Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

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Fractured Dance draws on the thought of Hans Georg-Gadamer to examine how conversation participants prove ready--or not--to understand each other amid conflict. Two intertwining stories are told. First is the account of conversation, conducted by delegates of a cluster of Mennonite congregations, regarding whether and how a member congregation might be disciplined. Key questions were whether the congregation had adopted a stance on homosexuality contrary to the official position of the larger church and, if so, whether a "third way" could be found for affirming commonality amid sharp differences.

Second is the tale of insights and challenges encountered in the quest to apply the Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics to such data. Within this tale, the central questions are how persons understand each other across differences of perspective and position, how they may find (or fail to experience) commonalities of understanding even while maintaining the integrity of their differences, and to what extent Gadamerian theory proves useful or problematic in probing such issues. (Includes extensive bibliography plus index and notes.) ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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A Vintage Book K-52 ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, actually composed of 118 splendid woodblock landscape and genre scenes of mid-nineteenth century Tokyo, is one of the greatest achievements of Japanese art. The series contains many of Hiroshige's best-loved and most extraordinary prints. Like Venice and Florence in the 14th and 15th centuries, or Paris in the age of the Impressionists, the city of Edo, with its superb landmarks and its festive display of elegant urban life, exerts a special and compelling fascination. Hiroshige revealed the panorama of his city's activities with subtle and vivid visual anecdotes: fireworks seen from the river, fashionable geishas on parade, the kabuki district at night, intimate moments in the gardens and teahouses. It is a tour de force of artistic vision and printmaking craftsmanship. This edition has been reproduced from an exceptionally fine, first-edition set in the Brooklyn Museum of Art to insure maximum fidelity to the original prints. Henry Smith ex-plains the world of Edo in its twilight before the Meiji Restoration and the beginnings of a modern urban society. Each plate is accompanied by a commentary that discusses its artistic and cultural interest in detail. For anyone interested in Japan, the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is perhaps the finest guide and one of the greatest legacies imaginable.Amazon.com Review
Besides being the catalog of a marvelous exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is the definitive study of the last series of landscapes produced by the Japanese woodblock-print artist Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858). These designs of Edo, or modern Tokyo, are among the most familiar images of Japanese art in the world: copies were printed by the thousands until the wooden blocks wore out. The Brooklyn Museum's set is of the highest quality, early impressions with extraordinarily skilful and subtle use of printing techniques, especially color gradation. Each of the designs, which ultimately numbered 118, is shown in the book full-size with a long caption on the facing page. The author's descriptions, impeccably researched, take us on a guided tour of the old city. Many of the locations are shown at festival time and demonstrate the richness of daily life and customs in premodern Japan.

A notable feature of the series is its use of what we would now call cinematic effects: abrupt framing that cuts a figure in half, or extreme juxtapositions of near and distant elements. Examples include an "aerial" view of the environs of Edo dominated by a close-up image of an eagle, and a study of the Horikiri iris gardens in which sightseers are seen through stalks that seem only inches away. Such imaginative and daring effects must have startled contemporaries. Sudden Shower at Ohashi Bridge uses slashing lines to indicate rain--it was copied in oils by van Gogh, who, like several other impressionist painters including Monet, was the proud owner of many Japanese prints. Hiroshige is a beautifully produced book; with individual designs of the series costing tens of thousands of dollars; owning a copy is a consolation for not owning the prints themselves. --John Stevenson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An Extraordinary Book About an Extraordinary Artistic Achievement
Hiroshige's work in these prints has been heralded by smarter writers than I. The packaging they receieve in this book is admirable.

A large-format hardback in dustcover, 256 pp, 4 1/2 pounds. The images have not been cropped. This is the first time the complete series of prints has been published in the West. There's an introduction, a preface, a bibliography. On heavy stock.

However, the prints are, as they should be, the star of the show. Reproduced from a fine, first edition set of the prints, they are laid out in an impressive manner -- one magnificent print on every two pages, accompanied by wonderful commentary by Henry D. Smith II.

Bravo!

Color and Cadence
The genius of Hiroshige finally available to view at home, in fine reproduction with meaningful commentary.

A spectacular achievement
This huge and beautiful book is an achievement in itself, but I really meant Hiroshige's original cycle of prints, 118 in all. They cover every aspect of the bustling city: summer and snow, crowds and quiet, industrial sectors, temples, and pleasure quarters. In some, the city's people are clearly the focus of attention. In others, they are implicit and unseen. Even when birds, exotic trees, or vast landscapes dominate, the human presence remains. This is about the city, after all, and the city is always there.

Hiroshige's composition displays distinctive layering. His strong, immediate foregrounds place the viewer directly in the scene, then lead the viewer inward and onward to skies and mountains in the distance. It's dramatic and engaging, and striking by its absence in the very few images composed by his successor.

Japanese prints are hugely more complex and subtle than nearly anything in the Western canon. These masterworks are built up from images on a dozen or more blocks, perfectly aligned on the printed sheet of paper. That comes through beautifully in these large reproductions, even in the subtleties of "bokashi" gradients of color. Even so, the commentary reminds us of how much we're missing. The originals are often overprinted in lustrous mica, in glossy inks that emphasizes an eagle's claws, and in un-inked embossing or "cloth printing." Between the dramatic printing in these reproductions and the authors' description, we get nearly the whole effect of the imagery anyway.

I recommend this book to any reader, whether a connoisseur of fine prints already or some who can learn to love them - in otherwords, to everyone.

