Arts & Photography Books - Page 6

The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale

Art Spiegelman

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Historical -> Holocaust

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 188 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

At last! Here is the definitive edition of the book acclaimed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” (Wall Street Journal) and “the first masterpiece in comic book history” (The New Yorker). It now appears as it was originally envisioned by the author: The Complete Maus.

It is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story. Maus approaches the unspeakable through the diminutive. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), shocks us out of any lingering sense of familiarity and succeeds in “drawing us closer to the bleak heart of the Holocaust” (The New York Times).

Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us.

Head First Java, 2nd Edition

Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Java -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Software Design, Testing & Engineering -> Object-Oriented Design

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 208 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It has taken four years, but with Head First Java the introductory Java book category has finally come of age. This is an excellent book, far more capable than any of the scores of Java-for-novices books that have come before it. Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates deserve rich kudos--and big sales--for developing this book's new way of teaching the Java programming language, because any reader with even a little bit of discipline will come away with true understanding of how the language works. Perhaps best of all, this is no protracted "Hello, World" introductory guide. Readers get substantial exposure to object-oriented design and implementation, serialization, neatwork programming, threads, and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).

Key to the authors' teaching style are carefully designed graphics. Rather than explain class inheritance (to cite one example) primarily with text, the authors use a series of tree diagrams that clarify the mechanism far more succinctly. The diagrams are carefully annotated with arrows and notes. Also characteristic of the unique teaching strategy is heavy reliance on exercises, in which the reader is asked to complete partial classes, write whole new code segments and do design work. Though there's little discussion of why the exercises' correct answers are what they are, it's clear that the practice work was carefully designed to reinforce the lesson at hand. If you've waited this long to give Java a try, this book is a great choice. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Java programming language for people with no Java experience, and even people with no programming experience at all. Key concepts read like a list of Java features: Object oriented design, variable type and scope, object properties and methods, inheritance and polymorphism, exceptions, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), network connectivity, Java archives (JAR files), and Remote Method Invocation (RMI).

Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series

John Berger

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Criticism
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Other Media -> Conceptual

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Dreck 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 64 people found this review helpful.

Dreck, dreck, dreck, dreck,dreck, dreck, dreck, dreck, dreck, dreck,more dreck, more dreck, more dreck, more dreck, more dreck, more dreck, more dreck, and more dreck, and more dreck, and more dreck . . . you get the idea?

Good to See Some Honest Debate Here 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

"Ways of Seeing " has become so universally available, so overused (especially in academia), and so often quoted, that it's refreshing to read the reviews of so many intelligent naysayers here. "Ways of Seeing" is perhaps mistitled in that it really proposes only one way of seeing works of art, which is as artifacts in the history of capitalism. It is propaganda, and like most propaganda, it heavily skews the evidence in favor of it's main argument, which is basically that European art from Raphael to Picasso is just a tool for enslaving women, non-Europeans and the working classes. (Warning: Berger is a real kill-joy. If you read this book and imbibe it's themes, be prepared to never innocently enjoy your favorite old masters again!) However, I would advise anyone with a serious interest in art criticism and theory to get a copy, fill the margins with notes, consult the original sources, and decide for herself/himself how well it stands up. To give just one instance of how sloppy Berger can be, I would invite the reader to consider whether he bothered to learn anything about the art of perspective drawing before indicting it as ideologically tainted, and then trashing it, all in two short paragraphs.

Black and White Photography, Third Revised Edition

Henry Horenstein

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent resource 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

A Basic Manual, 3rd Edit Revised is an excellent resource for the new (film) photographer. I'd also argue its not a half-bad general resource for the more experienced photographer. I used his previous version in an introductory course in black and white photography that I taught for a number of years. Of late I have been using Mastering Black and White Photography by Bernhard Suess but will now switch back to this text. Student response to both texts has been overwhelmingly positive however I feel Horenstein's writing style is easier for them to follow. The sequence, illustrations and figures of the Horenstein book seem both logical as well as well done. Particularly useful are the illustrations of common negative faults, something I had missed after moving to the Suess text. Highly recommended but please note that this is a book heavily weighted to using film cameras as well as processes and procedures in the darkroom. There are other works more suited for digital photography and for those who are looking for a reference on the "art" of photography.

