Four Inches

Book Description

Dressed in nothing but Jimmy Choo spikes and a single piece of Cartier jewelry, a constellation of beautiful, successful and empowering women bare all in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing is perfect.......2006-10-03

I have to say I agree with (most) of the other reviewers that the photos are of excellant quality, the women are beautiful and it's for a good cause. The only slightly disturbing thing is that the amount of skin shown seems to be related to the "accepted" beauty of the model. By that I mean the professional models were all fully naked and obviously quite comfortable being so; while some of the other ladies were photographed covered up (although obviously naked). It would be interesting to know if the model was ill at ease in being naked or the photographers were sub-conciously suggesting a more covered up shot. Either way it's a shame that the likes of Sarah Ferguson was hidden under some sort of blanket rather than uncovered in the true spirit of the book.

All in all and excellent collection.

Awsome work.......2005-10-26

Not only is this book for a good cause, It is also amazing. The photography is outstanding and I am a photographer. It is all in very good taste. Beautiful Work!!!

Very basic photography quality. Not very professional........2005-08-28

I was very disappointed in the quality and compositions of the photographs in this book. This book was published for a good cause but one would think the "professional" photographers would be more creative in their props and lighting. Save your money. Don't buy this book.

Four Inches.......2005-08-23

When I recieved this book I was very pleased with the sheer size and over all look of the book. Then as I paged through it I found all but a few pictures to be absolutely beatuiful, I didn't care too much for the toilet photos and maybe one or two others. I love black and white photos, I also have an obsession with choo shoes and of course I love jewerly so this book brought them all together so beautifully and on beauitful women. I am begining a career in photoghraghy and found this book to be very tastful except the above mentioned which were more silly. Above all else proceeds go to a great cause AIDS in women.

Photography tastefully done.......2005-08-23

This is a great conversation piece. Very sexy, yet classy as well. Love it!

Average customer rating:

'Great Book' From A Music Teacher and Professional Pianist
real Elton at last
fantastic
Great book
A-OK

The Elton John Keyboard Book
Elton John
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0793514789

Product Description

This terrific collection features note-for-note keyboard transcriptions for 18 of Elton John's best songs: Bennie And The Jets, Blue Eyes, Border Song, Candle In The Wind, Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny), Friends, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Honky Cat, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Little Jeannie, Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters, Rocket Man (I Think It's Gonna Be A Long Long Time), Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Tiny Dancer, Your Song.

Customer Reviews:

'Great Book' From A Music Teacher and Professional Pianist.......2006-03-21

I found this book to be a great resource not only for performing Elton's songs but to analyze his stylistic traits and chord progressions from a theoretical standpoint. After sitting down for two hours just listening and reading along (which I recommend doing), I feel like I real know Elton (musically, that is). A must-have if you plan to cover these songs in a band or just entertain yourself and your friends.

Having said that, I think the editors got a little lazy in parts. The 'fills' as they call them are not consistently written and hard to follow when playing. There are also a few 'throwaway' songs, made to make the book longer but having no real appeal to anyone except EJ freaks. I'd much rather have Levon, Take Me To The Pilot, Grey Seal, Burn Down the Mission and Funeral for A Friend than Empty Garden, Blue Eyes, Friends and Little Jeannie. We'll have to hope for additions in the 3rd Edition, but what's in there is more than enough to get your feet wet! Enjoy!

real Elton at last.......2006-02-23

Good transcriptions and most are not too difficult to play. Everybody has their favorite Elton tunes but I would liked to have seen more tunes where the piano was prominent like "Burn Down the Mission" among others. Overall very good value

fantastic.......2005-05-10

I bought this book a few years ago, and have been enjoying it immensely ever since. It is very true to the original recordings, and is good for several things. Students of music will learn piano voicings, chord changes, licks, and solos of one of the best piano players in popular music. That will make you a better player and better songwriter, if that's your thing. I'm not a great piano player, but my playing has vastly improved partly because of hours spent at the piano playing tunes from this book. Some are more difficult than others and will challenge the experienced keyboardists. Others are fairly simple and easier for the intermediate players. Either way you will greatly benefit from this book, whether you want to play these tunes backed up by a band, whether you are learning these tunes for your own gigs, or whether you just want to entertain yourself at home. (a big plus: you'll be a hit at parties if you can sit down at a piano and play any number of these tunes, like "tiny dancer" or "rocket man" or "goodbye yellow brick road"). Don't hesitate to buy this book, it is accurate and user-friendly.

