Book Description
Captures the unique style of fashion maverick Iris Apfel and her exuberantly idiosyncratic personal chic.

With remarkable panache and discernment, Iris Apfel combines styles, colors, textures, and patterns without regard to period, provenance, or aesthetic conventions. Now in her mid-eighties, she is a unique style icon.

Over ninety sumptuous color plates, photographed by Eric Boman, show off a selection of Apfel's extraordinary outfits on wittily posed mannequins, some sporting her trademark outsized spectacles. The originality of her style is typically revealed in her mixing of Dior haute couture with flea-market finds, Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers with nineteenth-century ecclesiastical vestments, pink Lanvin worn with ropes of Navajo turquoise. Apfel's eclectic pieces might come from a Parisian couture house, an American thrift shop, or a North African souk, or they may have been made to her own design in a tiny studio.

Detailed captions describe every aspect of the outfits, including names and dates of designers, plus full information on fabrics and accessories. A selection of audacious accessories also comes under the spotlight: a giant necklace made of bear claws, a turn-of-the-century Indian horse ornament worn as a necklace, a parrot's-head brooch in colored glass and rhinestones.

The book includes an introduction by Harold Koda, director of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and an essay by Apfel herself, describing her lifelong love affair with style and illustrated with vintage photographs from her personal collection. 169 illustrations, 149 in color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A delightful inspiration
This book reminds all its readers that true style grows from individuality. In a time were you would recognize a stylist's style easier than the style of a designer, Iris Apfel's approach to and interpretation of fashion is the light at the end of the tunnel, she certainly has nudged me into the one or the other "true to myself experiment". Iris Apfel's witty introduction perfectly accessoirizes the clothes and jewellery presented, not only poviding background information on how this exhibition came to life but also shedding light on a certainly most interesting and colorful life in a warmhearted and humorous way. This book most certainly will be a longterm occupant of my coffee table.

Need more like her!
Loved, loved this book.The comments, the photography and most importantly the crediting of designers to each style was extremely well done.This rare bird of fashion serves us notice that we should embrace our individual style and glory in it and not follow the herd or be shy about manifesting our true "feathers".

Iris Apfel, what a rare bird indeed...
I was lucky enough to view the exhibit 'Iris Apfel - Rare Bird of Fashion' at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, and what a visual treat it was... Not only is she an icon of fashion, but her style, her combinations of colors and her very different approach to the matter is something everybody should see and study. I have seen and met her in New York, she is the most terrific person!!! The book is amazing as well, great photography!!! I will always treasure this book and every time I open it, there is something else to marvel at or read about... An absolutely great source of inspiration, that simply makes you smile! One could only wish there will be other 'rare birds' to follow her lead. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds
A slim volume of essays on the author's experiences with various common bird species.

Personable writing and a surprising amount of information, some of which is saddening (people lynch owls??) but most of which is intriguing and perhaps of more interest to readers, at least in North America, because it focuses on common species that many people encounter regularly. The essays are generally personal memoirs, and the type and amount of information on the birds varies -- this isn't a scientific study or a guide to identification but an engaging nature writing read. ... Read more

Book Description
Part naturalist detective story, part environmental inquiry, this vibrant narrative celebrates the fascinating world of an endangered seabird that depends on the contested old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest for its survival 'This chunky little seabird stole my heart.' So confesses Maria Mudd Ruth, a veteran nature writer perfectly happy to be a generalist before getting swept up in the strange story of the marbled murrelet. This curiosity of nature, who flies like a little brown bullet at up to 100 miles an hour and lives most of its life offshore, is seen around land only during breeding season, when the female lays a single egg high on a mossy tree limb in the ancient coastal forest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A rare bird who managed to keep its nesting place undetected for nearly two centuries
If you haven't heard of the marbled murrelet, even if you're an avid birder, don't be surprised: it's a rare bird who managed to keep its nesting place undetected for nearly two centuries: one explored in depth in Rare Bird: Pursuing The Mystery Of The Marbled Murrelet. Like the more famous ivory-billed woodpecker, the marbled murrelet is an elusive bird which has chosen exclusively a limited territory depleted trough logging. Though not on the edge of extinction, the many human threats to its habitat are reducing its numbers, and naturalist author Maria Mudd Ruth here explores these influences - and her discoveries about an amazing bird.

