Average customer rating:
- Full of humanity and insight
- Riveting account of people, places, events and history
- Amos Elon KNOWS
- Stunning insight into a complex conflict
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A Blood-Dimmed Tide
Amos Elon
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0231107439 |
Book Description
A powerful and evocative collection of essays, A Blood Dimmed Tide gathers nearly thirty years of Amos Elon's work on the Middle East. Skillfully moving from the Intifada to the Gulf War and its aftermath to the Peace Now! movement, these essays provide a nuanced account of relations between Jews and Arabs and among the Israelis themselves. Elon has also written a timely introduction that provides an overview of his work and brings it up to the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister of Israel.
This internationally-known journalist presents sharply observed portraits of the region's key figures: Shimon Peres, Yitzak Rabin, and King Hussein; he interviews Yasir Arafat; and he considers Moshe Dayan's life and legacy. Elon also ranges far to sketch the political climate of the region and its players, from Israeli settlers in Hebron and their uneasy coexistence with Arab neighbors to the foreign policy of Egypt.
Sensitive and powerful, A Blood-Dimmed Tide provides a timely analysis of the conflicts between Jews and Arabs. From the Palestinians' refusal to accept Israel's 1978 offer of "full autonomy" to the Israeli government's insistence that settling the occupied territories would bring security, Elon traces what he considers to be the deadly miscalculations of both groups. As he examines the events and misunderstandings that have made it so difficult for Palestinians and Israelis to establish peace, Elon concludes taht what will finally bring the two sides together will not be moral imperative or personal courage but exhaustion. A Blood-Dimmed Tide is a significant contribution to our understanding of this troubled land.
Customer Reviews:
Full of humanity and insight.......2006-08-11
I don't think this book is only for the "non-radical left-wing Israeli ideologist" as another review put it (perhaps just a throwaway line). For anyone wanting a deeper insight into the mess that Israel-Palestine has become, this book shows just how many opportunities for peace have been missed on all sides.
Written with balance, insight, and humour, it's remarkably entertaining considering the subject. The "Letter from Alexandria" is great, especially the mention of its denizen "Captain Jorge y Nelken-Waldberg ... a Romanian with a Swedish-Spanish name, United States citizenship, and a commission in the Argentine army, who edited the local French newspaper. He was born Jewish, but was a dignitary of the Alexandria Greek Orthodox Church". Certainly was a cosmopolitan place.
But my favourite section is the the inside story on how a "couple of nuts" engineered the 1993 Oslo accord.
A wonderful collection of essays written with wit and humanity, by one who was very much there.
Riveting account of people, places, events and history.......2002-08-30
Elon is gifted writer with an even-handed perspective. His analysis of history, and the people who make it, is rich and personalized. Littered throughout his reports are nuggets of little known facts which greatly enhance the reading experience. His detail of observation and grip on the facts make you trust him. Its a reflection of the author's long association + first-hand experience with the issues, and wisdom. The book variously reads like a report, biography, travelogue, and history. The one I enjoyed most was the piece on Alexandria - made wish I could see the place.
You know how it is when you read editorials of respected newspapers/magazines - hoping to get a wise and real perspective on issues - this book is a bit like that.
Amos Elon KNOWS.......2002-04-15
A blood-dimmed time is a fine and worthwhile book. Amos Elon is an intellectual in the midst of the war zone. Though his book ends before this current war, he is always lucid, always eloquent and full of insights from Jerusalem.
Stunning insight into a complex conflict.......2001-11-08
The introduction alone provides a good starting point for anyone who wants to gain insight into the hundred year old Arab Israeli conflict. Amongst other things, Elon describes the experience of reserve duty in the six-day war, Israels political paralysis in dealing with the West Bank, Gaza and the Palestinians, and economic crisis under the Begin government. The most astounding essays in the book include those on trips to Egypt and Jordan on the verge of the 1978 and 1994 peace treaties. He describes how ordinary Egyptians welcomed him in an extraordinary Cairo bus scene, with cries of "Israel good" and "Peace Good". Later chapters deal with Israels coalition governments, which themselves were a major obstacle to reaching peace, most notably with Yitzhak Shamir's veto of Peres' "Jordanian Option". This book is very "left", but doesnt stink of agenda the way the work of the "New Historians" does. Every non-radical left-wing Israeli ideologist should read it.
Amazon.com
Rennie Airth's first John Madden historical thriller, River of Darkness, found a place on more than a few "best of the year" lists in 1999--with good reason. Set in post-World War I England, it was serial-killer fiction of an unusually exalted order, with Madden, then a taciturn and wearily pragmatic veteran-turned-Scotland Yard inspector, investigating the eerie slaughter of a well-respected family in Surrey.
