Product Description
Harry Mallgrave`s engrossing book about Gottfried Semper-German architect, scholar, and political revolutionary-is the definitive critical biography of the man who created some of the most impressive buildings in nineteenth-century Germany and Austria. Mallgrave provides a comprehensive account of Semper`s designs, writings, adventurous life, and artistic legacy in this beautifully illustrated volume.Amazon.com Review
Living through one of the most tempestuous periods in Germanhistory--from the Napoleonic Wars through unification--GottfriedSemper produced some of the monuments of Prussian architecture: theHoftheater at Dresden, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, and the HofburgTheater in Vienna. He also produced two classic works of art history:The Four Elements of Architecture and Science, Industry, and Art,which influenced contemporaries from Richard Wagnerto LouisSullivan. The tumult of 20th century Germany has more or lessoverwhelmed Semper's memory and reputation, so this new biography is awelcome addition to the history of 19th century architecturalhistory. Harry Francis Mallgrave is the Willard K. MartinDistinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Oregon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A spectacular biography of a true creative giant
It must seem pretty odd to have such a high opinion of a pretty remote subject: the biography of a peripatetic, 19th century German architect.But the author, Harry Mallgrave, is uniquely qualified to explore the vexatious artistic and architectural disputes of the 1830s to the 1870s in such a way that the major themes of the century run through the career - indeed, through the blood - of Gottfried Semper.And this is no accident for Semper, a fiery personality, was a central participant in the intellectual crusade that gave us "modern" culture. In this way, not only do we come to understand the roots of the contemporary professional dilemmas in architecture, but we are encouraged to see the larger, synthetic patterns of German intellectual life that are so important to the formation of our modern (and post-modern) approach to "the good life." I highly recommend the book, notwithstanding the rather daunting price tage, and believe that this long-awaited study marks an important contribution not only to the overall intellectual history of the nineteenth century, but it similarly marks a new standard in the writing of architectural biography.Mallgrave's mastery of fact and interpretation is exemplary; his style, perfectly suited to his task. ... Read more

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A picture of the life of this unusually beautiful and talented woman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A very good biography of a great star
Luis Canales' biography of Gina Lollobrigida is a painstaking work of film scholarship and a loving tribute to a great star.Although unauthorized, the biography is solid and makes for absorbing reading for those interested in the multiple talents of this amazing woman.For anyone wanting a more recent addition to Gina bibliography, I suggest importing "Vissi d'Arte," a book written by Lollo herself and edited by Federico Motta Editore, Milan, 2008.The latter is an absolutely fantastic book, mostly dedicated to Lollobrigida's work as a sculptress and visual artist, but it also contains great photos from her films. Recommended!!!

Excellent Gina bio, but doesn't cover her life in the 1990's
I read this book several years ago via interlibrary loan, and it's quite good as a biography of Lollobrigida, although unofficial/unauthorized; however, it's somewhat out of date now, having been published in 1990, so it doesn't cover her most recent movie work nor her latest artistic efforts or forays into political and social activism.Also, the author is a non-native English speaker (Brazilian native living in Tokyo, I believe); I think the book was in fact translated into English from Portuguese, so the turn of phrasing is occasionally odd to the American eye.All the same, there is very little in full-length book form on Gina available to U.S. readers, so if you're a fan and you get a chance to get ahold of this book, absolutely do get it.

Sexy Gina!!!
This is a great unauthorized biography of the sexy,sensuous movie starlet Gina Lolabrigida and is highly recommended.Hopefully someday,there will be a video biography available of this great actress.Gina,we all love you!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Biography of the Austrian journalist who became the founder of the modern Zionist movement. ... Read more

Product Description
Chacon, a University of Montana professor of art history and art criticism, worked with the universityÂ’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library / K. Ross Toole Archives and the Historic Museum at Fort Missoula to create the first complete biography of Albert John Gibson, Missoula CountyÂ’s best-known and most beloved architect. Photographs from the museum and architectural drawings from the libraryÂ’s archives, as well as other materials from public and private collections, have been brought together for a rich portrayal of GibsonÂ’s life and his impact on Montana towns. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A Pointless Biography of Pugin
God's Architect: Rosemary Hill's Pointless Biography of Augustus Pugin, V.P.

