DE Books

If you want to know about revolution around the world you should read this book...

Revolution-500 yrs of struggle for change is an excellent review of some of the most influencial revolutions that have ever happened. I love this book as it is so informative and intresting. I definitely recomend it to any one intrested in revolutions. The pictures are excellent too!! With the pictures of old art to photos of Che Guevara and Boris Yeltsin. and it also has maps to explain things. There's loads of great quotes from pple, it's wonderful!!!!!!

Making history accessible to everyone is not only a rare talent but a great service to the public, and this is a book that can be enjoyed by everyone. It is full of wit, insight, wonderful illustrations and photographs. It captures the most important political details of the last five centuries in a way that brings home to the reader the true historical significance of events many of us have only ever heard or read about from a single (authorized) perspective. Much of history is so bloody and disturbing that it can deter people from delving into it. Mark Almond's book is gripping enough to prevent readers from turning away from the horrors, and the importance of that should not be underestimated. We all have a responsibility to be aware of the real causes behind the great tragedies in human history. The great revolutions of the last 500 years have occurred at such a horrendous cost to mankind that for any of us to simply sit back and say "that could never happen again, not in this day and age" would be tantamount to criminal negligence. How many people predicted the terrors, wars and famines of the last half millennium? As the author writes in the opening chapter, "Complacency has rarely been a good prophet." Taking those words to heart, any reader of this book should find he or she has the impetus to read on. As an added bonus, the reader should find tremendous enjoyment in turning the pages.

After Gaudi in Barcelona there is no other architect with such exuberance and clarity of vision. Buildings showcased here such as The Red Wall, Kafka's Castle, and Walden 7, are up there with Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. Insightful interview and supporting documentation. Highly recommended.

Without this book any research on Spanish architecture and urbanism in the 20th Century would be incomplete. Esential reading for lovers of Architecture in Spain.

Bofill is Spain's most famous, or perhaps infamous, architect in practice today. This catalogue raisonne is essential to any research on the subject. Anyone who is interested in Spanish contemporary architecture must read it. A true gem.

Imagine the delight on my daughter's face, when her son unwrapped this birthday gift. He loves Richard Scarry books. After spending almost 2 years in South America, I thought this would help keep his (& his mom's) new language skills fresh. He loves it!

I've always loved Richard Scarry books ever since my little brother received his first copy. They are so cute and detailed.

I bought this book for a 3 year old who is moving to Central America
where her parents will work. Of several Spinish and bilingual books she has, this is her favorite. Mine too!

I love the book, it's amazing...a collector's item for those who are truly fans of Ricky Martin, like myself...God Bless My Puerto Rican Hunk...wwwwwweeeeeeeeeppppppppaaaaaaaaaa

I really enjoyed the book on Ricky Martin. Once I started reading the book I couldn't stop reading it. I have always wanted to know more about Ricky Martin.I have been a fan of his for a long time. I am a college student in Philadelphia. I am a Hispanic female. I am only 19 years old. I have been watching Ricky Martin since I was a Little girl. He is a amazing person and is a wonderful singer. I always had a dream of meeting him. The book is a fantastic. Thank you for writing such a fantastic book.

This is a great book for any fan of Ricky Martin. It has tons of pictures of Ricky in full color that take up an entire page! The book is mostly about Ricky's career after Menudo although there is a chapter about Ricky before Menudo and one about his days in Menudo.

A heartfelt memoir. Thank you to the Author. The book provides an honest and hopeful journey through the highs and lows of being diagnosed with cancer.

I couldn't put this book down until I was finished. I found myself laughing and crying and identifying with so many of the same feelings the author had. This book is sure to be a great source of encouragement and inspiration to patients as well as to their family and friends. It was also interesting to read about treatment at a major research facility (Michigan) and to "meet" some of the people who develop new treatments.

If this were fiction, it would be an excellent story. The fact that it's true makes it all the more compelling. If your life has ever been touched by cancer in any way, you will laugh and cry through this book and find a great deal of support and encouragement. This is one of the best memoirs I have read.

Roy de Carava's photographs are simply breathtaking.

It is really unfortunate that the book is no longer available in its softcover edition. Could we convince MOMA to make it accessible to people who can't pay sixty bucks for a book?