A Page Turner!
This is a wonderful book! An interesting read for both the avid bird watcher or the casual observer. I loved this book!

Coaxing a non-birder into the old growth forest
What is remarkable about Rare Bird is how accessible and interesting it is for a non-scientist and non-birder. Maria Ruth Mudd's ability to draw the reader close to this fascinating, endangered and shy sea bird that nests in old growth forests comes in part from her own outsider perspective-she calls herself an "accidental naturalist"-as well as her lively explanations detailing how scientists began to learn about and understand this odd creature.

From rich and poetic descriptions of old growth forests where this bird nests, to humorous and arduous accounts of tagging along with ornithologists, field biologists, and other tireless birders attempting to study the marbled murrelet, Ruth Mudd brings the reader into a world seldom even contemplated by most. She also demonstrates-- through historical record, numerous anecdotes detailing her own growing curiosity, and descriptions of the fascinating fieldwork--just how difficult studying this bird is, as well as how crucial the marbled murrelet researchers are to this bird's survival.As much as this book is a natural history, it is a song of appreciation to the researchers who have dedicated their lives to understanding and fighting for endangered species in general, and this bird in particular.

By the end of the book, I cared about this strange-looking auk, I wanted to hug the researchers that work to document the impact of polluted waters and clear-cutting on this bird's survival, and I better understood the plight of one endangered bird in a world hungry for old growth trees and land.

Great Bird, Great Book!
I have had the pleasure of reading Maria Mudd Ruth's most recent book,Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet. This book is the result of years of research by the author, which included culling facts from many scientific papers and journals,interviewing numerous biologists and ornithologists,visiting museums,attending seabird conferences and participating in data collection herself.The result is a lively,intelligent,thoughtful,funny and easily readable tale of a most unusual bird,and the folks who have found it fascinating. The author's enthusiasm for this bird is evident in her personal narration. This is no dry scientific paper.We, as readers, are amazed by the number of people who over so many yearshave dedicated their lives to studying this elusive creature,and the lengths they go to to observe and record it's behavior.We are also moved as we consider how difficult is the mission of maintaining the delicate balance of nature and industry in our increasingly complex world.Ruth has given us a gift in this detailed account of a funny ,fat, little bird and the stir it has caused, while trying to avoid attention altogether.It's a must read for those concered with protecting threatened and endangered species, and for those of us who enjoy a story well told. ... Read more

Book Description
Now a Major Motion Picture from Lions Gate Films, Starring William Hurt, Molly Parker and Andy Jones

Dave Purcell is ready to call it quits on his marriage and his restaurant, The Auk. His wife has left for a posting at a Washington D.C. think tank and the restaurant, built on a remote cliff on Push Cove, Newfoundland, never really took off. Dave spends his days consuming the rare delights of his well-stocked wine cellar and larder. All seems lost until Dave’s neighbour, Alphonse Murphy, comes up with an ingenious scheme to save The Auk. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Quirky, Newfie Birds: You've Got To Love Them
This book is delightful! Well written, with marvelous characters and a colorful background, it's like literary chocolate. Anyone who has had the priviledge of visiting Newfoundland, and meeting its friendly--but different--people will especially find this a treat. If you're tired of the daily grind, curl up with this one and prepare to enjoy your read.

What? You have not yet read
Excellent book, even better than the movie, though the movie is excellent too. If you want to read a laugh out loud book this summer, this is the one!

True Newfoundland Humor
I was born and raised in Newfoundland, but moved away a few years ago. This book brought back the punch of Newfoundland humor in such a way that it left me laughing out loud like a lunatic til tears were running down my cheeks. I always thought that the Newfoundland sense of humor was something that couldn't be put into words...something you had to experience first hand, and even then sometimes people don't get it. Somehow this author has pulled it off. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm greatly looking forward to it. Bravo Edward Riche!!!

