Queer Edward II

Book Description

Derek Jarman's widely acclaimed Edward II reworked Christopher Marlowe's original 1594 play for the 1990s. Queer Edward II is a poetic commentary on the making of this luscious film--a lavish book that leaves no holds barred and brings the film to life with luminous stills from the set.

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Absorbing biography of a fascinating man

Derek Jarman: A Biography
Tony Peake
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1585673315
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Book Description

Fueled by vodka on ice, the occasional hit of Ecstasy, acid, opium, and innumerable cigarettes, and following an unwavering artistic vision, filmmaker and artist Derek Jarman, who died of AIDS-related causes in 1994, led an outrageous and controversial life. In Derek Jarman: A Biography, Tony Peake delves for the origins of the energetic imagination that led to distinctive films like Sebastiane, Jubilee, The Tempest, Caravaggio, Wittgenstein, and Blue.

Peake's book is a vivid social and cultural history-an edgy account of a bohemian existence and of a scene of friends that included artists David Hockney, Robert Mapplethorpe, and many other members of the creative Avant-garde. A chronicle of sexual fear and repression and inimitable courage and grace in the face of a protracted death, Derek Jarman: A Biography is an honest and brilliant tribute to the uncompromising life and art of Derek Jarman.

Customer Reviews:

Absorbing biography of a fascinating man.......2001-09-14

Derek Jarman was many things - artist, writer, poet, filmmaker, gardener, political activist, etc. and you will feel like you knew him well after reading this excellent biography by Tony Peake, who was a friend and collaborator to Jarman. Beginning with Jarman's childhood, it was easy to see that he was highly sensitive to beauty and the arts - he was fascinated with flowers and nature which would lead to his development of his famous garden at Dungeness. Also, he was greatly affected by the art and entertainment medium around him - when his parents took him to the cinema for the first time, it was to see "The Wizard of Oz" and Jarman was so wrapped up in the film that he closed out everything else around him and thought the events occuring in front of him were real and at one point, to the embarrassment of his parents, ran screaming up the aisles in terror. Jarman's early adult years found him leading a very bohemian existence, experimenting with art and film and exploring his homosexuality. He was especially drawn to filmmaking and would eventually direct such avant garde features as "Sebastiane" and "The Last of England". When he was diagnosed with AIDS in the mid 80's, he became more and more involved in activism for AIDS reasearch and the basic rights of gays and lesbians. Jarman had many critics, both to his work and his activism, but he never buckled to them and spoke out any time he felt an injustice was being served. Peake's biography is daunting (533 pages) but it is not heavy handed and you almost feel that you are sitting with someone who knew Jarman well, listening to his stories about him. The last chapters deal with Jarman's devastating battle with AIDS, which left him crippled and blind, and if the last poem in the book (taken from Jarman's film "Blue") does not leave you teary eyed, nothing will.

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Modern Nature
Derek Jarman
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Derek Jarman's Garden

ASIN: 087951549X

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Derek Jarman: Dreams of England
Michael O'Pray
Manufacturer: British Film Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0851705901

Book Description

Derek Jarman's extraordinary cinematic achievement and his pivotal role in postwar English culture are at the heart of this pioneering study of an enigmatic figure who was both a major filmmaker and an artist, a gay activist and an English patriot. Michael O'Pray, who knew Jarman in the 80s, weaves together a compelling account of his life with illuminating analysis of his films, from the home movies through the pop videos to the acclaimed feature films including Caravaggio and Blue. Beginning with Jarman's family life and his early immersion in the British Pop art world, Michael O'Pray traces Jarman's emergence as an ambitious filmmaker who always challenged received categories, both political and aesthetic.

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Derek Jarman in book form

At Your Own Risk: A Saint's Testament
Derek Jarman
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0879515384

Customer Reviews:

Derek Jarman in book form.......2005-05-24

If you can't get enough of Jarmen's films, you may love this book. It's hodgepodge: half autobiography/half manifesto. It reminds me of much output by ACT-UP and Q Nation members. (I guess it's called Outrage! in Britain.) Because the West has become less AIDS-phobic and gay-friendly, this book may feel incredibly dated. Because it is true to life, parts may make you uncomfortable. For example, Jarmen retells how he rejected a man once and I felt soooo bad for the guy. This book also mentions public lice, black and white female impersonators fighting and other stuff. This is not easy reading. Still, for those who love Paul Monette, Tony Kushner, Robert Ferro, or their kind, this will be a book that you may want to have or read.

