Book Description

Michael Ray Charles is a painter whose carefully crafted and faux-aged canvases and works on paper draw attention to race relations historically and in contemporary society. Borrowing pop culture images of characters such as Sambo, Buckwheat, and Aunt Jemima, Charles uses them ironically to comment on racial issues. His concerns range from how tobacco and liquor companies target marketing to minorities to the depiction of African Americans in the entertainment and sports industries to concepts of all-American (i.e., white) beauty.

Customer Reviews (1)

Exceptional. Compelling. Heartbreaking. Angry. And great.
I first came across Michael Ray Charles on a documentary about contemporary art (Art:21) and then again in a documentary series called Art City. Of all the artists -- many far better known than Charles -- he was, for me, the most notable. He was a young (30ish) black man, a family man living in a suburb, creating (inventing) these provocative and undeniably powerful and thought-provoking images that at once spoke to the history and horrors of racism in America, and reclaimed the power and moral sense. I purchased this "book" because I collect art books and because I so liked his art and his personality as it was conveyed in the documentaries. I never imagined when I ordered it, that I would be quite this pleased. The "book" is really two books, one a standard-sized catalogue featuring an illuminating interview and analysis of his work. Additionally, there is an oversized heavy-weight periodical (the actual catalogue featuring images) reminiscent of the old Interview magazine. Almost every page is essentially a small poster of one of Charles' works, and there are several cut-outs (dye-cuts), not to mention the inclusion of a Lincoln-head penny pasted on the back, which is a staple from his paintings.The "book" is a work of art unto itself, managing to be at once modern/contemporary and primitive (it actually comes in an oversized white jiffy bag, with an image on the front and sewn shut) and, in my estimation, is highly collectible -- not to mention just a ridiculous amount of fun. There is something to discover on every page (maybe every inch of every page). This might be the best art book I have ever purchased. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. Michael Ray Charles is an important American artist. Very compelling. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Forest Products Journal, published by Forest Products Society on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 4967 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: Relationships between organizational climates and safety-related events at four wood manufacturers.
Author: Demetrice D. Evans
Publication: Forest Products Journal (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2005
Publisher: Forest Products Society
Volume: 55Issue: 6Page: 23(6)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Forest Products Journal, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 5689 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: Supply-chain system costs of alternative grocery industry pallet systems.
Author: Charles D. Ray
Publication: Forest Products Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 56Issue: 10Page: 52(6)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
Tracing Robert Bechtle's career from his earliest paintings of the 1960s to the present day, this is the definitive book on one of the founders and foremost practitioners of American Photorealism. Created in close collaboration with the artist, Robert Bechtle will accompany the distinguished painter's first retrospective exhibition. Lavish plates feature reproductions of approximately ninety of Bechtle's most significant artworks, from large-scale oil paintings to intimate watercolors and drawings. These magnificent illustrations portray the range of the San Francisco-based painter's iconic imagery of California--the rows of palm trees, stucco houses, and the ubiquitous automobiles that spurred suburban expansion--as well as his lesser-known but equally compelling family scenes and stark interiors. Bechtle's preference for wide, empty spaces; his flat, sun-bleached palette; and his detached mode of recording random details impart a singular sense of alienation to his subjects. His deadpan paintings capture the essence of the postwar American experience, in which California often serves as the testing ground for the realization of national dreams. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The painted snapsnot
The mere act of transforming what might be considered an average snapshot into a work of art is Bechtle's magic. Quiet streets, mundane automobiles, and people from a home photo album take on an air of the sublime, proving that the greatest power of photorealism lies not in the technique, but in the process of transforming a snapshot into an irrefutable memory.

Capturing the Magic of California Light
Robert Bechtle has been a creative force in California art since the 1960s, yet his name remains practically unknown outside the Bay Area artists group.This very fine monograph by Janet Bishop, designed as a catalogue to accompany the traveling exhibition of this works, should help to mend that sin of omission.The style of writing is warm and informative and, in many ways, in keeping with Bechtle's vision of the world he paints!