God's Architect(Yale UP, 2009) is a monumental work of scholarship, but because it lacks a unifying thesis or central point, Rosemary Hill's sprawling 600-page, fifteen-years-in-the-makingbiography of the nineteenth century English architect Augustus Pugin (1812-1852) is, in the final analysis, unfortunately, a failure. The closest thing to a central thesis that she offers, the closest thing to an explanation of Pugin's extraordinarylife and career,is her speculationthat he contracted syphilis, possibly before he was out of his teens,and that it was that disease thatunderlay many of his physical and mental problems and thatled finally to his insanity and death,at the age of forty.

Hillhad the sense not to marryher biography to syphilis; atbest, or at worst, God's Architecture only flirts with it.She does not mention syphilisuntil page 151, and not again untilpage 257, but she returns to the subject nearthe end,on page 492 and again on page 598, in the Epilogue, when she has no other explanation for Pugin'sextraordinary life and workto fall back on.

If there is no point to Hill's biography, there was, quite literally, to Pugin's life and career.He was a practitioner and champion of what he preferred tocall Pointedarchitecture. One of his most important books was The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841). He said heconverted to Catholicism as a result of his study of Pointed architecture. Hill's failure to take into account and adequately explain Pugin's lifelong commitment to and obsession with Pointed architectureis the Achilles' heel of God's Architect.

In making light ofthe titles andhonors he never was awarded,in spite of his important contributions in architecture and the applied arts,Pugin once quipped that the only letters he was ever likely to have after his name wereV.P., which he made clearstood for "very pointed."But Hill did not explain his "very pointed"quip, either in her biography or when she was asked directly about it in aninterview withThe Guardian.

Hill is good at showing Pugin's contributions to architecture and the applied arts, and conversely inshowing how egotistical andobtuse he could be, but not why he was so crazy aboutPointed architecture.Pugin believed Pointed architecturehad been the means to his salvation bypointing , literally and figuratively, toward heaven and Catholicism. Syphilis may or may not havekilled Pugin, but Pointed architecture is what he lived for. ... Read more

Product Description
With Robert Mapplethorpe's full endorsement and encouragement, Morrisroe interviewed more than 300 friends, lovers, family members and critics to form this definitive biography of America's most censored and celebrated photographer. 32 pages of photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Absolutely Riveting
Having just read Patti Smith's book on her life with Robert Mapplethorpe, I decided to re-visit Morrisroe's biography. I enjoyed it even more the second time around. It's honest without being sensational and she treats his life in a sensitive, non-judgmental way.Even though I already knew the ending, the book is so well-written that I couldn't put it down.

Outstanding!
This is the best biography I have ever read. Morrisroe's research is thorough and her writing is not dull or pretentious. The story flows right along, and there is no sense of judgement passed on Robert for the way he lived his life, only the belief that his art both changed the standing of photography as art and challenged his critics and would-be censors. This is a marvellous celebration of an innovative artist's life. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would.

CAPTIVATING!
Although Robert Mapplethorpe's artistic creations are undeniably controversial, his life story, as told by Patricia Morrisroe, makes for absolutely fascinating reading. I had more than once come across references to Mapplethorpe's work in the various gay fictions I'd been reading; and being totally unfamiliar with him (except for vague name recognition), I decided to find out more about him. Interestingly enough, both towards the latter half of his life and in the months following his death there were many events related in the book that I could recall having heard about in the news, but didn't make the connection with Mapplethorpe until this book. I think my mouth was agape throughout most of the time spent reading it; even now, recalling the descriptions of some of his photos and the detailed recounting of his lifestyle, I just sit and shake my head in amazement and probably shock. Robert Mapplethorpe, at his mother's request, received the last rites before he died. Being raised Catholic, I know what that should mean; but quite frankly, if there is indeed a heaven and a hell, I'm not sure in which place Robert Mapplethorpe is currently residing. A very informative book, and very, very absorbing reading!

