Book Description
In Pink Box, photographer Joan Sinclair takes us on a journey inside the secret world of fuzoku (commercial sex) in Japan, a world where kawaii (cute) collides with consumerism and sex.
Unrivaled in their creativity and the sheer number of choices, the clubs featured in this book offer their clientele every fantasy imaginable. Subway groping, visits to the nurse's office, and comic book character encounters are just the beginning of the immense list of possibilities that are played out in colorful playrooms for adults where no detail is overlooked. Sinclair's photographs capture it all, while an introduction by sociologist James Farrer provides a brief history of commercial sex in Japan and places the images in the context of contemporary Japanese culture.
Customer Reviews:
Joan , what a gal,do a book on the U.S. pink boxes ...........2007-10-11
I have been reading what 1 poster must have spent weeks to write , i bought this book for several reasons and none really for kink,although who doesn't love some fun sex,i have lived in Japan,Korea,China and hope to retire to 1 of those,soon if (my 4 diseases ) bad health allow me,i have been in Major Law Enforcement since i was 15 ,and entertainment the same ,What Joan FORGOT,to include except in an online interview was that SEVERAL of these Beauties are Not Japanese,i know the far east like i do the U.S. trust me ,i work with(not for) some very high ranking folks in certain matters of L.E. ,Japan, actually as we all know has the good ole boys known as the Yakuza folks,slide into Korea ,Hong Kong,and find (by whatever means needed) grab a few ,koreans and chinese to work in these,small hell holes YES;against their will. since they will bring in more customers than the young ladies of Japan ,i will state till my last dying breath that Korea has the most beautiful women period,with China 2nd and Japan tied for 3rd with the U.S. sorry ladies just facts... sorry for the long speech, But here is the problem i have here,why doesn't she do a book on some ladies of the night from the U.S. ,and unlike these girls and women ( a lot,most) will slit your throat ,smile and leave ,so to a small measure i feel a lot of americans are very racist about the home turf..my associates will not like me saying this ,BUT;for that very reason i feel prostitution should be legal in the U.S. and taxable,(maybe).Good photos ,some hotties,some very uglies, but ;entertaining yes ,Japan does need to lighten up on the Japan only rule as ,to say who can go in or not,Korea ,Hong Kong, simply uses forms of bouncers ,But at least americans can get (how do you say) serviced as well.. Nuff said...........
Serious yet fun.......2007-09-16
The Pink Box is about Japan's fantasy and sex clubs. While full of interesting and, sometimes, shocking photos taken while in many of the clubs the book also explains how the clubs work. The rules they follow, the people who work there, the types of people who come to enjoy the clubs and why they survive in Japan in the first place. It is serious but with a touch of humor and great fun.
And some of the girls are just hot.
Insightful Photographs.......2007-08-05
There's something intensely interesting about the dichotomy between Japan's formal, public culture and the wide acceptance of the sex club culture. In some ways, it mirrors the religious face of American culture versus the gratuitous sex we accept in magazines, movies and TV. Still, Japanese culture and American culture are quite different and this book goes a long way towards making sense of the differences.
In fact, "interesting" is probably the best adjective to describe Ms. Sinclair's photographs. Despite their subject matter, they aren't particularly erotic. Instead, they are explanatory. They are posed. They are beautiful, yes, and they cover a wide cross-section of the sex trade but they capture people working. Because of that, they reflect a certain banality of working life that we don't normally associate with sex.
In addition, the brief bits of text that accompany the photos contribute to the air of explanation. And yet, finishing the book leaves a clearer and prettier picture of the sex club culture in Japan than something like Araki's Tokyo Lucky Hole. There's is much to be said for Araki's grittier and more ambiguous work but Sinclair's has its own pleasures. For someone looking to understand more of this part of Japanese culture, Sinclair's book should not be missed.
Welcome to the pink box.......2007-07-27
Joan Sinclair's photographic voyage through the adult clubs of Japan is anything but boring. Far from it, it shows the exotic and erotic side of what's presumably a very conservative culture. The most prominent places are in Shinjuku's Kabuki-chou, the red-light district in Tokyo that's also home to the yakuza, and in Osaka. The sad thing is that if one is a foreigner, chances are zilch that one can experience this fantasy world because they cater only to their own, and given how conservative the yakuza are... need I say more?
