Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

Amazon.com

Not only is Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls the best book in recent memory on turn-of-the-'70s film, it is beyond question the best book we'll ever get on the subject. Why? Because once the big names who spilled the beans to Biskind find out that other people spilled an equally piquant quantity of beans, nobody will dare speak to another writer with such candor, humor, and venom again.

Biskind did hundreds of interviews with people who make the president look accessible: Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Geffen, Beatty, Kael, Towne, Altman. He also spoke with countless spurned spouses and burned partners, alleged victims of assault by knife, pistol, and bodily fluids. Rather more responsible than some of his sources, Biskind always carefully notes the denials as well as the astounding stories he has compiled. He tells you about Scorsese running naked down Mulholland Drive after his girlfriend, crying, "Don't leave me!"; grave robbing on the set of Apocalypse Now; Faye Dunaway apparently flinging urine in Roman Polanski's face while filming Chinatown; Michael O'Donoghue's LSD-fueled swan dive onto a patio; Coppola's mad plan for a 10-hour film of Goethe's Elective Affinities in 3-D; the ocean suicide attempt Hal "Captain Wacky" Ashby gave up when he couldn't find a swimsuit that pleased him; countless dalliances with porn stars; Russian roulette games and psychotherapy sessions in hot tubs. But he also soberly gives both sides ample chance to testify.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. Methodically, as thrillingly as a movie attorney, Biskind builds the case that Hollywood was revived by wild ones who then betrayed their own dreams, slit their own throats, and destroyed an art form by producing that mindless, inhuman modern behemoth, the blockbuster.

When Spielberg was making the first true blockbuster, Jaws, he sneaked Lucas in one day when nobody was around, got him to put his head in the shark's mechanical mouth, and closed the shark's mouth on him. The gizmo broke and got stuck, but the two young men somehow extricated Lucas's head and hightailed it like Tom and Huck. As Peter Biskind's scathing, funny, wise book demonstrates, they only thought they had escaped. --Tim Appelo

Book Description

When the low-budget biker movie Easy Rider shocked Hollywood with its success in 1969, a new Hollywood era was born. This was an age when talented young filmmakers such as Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg, along with a new breed of actors, including De Niro, Pacino, and Nicholson, became the powerful figures who would make such modern classics as The Godfather, Chinatown, Taxi Driver, and Jaws. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls follows the wild ride that was Hollywood in the '70s -- an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (both onscreen and off) and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme. Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio executives, spouses, and ex-spouses, this is the full, candid story of Hollywood's last golden age.

MARTIN SCORSESE ON DRUGS: "I did a lot of drugs because I wanted to do a lot, I wanted to push all the way to the very very end, and see if I could die."

DENNIS HOPPER ON EASY RIDER: "The cocaine problem in the United States is really because of me. There was no cocaine before Easy Rider on the street. After Easy Rider, it was everywhere."

GEORGE LUCAS ON STAR WARS: "Popcorn pictures have always ruled. Why do people go see them? Why is the public so stupid? That's not my fault."

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't put it down - I grew up admiring these characters..........2007-02-23

Firstly - I don't think that this book should be mistaken for a spiteful Paul-Johnson-type of takedown of Great Men...Biskind's not a curmudgeon, and I see no evidence of a Grand Thesis in this book smashing down facts to fit the preconceived mold...

I'm made to remember, as I first read & then occasionally re-read this book, that the Seventies was not just the time in which the putative counter-cultural forces stormed & took the tired old film studio citadel (and in the process became, many of them, boring old farts struggling for relevance); nor was it simply the time in which Spielberg & Lucas hatched the modern Big Blockbuster--but it was also the age of the invention of the super-auteur, the well-advertised & vaunting "maverick" filmmaker who compulsively pointed up to the stands every time he came up at bat (Bogdanovich & Coppola, most egregiously)...The super-stardom of these people arrives with the mainstreaming of know-how fetishism, and the over-valuation of the film artiste - the ascension of film-schools, making-of docs, horserace reports on box-office grosses, and so on...Much of what has been taken for slimy "gossip" in this book seems, on reflection, to be intimately connected with the films themselves: and in some wild cases ("Days of Heaven"; "Apocalypse Now"), the prodigal wasn't bankrupted & chastened, but came back home a star...