Fortunately, Airth's first sequel was worth the six-year wait. The Blood-Dimmed Tide (which takes its title from a W.B. Yeats poem) finds Madden now retired and living peacefully on a farm in Surrey with his doctor wife, the former Helen Blackwell, and their two children, 10-year-old Rob and 6-year-old Lucy. The year is 1932, and the precipitous rise of the Nazis in Germany leaves many of their fellow countrymen, as well as no few Brits, worried for the future peace and stability of the European continent. More immediately concerning for Madden, however, is his discovery of the corpse of pubescent Alice Bridger--raped, disfigured, and secreted near a tramps' backwoods campsite. Suspicion falls quickly on a vagrant known as Beezy, who was supposedly visiting the area, but Madden--with his remarkable insight into crime ("Madden's always had a way of seeing things clearly, of seeing through them, or rather beyond them," relates a former police colleague)--thinks this is more than an isolated homicide. Sure enough, a records check turns up similar slayings elsewhere in England, dating back to 1929, as well as an active investigation by German law enforcement into half a dozen dead girls in Bavaria and Prussia. What accounts for both the wide range of these mutilations, and the lengthy lag time between them? Could the police be looking for a psychopathic traveler, or worse, a rogue spy who's managed to maintain a respectable front at his international postings, while satisfying his malevolent appetites in his spare hours? And what is the "devil's mark" that this killer reportedly bears?
Airth is a fastidious plotter, expert in trickling out twists that heighten story tension but don't leave readers awash in red herrings. Although Madden's role here is somewhat less than it was in River of Darkness--a consequence of his strong-willed wife trying to protect him from further hurt, after the horrendous events of that previous tale--the author compensates by giving us a supporting cast of amply dimensioned Yard types, led by Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair, a perceptive Scot whose doggedness pairs well with Madden's gift for inspiration. While Airth fails, oddly, to exploit a couple of opportunities for interesting plot turns at book's end, his psychological portrait of the murderer imbues Tide with a fine pathos, and the backdrop of Nazi power-grabbing sets the stage for what is supposed to be a third and final Madden yarn. Let's hope that novel appears in more expeditious fashion. --J. Kingston Pierce
Book Description
ith the publication of the New York Times Notable Book River of Darkness, Rennie Airth established himself as a master of suspense. The Blood- Dimmed Tide, set in 1932, marks the return of the beloved Inspector John Madden, whose discovery of a young girl's mutilated corpse near his home in rural England brings him out of retirement despite his wife's misgivings. Soon he finds himself chasing a killer whose horrific crime could have implications far afield in a Europe threatened by the rise of Hitler. A riveting, atmospheric, multilayered mystery, this intense and intelligent tale more than delivers on the promise of Rennie Airth's first thriller. BACKCOVER: “Unnerving... from [a] richly textured background, Airth draws a vivid cast of full-bodied characters and a plot that satisfies.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Airth's first mystery, River of Darkness, was impressive enough to earn him several award nominations and much critical applause. [The Blood-Dimmed Tide] deserves the same treatment.”
—Chicago Tribune
The eagerly anticipated sequel to Rennie Airth's widely acclaimed River of Darkness “rises above the pack”
—The Dallas Morning News
Customer Reviews:
More than blood.......2007-05-12
Airth's second mystery builds inexorably to a chilling climax; along the way he takes on the privilege of government to protect their own and the intricacies of seeking justice while avoiding the displeasure of superiors. Nearly as good as the first, Airth does not seem interested in rushing a book to market each year and dumbing down the genre. It is worth the wait.
Good Story, Drab Execution.......2006-08-22
Airth's River of Darkness introduced John Madden, a psychological casualty of World War I turned police inspector. River of Darkness was set in the early `20s and was a reasonably effective evocation of the echoes in the British countryside of the slaughter of the Great War.
The Blood-Dimmed Tide revisits Madden a decade later. He's retired from police work and become a middling farmer. The case of interest turns on the search for a terrifying killer of young girls. The plot is interesting, but the execution is disappointing. Airth tries too hard to put Madden in the middle of things, endowing him with preternatural instincts that just don't sell. The dialogue is frequently as trite as a Berlitz training record.
The setting could be the saving grace of the work, but it doesn't come to life. Madden's investigations take place within weeks of Hitler's rise to chancellor. Subsidiary and rather unimaginative characters fret about what is going to become of Germany, and every reader knows the answer. The Depression, too, figures in a turn or two of the plot. But, on the whole, Airth does not convey the texture of the times, of the impact of changing technology, of the erosion of British ascendancy, of the place of talking motion pictures and recordings, of the era of radio, not even of the residing nausea with war that became Appeasement. Airth's 1930s Britain is timeless, drab and routine.
Disappointing, long-awaited sequel.......2006-06-16
As a huge fan of Airth's first novel, A River of Darkness, I was severely disappointed with this second John Madden mystery. The author hampers Madden's involvement by having him retire from Scotland Yard to manage a farm in Surrey with his family. His contribution to this mystery, which involves a brutal child killer, is thus marginal at best. He finds one of the first bodies and deals with the killer at the end, but other detectives, associated with Madden in the previous book, do most of the sleuthing. Airth creates a really nasty killer in this outing, and the unveiling of his true identity is a treat. Nevertheless, I wanted more John Madden, and any reader of this book would have to agree that his presence was surely lacking.
