When 'L'Age D'Or' was released in 1930, the few mainstream cinemas equipped with sound refused to show it. Its exhibition in a small art-house sparked vicious vandalism from right-wing groups; under pressure from the Parisian Chief of Police, the film was withdrawn and remained unseen for 50 years except for poor pirate copies. Raucously erotic, politically satirical and provocatively sacreligious, it is easy to see even today how this Surrealist masterpiece caused so much offence - laced with imagery sublimating onanism, famous scenes include the putrefaction of four bishops on a Mallorcan cliff-top; repeatedly frustrated erotic trysts; the gratuitous kicking of a dog and a blind war veteran; the cold-blooded shooting of a young boy by his father; a restaging of de Sade's infamous novel '120 Days of Sodom', with the murderous libertine Blangis played by Christ; and a crucifix nailed with women's scalps.

Paul Hammond's monograph is an indispensable gloss on this dense, allusive, but hilarious film. Although imbued with a Surrealist aesthetic - with creative input from the movement; cameos by Max Ernst, Paul Eluard and Velentine Penrose; the visual influence of Magritte and the narrative disruptions of Peret - Hammond shows how 'L'Age D'or' fundamentally engages with Bunuel's love for Hollywood, in particular the slapstick of Keaton and Langdon, the social comedies of Lubitsch and Stroheim, and the amour fou melodramas of Borzage, which he reworked, burlesqued and homaged (Bunuel despised the 'avant-garde' or 'art' film). He reinstates the important creative contribution of now-despised co-scenarist Salvador Dali, who provided many of the film's best gags and its running imagery, as well as its 'critical-paranoid' methodology - the pair's aim was to show 'reality's adjustment to the unconscious'. He brilliantly traces the film's equally remarkable production, and how its crises shaped 'L'Age D'Or''s aesthetic (for instance, unusable footage led Bunuel to use stock scientific film for the famous opening 'documentary' scorpion sequence). He explains the political, sexual and Freudian allusions scattered throughout, as well as the many in-jokes - much of the imagery is generated from word-play. His recreation of the amazing cultural milieu of which the film was a part, a Parisian world of intense culture, politics, sexuality, friendship and comically bourgeois family problems.

Although his tracing of the film is linear, Hammond rejects systematic analysis in favour of a 'delire d'interpretation', picking up clues from the imagery, film-making or background and wending many fascinating and original interpretive avenues. The reader should be warned however: Hammond assumes a lot of prior knowledge (you are expected to know who Peret and Brunius were, or what happened at the Saint-Pol-Roux dinner); while sentences such as the following are not uncommon: 'As well as functioning oneirically, 'L'Age D'Or' is a fine example of Shklovskian retardation'; 'In the end he toned down the galimatias, although the diegetic effect remains dyslexic'. Best have a dictionary and google handy!

The murdering performed in L'age D'or is definitely rendered aesthetically in many forms. Among other forms, one could also dispute that L'age D'or attacks Freudian based ideas, which are depicted and utilized in the film with derision

Freudian theories were prominent during the reign of Surrealism. Andre Breton had become a leading student in the field of psychology, soon establishing Freudian ideals in the Surrealist manifesto. Among the psychological symbols presented in L'age D'or are: displacement of a phallus for Apollo's big toe, images of rod shaped objects hitting water, an anal-expulsive scene set in a lover's fantasy, a woman with a bandage on her finger, and a hand recklessly polishing bottles and kitchen utensils.

It is apparent that L'age D'or has represented Luis Bunuel's anti-clerical sentiments. In addition, the film rejects the notion of diplomacy for purposely shocking the viewer and offending those who cherish the concept of class society.

The film's structure is very fragmented but still possesses a linear narrative format. In this manner Bunuel had relinquished previous conventions to filmmaking and doubly attacks structure and the viewers preconceived principles for watching a film.

In L'ge D'or (or simply The Golden Age) Bunuel presents a tale of two lovers whose romantic sentiments and erotic activities are being thwarted by middle-class values and ideologies. In his autobiography, Bunuel described the lovers conflict as a l'amour fou, or an "impossible force that brings two people together and the subsequent impossibility of them ever becoming one."

Subsequently, the two lovers begin to share their emotions in bizarre ways: tumbling on chairs, biting fingers and toes, sucking profusely on inanimate objects.However, the turning point of the film presents the jealousy of the protagonist, when his amorist falls in love with a middle-class conductor. Thus L'age D'or then vociferates a cataclysm of emotions and subconscious imagery.

... Although incomprehensible to a majority, the climax of the film is intentionally ambiguous but metaphorically is another one of Bunuel scathing assault on organized religion.

Salvador Dali has proffered the idea that the images of Surrealism will set an abominable precedent on the ways we view reality. Likened to Dada, Surrealism had attacked the conventions of art by presenting nihilistic ideas to an audience accustomed with Fauvism and Cubist banalities.

