Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic

Product Description

Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic takes Cobain s story and plays it out as a totally unique graphic novel. From the luminous colors of an idyllic childhood through the flamboyant hues of success and stardom, Cobain s story inevitably declines into a much darker palette. The script draws from the singer s tortured self-image as well as straightforward biographical fact so that the tone of the book fluctuates between subjective dream-state and objective reality. Going beyond the facts, it transmutes Cobain s extraordinary life into an equally extraordinary work of art. In full color throughout with amazing artwork by Flameboy.

Customer Reviews:

Kickass!.......2006-07-26

This book was a great way to see Kurt Cobain's life, plus the comic is great. Flameboy is a very talented artist.

Kurt Cobain' what a legend.......2006-06-20

This book is the perfect way to keep the spirit of Kurt Cobain alive. It is an amazing book, and everything that is written in this book is true of Cobain and his character, and the pictures and just breath taking..!! It talks about his life, the love he felt, how he suffered under the pressure of addiction, that eventuly led to his suicide. If someone is a Cobain fan, just interested in him, or simply can see beyond what they think they know about him, you should read this book. I recomend it!!!!

A Comic About Kurt?.......2006-03-03

Creamin'. This is truly an amazing peice of work. This is absolutely creamin'.

Godspeed.......2005-09-23

This is a must for a true Nirvana Fan the art work awesome and the story is written very well.

Meh.......2005-08-21

i've seen some bashings of this book, and that's what made me hesitate about buying it. i did get a scanned version of it, read it and i must say: it is a remarkable comic book. it did exagerate facts in kurt's life, yes, but it isn't supposed to be accurate, it's not a bio, it's a comic. i did love it. excellent graphic work and, well, the way it was written is preety good too. the writer has done some research before actually putting anything down on paper. if you are a comic book fan, kurt cobain fan and understand the difference between a comic and a biography, get this book. if not, better just leave it alone.

Biografias de las estrellas del Rock vol. 1: Kurt Cobain el angel erratico/ Rock Star Biographies Vol. 1: Kurt Cobain Godspeed (Biografías De Las Estrellas Del Rock)/ Spanish Edition

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Biografias de las estrellas del Rock vol. 1: Kurt Cobain el angel erratico/ Rock Star Biographies Vol. 1: Kurt Cobain Godspeed (Biografías De Las Estrellas Del Rock)/ Spanish Edition
Barnaby Legg
Manufacturer: Public Square Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic takes Cobain's story and plays it out as a totally unique graphic novel. From the luminous colours of an idyllic childhood through the flamboyant hues of success and stardom, Cobain's story inevitably declines into a much darker palette. The script draws from the singer's tortured self-image as well as straightforward biographical fact so that the tone of the book fluctuates between subjective dream-state and objective reality. Much more than a biography, Godspeed is unlike anything you have read about Kurt Cobain before. Going beyond the facts, it transmutes Cobain's extraordinary life into an equally extraordinary work of art.

Book Description

With its connotations of mystery and sinister beauty, opium holds a near mythical place in the popular imagination. From swaying poppy fields to dimly lit, smoke-laden opium dens, author Barbara Hodgson traces the path of opium's creation and consumption, and describes how it has been alternately rhapsodized, demonized, and anointed. A seductive muse that fueled the visions of artists, writers, and poets including Baudelaire, Coleridge, Wilde, and Poe, opium was also used in hundreds of commonly consumed patent medicines. Today, opium remains one of the most widely trafficked drugs and its story is by turns strange, comic, and dark. Illuminated by an amazing array of archival photographs, rare engravings, movie stills, and lurid dime store book covers, Opium is an engrossing look at this illicit indulgence.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful book, but only skin deep.......2001-03-31

The best reason I can think to recommend this book is that it is indeed a physically beautiful book. I loved the purple cloth-lined covers, the gorgeous illustrations, even the typeface. It had the feel of a book from 100 years ago.