Although I am a serious amateur photographer, and student of the history of photography, I admit to being ignorant of DeCarava's work. A visit to the current DeCarava exhibition at Atlanta's High Museum changed that. He is an outstanding black and white photographer, with a tendency to produce dark and moody scenes. The images work. Each one seems to clearly convey the artists intent. He shows mastery in all of his varied works whether street scenes, portraits, abstractions, or still lifes. I couldn't leave the museum without buying this book.

Pauline Kael once wrote of a film, "I'm scared to say how good I think this movie is." That's how I feel about this book. The pictures cover a wide variety of subjects, from urban landscapes to intimate family scenes to nearly abstract images of the commonplace, but they are consistently engaging, thematically and artistically. All of the photographs are black-and-white, many are dark with multiple gradations of gray, and most are shot with ambient light. De Carava was a painter before he became a photographer, and that background shows in his appreciation for composition and the use of light. Anyone who doubts that photography can rise to the level of art should spend some time with these images.

There are so many great pictures in this book that it's hard to pick just a few favorites. But "Dancers, New York City," "Woman Walking, Above," "Sam Laughing," "Gittel" and "Graduation Day" would all be toward the top of my list. There are also a number of interesting shots of writers, artists and musicians who were part of African-American New York City arts scene in the 1950s and early 60s.

The prefatory essays are helpful and informative, but it's the photos themselves that are the stars of this show.

A Sailor's Life is a masterpiece. It is simply wonderful. It leaves the reader ready to run away to sea, for those who have never heard the call of the sea, this book may be the closest they maybe able to come to it...

During the winter of 1957 I was attacked by the measles and confined to the house for two weeks. My Aunt Mary dropped off a book she thought would interest me. She never new just how much it would.I was transfixed for hours.The descriptions of the indvidual seamans jobs,the day to day art of survival on board ship,how to behave,pack your clothes etc.held me spell bound.It also sealed my fate.Yes,I became a sailor.I never found De Hartogs descriptions over drawn,or over romanticized.Just lyrical. And factual,which is not an easy combination to put together. Much later De hartog would inflence me in other ways,but this the first and most important one.De Hartog writes in the tradition of Conrad.With English as his second language he shapes his sentances with a spareness and ecconomy that more authors should use.

I am almost embarrassed to give this book stars. I think it is too good for my praise.

I first read this book on the recommendation of a friend in the navy. If he never did me any other favour, I still would be in his debt. For one thing the book is a marvellous read. It is by turns intriguing, blasphemous, enchanting, interesting, intimate, penetrating, romantic, a fine historical series of observations, an unpretentious self-help book, and almost everywhere it is funny. The laughter varies from sympathetic smiles, through cynical chuckles, to hysterical gasping while the tears drip off your chin.

The book suffers from two shortcomings: Its title, while accurate, is uninspiring, and its headings to its topics (about one page each) are down to earth. Who wants to read about hygiene or the ship's carpenter, or pilots, for instance? Trust me, YOU do, even if you do not realise it yet.

It came as a shock to see how poorly known this book is. It is so good and is such good reading, and even so unpretentiously useful, that it should be required reading for anyone with an interest in the sea, or contemporary history, or the human state in a range of enterprises as vast as those that involve the sea.

And if my shouting in your face to read the book does not attract you, then just ignore me and go off somewhere by yourself and do yourself a favour: dip into it and read a page here and a topic there. That is all it should take to hook you.

Samba Dreamers is an amazing book, a sociological tour de force, and a fun read. Two young Brazilians in Hollywood are in the midst of a torrid illicit affair. They break all the rules including big time felony. He's a fugitive from Brazil's dictatorship of the 70's and she's the daughter of famed Brazilian movie star Carmen Socorro (read Carmen Miranda). Caught up, used and misused by the Hollywood power structure, they long for the sensuous rhythms and relaxed tropical warmth of Brazil. Ms. De Azevedo deftly balances a keen and adventurous insight into Hollywood with a sincere sympathy for her native Brazilian culture. This book is bound to become a great Hollywood exposé movie in the tradition of such classics as "Sunset Boulevard" and "Day of the Locust". For now it's a must read!

"Samba Dreamers" is a dark, fantastical and, indeed, brilliant cautionary tale for those who search out paradise without first confronting -- and defeating -- their inner demons. If Nathanael West had been Brazilian, "The Day of the Locust" would have looked a lot like "Samba Dreamers." De Azevedo is a remarkable new literary voice. [The full review first appeared in the El Paso Times.]

