The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe

Book Description

Georgia O'Keeffe has dominated twentieth-century American art and proved herself one of its most original talents. Jan Garden Castro's The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe offers the most complete account of both the artist's fascinating private life and her extraordinary career.

In 1917 Alfred Stieglitz, pioneer photographer and impresario, organized O'Keeffe's first one-person exhibition, the last show at his famous gallery "291." She also became the subject of many of his finest photographic works and the center of his personal and professional world for the rest of his life. Her acceptance into the Stieglitz group brought her in touch with a wide circle of creative individuals, including Ansel Adams, Arthur Dove, John Marin, and Charles Demuth, to name a few. While learning from these colleagues, O'Keeffe also maintained a fierce independence from them. She had a certain mystique as a woman and an artist, and many of her contemporaries immortalized her in their work. She was the first woman artist whose face and life were of great interest to the public.

Georgia O'Keeffe's career has spanned much of the history of modern art in America. Here are more than a hundred paintings, many rarely exhibited or reproduced, photographs of O'Keeffe at various stages of her life and of the landscapes that inspired her, and a text richly documented with letters and interviews. This material, combined with Jan Castro's insightful criticism, reveals O'Keeffe's legacy as an artist and the force of her intriguing personality.

Customer Reviews:

The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe.......2005-05-25

SUMMARY: Georgia O'Keeffe's life, and quite a number of her paintings, are presented here in this fairly large paperback book, along with some of the people and subjects that shaped this great contemporary artist.
POSITIVES: One of the best compilations of Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork that I've seen for awhile, it not only shows her, her life events, and the work she created, but the people who influenced her. You are brought along a journey through O'Keeffe's life, and also what can be gathered through her paintings that reflected her own inner qualities. Best of all in this book, are the countless artistic pieces that she has produced, some photographs by Stieglitz, and other important information that is very valuable in any contemporary art collection.
NEGATIVES: However, the author, despite her intense research and beautiful compilations, does not appear to have put much effort into coordinating her pictures and the explanations that go with them. The organizational aspects of this book are definitely not its best quality, dropping my opinion when it comes to giving it a fair review. I also think you can do better when it comes to finding a book with a comprehensive review of O'Keeffe's life and work.
AGE RANGE: 10 and up for comprehension, but much older for enjoyment. (It could be quite boring)

Happy Reading!

A Successful Look at O'Keeffe.......2004-01-12

Surely it is difficult to sift through an artist's life and write about only the meaningful moments/events. Castro does a good job with this, including what is important and omitting the tedious. Her art criticism is simple and easy to understand and her approach seems balanced. My major complaint with the book is that while she may discuss a painting on page 15, it may well appear on page 200 - with no note or appendix making it possible to find the plate.

GOT TO HAVE BOOK!.......2003-11-01

This book is insperational with amazing insights in her art work and lifestyle. if you want to find out about this amazing woman and her art work you should buy this book!

New to the Details of O'Keeffe.......2000-02-21

Having always been familiar with her work, this book provided me with a good synopsis of her life and her art. The book has a good layout, and a "tasty" palette of her art and color to feed on.

Not Really...........2000-02-16

If you've been an O'keeffe fan for a long time this book will lack of new and interesting facts about her life and art. It is a "good" book, but it works only for people that have just discovered O'keeffe's greatness.

Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe

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Excellent information regarding Georgia's life
Tremendous and important detail lacking in other biographies
Gave me a new appreciation for O'Keeffe's art
More than you ever wanted to know about Georgia O'Keeffe
More than you ever wanted to know about Georgia O'Keeffe

Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe
Hunter Drohojowska-Philp
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393327418

Book Description

"The definitive life of O'Keeffe."—Hilton Kramer, Los Angeles Times

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) was one of the most successful American artists of the twentieth century: her arresting paintings of enormous, intimately rendered flowers, desert landscapes, and stark white cow skulls are seminal works of modern art. But behind O'Keeffe's bold work and celebrity was a woman misunderstood by even her most ardent admirers. This large, finely balanced biography offers an astonishingly honest portrayal of a life shrouded in myth.