I just have to admit how imaginative my countrymen are in those businesses in the red-light district. Naturally, the Japanese high school girl in her uniform is a figure of fantasy regarding sex, so yes, there are high school girl cosplays. They have been targets of perverts on trains, such as groping or pinching, so yes, in image clubs, they have mock trains where one can do those things to the girls there. There are also OL (office lady) cosplays, where one can choose the colour of stockings and uniform worn by the lady they choose. The sign outside reads "OL--Sexual Harassment Office." Then there is the nurse costume, stewardesses, waitresses, I am reminded of one fast food burger chain whose motto was "make it your way." Some clubs, like the Reijo Club C'est Bien, have a menu--polaroids are a 1000 yen (about $10), pantyhose a 1000 yen, strap-ons are 2000 yen, and S&M goods 2000 yen, to give a few examples. And there's a multiple choice questionnaire where the customer circles what one wants the girl to do.
The owners of the establishment also take the time to protect their girls, as they have signs requesting customers not to force their girls, to refrain from rough touches or language. And the real thing is a no-no in those clubs. One might think the girls are being exploited, but as one girl says, "It would take a year to earn the money for my purse if I was working in an office."
Then there are clubs where there aren't any women. The doll club are for customers who are shy to be with real women so there are life-sized silicone dolls where customers can choose the face, hair length, costume, and the V-word. The fee is the same for spending time with a real woman.
The peeping rooms are clubs for anonymously spying on girls who never see the customers, the distance separated by one-way mirrors or lucky holes. For something bizarre, how about 2000 yen to play inside a tub of green gel? And in Club Mammoth, there are two very hefty girls, who are still cute, and are worth being sandwiched inbetween.
There's also a "pink dictionary" of terms in the back. Explicit, elegant, and cute, and in a pink plastic cover. Well worth reading for those interested in that side of Japan.
As much a voyeuristic look inside the pink box as a thorough guide to the menu and customs of the sex industry.......2007-06-27
Just after her 30th birthday, San Francisco attorney Joan Sinclair returned to Japan (she had been an English teacher there in her early twenties) to embark on an ambitious project of photographing the sex clubs in Tokyo's red light district. She remembered the cornucopia of sex options in Tokyo and had always wondered why it wasn't written about or photographed. She soon learned that the main obstacle was access to clubs. Sinclair couldn't pay her way in, so she cajoled and befriended the right players and now provides both American and Japan with a glossy look behind the closed doors of the sex industry.
The book is as much a voyeuristic look inside the pink box as it is a thorough guide to the menu and customs of the sex industry. Clubs offer services in fuzoku (commercial sex) ranging from hostess services in the geisha tradition, to image clubs ("play" rooms to fulfill fantasies with schoolgirls and police officers), to telephone clubs with internet stations and live chat, to a few full-on brothels. Clubs cater to males, females, and swinging couples. Many operate in legal limbo--sex for money is illegal, so customers pay for legal aspects and any intercourse is a private affair between consenting adults. Customers must obey the rules or face ejection and banishment, complete with posted Polaroids of offenders!
Looking thought the several hundred photos in this book (of workers, customers, menus, and settings), I was struck by how small the fantasy rooms and cubicles are. Sinclair writes that she often had to shoot with a unipod due to the space restrictions. I especially enjoyed the club menus and questionnaires translated in the book, indicating acts beyond my imagination which can be requested by the customer.
Book Description
Now in a revised and updated edition, this vivid exploration of biker culture reveals the truth behind Australia's infamous motorcycle clubs through in-depth interviews, personal stories, and meticulous research. Included are the rules and rituals involved in becoming a club member, landmark incidents in biker folklore, and profiles of famous biker personalities. Unconstrained by the regulations that rule ordinary citizens, the notorious Gypsy Jokers are followed on their controversial New Year run in Western Australia. Written by an expert on biker culture, this book reveals the true picture of brotherhood among the clubs.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty darn good.......2007-07-04
This book is one of the few that I have read that didn't have the sensationalistic jargon attached to it that so many other's of it's type often do. It was just a good, solid and informative read. Although I feel that the author defenitely has/had an agenda, it was, in my opinion still a well written tome. It was also refreshing to get the view from the other side. If you are interested in the outlaw motorcycle culture at all, I think it is a must read.
Fabulous.......2007-06-19
I found this book first-rate. It was exciting from cover to cover. Arthur Veno, takes you through the lives of Outlaw Bikers or bikies as he refers to them. Some of the customs he speaks about made my jaw drop. I was sorry to see the book end. If you love reading about the biker culture, this is the book for you.