One quick perusal of the many reproductions of his major works in this book quickly leaves the impression that Bechtle understands and successfully captures the quality of light that is peculiar to California.His street scenes of angled cars and bungalows are flooded with light and shadow.Though his art movement classification is Photorealism, Bechtle goes beyond mere photo copying techniques. His work is more about our lifestyle and our living compartments normally looked upon as mere blocks of space in which we function.Bechtle enhances everything he paints with a sunny 'romanticism' if you will.His art is more about a love affair with the atmosphere's effect on the mundane places we inhabit than it is with simple reproduction of images and landscapes.

For the art lover of realism and for those who respect the prodigious gifts of representational artists, this book is a must for the library.Highly recommended.Grady Harp, December 05

Super Artist
This is a great book about a great artist. I saw the pictures in original and they are very good reproduced in this book. Who loves photorealism should have it.

Great book, Great Price
I drove from Jackson, Mississippi to the Modern Museum of Ft. Worth see the Retrospective of Robert Bechtle's work.I am an artist myself and was astounded at the collection in this exhibit.The book does a superb job of presenting photos of the paintings in the collection.Additionally, the museum store at The Modern had none of these books in stock so it was fortunate that I ordered it when I did.

America's Overlooked Photo Realist--Review Revised
This book by Janet Bishop was published in conjunction with the first major retrospective of Robert Bechtle, a San Francisco Bay Area photo realist in his 70s. Until recently, Bechtle, who paints street scenes and rows of tract houses, was known only to Bay Area collectors and critics.Now, because of this exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art which then travels to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Bechtle is receiving deserving national exposure.Bechtle, like the rest of the photo realists, such as Richard Estes, Chuck Close and Ralph Goings, believes that by painting exactly what a photograph reveals, he is painting the truest and most accurate form of realism, because he is removing the artist and the artist's emotions and feelings from his paintings.But what this book so aptly suggests is that even photographers, who use the camera to capture a scene, infuse the subject with their identity:the photographer chooses the subject, crops the photograph in a certain manner, decides whether the photograph will be in color or black and white, and how the subject will be juxtaposed with other images.This is exactly what Bechtle does in his paintings.One can't help but think that his choice of lower middle class suburban streets and houses is a comment on the banality of existence and American consumerism.Bishop does a first-rate job in this book, selecting paintings from Bechtle's entire career, which spans four decades.Moreover, Bishop includes excellent commentaries from critics with different and interesting perspectives.A fine effort.

For those of you who missed the Bechtle retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art or the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, you should be aware that The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. has announced that it will be the final venue for the retrospective from March 4 to June 4, 2006. ... Read more

Book Description

Providing a comprehensive introduction to the capabilities and use of scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and x-ray spectrometers, this highly acclaimed text emphasizes practical aspects of imaging and analysis for a broad audience of students and practitioners whose backgrounds span a wide range of science and technology. Topics discussed include user-controlled functions of scanning electron microscopes and x-ray spectrometers, the characteristics of electron beam - specimen interactions, image formation and interpretation, the use of x-rays for qualitative and quantitative analysis and the methodology for structural analysis using electron back-scatter diffraction. SEM sample preparation methods for hard materials, polymers, and biological specimens are covered in separate chapters. In addition, techniques for the elimination of charging in non-conducting specimens are detailed. A database of useful parameters for SEM and X-ray micro-analysis calculations and enhancements to the text chapters are available on an accompanying CD.

Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent outline of SEM and X-Ray microanalysis
This book is a comprehensible review of principles and methods of SEM and X-ray microanalysis write in a single and elegant language. The authors avoid using mathematical formulas in the description and demonstration which turn it an atractive book to all scientists and even the beginners.