//wiredweird

Absolutely magnificent.
In college I met one of the sons of George Braziler, the publisher, and feel that the wonderful quality of their art books reflects the generous and thoughtful nature of their family.The prints are meticulouslyreproduced, complete with woodgrain. The written text takes the reader backto another time within a totally different culture with subtle detailsexplained. More generally, Japanese prints represent an effort to provideart to the normal working people, not just wealthy aristocrats.Hiroshigememorializes the exquisite and delicate mood of ancient Japan and lets youfeel their experiences.

Bridging the gap between Edo and Tokyo.
Darcy Kishida (midk@crisscross.com) Anyone who has ever visited modern Tokyo knows what a dreary and uninviting place it can be.Monotonous rows of offices, apartments with no charm whatsoever, and a shocking lack of architectural originality conspire to rob the metropolis of most of the character it once had."One Hundred Famous Views Of Edo" will, if not completely change your opinion of Tokyo, at least make you see the city in a new light, enabling the reader to lookpast the run down buildings and aging neon and view the city as it used to be:an enchanting place virtually untouched by foreign influences and filled with ancient shrines, women in kimono, swaggering samurai, Kabuki theaters, the pleasure quarters, and everything else we associate with old Japan.It will also, if you're not already, make you fall in love with the art of ukiyo-e. "One Hundred Famous Views Of Edo" succeeds in two ways.First, from a purely artistic point of view, it is a stunning collection of all 118 prints in Hiroshige's "Meisho Edo Hyakkei" series (One Hundred Famous Views Of Edo), full-size and faithfully reproduced from the Brooklyn Museum's high quality set of mostly first edition prints.The book is unique in that it includes, in addition to the acknowledged masterpieces such as "Plum Estate, Kameido" and "Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake," many inferior prints which are rarely, if ever, seen. Here though, every print, even the obscure ones, is given its own commentary.Henry D. Smith II,a professor of Japanese history at Columbia University, wrote the commentaries accompanying the plates and explains in his introduction that only focusing on the stronger designs "discourages the appreciation of the many strong features of the lesser designs, and it also distracts attention from the descriptive qualities that clearly appealed to Hiroshige's audience and that can teach us much today about the city of Edo and its culture." Also significant is the fact that "One Hundred Famous Views Of Edo" shows us the series as it was meant to be seen.Those who are familiar with Hiroshige already know that this was his last series and it was enormously popular.As was the case with most ukiyo-e prints, the first edition copies were generally of the highest quality, with sharp, clear lines and delicately graded colors.In later printings, which are comparatively plentiful, a sharp drop in the subtlety of color becomes obvious and the once clean lines begin to blur.The majority of the prints from the Brooklyn Museum fall into the former category.As Professor Smith notes, the great success of the series "led to countless later impressions of far inferior quality, eliminating the most refined printing effects and transforming the color schemes in ways that utterly destroyed the expressive intent of the first impressions."Even to the untrained eye, a side-by-side comparison between a high quality, early impression and a hastily made later one will quickly make this clear.Any ukiyo-e connoisseur will tell you that there is really nothing else like a well-preserved, first edition copy of a favorite print and these are in abundance in "One Hundred Famous Views Of Edo". As impressive as the prints are, however, the commentaryis what steals the show here, giving the reader fascinating glimpses into what was the city of Edo and its inhabitants.It has the effect of turning the prints into virtual postcards, which, in the absence of Edo era photographs, serve as a precious visual record of the city and its customs. In his commentary, Smith has the uncanny ability to make even the most mundane details fascinating.Mediocre plates, which would normally hold your attention for only a few seconds at most, are given substance and life by Smith, whose keen eye and attention to detail turn these lesser designs into mini history lessons, travel guides, or short biographies.A good example is plate 70 (Nakagawa River Mouth), which, artistically, this writer considers among the worst of the series.Here were are given a short history of Edo's canal system, learn where its citizens procured their salt, and discover how the scene has changed in the last 150 years.The print is thus saved from obscurity by, ironically, acting as a sort of visual supplement to Smith's text instead of the other way around. The amazing variety of the locations and subject matter of the 118 views and their astute commentary combine to bring Edo alive for the viewer,making it seem strangely familiar and real.We regret the loss of so many beautiful places to modernization and cherish the few precious gems that remain."One Hundred Famous Views Of Edo" will make those who have never been to Tokyo want to go and former residentswant to return for a visit.As for the fortunate who live there now, this book can only increase their appreciation of the city and its unique history. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first stage history of Shakespeare's King Henry V to cover the play's theatrical life since 1599. Staging this play is a political act, andthe substantial Introduction traces its theatrical interventions into conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to Vietnam and the Falklands. The stage and film history raises interpretative questions--is Henry V an epic of English nationalism, a knowing and cynical piece of power politics, or an anti-war manifesto? The volume also includes the play text, illustrations and detailed footnotes about major performances. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, Page ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Insights into the work of America's great comic genius
Henry Nash Smith the editor of this collection, in his essay gives an insightful look into the greatness of 'Huckleberry Finn' . He writes, "The use of Huck as a narrative persona, with the consequent elimination of the author as an intruding presence in the story, resolved the difficulties about point- of- view and style that had been so conspicuous in earlier books.But turning the story over to Huck brought into view previously unsuspectedliterary potentialities in the vernacular perspective, particularly the possibility of using vernacular speech for serious purposes and of transforming the vernacular narrator from a mere persona into a character with human depth."
In another interesting essay Van Wyck Brooks tries to analyze the development of Twain's humor which is the aspect of his writing most appreciated by others but not necessarily valued most by himself. He focuses on the frontier life, the repressed life of the miner and fortune - seeker who needed an outlet for his suppressed goals and feelings. Brooks sees his humor as his 'chief- life saver' considering the reverses and disappointments and pressures he had in the world of business especially. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more