That said - I'm grateful for Biskind's hard treatment of Altman, and of Paul Schrader--they were begging for it...I don't understand why he treats Robert Towne's "Personal Best" as an ignominous all-'round failure--it REALLY wasn't that bad!

Juicy and exciting read.......2007-01-17

This book reads straight from the gossip columns. It's a fun, juicy read that you won't be able to put down. Peter Biskind gives you a sneek-peek behind Oz's curtain to see the nitty gritty lives of people like Scorsese, Speilberg, Copolla and Lucas. This won't be "classic literature," but you will find it exciting, addicting and a definate page-turner! Read this book just for the fun of it!

Not Recieved, No Refund.......2007-01-04

They say they sent it to my address, but i never recieved it. I called them. they told me they sent it, and did not offer further help.

Great in spite of itself.......2006-09-17

Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS is destined to become a pop-culture classic, of a problematic sort for sure, but a classic still.

Biskind's research is formidable - the current academic revival of interest in the career of the late Hal Ashby was probably instigated by this book - this alone is an indication of how throrough a cultural chronicle of 70s 'New Hollywood' this work really is. It has obviously been taken very seriously in some quarters, and for all of its' academic impact, it also managed to become an improbable bestseller.

It's also one of those things that you love, and slot into a sort of 'guilty pleasure' category; Biskind balances his exhaustive cinema-historical research with equally exhaustive tales of sex-and-drug debauchery, though ultimately the avalanche of tittilating tawdriness does serve something of a purpose, in illustrating how certain individuals responsible for reinventing and reinvigorating Hollywood at the beginning of the 70s were also sowing the seeds of their own demise by the end of the same decade.

Biskind structures the book in emulation of one of the key players illuminated within - the entire book is structured like an Altman film, shifting gradually between a great cast of contradictory, combative characters (Hal Ashby as the moral center of it all), with the many historical narratives weaving together at the end. Along the way, he engages in a little bit of analysis (not enough, but understandable, given all else that is going on here), tracing the shadows of Nixon and Vietnam through films as seemingly disparate as "The Exorcist," "Jaws," "The Godfather," "Star Wars" and "The Conversation."

Overall, an essential piece of American cultural history.

-David Alston

The Godfather of New Hollywood Books.......2006-06-23

One can tell just by watching the films of directors such as Coppola, Scorcese, Friedkin and all the others that made up the New Hollywood of the 1970's, that they were infused with a streak of arrogance. Many films that were full of pretence and repulsive characters, but that nevertheless embodied a new spirit of American auterism, brought about by a new found European sensibility and a shift in power from producers to directors. So its no surprise that Peter Biskind's detailed and intriguing read, reveals these directors to be monstrous human beings. Power hungry, tin pot dictators fuelled by drugs, alcohol and sex. Somehow despite the lines of coke and the absurd sums of money that went flowing around, some of the greatest films in American cinema appeared. Biskind's enthusiasm for this period comes across and it helps that he lived through it and his book is filled with a great deal of insightful social commentary, his reading of STAR WARS for example is quite interesting. However he does tend to overcook the political and allegorical side of his critique. At times the book becomes a bit too gossipy and academics and film students might be put off by the tales of back stabbing and drug abuse. But, this does give the book a spark, which separates it from the more impenetrable and theory based books on the same subject. It is precisely because of Biskind's talky and down to earth prose that makes the book such a joy. There is a great deal of value to this book and after reading it you cannot view the films of this period in quite the same way. Enjoyable from start to finish.

Gold Buckle: The Grand Obsession of Rodeo Bull Riders

Average customer rating:

Great Book to Read.
Simply the best I've read!
roughstock riders point of view
more than a sport
Finally, a great book about the world's greatest sport

Gold Buckle: The Grand Obsession of Rodeo Bull Riders
Jeff Coplon
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0062585452

Book Description

A journey inside the hearts and minds of the best bull riders in the world as they compete for their greatest prize--the championship gold buckle.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book to Read........2007-01-11

I've rode bulls for quite a while and thought this book was great.