Unfortunately, I found the content to be somewhat superficial, and all the sidebars got distracting after a while. I wanted more details, especially on the uses of opium by writers and other artists, and some idea whether the use of opium enhanced or inhibited creativity. The writing style itself had the feel of a term paper, albeit a term paper on a college level. I'd give the book five stars for looks, but only 2-1/2 stars for content. Since I weigh content more heavily than looks, then I have to give this one three stars.

visually appealing.......2000-02-01

While not very wordy, the beauty of this book lies in its wonderful photographs, sketches, paintings, engravings, and other artwork featuring opium related scenes and paraphernalia. This book is also a great jumping point for more opium related reading of all types. The "Writer's Muse" chapter in particular offers a comprehensive overview of written works throughout history and the world which feature opium as their theme. All the works mentioned are neatly categorized by type in the bibliography at the end. A wonderful resource.

Textured languid look at a sensual drug.......2000-01-21

Both a revelation and an education on Opium, this book even starts out sensual with the cloth cover and cover art! Buy it, read it, and someday when its out of print, sell it...this book will hold its value forever. A gentle kiss to a wild and woolly past...Opium's or yours!

Sublime.......2000-01-05

My favorite book of the new year. Sublime. I was captured by the texture, photos, and wonderful quotes. Extremely well researched. Barbara Hudgson has created a small work of art...one that is effortlessly readable and educational...a rare feat. Thank you!

Opium Dreams.......1999-12-16

This is a gorgeous cloth bound book, that will guide you through the poppy fields of India to the smokey opium dens of Asia, Europe, and North America. `Opium' offers an intriguing illustrated history that is filled with evocative images from antique postcards, rare engravings, and hollywood stills. But don't just take my word for it -- preview an excerpt, see the gallery, and read the critics' comments by visiting Opium's official website.

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Opium for the Masses

Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon
Barbara Hodgson
Manufacturer: Greystone Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1553650581

Book Description

Opium was first used in a surprising venue — religious ceremonies — but soon passed into common usage as a cure for various ailments during Victorian times; a resonant symbol of the romantic, dissolute East; and an inducer of fever dreams and worse in those who failed to resist its lure. This beautifully designed book captures the heady essence of opium history and culture. Drawing on memoirs, science, and travel books, Opium traces the changing image of the drug through artifacts and apparatus of its use; illustrations of opium dens in Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, Toulon, and Canton; portraits of drug-taking writers, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Théophile Gautier, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, and Graham Greene; lurid covers of 19th-century illustrated newspapers and 20th-century pulp-fiction drug titles; and stills from drug-related films that resonate with opium's insidious, enduring allure.

Customer Reviews:

Opium for the Masses.......2007-01-08

Milk of paradise, plant of joy, destroyer of grief, catalyst of depravity and crime. The opium poppy has been called by those names and many more during the plant's long history with human beings.

This lavishly illustrated book shows that even the historical imagery of the drug and its users has its own sinister beauty and power to intoxicate!

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Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon
Barbara Hodgson
Manufacturer: CHRONICLE BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O5TWY6

Book Description

A total departure from previous writing about television, this book is the first ever to advocate that the medium is not reformable. Its problems are inherent in the technology itself and are so dangerous -- to personal health and sanity, to the environment, and to democratic processes -- that TV ought to be eliminated forever.

Weaving personal experiences through meticulous research, the author ranges widely over aspects of television that have rarely been examined and never before joined together, allowing an entirely new, frightening image to emerge. The idea that all technologies are "neutral," benign instruments that can be used well or badly, is thrown open to profound doubt. Speaking of TV reform is, in the words of the author, "as absurd as speaking of the reform of a technology such as guns."

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, but far less satisfying than I expected.......2007-06-04

Well, I seem to be one of that rare species of person who didn't feel passionately one way or another about this book.