When she was still unknown as an artist, O'Keeffe married Alfred Stieglitz, twenty-three years her senior and well established as a pioneer in art photography. The relationship was physically and intellectually passionate, but Stieglitz was a man of the world. Through the author's access to previously unavailable materials—including interviews with Dorothy Norman, Alfred Stieglitz's longtime paramour—we are offered new knowledge about O'Keeffe's defining relationships and the effect of her husband's infidelity. Driven to a nervous breakdown by the Norman affair, O'Keeffe relocated and redefined herself in New Mexico, where she created her unforgettable signature paintings. 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations, 32 color plates.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent information regarding Georgia's life.......2007-03-03

Well written book and excellent research. Enjoyed very much.

Tremendous and important detail lacking in other biographies.......2006-06-20

Detailed and thoughtful, and a riveting read if you really want to understand this artist's life. After reading dozens of books and articles about O'Keeffe during the course of my own research on New York-inspired artwork, I didn't think another O'Keeffe biography was necessary. But I'm grateful I found this book. I learned so much more about this artist--about her friendships, her travels beyond New York and the Southwest, and her abstract works.

Gave me a new appreciation for O'Keeffe's art.......2005-06-28

I never really liked O'Keeffe's more abstract paintings until I read this biography. Now I can look at them with an improved understanding of what they mean and what she managed to accomplish for female artists everywhere. It's equally nice to see the artist as a person with her own foibles and nuances. The author has done a remarkable job here.

More than you ever wanted to know about Georgia O'Keeffe.......2005-06-06

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is a sound writer, one who obviously does her research inexhaustibly, and with a background in art criticism she also speaks with authority and an informed eye. But she does go on....

For those who want to know more about the idiosyncrasies of this American idol then this is the resource of choice. We learn more about the frustrations, self doubt, love affairs, and general personality quirks than in all the other biographies combined. We also learn about each painting in depth which I suppose is like a verbal catalogue raissonne and for that we should be thankful.

It is just that with all great artists not everything they make is of show quality and it is this inclusion of all of the odds and major ends of O'Keeffe's work that borders on tiresome. It is with a good degree of relief that the last page of this nearly 500-page opus is reached.

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp obviously holds Georgia O'Keeffe in a realm close to Valhalla and that is all well and good. She writes with vigor and determination and certainly informs us of the 'full bloom' of her title. In the end this is a valuable volume for the archives, but not a book to recommend for the casual reader who has already grown visually fatigued with the Santa Fe posters of poppies, ox skulls, and datura flowers. Grady Harp, June 05

More than you ever wanted to know about Georgia O'Keeffe.......2005-05-25

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is a sound writer, one who obviously does her research inexhaustibly, and with a background in art criticism she also speaks with authority and an informed eye. But she does go on....

For those who want to know more about the idiosyncrasies of this American idol then this is the resource of choice. We learn more about the frustrations, self doubt, love affairs, and general personality quirks than in all the other biographies combined. We also learn about each painting in depth which I suppose is like a verbal catalogue raissonne and for that we should be thankful.

It is just that with all great artists not everything they make is of show quality and it is this inclusion of all of the odds and major ends of O'Keeffe's work that borders on tiresome. It is with a good degree of relief that the last page of this nearly 500 page opus is reached.

Hunter Drohojowska-Philp obviously holds Georgia O'Keeffe in a realm close to Valhalla and that is all well and good. She writes with vigor and determination and certainly informs us of the 'full bloom' of her title. In the end this is a valuable volume for the archives, but not a book to recommend for the casual reader who has already grown visually fatigued with the Santa Fe posters of poppies, ox skulls, and datura flowers. Grady Harp, May 05

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An Incredible Biography
A Beautiful and Engaging Tribute to a Brilliant Artist

Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life
Roxana Robinson
Manufacturer: UPNE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0874519063

Book Description

Georgia O'Keeffe is arguably the 20th century's leading woman artist. Coming of age along with American modernism, her life was rich in intense relationships -- with family, friends, and especially noted photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Her struggle between the rigorous demands of love and work resulted in extraordinary accomplishments. Her often-eroticized flowers, bones, stones, skulls, and pelvises became extremely well known to a broad American public. The New York Times Book Review named this richly detailed and moving biography a Notable Book of the Year.

Customer Reviews:

An Incredible Biography.......2001-07-23

"A Life" is the best book on painter Georgia O'Keeffe available. Every moment in Georgia's life is written about with painstaking detail. Nothing is missed. From her relationship with Alfred Steiglitz and his entourage from "291" to her intimate relationship with sculptor Juan Hamilton. I can't say enough how amazing this book is and how enjoyable it is to read.