Samba Dreamers is compelling, imaginative, and fabulous reading! Brazil, the idea, finds passionate range in this fast-paced story told by a deft spinner of fantastic tales about love and dreams in Hollywood. De Azevedo's intelligence and humor are both in evidence as she takes on stereotypes about everything from Hollywood success to the Carmen Miranda biography to Amazonian lore, and brings us a wild slate of engaging characters.

Birdboy is the misfit hybrid whose bird-plus-boy body graphically illustrates all the ways that bodies and selves don't always fit very well into what life has in store. Rosea Socorro Katz is a knockout character, so believable and so larger-than-life at the same time, a contemporary Amazon in not-exactly-comfortable clothing, the wanna-be lover with the heart of gold and killer instincts. Joe Silva is a Brazilian transplant who won't try to fill stereotypical Latin lover shoes, but he does wear a Ricky Ricardo costume for work, and de Azevedo draws the tensions of his coexisting Brazilian/US identities with sympathy and humor.

So many things in this novel are occasions for laughter: The naming of the twins (Keffy and Jeffy) after tv show puppets because the names sound "American." The Hollywood homes tour business and its lies and gullible tourists, probably closer to truths than fiction. The funny but perfectly imagined artifices that bring all the novel's characters into relationship.

And so many things in the novel are inspired: the chapter-heading glosses of anthropological journals about Amazons and cannibalism; the dark complexities of Joe's relationship with Brazil; De Azevedo's smiling and insightful exploration into the challenges of being alive for all her characters, for all of us.

Highly recommended reading!

An enchanting, magical, and inspirational book, great metaphors, and amazing, beautiful illustrations. I'm all praise!!

"Sarah's Lion" is a beautiful story, and I don't just mean the illustrations, (although they capture the attitudes of the characters in the story perfectly). A tale which embraces and encourages pride in individuality. This fantasy book is wonderful for any kid or adult. It is magical and inspires the imagination, and I really enjoy re-reading it, because it touches me, although I am 15 and the book is intended for children, :)

A story of personal freedom. If you've ever longed to run free. To share this book with children is a magical thing. Every child I know will recieve a copy for the holidays. Simple and beautiful, truly one of the best books I've ever read.

I've recently returned to South Carolina after living the last 20 years in various parts of the country. I was not familiar with the upcountry of South Carolina and this book has been a great help to me - not only in seeing some beautiful areas of the state, but helping me decide where I want to settle down and buy my next home.

This is a delightful guide to South Carolina's beautiful scenic back roads and natural resources attractions. Like Clark's earlier book, "Hiking South Carolina," a hallmark of this current work is its excellent, detailed maps, along with interesting illustrative photos, precise directions, and fascinating historic and cultural background information.

Featured prominently throughout the book are state parks, national wildlife refuges, national monuments, state Heritage Preserves, national and state forests, and state wildlife management areas. The appendix includes listings of nature-based services and tours, as well as bed and breakfast accommodations, eclectic restaurants, and places to shop for antiques, crafts and other unique goods.

If you want a guide to the state's coastal resorts and entertainment centers, or to its cities and suburbs, this book is not for you. But if you want to experience South Carolina's mountains, hills, lakes, streams, and wetlands, its history, and its unique rural and small town ambiance, then get a copy of "Scenic Driving South Carolina" and go for a ride.

The love of Clark and Pierce for their home state shines through in their exceptionally well-written work. When you read and use their publication, you will find that their affection is contagious.

A valuable guide for driving South Carolina, "Scenic Driving South Carolina" gives my Texas-based family with deep South Carolina roots information we need to explore the homelands of our parents and grandparents. For several years, family members have planned to discover the South Carolina so embodied in our lives and in the spirit of our family. Our first journey embarks through information gleaned from the pages of "Scenic Driving South Carolina."

We value especially the 21 detailed maps packed with essential features, one for each of the scenic drives. The background information included in the "Introduction," the "Attractions," the "Neat Places to Stay," the "Restaurant and Shops," the "Tours and Nature-based Services" sections of the book also demonstrates the vitality of the state.

More than 40 appealing photographs add merit to "Scenic Driving South Carolina."

Our journeys continue: We native Texans will explore for several years the present day 21 "scenic drives" of our grandparents' and mothers' indigenous to South Carolina. This book is invaluable.