a throughly well written book!!!
this booktotally captured my attention and got me completely engrossed in it . i didn't feel the pages turning at all.i read this book for college and i didin no way find it a chore to do so.i found myself waiting untilli could pick up the book to continue reading. well written.

Thoroughly enjoyable read.
This book is excellent and very readable.I imagine there is not much left to say about Roberts life.The research is thorough but the resulting book is vivid ,full of life and not at all dull.Everybody in the N.Y. art sceneseems to make an appearance-Patti Smith is obviously also a big andconstant background presence in the tale.Even if you don't rate Robertswork this book willbe well worth reading. ... Read more

Product Description
Much has been written about the paintings and sculptures of Michelangelo, arguably the greatest artist of the Renaissance. But what about the man? In this revealing look at the Florentine genius, acclaimed author George Bull traces the life and spiritual quest of Michelangelo, drawing a fuller portrait of the man himself. In all his work, Michelangelo impressed his contemporaries as a forceful personality, a divine genius endowed with terrabilita, or intense emotional power. Often portrayed as a solitary and austere figure, he in fact enjoyed a wide range of friendships. And it is those whom he loved and hated, served or resisted, who are presented here-- from his family and fellow artists to the popes, nobles, and rulers of Europe. George Bull presents the life of Michelangelo in the round, bringing before the reader a towering genius whose versatility and originality are constantly being rediscovered.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The divine, supreme Michelangelo
It is the first book I've read about Michelangelo, although I have read 3 books about the Sistine ceiling. Well,I found this book very interested despite the many details. There are so many letters of Michelangelo, but I don't know if that is helpful. One can learn a lot abouthis life, his family ,his friends and acquaintances. In fact, there are so many persons that one may be confused in some way. He doesn't speak about Michelangelo's art identically, but he gives a quite extensive reference for his best pictures. There are also enough historical background and a lot about his patrons. I think the historical background may be useful for anyone who wants to have a better understanding and a better knowledge if he or she wants to realise his mind, his thought,his wit, his mentality etc.
There are many pages for his family affairs and I don't think that is very helpful.In fact, it is rather tiresome, uninterested. There are also so many assistants of Michelangelo that finally I got confused.
Michelangelo's longevity,genious and searching practical intellect made him the divine, the incomparable, the insuperable painter and sculpture he was and still remains. Whoever wants something more he or she must visit Rome andFlorence as well.
PS: As for his poems I am not the one who can judge them although they seem sometimes passionate and quite lyric.
About his sculptures, there aren't enough information except the Pieta in Saint Peter's and his David, although he used to call himself as a sculpure than a painter.

I'll keep going.
I'll keep reading but I think I'm toouninformed about the Renaissance for this book to hold my attention much longer. It's nothing to jump from the year 1518 to 1513 to 1509 and back to 1519 in the space of 2 pages. And it's DRY. There are a few excerpts from various letters but they seem so vague to me. I'm not understanding the ramifications when a contract has been broken and money has already changed hands (it's happened a LOT)...I'm not understanding where the assistants come from, how many were needed, what their duties were and how they interacted with the artist, except to learn some didn't work out. I'm not understanding anything about the people he socialized with or even knew very well. I'm losing interest fast!

A great companion for a trip to Italy
I spent a week in Florence on my own and took this book with me.This book added so much to my trip.I would read this book while sipping coffee or having dinner...then I'd walk to the places it mentions in the book and lement about the stories I had just read.I finished the book close to the end of my trip.The book tells how Michelangelo's life ends...a visit to the Santa Maria where he is buried only seemed right.

