Amazon.com
Are you just another AFC ("average frustrated chump") trying to meet an HB ("hot babe")? How would you like to "full-close" with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss's entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant--complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like "half a man." That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss's life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America's most suave gents--including the best of them all, the God of the pickup "community," a man named Mystery.
Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he's turned seduction into an effortless craft--even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman's tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC--find, meet, attract, close. He employs the "three-second rule"--always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like "Do you think magic spells work?" or "Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?" And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist--smile.
After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year -- guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.
On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange -- and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence.
The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince -- to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.
Customer Reviews:
AWESOME!.......2007-10-19
This book is for all the guys out there who are sick of being told "I just want to be friends" or "you're a really nice guy but it's just not the right time in my life for a relationship" and about one hundred other excuses I've heard over and over again. This book doesn't just cover dating, it covers all the aspects of what make men successful with women. Also,checkout(The Exclusive Layguide: When Dating and Having Sex with Incredibly Hot Women is No Longer Mirage Even If You Don't Look Like a Model or Don't Make a Fortune)
One of the few books I've found that was interesting enough to read completely.......2007-10-17
Fascinating book about the PUA subculture. Love the black leather like binding and the red bookmark. Highly recommend reading for any man that wants to broaden his horizons.
I've read similar books and I'll share some observations to aspiring PUA's : All the good PUA guys either are either somewhat naturally charismatic, or have higher education and / or have established careers with significant incomes. While I'm not suggesting that you have to be rich or handsome to be a successful PUA, you will need to be getting a paycheck somehow. And higher education is a definite plus. Odd how all these books seem to leave out this essential fact.
Invest in yourself. Material things come to those that have self actualized.
If something has a direct benefit to an individual or a class of people, and a theoretical, abstract, or amorphous benefit to everybody else, realize that the proponent's intentions are to benefit the former, not the latter, no matter what bull they try to feed you.
Don't take proffered advice without a critical analysis. 90 % of all advice is intended to benefit the proponent, not the recipient. Actually, the number is probably closer to 97 but I don't want to come off as cynical.
As a young man, you're on your own. Society divides and conquers. Unlike women who have advocates looking out for them (NOW, Women's Study Departments, government, non-profit organizations, political advocacy groups) almost no one is looking out for you. Know that few people have your best interests at heart. Your mother does. Your father probably does (if he stuck around). Your siblings are on your side. Everybody else worries about themselves.
Remember, 97% of all advice is worthless. Take what you can use, and trash the rest.
Lecherous Men Who Need This "Book" For Advice Aren't Real Men And Deserve To Be Lonely, Frustrated & Lacking Self-Worth!!!!!!!!!.......2007-10-17
US culture has coarsened. Republicans are 100% correct in citing this trend that exploded since the 60s, liberal "revolution." Nowhere is this ghastly reality seen worse than The Game and its subordinating, brownnosing, 5-star reviews. Reading these 5-star ratings, the unsuspecting surfer would misconstrue The Game possesses virtue, entertainment and usefulness. My skewering review will disprove the 5-star reviews' fraud and divulge The Game as debauched, sadistic, sophomoric, misogynistic, underhanded, lecherous!!!!
The Game's the libertine story of an LA Times writer who longingly plots to "correct" his frustrated teen and twentysomething years spent without success in "getting laid." He's also insecure and awkward around women; he spends his waking hours longing for tail. His "solution?" Frequent the underground, pickup artist community--via internet groups--to procure tips on seducing, then bedding women. So, he becomes the pupil of the misogynistic and emotionally stunted man-child Mystery, self-proclaimed master of picking up women.
The "star" (Mystery) of Strauss' writing is one of the worst lowlives you'll ever witness. At first, Mystery's in his thirties YET LIVING WITH HIS PARENTS in an underprivileged, Toronto apartment!!!! He's emotionally retarded as evidenced in his confession that he never received love from his father--German immigrant-alcoholic who beat Mystery!--and how he yearns for a polygamist relationship with two lesbians. Mystery's pickup artist routine involves seducing many women to ineffectively battle to bring up his insecure sense of self-worth; underestimating the intelligence of women; and lecherously fu**ing as many women as he can pick up.
Mystery's routine is so elementary that it involves thoughtless, robotic patterns Mystery claims work on all women. From the seedy places described, it appears his routine only works if you target lowlife establishments (bars, clubs, Hollywood parties) and loose women. I repeat: The Game is misdirecting since Mystery's coarse pickup routine is never attempted on women of better breeding, ie., those with education, self-worth, class, morals--in short, conservative-leaning. His routine's only applied to liberal women he finds in the meanest of skid row locales. If one subserviently and errantly uses Mystery's pickup routine on women in normal places--away from the liberal skew of places like Hollywood parties and seedy bars--like malls, parks, offices, community/recreational activities, functions, etc., you'd get slapped in the face, and rightly so.
Mystery's tactics are misogynistic because they devalue women as fu**-buddies (actual term from The Game!) and conquests to be had; Mystery/Strauss admit many times picking up women is an addiction to satisfy their egos. Mystery's tactics involve going into a bar with his insecure, lowlife co-sargers and approaching women within three seconds of eye contact. It continues with pretending to be disinterested in the targeted woman ("negging") while the PUA's wing distracts whoever else in her group. It then, if need be, also resorts to ludicrous magic tricks and calculating demonstrations of value to the targeted woman. This combination of BS is alleged to result in quickly getting an indiscriminate, liberal woman's phone number, or even getting laid that very night!!!!