Great book.......2004-11-12

First of all this is a great keyboard book, for learning the precise methods for playing some of Elton's excellent work. The quality of the transcriptions is great. You'll learn a ton.

My only complaint is with regard to 4 of the songs selected for this type of detailed transcription treatment. Specifically, you will find the following 4 songs to be uneducational:

- Honkey Cat (10 pages of very repetetive material. Wasteful)
- Crocodile Rock (Not a great song for learning the Elton style. If you want the chords, you can find them anywhere)
- Empty Garden (Same comment)
- Friends (Same comment)

Now don't get me wrong; All of these are great songs, but these 4 are not worthy of a book devoted to detailed transcriptions of intricate material. Every other song in the book is worthy, and is also transcribed excellently. Again a great learning tool.

Here are 4 songs that should have been done in place of the 4 above. Then the book would be a solid 5 stars!

- Take me to the Pilot
- Funeral for Friend
- Loves Lies Bleeding
- Skyline Pigeon (live version keyboard arrangement)

Bottom line: Buy the book, it's great, but recognize that you will be disappointed with the 4 songs above, and wishing that the editors had done a little bit better.

A-OK.......2003-07-08

Extremely valuable if you call yourself an Elton John fan that plays piano. Get the similar Billy Joel one too. Can you buy me the Beatles one though, I don't have that yet! It has though a couple songs that could've been edited out (Friends). The book goes to show how good a musician Elton is by the difficulty of the music!

Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton's Little John?: Music's Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed

Average customer rating:

Fun Trivia
Fun Read
Fun read
Enjoyable and Entertaining
Not as funny as his first book

Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton's Little John?: Music's Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed
Gavin Edwards
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 030734603X
Release Date: 2006-08-08

Book Description

Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll, and . . . Ham Sandwiches?

If you are a music fan, you may be aware of some of music’s most enduring mysteries. Where did Pearl Jam get their name? Are the White Stripes related by blood or by marriage? Did Mama Cass really die from choking on a ham sandwich? Gavin Edwards has heard just about every strange question, racy rumor, and legend of the music world. As the writer of Rolling Stone’s “Rolling Stone Knows” column, Edwards proved himself as a one-man encyclopedia of music trivia. Now he shares all of his knowledge with you. Look inside to find the answers to these questions and more:

•What’s the connection between The Beach Boys and Charles Manson?

•How did Dr. Dre and Eminem meet?

•Did Mick Jagger and David Bowie really sleep together?

•What’s the deal with Led Zeppelin and the shark?

•What’s the feud between The Smashing Pumpkins and Pavement all about?

•Was Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” really written about his most private body part?

Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton’s Little John? might not tell you who shot Tupac or why Celine Dion is still allowed to make records, but with thorough research and answers straight from the mouths of the performers themselves, Edwards will help you become a music geek extraordinaire.

Customer Reviews:

Fun Trivia.......2007-09-07

This book turned out much better than I expected. There's all kind of rumors you've heard about rock history that are addressed here. Some are true, some are not and some are half true. I actually started reading this and didn't put it down until I was finished. That's very unusual for me. One example of the types of rumors discussed is as to whether the couple who make up the White Stripes are brother and sister of husband and wife. Doe's lead Zeppelin's song Ramble On refer to characters from the lord of the rings and can you hear the screams of a woman being murdered in the studio on the song Roller Coaster.

Fun Read.......2007-08-31

My sister got this for me, because I love to read and love pop culture. I loved this book and finished it in one sitting. I learned stuff about the music industry I didn't know, and I know a lot. Fun Read.

Fun read.......2007-06-09

I got this for my sister who loves to read and love pop culture. She really loved the book and finished it in one sitting. She said she found out a lot about the music industry she didn't know and she knows a lot.

Enjoyable and Entertaining.......2007-06-02

Great trivia, wonderful to amuse guests at a party with your bizarre musical knowledge and the real scoop on some musical "urban legends".
A fun and easy read!

Not as funny as his first book.......2007-02-17

(Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy) but full of great trivia.