Good read with insight.
This is a very good biography of Michelangelo that ranks along with Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (fictional bio).Bull includes numerous letters to and from Michelangelo that involve friends and family.One is left with a good overall picture of Michelangelo and his times.I would have given it 5 stars if Bull was a little more inquisitve about painting and how painters of the time went about their work (including Michelangelo). ... Read more

Product Description
The only major biography of Andy Warhol, reissued to coincide with his 75th birthday.

Artist, filmmaker, magazine publisher, instigator of Pop Art, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) used his canvasses of dollar bills, soup cans, and celebrities to subvert distinctions between high and popular culture. His spectacular career encompassed the underground scene as well as the equally deviant worlds of politics, show business, and high society. Warhol is the definitive chronicle of Warhol's storied life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Thoroughly Researched
This book covers every period in Andy Warhol's life with great detail including his childhood, his personal life and his career as an artist, filmmaker, publisher and celebrity.

Victor Bockris interviewed many members of Warhol's family, friends and teachers to tell the story of his impoverished youth in Pittsburgh, his time in college at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, working as a commerical artist in New York in the 1950s and his career as an artist.

It includes detailed descriptions from mulitple perspectives of the creation of some of Warhol's greatest works such as the film Empire and his book a: A Novel. There's also many quotes from Warhol himself, giving the reader some idea of how Warhol viewed his own work.

A good, not great, biography
Now out in a new edition, Victor Bockris' WARHOL is a very solidly written and researched biography.In particular, the first half creates an extremely detailed portrait of Warhol's Pittsburgh youth; this adds a tremendous amount of context and depth to Warhol's own work, and the meanings and symbolisms of that work will gain new clarity after reading through some of Bockris' book.

Unfortunately, the book gets less detailed and more gossipy later on - Warhol's many flaws are underlined again and again, but Warhol surrounded himself with other highly creative people who launched interesting careers of their own - Paul Morrissey and Lou Reed both spring to mind - and Bockris does little or no investigation of Warhol's influence upon them, and any actual ideas just seem to get lost here amid the varied bits of gossip.

-David Alston

Often Interesting
This biography is extremely interesting at times.I had never read a Warhol biography before I read this, and it provided a lot of great details, especially involving his early life.
The problem, though, is that it seems that sex seems to permeate everything.Perhaps Warhol was a man obsessed with it, as the author seems to suggest, but does that really call for the explicit details of his sexual activities to be included?Seriously....does it?I think not.After a particularly detailed description, I found myself thinking, "Ok, I get it, the man had a foot fetish.Can't we just leave it at that?"I must add that I am no Puritan by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something quite unsettling about Warhol to begin with (at least for me), and when you add sexual detail to it, it just gets....icky.If you don't have a problem with this, though (I'm sure some people might even especially want to read it with these details included), go for it.It is highly informative, and Warhol was nothing if not compelling.

Warhol as creep?
Bockris was a friend of Warhol, at least for several years. He shares a lot of detail but what seems to stand out in this biography in particular is that:

* Warhol had a lot of boyfriends, none for long, and he was ridiculously jealous.
* Warhol used people no end and generally didn't pay those who worked for him.

So I was left at the end with a decidedly negative impression of Warhol.

I'm suspicious. It didn't seem that Bockris explained how someone so creepy was able to get some many talented people to work with and hang out for him. All to be a part of the Warhol scene? For expectations of fame, money, connections? I don't know. I do know companies with a little liked leader. Still, it left me wondering if Bockris had something in for Warhol. I don't doubt there's some truth in Bockris' account of Warhol with boyfriends and assistants but I can't tell how much. Instead of resolving who Warhol was, this book makes me also wonder who Bockris is and leaves me seeking other books to learn more about Warhol.