Great Book !!
This ought to be the dream book of those who do SEM imaging. The first half or say first five/six chapters are solely devoted to fundamentals of SEMs and the rest of the chapters are dealing generation of X-rays and concentrate on EDS. I have not yet finished reading this book. But certainly recommend to other SEM users to possess this book and read it as and when required.

Book
The book is very good. I can learn a lot about the SEM from this book. The cd has also some interesting pictures, additional information.

The bibel for EM and X-ray Analysis
This book is a great book for learning the Basics about Electron Microscopy and X-ray Analysis. You get a good overview!

Scanning Electron Microscopy Book
The book came in excellent condition as stated. It also arrived in a timely manner. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fascinating.We're not in Kansas anymore.
I bought this after spending some hours (but not enough to get my fill) at the Crocker, one of the venues that is hosting the Norman exhibition this summer (2007). The book is a very distant second to seeing this work in person, since even a magnifying glass on the book cannot give you an appreciation for the astounding detail in the works themselves, some of which are of stupendous proportions.One piece actually had to be exhibited on a slant, being too tall for the room!
Anyway, aside from seeing the exhibition or personal visits to many galleries and private collectors, the book is probably as close as we are going to get (for now) to Norman's work.Mrs. Norman graciously responded to my inquiry to say that prints are only a hope at this time.

The book itself, produced by Crocker and the Irving Norman Trust and printed by Heyday Books, is divided into 3 mains sections.A foreword by Michael Duncan (art writer), some acknowledgments and an intro by Scott Shields (Crocker Chief Curator), two nicely illustrated essays by Patricia Junker (Curator at De Young in '96) and Charles Eldredge (director at Smithsonian American Art Museum) make up the first part.
There follow about 140 pages of reproductions of this amazing fellow's stuff, divided into 5 sections whose names give you an idea of what you are in for:
Capitalist Enigma
Social Illusion
Cycle of War
Urban Transformation
Human Predicament
The third section is about 15 pages of appendices with a catalogue of works, a list of exhibitions and Collections, a list of the reporductions, and some comments about the contributors.

You will come to your own conclusions about who he is, but there were 2 blurbs at the Crocker that stuck in my mind.One, to the effect that Norman had sold all his posessions before joining the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, in the belief that he would not return alive from the Spanish Civil War; the other that he returned to school when he realized that he did not yet have the skill to lay down his visions.
There are a few photos of the artist, and some quotes as well. The alarming and pathetic story of the FBI tracking him for almost 50 years is well told by Junker, so if you are concerned that your web searches and Amazon purchases are now the guvvmint's business, you might want to find a suitable surrogate to make the buy.

I'd give it full stars but for a an irritating flaw (perhaps only in my copy) that has a few pages with grey printing on a grey background.
Still, it's an beautiful book, put together by some brave and talented people, about a much larger than life fellow from quiet Half Moon Bay who pulled no punches.

An amazing artist
Dark Metropolis is an interesting collection of works of art by Irving Norman. The book contains several articles by different authors describing Normans andtheir impressions of his work as well as the symbolism behind the work. There s also a short biography of his life

More then one hundred of Normans paintings and drawings are displayed in the book along with an explanation of the work and what it represents as well as points of interest within the painting.

Most of the work is politically, socially, human condition or economically motivated in terms of the haves versus the have-nots scenario and the selections of artwork in the book really depict that. What you can't tell in the book is the amazing detail of his work. Having seen it in person the scale of some of his work is several feet tall and wide and so filled with detail that you could spend hours looking at his paintings and still not see it all. The paintings and drawings are in chronological order by year. There is a catalog that lists all of his public work. Norman's work is social surrealism in it truest form.

If you can see his work in person then the book is the next best thing and does a good job in representing his work and his ideas.

The book is very well designed in visual and literary concept and the layout of the book is nice.