Shakespeare's Universe: Renaissance Ideas and Conventions : Essays in Honour of W.R. Elton

Average customer rating:

Shakespeare's Universe: Renaissance Ideas and Conventions : Essays in Honour of W.R. Elton

Manufacturer: Scolar Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1859281931

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida: The Making of the Broadway Musical

Average customer rating:

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida: The Making of the Broadway Musical
One of the better Broadway books
Overall a fine book but lacking at times
This is a heckuva book!
A wonderful way to capture AIDA

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida: The Making of the Broadway Musical
Michael Lassell
Manufacturer: Disney Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786864842

Book Description

Enthusiastically anticipated as the latest Disney stage production, following the astounding success of Julie Taymors breakthrough production of The Lion King, Aida is certain to be a hit. Celebrated songwriter Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice present their version of the classic tale of Aidathe story of a love triangle in which the three main charactersRadames, Aida, and Amnerisare torn between love for each other and their greater duties. This colourful book contains all the excitement of the lavish production, detailing all the action on the stage and behind the curtain.

Customer Reviews:

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida: The Making of the Broadway Musical .......2005-09-30

Amazing book, all Aida lovers should get it! The pictures are beautiful, and the information is really detailed.

One of the better Broadway books.......2005-07-16

I'm a fan of Tie-In books, whether they be for a movie, or Broadway. This one ranks fairly high up there, behind Rent
by the Johnny Larson Estate, the Renthead bible, but above the Beauty and the Beast book which was more pictures than information.

This one had tons of information, and a good selection of pictures. You get a fantastic idea of how they progressed from the original story to the Broadway show, and nice behind the scenes anecdotes. There are also some very beautiful 2-page spreads, such as when the two-starcrossed lovers meet in the museum. However, the book is rather thin compared to some, and thus it doesn't hold quite as much information as some would like it to. It certainly could have used more pictures.

One thing it doesn't have are production drawings and concept art (it has a couple but they're small), which I always love to see. Those really help get you visualize what the production team was going for originally.

Still it's worth buying, and I would recommend it very much to any Aida fan certianly.

Overall a fine book but lacking at times.......2004-04-27

You'll find this oversized book ripe with details, from conception to Broadway debut, and filled with pages of colorful photos that illuminate the production. Journalist and author Michael Lassell traces the show's history with interviews from those intimately involved, from writer and composer Elton John and Tim Rice to stars Adam Pascal and Heather Headley to costume designers and choreographers. His unrivaled access allows us to visit every aspect of the production.

The book is divided into four chapters: story, composition, production, and performance. The first section describes the timeless tragedy and romance of Aida and of its rebirth from acclaimed opera to modern day rock musical. John and Rice's hammering out the numbers is described in the second part, and we begin to see the show's evolution from its originally titled "Elaborate Lives" Atlanta production. Set design, art direction, scenery, and costuming are detailed in the third chapter, and the last focuses on performance details.

The most ardent fan will always find such books lacking, but in fairness it gives the common theatre-goer a good sense of the energy required to stage a Broadway production. One of the best features is the photos, both plentiful and saturated with color. I especially liked the visual contrasts between various stages of the show, such as early costume sketches compared with the final outfits. The breadth of interviews also conveys the passion of an extraordinary "Aida" team.

A couple of things could have been improved upon. While I enjoyed the pictures, there was a redundancy to some. Two full page spreads of "Dance of the Robe," for example, one to illustrate the lighting and a second to show the choreography, proved unnecessary. Space dedicated to "sequence shots," a cluster of essentially the same candid photo, could also have been better utilized with more production stills or, better yet, meatier text. At the core of the show is the story, its historical and contemporary implications, and this book doesn't drive into the heart of the characters quite forcefully enough. Lassell only dedicates several pages at the end to the actors' interpretations of their characters.

This is a heckuva book!.......2002-04-16

This is an excellent book and very informative. It tells you about all of the changes that the show went through. It has wonderful pictures. They're all in color and they bring back memories of the show. I had had the good fortune of seeing the show with the entire original cast still intact. There were no understudies that day and I was so happy. I'm still trying to remember where that scrim in Fortune Favors the Brave came from. My only complaint is that they didn't tell the name of the man who played Radames before Adam Pascal took over in Chicago. Buy this book. You will thank me.

A wonderful way to capture AIDA.......2000-11-28

I saw Aida on Broadway and was impressed by the music, the acting, the scenery, and the dancing. When I discovered this book, I found a way to relive the moment. I enjoyed looking through the photos of this book and showing them to people who have not yet seen the play on Broadway. I also enjoyed reading all the behind the scenes comments by the actors and actresses. All in all, I have found this book a great way to cherish one of the greatest musicals on Broadway.