A Beautiful and Engaging Tribute to a Brilliant Artist.......2000-04-15

Georgia O'Keeffe's life was one lived with courage and beauty and Robinson does her justice by writing this beautiful and engaging biography. The author delves into O'Keeffe's life and the passion of her work by describing her family history, her evolution as an artist, and perhaps more important to O'Keeffe, her evolution toward becoming her true self. The extra and vital layer that adds even more depth to this biography is Robinson's description of the art scene and the philosophies of art circulating in early 20th century New York.

This book would be of interest not only to those who enjoy O'Keeffe's work but also to those who are trying to become themselves, those who are interested in the history of art in America, or those who like to read for the sake of feeling beautiful words flowing through their mind.

Book Description

This stunning book is the first in-depth exploration of Georgia O`Keeffe`s unique contribution to still-life painting. It features beautiful full-page reproductions of some sixty of her paintings, related photographs, essays that discuss the sometimes surprising formative influences on O`Keeffe`s approach to objects, and an illustrated chronology of her life.

Customer Reviews:

wonderful gift.......2000-04-22

I sent this book as a gift, based on the glowing review on this page. My donee/friend wrote: "What a wonderful surprise and delight the O'Keefe book has brought me today! It is indeed something very special, with elegant color illustrations, plus many photos from various times of her life, and biographical details all through the text. There is a wonderful photo of her (by Ansel Adams) -- she wears a dark sweater, and is sitting, sketching, at the rocky entrance to what may be a cave --- and all of her design ideas seem to be there in the photo: her own interesting form, contrasts of dark and light, austerity yet beautiful rhythms....I had no idea what a pathfinder she was, going her own road by interpreting objects in an entirely personal way. Everything has her magic touch. The color plates are excellent." I have her permission to send these comments to you.

Outstanding book from an outstanding exhibition.......1999-09-03

This is the companion catalog to the O'Keeffe exhibition at the Phillips gallery in Washington, DC, and is a wonderful volume on O'Keeffe whether or not you were fortunate enough to see this exhibition. What impressed me most about the exhibition (and the book) is how intelligently it was put together. It examines O'Keeffe's development as an artist by tracking both her philosphy and her influences, and some rarely shown works were chosen to represent this in the exhibition (and are reproduced in the book). Of all the books on O'Keeffe that I've read, and of all the exhibitions I've seen of her work, this one by far does the best job of explaining both the artist and her work.

Georgia O'Keefe and the Calla Lily in American Art, 1860-1940

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Context for Georgia O'Keeffe's Startling Calla Lilies
A botanist's zantedeschia is a gardener's calla

Georgia O'Keefe and the Calla Lily in American Art, 1860-1940
Barbara Buhler Lynes
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300097387

Book Description

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the exotic South African calla lily was introduced in the United States, and it began to appear as a subject in American art. The flower became even more popular with artists after Freud provided a sexual interpretation of its form that added new levels of meaning to depictions of it. The calla lily soon became a recurring motif in works by important painters and photographers, particularly Georgia O'Keeffe, who depicted the flower so many times and in such provocative ways that by the early 1930s she became known as "the lady of the lilies."

This gorgeous book features 54 paintings, photographs, and drawings of the calla lily dating from the 1860s to 1940. It includes nine of O'Keeffe's most renowned paintings of the flower as well as works by Imogen Cunningham, Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, John La Farge, Man Ray, Joseph Stella, and Edward Weston. The book includes an introduction by esteemed O'Keeffe scholar Barbara Buhler Lynes and essays on various aspects of the flower in American art by Charles C. Eldredge and James Moore.

This book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum from October 3, 2002 to January 14, 2003, which will then travel to the Albuquerque Museum from February 1 to May 1, 2003 and the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, Virginia, from May 31 to August 10, 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Context for Georgia O'Keeffe's Startling Calla Lilies.......2004-05-16

Georgia O'Keeffe is famous for her sensual flower paintings. Her reputation is based on the graphic depiction of genitalia among the details and silhouettes of her flowers. Although she declined to acknowledge in public that this is what she was doing, it's unmistakable. In this volume, for example, see plates 33 and 38 for the most unambiguous examples involving calla lilies.