Rare Birds by Edward Riche
A couple of years ago, my sister, who lives in Newfoundland, Canada, sent me this book. I put it aside but several months later I was sick, and picked up the book. I read it straight through in 3 or 4 hours...I couldn't put it down! The story is absolutely hilarious, and just recently has been made into a movie starring William Hurt. I have not been able to find this book in the US until now. I have loaned it to countless friends and they have all loved it. It is truly a good read. Get it!

Rick Mercer gave this one a "thumb's up" - smart and funny
I have given this book as a gift to many fellow restuarant/foodies and everyone has loved it. It's a short read...FIND THE TIME, you will LAUGH! If you enjoy Tim Sandlin, Tom Robbins, John Irving, then give Edward Richea read. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Not only pictures of elusive birds, but an adventure to boot
Taking picture of the most rare and shy birds in North America is not an easy tasking, not even for an avid birder and expert in the field. Well, William Burt is an expert in the field, and it took him over 10 years of hard work to research, track down, and photograph America's most elusive birds. Burt has not only delivered a full package of top quality photographs, but he has written an excellent story of his episodes of wandering through endless praries and dark swamps to find these birds. For anyone who loves birds, or loves an adventure, this book is a must.

Great gift for birders
I bought this book as a gift for birders, and they really loved it. It consists of photographs taken of some of the most elusive birds in North America. ... Read more

Book Description
ONCE AGAIN THE Sills provide a cock-eyed view through their binoculars, zooming in on the birds in all their outrageous plumage: the Mangrove Penguin (Tuxedo verdantus), one of the more intelligent species who has forsaken the arctic climes for the Florida sunshine; the Dowry Duck (Bridal seductorii); and the Grey-Green Lichen Mimic (Petriflorus imitatus), a confounder of those who are sure they can tell flora from fauna. BEN SILL co-authored A Field Guide to Little-Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America, Another Field Guide to Little-Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America, and Beyond Birdwatching with his brother John and his sister-in-law Cathryn. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Clemson, South Carolina, where he is a professor of civil engineering at Clemson University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Now we need a fieldguide to plants of the callabre of these.
I have owned a copy of these books since I first heard them reviewed on NPR. I still laugh every time I pull them from the shelf. Excellent gifts for your naturalist friends and others!!

A must for any birder!
This spoof of field guides really shows the wit and ingenuity of its creators.You'll laugh through the entire guide. ... Read more

Book Description
Rare Birds, the first monograph by Amanda de Cadenet, is a ten-year retrospective documenting the provocative cast of characters she has encountered through the course of her life and travels. These intimate images, published here for the first time, present us with a disarming array of personalities. Defying superficial interpretation and representation, Rare Birds humanizes our pop culture idols, placing them alongside equally compelling people from everyday life. Be it her daughter Atlanta, her boyfriend Nick, friends Keanu Reeves, Tobey Macguire, Benicio del Toro, Drew Barrymore, Orlando Bloom, Mischa Barton, Amber Valletta, Sophie Dahl, Amanda Peet, Dave Gahan, Jenny Saville, Beck, Sean Lennon, Kings of Leon, The Strokes, The Vines, Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches, and Brody Dalle of The Distillers, or the odd and unusual people she encounters on the street, Amanda de Cadenet's photographs capture a subtle, ambiguous, and unconventional beauty. Amanda de Cadenet began her eclectic career in London at age fourteen as the host of a successful talk show, and later relocated to Los Angeles to raise her daughter and pursue acting. After starring in several films it became apparent that life behind the camera was what motivated de Cadenet. She promptly began to capture the cast of characters surrounding her with a secondhand Leica M6, and a new career began to take shape. Today, de Cadenet's portraits and fashion images appear in such publications as Vogue, The New York Times Magazine, i-D, Allure, Spin, and Rolling Stone. Currently residing in New York with her daughter and boyfriend, she is working on directing her first film. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Touching
Rare Birds is basically a collection of photos that look like they should be taped up on the walls of a teenagers bedroom, if that teenager was the coolest girl at some hip downtown New York private school. This is a good thing. The book is a nice slice of popular culture in the early aughts (almost all the photos are of celebrities like Keanu Reeves, Drew Barrymore, Nick Valensi and the other Stroke boys) but the photos are also sweet and intimate. There is real affection between subject and photographer. It is a look into what Amanda De Cadanet's life might look like in its most idealized form. Its true that Rare Birds isn't the most brilliant or original book of photography out there, but clearly that wasn't De Cadenet's goal. It seems more like she wanted to show the photos and say "here I am. Share with me." And at that she does a beautiful job.