The title of this book should be changed to The Brotherhoods: Inside Australian Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs.......2007-06-14
The book does provide some good information, slightly dated but informative none the less. However, the sole concentration of this writing is on the Australian 1% community. The title is slightly misleading.
Aussie Bikies.......2007-05-09
An interesting view into the world of the Aussie 1%ers. Veno writes a fairly objective view of the "Bikie" culture from an outsider's point of view. Some factual mistakes about some of the early clubs in the US, but a fairly entertaining read.
Biking Down Under.......2007-04-12
Fire up your hog and hit the open road in Australia. This book on biker gangs down under is a real eye-opener for those considering a bike trip in Australia.
Book Description
Laura Creavalle, author of The Lite Lifestyle and creator of "Muscle Fare" which appears monthly in Muscle & Fitness Magazine, creates an amazing array of low fat, no fat, low sugar and no sugar recipes ranging from soups to main dishes and all the way down to desserts, including her unreal fat free Cheesecake. At 192 calories a slice compared to 472 for regular cheesecake, Creavalle shines in revamping old time favorites for health conscious and athletic individuals. Each recipe provides the calorie, carbohydrate, protein and fat breakdown per serving size making nutrition tracking as easy as reading numbers for the calorie counting individual.
Customer Reviews:
Best nutritional guide for any athlete.......2006-03-17
My trainer turned me on to this cookbook and I am glade he did. He is a former Mr Maryland and he is VERY nutritional conscious. I highly recommend this book for any athlete, be he novice or be he pro .... this is the one to use.
Great Food! Very Good Book!!!.......2002-08-30
I am a female lightweight bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast. I really needed to learn more about low-fat/healthy cooking that my family would enjoy and eat. (I already know how to make the fattening stuff!) This book has wonderful recipes. The cheesecake is so good people don't believe it is low fat, the tuna dip is excellent for parties. I am really enjoying everything I have tried. I thought the use of fat-free products would be bland and not appealing at all, but I was very wrong. The recipes are very tasty. One drawback is that some of the recipes are confusing, ie. the cheesecake ingredient list calls for fat-free yogurt, then recipe states "to add lemon yogurt". So be sure to read the recipe entirely before shopping so you can be clear on what you really need to buy. Also, the nutritional information is not always accurate. (I plugged some of the recipes into a nutritional software program.) But it is a good book with great recipes nonetheless. I am buying it as gifts for all of my friends.
Finally!.......2002-06-26
I am a new fitness competitor, and I had a hard time adjusting to the "off season". I didnt know how to eat, and how to cook! This book has become my staple. I have made soooo many recipes in here and have yet to be disappointed. The fact that she breaks down the macronutrients is wonderful for those of us that need to watch them closely! I even think it would be great for someone who wants to learn about a healthy lifestyle.
The banana fudge cake is wonderful!!!!!
love it!.......2000-01-15
Variety of recipes, easy (fast) prep time, and nutrition breakdowns for the recipes are the highlights that make A Taste...a worthy purchase
D-e-l-i-g-h-t-f-u-l!.......1999-09-02
I finally picked up both of Laura's cook books and I was especially pleased with the variety in this one. The recipes are generally, full meal types- a combination of both carbs and proteins and, of cource, low in the fat department. So far, I have tried 6 different recipes and all have really impressed me. I also liked the fact that she lists the calorie information on each recipe. Thats helpful in planning my diet- and saves a lot of time looking up calorie counts in books.
Book Description
• Twenty-seven inspiring projects—packed with ideas
• Behind-the-scenes look at harmony and innovation in planning and design
Everyone who's ever experienced hip hospitality in Manhattan knows the work of Studio GAIA. From the cool noodle eatery Republic, to ultra-mod-'50s-diner Cafeteria, to sushi salon Bond St., and Harlem hot spot Jimmy's Uptown, Studio GAIA designs the places to see and be seen. Hotel • Restaurant • Bar • Club Design features twenty-seven projects from Manhattan and around the world with 280 full-color images plus renderings.
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- A Great Book!
- Some of the funniest and most x-rated roast moments
- everyone loves a secret
- great read!!
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The New York Friars Club Book of Roasts: The Wittiest, Most Hilarious, and Most Unprintable Moments from the Friars Club
Barry Dougherty
Manufacturer: M. Evans and Company, Inc.