The calla lily presents a unique opportunity to display this aspect of her work since the flower visually exhibits some characteristics similar to both male and female sex organs.

The essays in the book describe how calla lilies came to leave South Africa to make their way to North America and Europe, and how people there responded to the calla lily. The flower was seen as a symbol of women and men, love, purity, and death. A number of painters and photographers chose to work with calla lilies, and 54 of their paintings, drawings and photographs are reproduced in the book. Nine include some of Ms. O'Keeffe's most famous works. Before her startling innovations with calla lilies, the flowers were best known for the treatments that Marsden Hartley did with them, many of which are reproduced in the book.

The essays are primarily of interest for the story behind the famous "sale" of calla lily paintings for $25,000 during the Depression that helped establish Ms. O'Keeffe as a prominent artist in collector circles. It turns out that it was almost a loan, on approval, rather than a sale.

The essays refuse to address the sexuality issue for the works except to note that those who read Freud might see sexual symbolism in the flowers, and that Ms. O'Keeffe claimed no such intent. Balderdash! I graded the book down one star for such intellectual pussyfooting.

I did enjoy the book, though, because although I was familiar with her calla lily paintings, I failed to appreciate how spectacular these paintings were as innovations until I compared them to the treatments by other artists who simply saw calla lilies primarily as a background symbol, as part of a still life, or as an elegant source of soaring curves evoking a spiritual sense.

A botanist's zantedeschia is a gardener's calla.......2003-05-21

GEORGIA O'KEEFFE AND THE CALLA LILY IN AMERICAN ART, 1860-1940 has more than 50 calla images by 33 artists and photographers. The driving force behind the exhibition, catalogue and book is Barbara Buhler Lynes, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum curator. In one beautifully illustrated, clearly written and nicely organized source, she traces the plant's history, from the limited written record and through art.

Europeans imported the calla in 1731. The name was already in place, from Pliny, according to botanist Jacques Dalechamps. William Wood said the word meant beautiful in Greek. Carolus von Linnaeus, Swedish plant classifier, accepted the name for his "Species plantarum."

But calla palustris already named a northern water plant. So it became richardia. But that was already a rubiaeceae family member. So it became, and stayed, zantedeschia, after Italian botanist and physician Francesco Zantedeschi.

Art has left a better record than writing. For classifying plants encouraged drawing flowers. Especially after the calla was imported from South Africa into the United States, American artists took to its white blooms, spear-headed leaves and elegant silhouette. It became grown, known and painted coast to coast.

Traditionally, it was painted into women's portraits. As recently as 1951, Mexican artist Diego Rivera put the calla into his portrait of Helen N. Starr. A female bullfighter, Starr faced death many times. The calla was also called the perfect mourning flowers, along with azalea, rose and violets. In fact, it was scattered over President Lincoln's casket and Queen Victoria's deathbed.

It was also seen as symbol, and cause, of death. Some scientists believed them to be dangerously poisonous. But that didn't keep southern Californians from growing them outdoors, year-round, as potato-like tasty good in looks and cooking. It was the same with missionaries who had seen pygmies and elephants eating the corms in the Congo.

With all the hype, how could the calla become other than the best known subject in American art? Marsden Hartley and Georgia O'Keeffe were particularly responsible for, but not alone in, that. Not surprisingly, shortly afterwards the calla also became a favorite with advertisers, designers, film-makers and marriage planners. The book perfectly traces this fascinating surge, from our gardens and into almost all of our arts. It reads especially well with Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser's MARSDEN HARTLEY.

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Was Georgia really so bad?

digs for dirt at the expense of art, but is a fun read

O'Keefe: The Life of an American Legend
Jeffrey Hogrefe
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

O'Keeffe, Georgia | ( M-O ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0553565451
Release Date: 1994-01-01

Customer Reviews:

Was Georgia really so bad?.......2004-09-06

It's incredible how much less fun a biography is to read when the author seems to hate his or her subject. Why would they choose to spend hours and hours of research on somebody if they don't think that the person is worth it? It must be some sort of competition.
I found myself frequently thinking back to the Frida Kahlo bio written by Hayden Herrera. In that, the biographer's admiration for the artist was infectious, and was based on her body of work, which was illustrated throughout the book. But in this case, there are hardly any reproductions, because the writer concentrates on gossip and O'keeffe's shortcomings.
However, the biography is very thorough and addictive in a guilty pleasure sort of way.