Likewise, Surrealist artists have deconstructed the principles of art by exhibiting in their mediums the worlds of absurdism and the unconscious mind. By these aesthetic practices, our judgments of reality have been considerably altered and have now taken a new standpoint.

As a supplement to Dali's statement, Bunuel described Surrealist cinema as "a passionate call to murder." In relation to Bunuel's quotation, it is ostensible that the murdering performed in L'age D'or is directed at the hierocratic doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and bourgeois values.

Bunuel had expressed his ambivalence for religious conviction by stating "Thank God I'm an atheist." By the same token, the film L'age D'or affirms a deep-seated indifference as well as an utter indignation for Roman Catholic dogma.

During the critical point of the film, Bunuel establishes his protagonist development where after being rejected by his would be lover, the character begins to ravish an immaculately set bedroom belonging to a bourgeois resident. Subsequently, the hero (or antihero) purposely deposits cherished objects out of the window.

Among these items are: an accumulation of pillow feathers, a christmas tree that is set ablaze, a live Roman Catholic bishop in full regalia, and a stuffed giraffe.

Among the aforementioned discarded objects, Bunuel clearly exemplifies his religious opinion most notably with the discarding of the Catholic bishop. In addition, one may argue that what the protagonist is doing is presumably related to Bunuel's own wish: a purging of oppressive theological icons.

In addition, one could say that the film is murdering the audience or viewer by displaying surrealistic pessimism and confounding imagery. Moreover, wide populations of viewers were doubly offended by the film blasphemous and utterly absurd ideas.

During the film's premier, a nationalistic Catholic organization known as The King's Henchman (who belonged to the Action Française of France) proceeded to throw bottles of ink and jars of acid onto the screen. This incident was precipitated due to the fact that L'age D'or presented a sequence where a religious sacrament was juxtaposed with a beautiful woman's leg.

But is this still shocking? Apparently not by today's standards

After leaving the screening, the group bombarded the theater's adjacent gallery and deliberately ruined the paintings of some renowned Surrealist artist, most notably Max Ernst, whose canvas bore huge slashes in it.

By this example, L'age D'or had an utmost affect on its audience, eventually becoming censored in several countries for several years ---even to this day it is rare to see a screening of this film.

In short, a Surrealist film like L'age D'or may shock or appall audiences with its use of absurd and blasphemous sequences and subject matter. Nevertheless, one can also acquire a new perspective on the societal values and class systems presented in the film.

Paul Willis follows the lives of a group of rebellious working-class boys in an industrial city in England, from their hijinks in and out of the classroom during their last year of high school, to their first year of working-class jobs on the factory floor. In the process, he discovers how the material reality -- that better jobs do not exist for most of them, even if they conform to the middle-class values espoused by their teachers -- combines with both working-class values and the boys' search for autonomy, to reproduce the boys as the next generation of the working class. The one weak point is a heavy use of Marxist jargon in the analytical section; however, the ethnographic detail is excellent, and the book's conclusion raises disturbing questions about the reproduction of poverty in Western countries: the schools which we believe are the agents of social mobility in fact serve to perpetuate divisions of wealth and opportunity.

This book is a classic enthnographic text that needs to be read by all those who are interested in revealling the social forces that shapes our lives as a people living under this last state of Capitalism, that others call a Globalised world. Even though Paul Willis was looking at Working class kids in England, I have found the application of his methodology applicable even in the context of a post Apartheid state like South Africa where we talk of the "historically disadvantaged learner" as an eupermism for the same phenomenon that Willis has studies.

... think "lots of highly intelligent people with recognizable names give their best parting words of advice to graduates"... it reads like quick snippets from commencement addresses that these people may well have given at some point. The words are true and often poetic and full of hope for aspiring young people. The phrase "sage advice" wants to work its way in here somewhere. What I wonder is... is this a book that young graduates will WANT to read? I appreciate it as a resource to offer with students I work with, but I'm also 5 years out... I'm sure I would not have picked this up to read straight through at 21. If you sat through your own graduation speaker, chances are you don't have a burning need to read through 15 more mini-speeches that offer the same basic "make your mark on the world" challenge. This is the book parents and well-wishers give to grads, though I'm not sure they're gonna read, so that's why I gave it 4 stars.

I haven't even read this book and I know it's good. How do I know? Because Madeline L'Engle's in it!

The Spanish town of the title is Santa Eulalia Del Rio, known to its inhabitants simply as Santa Eulalia. Elliot (correct spelling) Paul made Santa Eulalia, a small fishing village on the Spanish island of Ibiza, his home from 1931 to 1936. He did not live there as an outsider, but rather as an accepted and loved member of the community.

During Paul's first few years on Ibiza, life seemed idyllic. Most of his friends and neighbors were simple, somewhat naive, generally kind people who ranged from those who struggled to eke out a living to those comfortably well off. If the rich preferred to stay that way and weren't too anxious to share the wealth, so be it. If the Communists thought the wealth should be spread around, that seemed to be normal for your everyday Communist. If the Republicans liked the old style government and the Fascists thought that they should be in control, as long as it was just a thought, it didn't hurt anyone, did it? In spite of these conflicting agendas, all seemed well and no one thought that the problems on the mainland would spill over to their little island.