WOW! Shockingly beautiful art book
If you've never heard of Irving Norman you may be in for a surprise. People didn't really paint like this at all in the middle of the 20th Century or much before that. Some Renaissance Masters had similar elaborations of the depth of perspective or of horrors of this world and the next. Some comic book illustrators in the 1960s had a similar deeply morbid whimsy. Who but Irving Norman could get up day after day, year after year for decades to detail such trenchant observations of city life under the thumb of the military industrial complex?I was lucky to see some of these paintings at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco in 1996. They drew me back to spend hours looking at all their details-not a world you'd ever want WALDO to get lost in!- and I made all my friends come,too. One, a prominent psychologist widened his eyes, shook his head and said,"They have PILLS for this now!" I didn't ask for his diagnosis of the artist's perceived disorders. I don't care why these paintings exist- whether psychological imbalance , OCD, paranoia or divine inspiration. IRVING NORMAN reaches well past what anything even most figurative artists would dream to attempt, flies worlds past the most wicked political satirist (eat your heart out, Steadman!)to make technically proficient canvases on a GRAND scale that glow like medieval stained glass and sparkle with wit and fury.
[...]
The reproductions are from new photographs. The book is big enough to see some detail. The production is excellent, a real tribute to an unknown American Master!
ps This book is published as a centenary show of Irving Norman goes up in Sacramento at Crocker Art Center. The show runs through Jan 7, 2007 then moves to Pasadena Art Museum through April 15, 2007. See it if you can. ... Read more

Amazon.com
In 1954, Atlantic Records honchos Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler visited an Atlanta club where one of their artists was gigging. Ray Charles and his band blew into a new song when the men entered. It was "I Got a Woman," the tune that marked the blind Albany, Georgia-born singer-pianist's evolution from an able imitator of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown into an artist who would transform American music. In Ray Charles: Man and Music, veteran music journalist Michael Lydon imbues the familiar story with fresh detail upon fresh detail. Charles's early years spent scuffling on the chitlin circuit, his embrace of everything from pop chestnuts and country hits to hip jazz as an audaciously eclectic record maker, and the many hours given over to womanizing and a heroin addiction at the height of his stardom are given a cinematic immediacy here. More than most artists, Charles followed his instincts to huge artistic rewards and the love of many listeners who recognized their own voices in his sound. Lydon captures as much of the offstage man as is likely to ever make it to the page--the man who himself once insisted, "My life was what it was. Whatever it became, I made it so." --Rickey WrightBook Description
There are only a few legendary singers who have developed mass audiences while pursuing their own artistic visions: Sinatra is one; Ella Fitzgerald another. Ray Charles undoubtedly belongs in this pantheon of major musical stars.
Ray Charles: Man and Music begins with Charles's impoverished childhood in Greenville, Florida, where tragedy struck early when the young Charles went blind at age 6 and was orphaned at age 14. Driven by his enormous talent and determination, Charles landed work playing some of the toughest juke joints in the state, fought heroin addiction, and finally landed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. Unlike other R&B singers, Charles took control of his career from its earliest days, moving on from his gospel-soul stylings of the mid-'50s to break through musical barriers, recording two country albums in the late '50s (at a time when the black presence in country music was barely felt), pure jazz, and then the powerful pop hits of the '60s. Famed music journalist Michael Lydon - a founding editor of Rolling Stone - is uniquely qualified to document Charles's career, having interviewed Charles and followed the star's performances since the 1960s.
Originally published in 1995, and universally hailed as the definitive biography, this new edition brings Charles's life up to date, covering the last 7 years of his life. It coincides with the release of a made-for-TV movie starring Jamie Fox as Charles, currently in production by Taylor Hackford. Charles has also issued a new CD recently and remains active as a touring artist throughout the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A lot of information but too many inaccuracies
When I first read this book, I thought it was a well researched biography. Not so. After interviewing several members of Ray Charles' band, including Leroy "Hog" Cooper, David "Fathead" Newman, Ernest Vantrease, Don Peake and Marcus Belgrave, I learned that Michael Lydon did not do sufficient fact checking. The generalities in the book paint the big picture, but the 'devil is in the details' and that's where Lydon goes wrong. After hearing the stories from the musicians, I was disappointed to find that he had not done his homework. Finding out that pieces of the book are not accurate makes me wonder about the rest. I wasn't crazy about "Brother Ray," the cursory memoir of the man who lived such an extraordinary life, but in retrospect, that book is at least closer to the truth, and 'guilt by omission' is a better way to define my disappointment with it.