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A Hundred Years, a Million Laughs: A Centennial Celebration of the Friars Club
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The Friars Club Encyclopaedia of Jokes: 2,000 One-Liners, Straight Lines, Stories, Gags, Roasts, Ribs and Put-Downs
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The Friar's Club Bible of Roasts, Toasts, Pokes and Jokes
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Roasts and Toasts Made Easy: A Practical Guide for the Creation of Roasts/Toasts for Business and Social Occasions
ASIN: 0871319608 |
Book Description
Ths is a hilarious compilation of tales, anecdotes, and historical information about the Friars Club, featuring funny and moving moments from hunderds of stars.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Book!.......2004-06-16
I came across this delightful tome in the B&N bargain bin a few weeks back and what a bargain it was!! Mr. Dougherty has managed to do something that no one else has done before him: capture the humor, drama, class and uniquenees of the legendary New York Friars Club.
Contained within its pages are hundreds of fascinating and obscure behind-the-scene tidbits about the Club itself (we get all of the history of how it came to be), and the great men and women who have been immortalized at Friars events over the years: Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Humphrey Bogart, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lewis, and Dianna Ross to name just a few!
I can only imagine what a treat it must have been for Mr. Dougherty (and his research team) to go back through the Friars voluminous archives, listening to all of the legendary roasts and dinners and flagging the most interesting and funny moments. Not to mention all of the amazing black & white photos that were taken through the years!!
In logging on to write this review today, I see that Mr. Dougherty has a new book about the Friars Club - a celebration of their 100th Anniversary! And in 1-2 shipping days I am confident that I will be in for another treat!!
Some of the funniest and most x-rated roast moments.......2002-04-04
The only reason why I almost didn't give this five stars is that this wonderful book actually isn't just a collection of the funniest roast moments from the New York Friars Club. It is partially a HISTORY of various roasts through the years. Well-written and well-organized, from the standpoint of LOTS of zingers the fun truly begins about 75 pages into the book. Before that there are wonderful accounts of the early roasts but not a lot of jokes.
Not all of these laugh-out-loud (I mean REALLY laugh out loud) lines in this book are x-rated, but quite a few of them are. Dougherty also offers memories from some of the celebrity participants, which put some of the ribbing and behind the scenes stories (and egos) in focus. It's a GREAT approach...and it does work.
But don't expect a mere collection of jokes listed by subject -- the emphasis here is on a given roast and the participants. In fact, in the index you will find names of performers, not subjects. Roast victims included such names as Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, Phillis Diller, John Travolta, Stephen Seagal, Drew Carey and many many more.
The three roasters who made me roar the most were comedians Milton Berle (he will be missed -- something about Berle was a running joke at the club for years), Red Buttons and Buddy Hacket.
I highlighted the jokes I liked as I read them so when I want a big (and guilty r-or-x-rated) laugh I can go back and re-read them. There were LOTS of markings in this book, and almost every line I marked is a winner. But be forewarned: this is not just a book of jokes and one-liners, but a fascinating history as well as a laugh-packed volume.
everyone loves a secret.......2001-01-03
If you happen to be one of the unfortunate souls who hasn't heard of the Friars Club, then buy this book and get with the program! This book is guaranteed to make you the most popular person at those boring cocktail parties, supplying you with some of the funniest, totally true moments in Friars Club Roast history. Now you can tell people what really happened at the Whoopie Goldberg Roast... or which woman snuck into the once all-male roasts dressed as a man... and who got mad at whom for saying what.Finally, some of show business' best kept secrets and juiciest behind-the-scenes tidbits are revealed in one of the funniest books on shelves today. Author Barry Dougherty somehow manages to turn a show business history lesson into a rip-roaring riot of a read in this easy-to-read-while-you're-waiting-for-your-laundry-to-dry book. The anecdotes are priceless and guaranteed to make you laugh for days later. And Dougherty has such a delightful writing style you'll find yourself passing this gem on to friends and foes alike. There are few secrets in show business... and now, there are even fewer!
great read!!.......2000-10-09
What a fun, funny book! Picked it up after seeing the author on TV--I think Entertainment Tonight. Not just for those interested in the history of The venerable NY Friars Club, but for anyone who gets a kick out of those ribald comics who inhabit it ...