It's obvious Mystery's game is to be the poor man's Machiavelli, as The Prince dealt with manipulation too; only in The Prince, manipulation was applied intelligently and observed properly. These BS-routines are absurd and untrustworthy that only lonely/mousy nerds desperate for a woman's sexual touch, or sophomoric teenagers should/will bother with them. The censurable absurdity is Mystery proposes women will fall for elementary magic tricks done in bars!!!! Strauss alleges women are like crows hopelessly attracted to shiny objects, that if one ludicrously does magic in front of her, or asks her value-demonstrating questions, she'll put out like a sl*t!!!! No human's that insanely stupid, though liberal women in LA may well be.
Strauss also introduces other characters in the pickup community. There's Papa, Tyler Durden, Ross Jefferies, Sweater, etc.. Like Mystery, ALL suffer from irreversible, emotional damage. Papa's a rich college kid obsessed with scoring; Durden doesn't like girls but lusts for power over women; Jefferies hates women due to a life of rejection; and Sweater naively wants to find a wife. Due to the soulless PUA lifestyle, most of these characters met with misery by the book's conclusion: Papa dropped out of college where he was studying law; Sweater was trapped in a loveless marriage; and even Strauss, the author, was pining for Lisa (Courtney Love's guitar-player) who disdained his lifestyle.
I'll stereotype the demographic of verminous male who basely reads The Game. You're a life-loser who isn't getting any; loathes women; feels inferior; and cannot relate to women in healthy, emotional terms. I bet I'm 100% correct!!!! Ironically, Strauss terms the Alpha Male of the Group as the man who competes with the PUA, yet I feel I'm the Alpha Male of all who've read The Game because I refuse to be so desperate to pick up women by resorting to this BS. I, as the normal, healthy and well-adjusted man, simply relate to women as the human beings they are, and that works a zillion times more effectively than Mystery's BS.
Compelling tale - couldn't put it down.......2007-10-15
Neil Strauss, who co-authored bestsellers about Motley Crue and Jenna Jameson, nails it again with another great tale into the bizarre worlds most of us never visit. This isn't so much a how to pick up women guide. It's a captivating story line as he ventures into the seduction community and grows his skills and insight into his own existence. Truly fascinating. Much of the material the average guy cannot relate to, or will ever experience, but as a page turner it is truly masterful.
I would couple this book with one recommended above by Amazon, The Professional Bachelor Dating Guide - How to Exploit Her Inner Psycho. As you read them, you realize the techniques they teach parallel how to "win friends and influence people", along with how to seduce the babes. The skills dissect and perfect being charismatic and comfortable in new situations with strangers. Get both books, they will accelerate your self-confidence to a very high level; for me it's been life changing.
Great lessons in personality transformation.......2007-10-12
Having seen Neil's interviews on the chunky feminist TV circuit and he how handled the bitter hens with ease, I bought The Game. A very intriguing and unusual tale told with some ingenious to bizarre characters throughout.
Neil's written for Rolling Stone and had other great books like The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band; this book carries on with his engaging writing style. Highly recommended.
Book Description
In the spring of 1970, artist Ralph Steadman went to America in search of work and found more than he bargained for. At the Kentucky Derby he met a former
associate of the Hell’s Angels, one Hunter S. Thompson. Their working relationship resulted in the now-legendary Gonzo Journalism.
The Joke’s Over tells of a remarkable collaboration that documented the turbulent years of the civil rights movement, the Nixon years, Watergate, and the many bizarre and great events that shaped the second half of the twentieth century. When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, it was the end of a unique friendship filled with both betrayal and understanding.
A rollicking, no-holds-barred memoir, The Joke’s Over is the definitive inside story of the Gonzo years.
Customer Reviews:
Steadman + Thompson = Fun For All!!!.......2007-10-02
Having been an HST fan for decades now, this book combines many elements
that make this duo a must have for Thompson fans of all levels;think about it: You have the Gonzo genius of Hunter S. Thompson,and the illustrator
of these 'Adventures' not from HST, but the same incidents as viewed by the
one man fortunate(?) enough to go the distance to cover the story. A unique
twist on the escapades of Dr. Gonzo. These two men shared much more than
two people using their collective genius for journalistic purposes;these men
almost seemed(to me) to need each other, and their collective talents to such a bizarre level that these guys in many ways became so influential to more than just a journalistic quest-a pairing so unique that such a combination in all probability will never happen again(unless it
came down to absolute 'ripping off' of the style they created. This book
should be a 'must have' for anyone intelligent enough to see what was really going on. After reading this book, one can finally comprehend
'When the going gets tough, the weird turn pro'. The good Doctor will be sorely missed, but thankfully Ralph Steadman is still around to carry the torch in some way. The world lost a true genius, but the one redeeming
factor is that now the metaphysical has a monster to deal with, and I think HST will derive great pleasure in that!! BUY THIS BOOK;YOU CANNOT
BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!
Better than an unauthorized biography........2007-09-11
Mr. Steadman tells it like it is, even when there is obvious animosity between himself and HST. Some great pictures I hadn't seen before, although I wish they had been reproduced full page size. The stories are good and give some interesting insight into (attempting) to work with HST. Overall a good read, if you're a fan of either of the men you will enjoy this book and be glad it is in your personal library. To no fault of Mr. Steadman, reading this book did bum me out a bit that we have no more new HST work to read ever again. I still remember turning on the news that fateful February morning...
A good book that ultimately becomes just a little annoying.......2007-07-12
Ralph Steadman paints a very interesting portrait of his long-time colleague and collaborator, HST, warts and all. The book is for the most part an enjoyable and interesting read, and I would tend to put more stock in Ralph's biography versus those written by any others given the nature of their relationship. However, in some places the book seems a little disjointed. In the end, I found myself growing annoyed with Ralph's writing style (which comes off a bit like "trying too hard" and merely a cheap imitation of Hunter's unmatched skill) as well as his description of Hunter's faults, which start to sound a little too much like whining.