Editorial Review:

One of the most popular and useful instruction manuals of its kindwhich has set the standard for nearly thirty yearsis now completely revised and updated, encompassing the latest photographic techniques, materials, and processes. Black and White Photography has sold more than 500,000 copies in its first two editions. The second edition (1982), currently in its twenty-fourth printing, still enjoys net sales of 25,000 to 30,000 copies a year. A popular, hands-on size, Black and White Photography is a bargain photographic how-to book. Past and present users of Horensteins books include the Parsons School of Design, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT, in addition to continuing education classes and photography buffs who have discovered them through favorable word of mouth.

The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography (Amphoto Guide Series)

Jim Miotke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 74 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Haven't put it down yet! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Just got this book this afternoon and have already read most of it and skimmed through all of it. It is very informative and well written. TONS of pictures showing examples of different techniques used. Overall a great basic book you can always refer to when you need some extra help. I like that it doesn't go too much into Photoshop. I try to take good photos that don't need to be manipulated later and I have no idea how to use my Photoshop anyway...so this is a great book for me! It will explain all you need to know to start taking some great pictures that are more than just snapshots for the photo album.

The better photo guide to digital photography 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is for the serious photographer using the digital equipment. I was interested in learning to take better photographs, and this book made me want to go out there and do the lessons included in there.

Great Introductory Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book, well documented an illustrated. I recommend this book for beginners and intermediate digital photogs.

Great photography book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This Photo book is great for advance reader it gives us many up to date features(Tips) for shooting under various conditions, digital photography has arrived and you can learn on the spot, instead of waiting after your develops return........Thanks......NA

Art History, Volume 2 (3rd Edition)

Marilyn Stokstad

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In tune with today's readers–rich but never effete–this is the art history book of choice for a new generation. Presenting a broad view of art from the early Renaissance in Europe through the Avant Garde since 1945, it sympathetically and positively introduces the works of all artists. This includes women, artists of color, and the arts of other continents and regions, as well as those of Western Europe and the United States. The new edition contains even more full-color reproductions, larger images, redrawn maps and timelines, and new photographs and higher quality images. Balancing both the traditions of art history and new trends of the present, Art History is the most comprehensive, accessible, and magnificently illustrated work of its kind. Broad in scope and depth, this beautifully illustrated work features art from the following time periods and places: Renaissance art; Baroque art; art of the Pacific cultures; the rise of modern art; and the international Avant-Garde since 1945. An excellent reference work and beautiful edition for any visual artist.

Julius Caesar (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> British -> Shakespeare

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Power Of Language 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Julius Caesar is murdered very shortly into this play so while he bears the title the play is about the conspirators and the supporters of caesar and the struggle for power that comes after his asassination. The power of language to persude the masses and the fickle nature of crowds are only a few of the themes that Shakespeare explores.

Shakespeare explores the nature of tyranny, politics and absolute power in ways that must have been remarkably risky and controversial in his day.

Someone below noted that we have come to believe that the events as Shakespeare crafted them in his play are how this really happened. "Et Tu Brutus", etc. This is one of the better known and more widely read of Shakespeare's works and is the way many middle school kids are introduced to Shakespeare (maybe rivaled by Romeo and Juliet).

That said it is a fine drama and after multiple readings will still yield something new to think about or some new phrase that will stick in the readers mind.

When Brutus and Antony each deliver their respective addresses to the crowd following Caesar's death Shakespeare demonstrates a universal truth that people can be persuaded by words and the body politic is susceptable to a good propogandist. As true today as it was then.