Invaluable
The first half of this book is invaluable for the intimate infomation that it gives on Andy Warhol's early years. It is very sensitively written and thoroughly engaging, though the latter years are sort of run through at the speed of sound. That would be the only criticsm I have of this book but you can flesh out the facts (from Andy's view) by getting a copy of the Andy Warhol Diaries. Otherwise it's a really great book. ... Read more

Product Description
Why another book on Duchamp? Because of all the previous books on Duchamp. Arguably the most influential artist of the 20th century, Duchamp, the son of a successful notary, was also a shrewd manager of his image and interests--so much so that many of those who have written about him have been dazzled by his self-created persona when trying to assess his elusive legacy and equally elusive character. Marcel Duchamp: The Bachelor Stripped Bare is not the first full-length biography of Duchamp, but it is the first to present him in all his human contradictions and to take a refreshingly objective look at his real contribution to modern art. The well-known facts are beautifully explored here: Duchamp's myriad personal relations (with family, lovers, collectors, and artists ranging from Man Ray, Picabia, and Breton to the Stettheimer sisters and the Arensbergs); the creation of major works such as the "readymades" and the "Large Glass"; his passion for chess and presumed abandonment of painting. But beyond this, author Alice Goldfarb Marquis looks past the diffident, humorous mask that Duchamp wore with friend and acquaintance alike, to explore the passions and insecurities that motivated many of his artistic and personal evolutions. She separates the artist from the con artist, to determine just how profound an influence Duchamp has really been. Based on numerous unpublished sources and first-hand interviews, Marcel Duchamp: The Bachelor Stripped Bare stands as a groundbreaking contribution to the ever-burgeoning field of Duchamp studies.

Prior praise for Alice Goldfarb Marquis:
An excellent job. Marquis has caught the man and the epoch. . . A splendid accomplishment in research and writing. --Thomas Hoving on Alfred H. Barr: Missionary for the Modern
Superb, vivid, dynamic biography. . .Captures a world of museum and art-world politics rarely glimpsed by the public. --Publishers Weekly onAlfred H. Barr: Missionary for the Modern
A lively, detailed history of public arts funding that doesn't shy away from either the hard facts or most of the hard questions. --The New York Times on On Art Lessons: Learning from the Rise and Fall of Public Arts Funding

By Alice Goldfarb Marquis.

Clothbound, 6 x 9 in., 400 pages, 24 color and 65 b&w ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Rocking the Duchamp throne
If you believe in God, read the Calvin Tomkins bio instead.If you don't, read this one.If you're not sure, read 'em both.

I believe this is only the second book-length biography of the Dadaist, non-Dadaist (perhaps pre-post-Modernist) painter, artist, post-painter, icon and darling of many.Duchamp is a figure that inspires much talk of isms.He was embraced by the Surrealists, the Pop artists and experimental types during the Sixties, the Postmodernists of the Eighties, and a whole lot more since.By signing a urinal (or was it a toilet bowl?) he created much existentialist angst among the artistic classes.His legacy includes those who cart wheelbarrows full of junk into expensive gallery settings, as well as others almost as sauve as he was.He put his name on the map by throwing out the idea that art can only be made with materials bought in art stories, i.e. paints and clay.He for one preferred shopping in hardward stores.Was he a genius or a hoax?This is the question people like to debate.Certainly he was a humorist, and very ironical.Since his early disillusionment with the Art Establishment, he made much of the idea that the only thing left for art to do was shock.And he was very good at this.The superlative I'll add is that he inspired more thought about art than anyone else in the Twentieth Century.Painting will no longer be just "retinal" (or "painterly" as someone has translated this term).

If you enjoy this kind of back-and-forth, you will enjoy this book.Given he was a master ironist, it is fittingly ironical that he should get this more critical handling than usual, by Alice Goldfarb Marquis. Perhaps it's the sign of the times.In another even less kind book, Donald Kuspit blames him in part for ushing in the End of Art.(Surely rubbish, even if too much rubbish has indeed entered the so-called hallowed walls of art.)