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Dancing Ledge
Derek Jarman
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0879514930

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Derek Jarman (British Film Makers)
Rowland Wymer
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0719056918

Book Description

This book gives detailed and original critical readings of all eleven of Derek Jarman's feature-length films, arguing that he occupies a major and influential place in European and world cinema rather than merely being a cult figure. It places particular emphasis on the importance of Renaissance art and literature for Jarman, and emphasizes his interest in Jungian psychology. Wymer shows how Jarman used his films to take his audience with him on an inner journey in search of the self, while remaining fully aware of the dangers of such a journey.

Derek Jarman's Caravaggio: The Complete Film Script and Commentaries

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Derek Jarman's Caravaggio: The Complete Film Script and Commentaries
Derek Jarman
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0500274193

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Derek Jarman: A Portrait
Roger Wollen
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0500017239

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Kicking the Pricks
Derek Jarman
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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At Your Own Risk: A Saint's Testament

ASIN: 0879518448

Customer Reviews:

True Story - Give the man a medal.......2003-10-02

Every professional police investigator becomes a writer, but rarely an author. Mr. Stalker does a fine job in his first, and probably only, book documenting the case that ended his career. The last thing a corrupt leader needs or wants is an honest, competent investigation of the leader's deeds. The leadership that sent John Stalker to Ireland hoped to pacify the public. Instead they got an honest investigation. Read this book.

Honest Cop Framed For Uncovering Death Squads........1998-06-12

John Stalker; one of Britain's highest-ranking policemen, was sent to Occupied Ireland to investigate allegations that the Royal Ulster Constabulary includes Death Squads. The day before his scheduled interrogation, under caution, of Occupied Ireland's ranking RUC officer, John Hermon (now "Sir John"), he himself was falsely charged with "associating with criminals" and removed from the investigation. Though completely exonerated, Stalker still pays the price for his statement; "I'm a loyal British subject but I draw the line at murder." His 16-volume official report remains suppressed, he was ruined and his landmark book is still smeared (see accompanying review). Stalker heroically attempted in 1986 what McPhilemy's "The Committee" accomplishes in 1998. Read both books - they complement and confirm each another; also "An Index of Deaths From the Conflict in Ireland" by Malcolm Sutton. The officially-vilified John Stalker is about to be publicly vindicated along with the many decent British army officers and men who, since then, have paid horrible prices for refusing to commit war crimes in Ireland. Read Stalker! He, an honest Englishman, tried to end Britain's centuries-long genocide in Ireland in 1986. He will help to end it now if enough people discover his riveting "The Stalker Affair."

drawn out.......1998-04-29

A true story that sounds like a great tale. It has everything, cover-up, government conspiracy, hero gets too close to the truth, assassinations etc. Why the low score? It goes on and on without end. His investigation come abruptly to a halt midway through the book and there are four chapters in a row of the author saying "I was doing nothing." in many unintersting ways. The narrative is painfully slow and uninteresting. "A crackling good yarn" it isn't. Maybe a good yawn. Highly recommended to insomniacs.

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Stalker Affair
john Stalker
Manufacturer: Siena Publishers Assoc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0079171788

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The Stalker Affair
John Stalker
Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQJZGG

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The Stalker affair
Frank Doherty
Manufacturer: Mercier Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Stalker Affair and the Press
David Murphy
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0044454112

The Stalker Affair, the Shocking True Story of Six Deaths and a Notorious Cover-Up

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The Stalker Affair, the Shocking True Story of Six Deaths and a Notorious Cover-Up
John Stalker
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H574SO

The Stalker Affair: One Man's Battle with Power and Politics in Northern Ireland

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The Stalker Affair: One Man's Battle with Power and Politics in Northern Ireland
John Stalker
Manufacturer: Viking Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 5552142799

Average customer rating:

Story on the surface, story beneath it
Mysterious but not thrilling
Ssssss noir
Dark, brooding work, full of secrets, shame and desperation
Solid Prose and Good Plot

Red Cat (Unabridged)
Peter Spiegelman
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
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ASIN: B000NA6MIG

Customer Reviews:

Story on the surface, story beneath it.......2007-10-14

Isn't that the truth on all good , hard boiled PI fiction? True here. On the surface, this is a story about a search for a woman who may be blackmailing March's brother over a sexual escapade. Beneath it, a story on family: the interactions between March and his brother and the way we both love and hate our families; a story on the woman blackmailer, really a voyeur artist replaying through men the issues with her father; and how we create something akin to a family out of those we meet. Not a lot of clipped, cute dialogue. Just a well told, well thought out novel.

Mysterious but not thrilling.......2007-10-11

Spiegelman writes a gripping novel with descriptions that paint a perfect picture of people and things without being wordy. "The wind bullied me along on its journey to the East River." I could feel it blow and felt the chill in my own bones.