Simply the best I've read!.......2001-12-08

I just finished the book and I have to say this is the best I've ever read. If you watch the PBR, you have to buy this book. Donnie Gay, Tuff Hedemann, Ty Murray, Charles Sampson, they are all here.

roughstock riders point of view.......2001-07-28

Just finished the hardback version. As a bullrider and saddlebronc rider I have never read anything as painfully accurate about our sport as this book. The only drawback is I couldnt put it down and as i finished I wanted MORE. I hope he writes a second book..because Jeff Coplon knows more about rodeo than some cowboys. NICE JOB.

more than a sport.......2000-10-30

Highly recommended, excellent book about a misunderstood sport. While Rodeo and Bull-Riding fans will enjoy this book, it is a great book for folks not familiar with Rodeo/Bull Riding and the culture that gave birth to it and sustains it. As the PBR circuit grows in popularity it will be interesting to see if the PBR stays true to it's Western Values and Culture. I hope so...

Finally, a great book about the world's greatest sport.......2000-06-20

This is a very good and captivating book and something every rodeo fan should read. If you want to learn more about bull riding legends like Don Gay, Myrtis Dightman, Wacey Cathey, Tuff Hedeman, Lane Frost, Jim Sharp and Ty Murray, this is probably the only place you can find it told so colorfully and honestly. It is also nice to read about the days when the world's top bull riders were cowboys and actually competed at rodeos, and not the pretentious PBR events. It also takes a look at how bull riding's popularity surged in the 90s. I just hope a similar book on bronc riders comes out soon.

Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, & Bull Riders: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour

Average customer rating:

The business of bull riding . . .
Dad liked it!
I'm biased
Everything PBR
Real Good

Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, & Bull Riders: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour
Josh Peter
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1594861196
Release Date: 2005-09-22

Book Description

An intimate look at a fascinating subculture, its star personalities, and the death-defying confrontation between man and beast that has made bull riding the fastest growing sport in the world Just as spectators flock to a NASCAR race because of its inherent danger, bull riding possesses a blood-and-guts excitement that sells tickets. In Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, and Bull Riders, award-winning sports journalist Josh Peter takes readers along on the 2004 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) tour to witness the sports exploding popularityand discover why athletes in spurs, cowboy hats, and colorful chaps are hooking millions of fans across the country. The 2004 season begins like all PBR seasons, with 800 cowboys competing for a chance to be in the top 45 who ride in 29 major events during the season, with the best of the best taking home a $1 million bonus. Success is measured in secondsmanaging to stay on a bull for 8 seconds without getting tossed is likely to secure a rider a big score. Most riders fail. Many get seriously injured; some die. Josh Peter captures the high drama of the sport and introduces readers to a culture thats rife with colorful characters: the courageous riders chasing their dreams, the scouts, breeders, love-struck groupies, and a few of those very angry bulls.

Customer Reviews:

The business of bull riding . . ........2007-08-14

The one thing wrong with this book is the title. It's strictly about pro bull riders and the multimillion-dollar business that has raised bullriding from a feature rodeo event to a cross between NASCAR and the WWF. You'll learn little about fried Twinkies, buckle bunnies, and whatever they're supposed to represent.

Sports writer Josh Peter follows the 2004 PBR tour that crisscrosses the U.S. and ends with the finals in Las Vegas, drumming up excitement and suspense as he goes. He brings to life the widely divergent personalities of the riders, ranging from seasoned champion and family-man Adriano Moraes and the stereotypical drinking, cussing Justin McBride, to the withdrawn, almost spookily religious Mike Lee. Among them are a diversity of others, including rookies, old-timers hoping for a comeback, and competitors from countries as far away as Australia and Brazil. We learn that one out of 15 rides results in injuries requiring treatment, and much time is spent in the sports medicine room.