Intimate and revealing.......2007-05-14
Thompson's life is difficult to seperate from his gonzo essa, and is often viewed as fiction. Steadman's retelling of their turbulent friendship clears away a great deal of the confusion about this brilliant and difficult icon; twenty-five years of alternating conflict and cameraderie allows a more human and focused view of an explosive and unique man. In the end Thompson's mythical persona is enhanced rather than diminished by the humanizing and honest eye of Ralph Steadman, illustrating the reality of trying to mainttain a friendship with the perverse and explosive Thompson. He does Thompson the honor of addressing him honestly; sugar coating his memory would be an unforgivable offense in the Doctor's own books.
good times.......2007-05-09
Great book!! Nice to hear from Steadman. I'm almost 50 and have been a fan of Ralph's and the good doctor since I'm 13. Painfull at times to read laugh out loud funny at otherrs. Thanks Mr. Steadman for showing me this side of HST and yourself. Jo Sullivan
Book Description
Orlandito “Dito” Montiel, son of Orlando, a Nicaraguan immigrant, and an Irish mother, grew wild in the streets of Astoria, Queens, pulling pranks for Greek and Italian gangsters and confessing at the church of the Immaculate Conception, gobbling hits of purple mescaline and Old English, sneaking into Times Square whore houses—“Kids from nowhere going nowhere.”
This is the quintessentially American story of a young man's hunger for experience, his dawning awareness of the bigger world across the bridge, and of the loyalties that bind him to a violent past and to the flawed and desperate saints that have guided him: Dito’s father, Antonio “our insane warrior hero,” Bob Semen, Frank the dog walker, Jimmy Mullen, Cherry Vanilla, Ginsberg and all the others, the drunks, coke-heads, junkies, the insaniacs like Santos Antonios who said, “Now Dito remember, in life you gotta be crazy.”
Customer Reviews:
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.......2007-07-31
After watching the movie I expected a much better story, in the end it's nothing more than the life of a pseudo model, pseudo musician in NY, nothing interesting to tell.
See the movie but skip the book.......2007-04-18
I really liked the movie version of "Saints" for its gutsy portrayal of Dito's experience coming of age in Astoria. Unfortunately, the screenplay is far superior to the book. The book starts with Dito's early years but merely skims the surface and proceeds to a disjointed, sprawling narrative about Dito's adventures (mostly drunken or drug addled) as a punk rocker. He drops a lot of names but the story never goes anywhere. It sounds like he dictated this into a tape recorder and had someone transcribe his musings. And I'm not convinced he didn't make a few things up along the way. And, by the way, Yogaville is not close to either Farmville or Richmond and Raleigh, North Carolina is not a small town (if you read the book you'll understand the references). There's really no point to this book and after a while his stories are pretty tedious.
Music magazine quality.......2007-03-16
It's no suprise that Montiel's screenplay, while portrayed as a memoir, deviates significantly from this book that lacked the ingredients to create an adequate movie.
I'd never heard of Gutterboy, but reading Montiel's memoir reminded me of every other punker's -- Rollins, for example -- observations of the 80's punk/harcore music scene: discordant shows, odd characters, serendipitous record deals, and starstruck meetings with major celebrities.
Montiel repeats himself throughout the book, contriving to be like the beat writers he admires, but never getting it to sound genuine.
Father Angelo and Astoria.......2007-03-10
I just finished watching the movie.I got goosebumps.
I grew up in the neighborhood and moved out to Long Island about 6yrs ago.
I went to Immaculate Conception Grammar school and graduated in 86'
Dito captured Astoria down to the very minute detail
Too bad they didnt show Father Angelo in the movie. He was the best !
I hope the movie gets some awards, it was eerie watching your childhood caputured in such astounding detail by such a fine writer.
Excellent.......2006-11-02
Really enjoyed the book...........not to mention Dito was a neighbor of mine in Astoria.....
Average customer rating:
- great little gem of a book
- I expected more
- loved it!!
- Interesting and sort of sad
- Couldn't put it down! Great Book!
|
EVERYDAY MATTERS
Danny Gregory
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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CREATIVE LICENSE, THE: GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE THE ARTIST YOU TRULY ARE
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The Decorated Journal: Creating Beautifully Expressive Journal Pages
ASIN: 1401307957
Release Date: 2007-01-09 |
Book Description
In the tradition of Persepolis, In the Shadow of No Towers, and Our Cancer Year, an illustrated memoir of remarkable depth, power, and beautyDanny Gregory and his wife, Patti, hadn't been married long. Their baby, Jack, was ten months old; life was pretty swell. And then Patti fell under a subway train and was paralyzed from the waist down.In a world where nothing seemed to have much meaning, Danny decided to teach himself to draw, and what he learned stunned him. Suddenly things had color again, and value. The result is Everyday Matters, his journal of discovery, recovery, and daily life in New York City. It is as funny, insightful, and surprising as life itself.
Customer Reviews:
great little gem of a book.......2007-09-23
love it, love it, love it !!!!
a wonderful inspiring little book.
perfect smaller size (6"x8") to carry along with your sketchbook to keep you encouraged in your drawing.
I expected more.......2007-04-08
I suppose I had some misperceptions of this book. I was assuming there would be more inspiration that would cajole me into journaling and artwork. I also thought is was he who was disabled - it was his wife. There was little mention of how his wife's diability figured into the whole pictue of his life. As a disabled person, I thought there would be some insight into overcoming disability to do what you want. I do however, love the way he draws and journals. In the end I saw this as a simple journal that anyone might have done. I still have his other book and I have higher hopes for that.
loved it!!.......2007-02-27
i loved it! i recived the book for valentines day and finished in a day...its very intresting to examine dannys drawing and learn about his life in nyc..