"A world of savagery and barbarism.".......2006-06-09
Many authors take great pains to ensure that their protagonists remain unhappy and unattached, and "The Blood-Dimmed Tide" is a prime example of how marriage is sometimes the death knell of a promising series. In Rennie Airth's previous mystery, "River of Darkness," Inspector John Madden of Scotland Yard is a brooding man whose angst stems from the loss of his wife and daughter and his traumatic experiences as a soldier in the trenches during World War I. Much to Madden's surprise, he meets the love of his life, a widowed doctor named Helen Blackwell, during an investigation. In "The Blood-Dimmed Tide," a decade or so has passed, and Madden has retired from the Yard to live the life of a gentleman farmer with his wife, Helen, and their two children.
Madden's peace of mind is shattered when he discovers the battered body of a twelve-year-old girl named Alice Bridger. An unknown assailant abducted, assaulted, and severely beat the child. Although John is a civilian with no official standing as a detective, he winds up playing a key role in the investigation. Airth reintroduces a number of people from the first book, including Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair, Assistant Commissioner Sir Wilfred Bennett, Austrian psychoanalyst Franz Weiss, and Detective Sergeant Billy Styles, who used to work under Madden.
The story in "The Blood-Dimmed Tide" bears a remarkable resemblance to the one in "River of Darkness." In both cases, a deranged serial killer is at work. However, in the first book, the perpetrator specializes in home invasions and kills entire families. This time around he kidnaps and bludgeons young girls and then disappears. In both novels, Airth provides the reader with the killer's identity. This worked better in "River of Darkness" than it does in "The Blood-Dimmed Tide." Here, knowing who the killer is too soon leaves the reader with few surprises to sustain his interest.
Once again, Airth exploits the historical climate of the period to give his novel depth. In this case, the backdrop is Europe between the wars. Dr. Franz Weiss is being forced to relocate with his family to England because of the rise of Nazism and its accompanying anti-Semitism. There are political issues relating to the governments of Germany and England that have a bearing on the case, and, as in "River of Darkness," Weiss profiles the killer, using his knowledge of psychiatry.
"The Blood-Dimmed Tide" is competently and smoothly written, and Airth brings rural England to life with his vivid descriptive writing. However, the Maddens have become a staid married couple and the plot is a bit too predictable. If Airth is going to continue this series, he would do well to breathe life into it by coming up with some original ideas and intriguing new characters.
Best of the Best.......2006-05-04
I love to read Mysteries and am from a mystery reading family. This book "The Blood-Dimmed Tide" is one of a trilogy whose author and title I have passed on to my family and they to theirs. I have two problems with Rennie Airth; First he writes this series too slowly; Secondly it is one of only three novels. I own several signed copies of his first and second books and knowing that the last of the trilogy probably will not be out for several years is vexing to us all. Not enough stars have been given to this book. The era is just after World War I, dark murder abounds and psychological angst runs throughout this book. If you have an addiction to history, enjoy a plot that both makes you want to finish because it is impelling and yet put it down because you don't want it to end, then this book, this series, is for you. By the way, if you just like a suspenseful read, this is it! I will add that the end of both books in this series of three make you jump out of your skin, just as the shower scene did in the movie "Psyco", and this is a book, a visual of the mind, not of sight.
Customer Reviews:
Could easily get 5 stars .......2007-05-05
This oral history is a very readable look at the Battle of the Bulge and could get 5 stars in many respects. The first hand accounts are excellent and these vets who discuss their wartime experience is captured in an engrossing account by Astor, who, after a somewhat slow 50 to 70 pages at the very beginning weaves a quite interesting look at the fighting, sometimes focusing his interest in "Operation Grief", the failed campaign engineered by Skorzeny (who did not participate) to confuse the Allies by English speaking Germans dressed as U.S. soldiers to other campaigns, like "Operation Auf", the botched German parachute drop behind the lines.
Also, towards the very end of the book, the author takes a detailed look at Jochim Peiper, who, unlike Skorzeny, did participate. A captured Major was interviewed by Astor, this same Major was a POW who discussed the war with Peiper on a few occasions.
Boring this book is not, as some have reviewers have called it, and at over 500 pages it contains a wealth of information from veterans who fought in this battle. I was shocked at their reports of inexperienced German troops marching into murderous crossfire and dying in heaps. However, in the intial days of this counter offensive, thru sheer numbers the Germans managed to overtake those units most exposed, capturing tens of thousands, while small groups, some often just joining whomever they ran into, often were quickly reorganized and thrown back into battle. The confusion and disorder is well researched and the author gives a detailed look at numerous soldiers, who's paths are followed throughout the entire book.
Astor's story gets better as the book progresses and never loses momentum and is a good look at the Bulge from the men who fought it, including brief contributions from a few Wehrmacht vets for added perspective
So so.......2006-08-25
Yes, this is a collection of stories, some of which are interesting and nice to read. Annoying, however, are the many mistakes which make one doubt Mr. Astor knows what he's talking about (Waffen SS infantry wear black? Panzer IV Panther?). Some select individual get to tell us about their life before the war, who they married, what their father did, etc etc, rarely anything interesting to know. One wonders why this privilege is granted to some and not all, although I would personally preferred none of this.
Great first hand experience put into historical perspective.......2005-10-17
I loved reading this book! Even though the reader can never have the sense, smell or hands-on experience of warfare during W.W. II....this book does a fantastic job of putting the reader directly into the thrilling, heart-pounding action from someone who has lived it. I would highly recommend it to anyone that seeks what the men were thinking, feeling and experiencing during this dramatic time in history.
