What can be bad about 902 pin-ups? This is a huge collection of pin ups from the 1890s all the way through to the 1970s. Most of them are from the pin-up golden age of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. This is primarily an art book by the well-know Taschen. The colour reproductions are very high quality. Many of the images get a full page. Four images per page is another common layout, but all kinds of lay outs are used to really squeeze the images in. Much less satisfying is the text. After a fine introductory essay on the history of the pin-up (sharing its title with the book) the quality of the writing fades. The other initial essays are forgettable. The great bulk of the book is divided up by artist with each getting a brief biography. Other than the basic information on birth dates and schools attended these biographies all fade together into glowing praise of each man’s (or woman’s) brushwork, colour and luminosity. I’m not sure what I expected out of a book about pin-ups, but except for a few gems of information I was underwhelmed. Avoid it if you are looking for “scholarly” stuff about the place of the pin-up in the American psyche or the history of sex appeal in advertizing. Get it if you like to look at pin-ups.
30 June 2010
A Review: The Great American Pin-Up - Charles G Martignette & Louis K Meisel
4 / 5 Stars
What can be bad about 902 pin-ups? This is a huge collection of pin ups from the 1890s all the way through to the 1970s. Most of them are from the pin-up golden age of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. This is primarily an art book by the well-know Taschen. The colour reproductions are very high quality. Many of the images get a full page. Four images per page is another common layout, but all kinds of lay outs are used to really squeeze the images in. Much less satisfying is the text. After a fine introductory essay on the history of the pin-up (sharing its title with the book) the quality of the writing fades. The other initial essays are forgettable. The great bulk of the book is divided up by artist with each getting a brief biography. Other than the basic information on birth dates and schools attended these biographies all fade together into glowing praise of each man’s (or woman’s) brushwork, colour and luminosity. I’m not sure what I expected out of a book about pin-ups, but except for a few gems of information I was underwhelmed. Avoid it if you are looking for “scholarly” stuff about the place of the pin-up in the American psyche or the history of sex appeal in advertizing. Get it if you like to look at pin-ups.
What can be bad about 902 pin-ups? This is a huge collection of pin ups from the 1890s all the way through to the 1970s. Most of them are from the pin-up golden age of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. This is primarily an art book by the well-know Taschen. The colour reproductions are very high quality. Many of the images get a full page. Four images per page is another common layout, but all kinds of lay outs are used to really squeeze the images in. Much less satisfying is the text. After a fine introductory essay on the history of the pin-up (sharing its title with the book) the quality of the writing fades. The other initial essays are forgettable. The great bulk of the book is divided up by artist with each getting a brief biography. Other than the basic information on birth dates and schools attended these biographies all fade together into glowing praise of each man’s (or woman’s) brushwork, colour and luminosity. I’m not sure what I expected out of a book about pin-ups, but except for a few gems of information I was underwhelmed. Avoid it if you are looking for “scholarly” stuff about the place of the pin-up in the American psyche or the history of sex appeal in advertizing. Get it if you like to look at pin-ups.
22 June 2010
A Review: Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes – Robert Louis Stevenson
3 / 5 Stars
A quaint but somewhat flat travel log. A famous author takes a few weeks and hikes across the southern French mountains. He relates what he ate, whom he met, the scenes he saw, the things he felt. I’m sure it sounded different when it was first published over 100 years ago, but today it all reads as rather pedestrian. And I’m not just saying that because Stevenson walked. It’s a loose narrative with no clear flow and hardly any striking passages. That’s probably how it really was to walk across the mountains of southern France, so it’s accurate at least. Of a bit more value are the bits of history that are woven into the account. He discusses the “Napoleon of Wolves” and the Camisard revolt. If you are a big-big fan of Stevenson’s globe-trotting or of Victorian travel logs then it’s worth a look, otherwise just go watch the 2001 film Le Pacte des loups.
A quaint but somewhat flat travel log. A famous author takes a few weeks and hikes across the southern French mountains. He relates what he ate, whom he met, the scenes he saw, the things he felt. I’m sure it sounded different when it was first published over 100 years ago, but today it all reads as rather pedestrian. And I’m not just saying that because Stevenson walked. It’s a loose narrative with no clear flow and hardly any striking passages. That’s probably how it really was to walk across the mountains of southern France, so it’s accurate at least. Of a bit more value are the bits of history that are woven into the account. He discusses the “Napoleon of Wolves” and the Camisard revolt. If you are a big-big fan of Stevenson’s globe-trotting or of Victorian travel logs then it’s worth a look, otherwise just go watch the 2001 film Le Pacte des loups.
20 June 2010
A Review: China’s Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969: Not a Dinner Party – Michael Schoenhals, ed.
