The author is a 24-carat Jibroni
921352
Reading this autohagiography of a swaggering macho drunkard seriously made me want to discover my feminine side. He kept mentioning accidents, but he never had one serious enough for my liking.
The essential problem with this empty calorie of an advert for a bogan is that it's just that -- a self-serving scribble from a magazine hack in his autumn years ... and it reads like it. It blusters off the page like a sozzled meatworker with the piles, and the bullshit wafts like the smell of manure cloying over a Serbian farming village. I guess all the blokey, badder-than-bad-boy gush makes it essential reading for long-term prison inmates needing to take their mind off their sexy cell-mates, but frankly, after reading it I now want to sell my Harley and buy a moped.
1775758
I am rarely thrilled by anything I read. This is both a function of having read all the good stuff, and a downright dearth of anything new worth reading.  At last, I am able to report that I found my thrill, not on Blueberry Hill but in the obscure pleasures offered up by the ethereal Carmela Ciuraru in her brilliant (HarperCollins, thought so!) NOM DE PLUME: A (SECRET) HISTORY OF PSEUDONYMS. The adjective ethereal was not chose lightly. There is a photograph of Carmela on the back flap of the book cover.  I am sure you would agree that hers is a face from Botticelli, a unique beauty, something deliriously ethnic in her face, and cerebral in her sweet, cynical smile.

It must be serendipitous that I should find this book within days of the breaking July, 2013 news of J.K. Rowling.  Apparently she published her last novel--The Cuckoo's Calling--under the pseudonym John Galbraith. The story, of course, is probably a publisher-conceived media stunt.  Each day it has built itself "legs" and the pundits & analysts are slicing & dicing as I write.  It would be a great injustice to their viewers should the 24-hour news mavens not invite Carmela as a guest commentator on the issue of pseudonyms in general. The author is undoubtedly an articulate, charismatic, camera-ready treat.
I strongly advise whoever is scheduling guests to get on this right away

Her book is a nuanced analysis of various motivations behind an author's use of a pseudonym for publication. In addition to being a fascinating read, particularly for writers, NOM DE PLUME, it sets each story--and they're all there: Twain/Clemens, Blair/Orwell, Carroll/Dodgson, Dinesen/Blixen, Plath, Simenon, and Highsmith--sets each episode of literary schizophrenia in historical context.  Quoting Carmela:

"At its most basic level, a pseudonym is a prank. Yet the motives that lead writers to assume an alias are infinitely complex, sometimes mysterious even to them."

The book is a gem and fun to read.
449260
Wow, this book is really something. I received this book as a gift from my girlfriend. She found it at a closing sale at a bookstore in Lawrence, KS for $3.50. The inside of the cover bears a signature, "Adelaide, 1906."  The leather covering is in very bad shape and needs to be re-bound but the pages themselves are in great condition. The wealth of information inside this text belies it's diminutive footprint. Not only is this book for musicians, but for anyone wanting a portal into a world that once was. The typeface and setting are simple and elegant. There includes not only quotes from many, many diverse sources but also birth and death dates of famous composers, musicians, etc. I am so fond of this book that I would be in a bad state should something happen to it. Although I'm sure there are many books in print now that are like it, nothing comes close to the character that this book possesses. Hopefully someone will reprint it. I'll close with a quote or two.

From pg. 120:
"August Twenty-third."

"One begins by resolving to know everything; soon he despairs of knowing anything; at last he is glad to know something.  -Van Cleve"

From pg. 96:
"July Fifth."

"Art in general is that magic instrumentality by which man's mind reveals to man's senses that great mystery, the beautiful.  -Ritter"
4461818
JoeDanDonigi,

Not too modern.  Written in 1902.  So if you want some more current I suggest shopping around.
388901
2006 is a special year for the author - the 25th anniversary of giving up her 'day job' and devoting her life to embroidery.  This book contains an appendix of the author's signature techniques, including 'opus plumarium' (feather work), shadow lining and voiding, but I wouldn't really classify "The Myth and Magic of Embroidery" as a how-to guide.

It is a beautiful book of art.  Stevens reminds me of my favorite watercolorist, Charles Burchfield in her use of natural themes that are suffused with mysticism.  Her silken flowers and butterflies and spiderwebs are to nature as Michelangelo's torsos are to real human beings.  The only subjects on which she falls completely flat are her attempts at supernatural creatures such as fairies.  They go klunk in otherwise perfect natural vignettes, although the dragons are okay.