Interesting and sort of sad.......2007-01-30
Interesting story about the author's evolution into an artist. The entire book is made up of his sketches and writings during a particularly challenging time in his life. It is essentially his private art journal copied and put in a book.
Couldn't put it down! Great Book!.......2006-09-16
This book is actually the "textbook" for the pen and ink drawing class that I am taking. I bought it ahead of time and read it in 2 days! I had a hard time putting it down and now that I am finished I keep going back to it to discover the clever ways Mr. Gregory depicts life in the big city and abroad. What he has to say ranges from being dramatic to funny and interesting. He takes the every day things we take for granted and makes them into something worth taking a second look at. I am thinking of buying all of the books he writes.....This is good stuff!
Average customer rating:
- Craptabulous!
- Enjoyed it
- Great book
- This is a woman who needs professional help!
- no lifeguard on duty
|
No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel
Janice Dickinson
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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A Paper Life
ASIN: 0060009462
Release Date: 2002-08-20 |
Book Description
The life of Janice Dickinson is a story of extremes: uncontrolled energy, mad self-confidence and crushing insecurity, a boundless appetite for life and a ceaseless drive to self-destruct. During the 1970s she was the first lush-lipped, long-stemmed, dark-eyed brunette to break through and become not just a model but a supermodel -- a term she coined for herself.
She graced major magazine covers from Vogue to Elle to Cosmopolitan, in photographs by Avedon and Irving Penn and fashions by Versace and Calvin Klein. She was voracious in everything: affairs both passionate and casual, endless partying, and a drug habit that dogged her through twenty years and three husbands. She spent her glory days with Gia Carangi and Christie Brinkley and her nights with Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Sylvester Stallone. And wherever she went, Janice captured the imagination of everyone who encountered her.
Yet the tale Janice Dickinson has lived to tell is no mere diva cartoon. For the haunting undercurrent in her life is a violent dance of cruelty and abuse with her own father -- a story she tells here for the first time. And as she careens from runway to rehab to rock bottom to recovery, readers will be captivated by her tale of survival . . . and by its cautionary power for anyone who still believes that fashion -- or life -- is an easy business.
Customer Reviews:
Craptabulous!.......2007-08-24
So, I am a fan of crazy-gorgeous-extreme model types, because they are so much the opposite of me.
Take Janice Dickinson, for instance. Janice walks in a room, and everyone knows it. Maybe they smell her heady melange of booze, perfume, and cigarettes. It could be the obnoxiously loud string of foulness that always enters before she does. And perhaps it's because she's gorgeous and has those crazy -- as in substantially unstable -- eyes that demand attention in a Charlie Manson kind of way. I don't know. Whatever it is, I want it, as do millions of young ladies.
So I really wanted to like this book and experience a lot of "Oh no she di'int" admiration, but mostly, I was stumbling over the lackluster, disconnected writing. Does anyone believe celebrities of her caliber -- low, that is -- really write their own material? I suppose her "writing partner" is partially to blame for the poor quality, but having seen Dickinson in action (critiquing ANTM contestants and manipulating her way through the D-list dumpster that is The Surreal Life), I don't doubt for a second that she'd have creative control and final say on the content and style.
Janice does deliver some juicy bits. For example, way back when Sly Stallone was her man, Janice was regularly given mystery "vitamins" by the Rocky that, in light of recent events, may've been an early iteration of HGH. Hm. Plus there's tons of drugs and boyfriends (and girlfriends), although I could've done without the explicit descriptions of sex ham-fistedly sandwiched into random spots. (It's like she forgot she wasn't writing a Harlequin for a couple of pages.)
As in other memoirs by people who shouldn't necessarily be writing any, there's the usual childhood drama blown out of proportion. Being abused is drama enough -- why add the Lifetime Movie of the Week sentiment for fanfare? It feels a little... exploitative.
But I suppose that's the point. Dickinson made her career out of exploitation -- of her body, the camera, other people's bodies... you name it. I appreciate the candor she shows, and no-holds-barred "outing" of celeb secrets is balanced by kind words for others (for instance, Christie Brinkley is -- or at least was -- a saint). This could've been an excellent book if only she'd taken an intensive in English composition and pulled out a thesaurus. (At least it wasn't as bad as Iceberg Slim!)
Enjoyed it.......2007-06-28
I thought this book was v interesting & honest...a true look into Janice's Dickinsons life. She is a strong character & has survived a hell of a childhood - now i now why she still acts kinda crazy when you see her on tv!
Great book.......2007-06-27
This woman has balls. It is not a book written by someone who is afraid of looking bad, or offending people (I am looking at YOU Kimora Lee Simmons). Janice is one fierce b*tch. I must say she did start to get on my nerves after viewing her reality show, but if you are looking for a juicy book, get this one. You will be satisfied!
This is a woman who needs professional help!.......2007-06-13
This is truly a sick (emotionally & maybe mentally) and delusional woman.
It's amazing to me that this sewer-mouthed narcisist got as far as she did.
This book is trash!
no lifeguard on duty.......2007-05-24
this book is interesting when it talks about her life with family and friends but the rest of it is slow and boring i thought this was going to be great like her other book but its very boring and hard to keep reading,
Book Description
Unforgettable stories and images from America's preeminent adventure photographer on his most challenging, exhilarating expeditions.
Renowned as one of the world's foremost expedition photographers, Gordon Wiltsie has climbed Himalayan mountains, mushed dogs on the frozen Arctic Ocean, skied in Antarctica, and hacked through the Amazon jungle to photograph the most remote reaches of the planet. For the last three decades he has accompanied many of the great modern explorers—Alex Lowe, Conrad Anker, Will Steger, Jon Krakauer, David Breashears, Norman Vaughan—on incredibly challenging climbs and epic adventures. Despite carrying his own share of the weight—along with cameras, film, and lenses—he has matched these companions pitch for pitch and mile for mile, photographing them every inch of the way.