digs for dirt at the expense of art, but is a fun read.......2002-06-29

This is a good book, but the author does not seem to like either O-Keeffe or her husband Stieglitz. He covers their art a bit but without enthusiasm and instead seems to target their personal foibles and sexual peccadillos, which were many and indeed strange. This is valid reporting and ceratinly covers a necessary part of the story, but after a while it gets boring. However, in many sections the author speculates in strange ways on details of their intimate life that cannot be known, such as positiing that the origin of O'Keeffe's "discreet lesbianism" came from cryptically documented (hence essentially unprovable) sexual molestation as a child. If you want to look at the art, you have to go elsewhere. I enjoyed this as a vacation book but did not learn much from it beyond gossip.

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Art & Life of Georgia O Keeffe
Crown
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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THE ART & LIFE OF GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe
Jan Garden Castro
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Art & Life of Georgia O'Keeffe
Jan Garden Castro
Manufacturer: Crown Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews:

Da.......2007-01-03

Hugh Leonard, an Irish playwright and journalist, was born in Dublin in 1926. He spent fourteen years working for the Irish Civil Service, before he was able to concentrate fully on his writing. Leonard - known in 'real' life as John Keyes Byrne - received the Tony Award in 1977 for the play "Da", which was largely based on his own youth and his relationship with his adoptive father. (It was also made into a movie, with Martin Sheen playing the Hugh Leonard role). "Home Before Night" tells part of his life story in prose form.

This is a hugely enjoyable book - it's very easily read, though some might say it's a touch sentimental. Parts are told from Leonard's own perspective ("I choked and retched, and the wind knifed through my wet clothes"), though other parts are written about Jack ("Jack's da was too slow to take Sonny's meaning"). It's a bit strange to begin with, but it doesn't interfere with the story at all. In fact, some of my favourite parts involve Jack and his pet dog - also called Jack ! Not surprisingly, it's also a little old-fashioned in places - though it's worth pointing out that certain words and phrases didn't mean then what they mean today. Definitely recommended, as is its follow-up "Out After Dark".

A must read..........2001-10-22

Hugh Leonard writing heals the soul the way a crackling fire warms a body on a winters night. His skill at capturing a life in Dalkey, a place I am so familiar with albeit a more modern one, is unique, setting in place a slice of historical life for generations to come. His settings and story capture a more simple Dublin yet one that we are all familiar with. It breathes life into a lovely town set in a beautiful part of Ireland. This book is my favourite...ever.

Nostalgic and loveable........2000-08-18

This is the tale of a boy growing up in Dalkey in the 1940's and 50's. It is autobiographical and gives an intimate view of Leonard and the influences that effected him in his youth. The book is a collection of cameos of life in a small Irish village just south of Dublin. Dalkey is now part of the greater Dublin Sprawl, but this book captures a time when it was only a village. Leonard regales us with hilarious tales, the dog who attacks priests and policemen, his job interview in a pub where he learns the one great truth in life ( in a pub toilet incoming traffic has right of way). If you know Leonard through his plays (Da and a Life especially) you will have seen some of this material. Even so, the impeccable writing and a real feel for prose makes this book worth a read.

Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children's Literature

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A perfect book for undergraduates
Pretty Worthless
What a little gem of a book!

Feeling Like a Kid: Childhood and Children's Literature
Jerry Griswold
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Children's Literature Guides | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0801885175

Book Description

In this engaging and reflective essay, Jerry Griswold examines the unique qualities of childhood experience and their reappearance as frequent themes in children's literature. Surveying dozens of classic and popular works for the young -- from Heidi and The Wizard of Oz to Beatrix Potter and Harry Potter -- Griswold demonstrates how great children's writers succeed because of their uncanny ability to remember what it feels like to be a kid: playing under tables, shivering in bed on a scary night, arranging miniature worlds with toys, zooming around as caped superheroes, listening to dolls talk.

No softheaded discussion of kids' "cute" convictions nor a developmentally-focused critique of their "immature" beliefs, Feeling Like a Kid boldly and honestly identifies the ways in which the young think and see the world in a manner different from that of adults. Written by a leading scholar, prize-winning author, and frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, this extensively illustrated book will fascinate general readers as well as all those who study childhood and children's literature.