You get the picture - if you want a fauning bio, this aint the one.But perhaps it's a necessary corrective after so much gushing.Marcel Duchamp once gave his own version of the dictum, "the only bad publicity is no publicity."By that measure, this volume, which is quite well researched, certainly adds to the MD stock.Ms. Marquis is as much about assessing the damage he has wrought on art as the things he has brought to it.Or to rephraze it from the point of view of a believer, of the damage others have wrought in his name.In one of the more shocking lines, she says that "the Avant-Garde has been marching to his beat ever since, as it marches off a cliff."Strong words, but perhaps this is a moment for art to take a new direction.

During his life Marcel Duchamp very much promoted the idea that there should be no single correct interpretation of his work, or any work.He saw the spectator as playing an important role in the creation of the art.And so it seems just to have this new biography, that veers from the traditional platitudes about the great man.While I don't necessarily subscribe to all the feminist interpretations now being circulated (Kuspit, Amelia Jones, Marquis) I nevertheless find it refreshing to hear this one.For instance: the Large Glass (his masterwork) is a temple to the female Christ... ... Read more

Product Description
When Albert Camus died in a car crash in January 1960 he was only 46 years old - already a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and a world figure - author of the enigmatic The Stranger, the fable called The Plague, but also of the combative The Rebel - which attacked the 'politically correct' among his contemporaries.

Thanks to his early literary achievement, his work for the underground newspaper Combat and his editorship of that daily in its Post-Liberation incarnation, Camus' voice seemed the conscience of postwar France. But it was a very personal voice that rejected the conventional wisdom, rejected ideologies that called for killing in the cause of justice. His call for personal responsibility will seem equally applicable today, when Camus' voice is silent and has not been replaced. The secrecy which surrounded Algerian-born Camus' own life, public and private - a function of illness and psychological self-defense in a Paris in which he still felt himself a stranger - seemed to make the biographer's job impossible.

Lottman's Albert Camus was the first and remains the definitive biography - even in France. On publication it was hailed by New York Times reviewer John Leonard: "What emerges from Mr. Lottman's tireless devotions is a portrait of the artist, the outsider, the humanist and skeptic, that breaks the heart." In The New York Times Book Review British critic John Sturrock said: Herbert Lottman's life (of Camus) is the first to be written, either in French or English, and it is exhaustive, a labor of love and of wonderful industry." When the book appeared in London Christopher Hitchens in New Statesman told British readers: "Lottman has written a brilliant and absorbing book... The detail and the care are extraordinary... Now at last we have a clear voice about the importance of liberty and the importance of being concrete."The new edition by Gingko Press includes a specially written preface by the author revealing the challenges of a biographer, of some of the problems that had to be dealt with while writing the book and after it appeared. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Well written, interesting, but the author doesn't understand French
This is an odd book. While it's well written and thoroughly researched, there are glaring errors in the author's translations from the French. For example, there are two instances (in the first couple hundred pages; I've only read that much so far) where he uses the false friend "sympathetic" for "sympatique", which means "nice": "I'll introduce him to some sympathetic people." There are many examples of mis-translations, which stand out because they are common errors (I'm fluent in French and translate from French to English) even if the original texts aren't included. Other translations are clunky and in some cases make no sense.

Now all this could be moot if the book were reliable, but as I go on reading it, I wonder just how well the author understood the texts he read in his research or the people he met and talked with. I've noticed a number of bits that are different between this bio and the one by Olivier Todd, written decades later, suggesting that the latter work, in spite of its faults, may at least be more reliable.

As I said in my review of the Todd book, it's a shame that there is no good biography of Camus in either French or English.