Average customer rating:

Genius Broadway Score
Elton John an ultimate disappointment
Aida songbook
Very good!!!
Exactly As It Should Be

Aida: Vocal Selections (Pvg)

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0634029649

Product Description

The matching folio for this multiple-Tony Award-winning musical by Elton John and Tim Rice features 17 outstanding songs, and a stunning 8-page section of full-color photos from the Broadway production. Includes: Another Pyramid Dance of the Robe Easy as Life Enchantment Passing Through Every Story Is a Love Story Fortune Favors the Brave How I Know You I Know the Truth My Strongest Suit Not Me Written in the Stars and more.

Customer Reviews:

Genius Broadway Score.......2007-03-25

This is one of the greatest musical books I have purchesed! The music is great and when you hear yourself play it, it feels like you have always been the one playing it on the CD. Some of the songs have 5 or 6 #'s & b's in them. But it's a challenge to learn them!!!

Elton John an ultimate disappointment.......2007-02-10

I love Elton John's music, but this show is disappointing overall. It seems as if, by constraining himself to the Broadway style, the music becomes boring at times. Most of these songs need expert performers to retain the interest of the audience. This just isn't up to the Elton John/Bernie Taupin collaborations we are used to.

Aida songbook.......2003-05-30

This book is very thorough, includes most all of the songs from the show. Chords are provided for less advanced musicians, but the piano score is quite difficult - not for beginners! Intermediates will be able to play about half the songs easily. True to the soundtrack, and all the parts are provided as well as the lyrics and details about which character is singing. Love this book!

Very good!!!.......2002-07-31

This book is excellent - it contains piano music for most of the songs in the musical, and the transcriptions are largely faithful to the very pianistic Broadway score. All of the songs are complete, containing the piano versions of the instrumental solos found in the actual score. It also has guitar chords and lyrics for singers, with a separate line for the singers' notes, complete with harmonies. Unlike many Broadway music books, this one is very thorough and does not disappoint!!! Although that playing some songs in their entirety may be a difficult task for beginning pianists, the result of playing the music from this great musical is well worth the effort, and I'm sure that pianists and singers of all levels will enjoy this book.

Exactly As It Should Be.......2002-05-09

I didn't know what I was ordering at the time because of the lack of description given by this website. This is the music book containing the notes for the music in Aida. It's set up well and it's easy to play. The music is written in both piano and guitar form.

Average customer rating:

Aida: Piano/Vocal Highlights

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0634054201

Book Description

Features 11 songs from this multiple-Tony Award-winning musical by Elton John and Tim Rice in standard piano/vocal format with the melody line in the piano part. Includes: Easy as Life * Elaborate Lives * Every Story Is a Love Story * How I Know You * I Know the Truth * Like Father, Like Son * Not Me * The Past Is Another Land * Radames' Letter * A Step Too Far * Written in the Stars. A Vocal Selections book (00313175, $19.95) is also available, featuring 17 songs (vocal line with piano accompaniments) and an 8-page color photo section.

Average customer rating:

Stunningly Beautiful Photography
Tulips
A keen gardener indeed!

Tulips

Manufacturer: Te Neues Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 383279090X

Book Description

These finely detailed, glorious color photographs examine the tulip in all its startling diversity. All are meticulously composed and lit with great clarity and readers will be dazzled by their beauty. Whether you're an avid gardener or just a lover of beautiful photographs, you can't help but be impressed. Contemplate familiar varieties as well as exotic rarities. Browsing through these pages you'll understand why tuli-mania gripped seventeenth-century Holland, eventually ruining many of its otherwise staid and sensible inhabitants!

Customer Reviews:

Stunningly Beautiful Photography.......2007-07-19

"Tulips" is a dramatically photographed, spectacularly beautiful coffee table book, a gift more unique and special that the publishers photos suggest. The exotic blooms are presented in two-page spreads, always color matched: pinks with pinks, yellows with yellows. Arnold uses a lavish amount of black grounds to showcase his exotic flowers, assorting black and white grounds in one spread, followed by the next two pages in all black ground. Many of the photos "bleed" off the page, for heightened graphic impact. The photos are bold, sophisticated, and full of life. There are no bouquets, no mixtures. Each species dances alone, commanding the viewer's full attention.