In this journey through ten unique expeditions, Wiltsie illustrates the daily life of an explorer—from the thrill of summiting a virgin peak to the fear of surviving a storm, to the humorous and unexpected everyday moments of life on the edge. 175 color illustrations, 9 maps.
Customer Reviews:
The pairing of vivid text adventure and color drama is not to be missed........2007-04-12
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: ADVENTURES OF AN EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHER tells of the author's passion for adventure and his life photographing some hundred expeditions to the wildest places on the planet. Here are ten of his greatest adventures, paired with stunning color photos, in a collection highly recommended not only for the general interest public library, but for college-level art photography holdings. The pairing of vivid text adventure and color drama is not to be missed.
A lifetime's experience.......2006-12-30
Gordon Wiltsie takes us to the ends of the earth and gives us a glimpse of the reality of expedition life; unlike other "adventure travel" books this one makes it clear that there is a huge amount of arduous labor, and often not much glory, involved. It's also apparent that he, if not his companions, truly enjoyed the inevitable unexpected challenges, and even the hardship and discomfort, of such trips.
Wiltsie's photographs are spectacular. While reading the book I continually wondered how he made some of these images ("how-the-hell-did-he-do-that?"). Which raises a minor complaint, I would have loved to have read more about the technical details of the author's workday in the field, as well as some technical detail about the photos.
Wiltsie's writing is clear, expressive, and warm; his self-effacing tone belies his athletic, technical, and artistic proficiency. I have to agree with a previous reviewer, more pictures and text are called for.
Superb Images........2006-10-24
This collection of images and stories is as compelling as any I've seen. Many will know Wiltsie's photographs from his mountaineering expeditions, and his photos here of the late Alex Lowe, Conrad Anker, and many others in dramatic action offer plenty on that count. But Wiltsie is one of the best "travel" photographers going, catching ordinary people from the far reaches of the planet in traditional dress and situations. Each is a fascinating study in itself. Wiltsie is a better photographer than writer, and almost all of the narratives--candid and spicy as they are--could be fuller and more detailed, for certainly the stories give the images their vital context. My greatest desideratum for this book was only that it include more: more words, more of those amazing photographs.
Average customer rating:
- A beautiful swan song for a loving man, husband, father & human.
- If you liked his other works, you'll love this fast read.
- Spalding gives us something to think about, and departs.
- A Bittersweet Homage to Spalding Gray
- It's really only 56 pages.
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Life Interrupted: The Unfinished Monologue
Spalding Gray
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1400048613
Release Date: 2005-10-04 |
Book Description
As the first decade of the new century was getting underway, Spalding Gray worried that the joy he’d finally found with his wife, stepdaughter, and two sons would fail to fuel his work as a theatrical monologist the way anxiety, conflict, doubt, and various crises once had. Before he got the chance to find out, however, an automobile accident in Ireland left him with the lasting wounds of body and spirit that ultimately led him to take his own life. But as his dear friend novelist Francine Prose notes in this volume’s foreword, “Even when his depression became so severe that he was barely able to hold a simple conversation, he was, miraculously, able to perform.”
As was always his method, Gray began to fashion a new monologue in various workshop settings that would tell the story of the accident and its aftermath. Originally titled Black Spot—for what the locals called the section of highway where Gray’s accident occurred—it began as a series of workshops at P.S. 122 in New York City and eventually became Life Interrupted.Gray died in early 2004, and though never completed, Life Interrupted is rich with brave self-revelation, masterfully acute observations of wonderfully peculiar people, penetrating wit and genuine humor, an irresolvable fascination with life and death, and all the other attributes of Gray’s singular and unmistakable voice.
In the final performance of Life Interrupted, Gray read two additional pieces: a short story about a day he spent with his son Theo at the carousel in Central Park and a brief, poignant love letter to New York City that he wrote after the terrorist attacks in 2001. This volume includes these pieces as well as many of the eulogies that were delivered by his friends and family at memorial services held at Lincoln Center and in Sag Harbor.
[If you had to reduce all of Spalding’s work to its essence, its core, if you wanted to locate the subject to which, no matter what else he talked about, he kept returning, I suppose you could say that his work was a profoundly metaphysical inquiry into how we manage to live despite the knowledge that we are someday going to die. . . .
If there is a consolation, it’s what he left behind: the children whom he so loved and, of course, his work. Reading the unfinished pieces in this volume . . . we hear his voice again and feel the happiness we felt when he sat on stage behind his wooden desk, took a sip from his water glass, transformed the raw material of his life into art, and the crowd applauded each brilliant, beautiful sentence.] —
Francine Prose, from the Foreword
Also available as an eBook
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful swan song for a loving man, husband, father & human........2007-07-30
The amount of compassion in this book is simply amazing. Spalding was a normal individual living through extraordinary events that he wove into some of the best monologues & humor to ever grace our eyes & ears. The finality of his decision can never be compromised by our tremendous feeling of loss. He was entitled to save himself from his pain in any manner he sought & I respect him for that. While the hole in our hearts will never be filled, I would only encourage his friends & loved ones to look back on the best of times. I have a feeling He would have wanted it that way too...
If you liked his other works, you'll love this fast read........2007-01-04
I've been a great Gray fan for years. Reading this monologe brings you back into the theater with him again. Read on a quick flight to Boston, I could see hear his monotone stories gain, telling me of his life, and taking me to that wonderful place that only he and old radio dramas could.
Spalding gives us something to think about, and departs........2006-08-18
A celebrity is someone whom you've never actually met, but think you know; not just know about, but know. The celebrity press offers us little bits of enticing, patently untrue information about these imaginary friends every day. Part of our agreement with the idea of celebrity is that we believe these things while knowing (after all, we're not crazy) that they aren't true.