Meanwhile, we follow the drama of big business as differences between the men who run this show create a number of conflicts that lead to firings and the threat of a boycott by riders who feel they are being under-appreciated by their employers. Peter's revelation of these behind-the-scenes maneuvers will enlighten fans familiar only with the glitz and glamour of the sport and the men who are its stars. We learn about the stock growers and investors who raise, train, buy, and sell bulls. There's even a side trip to Brazil, where we visit the ranch Moraes has bought with his winnings. Readers will also enjoy the DVD "Rank," which is a compelling record of the 2004 season finals, focusing on Moraes, McBride, and Lee.

Dad liked it!.......2007-01-15

Gave this book to my dad who is a rodeo fan. He enjoyed it. Said it was a good read and he finished it in about 2 days.

I'm biased.......2006-12-26

OK, I must admit right off that I am a friend of the author's. He's a nice guy. More importantly, he's a good writer. I was deeply moved by some parts of this book, and that was before I met Josh.

I suspect the high ratings for this book might be because PBR fans tend to be awfully enthusiastic about the sport. If you are not a PBR fan but are curious, check it out.

Everything PBR.......2006-08-01

As an avid PBR fan, I greedily tore through the pages of Fried Twinkies. This book answered all of my questions about bull riding and provided information that I didn't know to ask about. Anyone who enjoys the marvelous sport of bull riding must purchase and read this book.

Real Good .......2006-04-10

Good reading about the PBR if your a bull rideing fan you'll love this book. Good behind the seen coverage. This book one that is hard to put down.

Average customer rating:

Having a dream
Matt's review
Great Hi-Lo series
Bull Rider

Bull Rider (Orca Soundings)
Marilyn Halvorson
Manufacturer: Orca Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1551432331

Book Description

Layne must face his greatest fear. (RL3.0)

Customer Reviews:

Having a dream.......2005-05-02

" What is it?" "An entry form for the rodeo next month." We all have dreams. Everyone should get a chance to fulfill his or her dreams at least once. That's the way a young man named Layne thinks. He has a dream to be a bull rider in the rodeo. But there are some problems to his dream coming true. Some people don't want him to accomplish this dream. Although this book is short it makes for a quick and easy read. It sure was a joy for me to read.

Layne's father was a bull rider in the rodeo, and he was a great bull rider. But a tragic accident happened. Layne wants to be a great bull rider in the rodeo like his father was. But Layne knows how his mother feels about the bull riding. His mother will not let him ride the bulls because she is only trying to keep him from getting hurt.

In spite of his mothers words and feelings about the bull riding. Layne has been sneaking behind his mothers back and has been riding the young bulls at his friend's farm. But in order to make it to the rodeo he will need some practice. So his friend's grandfather is willing to train him and get him ready for the rodeo.

There is a couple set backs in getting to the rodeo, but he finally gets there.
He gets a tough bull to ride but he does well. As he gets done with his ride someone shows up, a little mad but also very proud. The crowd goes wild. He had a great ride.

People have life long dreams, but you should also in mind your friends and your family. Do they approve of what you want? Is your dream something that could worry them? And will it hurt them in the end. These are some things that you should think of before you go through with it.

If you want a book that is a quick and easy read, but one that gives you some action, this would be a great book for you. This book is great for a person who likes a little action and drama. Also if you like animals this book would be great.

Matt's review.......2004-12-14

I read Bull Rider by Marilyn Halverson. I liked the book because it had a lot of cool parts in the book. I liked when Layne got bucked off a bull named Rhino and when they loaded the horse up in the back of the truck and the horse fell out because these party animals drove and shouted out the window. This story is about a boy that wants to become a professional bull rider but his mom won't let him. His mom won't let him because his father died riding. I think the person who would like this book is someone who likes action and bull riding.