An admirable effort misses the forest for the trees
A long time ago, I started trying to think somewhat seriously about whether life without God had any meaning. A friend pointed me to Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus. So I read it - twice actually. And I went on to read The Stranger, The Plague and even The Rebel. I found in those books some powerful passages (and in the case of The Plague, a pretty good story) and considerable evidence that their author was a decent man, writing in indecent times. But to be honest, Camus' underlying message eluded me. I found his philosophical musings needlessly complicated. Why, for example, does he start The Myth of Sisyphus by asking whether life's absurdity demands suicide? Surely, the survival instinct alone renders the question meaningless; not to mention the possibility of experiencing earthly pleasure. Isn't a better question - the one I wanted answered anyway - how, not whether, to live in a world with no God watching over us? But I wasn't ready to give up on Camus. So I picked up this biography in search of clarity. I didn't get it. Lottman is no better at explaining Camus' philosophy (to me) than Camus himself. Take this Camus line, transcribed as if it were self-evident: "There is only one case in which despair is pure. It is that of a man sentenced to die.'' Huh? What about a parent who loses a child? What about a man or woman betrayed by someone they love? Is their despair somehow different from "pure despair"? And if so, does it matter? Lottman does do a valuable service in compiling the details of Camus' life. He is a relentless searcher of truth, separating fact from myth, getting the dates right, admitting when the evidence is unclear. It's yeoman's work, and deserves praise. And he makes a long story readable. His feisty preface to this new edition is a wonderful rebuke to those who supported Stalin's butchery and condemned Camus (who, as an earlier Amazon review nicely put it, had the good fortune to be "hated by idiots.") But Lottman sometimes doesn't see the forest for the trees and doesn't always put Camus' activities in a context that gives them meaning - assuming, apparently, that the reader already understands the backdrop. For example, I still don't totally understand the Camus-Sartre split, though Lottman tells us the names of the cafes and magazines in which it played out. In summary, this is a valuable book for Camus scholars and those already grounded in his philosophy. For the rest of us, the search continues.

reiterating what has already been said
i agree with both comments below. lottman did an excellent job in his research. and ,at times, he seems to hesitate to cut out all the extra detail that makes it an unnecessarily long read. but i really have to commend him for the work he did. you can find any information you need if you're doing research on camus, all you have to do is look a little.

what i most enjoyed, however, was the feel of lottman's writing. you can just tell that lottman knows his subject and has the right kind of passionate drive to deliver the biography.

This is the Single Best Camus Biography
I think I most love this magnificent book because the chilly reception it has received mirrors the deeply ironic incivility the French elite reserved for Camus himself.One can love Camus for his words, his insight, and his passion, but I think I love him most for the fact that he was hated by idiots.It is this theme that runs throughout Lottman's wonderful biography, and it also seems to describe to an extent Lottman's own experience.

For nearly the last quarter of Camus's short life, he lived in disfavor amongst the Paris literati.And for what?Because he, virtually alone amongst French intellectuals, recognized early on the horror that was the true nature of the regime of Joseph Stalin(socialism being virtually an article of faith with the likes of Sartre and others in France at the time).

Lottman himself seems to have had a rather similar experience in his publication of this book.As he points out in his preface to this second edition, a cottage industry has evolved in France and elsewhere in Camus scholarship and criticism.However, though that body of work is deeply indebted to Lottman's research, his preeminent role is rarely acknowledged.I think this is probably because, like Camus, Lottman is an outsider.Neither man was a French native (Camus was an Algerian of mixed French-Spanish descent, Lottman is an American expatriate living in Paris) and neither is an academic by trade (Camus was a newspaper editor, novelist and a man of the theatre, while Lottman is a journalist).Thus, Lottman has seemed at times as unwelcome amongst the French elite as Camus did himself.Again the irony is too much; Lottman has received comparatively little recognition even though he himself is an extremely important cornerstone of current Camus research.

Anyway, this book for whatever reason has received little more attention here in the United States than it has gotten anywhere else, and I think that is a shame.It is a wonderful, readable book.Most importantly, it is non-judgmental and it is very deferential.By that I mean that Lottman nowehere preaches to us how we should understand Camus; as he himself says, the essence of an artist is not in his biography, but in his works. It is long, but has only that level of detail befitting an intellectual biography of this caliber.