On the "pro" side, I agree (mostly) with his main premise: the impact of television on society and individuals is mostly negative -- and in particular, I don't see any benefit to television commercials at all. It's great to have a book out there that raises awareness of this. Fact is, our psychology is built in such a way that we are not "good" at television in the same way we are "good" at the natural world. For instance, it is TRUE that we have a natural bias that seeing is believing, and intellectual knowledge of what is true and false can get you only so far in overcoming that (as decades of work in cognitive science, much of it done since this book was published, will attest). Mander does a good job of highlighting many of the affects of television on the psyche and society (and why). I also really appreciated his perspective as former public relations and advertising executive. Plus, he raised a few interesting points that I had never thought of: for instance, the way that editing many rapid cuts can forcibly engage our attention, even if we don't "want" to be watching.

So I'm not sorry I read it. But I was disappointed by several other things, some attributable no doubt to the fact that it was written in 1977, some not so much. First of all, I found some of the science to be flimsy at best (I study cognitive science for a living). For instance, the entire section about natural light and television was frankly bizarre. It was most frustrating because I worried that these areas of quackery would turn off a reader who recognized them as such but wasn't familiar enough with psychology and cognitive science to recognize that the other 80% of it WAS pretty well supported (especially after decades of further research that Mander couldn't have known about). I can see from some people's comments here that it has done so, and I'm sorry for that.

Secondly, many of his points just aren't relevant now that television technology has changed so much. For instance, he talks a lot about how television is biased to show certain things (inanimate objects) and not show other things (faces) due to limitations caused by resolution and television set size. Some of this is still true -- I think war and soundbites will always be inherently favored over peace and long thoughtful monologues -- but some of it is not: e.g., with the advent of plasma TVs, resolution isn't an issue. And with people's increasing ability to be actively involved in television content (via TiVo, capturing the media and mixing it up themselves, etc), much of the nature of our interaction has changed.

Mander can't be faulted for not knowing about these things thirty years ago, but it does make me wish for a more current version of this book. As it is, the book is definitely worth reading: but you should keep in mind that it's dated and that not all of his scientific claims are very well supported.

Every Parent Should Read This Book.......2007-01-20

I read this book in high school and it changed my life. While I have not eliminated television in my home, we rarely watch it. Instead we choose to interact with each other or engage in other activities.

While Mander's arguments may seem over the top, it makes sense to question an object that consumes so much of our lives. To "plop the kids in front of the TV" with little thought as to the effects is quite foolish. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees, and is against any television viewing for very young children.

I dropped the book after 30 min or reading.......2006-10-20

Jerry Mander has issues. Yes he did a lot of research but in the end he is on a holy crusade that is as one sided and closed minded as was the holy crusades. He treats the TV as an evil creation. Without TV as a device of information and entertainment transference, our society would be knocked back 30 years or so. TV does have its downsides but its all up to the parents to control its use. Apparently this book is a direct reflection of Jeff Mander's irresponsibility as a parent to control the raising of children and now tries to blame this incompetence on the TV rather then himself.

He brings up some detailed and convincing results but again he just redirecting blame.

To take the TV out of someone's life is a poor route and will cause problems for people, especially children in as society in the future. The transfer of information and demands on society for the transference of education, news, and others and the ability of a person to analyze and utilize the information will determine their success. It also will greatly hamper their ability to socialize.

People that say it works for them and the children and they are successful. Take a look at their financial standings. Chances are they are quite wealthy and the reason they have a " good life" is that they buy their way through life.

So when you reread the book, keep your mind open and keep in the back of your mind the financial standing of the person who wrote it. Its easy for him to say what he wants because he has the money to go do and BUY what ever he wants.

Overall the book has some good points but I would not recommend it to anyone to waist the money on the cost.

Save your money and use common sense. TV is a good thing, as long as the parents control it and encourage other activities. Its not that TV is bad.. its that the Parents are irresponsible. Face it Jeff, you sucked as a parent model... stop blaming TV.