Great Hi-Lo series.......2004-01-23

In Bull Rider, Layne defies his mother to tackle the sport that killed his father: bull riding. With the help of a mentor, he might just have a chance at landing a prize - or he might break his neck. Layne's moral dilemma would make a excellent topic for classroom discussion.
Ninety pages of enlarged typeface doesn't leave a whole lot of room for details such as setting and character development, but the quick pace, suspense, and sports action blended with a light "love interest" subplot will hold the reader's attention once the snazzy cover has hooked. While not quite as tightly written as those by Beth Goobie and William Bell (side note: when is Orca going to commission Don Trembath to write a Soundings book?), the series as a whole is highly recommended. The rodeo-themed Bull Rider may not do as well here in New England as in other areas; the Canadian settings generally don't limit the audience. Recommended for school and public libraries.

Bull Rider.......2003-12-05

This is an awesome book. We are currently reading as a family. My son who has reading difficulties and doesn't like to read, can't seem to put the book down. It has really got his attention. I would recommend it to anyone!

Ring of Fire : The Guts and Glory of the Professional Bull Riding Tour

Average customer rating:

Ring of Fire - Last of the Rodeo Roots
Quality Lacking
Ring of Fire
Great Book
Beautiful

Ring of Fire : The Guts and Glory of the Professional Bull Riding Tour

Manufacturer: Triumph Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Rodeos | Sports | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

jp-unknown3 | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1572434120

Customer Reviews:

Ring of Fire - Last of the Rodeo Roots.......2007-01-27

I enjoyed reading Ring of Fire. Having been in and followed Rodeo for a great many years, Ring of Fire, is a look into the World of the Bull Rider, before it became a slick, Madison Avenue packaged production. At that time, the Rodeo roots were still alive and well and Hollywood had not yet taken over. The Book is well worth the money if you have your roots in Rodeo.

Quality Lacking.......2004-12-02

Essentially a picture book w/ limited text. Printing and design are dated and of average quality at best. A few great pics but lots of filler. Some day they will come out with a book that does justice to this fantastic sport...

Ring of Fire.......2003-04-02

This is a great book. It shows that bullriding is one of the most thrilling and exciting sports that there is. Even though bullriding has long been overlooked by the sports world, thePBR organization has made this sport one of the most popular and this book shows you why. The pictures are a fan's dream come true and the book is beautifully put together. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes excitement.

Great Book.......2001-06-07

This is one of my all time favorite books! It has so many pictures of bulls like Dillinger, Red Wolf, and Promise Land.

Beautiful.......2001-01-05

If you like Pro Bull Riding, this book is a must, a very beautiful, moving edition. If you aren't a fan, you should check it out anyway. The photography is truly fantastic and makes the sport look even more dramatic, intense, and personal than it already is.

The White Rhino Hotel (The Anton Rider Trilogy)

Average customer rating:

Ho Humm.
Finest kind of escapist reading, woo hoo!
Good solid adventure tale set in post WWI Africa
Period Details Elevate Wanton, Violent Tale of Colonial Kenya
Lots and lots of adventure here!

The White Rhino Hotel (The Anton Rider Trilogy)
Bartle Bull
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0786170271

Product Description

The Great War has ended, tragically for many; but for some more fortunate, East Africa holds the prospect of vast estates, fabulous wealth, and limitless opportunity in this powerful, grandly crafted novel of the natural and human perils that await pioneers in a promised land.

It is in colonial Kenya, at Lord Penfolds White Rhino Hotel, that the paths of these new settlers cross. Here they meet the cunning dwarf Olivio Alevado, a man whose lustful desires and vengeful schemes make him a formidable adversary to his enemies and a subtle ally to his friends. Here the destinies of the gypsy adventurer Anton Rider and the courageous, war-hardened Gwenn Llewelyn intersect. Here hope is corrupted by greed, love by revenge, and loyalty by betrayal as the future is trampled into history.

Customer Reviews:

Ho Humm........2007-07-11

If you go for gratuitous violence and sex, and can identify with characters who are not credible, this is the book for you. Despite these faults something kept me reading on, perhaps just curiosity as to what outrage might occur next. Also, a friend whom I respect had sent it to me and I felt a certain obligation to read it so I could comment on it when I saw him next. If you have time for purely escapist reading I guess it's OK. I'm a slow reader and don't have time for this sort of stuff.