It was easy to slip into thinking of Spalding Gray, who after all never pretended to be anything but an actor and a sort of amateur writer, as a celebrity. Since his confessional monologues included much that was embarrassing and painful, it was easier that way. Apparently, though, every word of it was true. His sadness, his eerily prophetic but still crippling fears, his inability, like so many children of suicides, to get on with his life -- it was all there. It was all, or at least mostly true, and we really knew him after all, and the guilt at not having been able to save him, at having been not an imaginary friend but a real one, and not a very good one, is real as well.
His monologues were surprisingly layered, nuanced and durable works of art, considering he never claimed much for himself as a writer. They are like Chekhov plays without villains -- not so dark, or so funny, and a bit sweeter than you'd like, maybe, but still great, and this is the last of them.
A Bittersweet Homage to Spalding Gray.......2006-05-31
Nearing his 60th birthday in 2001, Spalding Gray was enjoying family life with his wife and two kids, and pondering the next step in his career as a popular monologue performer and writer.
Then a horrific car accident in Ireland changed everything for Gray. Severe injuries left him debilitated for months, with chronic severe pain afterwards, and plunged him into deep depression.
Yet he still tried to transform his painful, frightening and darkly humorous experiences into art, as he has done so many other times. Performing early drafts of his solo memoir of the crash (under the working title "Black Spot", which refers to the patch of road in Ireland where his accident occurred) at Seattle's 2001 Bumbershoot Festival, and later in New York, it looked like he was going to triumph again. But sadly it was not to be (Spalding Grey committed suicide in 2004 at the age of 62, leaving a note stating that he could no longer live with his debilitating pain and depression).
This short book combines that last unfinished script with various short tributes to Gray by actor Eric Bogosian (another favorite performer/monologist/writer of mine) and others.
For 20 years now, I have admired Gray. He was someone who made yakking about his life and himself so engaging and endearing, that I always left his solo monologues wanting to hear more. His books were also equally entertaining.
For any Gray fan, this small book is homage to his unique gifts, and a reminder of the fragility and preciousness of life itself.
Final Grade: A
It's really only 56 pages........2005-11-08
When I saw that it was 256 pages I thought it was all going to be stuff that Spalding Gray had written. I was really excited to get this book, thinking that I'd have at least a few days worth of reading to do. Unfortunately only 56 of those 256 pages are actually his work. The forward by Francine Prose goes from pg 17-49. "Life Interrupted" goes from pgs 53-92 (40 pages). "The Anniversary" goes from pgs 95-109 (15 pages). "Dear New York City" is pg 113. The rest of the book, pgs 121-255, are eulogies. I would have preferred to just get a skinny little 56 page book of only his work. I realize that this book in essence was to be a dedication to Spalding Gray's life and last days. A way for his friends and family to celebrate his existance in their lives and say goodbye to him. It is a good book and well worth the money, but I would have preferred to just get his writings sans wordy forward and eulogies.
Average customer rating:
- The most content in the fewest words
- So Much that is Wright
- Very interesting biography on Frank LLoyd Wright
- Excellent intro to Frank Lloyd Wright
- A Genius, or A Con Man?
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Frank Lloyd Wright (Penguin Lives)
Ada Louise Huxtable
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
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Binding: Hardcover
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Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright
ASIN: 0670033421
Release Date: 2004-11-04 |
Book Description
From the way we build to the way we live, Frank Lloyd Wright's influence on American architecture is visible all around us. Now, Ada Louise Huxtable, the Pulitzer Prize- winning architecture writer for The Wall Street Journal—and chief architecture critic for The New York Times for nearly twenty years—offers an outstanding look at the architect and the man. She explores the sources of his tumultuous and troubled life and his long career as master builder as well as his search for lasting, true love. Along the way, Huxtable introduces readers to Wright's masterpieces: Taliesin, rebuilt after tragedy and murder; the Imperial Hotel, one of the few structures left standing after Japan's catastrophic 1923 earthquake; and tranquil Fallingwater, to which millions have traveled to experience its quiet grace. Through the journey, Huxtable takes us not only into the mind of the man who drew the blueprints, but also into the very heart of the medium, which he changed forever. A story of great triumph and heartbreak, Frank Lloyd Wright is, like Wright's own creations, an expertly wrought tribute to a man whose genius lives on in the very landscape of American architecture.
Customer Reviews:
The most content in the fewest words.......2007-06-14
Books about Mr. Wright, especially those that delve into his personal life, tend to grow like kudzu. Their authors start out intending to present a coherent, concise picture of the man, but they find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, controversy, and innuendo that swirls about him even today. Too many authors abandon any pretense of order and just splash it all down on paper, leaving the reader to hack through the resulting jungle alone.
Ms. Huxtable's admirable book is the first Wright biography I've seen that resists the temptatation to make the reader do all the work. She tells more about Mr. Wright and about his important buildings in fewer words than any other author. Of course there are errors here and there--most of the principals are long dead, and who can reconstruct a conversation that took place eighty years ago with any accuracy? All Wright biographers, except the syncophants associated with the Taliesin Fellowship, disagree on various points. One must also remember that the Fellowship's mythmaking apparatus started up shortly after the Fellowship began, and went into overdrive after Mr. Wright's passing in 1959, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Having to see through this smothering blanket of hagiography makes Ms. Huxtable's accomplishment all the more remarkable.
Even those who think they know all about Frank Lloyd Wright may learn a thing or two from this book, and it would be hard to imagine a better introductory book for those who know they do not.
So Much that is Wright.......2005-12-20
There is so much that is right about this handy and elegant little biographical volume that anyone who wants to know about Frank Lloyd Wright would find themselves in good company with the brilliant Ms Huxtable.