The dinners and roasts over the decades haven't changed ALL that much except for the progressivly risque language and other verbal hi-jinx, according to the knowledgeable Dougherty(and pretty amusing guy too), but what he captures in the interviews he seems to have personally conducted with some recent attendees--from Jason Alexander to Red Buttons--is the 'spirit' of the Friars' fetes and the laugh-outloud insider-type anecdotes they provide.
I think anyone who likes comedy--from the Seinfeld era to Berle era, -- old & young --well not too young there's some blue material in the book!--will really like NY Friars Club Book of Roasts...
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- BEAUTIFUL NOSTALGIA
- Glamour Queen
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Boy George and Culture Club: Photographs by Didi Zill
Manufacturer: Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Don't Mind If I Do
ASIN: 3896024930 |
Customer Reviews:
BEAUTIFUL NOSTALGIA.......2007-07-17
This book is a must have for any Boy George, or Culture Club fans. The pictures are excellent, absolutely beautiful and superbe quality.The stories behind it are interesting too.Its like taking a trip back in time!!! A must have!!!!!!
Glamour Queen.......2006-08-04
Boy George has had his ups and downs, but this book certainly shows him on an up. Beautiful make-up, stunning outfits - he knows how to dress up. 1982 was an exciting time in the life of the band, and you can tell by the way they flaunt it.
The photographer Didi Zill got a lot of fascinating photo opportunities with the band, and he put them into a variety of funky settings.
I love looking through these photographs, and they remind me of a better time for Boy George.
Book Description
Outrageous parties. Brazen drug use. Fantastical costumes. Celebrities. Wannabes. Gender-bending club kids. Pulse-pounding beats. Sinful orgies. Botched police raids. Depraved criminals. Murder.
Welcome to the decadent nineties club scene.
In 1995, journalist Frank Owen began researching a story on Special K, a designer drug that fueled the after-midnight club scene. He went to buy and sample the drug at the internationally notorious Limelight, a crumbling church converted into a Manhattan disco, where mesmerizing music, ecstatic dancers, and uninhibited sideshows attracted long lines of hopeful onlookers. Owen discovered a world where reckless hedonism was elevated to an art form, and where the ever-accelerating party finally spun out of control in the hands of notorious club owner Peter Gatien and his minions. In Clubland, Owen reveals how a lethal drug ring operated in a lawless, black-lit realm of fantasy, and how, when the lights came up, their excesses left countless victims in their wake.
Praised for his risk-taking and exhilarating writing style, Frank Owen has spawned a hybrid of literary nonfiction and true crime, capturing the zeitgeist of a world that emerged in the spirit of “peace, love, unity and respect,” and ended in tragedy.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating.......2007-06-09
This book is a fascinating look at the underbelly of New York night life in the 1990s.
Good Reporting .......2006-06-01
There was a time, that I sat in my mid Atlantic hometown and read Interview, subscribed to the Village Voice, and partied at local night spots that couldn't hold a candle to the New York club scene when it came to sheer decadence but they tried-- oh, how they tried. This was long before the Clubkids though. In fact I seemed to have missed this phenomenon entirely-- never even saw them on television-- until I ran into the movie Party Monster via a radio interview on NPR with Seth Green who starred in the 2003 movie Party Monster based on the documentary, that was based on the events surrounding the death of low level drug dealer at the hands of a party promoter.
Owens has done a fine job as a reporter. As a true outsider though, I have to admit that I wasn't all that surprised at the drugged out antics of the club goers (for some reason urine is always used for shock value) which really weren't that different from the earlier period or probably even now. It was the violence of the family connected thugs that I found disturbing.
Owen did well not to concentrate on Alig's murder of Angel. The information about the Florida club scene was interesting. There were things Owen talked about that I would have liked him to have expanded on, such as his theory about the fascination that mobsters and entertainment stars have for one another.
There were also some potentially hilarious scenes in the book such as when one of the informants takes two burly male DEA agents -- one of them in a dress with a slit up the side.
On the down side, though, the book seemed to end rather abruptly with some rather lightweight, but mercifully brief sermonizing about how the dance clubs were built on cruelty.
Well worth the read.
Some of the best reporting available on the seedy side of 1990s nightlife.......2005-12-24
During the 1990s, Frank Owen made a name for himself as a chronicler of the darker side of Manhattan night life, focusing especially on the always outrageous, often seedy, and occasionally criminal exploits of a small cadre of club owners and party promoters. His articles in the Village Voice managed to combine both some truly commendable journalism with a disarmingly naive dismay at the excesses of the scene; many of us read his pieces at the time with both uneasy recognition and palpable shock.