No maps, but lots of oral history.......2004-10-07
How can you write a book about the Battle of the Bulge and have no maps. I knew when he said oral history there would be no detailed analysis of the battle.
Blood Dimmed Tide.......2004-04-13
Extremely readable! This is one of the best first hand accounts of World War II that I have read. Mr. Astor follows the stories of both American and German soldiers, officers and enlisted alike. One can really get a sense of what it must have been like to try to dig a trench in frozen ground and then of the sudden terror of a night attack. The reader can also get a sense of the complacency that had crept into the American army at the point in the war even after the terrible battle of the Huertgen Forest. But what really makes the stories interesting are the accounts of captivity in the German Stalags and the impressions of the Americans as they move behind German lines in the closing days of the war. This is not a "big picture" book, readers looking for strategical analysis should look elsewhere. There is also a lack of good maps, to get a sense of where you are reading about it. But overall a great read.
Customer Reviews:
Tripe!.......2003-11-22
A cheeseball, badly written, absurdist play in twinkery, this supplement is an insult to gaming in general. Avoid at all costs.
Run "Deep Rising" in the World of Darkness.......2001-08-21
When I first saw this book on the shelf of my usual retailer (at that time), I wondered what it could be. I wasn't sure to buy it, but I took a chance, and did so. From the beginning on, it felt really interesting. Who hasn't ever heard stories of ghost-ships? Then, as a Werewolf storyteller, I wondered about the Rokea (at that time their book wasn't out yet). The book grew more and more interesting, and even when I'd never before run chronicles "on the sea", I did so from then on. The book also features the incredible Gangrel Aquarii or Mariners, which are a really interesting bloodline of the Gangrel clan. So, if you liked "Deep Rising", "Jaws", "Moby Dick", and others... you'll probably like to tell your own stories on the furious seas of the World of Darkness.
GREAT BUY!!!.......1999-07-26
It's a great book for all those changelings out there. It contains that secrets of the two NEW aquatic Merfolk, yes Merfolk Kiths. From the dark and sinister Thallain, Merrow to the glorious (and a bit conceited) Merfolk. 3 New Arts, 5 introductory treasures, and a bunch on the new brithrights and abilities. Although, the rules are a bit scratchy, but great buy.
And for all those other living in the WoD new information on how wraiths survive in the oceans and the great wars and relic ships and arts of the sea. Aquatic Gangrel and Lasombra. The dark secrets of the Technocracy and Pentex in the deep sea. And the evil activites of the Wyrm and the "Kraken" under the sea, plus information on the children of Kraken, those infected with a powerful virus. The whole book adds new depth and dimension to the WoD.
A fine addition to any WOD library........1999-04-16
This book can add an oft-overlooked dimension to any world of darkess game or chronicle, with in-depth descriptions of everything necessary for running what I consider to be one of the most terrifying types of game.
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The many admirers of Airth's impressive debut, River of Darkness (1999), which was an Edgar finalist, will relish his gripping second police procedural, set in 1932. The brilliant Scotland Yard inspector John Madden has retired to the countryside and built himself a new life and a new family, but his tranquil, pedestrian existence is shattered when he stumbles on the battered corpse of a young girl. Despite himself and the importunings of his wife, Helen, Madden is drawn into the police inquiry and quickly challenges the official theory that a passing vagrant is responsible. Evidence soon surfaces that the killing is one of a series that spans several countries, and the trail gets murkier when a major suspect proves to be linked to international espionage. The political ramifications of the murders, which may complicate British-German relations on the eve of the Nazis' rise to power, only add to the challenges the police face in preventing another death. While the plot structure may be a little too similar to its predecessor for some, Airth's full-blooded characters and convincing evocation of rural 1930s England will have most eager for a shorter wait for his next book.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Average customer rating:
- The Blood Dimmed Tide
- The Blood Dimmed Tide
- Captivating leisure time
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The Blood-Dimmed Tide
George Marshall
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
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Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
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General
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ASIN: 1587213036 |
Customer Reviews:
The Blood Dimmed Tide.......2000-06-07
I loved it! A nautical thriller with colrful characters who really come alive! A wonderfully told story.
The Blood Dimmed Tide.......2000-06-06
I was hooked from the first page! A nautical thriller in the classic tradition. The characters are easy to relate to and really came alive for me.
Captivating leisure time.......2000-05-18
The book as a nice smooth/easy flow to it. Characters are alive and creative.
Average customer rating:
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Babylon 5: Blood Dimmed Tide
Bryan Steele
Manufacturer: Mongoose Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Babylon 5
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
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ASIN: 1905471513 |
Book Description
A brand new scenario and story arc for the Babylon 5 roleplaying game second edition, The Veil of Night takes players through the complexities of League politics in a desperate race to stop a war. They will face challenges from the pugnacious Drazi and the enigmatic Vree, as the League of Non-Aligned Worlds races to uncover the technological secrets of an ancient race...