I should not admit this fact, but I bought two books, got out my exacto knife and cut the pages of one volume for matting and hanging. The intensely-saturated inks and finest quality, heavy paper gave me art quality, modern, botanical prints at a tiny fraction of their market cost. The book is a fabulous value at its Amazon price.

Tulips.......2007-02-07

This book is a visual treat-- one of the most stunningly beautiful books I have seen. It arrived shrink-wrapped which was excellent. Thoroughly recommended.

A keen gardener indeed!.......2002-07-28

This is a very amazing book. It features over 60 full page photographs in color... Photographs of tulips! The book includes several pages of introduction by the photographer. He talks about his garden, his tulips and photography, and the history and industory of tulips. Also included is a list of tulip suppliers!

Average customer rating:

Perfect!
Amazing
Just what I was after...
Better than this...
Brilliant

LION KING, THE: PRIDE ROCK ON BROADWAY
Julie Taymor
Manufacturer: Disney Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786863420
Release Date: 1998-01-14

Amazon.com

You saw the animated film, you bought the video, you couldn't get tickets to the stage show--here's the coffee-table book. But wait: what keeps The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway from being just another commercial Disney tie-in is the iconoclastic voice of director/designer Julie Taymor. She uses the text of this book as a diary for her personal struggle to merge her off-off-Broadway avant-garde sensibility with Disney's unabashedly bigtime commercial one. Her chronicle lends context to the already lush and abundant illustrations, photographs, and sketches of Taymor and her collaborators at work.

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Perfect!.......2007-07-13

I came home from a production of The Lion King staged in Appleton, Wisconsin, and was so enthralled I immediately set out to find out "How did they do that?" This book met and exceeded by expectations. I am an amateur costumer and puppeteer and this just the stuff to bring a smile to my face. Before this book I was not aware of Julie Taymor by name (Sorry, from a small town, don't get out much) but I will be looking for her work from now on.

Amazing.......2006-02-22

I have seen the stage production of the Lion King twice--in Toronto and East Lansing, MI. Vendors offered a souvenir photo brochure for $20. For only a few dollars more, I purchased Julie Taymor's book from Amazon describing one of the most amazing creative achievements I have ever seen. Get the book! See the show!

Just what I was after..........2005-09-29

This book shows the "creation story" of the Lion King musical. Photos of the workshopping teams in their studio/s, sketches of early ideas, through to finished costuming displayed on the artists themselves.

A pity this book was not available in Australia, but thanks to Amazon I received it in about 3 weeks total.

Better than this..........2005-09-25

...is seeing the show live. From intellectual concept, to extensive and authentic research, to development with constant referral to the physical, metaphysical, intrinsic, to the workshop...to the stage. One will see that Julie Taymor was THE RIGHT visionary to not only help in the translating an animated film to live theater, but to also retain the human moral behavior and lessons that are paramount for the existence of all people.

Brilliant.......2004-09-27

The Lion King on broadway is by far the best most amzing show ever created. Whats so amazing is that the book is as good as the musical. Without Julie Taymor the lion king would not be such a huge success as it is and you find all about this in the book. Some of the pictures of the show itself and the costumes are just wonderful which makes the presentation of the book even more wonderful. I dont even read books but am findin it very hard to put this down and read it over and over again. If you require any info, or are just curious email me simba262626@yahoo.com to discuss this amazing book.

Average customer rating:

Ultimately, it all depends on what style of photography you like
As Seen By Me
AS I SEE IT
If you like this style of clone, go for it.
Wonderful Nude Male Photography

As I See It
John Hurt
Manufacturer: powerHouse Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1576870863

Book Description

Internationally acclaimed photographer Greg Gorman has just completed his most personal work to date: the male figure study. Twenty years in the making, this epic artist's project features carefully selected young men--not big or overly built--who exemplify for Gorman a perfected state, allowing him to frame grace, beauty, and elegance in the form of the male nude. Included amongst the 240-plus portraits are many of Gorman's friends and acquaintances, as well as professional models, many of whom had never posed nude before. The cumulative effect of As I See It creates a pleasurable zone of contemplation, allowing one to reexamine the precepts of beauty within a refreshing framework of exalted maleness. According to Gorman, "As I see it, they're not really boys, yet they're not really men. They are caught somewhere in between--almost at that point of maturity that defines masculinity."