"Clubland" is the summation of this reporting, focusing on a trio of truly larger-than-life characters: promoter Michael Alig, who spearheaded New York's "club kid" scene; club owner Peter Gatien, who owned the Tunnel, the Limelight, the Palladium, and Club USA; and Chris Paciello, who fled New York to preside over the burgeoning Miami nightlife. Owen broke many of the stories and scandals surrounding Alig and Gatien; his reporting on Paciello is largely after-the-fact for the Miami period, but it's still remarkable how much new material he reveals and assembles.
Owen's coverage was and is superb and, for the most part, even-handed; he treats with an equally skeptical eye the abuses and foibles both of "clubland's" then-presiding influences and of overzealous law enforcement authorities. He also writes well, providing page-turning accounts of the murders, assaults, blackmail, drugs, and even government malfeasance that plagued Gatien's clubs and employees. Impressively gaining the confidence of nearly every party involved with the crimes and misdemeanors he describes, Owen skillfully fills in many of the details that were missing from the newspaper coverage at the time. Overall, then, this is a fascinating and well-researched book.
Where Owen stumbles, however, is his occasional (but thankfully sparse) tendency to use the examples of a few bad eggs to paint a tawdry picture of all of New York's nightlife. [Full disclosure: I knew or know a number of the people mentioned in this book.] As a result of his experiences, Owen is "more likely to view discos as institutions constructed on cruelty," and there are a number of other similar sentiments that pepper the book. It should be unnecessary to point out that dozens of owners and managers, hundreds of DJs and promoters, and thousands of club employees and patrons have never seen the inside of a courtroom, much less a jail cell. It's sad to see Owen, who is an excellent reporter, succumb to this sort of moralizing overreach; it is as simplistic as viewing Jayson Blair and Judith Miller as emblematic of all journalists, or as holding up a few rogue cops as examples of an "institution constructed on cruelty."
Another recurrent theme of Owen's book is the "fall" of clubland. Of course, many New Yorkers older than either Owen or me argue that the night scene fell after Steve Rubell went to jail and Studio 54 closed its doors (or, for that matter, after the heyday of the Copacabana or the Cotton Club). And it can't be news to Owen that there are still thriving, crowded, exuberantly joyous dance clubs in New York that a younger crowd surely believes is the best thing that's happened to entertainment. Even now, if a journalist like Owen were to scratch the surface, he'd doubtlessly find a few Mob-controlled elements and the scourge of drug abuse--only now, crystal meth has replaced Special K as the problem "party favor," just as ecstasy had supplanted cocaine two decades ago.
In fact, the scene described by Owen had moved past Alig and Gatien long before the duo's downfall in the mid-1990s. Except to a relatively small number of devotees, Alig had become embarrassingly passe as quickly as any other trend in this city; he and his peers often had difficulty filling even the smaller clubs. Many of us fled Alig's "Disco 2000" parties years earlier, moving to clubs dominated by a different set who spent their days working out in the gym and their nights (and mornings) dancing in abandon. And now, in Astoria, there is a more art-conscious and ethnically mixed "club kid" scene, presided over by some fresh faces as well as a few surviving denizens of Gatien's clubs.
In spite of these quibbles, Owen has no peer as a chronicler of the primeval "club kid" scene; what his reporting lacks, then, is historical perspective. "Clubland" is, however, a book of journalism, not of history; as such, it succeeds admirably at describing a comparatively narrow but inordinately visible slice of 1990s nightlife.
The Dark Side of the NY City Club Scene.......2005-12-08
Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture, by Frank Owen
Being from Westchester NY and having been to all the clubs mentioned and knowing some of the people mentioned and at least knowing of most of them, the book sort of gives me the creeps. Reading about the craziness that went on behind the scenes puts the darkness of the NY nightlife in a different kind of light.
It is quite interesting to learn about Peter Gatien's twisted rise to NY City club mogul, especially being from a small Canadian mill town. The characters seem about right. For anyone that's been to the Limelight, Sound Factory or any other NY City underground type club during the time frame in the book can attest to the almost cartoon like figures lurking in the shadows and loosing it on the dance floors. The ambulances would line up out side the Sound Factory just before sunup and the doors would finally close around 2pm the next day.