Average customer rating:
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BLOOD DIMMED TIDE
Amos Elon
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPJMGO |
Average customer rating:
- the grandmother speaks, herself a photographer
- Great coffee table book
- Great Romances? More like, Great Disappointments
- Lovers
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Lovers: Great Romances of Our Time Through the Eyes of Legendary Writers
Aaron Kenedi
Manufacturer: Bulfinch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books | Child Abuse | Divorce | Dysfunctional Relationships | Fatherhood | General | Grandparenting | Motherhood | Parent & Adult Child | Siblings | Stepparenting & Blended Families | Twins & Multiples
ASIN: 0821226126 |
Book Description
Each of the fifty profiles is an intimate pairing: Lauren Bacall on her relationship with Humphrey Bogart; Katharine Hepburn on her stormy life with Spencer Tracy. Lovers also includes contributions from George Burns, Dylan Thomas, and Jimmy Carter. Every written piece is accompanied by a lush full-bleed portrait of the couple. Lovers is a book about the fire of true love, the undeniable longing that makes two people the desire of each others life.
Customer Reviews:
the grandmother speaks, herself a photographer.......2006-07-09
I think that for every moment that people love one another, we are ahead. I find this book beautiful, for it captures couples who were in that moment, deeply attached to each other. The book is called Lovers, not Marriage. And the moments caught in this book are priceless. There are a thousand ways to photograph a single individual, and these photos are in rich black and white with dark darks and light lights and strong midtones.
I was taken by not just the faces, but the textures: the look of happiness in two men's eyes who are dressed in their rough tweed winter coats; the sophisticated poets standing ironically in a disheveled farmyard, just the curve of her breasts alone so alive; a close-up of a woman of legendary beauty with perfect skin and her lover's face close by with its deeply ravaged and pitted skin; and one of the most haunting photographs ever of a man and woman in an all white room with nothing in it but a white bed, and her long black rough and wavy hair flowing over the side of the bed to the floor, and her lover lying atop her like a child at fullest peace...this picture is grainy and atmospheric and perfect also.
I tend to look at photographs not just for the subjects, not just for the postures and gestures, not even just for the technical skill of the printing, but also for what emanates/ed in that moment the camera eye snapped closed and opened again. In this sense, even the more posed photos with fine grain, are poignant. This is why I did not name the famous people these photos are of and about. The photos stand for themselves and are not images of faces and bodies, but a stop motion in time in a great story. Those who know at depth the fore and after stories of the subjects are even more enriched in viewing these moments of time when the loved also loved in return.
It is true that there are many forms of love, tired and grim love, tenacity with disappointment love, dedicated love without care, forever love and cherishment, tender and awake love, and also there is a kind of true love that is fleeting, but nonetheless real, just like the camera's eye snapping closed and then open again... imprinting a deep image on each lover for all life...regardless of longevity, regardless of all else. I think that for every moment that people love one another, we are ahead.
Great coffee table book.......2005-11-01
This is the type of book that people will actually pick up and delve into. Photo books don't have the same punch, and longer articles are too much to invite the casual brouser to read. Each profiled couple is one page worth of commentary and the facing page a black and white photo, so that your guests can read one or two entries easily. Yeah, the Anne Heche/Ellen Degeneras entry is a bust, but most of the rest are classic couples. As a coffee table book it is 5 stars -- among the best -- but I'll take a star off since as a regular book you would probably want more photos and details.
Great Romances? More like, Great Disappointments.......2003-08-13
For me, I was disappointed in my copy of "Lovers." Mostly, because I consider 'true lovers' to actually stay together. Many of the couples featured in this book became separated or divorced. Sorry, not my idea of true love, or romance either.
Plus, I'd prefer more photos than just the single one per couple. The lowercase font used as a title for each bio was really annoying, and the format (one large photo and an essay), tedious. Also, there were few contemporary 'lovers.'
Since its publication this book has become obsolete. (As the ill-fated Anne Heche and Ellen deGenerres romance will suggest).
Overall, I've seen books which handle this subject much better. I'd give this one a pass, or pick it up at the library before purchasing.
Lovers.......2000-01-28
I thought that this book was very captivating was full of emotion
Average customer rating:
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Still Lovers
Elena Dorfman
Manufacturer: Channel Photographics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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The Art Spirit: Notes, Articles, Fragments of Letters and Talks to Students, Bearing on the Concept and Technique of Picture Making, the Study of Art Generally, and on Appreciation (Icon Editions)
ASIN: 097667081X |
Book Description
A fascinating, serious, and shocking glimpse into an alien realm, these are art photos of the complex relationships between sex dolls and their owners. These are not kitschy inflatables, but life-sized expensive, highly realistic dolls, customized to the smallest detail. Dorfman's deft treatment of the subject and neutral color palette keep the images grounded in documentary tradition, neither prurient nor fantastic. Viewers can believe in the owners' vision of these dolls as free objects of relation from this candid and non-judgmental approach. The dolls become sculptural beauties, sex kittens, companions, and family members. A woman owns several dolls representing different aspects of her personality. A military officer dreams of marrying his Rebecca. A family goes about their morning routine as Valentine sits at the table in a demure cardigan and straw hat. These photos are as riveting and culture-shifting as those of Diane Arbus.