4 / 5 Stars
A remarkably clear window into another time and place. This is a collection of primary sources related to the so-called Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Many of the documents are from the government. Many others are from the people themselves. There are selections from both the students (Red Guards) who carried out so much of the ground work of the Revolution and from their targets (party persons in power who are taking the Capitalist road). Particularly powerful are Document 20, the transcript of the “struggle” against Wang Guangmei, and Document 64, a brief anonymous autobiography. Since it’s all primary sources there is very little in the way of commentary. That’s just fine since the documents speak well enough for themselves. They are well-arranged and the translations are very readable. The whole progress of the Cultural Revolution unfolds quite clearly. It was not a dinner party, it was an act of violence. Just as Mao proclaimed.
A remarkably clear window into another time and place. This is a collection of primary sources related to the so-called Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Many of the documents are from the government. Many others are from the people themselves. There are selections from both the students (Red Guards) who carried out so much of the ground work of the Revolution and from their targets (party persons in power who are taking the Capitalist road). Particularly powerful are Document 20, the transcript of the “struggle” against Wang Guangmei, and Document 64, a brief anonymous autobiography. Since it’s all primary sources there is very little in the way of commentary. That’s just fine since the documents speak well enough for themselves. They are well-arranged and the translations are very readable. The whole progress of the Cultural Revolution unfolds quite clearly. It was not a dinner party, it was an act of violence. Just as Mao proclaimed.
17 June 2010
A Review: The Miocene Arrow – Sean McMullen
5 / 5 Stars
A superior follow-up. Book two of the Greatwinter Trilogy is a lot better than the first. This is not a novel built from two novellas as the first book was. This is a long novel from the get-go. That solves the consistency problem of the first. It also allows everything to be bigger. Bigger conflicts, better technology, more factions, more characters. That is not to say things are top-heavy. McMullen has done his work at every level to support the bigger story. Happily, there is a more even distribution of female and male characters and their interactions throughout are far more realistic (read: the thick sexuality of the first book is a bit thinner this time). McMullen does all of this without loosing any of the elements that made the previous volume so good. His world-crafting remains impeccable and his characters move in that world as if they have grown up there. He maintains a complex interplay between politics and relationships. He also continues to explore the limits of technology (if there are limits). I think by every literary measure, this is a better book. And the plot? Here McMullen gives us a look at North America in the 40th Century and lays out yet another complex dueling culture. This time duels are fought in fabric and wood airplanes called gunwings. Such duels decide matters of honor and the outcome of wars between the Airlords. Or they should. Avids from Australica are about to teach the Americans about total war.
A superior follow-up. Book two of the Greatwinter Trilogy is a lot better than the first. This is not a novel built from two novellas as the first book was. This is a long novel from the get-go. That solves the consistency problem of the first. It also allows everything to be bigger. Bigger conflicts, better technology, more factions, more characters. That is not to say things are top-heavy. McMullen has done his work at every level to support the bigger story. Happily, there is a more even distribution of female and male characters and their interactions throughout are far more realistic (read: the thick sexuality of the first book is a bit thinner this time). McMullen does all of this without loosing any of the elements that made the previous volume so good. His world-crafting remains impeccable and his characters move in that world as if they have grown up there. He maintains a complex interplay between politics and relationships. He also continues to explore the limits of technology (if there are limits). I think by every literary measure, this is a better book. And the plot? Here McMullen gives us a look at North America in the 40th Century and lays out yet another complex dueling culture. This time duels are fought in fabric and wood airplanes called gunwings. Such duels decide matters of honor and the outcome of wars between the Airlords. Or they should. Avids from Australica are about to teach the Americans about total war.
14 May 2010
A “Full Day’s” Work
I have been writing some on Jaws of Empire in the last few days. Today I did 1500+ words. I was trying to think of as a NaNoWriMo day. When you are just starting out on a story you can make up essentially whatever you want and just make a note to explain it later. Once you have several chapters down and the characters are starting to interact with the story elements you’ve left hanging you can’t get away with that anymore.
That’s the point I am getting to in this story. I think I need to take some time to work out the political structure of each Empire – at least a sketch of them. I also need a chronology. What day is this all happening? Does Jundah have enough time to get from where he was in the last chapter to be in on this meeting I am writing? I can just decide, “yes, yes he does,” but that will effect the timing of other events I have planned! Ga!
On the other hand I am rather happy with the slow reveal of the mystery and the scene I wrote today has a lot of different characters bringing different points of view to piece things together. I like it as of right now.
That’s the point I am getting to in this story. I think I need to take some time to work out the political structure of each Empire – at least a sketch of them. I also need a chronology. What day is this all happening? Does Jundah have enough time to get from where he was in the last chapter to be in on this meeting I am writing? I can just decide, “yes, yes he does,” but that will effect the timing of other events I have planned! Ga!
On the other hand I am rather happy with the slow reveal of the mystery and the scene I wrote today has a lot of different characters bringing different points of view to piece things together. I like it as of right now.
