1990 Books

The artistic trajectory of Dennis Oppenheim has always been characterized by incorrigible discontinuity. Following his earthworks (1967-69) and body-works, in which his own body was used as canvas and art material, came the installations (from 1972 onwards), using puppets as their main theme. Later on, at the end of the seventies, Oppenheim produced what he calls his "machine pieces" which, by denying the object its sculptural status, are presented as complex constructions, systems open to both an aleatory and an enigmatic mode of functioning. There is an interesting progression from the early machine pieces which seemed infused with a confidence in rationality and in the possibility of grasping the structure of the mind to the late works which were designed to celebrate disunity and confusion.

This book is a classy package, co-published by Harry Abrams and The Institute for Contemporary Art: textured black cloth over hardback boards with a heavy-duty dustjacket. Heavy stock. 194 illustrations, including 43 color plates. With an essay by Thomas McEvilley.

The artistic trajectory of Dennis Oppenheim has always been characterized by incorrigible discontinuity. Following his earthworks (1967-69) and body-works, in which his own body was used as canvas and art material, came the installations (from 1972 onwards), using puppets as their main theme. Later on, at the end of the seventies, Oppenheim produced what he calls his "machine pieces" which, by denying the object its sculptural status, are presented as complex constructions, systems open to both an aleatory and an enigmatic mode of functioning. There is an interesting progression from the early machine pieces which seemed infused with a confidence in rationality and in the possibility of grasping the structure of the mind to the late works which were designed to celebrate disunity and confusion.

This book is a classy package, co-published by Harry Abrams and The Institute for Contemporary Art: textured black cloth over hardback boards with a heavy-duty dustjacket. Heavy stock. 194 illustrations, including 43 color plates. With an essay by Thomas McEvilley.

Table of Contents Highlights

Introduction by Heiss
The Rightness and Wrongness of Modernism... by McEvilley
Interview with Oppenheim by Heiss

Chronology
Selected Exhibitions
Selected Bibliography
Picture Credits

click on the thumbnail to view the book cover - see?

What we know as "Desert Storm" is now a prelude to Gulf War II, which relieved the world of tin-horn dictator Saddam Hussein.

What's easy to forget is that Desert Storm had a long build-up time, a period when doomsayers were predicting a bloodbath for Coalition forces. But it was that same build-up, the preparation which set the stage for easy victory. Hussein courteously allowed Coalition forces to gather and train in theater.

The Desert Shield Factbook is simple, without being simplistic. It's a great guide to the military forces, and the weapons of that war. A complete book includes a poster-sized map of the region.

Combined with it's post-war brother "Gulf War Factbook"the DSF is a great education on Desert Storm.

If you're looking for a basic book about the Gulf War and its many aspects, you couldn't go wrong with this one. Just the sort of high quality and good writing you would expect from Military History Magazine!

Desert Warriors is quite a special book, dedicated to the men and women of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Put together by the staff of the USA Today in the days just following the war's end in early March, it provides a very personal look at some of the brave soldiers who served in the first Gulf War. The book opens with a short summary of the course of events - Chapter One is given the fitting title "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Feats." There is a chapter called "Desert Diary" made up of field reports by USA Today reporter Lawrence Jolidon; these reports focus on the human side of the war, as he described the ways soldiers endured the wait and boredom preceding the war and acted so ably and bravely once ground forces got in on the action. One chapter features special interest stories of a number of individual soldiers; several of these vignettes deal with mothers who left children behind to serve (a first in US military history), but perhaps the best-known subject is a female Army nurse photographed napping with a teddy bear in her arms (although she was every bit the soldier). The home front is the subject of one chapter, exploring not only the popular support of our soldiers but the very real economic changes brought about in the lives of some individuals as well as cities when 540,000 of our best men and women left for the Gulf.

Two other chapters stand out from the crowd, however. One contains portions of letters written by soldiers to friends and family back home. These really give you a strong sense of the caliber of individuals America sent to liberate Kuwait. Taking up just over half of the book's pages is a chapter called "Those Who Died." This chapter is what really makes this book so special. Every soldier who died or who was then missing in action is listed by name, rank, hometown, and age. Rather than leave it at that, though, the editors add personal information for each individual - information on the manner of death, families left behind, words expressed by the fallen hero before or during his/her service, personal descriptions from friends and family, etc. None of these biographical additions are lengthy by any means, and some are rather short, but you do get a sense of who these people were who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their country and of freedom. It is impossible to see these heroes as impersonal "numbers" or "casualty figures" after reading this book. Desert Warriors: The Men and Women Who Won the Gulf War is really a touching tribute to our brave soldiers, and I look upon this book with pride and great respect.

I am ashamed to say that I know a few of the people involved in this horrible case. This book is written in a journalistic style, the author depicts the facts with little emotion. She doesn't need to sensationalize the facts, they speak for themselves. I do think the book would've been more powerful if she'd included pictures of Joshua and his abusive father. And the social worker involved. I changed my opinion of some Supreme Court justices after reading this book. The fact that our local social worker's lack of action resulted in leaving an innocent child severely retarded (with half a brain) is so appalling. Someone should be accountable. No one was. Our local police and our local newspaper are also accountable for their support of the errant social worker. "Poor Joshua" and shame on you, the State of Wisconsin and it's social workers.

I'm in the middle of opening a day care center and this book was great. It contained alot of useful information and I constantly referenced the manual throughout the process. It contained all the forms that you will need from hiring, registration to immunizations. It is a must have.

The text and the enclosed CD are an excellent tools for the study these songs and also as an introduction to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. The footnotes and bibliography provide useful leads for further study. The entire score is essential for fully appreciating the detailed examination of each song although the text includes many musical examples. Ideally the text would have been enhanced if it were possible to provide a miniature score of the songs along with numbering of measures.
James L. Franklin, M.D.

Amazon gives a very fair sampling of the high quality entries available in this third edition of A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. The text is clear and readable without a magnifying glass, both the hard and paper back versions lie relatively flat making them easy to refer to, and Oxford provides a key to regular updates of the text. If you need a reference to recent history, you will find it hard to find a better resource.

Well, not really that hard. For three times more per year, you can subscribe as an individual Oxford Reference Online Premium, which includes over 175 titles, updated regularly, in the Oxford Companions and Oxford Dictionaries series, the "Visual English Dictionary", the "Oxford Dictionary of Quotations" and natural history titles such as the Encyclopedia of Mammals. Altogether, there are 1.4 million entries, including in-depth, signed entries with bibliographies.

It's really amazing that Oxford is able to make all this learning available for such a relatively low price. If you prefer hard copy, by all means buy A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. Otherwise, consider Oxford Reference Online Premium.

Robert C. Ross 2008