For anyone who really wants to understand Camus's literature, a thorough understanding of his life--like Lottman's--is priceless.

Very thorough, but gets bogged down with detail
Although an accomplished and thorough book, it sometimes get bogged down in detail. However, it is a very carefully compiled and analytical book. Good selection of pictures and details of others artists in Camus' life. Ienjoyed it greatly. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the true story of Chiang Yee, a renowned writer, artist, and worldwide traveler, best known for the Silent Traveller seriesÂ--stories of England, the United States, Ireland, France, Japan, and AustraliaÂ--all written in his humorous, delightfully refreshing, and enlightening literary style. More than a recounting of extraordinary accomplishments, Da Zheng uncovers YeeÂ's encounters with racial exclusion and immigration laws, displacement, exile, and the pain and losses he endured hidden behind a popular public image. ... Read more

Product Description
John Ruskin was one of the greatest critics of Victorianart and society, and one of the most eloquent of non-fiction prosewriters in English. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ruskin and twenty-first century
Dr. O'Gorman, a well-known Ruskin scholar, has provided us with anoutstanding introduction to one of the nineteenth century's mostoutstanding writers, critics, artist and creative mind. The wide ranginginterests and extraordinary accomplishments of Ruskin are treated to anelegant, intelligent, and highly readable treatice. Ruskin will no doubtgrow in importance in the decades to come. This book is the perfect placeto start on an exciting intellectual journey discovering John Ruskin.

Interesting introduction to Ruskin and his work
This is an ideal introduction to the life and work of John Ruskin. It's clearand readable but has lots of facts.My only criticism is that it doesn't give as much of a psychological insight into Ruskin as I would haveliked. I was left wondering what kind of person Ruskin really was. Still, Ido recommend it - and it is reasonably priced too. ... Read more

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Er rangiert längst unter den wichtigen und bekannten Vertretern jener österreichischen Architektengeneration, die massiv nachrückt und den Holleins, Holzbauers, Peichls ... den Rang streitig macht. Er gehört aber auch zu jenen, denen die Konzentration auf das eigene Werk wichtiger ist als dessen mediale Verbreitung: Daher steht das umfassende Buch über Heinz Tesar bis heute aus. Dabei hat sich sein architektonischer Credo weit über Wien hinaus in die architektonische Landschaft eingeschrieben. In der Bundeshauptstadt selbst sind zwar Wohnbauten und ein Kindergarten von ihm geplant worden, aber der Repräsentationsbau des Schömer-Hauses steht in Klosterneuburg; und gerade jetzt wird dort eine evangelische Kirche von ihm fertiggestellt. Auch in Hallein hat Tesar seine architektonische Handschrift hinterlassen: Mit dem Umbau des Stadttheaters und des Keltenmuseums sind dort zwei der bemerkenswertesten Bauten dieses Architekten entstanden. ... Read more

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One of the greatest church architects in history. ... Read more

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In this major revision of The Life of Samuel Johnson, Robert DeMaria makes a compelling claim for the attention of a new generation of Johnson's readers and admirers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Literally falls apart
This is an excellent book that covers its subject admirably. I enjoy flipping through it both for the information and the nostalgia it affords me as someone who is proud to have once lived in the Emerald City.

The problem is that the pages fall out. My particular copy is not bound terribly well - and I am not the type of person who treats books roughly!
Alas, the book is not 'bound' to last.

Shaping Seattle Architecture
A fabulous history of Seattle in word and photograph. It is a Who's Who listing those that gave Seattle her flavor and distinguished character. This is a must read and study for all native Seattleites as well as fornewly arrived residents. The buildings: commercial, residential and schoolsshow the step by step progress that the city has made through the designsof noted architects. From 1853 to date the book covers Seattle'sdevelopment. It is a first class read and study. ... Read more