Nature is not Stevens' only choice of subject.  This book also includes entire landscapes, cathedrals, Celtic knotwork, and Celtic heroes.  The accompanying text discusses embroidery techniques, mythology, history, and nature.  The author has the eye of a silken magpie for bright knickknacks of poetry and literature, and quotes everyone from James Russell Lowell to Rudyard Kipling.

I've been embroidering off and on for more than twenty years, although rarely with silk but even this author's simplest pictures are probably beyond my skills.  She has a website at helenmstevens.co.uk where you can view more samples of her work, and buy embroidery kits and lessons.

For example, there is a beginner's online project called 'Champagne Rose,' which requires ten different colors of silk embroidery thread, plus a small amount of fine gold thread.  The lesson itself is free, but the silks cost between 15 - 25.50 pounds sterling.  This is for a single champagne-colored rose and a blue butterfly, and the result is gorgeous.  I just can't imagine myself working something that fine.

"The Myth and Magic of Embroidery" will join my art books on the shelf, rather than mingle with my craft volumes.
1859920
The author has done justice to the book, it is a good read
4958647
The book presents a wealth of historical and archeological information in one place.
3641629
Una novela digna de leer, con un personaje bien concebido.  Su carcter humano con sus miedos y sus debilidades lo hacen ms creble. Para ser la primera novela policial el autor demuestra una habilidad de un buen escritor en este tipo de genre policial.
1629124
There are  many characters who are related among them. The author through  Vivid descriptions  makes the readers feel the  environment  of the  story.
433449
Review
by Richard W. Wise, G.G.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Secrets-of-the-Gem-Trade-The-connoisseur-s-Guide-to-Precious-Gemstones/dp/0972822380/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Secrets of the Gem Trade: The connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones</a>

First off, this is a beautiful tome.  Beautifully designed using the highest quality paper and binding.

This was the first and most comprehensive overview of colored diamonds until the publication of Hofer's seminal work.  It is well researched and written containing much useful knowledge.

The photographs are beautiful as well and rumor has it were taken by Tino Hammid, a man considered by many as the ultimate gemstone photographer.  That said,some of these images have been tarted up rather a lot.  So much so that the actual gem might be something of a disappointment.  This is unfortunate as it raises unrealistic expectations in the mind of a potential collector.

If you see a gem that looks as good as those in Mr. Harris' book, sell all that you have in buy it.  Fact is, unless you are a member of the top 1%, that's what it is going to take.

Altogether an excellent introduction and overview of colored diamonds

Richard W. Wise, G.G.  Author:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-French-Blue/dp/0972822364/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The French Blue</a>
4567938
Dario Fo is a great artist and a great man. With his wife Franca he has written some of the best pages of Italian culture. I had the fortune of watching them act (live and on TV) in most of their plays. With the barest stage they can convey the richest combination of form and substance. They represent the core of the profound culture and sensitivity of the Italian working class, which so important has been in the social development of that country, and still is little known abroad (shaded by the stereotypical and outdated images of mandolins, meatballs, and mafiamen). I deeply encourage anyone to read as much as possible of what Dario has written.
I found on this website a review claiming that "Fo supports the WTC attackers". The author of that review should have gone a little deeper in reading the facts, just to discover that the intended message of the reported statement was quite opposite to the alleged one. The original text that includes the statement can be found at ...(in Italian). I believe the misunderstanding is far from casual. Nowadays the Italian Prime Minister controls almost every information medium. He has restored most of the political and cultural conditions that Italy was forced to "enjoy" between 1922 and 1943. It has become very hard for dissenting voices to reach a wide audience without having their messages distorted on the way. The "Corriere della Sera" excerpt from Dario and Franca's email on the 9/11 tragedy is just one more example of how easy it is to manipulate the truth by simply reporting minimal parts of it.
4129193
I discovered this gentle man through Rockstv, (Gemporia, unfortunately, no longer available in the USA). This is a very interesting book written by Glenn Lerner, who is a most interesting man, a master gem carver, who discovered his passion while a very young man, traveling all over the world, eventually returning home to go to college to earn his degree. Over the course of his life, he, sometimes in partnership with other jewellers, has created some of the most beautiful pieces of artwork and jewelry with gemstones, gold, and silver.

His book is written in a very easy style, although the editing could be a little more polished, choosing different words to better suit the narrative. The book also has pictures showing some of his artwork, with pictures of his family.