Customer Reviews:

A perfect book for undergraduates.......2007-04-10

For anyone looking for a short book to accompany a college course in children's lit, this book is it. It is simply written, not marred by abstruse critical jargon, and discusses a host of interesting things worth covering in an undergraduate course. And Johns Hopkins did a beautiful job with the book itself. It's a little work of art, the kind of thing students will keep.

Pretty Worthless.......2007-03-28

Griswold's treatment of the books is disappointingly shallow. He makes a number of undeniably true observations about what children like, how they behave, what they seek out, etc - and then notes that various well-known books satisfy those desires. E.g., children like to feel snug, like to enclose themselves in small spaces - and guess what? that's exactly what you find in various children's books. Griswold doesn't devote much time to asking "why?" or to explaining the significance of any of these desires. The book is enjoyable but by the time you're done reading the author's very superficial discussion, your reaction is, "well, I could have told you all that off the top of my head."

What a little gem of a book!.......2006-12-17

This absolutely wonderful book illuminates the world of childhood like no other. Griswold examines dozens of childrens* stories and discovers certain qualities common to all of them--snugness,scariness, smallness, lightness, and aliveness. He shows us how these qualities are central to a childs perception of the world. Lucidly written, convincingly argued, profusely illustrated, this is a book that every parent who reads stories to his or her child should have. And its* a gorgeous book as well--an example of the bookmaking art at its best. *(the apostrophe doesn*t seem to work on this computer--Im not illiterate)

Opening the Nursery Door: Reading, Writing and Childhood 1600-1900

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Opening the Nursery Door: Reading, Writing and Childhood 1600-1900
Mary Hilton
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0415148987

Book Description

Opening the Nursery Door is a fascinating collection of essays inspired by the discovery of a tiny archive: the nursery library of Jane Johnson 1707-1759, wife of a Lincolnshire vicar. It has captured the scholarly interest of social anthropologists, historians, literary scholars, educationalists and archivists as it has opened up a range of questions about the nature of childhood within English cultural life over three centuries: the texts written and read to children, the multifarious ways childhood has been considered, shaped and schooled through literacy practices, and the hitherto ignored role of women educators in early childhood across all classes.

The House by the Dvina: A Russian Scottish Childhood

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Deeply moving and vivid account of an amazing time and place

The House by the Dvina: A Russian Scottish Childhood
Eugenie Fraser
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0802710077

Customer Reviews:

Deeply moving and vivid account of an amazing time and place.......1999-10-15

This is by far the most moving book I have ever read. It is an extremely detailed and vivid portrayal of life in a well to do (but not aristocratic) Russian family.

The early parts of the book give a detailed and fascinating histroy of the authors relatives prior to her birth. Then in an gripping and extremely colourful narrative she describes her childhood at the start of this century until the family is forced to flee Russia shortly after the Russian revolution.

This book stirs up such strong images that it is almost like watching a film, and only one I know of is so evocatice. Schindlers List.

Amazon.com

Ciaran Carson, a Belfast-born journalist and musicologist, offers an unusually constructed history of his native city in this collection of sometimes whimsical essays that disguise a profound sadness. Remembering his boyhood fondness for building model airplanes, for instance, he touches on the religious imagery of the Troubles, artifacts of a mimesis that seeks "a parallel reality," one better than that of the present. Recalling another youthful fondness for shortwave radio, he reconstructs "an era when London, more importantly than Rome, was the hub of the universe, emanating authoritative spokes to its dominions. I hear it murmur as I write, and feel complicit with its now-declining realm." Carson, a Catholic, speaks to the possibilities of a Belfast free of its ghosts and seemingly interminable hatreds; his descent into "the wormhole of memory" yields a wonderful book. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

Magical prose.......2001-08-03

I was led to this book via Partickane's list of contemporary Irish literature on .... Partially a memoir, partially a meditation on language and history, and not quite like anything I have ever read before. Carson's prose style is lyrical, melodic and absolutely engaging without being in the least showy.

A masterful playground of language and memory.......1998-10-25

As unlikely as the link may seem, Cairan Carson is to Belfast and traditional Irish music what Nathanial Mackey is to California and jazz.

