aficionado.' I think it would be most useful for those people wanting to learn about America's rich cinematic history.
Recommended.
A Great Book!.......2005-03-19
This book is amazing! This book is written by Brendan Fraser's (The Mummy) wife. This book has 15 chapters. Some of the chapters are Must See, Drama, Suspense, Comedy, Romance, Tearjerkers, One of a Kind, Musicals, Westerns, and Screenteams. Also on each new chapter she has on the side of the page a list of movie stars' picks of classics. It's their must-see list! This book even has a preface by the "Million Dollar Mermaid" herself, Esther Williams. The book includes a lot of never before seen photos. Another great thing about this book is on each movie, Mrs. Fraser includes info on Oscar awards, gossip, info on the leading stars, quotes, and info on screen teams (it shows info on what other movies the stars did together). This book is great for beginners who want to see old movies or just great as a gift for that special movie lover. Afton Fraser did a great job on this book and I hope she does another one! If you love old movies buy this book!
Hollywood Picks the Classics.......2004-11-24
This is a book for everyone, for those that grew up with the Film Noir and those that would like to discover anew the B&W film era. The photos are beautiful and the information about each film intriguing. I recommend it highly, I will give several as Christmas presents to relatives this year.
Great Catalogue.......2004-10-26
This is the best list of "must see" films that I have ever seen. It is written by a movie star's wife, who knows many of the old stars, and provides their favorites lists.
Customer Reviews:
A perfect primer..........2001-06-15
The author of this Beginners book, unlike most in that series, not only has a real love of the subject, but a comprehensive understanding of its history. It takes a great deal of knowledge to create such simple gestures. The book is filled with terse encapsulations of a vast number of films from the nineteenth century to 1998 including hundreds of hilarious little cartoons. Those along make the book worth checking out. This book is an ideal introduction for students of film or even anyone looking for a great viewing list!
This book is a joke!.......2001-04-11
What a terrible book! It reads like the author just cribbed from other film books, having no insights of his own. In addition, the author only seems to have an interest in films made in the past ten years - anything before 1960 is given only the most cursory mention - and many filmmakers and films not mentioned at all! To leave out most of the silent era and German expressionism in particular is stupidity of the highest order. (not a mention of Pabst, for example, or his Pandora's Box or Threepenny Opera). Instead he blathers on about the most obscure independent films by bad American filmmakers that were done in the past five years - this book is little more than a laundry list of directors that can be garnered from any history of film book. Skip it.
A Full History.......2000-02-04
I have read about 25 of these Beginners book by Writers and Readers, and have thoroughly enjoyed them, regardless of whether I liked one better than the other, or found one a bit more shallow. Unlike the other books, the History of Cinema for Beginners gives a full course on the introduction towering the other Beginner Books at 375 pages. Which is quite a book for beginners. As a typical cinema history book would begin, at the beginning with the pre-projectors of the Zoetrope and the MAgic Lantern. The from Edison to the Lumiere Brothers. Once passing into the wave of cinema and displaying the revolutonaries of Eisenstein and Griffith. The sorting into sections, coutries and movements. This book covers not just cinema, but also foreign cinema, America, Russian and just about every country that released a film. Maybe a bit overwhelming for beginners as the juxtaposition of movements, countries and styles may seem all too confusing. The author, Jarek Kupsc, may have wanted to express his depth of knowledge within the world of cinema, and came off a bit brash. Yet, besides this detail, I found this text complete in its account for the history of cinema. There is nothing new in this book that one will not find in other cinema history books, however for the beginner, this may be the route to go in the end.
Customer Reviews:
informative but not especially analytic.......1999-02-18
Jablonski and Stewart have done diligent research and this is a very useful compendium of data, but they are too much invested in a kind of sycophantic worship to present a truly incisive or analytic sense of this immensely creative duo. Stewart's contribution as Ira Gershwin's one-time assistant is especially problematic for its lack of objectivity. And the writing throughout is quite pedestrian.
Average customer rating:
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George & Ira Gershwin: The Movie Years
Manufacturer: Warner Bros Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Theory
| Theory, Composition & Performance
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1576233324 |
Average customer rating:
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The Gershwin Years
Edward Jablonski , and
Lawrence D. Stewart
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Gershwin, George
| Composers
| Classical
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Voice
| Instruments & Performers
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0385028474 |
Product Description
Sixty-one songs written by the two brothers, from The Real American Folk Song (1918) to For You, For Me, For Evermore (1946); also eighteen piano arrangements by George Gershwin of the songs.