Cute photo album type book.
Amanda De Cadenet's Rare Birds offers glimpses into the lives of those faces we see so often in tabloids or on TV, with one major difference -- in this book, we see these celebrities through the eyes of someone who is close to them, and unenhanced by the media. Yet we also see something about the woman behind the camera, for many of the photographs seem light-hearted and silly, as if taken by a bored girl fiddling around with her camera one rainy day. Through her photographs, De Cadenet comes off as a simple girl who likes taking pictures of simple-girl things - friends, boyfriends, flowers, shoes, and of course, hot guys.

This book seems to be De Cadenet's attempt to put a personality to the celebrities that clutter its pages. Her efforts to do so can be seen by the book's arrangement (famous faces alongside unknown ones) as well as its index (naming all subjects on a first-name-only basis -- a familiar "Orlando" rather than "Orlando Bloom, People Magazine's Sexiest Bachelor 4 years in a row"). The book achieves its goal, partially at least. Yet even if you don't recognize all the celebrities in the book, you can still pretty much tell that they're famous -- even stripped down and "raw", they are still too glamorous to seem like simpletons.

As for the celebrities -- indie music scenesters will instantly be familiar with many faces - The Strokes make at least a dozen appearances (no doubt due to De Cadenet's status as the girlfriend of their lead guitarist), as well as The Vines, Adam Green, Matt Followill (Kings of Leon), Beck, and Sean Lennon -- just to name a few. Those unfamiliar with such names may still recognize other tabloid faces, including Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves (also a De Cadenet ex), Orlando Bloom, Tobey Maguire, and Amber Valetta.

I Could Have Taken Better Pictures!
You know, I was real exited about "Rare Birds" in the beginning, and only because I am deeply in love with and very passionate about Keanu Reeves. I knew there were going to be photos of him in this book, and I also expected to see a whole section on him, from what I've read about in other descriptions of the book. So imagine my surprise when I found the book in a local bookstore and flipped through the pages...

First of all, let me say that I only recognized 4 people (before reading the photo credits) in this book...Keanu Reeves, Tobey Maguire, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Lennon. And let me also say that the ONLY good photos in the whole book are ofKeanu Reeves; in one, he is laying in bed, gazing into the camera with the sun shining on his hair. It is perfection...it is Heaven-sent, and he looks like an angel. In the other, he is holding his motorcycle helmet, shyly looking down. Both photos are clear and professional looking. I wish I could say the same for the rest of thebook.

For the most part, the so-called "celebrities" (maybe in their minds, anyway) look like has-been Hollywood trash, with the exception of the aforementioned four people. Most of the pics look as if they had been taken with a cheapie disposable camera, and most of the subjects (except Keanu) look like something the cat drug in after a long night of partying. They all look like hell, and if it hadn't been for the incomplete photo credits in the back of the book (first names only,) I'd have never recognizedRose McGowan. Even Tobey and Benicio look like they just got out of bed, but I have to say that those shots are fairly decent. The rest, however, just plain suck. Even the photos ofMs. DeCadenet's daughter, Atlanta, could (and should) have been done with much more care. There's a photo of a pair of sneakers, some roses, and a marquee of a theatre where "The Matrix" was playing, and which has Keanu's name on top of the title; the non-human subjects were very amateurish.