Customer Reviews:
"Realer than Real".......2007-05-27
The very interesting and well written introduction to what is essentially a photo book ended too soon. Photos are sharp and clear but many of the doll poses are "common." I would have preferred a little more creativity and artistry in the latter department. I also would have appreciated some photos of other than the (admittedly beautiful) "Realdoll."
Book Description
The heiresses are back, this time as matchmakers! Julianne MacLean brings back the ridiculously wealthy Wilson sisters and their dashing rogues, to the delight of her fast–growing fan base.
Annabelle Lawson was born in the country, but life–and her love of fine art–have brought her to London where she lives as a ward of the Earl of Whitby (from Love According To Lily). When she boards a train for a short trip home, the uneventful jaunt turns into a twist of destiny, for it is on that train that she first meets Magnus Wallis, a man who awakens her passion for the first time, and inspires her first truly great painting.
Now, years later, she must cross paths with Magnus again to get that painting back, but Annabelle does not anticipate a happy reunion. Their short–lived affair ended sourly, when Whitby discovered them and revealed a lifelong feud between his family and Magnus's unsavory relations. Still, despite all the ill will of the past, there is a currency of passion between them that cannot be ignored. Before her reason can take over, she finds herself drawn to his arms again, and it could spell disaster, not just for her, but for Whitby and his family as well. But sometimes, true love can be a risk worth taking...
Customer Reviews:
Romance at it's best........2006-11-11
This is a story in a series. I really enjoy the series about a whole family. This one is just as good as the first one. Julianne Maclean has a unique style of writing. I couldn't put it down. It was an excellent read.
promising start but flounders in the end........2006-06-16
i'm a sucker for romance stories involving reunited lovers and so i was very much looking forward to this one, the story of two people who meet, fall in love, and break up over the 'big misunderstanding'.
magnus wallis and annabelle watson meet on a train. magnus is a bank clerk who also happens to be the cast out cousin of a prominent earl. annabelle is an aspiring artist on her way to her brother's home to live with him and his family.
the attraction is instantaneous. however, it turns out that the same cousin who cast him out is also annabelle's brother. in other words, there is bad blood between magnus and annabelle's family, depicted in the previous book "love according to lily".
once magnus realizes who annabelle is, he decides to see her in secrecy. annabelle has no idea of who he is as he gives her a fake name. they spend a summer falling in love but of course at the end of the summer, magnus reveals who he really is. annabelle is devastated, and her brother pays magnus off and sends him to america, telling him that if he returns to england he will receive no more money from him.
fast forward 13 years later which is when this story starts off. magnus is back in town to start an art gallery but it's obvious from the very beginning his true reason for being in london is to win annabelle back. she finds that even after all those years apart that she is just as incapable of staying away from him as she was when they first met. despite the attraction, she does not trust him.
the beginning part of the book was extremely good. the pacing of the story, from the moment they meet on the train to the secret meetings on the earl's estate, the author does a great job of building the chemistry and attraction at a pace that's believable. they get to know each other and find they have many things in common and when it's obvious they've fallen in love, it's totally believable. magnus is torn the entire time because he knows he's lying to annabelle but he's so afraid she'll spurn him if she finds out. in the end however, the lie that ends up breaking them up is when he tells her he doesn't love her.
even the first part of the second meeting thirteen years later was pretty good. the author depicts a yearning and intensity between the couple in a way that had me feeling as though i was one of the people involved. i was engrossed.
and then the story collapses. the first reason for this is simple...the characterization of magnus was never fully realized. all i ever find out about magnus is that he grew up poor and ostracized because of a misunderstanding in his dad's family, his mom was an alcoholic, he fell in love with annabelle, went to america and made his fortune, and now he's back for annabelle. what emotional growth did he experience in america that would make him a perfect match for annabelle now? what experiences did he have over that 13 year stretch that would have annabelle believe he's trustworthy now? the only thing different is that he's now rich and is fixing up some orphanages around the city.
and what about annabelle? she's a 34 year old virgin. that's all we know. evidently she did some paintings here and there but i guess all that time was a complete wash.
in other words, it was as though time was suspended. these two didn't really mature in all of those years and it shows. towards the end of the book there were so many misunderstandings and annabelle appeared to be completely illogical and childish.
then again, seeing as magnus was never fleshed out, i can see why annabelle still had trouble trusting him, but it was annoying that she was willing to be intimate with him but kept flip-flopping on the whole marriage thing cuz she couldn't trust him. why be intimate if you can't trust him?
so in the end, despite the luscious intimate scenes (the author did do a great job in this regard) and the promising start to this story, it ultimately left me dissatisfied in the end.
i recommend it to folks who like reading about great sex and don't mind a lack of character development.
Sinks rapidly into mutual recrimminations.......2006-06-06
A recent author in the romance genre has caught my interest in the last few years, and I have truly enjoyed her stories of thwarted love and passion in Victorian England. Richly detailed, Julianne MacLean?s novels have heroes to swoon over that are dangerous and wonderful to know, and heroines that fit in with the times in attitude and manner, and sex that doesn?t have to be crude to be enjoyable reading.