12 May 2010
A Review: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World – Jack Weatherford
4.5 / 5 Stars
A highly readable account of the life, death and legacy of Temujin. This book should have been called “A Short History of the Mongol Empire,” because that is what Weatherford presents. From background on the Mongol cultural milieu to Temujin’s early family struggles, to his conquests of China, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe to the rapid dismembering of the Empire under his heirs this history is fast-paced and precise. Information is drawn primarily from the less well-known (in English) Secret History, written by the Mongols themselves, but Persian, Chinese, Russian and Franciscan sources are also used. Weatherford adds details from his own experiences in modern Mongolia. This book does an excellent job describing just how Temujin came to think like the Great Khan he is remembered as. This is also a great look at the military techniques that made the Mongols so successful across 5,000 miles of Eurasia. This is not a book about how everything good was invented by the Mongols or how their policies are still in use today, but it is a persuasive argument that they deserve more credit for laying the groundwork of the 1500s (in East and West) than they currently receive. Fans of history generally and of Asian history especially should give it a read.
A highly readable account of the life, death and legacy of Temujin. This book should have been called “A Short History of the Mongol Empire,” because that is what Weatherford presents. From background on the Mongol cultural milieu to Temujin’s early family struggles, to his conquests of China, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe to the rapid dismembering of the Empire under his heirs this history is fast-paced and precise. Information is drawn primarily from the less well-known (in English) Secret History, written by the Mongols themselves, but Persian, Chinese, Russian and Franciscan sources are also used. Weatherford adds details from his own experiences in modern Mongolia. This book does an excellent job describing just how Temujin came to think like the Great Khan he is remembered as. This is also a great look at the military techniques that made the Mongols so successful across 5,000 miles of Eurasia. This is not a book about how everything good was invented by the Mongols or how their policies are still in use today, but it is a persuasive argument that they deserve more credit for laying the groundwork of the 1500s (in East and West) than they currently receive. Fans of history generally and of Asian history especially should give it a read.
10 May 2010
A Review: Souls in the Great Machine - Sean McMullen
4 / 5 Stars
A post-apocalyptic tale with more twisting than a ‘50s dance hall. McMullen has created the most fully-realized and most unique post-apocalyptic story world I have ever come across. Nearly everything in this tale is presented in stages so I can’t say much without spoiling the reveals. Suffice it to say that in Australia thousands of years after Greatwinter human power (both muscle and brain) is used for just about everything. Everything. This is actually a combination of two shorter novels and that really shows. The first half of the book is tightly focused on a small group of characters in Libris, the central and most powerful library in the Southern Alliance, and their struggles to create a machine called the Calculor. The story then expands dramatically to a sprawling (almost rambling) story about the continent-spanning adventures of this same group (along with a host of others) and their interactions with the mysterious Mirrorsun. This second half is almost as interesting as the first, but there are so many threads to follow that they all loose their potency. The motivations of certain parties become impossible to follow. McMullen’s tendency to skip six weeks between paragraphs and as much as ten years between chapters does not help to keep things in focus. I can’t decide if this is book about relationships that plays out against a background of technology and politics or a book about technology and politics with a heavy focus on relationships. Either way there is a lot of interplay between the two. It makes for a great read as you can see how people’s choices are going to play out on the international stage, except for all those times that you can’t follow the motivations and things end up all deus ex machina. I’ve wanted to read this for a long time and had really built it up in my mind. It’s not quite as good as I’d hoped, but it is good. It’s the first in a trilogy and I’ll be reading the others soon.
A post-apocalyptic tale with more twisting than a ‘50s dance hall. McMullen has created the most fully-realized and most unique post-apocalyptic story world I have ever come across. Nearly everything in this tale is presented in stages so I can’t say much without spoiling the reveals. Suffice it to say that in Australia thousands of years after Greatwinter human power (both muscle and brain) is used for just about everything. Everything. This is actually a combination of two shorter novels and that really shows. The first half of the book is tightly focused on a small group of characters in Libris, the central and most powerful library in the Southern Alliance, and their struggles to create a machine called the Calculor. The story then expands dramatically to a sprawling (almost rambling) story about the continent-spanning adventures of this same group (along with a host of others) and their interactions with the mysterious Mirrorsun. This second half is almost as interesting as the first, but there are so many threads to follow that they all loose their potency. The motivations of certain parties become impossible to follow. McMullen’s tendency to skip six weeks between paragraphs and as much as ten years between chapters does not help to keep things in focus. I can’t decide if this is book about relationships that plays out against a background of technology and politics or a book about technology and politics with a heavy focus on relationships. Either way there is a lot of interplay between the two. It makes for a great read as you can see how people’s choices are going to play out on the international stage, except for all those times that you can’t follow the motivations and things end up all deus ex machina. I’ve wanted to read this for a long time and had really built it up in my mind. It’s not quite as good as I’d hoped, but it is good. It’s the first in a trilogy and I’ll be reading the others soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