Delenda est TV.......2006-08-09

This book is a revolutionary manifesto, a call to arms against the modern-day Moloch, that pernicious idol television. Read it at your own peril- if you're content facing life in a somnambulistic stupor, this book is a bucket of cold water in the face. TV=living death.

Mander makes it clear that he's not calling for people to reduce their TV watching or for the networks to "reform" themselves by adding more "educational" programming. The technology itself is irredeemable and must be eliminated. Nothing less it at stake, he asserts, than human autonomy and the democratic system. The book is full of seemingly overblown statements like that, but Mander's arguments, coupled with a lifetime of personal observation of television's effects, lend credence to even the most ostensibly hyperbolized polemics.

Employing both logical argument and frequent reference to scientific studies, Mander lays out his case for the condemnation of TV. He points out how sitting in a darkened room staring at an object is the ultimate in sensory deprivation, a state which makes the mind malleable and suggestible, and in which the subconscious will accord extraordinary authority and importance to the loudest and most forceful voice ("Buy Now!" "Tune in tomorrow!"), which is the very definition of hypnosis. TV is hypnotizing us. It separates us from humanity's natural means of understanding the world- direct experience. It is a pale and pathetic substitute for life itself. Our real-life knowledge of the world is being replaced by the knowledge and values that advertising executives want us to have- namely, brand identification and consumerism. The couch potato justifies his addiction by saying that TV-watching enables him to empty his mind and not think after a long hard day's work. Indeed, his mind is being emptied, but it is also being re-filled with images and desires of someone else's choosing. It is designed to plant ideas into the subconsciousness, so that people buy things they don't need and never knew they wanted, in order to perpetuate a never-ending cycle of consumerism. TV is an instrument designed to dominate other people's minds, a dangerous enough tool in the hands of advertising executives, but when used by authoritarian-minded political manipulators-which it is- it is a deadly weapon. In short, TV has created a nation of barely sentient, obedient zombies- the perfect market for the advertising industry and the perfect citizenry for the political class.

Ok, the book has faults, which some reviewers noted, more or less fairly- to be sure, some parts of the book are somewhat dated. The milieu in which it was written was the 1970s. References to the ERA, Vietnam, and anti-nuke rallies will jolt the modern reader. Also, Mander wrote in the era before cable TV, so obviously the book doesn't deal with the additional dynamic that creates. And surely there have been additional studies and books in the subsequent years that would be of value to the subject. Additionally, though Mander is correct that the human brain was created (or evolved, if you prefer) to function in a natural environment by gaining knowledge through hands-on experience, and the implications of that are certainly worth thinking about, his "noble savage" encomium may go too far; unless we're willing to go back to a pre-literate society in which we'd live in caves, we're going to have to deal with some level of artificiality and mediation of experience (e.g. books). And yes, the 4 Arguments aren't exactly organized as coherently as expected and would probably better be termed "1500 Arguments". Nevertheless, these are relatively minor objections- this is a brilliant book that will, above all, make_you_think_.

Unfortunately, the book is only likely to be read by those who have already thrown off the shackles of the toxic hypno-box, or who are close to doing so. In any case, it's an important manifesto whose message must be promulgated by one enlightened individual to another until the day when television's poisonous influence is finally eradicated from the world.

Why there is a mix of good and bad reviews.......2005-10-03

I'm in the camp with the good reviews, but I think I understand some of those who say "his arguments are ridiculous." I always took this book as part satire and black comedy. For example, he interviews a researcher at Stanford who says something like, "Televison beams photons at 20,000 electron volts directly into your eyes." "And the effects of that?" "Completely unknown." Someone referred to the 2005 Truman Capote movie as playing "like a mad scientist with a lisp" and I sort of imagine some of Mander's text being similar. I'm sure some of this was written tongue in cheek - but could I be seeing humor when it wasn't intended. Well, I don't think so, but who knows. I think this is why some find the book brilliant and others find certain arguments "ridiculous".