She knows architecture (her skyscraper book is a classic) and her appreciation of Wright comes through. So does her awareness that the same genius that made such serene spaces also led a wildly tempestuous life.
Having read this book, the reader wanting more that is Wright would want to read Brendan Gill's "Many Masks" and Meryle Secrest's bio of the great architect, too.
Very interesting biography on Frank LLoyd Wright.......2005-12-03
Heather Carolyn Riehl holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Design from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York and is currently seeking her Master's degree from Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Frank Lloyd Wright, a biography by award winning architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable is a very insightful novel about a man who made such an impact on the art of architecture during his lifetime. Huxtable focuses both on the life of Frank Lloyd Wright both personally and professionally. Although it seems at times to steer more towards a personal biography, it is essential to understand Wright's background and beliefs to truly appreciate him as the artist that he was.
Huxtable takes us all the way through Wright's life, from birth to death. She briefly touches on the impact that Wright's architecture had following his death as well as some unfortunate family matters concerning the placement of his remains.
Frank Lloyd Wright is depicted in this biography as somewhat of a rebel. He lived by his own rules and detested establishment. It may be fair to say that Wright was somewhat of an egotist, but had he not possessed the confidence that he did, it may not have been possible for him to think outside of the box as often as he did. It was his ambition to create his own style that made him stand out from the rest, and no one was able to get in his way from doing so.
Huxtable explains how Frank Lloyd Wright was influenced by Japanese art and the philosophies of Viollet-le-duc. Sculpture reproductions of the Winged Victory and Venus de Milo were often used in his interiors. Wright was a very intellectual, knowledgeable man although he had no formal training in architecture.
Being involved with several different women, marrying three of them in his lifetime, it would appear that women were very important in Wright's life. Conceiving six children in his first marriage and two in his third, one might see Wright as a veritable family man although this assumption could not be further from the truth. No matter what was happening in Wright's family life, his architecture always took precedence.
Huxtable examines several of Wright's architectural triumphs, including his many prairie homes which lead to a domestic revolution in the Midwest, Fallingwater which was built for the Kaufmann family in Pennsylvania, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and his two Taliesin estates, one of which endured a murder rampage and three tragic fires.
Frank Lloyd Wright comes across in this biography as a beatnik architect, if there ever was such a thing. Being educated on the subject of architecture, unexplained references to such people as Mies Van Der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Gehry; I was able to understand the passages, where as a reader completely uneducated on the topic may be confused by some topics in this novel. Subsequently, I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in art or architecture as it is a very interesting look into the life of this magnificent architect.
Excellent intro to Frank Lloyd Wright.......2005-11-03
A briskly written, concise biography of Frank Lloyd Wright that manages to be very even-handed about both his enormous talent and his nearly-as-enormous ego. It's not a thorough study of his life and work (I particularly thought it was skimpy on Wright's later projects; for that reason, I'd probably give it only 4.5 stars if Amazon allowed half-star rating increments), but it is an excellent, quick-read introduction to an incredible architect.
A Genius, or A Con Man?.......2005-05-31
This was written not as a biography but as a project for the Penguin Lives Series by Ms. Huxtable who previously had published THE UNREAL AMERICA: ARCHITECTURE AND ILLUSION. Being an architecture critic, you'd think she would have concentrated on his varied styles and master creations. But she dishes the dirt about his personal life and that of this parents.
He was born on June 8, 1867, in Wisconsin and named Frank Lincoln (after Abraham) Wright, later changed to Frank Lloyd Wright which was a maternal family name brought over to America from Wales in 1844. He has been dead since April, 1959, and the Archives have been opened for perusual by 'scholars' so that his real life is becoming known for scandals instead of innovation.
I was expecting a treatise about the complicated and varied buildings he designed. Chicago is full of them, (as is California) a whole neighborhood in Oak Park on the North Side. The week I stayed with my son when he was a student at the University of Chicago, we passed one near the campus and Jeff wanted me to go inside. I didn't see anything unusual about it, but was assured that the interior held a host of beauty, and unique corners, mantles, etc. He was never able to entice me to stop and go inside. After all, there is so much to see in the Windy City and one week left me craving for more.
Ms. Huxtable claims that his surface life was a creative act and manipulated facts -- no truth whatsoever. Instead of praising his talent and achievements with his architectural wonders, she dealt on his 'painful search for love (some of her "illusion"); he married more than once and suffered the destructive impulses, revenge, destruction and emotional ambivalence of his second wife. The man had no peace. Even with his trouble-filled personal life, he lived to be an old man.
Why bring a big name master builder down to ordinary terms in which she wants to prove that his whole life (as presented) was a lie. This writer believes in airing a celebrity's dirty linen. It was his second wife whose crazy antics ruined his finances and almost his professional life. In 1927, he had opened an office in Los Angeles and started designing his unconventional houses. He was not only an innovator, but a hands-on builder as he dictated every detail.
Russian immigrant Ayn Rand wrote THE FOUNTAINHEAD, which became a movie starring Gary Cooper, about an architect modeled on Frank Lloyd Wright. He appeared to be an architectural Don Quixote. Wesley Peters, who married Stalin's daughter, figured in on his 'afterlife' in Arizona at Taliesin West where Wright's third wife formed a commune after his death.
Others in this series include: ROBERT E. LEE by Roy Blount, Jr., CRAZY HORSE by Larry McMurtry, JOSEPH SMITH by Robert V. Remini, ELVIS PRESLEY by Bobbie Ann Mason, and ROSA PARKS by Douglas Brinkley.
Book Description
An elegant, witty, frank, touching, and deeply personal account of the loves both great and fleeting in the life of one of America's most celebrated and fabled women.