If you discover, as I have, that you have fallen in love with all colored gemstones, you won't go wrong picking up this book.
652284
This is one of those books that could be in your coffee table for years and no matter how many times you open it, there is something new to amaze you.  The author is a global broker in the business of renting and selling islands.  That's how he is able to show many private islands from several part of the world: England, BVI's, Italy, Maldives and many more including some celebrities' islands like the ones owned by Johnny Depp or Richard Branson.  Don't be afraid when you read the first page and see everything in German, the book is written in German, English, Italian and, Spanish -I don't remember if French too-.  I gave it 4 starts since I was not able to give it 3 . I didn't like that more than half the islands are just shown in a single aerial picture similar to those found on internet. I whish the book could have more pictures of the houses or interiors in every island like the one on the cover which is worth the book.  Besides that, the quality of the pictures was good.
1371656
I have two comments:  I have recently attended several readings of the two volumes by Anna Mosca.  The readings were given by the author and were a wonderful window into the inspiration for her poetic imagery and bringing to life the wonderful California desert.  I have given copies of Volume 1 to several friends and will do the same with volume 2.  My second comment is for Amazon:  this book is bi-lingual NOT an Italian edition.  The description is misleading and may mislead potential buyers to not make this purchase.  Amazon needs to correct this error and promote the products of hard working authors in all written works.
4058995
The author is not a professional journalist. That presents itself often in the many grammatical and spelling errors. Sometimes sentences are missing key words. This is distracting, but not overly so.

What the author has working in his favor is he has obviously studied this subject and knows the terrain. For some reason there has been a noticeable dearth of books concerning organized crime in Detroit. This helps fill in some gaps. Someone else can pick up the mantel & bring this story to us in a more coherent writing style. Follow up the good research this author has laid the groundwork for. Or the author himself can get a professional to proofread his text next time. I think he has it in him to improve. His passion for the subject is his greatest asset.

Next up should be the Zerilli / Tocco factions and their internecine feud.
4508037
This item is advertised at seventy plus pages. However, it is double-spaced making the actual content about thirty plus pages. This is an article, not a book. As far as content, there is nothing written that would lead one to believe that Mostras's pedagogical writing should be translated from Russian. The main reason I would want to see translations of his work is that I find it hard to believe he could possibly be as banal as the author unintentionally depicts him. This article would be fairly priced at $2.00.
1360221
I was thrilled to see a new book by Samrat Upadhyay offered in amazon vine. I bought his first book, Arresting God in Kathmandu, because of the title and the cover. I knew nothing about Nepal. I have bought every one of his books since. He brings the country and its capital, Kathmandu, to life so much that you forget you are reading fiction. He tells the stories from the viewpoints of people of all classes, and there is very much a class system. This forms the basis for the two main characters' relationship. While Raja is abandoned by his real mother, who kills herself, and is brought up in childhood by servants in Nilu's home, Nilu is drawn to Raja from the beginning. As time passes, Raja rises and Nilu falls. Raja is adopted (using falsified documents in a corrupt court system) by a well-to-do man, Ganga Da, who has a schizophrenic wife, Jamuna. Jamuna genuinely loves Raja, but her illness is hopeless--her husband is told there are no psychiatrists in Nepal, they would have to go to India, and the available mental hospitals are out of the 18th century. Meanwhile, Nilu's widowed mother is an alcoholic, becomes a drug addict, and begins an affair with a drug dealer. Eventually they lose all her money. Nilu and Raja find each other again and marry, but it's no fairy tale ending. Raja is in fact a selfish, immature person. He lets his wife support him while he spends his time reading, smoking marijuana and joining protesters in the streets. He thinks he is too good for low-level jobs and is not given the good jobs he aspires to. By the time he is in his 30s, his irresponsible behavior may indirectly bring tragedy to their son. Nilu and Raja married spontaneously without really knowing each other. Many people make this mistake; they idealize one another without seeing the real person.
The story moves along, and the author gives a really good picture of life in Kathmandu. If people have trouble understanding Nepali politics as described in the book, Wikipedia will give you a good summary. Once again, I won't discuss the end, but I will say this man has real talent, and he's kept me interested in his country for the last several years.

This book is kind of long, but it reads surprisingly fast. The one problem I had with it are all the foreign words. I assume they are Nepali; some characters are from India, which has different languages. A little more translation would have helped because an American audience not coming from that part of the world is not likely to be familiar with the language. Otherwise, I'd say this is his best book yet.