Finest kind of escapist reading, woo hoo!.......2006-08-16

I recently have blown through a quartet of novels by a writer with the unlikely name of Bartle Bull (he's said to be a former publisher of the Village Voice). The politically incorrect but somewhat historically accurate novels set mostly in Africa in the 1918-1943 timeline are quite a delight, assuming one goes for African Adventure and I do, boy howdy. These novels are fun, intriguing and semi informative. And, they're about AFRICA.

For those largely ignorant (as was I) of the Italian invasion of Abysinia (aka Ethiopia) in the mid-Thirties, Cafe on the Nile is especially interesting.

The White Rhino Hotel
A Cafe on the Nile
The Devil's Oasis
Shanghai Station. OK, so it's not Africa; it's Shanghai. Sue me, do.

Finest kind of light reading, perfect for escapist holidays, beach reading, flight numbing and generally out-of-the-loop fare. To be enjoyed.

Good solid adventure tale set in post WWI Africa.......2005-12-03

The author has captured the time period in this sometimes rousing and gripping adventure tale. The book is peopled with some mighty odd characters, some ruthless and cunning, others heroic and tough. Some of the scenes are downright incredible as the characters try to carve out a new life in the danger-filled Kenyian jungles and fields. Colorful local flavor, some good old fashioned fist-fights, daring-do, narrow escapes and the tasty flavor of revenge as all the interwoven tales come together. The star of this book is the mis-shapen dwarf who plans, simmers and befriends his way through the various characters. The first in a series of three novels with over-lapping characters, some of whom perish in the process.
Check it out.

Period Details Elevate Wanton, Violent Tale of Colonial Kenya.......2005-08-25

Bartle Bull's "The White Rhino Hotel" is the first novel in his series of historical fiction about colonial Africa ("A Cafe on the Nile" and "The Devil's Oasis" follow), and "White Rhino" gets the series off to a rip-roaring start.

Starting in 1919 as WWI closes, "White Rhino" follows a varied band of intrepid heroes, trusty sidekicks, and dastardly villains as the British start to assert their control over Kenya. Thanks to British arrogance and a fundamental misunderstanding of Africa, chaos abounds. Fortunes can be made and lost for the daring, the cunning, and the ruthless.

Anton Rider is arguably the "hero" if the tale, and he is a young English gypsy seeking his fortune on the Dark Continent. En route to Africa, he meets Gwenn Llewelyn, the beautiful Welsh ambulance driver who is heading to Kenya to meet her fiance, Alan, who suffers cruelly from his wounds sustained in the British army but still dreams of starting a farming life in Kenya. Adam Penfold is a small-time English lord who thinks he runs the White Rhino Hotel in Kenya, which is the focal point for much of the tale as the local bastion of European civilization. But the hotel is actually run by Olivio Alovedo, Bull's greatest creation, a dwarf majordomo who schemes triumphs and vendettas while having some of the kinkiest sex imaginable.

As the story follows these characters and several others through the struggles to start a new life in Africa, Bull displays a commanding knowledge of the unique pulse of African life. Regardless of whether he's describing a lonely safari far from the trammels of civilization, the smelly optimism on a steamer ship from England to Africa, or the melting pot of various nationalities, agendas, and ambitions of the players in the White Rhino Bar, Bull transports the reader to another time and place with effortless efficiency.

That he peppers his story with copious amounts of sex and violence is a plus, for Bull is spinning a yarn here. Look for sly seductions, profound loves, heart-breaking losses, and above it all, sudden swift death that can reach out for anyone at any time. The pages will fly by as you get deeper and deeper into Bull's world, and you care more and more for his rag-tag bunch of misfits and explorers.

The only reason that I don't give "White Rhino" five stars is that I want to distinguish it from "A Cafe on the Nile," which is in the same vein as "White Rhino," but is an even more epic and enjoyable read.