The tale itself was gripping, but the denouement was somehow anti-climactic and let me down somewhat. That being said, I'll definitely grab another Spiegelman book pretty quickly.

Ssssss noir.......2007-09-09

This is a very boring, bad book. If you have trouble sleeping by all means try to read it - nothing much happens, ever. Very little is explained about why the character do what they do - and it would be very interesting and help the plot to find out. The ending was so stupid it was laughable and there were SO many dangling plot threads it was silly. Thanks goodness I got this at the library and didn't pay real money for it. I'd never read another book by this author.

Dark, brooding work, full of secrets, shame and desperation.......2007-05-30

Peter Spiegelman is not a prolific writer, at least by today's one-book-per-year standard. In the past six years he has published three books --- BLACK MAPS, DEATH'S LITTLE HELPERS and now RED CAT --- at two-year intervals, just long enough that the readership could almost forget the razor sharpness and clarity of the craftsmanship exhibited in his prior work. There is simply no way, however, that anyone reading RED CAT will ever forget about him. This is a towering work, an instant classic of noir fiction, that establishes Spiegelman's position as the master of the genre for our time.

John March is Spiegelman's damaged Everyman --- an underachiever by the standards of his financially successful family --- who, as Spiegelman has subtly informed his readers over the course of three novels, is probably more intelligent than all of them put together. March is a quietly roiling mass of contradictions, a man who ultimately is unsuccessful at relationships whether it be with family, friends or lovers, but is intrigued by the machinations and interactions of individuals. His vocation as a private investigator in New York City provides him with plenty of grist to mill. Yet even he is surprised when his latest client turns out to be his outwardly superior brother, David, a successful merchant banker who is on the brink of losing everything he holds dear.

David, it seems, has a hobby that consists of conducting a series of affairs with women he meets over the Internet. The affairs are generally passionate, if short-lived, with everyone being very adult and sophisticated about their eventual termination. But then comes Wren, a mysterious woman who has provided David with sexual encounters unlike any he has previously experienced. When David seeks to discontinue the relationship, however, Wren begins calling his office and home, and sends him emails asking to see him and threatening to tell his wife about their trysts. David wants John to find Wren and warn her off, a task made difficult by the fact that David doesn't know where Wren lives or even what her real name is.

With a bit of dogged work, John is able to uncover Wren's identity and, with some more determination, finds her apartment. The apartment seems to be a dead end, even as he discovers that the woman his brother knows as Wren is an actress, a playwright and, most significantly, a pornographer. Everything changes, though, when a body that appears to be Wren's surfaces in the East River. John realizes that the trail of Wren's murderer leads directly back to David's door and that he needs to unravel all of Wren's secrets, even as he must face uncomfortable truths about David and himself.

RED CAT is a dark, brooding work, full of secrets, shame and desperation in even the most unexpected corners. Spiegelman's New York is full of shadows and sorrows, where survival at the end of the day passes for a grim happiness. His clarity of language and vision is such, however, that one cannot resist looking again and again at what is being lost and, in rare cases, being found. This is a book that simply cannot and should not be missed.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Solid Prose and Good Plot.......2007-05-21

Red Cat shows Mr. Spiegelman to be learning from experience. In his debut novel Black Maps, for example--you could see potential, but you could also see where some editing would have been helpful. The plot is juicier in Red Cat; and for sure, the cover grabs your attention.

Private investigator John March runs around NYC trying to find out the identity of a femme fatal who keeps pestering his married brother when their affair is long over. There are some neat twists and turns as March gets closer to the truth, and we meet a few of the characters to whom we were introduced in Black Maps. Although the plot and pacing are good, the final showdown is pretty unimpressive. In the end, it's John March who brings the book its few criticisms.

Previous reviewers have hit on these obvious points. His brothers and sister are verbally abusive to him, and March just lies back and takes it in the chin. Right off the bat in Red Cat, his very foolish brother starts sneering at him when he himself is quite worthy of contempt and in heaps of trouble himself. Our hero is positively Vulcan toward Clare, a smart, poised woman who seems to enjoy the roommate-with-benefits situation that she and March are sharing.

He doesn't care if she comes or goes; he's self absorbed; and seems so spartan as to be weird. Mr. Spiegelman would do well to get March some feelings. There can't be a new love interest in every book a la Fleming, and March needs to have other interests apart from running fifty miles a day and eating tuna fish sandwiches.

Don't be put off by these minor nuances. Mr. Spiegelman has been paying attention and making this PI series better and better. The setting of millions-of-dollars NYC apartments with window views showing "a wedge of the Guggenheim" is pretty fascinating, and we readers shouldn't get tired of many more novels set in our quintessential city.

Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo. (Book Reviews).(Book Review): An article from: Pacific Affairs

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Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo. (Book Reviews).(Book Review): An article from: Pacific Affairs
Nancy Stalker
Manufacturer: University of British Columbia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008FI7H0
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Pacific Affairs, published by University of British Columbia on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 844 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
Author: Nancy Stalker
Publication: Pacific Affairs (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: University of British Columbia
Volume: 75 Issue: 2 Page: 298(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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pass on this
Highly entertaining
Funny and ironic view into the world of TV home shopping
A Great Book!
HILARIOUS!

Sellevision (Unabridged)
Augusten Burroughs
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

Satire, General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B000KLPQ12

Amazon.com

Light and funny, with a bitter aftertaste, the action of Sellevision takes place behind the scenes (and on the set) of a successful television shopping network, where a feminine role model, Peggy Jean Smythe, the married, Christian mother of three, begins receiving suspicious e-mail from a viewer who insists that Peggy's hairy earlobe is obscuring her presentation of jewelry during the broadcast. When Peggy fails to respond to the e-mail, but silently waxes her lobe, the cruel notes escalate, until Peggy believes herself to be suffering from a hormonal crisis that has given her a mustache, a gruff voice, and the manner of a lumberjack. Meanwhile, one of her cohosts, Max Andrews, has been fired for accidentally exposing himself during a children's special, and learns just how undesirable a commodity a penis-baring ex-Sellevision host can be on the job market. The book is an unusually smooth read for a first novel, with six or seven truly inspired lines. --Regina Marler

Book Description

Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited, Sellevision explores greed, obsession and third tier celebrity, in the world of a fictional home shopping network. Welcome to the troubled world of Sellevision, America's premier retail broadcasting network. When Max Andrews, the much-loved and handsome (lonely and gay) host of 'Slumber Sunday Sundown' accidentally exposes himself in front of sixty million kids and their parents during a 'Toys for Tots' segment, Sellevision faces its first big scandal. As Max fails to find a job in television, another host, the popular and perky Peggy Jean Smythe is receiving sinister emails about her appearance from a stalker. Popping pills and drinking heavily, she fails to notice that her husband is spending a lot of time with the very young babysitter who lives next door. Then there's Leigh, whose affair with Sellevision boss Howard Toast is going nowhere, until she exposes him on air; and Bebe, Sellevision's star host, who finds Mr. Right through the Internet- if she can just stop her shopping addiction from taking over.

Customer Reviews:

pass on this.......2007-10-08

I love this author however, this fiction novel didn't live up to his previous work. The characters just didn't hold my attention and it lacked Burroughs usual wit and humor.

Highly entertaining.......2007-09-08

With so many reviews on Burroughs' Sellevision, a tale about a gay TV presenter who inadvertently exposes himself on TV, what can one add? Only that I thought from the description it might be a little smutty; but far from it, in fact I found it to be highly entertaining - an hilarious and thoroughly rewarding story. Rewarding as a read, and rewarding in its just outcome. Highly recommended.

Funny and ironic view into the world of TV home shopping.......2007-09-07

In this witty look inside the world of TV home shopping, Augusted Burroughs is both clever and mysterious. Not only do you get a look inside this bizarre world, but also deeply into the colorful characters who live in it.

As the novel that then launched the 3-part memoir series by Augusten Burroughs, I recommend reading them all. You will laugh your head off in some schenes, yet be wide open in horror and amazement in others. I recommend them highly: Running with Scissors: A Memoir, Dry: A Memoir, Magical Thinking: True Stories. Take them all to the beach!

A Great Book!.......2007-09-03

I loved Sellevision! I saw the author speak in Boston last year, prior to reading any of his books. This was the first one I chose to read, and I certainly don't regret it at all! The book will really make you check twice next time you find yourself channel surfing and pass QVC or the Home Shopping network... It's amazing how the world of the main character falls apart so fast, and from such a high altitude. Enjoy this book, and read it a few times.

HILARIOUS!.......2007-09-01

I seriously had never watched more than 5 minutes of QVC or HSN in my life; this book compelled me to do so after I read it.

What a hilarious and accurate portrait of materialism and celebrity in today's culture! Even better, the characters were fairly multi-dimensional. Considering it's a humor book, the characterizations were much better than I would have anticipated. The author did a great job explaining many of the characters' thought processes. This is as good as the laugh out loud writing and political commentary of Carl Hiassen books. I look forward to reading more fiction from Mr. Burroughs.

Just plain fun.

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