Very interesting to the side of RC's memoir (4-4.5 stars)
Can't say enuff 'bout this. There's only 25 to 28 chapters in this book. Blessed I got it on Alibris. This shows the real side of Ray Charles (Robinson) where he's going thru since after the success of his first penned book w/ writer David Ritz (I can't stand the hatred and dissappointment behind this man, ya'll should give him credit instead of not loving him or have a distaste), just finished reading "Brother Ray" and plus the movie "Ray" among certain albums, documentaries and other taped concerts around, this Man deserves it, no matter if u love him or not, he's still bad. Nobody can't take that away from him perhaps touch him. Blessed that his music, voice and legacy will never be forgotten just b/c I was shocked about the news about his death. RIP to a well-known giant in Music who alot of Creativity, Sense, Class, Respect, Love, Pride & Dignity. Long Lives the Genius of Soul, Father of Soul, Right Reverend, High Priest, Righteous Ray (or Reverend Righteous Ray), Reverend Ray, Brother Ray, etc.

Ray Charles Robinson aka Uncle Ray, thank u for all your courage, your time and your hard work between your music, your life, your legacy, your everything. Thank you for a tremendous legacy that'll live on for years to come (1930-2004).

P.S. Mike Lydon deserves alot of credit in this 1 too.

Ray Charles,a new understanding
I have never been a Ray Charles fan,and when the movie Ray came
out,I was sadden,that I had missed a great talent.I brought the
DVD version of the movie,and then started reading everything there was about the man.After reading this book,which I enjoyed
I found that I did not like the man. I think that the writer of
the book,told about Ray,being cheap,being a womanizer and the
way he treated people in general.I think that the movie version of his life,glossed and sugar coated his life,his career and his
marriage.I came away feeling very sorry for his wife and his children,as it appears they were truly the victims of Ray Charles
I,for one will not spend any more money on the Ray Charles legend.

Ray: The Music Not the Man
I wouldn't say that this is a bad book. It has its good points, but it was missing some of the things that I was more interested in. Like the thoughts of Ray, and the things that went on behind the scenes, through out different occurences in his life. Like when the woman on the side would get pregnant, what type of issues were bought into the Robinson household. The book didn't go into detail with anything. Basically, it just made a statement, "Ray girlfriend has a baby." That's it. That is the debt that was given, in most of the stories. Even during Ray's drug use years, it really didn't give to much insite. I think that the movie gave more detail than this book did, and usually it is the opposite.I think that this book could have eliminated about of 100 of it pages. I found myself, flipping pages trying to get through dead information, like its countless mention of billboard reviews, giving more detail in music charts, than the actual life of "RC." Let me restate that the book does haved it's good points, but it didn't fulfill my need for information.

The newly expanded paperback version of a classic biography
Now in a newly updated edition from Routledge, Ray Charles: Man And Music by Michael Lydon ("Rolling Stone" founding editor and an influential music journalist) presents and documents the live and contributions to contemporary American music by Rhythm & Blues singer and musician Ray Charles. Afflicted with blindness at an early age, suffering the loss of his family at fourteen, Ray Charles went on to become one of the best known and best liked American music performers. This outstanding biography doesn't flinch from Charles struggle with heroin addiction or his problematic career at Atlantic Records. Originally published in 1995, this new edition now includes chapters on the last seven years of his life making Ray Charles: Man And Music very strongly recommended reading for anyone who has enjoyed his music and admired his ultimate triumph over adversity. ... Read more

Product Description
Ray Charles - Man and Music - Riverhead Books edition ... Read more