In Portrait of a Lover, MacLean takes two characters in a previous novel, Love According to Lily, and gives them a chance to resolve their relationship. Annabelle loves her adopted brother, the Earl of Whitby, very much, as well as his family, who have given her a stable, loving home. A talented painter, and a young woman with flamboyant red hair and a bright attitude, Annabelle meets a charming young man when she and her Aunt Millicent are forced to travel in a second class train carriage. Both of them are smitten with each other, and while Annabelle knows Mr John Edwards, a hard working bank clerk, would never be suitable for her, she does agree to meet with him at an art gallery.
This budding romance, with secret meetings and whispered endearments, along with a painting that shows Annabelle?s true talents as an artist was probably the best part of the book. I found them both engaging, and the romance intense without the usual modern trick of having them instantly fall in lust with each other, and then consummating it in the next breath.
Unfortunately for them both, the relationship is built upon a lie, and a big one. When Annabelle is in London, she decides to pay a surprise visit on Mr Edwards, and goes to the bank where he said he works. But there is no Mr Edwards, and Annabelle discovers that the man who she has fallen in love with is none other than the wicked family cousin, Magnus. To make matters worse, Annabelle?s brother Whitby and Magnus have been deadly enemies and finally, Annabelle?s heart is broken when Magnus admits that he has only been using her. Magnus agrees to leave England, becoming a ?remittance man? in America, with Whitby paying him a healthy sum of money to stay away.
But thirteen long, lonely years pass for Annabelle, who has never recovered from the betrayal and love lost, and has resigned herself to being a spinster aunt. But then word comes that Magnus has returned to England, and is looking for her. Will Annabelle risk another broken heart to be with the man that she?s never forgotten?
Sadly, this was a novel that could have been so much more. Instead of having our two leads growing up and turning into mature adults, they?re constantly playing games of trust between each other, along with subterfuge, lies and dredging up the past. Along the way, they engage in bitter arguments that end up with make-up-sex, but not much else. While the couple do manage to get together by the end, I found it to be a flat, rather trite novel that didn?t interest me very much, nor did I care that Annabelle and Magnus were together after years of separation.
Unlike her other novels, it seems that the author has taken the cheap way out with this one. There isn?t that much historical detail, nor background on the world of artists in the Victorian culture. Nor is there very much given to either of the character?s inner worlds or emotional development ? I could never quite understand why Annabelle decides on Magnus when he returns after such a long separation. While it was interesting to see a heroine that wasn?t a twenty-something and in her mid-thirties, I found her behavior to be rather childish throughout the novel, and quickly found myself loosing interest. It?s a real pity, as MacLean can write well when she sets her mind to it, and there was plenty of interesting twists and turns this story could have taken.
Summing up, despite all of the potential in a pair of unusual characters, some intense family baggage, the author decided to turn the story into a standard, rather dull, historical romance that cheapens the genre and makes for a lackluster read. While I will continue to look out for this author?s work in the future, I don?t think I will be quite so eager to buy it right when it comes out.
Three stars overall, despite all of the potential for a good story.
Portrait of a Lover... A Masterpiece.......2006-05-24
Julianne MacLean`s, Portrait of a Lover
The cover of Julianne MacLean's Avon Historical, Portrait of a Lover, looks delicious and this engaging historical does not disappoint.
Within a genius of landscape, MacLean artfully displays a bizarre connection between the young, ravishing, unattainable, Annabelle and the misunderstood, abhorred, darkly handsome, and mysterious, Magnus. The two should not have connected, but through a chance meeting, they discover mutual attraction and timeless love.
MacLean reveals how the wishes and passions of the pair are thwarted by well-intentioned interference and by insecurities of Annabelle, and of her Magnus (who lacks social acceptance within the constraining strictures of the late 1870's).They are parted.
Though living separated lives they achieve considerable individual growth. Even so, Magnus is haunted by what could have been. The misunderstandings and forced separation prove to be critical catalysts to the growth of more balanced, and `dimensioned' characters. We are drawn through their excruciating and compelling process and feel their torment, even as we understand their angst.
Far from Anabelle, and the strict censorship of the ton, Magnus reflects on his personal success but can't avoid the haunting memories of the love of his life- Annabelle. Magnus craves reattainment of his greatest loss; he jeopardizes his heart a second time and seeks to remedy his sketchy past and reclaim what was his.
Annabelle, talented painter, and protected member of the ton, is determined not be deceived or to love again. When Magnus reenters her life, Annabelle still fears love, fears independence, and she lacks appreciation of her considerable artistic talent.
Well, I imagine you are wondering how all this falls together? Read Portrait of a Lover. You will not be disappointed by MacLean's artistic composition, by the way she nudges her characters along with her writer's brush, creating her masterpiece, Portrait of a Lover.
Love that will not be denied.......2006-05-16
This latest book by Julianne MacLean is definitely my favourite of the lot. The intensity, the heartbreak, the evocative details are all trademarks of her writing that really shine in this novel. Annabelle's act of painting is so vividly described I can smell the oils and turpentine. There are wonderful scenes of charged emotion between Annabelle and Magnus that never fail to go in a direction I couldn't expect.