Customer Reviews:

Ultimately, it all depends on what style of photography you like.......2007-04-24

I own two Greg Gorman books, Inside Life and Perspectives both of which feature his celebrity portraits. They are wonderful collections and his photos of Keanu Reeves and Stephen Dorff remain among the most iconic and appealing ever shot of those two actors. Truth be told however, I've always found Gorman's nude work on the dull side and much of this comes down to simple stylistic preference. To generalize, there are two major styles of physique photography, the naturalism of photographers like Nan Goldin, Larry Clark and Bruce Weber that follows in the path of Wilhelm Von Gloeden (1856-1931) and on the other hand the stylized, studio-bound artifice of people like Greg Gorman, Robert Mapplethorpe (even his rougher work) and Herb Ritts that has its origins more in the physique mags of the 1950's. As I See It falls squarely into the latter of these styles.

Where the naturalistic photographers are happy to explore real interiors and airy outdoor locations (preferably with people engaged in recognizable activities) people like Gorman are interested in re-creating a particular stylized ideal with studio lighting and studio poses. The models in this world don't sweat, break out or laugh...just pose. All that's missing are (to borrow a phrase I once read) beach balls and hula hoops. Compare this style to Bruce Webers. While his advertising campaign for Abercrombie and Fitch may be monotonous, his book collections are funny, sexy and memorable. I can call to mind individual photos from his last book Branded Youth whether the amusing wrestling camp series or the photo of the little birds clawing into the white shoulders of the boy with braces.

As I See It is a world of Tadzio-like models held at arms length by a photographer who is best when exploring what is unique about each of his subjects rather than making them all look interchangeable.

As Seen By Me.......2007-01-16

The photos of nude men are beutifully captured in sepia tones. There is nothing provocative or crude. It's just men posing in the buff. There are a few photos of Christopher Atkins and Josh Duhamel. The book is just beautifully put together.

AS I SEE IT.......2006-08-15

ONE OF THE MOST EXCEPTIONAL BOOKS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE WORLD>
MR. GORMAN AT HIS BEST!

If you like this style of clone, go for it........2005-03-20

Art is a matter of taste, and taste will affect one's assessment. The reason I was immensely disappointed in this book was because (a) almost all the models look the same and (b) that particular style of clone isn't what I find particularly appealing--at least not enough to welcome a couple hundred pictures of essentially the same thing. With that many models, one might naturally expect to find a variety--a few alternate races thrown in, or at least a few different looks (body types) and variety of presentation. We all have our preferences, and this wasn't mine.

Maybe I should give three stars instead of two, because, after all, the editorial review does provide a hint (if inadequate) that these are "carefully selected" guys "who exemplify FOR GORMAN a perfected state." It's just that you won't know what that limitation is exactly (what his idea of perfection is), until you get the book.

One thing I found odd, which is partly why I say "clones," is that virtually all the models are circumcised (if they're not, they appear to be...). A whole bookful of cut models--who are touted as a perfected state of grace, beauty and elegance of the nude male form--has got to be disappointing to those who appreciate the natural male form. The only natural-appearing model featured in the entire book (that I could find) is the very LAST one pictured--and I couldn't help but wonder if the only reason for its inclusion had something to do with size. Oh, I did see just one other "natural" photo, but only in one shot in the series of a long-haired, girlish-looking blond from slightly more of a distance, an outdoor shot. Perhaps this non-prominate exception was also included, again in the back of the book, for its jarringly different look (the fluffy long hair). Just a hint of diversity.

If you share the same idea of what is the "perfected state" of the male form (white, cut and youngish), and don't mind purchasing a whole book limited to just that, then this book is quite respectable. Buy it. Still, I wonder how it could receive such utterly superlative accolades in the other reviews. After all, inside its elegantly macho covers, it's rather ordinary in its presentation, not glossy, not strikingly presented (no margins, pictures covering the entire page--which in my opinion is not the most ideal presentation of black and white photos); so I could understand "very good" or even "excellent," but the best ever seen since the beginning of time? Not even close for this reviewer who is an avid collector of fine photography in diverse genres. Others obviously feel differently--and that's why we have reviews.

Wonderful Nude Male Photography.......2003-07-27

The photographs in this book are just marvelous. Gorman has a way of evoking each model's personality so well with his shots. There are also some lower level celebrities in the mix so that is cool. Christopher Atkins has a great spread. If you love the male form, you will love this book of breathtaking photos.

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