Carson's memoire of life as an adolescent in Belfast is ripe ground for etymological meanderings in an out of English and Irish. He dally's with Catholic dogma and sources whose only connective thread is his passing interest in them.

Book Description

'This book is the record of a struggle between two temperaments, two consciences and almost two epochs.' Father and Son stands as one of English literature's seminal autobiographies. In it Edmund Gosse recounts, with humour and pathos, his childhood as a member of a Victorian Protestant sect and his struggles to forge his own identity despite the loving control of his father. A key document of the crisis of faith and doubt; a penetrating exploration of the impact of evolutionary science; an astute, well-observed, and moving portrait of the tensions of family life: Father and Son remains a classic of twentieth-century literature. As well as an illuminating introduction, this edition also provides a series of fascinating appendices including extracts from Philip Gosse's Omphalos and his harrowing account of his wife's death from breast cancer.

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Great Night Table Reading...

A Dublin Girl: Growing Up in the 1930s
Elaine Crowley
Manufacturer: Soho Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1569471371

Book Description

Growing up in a one-room tenement with her parents and two siblings, Elaine Crowley became a shrewd observer: of the neighborhood within the Liberties, of street life, of poverty, of her father's infidelity, and of her mother's effort to end his affair. Her memories create a moving portrait of a 1930s Irish family contending with the pain of adversity and loss, and how love can overcome both.

Customer Reviews:

Great Night Table Reading..........1999-05-03

Elaine Crowley weaved a wonderful story that did combine humor and pathos in a way that left the reader hopeful...to the very end. I imagine Ms. Crowley as being an extremely grounded and delightful person, in spite of the "hard times" she endured during her childhood years. And isn't that always the "best" gift we can give to ourselves/offer to others? Rather than staying stuck in her own bitterness, anger, resentment and/or rage---it's nice to see an author "get into it" (when "it" isn't very pleasant at all!), but come through it victoriously. She's someone I would have liked to know personally; her family is no doubt extremely fortunate to have her. Mary in Northville, MI

West of Ireland Summers, a Cook Book: Recipes and Memories from an Irish Childhood

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The New Irish Cuisine

West of Ireland Summers, a Cook Book: Recipes and Memories from an Irish Childhood
Tamasin Day-Lewis
Manufacturer: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1570982805

Book Description

In a vivid account of summers spent in the remote beauty of west Ireland, Tamasin Day-Lewis conjures up the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of family holidays. Her passion for cooking is evident in the dishes -- some traditional, others created by Day-Lewis to utilize the fresh local ingredients.

Customer Reviews:

The New Irish Cuisine.......2000-08-09

When I was first in Ireland more than a decade ago, the country was by and large a culinary wasteland. That has changed dramatically in recent years, as young chefs across the country have started first-rate restaurants. Along with that welcome development have come a group of Irish cookbooks that are also world class. The two-volume set called Gourmet Ireland by the couple that run the Belfast restaurant called Roskoff were, until now, the best of those books. Tamasin Day-Lewis'West of Ireland Summers is, I think, even better than the "Gourmet" pair. I had the good fortune to have been given the book just before I left for three weeks in the West of Ireland (Co. Clare) and prepared meal after meal according to Day-Lewis' instruction. I was impressed, to say the least. I'm thinking especially of the mussel chowder that I made twice during our stay, and the braised lamb shanks. Fabulous! I had the advantage of testing her book while sitting in the very part of the country about which she writes, and had the added advantage of being able to buy the wonderfully fresh mussels, and scallops (with their roe), and oysters and crab and prawns and, of course, the lamb every day. But don't wait to get to the West of Ireland to buy and use this book. I left my copy in the house in Clare, but am just now ordering a copy to keep here in the U.S. Tamasin Day-Lewis is, I believe, a sister to the actor? That's not important at all. What is important is, for example, the seafood risotto recipe in her book. The best I've ever had.

Flying With Scissors: A Different Perspective on Childhood Cancer

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The best non-fiction story I've ever read...
Loved it.
Superheros and Spam

Flying With Scissors: A Different Perspective on Childhood Cancer
Bob Wallace
Manufacturer: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1589397983

Book Description

What do superheroes, Spam, "The THING?" Yoda, snipe, Jell-O, flatulence and cancer all have in common?