Marc Jacobs and Sophie Dhal have nothing interesting to say in the book. It would have been so much nicer if there were captions under the photos saying who the subject was, and when and under what circumstances the photo was taken. I may have cared more about the subjects (and the book itself) had that been done. It is very obvious that Ms. DeCadenet still has a great deal of affection for Keanu, with whom she once had a long relationship; she thanks him twice in the acknowledgements, and there are more photos of him (4 in all) than there are of anyone else in the book, including her daughter. If she had put as much care and effort into the rest of the pics as she did with Keanu's,it would be a truly glorious book. I'm glad I got to see it before I ordered it (which I won't be doing, by the way,) because I would have wasted a LOT of money.

celebrity hacking at a real art-form
There is nothing redeeming about Ms. Cadenet's photography, except as a document of the people she slept with. and its an impressive litany of boy stars that she has serviced...unfortunately, the camera skills she utilizes are not as impressive as her personal offerings....by a long shot. taking the lead paved by Hiromix and Terry Richardson, the premise behind her attempts, are the 'snapshot' window into her volatile, star powered life. but most of these badly lit, movie star and rock star'moments' feel staged, superficial and lacking the unseen touches and bold reality that carved out a niche for Hiromix and Terry.

I don't believe Amanda ever achieved a celebrity status indepedent of the boy stars she was servicing, and for the most part they all seem aware and weary of the photographer's presence. time to go home Amanda. ... Read more

Book Description
What does a writer do when he's got a family that includes a blacklisted member of the Hollywood Ten, the brains behind Tony the Tiger and the Marlboro Man, a trio of gay puppeteers, the world's leading birdwatcher, sixties hippies, a Dutch stowaway who served in an all-black regiment during the American Civil War, a mother of unusual compassion and understanding, and a convicted murderer? He tells their stories and secrets, illuminating 150 years of American life along the way.

Dan Bessie begins the journey through his family history with his great-grandfather in the cargo hold of a ship bound for New York on the storm-tossed Atlantic. What follows are stories of his grandfather's various entrepreneurial schemes (including a folding butter box business), a grandmother who was voted “New York's Prettiest Shop Girl” (and who resisted the recruitment efforts of various city madams), and his uncle Harry's Turnabout Theater in Los Angeles (a renowned puppet theater drawing patrons as diverse as Shirley Temple, Ray Bradbury, and Albert Einstein).

Through inherited journals and literary effects, Bessie comes to a new understanding of his father, Alvah. An actor and writer, he fought in the Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. When he returned to the States, he headed to the Warner backlots to begin a screenwriting career. But as congress began investigating radicals in the film industry, Alvah was blacklisted for his Communist sympathies and was soon sent to jail as one of the Hollywood Ten.

His grandmother's cousin, Sidney Lenz, wrote Lenz on Bridge, a classic guide to the game of contract bridge. Bessie describes what was billed as the Bridge Battle of the Century, a 1931 match between Lenz and an upstart opponent that was covered by journalists from all over the world. Bessie's brother-in-law Wes Wilson designed rock and roll posters for the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco during the 1960s, living a counterculture existence vastly different from the bridge-mad Depression Era.

Cousin Michael was heir to the compulsive storytelling characterizing many of the Bessies. He found his niche in publishing, co-founding the Atheneum Press and shaping books by people such as Anwar Sadat, Edward Albee, and Aldous Huxley. With an equally impressive career, Uncle Leo built the country's fifth largest advertising agency. Working 364 days a year, he lived for the passion of putting words and images together. A passion of a different sort led cousin Phoebe Snetsinger to travel from Webster Groves, Missouri, to the far corners of Africa and Asia. The world's leading birder, she sighted 8,400 different birds—nearly 85 percent of the species known to exist.

An extraordinary strain of creativity runs through the Bessie and Burnett clans, and Rare Birds celebrates the colorful diversity of a remarkable and accomplished family. While their choices and professions run the gamut of the American experience in the twentieth century, the history of the nation can be traced in these people's lives. Bessie's passionate birds of a feather gather to sing their unique song across decades and generations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

What a family!
After reading "Rare Birds" by Dan Bessie I thought, "What a family!".Every family has a few characters or maybe a semi-famous person.But, in "Rare Birds" I was totally fascinated by the wide range of interesting and famous family members.I especially liked the chapters on his Uncle Harry Burnett and the Turnabout Theatre.The book is written in a relaxed style that makes you feel like you're having a conversation with the author.It made me want to search out my own family tree, shake it and see who falls out. Fascinating and enjoyable book!