Four arguments for the Elimination of television

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Four arguments for the Elimination of television
Mander jerry
Manufacturer: Quill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LC36UI

Book Description

This second edition expands upon the solid, practical foundation established in the first edition of the text. A new four-part organizational structure increases the flexibility of the text, and all material is presented in a straightforward manner accompanied by an array of examples and visual diagrams.

Customer Reviews:

A bad book!.......2006-10-28

I am an instructor and I have used this book for the data structure course based on the recommendation of the department. After a few weeks I decided to replace it by Horowitz's "Fundamentals of Data structures in C". Really Gilberg's book is too bad. It make the subject too complicated. For example, it explains "stack" in 60+ pages long chapter! Really it gives the reader the impression that stack is a complex subject. In a nutshell, avoid this book! Go for Horowitz's book. It is more concise and easier to read.

Another bad programming book picked by instructor.......2006-06-17

Another book killed my interest on computer programming.

Pseudo-Code? Not!!!.......2003-10-08

In order to understand the book, one must understand the author. Gilberg is the type of professor that concerns himself more with flowcharts and whether students staple assignments properly. The book was originally riddled with algorithmic mistakes that were not obvious because, guess what? You cannot compile pseudo-code.

The author seems to come from the school of thought that places importance on theory over practice. Is it no surprise that the C++ portions (from the helper site) are no more than converted C code with couts? In today's market, you have to write code, not pseudo-code. You have to compete in a global market. This fossilized notion of pseudo-code not only hides the fact that possibly the lazy professors couldn't write code to save their lives, but also is a disservice to students who WANT to not only learn data structures in the context of MODERN engineering practices, but also want to know how to IMPLEMENT data structures - be it C++, C#, Java - as well.

I'll wrap up with a final word for students and professors:
- Professors: Please don't torture your students with this book.
- Students: If your professor uses this book... Run!!

Do not pay for this book.......2003-09-21

I had to buy this book for a computer science course. Thankfully I got a refund on it when I tested out of the course two weeks later. For those who are forced to learn the contents of this book, here is what to expect, as I read the entire book.

Since I was already very familiar with most concepts ( ie. actually programmed them ), I have to say that no book has made me more confused or angry than this one. Ideas that are simple are obscured with inappropriate examples / wordings, so I actually had to read many paragraphs TWICE, to get the point of the author. Even the pictures are far from refined, and the presentation is quite amateur. There were several times I just wanted to throw the book at the wall in disgust.

As a first (and unbelievable) example, from page 2 you are given the "Commandments" of good Pseudocode. One such rule is never to use identifiers such as 'i' or 'j', as they should instead be given an 'english' name such as 'student'. On page 6, we have the first code example, where they proceed to use 'i' and 'j' within the code. Then they explain that, oh yes, 'i' and 'j' is actually a loop tradition in C++! So we're already confused! By page 6. Now, the beautiful thing is that you can read this for yourself right now, with Amazon's page excerpts. This sets the level of presentation for the rest of the book.

My apologies to those who may like this book, but please take time to explore other books before this one. Programming is far easier than is explained in this book. At this level of programming development, a bad experience can be most discouraging. And this book is very, very bad.

Excellent!.......2002-07-12

I know how to program in Java and I have basic knowledge of C/C++.
I need to get up to speed on data structures and algorithms w/o
going through mathematical "reasons" why a certain data structure and
algorithm is more efficient than another. I needed to know the whats
and hows.

This book gave me exactly that.

I was able to convert the book's pseudocode into C code without
peeking at the author's actual implementation. This is how easy the
book is to understand (given you know what pointers and dynamic memory
allocation are and how to use them).

I'm not sure what the other readers are complaining about. This isn't
a book about software engineering (and the author implicitly implied
it each time he said such topics are outside the scope of the book).
Another reader wanted more examples. There are times when I want
hand-holding myself but only in specific topics such as game programming.
This is a book on data structures and algorithms not data structures

and algorithms used in encryption, compression, file management, etc.

By the way, I'm referring to the previous edition (in C).

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