Lots and lots of adventure here!.......2004-10-10

What strikes me first about "The White Rhino Hotel" is the almost surreal cast of characters that engulfs one's interest immediately. They are eclectic beyond the definition! And while the cast and crew rush headlong into and through all kinds of dilemmas, intrigues, complications, and predicaments (and even funny situations!) that would otherwise be chaos, Bartle Bull certainly is in control of the entire literary picture here.
Perhaps "fascination" is the noun to name my reaction to the book. Clever and creative, the book is more than a story line, more than just this collection of characters, as Bull gives us a reading experience worthy of our time.

It's Kenya, just as World War I is ending, this part of the globe to British at the time represents a brave new world-one without the ravages of the Great War, politically, socially, economically, you name it. And it is to the White Rhino these expatriots and others gather, the "civilized" watering hole of Africa, all of the characters with personal agendas (and hangups!) of their own. Truly, Bull's characters make the book as adventure combines with romance which combines with a circus full of "exhibitions."

It is Lord Adam Penfold who brings together these characters. His hotel is the magnet that attracts them, for better or for worse, providing them with just about everything they hope for, within reason. The symbolism, of course, is not lost here. The clever and dangerous dwarf Olivio Alavedo, the Gypsy Anton Rider, and the Welch femme fatale Gwenn Llewelyn -they bring their private agendas to the front (lust, revenge, greed, jealousy-you name it!). They all see Kenya as the fulfillment of their dreams. Of course, Bull does justice to all his characters, readily throwing realism with the melodrama into their fantasies, which makes the novel seem even more empowering.
"The White Rhino Hotel" is one of the more interesting books of my summer. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

Average customer rating:

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
Peter Biskind
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Direction & Production | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Sports & Entertainment | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0747544212

Movie Idols: The Easy Riders, The Raging Bulls, The Divas of the Silver Screen, The Premieres, The Hot Affairs, and the Hollywood Dream (The 21st Century Guides Series)

Average customer rating:

Movie Idols: The Easy Riders, The Raging Bulls, The Divas of the Silver Screen, The Premieres, The Hot Affairs, and the Hollywood Dream (The 21st Century Guides Series)
John Wrathall , and Mick Molloy
Manufacturer: Main Street
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Literature & Fiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

Film | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1402736746

The Bull Rider's Advice: New and Selected Poems (Prairie Plains Series)

Average customer rating:

The Bull Rider's Advice: New and Selected Poems (Prairie Plains Series)
David Allan Evans
Manufacturer: Center for Western Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Anew book of poetry by David Allan Evans is always an occasion for great celebration among readers of verse. And a collection that brings together twenty-seven new poems with three dozen selected from his four books already in print is especially welcome.

The book includes a Foreword by Federal Judge Lawrence L. Piersol of Sioux Falls, and a Preface by the author about his career as a poet, especially his early, formative years in his hometown of Sioux City, Iowa, and the lasting effects those years have had on his life and his writing. In particular, many of the poems—selected and new—contain images and experiences that originated in a neighborhood on a railroad bluff, where Evans spent his early teen years.

In his first poem from his first book, Train Windows, he writes about learning to pole vault in the vacant lot next to his house, and about being "committed to beginnings/or to nothing."

These poems reflect not only Evans'passion for the drama of sports—he is one of the country's best-known poets on that subject—but also his observations of animals, his father's lasting influence on him, and of relationships among people, along with the positive and negative results of those relationships. The titles of some of the poems are revealing: "The Man in the Rendering Room," "Deer on Cars," "Bus Depot Reunion," "The Touchdown in Slow motion," "For the Woman Who Cleans My Teeth," "Lions," "The Kiss," "A South Dakota Inventory," "The Ponies of Kunming, China," and "Death and Exile."

Average customer rating:

Nice Christian romance. Clean yet sensual.

Beauty and the Bull Rider
Joseph T. Kennedy
Manufacturer: Aegina Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1560028319

Customer Reviews:

Nice Christian romance. Clean yet sensual........1999-10-05

I found this book to be very captivating. If escape is what you're looking for , then here you'll find it. Kennedy has a brilliant way of taking you places with her words that few other's are capable of. In this book, she balances between a clean Christian story, and a romantic and sensual plot that is second to none!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books