Ms. MacLean excels at turning a character who seems to be one thing at first meeting, into someone else once we see what's behind the public persona. In the case of Magnus, already shown to us in Love According to Lily, the ferocity and seething rage of that book's villain transforms into the truer image of Annabelle's tragic lover. Magnus' refusal to allow the constraints of interfering family to deny him the love that still burns for Annabelle is a delicious fuel that cleanses his rage into passion.
As for Annabelle, her inability to be anyone but herself, to pursue her painting even when her heart seems broken, really endears her to me. Her reaction to Magnus' return to her life is very real and very touching. This is a romance for those who love a story that can really wrench your heart. Beautifully done.
Average customer rating:
- Inspiring Book
- Friends and Lovers ... a total masterpiece
- The Beauty of Youth!
- Review
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Friends and Lovers
Manufacturer: Bruno Gmunder
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 3861872609 |
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring Book.......2007-03-10
Howard Roffman is an excellent photographer. The fact that he takes pictures of men nude is even better. His photos are not just to stir the senesual side of you. He takes his photos in a way to see depth of the model, the individual in the picture. Many posses are sexual but classie. He is showing the male form is ways that you see more than a nake man in the photo. Every book of his buy I am inspired by what I see. Takes a man with talent to pose a man to show more than his body.
Friends and Lovers ... a total masterpiece.......2005-04-09
What a wonderfully executed collection of male photography! The men are stunning, the artistic value is self-evident, and the settings are idyllic. What more could one ask for? SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL AND SENSUAL.
The Beauty of Youth!.......2003-04-16
This is Howard Roffman's eighth book, and a beautiful display of youth it is! All 176 pages of this book showcase seven young men who are on the verge of adulthood in natural settings in and out of doors. What is intriguing about these photos is the playfulness of these very young, handsome men, who are naturally photogenic as they get naked and have fun in bed, in the woods, and in the bath. These images will someday be a beautiful history and reminder to these young men of the time when they were at perfection in their youthful beauty. Roffman knew two of these young men who introduced him to others, who were friends and some of them lovers. Roffman is a wonderful photographer and each book he publishes seems to get better and bigger. He certainly knows how to capture and freeze the beauty of youth, and his fans are thrilled that he does. This book should be in every serious collector's library. Touching and Tender, and beautifully designed!
Joe Hanssen
Review.......2002-10-08
Friends & Lovers is a major new work from acclaimed photographer Howard Roffman. Friends & Lovers is Roffman's 8th photo book and at 176 pages is the largest book ever published by Bruno Gmünder.
With his signature photo-narrative style, Roffman documents the real-life relationships of 7 attractive young men in the transition between the innocence of youth and a more worldly perspective of adulthood.
The book chronicles Roffman's own journey as much as it chronicles that of the 7 young men. The journey began for Roffman in 1999 with a chance encounter between himself and a young man named Jeremy. The encounter began a sequence of introductions as each model brought a new member to the group. Inspired by the strong bonds and passionate relationships within the group, Roffman photographed these young men over a three-year period, culminating in the book.
Friends and Lovers goes far beyond Romanesque posed images of muscled men and instead creates a world of real characters not afraid to expose their true relationships or give us insights into their most intimate moments. Commenting on the book, noted photographer Tom Bianchi has stated, "Older gay men might wish that they had this kind of erotic and playful start on their romantic life journeys. Roffman's book celebrates the fact that this kind of youth . . . is real for those who choose it now. He captures many elegant tender moments that suggest that this is always how we should have been."
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The Portrait of the Lover (Joan Palevsky Book in Classical Literature) (Joan Palevsky Book in Classical Literature)
Maurizio Bettini
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0520208501 |
Book Description
There are a surprising number of stories from antiquity about people who fall in love with statues or paintings, and about lovers who use such visual representations as substitutes for an absent beloved. In a charmingly conversational, witty meditation on this literary theme, Maurizio Bettini moves into a wide-ranging consideration of the relationship between self and image, the nature of love in the ancient world, the role of representation in culture, and more. Drawing on historical events and cultural practices as well as literary works, The Portrait of the Lover is a lucid excursion into the anthropology of the image.
The majority of the stories and poems Bettini examines come from Greek and Roman classical antiquity, but he reaches as far as Petrarch, Da Ponte, and Poe. The stories themselves--ranging from the impassioned to the bizarre, and from the sublime to the hilarious--serve as touchstones for Bettini's evocative explorations of the role of representation in literature and in culture. Although he begins with a consideration of lovers' portraits, Bettini soon broadens his concerns to include the role of shadows, dreams, commemorative statues, statues brought to life, and vengeful statues--in short, an entire range of images that take on a life of their own.
The chapters shift skillfully from one theme to another, touching on the nature of desire, loss, memory, and death. Bettini brings to the discussion of these tales not only a broad learning about cultures but also a delighted sense of wonder and admiration for the evocative power and endless variety of the stories themselves.
Books:
- A Sparrow Falls
- After Glow (Ghost Hunters, Book 2)
- Air: Or, Have Not Have
- Amagansett
- Around the Way Girls 3
- Asking for Trouble: A Novel
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel
- Beach Road
- Because They Wanted To: Stories
- Bread Givers: A Novel
Books Index
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