Editorial Review:

Folger Shakespeare Library

The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies

Each edition includes:

• Freshly edited text based on the best earlyprinted version of the play

• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

• Scene-by-scene plot summaries

• A key to famous lines and phrases

• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Essay by Coppélia Kahn

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.

Custom Knits: Unleash Your Inner Designer with Top-Down and Improvisational Techniques

Wendy Bernard

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Fashion
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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Knitting

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Along with being pleasurable and satisfying, knitting can sometimes be frustrating: the turtleneck that looked so fabulous on the model is too bulky for your body, or the cardigan you spent countless hours on just doesn’t fit right. Herein lies the beauty of Custom Knits, which teaches knitters how to use improvisational techniques to achieve spectacular results—and to unleash their inner designers.

Wendy Bernard, creator of the popular blog Knit and Tonic, provides 25 original designs for sweaters of nearly every type, plus variations, most knitted in one piece starting at the top, a method that allows you to try on as you go, alter as desired, and essentially design on the fly. “Make It Your Own” prompts in each pattern suggest easy alterations to suit your style and body type. And an in-depth reference section teaches how to alter key sweater elements, for example, change a crewneck to a V-neck, add sleeves to a vest, and much more. For the truly adventurous, the book concludes with guidelines for knitting sweaters with no pattern at all.

Bernard’s friendly writing style and photographer Kimball Hall’s lively images create an inviting book of beautiful designs and key techniques that a knitter can use to customize nearly every garment she knits from now on.

Photoshop Elements 6 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Barbara Obermeier, Ted Padova

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Want to get more fun from your photos?   To edit and enhance your pictures, fix flaws, and create greeting cards or cool photo projects to share? What about turning out some really professional prints with simply stunning color? Photoshop Elements can handle it, and Photoshop Elements 6 For Dummies gets you up and running on Elements in a hurry.

Photoshop Elements 6 is a reasonably priced, full-featured, powerful image-editing program for Windows (Adobe stopped supporting Elements for Mac with version 4.) This colorful guide helps you make the most of all its coolest features. You'll quickly get familiar with the work area and all the tools; be able to find, organize, and manage your images; correct common mistakes; and explore fun ways to share your photos. You’ll discover how to:

• Acquire images from your camera or scanner
• Organize your files and photos you so can quickly find what you’re looking for
• Crop and straighten pictures, fix exposure, and clean up dust and scratches
• Create sharp and colorful images for printing
• Correct color, contrast, and clarity
• Combine multiple images into creative collages
• Use filters to create different effects
• Turn your photos into slide shows, movie files, or Web-hosted images

Elements has something for everyone, from beginning dabblers to serious photo hobbyists to professionals. With plenty of full-color illustrations that show what you can achieve, this friendly guide will help you use Elements to make the most of your digital photos.

The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star

Nikki Sixx

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> Musical Genres -> Rock

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Total reviews: 257 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In one of the most unique memoirs of addiction ever published, Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx shares mesmerizing diary entries from the year he spiraled out of control in a haze of heroin and cocaine, presented alongside riveting commentary from people who were there at the time, and from Nikki himself.

When Mötley Crüe was at the height of its fame, there wasn't any drug Nikki Sixx wouldn't do. He spent days -- sometimes alone, sometimes with other addicts, friends, and lovers -- in a coke and heroin-fueled daze. The highs were high, and Nikki's journal entries reveal some euphoria and joy. But the lows were lower, often ending with Nikki in his closet, surrounded by drug paraphernalia and wrapped in paranoid delusions.

Here, Nikki shares those diary entries -- some poetic, some scatterbrained, some bizarre -- and reflects on that time. Joining him are Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Slash, Rick Nielsen, Bob Rock, and a host of ex-managers, ex-lovers, and more.

Brutally honest, utterly riveting, and shockingly moving, The Heroin Diaries follows Nikki during the year he plunged to rock bottom -- and his courageous decision to pick himself up and start living again.