A Fascinating Family
This is a truly heartfelt look into a talented, creative and outspoken family.From the wild west days to the Spanish Civil War, Mr. Bessie examines and tells the tales of his family with warmth and wit.These are people who lived life, not coasted through it.The exhaustive research is evident yet the author honestly points out when the trail goes cold and he is left with only oral history or speculation.Above all, he treats each life with respect and love even when he doesn't wholly approve. Not just a truly entertaining read, it prompts all of us to really get to know our own family members, rare or otherwise, in a meaningful way before we find it's too late.

Rare Birds
Great book. Not only well written but written with the insight of a mature, intelligent sensitive human being. Great insight into the human condition. The author comes from a unusally talented and creative family and as this book demonstrates is as creative as any of them. Telling us the story of his familygives us alot information about the political climate in the USA and its effect on individual citizens. Extremly interesting and varied Family members from the world's must prolific bird watcher to a Leftist screen writer who fought with the Abraham Lincoln`Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.

Birds of an extraordinary feather ...
Dan Bessie implies that we ALL have such people in our families.Frankly - I doubt that.Certainly, if we all had his talent, we could make much of our own oddballs and eccentrics, but in the final analysis we would still only be colouring the grey.His family is and was extraordinary.

"Rare Birds" is an affectionate sketch of an abnormally talented and unusual family.Mr Bessie - being a modest man (judging by how little he refers to himself in the narrative) - would doubtless take issue with that summation, but it is nonetheless true.

In another century, the father of a famous family of writers (Patrick Bronte) acknowledged his own rather eccentric attributes, but at the same time pointed out to his daughter's biographer that if he had been one of the world's "concentric" men he would not, in all probability, have produced such children as his were.

Mr Bessie can, in a way, lay claim to the same process.Talent only occasionally emerges from nowhere, with no previous indication of its existence.Even with the most fascinating material, more illustrious writers have failed to grip the imagination of the reader.Mr Bessie's almost tangible affection and respect for his subjects shines through the narrative.

"Rare Birds" can be as strongly recommended to scholars of the McCarthy witch-hunt period as to those who simply enjoy good writing.Mr Bessie grew up in one of the most unnerving and nervous periods of US history and his personal reflections are both telling and educational.

noble and eccentric family stories
On a background of flawlessly researched historyand detail, Dan Bessie paints his family stories ofeccentricity, sadness, and triumph-over-adversity. He weaves his own mythic connection to the joysand sufferings of his highly creative lineage, as well as to a few seedy characters who don't share his blood but whom are in his blood nevertheless. Dan says that in microcosm, all families share the same threads. This may be so, but it is rare tofind an author who doesn't slide off into judgement and criticism, using relations as targets forunfinished emotional business. Dan Bessie does not make the mistake of cluttering up these vivid and heroic characters with his own gunk, which leavesplenty of space for the color and magic of his family to shinethrough. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in writing their family story, a quintessentialstarting point for any writer. My hope is that I toowill discover as many redeeming qualities in my ownbatch of goofy relatives. ... Read more

Book Description
In this first of a spectacular series of books on current environmental themes for younger readers, award-winning biologist and photographer Michelle Gilders focuses on ten species of animals in danger of extinction.In lively, straightforward prose, Gilders provides the reasons for threats to endangered animals' continued existence, and children are encouraged to take the initiative in various realistic ways, individually and collectively. The book is highlighted by spectacular photos taken by the author in all corners of the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Strength of character lies in the determination to hold on to truth regardless of circumstances or consequences. The hero in this story proves that every seemingly insignificant deed is noticed by God. Even though his life is threatened by the prince and his guards, this young man's word is a treasure that will not be sacrificed; it will be rewarded in a most unusual turn of events. ... Read more