Average customer rating:
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Embraceable You (First Year Charts for Jazz Ensemble)
Manufacturer: Alfred Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Instruments & Performers
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Jazz
| Musical Genres
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0757934714 |
Average customer rating:
- Very useful book to learn this opening
- Fairly Comprehensive
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Winning With the English (Batsford Chess Library)
Zoltan Ribli , and
Gabor Kallai
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co (P)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Chess
| Board Games
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0805026428 |
Customer Reviews:
Very useful book to learn this opening.......2002-05-08
Nice intro to the English useful ideas. Interesting coverage of g3 double fianchetto line. As with all books in the "winning" series seeks to rapidly allow you to learn a new opening and competently understand ideas and main lines.Cannot be considered complete.You need to study many more games and specialise in sub varients. However book serves its purpose, Co author Kallai is now a GM and has 2 nice basic opening books
Fairly Comprehensive.......2001-03-31
A good introduction to the English Opening (1.c4) with several systems covered. The most common reply i have run across is 1...e5 which gives White a Sicilian Reversed, so all you Sicilian fans out there might enjoy using the same ideas on the White side of the board. The book covers Irregular Variations, The Dragon, the Normal Sicilian, Three Knights Variation and the Closed Sicilian Reversed. There's also chapters on facing a Grunfeld Defence without the use of d4, avoiding the Nimzo-Indian Defence and Symmetrical English systems including the Hedgehog. I've never encountered 1.c4 c5 though. Seems like a boring choice for Black. Overall, plenty of information to introduce this line of play.
Product Description
Chess game tactics
Average customer rating:
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Winning with Words: An Introduction to the Dictionary
Bonnie E. Paull
Manufacturer: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
English (All)
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Lexicography
| Dictionaries & Thesauruses
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Study & Teaching
| Words & Language
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0840387067 |
Average customer rating:
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Livewire Youth Fiction: Winning (Livewire Youth Fiction)
Iris Howden , and
Mike Wilson
Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Educational Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Special Needs
| Social Issues
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Fiction
| Nonfiction
General
| Issues
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Reading
| English as a Foreign Language
| Instruction
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0340776080 |
Average customer rating:
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Winning with Grammar: Basic Workbook I
Bonnie E. Paull
Manufacturer: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Grammar
| Words & Language
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0840385544 |
Average customer rating:
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Winning with Health and Safety
Pat Perry
Manufacturer: BSI Standards
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Non-US Legal Systems
| Perspectives on Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Safety & Health
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 058044094X |
Book Description
Newly revised second edition
Customer Reviews:
Helpful resource........2007-04-10
This book was quite helpful. It had a variety of information and touched on a lot of subjects and areas depending on your quest.
A Great Resource.......2007-03-09
This book is really well written and practical. It is one of the most specific guides I have read just for starting a scrapbooking business. It answered a lot of questions for me!
fluff.......2006-01-24
I read this book cover to cover in under an hour. It had a few good ideas. But save your hour researching online instead where you'll find the same info and then some. The table of contents is useful for brainstorming, but this is not a comprehensive book for a serious entrepreneur.
Clear and Concise.......2002-03-27
Gives a nice overview on what your business options are in the world of Scrapbooking. From the retail store to teacher Steligo gives you information on how to choose the right scrapbooking opportunity for you. Additionally, she references many books and publications that will help you on your journey!
I'ts a must have for your scrapbooking buisness!!!!.......2001-11-24
I absolutely love this book, I refer to it as my "Buisness Bible." It has been a wonderful resource for my new buisneess every step of the way. Thank You Kathy Steligo for all of your research captured into 1 user friendly book. Many Kudos
Books:
- Coming and Going: Vowel Sounds (Rocket Readers, Set 3, Vowels)
- Defa: East German Cinema, 1946-1992
- DINO: THE LIFE AND FILM OF DINO DE LAURENTIIS
- Doris Day: The Illustrated Biography
- Dotmov Festival 2004
- Driving Visions: Exploring the Road Movie
- Engaging Characters: Fiction, Emotion, and the Cinema
- Everything and Nothing : The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy
- Ewen McGregor: The Unauthorized Biography
- Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries
Books Index
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