I enjoyed the look into some of the players of the era and have to hand it to Frank Owen for the time and effort spent sniffing out the story, no pun intended.
By Kevin Kingston, author of: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate
My Blog: The Real Estate Investors Blog
At Bloglines
A Book You Truly Can't Put Down.......2005-04-25
The pace of this book was amazing. It's unfortunate that a poor movie like "Party Monster" prevented Clubland from being made into one. With the right director and cast, there is no doubt in my mind that this would have been huge. The cast of true characters in this book are people you find yourself rooting against. It reminds me of "Goodfellas" one of the best movies of all time.
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Akira Club
Katsuhiro Otomo
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
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Binding: Hardcover
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Akira, Vol. 2
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Akira, Vol. 5
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Appleseed: Hypernotes
ASIN: 1593077416 |
Book Description
Now available for the first time in an English-language edition, Akira Club is an essential companion to Akira, a dazzling collection of Otomo's mind-blowing visions, including over 100 title-page illustrations created for the original serialization but not included with the published collections of Akira. The book also features rarely seen alternate art, preliminary drawings, production sketches and a variety of Akira posters, advertisements and products, all accompanied by fascinating commentary by the artist himself. No Akira enthusiast, manga fan, or devotee of fantasy and science-fiction illustration should be without Akira Club.
Customer Reviews:
Quality publication.......2007-09-21
If you own a Laserdisc player and have been following the story since the early 80s, then there probably isn't a ton of content in here that you haven't seen before. But for new fans, or for old fans who have forgotten what an incredibly talented illustrator Mr. Otomo is after being sickened by the travesty of "Steamboy," there's a lot of good stuff to look at, and it's quite handsomely bound for the price. I would have preferred it if they had included more "outtakes" than they did, but it's still a decent retrospective worth picking up.
Average customer rating:
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Uniform System of Financial Reporting for Clubs
CMAA Staff
Manufacturer: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0787221473 |
Customer Reviews:
Heavy.......2006-11-21
I found the book heavy-going. Points are hammered home and I could not help wishing the book were much shorter. I do not think I as a reader would have lost much if there had been less detail.
Informative, but has some problems.......1998-05-30
A Feeling for Books is an interesting collection of thoughts on the history of the Book of the Month Club and on Radway's personal evolution as a reader and scholar. But... it needed editing. Must she document every circuitous and irrelevant observation that occurs to her? This is probably a fine practice in academic writing, but in the personal narrative portions of the book she was unfocused. The book suffers from a somewhat schizo-feeling due to Radway's dual purposes of historical account and personal observation, but she is well aware of this (the reader is warned at the outset). It is not that these two areas of focus don't complement each other in some ways and lead to a rather unorthodox narrative, but the format did lead me wonder if I should even apply questions of enjoyability to the book. Academic reading is not meant to be pleasurable (or so Radway says), and this book is certainly full of scholarly language, but Radway has such sympathy and fellow-feeling for the pleasure-reader that I think she was trying to elicit a pleasurable reading experience. How did the academic community receive this book? ...For me, the most interesting observations arose through the author's interactions with the BOMC editors circa late 1980s. Their enthusiastic readings and quirky classifications of books (self-referential, inwardly-focused fiction is deemed "autistic") are well worth reading about. One last observation: the book could have used appendices with complete lists of the BOMC main and alternate selections from founding to the present, and perhaps a list of all past judges/editors.
Brilliant and revealing, but neither tight no rigorous.......1998-03-15
An erudite yet bold and powerfully immediate report on the BOMC's origin and development over six decades, A Feeling for Books is also an intimate document, poignantly tracing the author's relationship to the Club from her adolescence to her maturity. Because Radway is a fine researcher, a skillful reader, and a seasoned introspective, each aspect of her project succeeds on its own terms. But juxtaposed or, more problematically, superimposed, the yields of her various ends, ideas, and methods are neither commensurable nor mutually supportive. Recurrent "lumping" and intermittent incoherencies threaten to defeat Radway's purposes, inviting at least partial scepticism about her hard-won evidence and beautifully teased-out arguments. The reader and the author would have been better served by a division of this work into two books, one a disciplined cultural inquiry into the essence of persistent, unresolved conflicts in the publishing industry, the other a memoir devoted to the discovery and synthesis of the author's own values in a world of flux.
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