Until now, not much.

But, "Flying with Scissors: A Different Perspective on Childhood Cancer" changes all that by weaving these and other unlikely topics into a totally unique look at childhood cancer and the kids who have moved beyond the illness. Having trained under the greatest guru of all-life--these kids are set on reminding us that the world is not made up of problems, but of dreams, hope, and triumph.

Hilarious and heartfelt, "Flying with Scissors" takes the personal experiences and insights of children who have battled cancer and turns them into universal truths that relate to each of us. It provides a non-traditional look at a typically solemn topic. "Flying with Scissors" is a resource and companion for anyone close to a child going through the cancer experience. Possibly more importantly, "Flying with Scissors" provides guidance for all of us, valuable insights for living life-every, every day.

And, like DC Comics used to say, "It's more fun than a barrel full of genetically-altered winged monkeys!

Customer Reviews:

The best non-fiction story I've ever read..........2006-05-07

Flying with Scissors is a truly inspirational book. In fact, it's a work of art. The humor and illustrations will have you laughing and crying. Some of the true-to-life accounts of children fighting their own battles with cancer made my heart warm in a way that rarely happens when I read a book. Though non-fiction, the story read like a novel. It was honest, funny, daring at times, and extremely well-written. I am truly impressed and highly recommend Flying With Scissors to anyone who has a loved one with childhood cancer, or any other person who wants to read a truly inspirational book that will make you want to love more, enjoy family and friends more, and celebrate life to the fullest. I can't help but rave about this one. I hope to see more books from Bob Wallace. Well done!

Loved it........2006-05-03

This book has so much heart, you can't help but love Uncle Bob and his amazing experiences with these kids. I connected with this book on more levels than you could know; it reaches out to you and speaks to your deepest fears- and helps you laugh at them.

This book is the epitome of hope. What better way to illustrate strength, knowledge, and love than through the experiences of a child-turned-adult who has been forced to live with cancer? I laughed at adventures of pirates and spam, cried for those who were lost, and marvelled at stories of courage and companionship.

Everyone is touched by cancer in some way in their lives. This book accepts the horrors of the world and makes them, if not less real, then less overwhelming. It encourages you to laugh at every situation, live every day like it's your last, and never lose sight of what really matters. It's a story that will make you smile and warm your heart; I highly recommend it.

Superheros and Spam.......2006-03-04

This isn't one of those sad, heartwrenching books about kids with cancer. It uses humor, anecdotes, and superhero references to express how strong these kids really are. It offers a peek into the lives of children with cancer, through the eyes of a camp counselor. It's a must read for everyone, even if you don't personally know a child with cancer. It reminds us that there is more to life than what we take for granted. This book makes you look at kids with cancer differently. Not only that, but I now look at Spam as not only an alternative food product, but as an endless source of entertainment! Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

The Early Poetry of Robert Graves: The Goddess Beckons (Literary Modernism Series)

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The Early Poetry of Robert Graves: The Goddess Beckons (Literary Modernism Series)
Frank L. Kersnowski
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0292743432

Book Description

"No one has read the poems from Over the Brazier to Whipperginny before with this complex conception of what war-neurosis means to Graves' development, nor with this sensitively developed context of biography, poetry, critical writing, and intellectual background. . . . This is really masterful literary criticism--no jargon, no ideology, just firm, secure knowledge and discriminating taste." --John W. Presley, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, SUNY Oswego Like many men of his generation, poet Robert Graves was indelibly marked by his experience of trench warfare in World War I. The horrific battles in which he fought and his guilt over surviving when so many perished left Graves shell-shocked and disoriented, desperately seeking a way to bridge the rupture between his conventional upbringing and the uncertainties of postwar British society. In this study of Graves's early poetry, Frank Kersnowski explores how his war neurosis opened a door into the unconscious for Graves and led him to reject the essential components of the Western idea of reality--reason and predictability. In particular, Kersnowski traces the emergence in Graves's early poems of a figure he later called "The White Goddess," a being at once terrifying and glorious, who sustains life and inspires poetry. Drawing on interviews with Graves's family, as well as unpublished correspondence and drafts of poems, Kersnowski argues that Graves actually experienced the White Goddess as a real being and that his life as a poet was driven by the purpose of celebrating and explaining this deity and her matriarchy.

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