Born to great wealth yet kept a virtual prisoner by the custody battle that raged between her proper aunt and her self-absorbed, beautiful mother, Gloria Vanderbilt grew up in a special world. Stunningly beautiful herself, yet insecure and with a touch of wildness, she set out at a very early age to find romance. And find it she did. There were love affairs with Howard Hughes, Bill Paley, and Frank Sinatra, to name a few, and one-night stands, which she writes about with delicacy and humor, including one with the young Marlon Brando. There were marriages to men as diverse as Pat De Cicco, who abused her; the legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski, who kept his innermost secrets from her; film director Sidney Lumet; and finally writer Wyatt Cooper, the love of her life.
Now, in an irresistible memoir that is at once ruthlessly forthright, supremely stylish, full of fascinating details, and deeply touching, Gloria Vanderbilt writes at last about the subject on which she has hitherto been silent: the men in her life, why she loved them, and what each affair or marriage meant to her. This is the candid and captivating account of a life that has kept gossip writers speculating for years, as well as Gloria's own intimate description of growing up, living, marrying, and loving in the glare of the limelight and becoming, despite a family as famous and wealthy as America has ever produced, not only her own person but an artist, a designer, a businesswoman, and a writer of rare distinction.
Customer Reviews:
Who is the real Gloria?.......2007-09-24
This book lacks depth and leaves the reader feeling that we still don't know Gloria Vanderbilt. Also, why does she give the impression that she only has one living son? What kind of mother would disregard her two older children? Very sad.
A much better book on the Vanderbilts is "Fortunes Children". I recommend it.
Unattainable.......2006-08-28
I never received this book. A notice was sent to me saying the book was unattainable at this time.
I would give it 3.5 actually.......2006-08-12
The book was much shorter than I thought, and the writing was a bit too scattered, too many side notes - but good. I would average it out to be a 3.5 and you will find it funny, interesting if you know the characters or have read much about them. When you think of them as people it becomes harder to grasp, but characters seems a more realistic yardstick to use. I love Gloria Vanderbilt, I admire her and feel that she deserves applause and praise, but this one didn't do it for me. Maybe a good book to take traveling.
Thank you for this wonderful book!!.......2006-05-25
Dear Gloria Vanderbilt, i am enjoying reading your wonderful book. Thank you!! sincerely,
Joan Clement
Mind Candy... .......2006-03-30
I wanted this book after reading a commentary by Vanderbilt's son, Anderson Cooper. He was reflecting on how we adults never really like to think about, let alone read about our parents sex lives and his mother asked him to proofread her romance memoir. He played up the more racy parts of the book, which turned out to be the only racy parts of the book.
This book is not so much about romance, as it is about a woman finding he own way in the world. Gloria Vanderbilt was, of course, born rich and influential. She ran with the young and beautiful of Hollywood's golden age. She also struggled between being the proper young lady her controlling aunt expected and her desire to be noticed by her self-absorbed and very troubled mother.
It is not long or terrible complicated, but it is more moving than I had expected.
Average customer rating:
- A Charmed Couple: A Charming Book
- A Charmed Couple
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A Charmed Couple: The Art and Life of Walter and Matilda Gay
William Rieder
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810945614 |
Book Description
"A splendid and long overdue appreciation of a peerless painter of fine interiors, with a vivid picture of American expatriate life in France."
-Louis Auchincloss This stylish book re-creates the charmed life of two American expatriates in France at the turn of the 20th century-the noted artist Walter Gay and his wife, Matilda, whose glittering social circle included John Singer Sargent, Edith Wharton, Henry James, and many other artists and aristocrats. Narrated by witty excerpts from Matilda Gay's recently discovered journal, and richly illustrated with Walter Gay's remarkable, sought-after paintings of the rooms in which they and their friends lived, in Paris, Fontainebleau, Venice, and elsewhere, A Charmed Couple offers an intimate glimpse of a long-gone social milieu whose hold on the popular imagination continues to this day. WILLIAM RIEDER is a curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Author of numerous articles, most on European furniture, in such journals as Architectural Digest, Connoisseur, and Antiques, he lives in New York City. 128 illustrations, 55 in full color, 81/2 x 101/2"
Customer Reviews:
A Charmed Couple: A Charming Book.......2001-09-06
A Charmed Couple introduced me to Walter and Matilda Gay, American expatriates in France in the late 19th and early 20th century. Walter Gay was a painter, primarily of interiors of chateaus and grand houses of France and America. Matilda was a society hostess and dedicated diarist. Both were unknown to me before I received this book as a gift (and a very fine gift it makes, too). The Gays were friends with important artists, writers and political figures, as well as English and French aristrocrats and many wealthy, international socialites. Quoting often from Matilda Gay's diary with its witty, observant and often acerbic comments on people she knew, author William Rieder gives brief, anecdotal accounts of the Gays' friendships with a diverse group that included writers Henry James and Edith Wharton, the artist John Singer Sargent, Robert and Mildred Bliss (who later created a beautiful home and garden at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.), Henry Clay Frick and his daughter Helen (whose house is preserved as the Frick Collection in New York City). The text is interesting and witty, the reproductions of Walter Gay's paintings of beautiful rooms and views are delightful, and the book design is attractive. A Charmed Couple, as a whole, is a lovely, frothy concoction -- fun to read and to look at.
A Charmed Couple.......2000-10-18
Mr. Rieder has fashioned a fascinating account, both artistically and sociologically, about a farily obscure artist and his wife. As world travellers they both entertained and were feted by John Singer Sargent, Edith Wharton, Henry James, Elsie de Woolfe, Henry Frick Clay and an entire bouquet of royalty. They seem to have helped define the great Golden Years before the First World War changed everything. Mr. Rieder has effortlessly captured this with both wit and insight. It's handsomely produced with many photographs and images of Gay's work. I've found it to be a perfect gift item.
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