Paul brings Santa Eulalia to life. He introduces us to the leading citizens in each walk of life, and invests them with real personalities. No wooden characters here. Paul's genius is in making us feel that we know everyone and that we are participants in the life of Santa Eulalia.

He immerses himself deeply into the life of the village, and, it is my opinion that if not for the hostilities of the Spanish Civil war, Paul and his family would never have left Santa Eulalia. As it was, they waited until the last possible minute to escape, fleeing to the last neutral ship to dock in the harbor minutes before it left. At the time he wrote this book, Paul was still suffering from feelings of guilt over having survived when so many of his friends didn't.

With the coming of the Spanish Civil War, Ibiza was alternately ruled by Fascists, Loyalists, Communists, and whatever other ist's could wrest control. Each successive change of power was accompanied by new oppressions, imprisonments and executions. The true victims of all of this were the innocent majority who naively believed that they could continue their old ways of life no matter who was in power.

The day after Paul and his family made their escape there was an invasion by Italian Fascist troops. Within a few hours these troops herded most of the remaining males into a town square and machine gunned them. The Italians didn't care whose side the men were on, they considered all of the islanders to be a threat and thus executed all the males they could find, no questions asked. A day or two later, Spanish government planes bombarded Santa Eulalia, destroying nearly every home in the village. At the time of the publication of this book in 1937, Paul was still unable to determine the fate of any of his friends.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A SPANISH TOWN brings a community to life, presents its inhabitants as real living people, and eventually brings home the horror of war through the deaths of innocent people with real names, families, and feelings. An out of print book that merits reprinting.

When this autobiographical account was published in the late 30's it was an immediate sensation. Though Elliot Paul is pretty well forgotten today, he was the author of many best sellers. The Life and Death of a Spanish Town is generally regarded as his masterpiece. In this all but forgotten book Paul describes the destruction of the idyllic life he led on the Ballearic Island of Ibiza by the Fascists, both Italian and Spanish, who struck out against the Spanish Republic in 1936. It has long been considered one of the classics of the Spanish Civil War.

This is a good introductory level textbook. It covers the basics of logic. The author summarizes each section with "boxes." The explanations are detail enough. I find it helpful as a reference to teach my students. The exercises provided are numerous and helpful as well.

The deficiencies of this book are that sometimes there is too much verbosity, and that few of its conventions are not so "standard." Moreover, if the author can provide daily life illustrations, it would make the reading more enjoyable.

Very readable introduction for UK readers but could be used more widely. The author uses examples about folk singers and the King of Rock and Roll as well as the traditional present King of France. I prefer it to Guttenplan.

This book made me plan my 2-weeks summer-vacation in Estonia.

Actually, I love all "Lonely Planet" phasebooks and travel guides. You can't go wrong with them. These are the road warriors in our collection. They are worn, used and helpful! I want to own stock in Lonely Planet!

So you ask, "isn't there a later edition available?" Don't let that stop you. They are using a winning format and when it comes to speaking at least Lithuanian, little has changed (Lithuanian is a really, really, really old language!)

The book is concise and compact (3.5 x 5 x 1/2). It easily fits in any pocket. That is a major selling point. It is the perfect size to take along.

It has an abreviated pronunciation guide compared the single language versions and no dictionary. That comes form having to divide the space between three languages, so it can't go as in depth. Still,all the essentials are here. If you are planning a few days in each place, you'll be fine.

By the way, when you go to the Baltics, look for a copy of the "In Your Pocket Series" available at the airport or in the major hotels. It will be a great help to you. You can also find it online through a simple web search.

Mr. Morrissette has done an excellent job on his first effort. The book is spellbinding and very much in tune with today's strange interest in unusual games. He is the potential successor to Grisham!

In this day of "reality television," anyone who reads this book has to be impressed by the author's insight. The target of his satire is not simply the world of network television. Mr. Morrissette is also deadly accurate in his depiction of the politics of the business world. In fact, he is really making acuurate observations about contemporary society as a whole. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes an intelligently written, fast-paced story. You're sure to be enetertained as well.

I always wanted the toy, the Lost Temple of Tula. It was too expensive, so my parents got me the book.
If you like pop-up books, you should get this book - its got lots of popups in the story. The story was exciting, and so was the ending.
I just got the real Lost Temple of Tula, and it makes the book even more fun to read.

I was thrilled with the quality of the graphics in this book. The colors are sharp, crisp and vivid...making the scenes really come to life. The cover of the book is very sturdy. The pop-ups move well and look like they will stand up to a lot reading, unlike some popo-up books where the pop-ups stop popping after only a few reads.

The only thing I found disappointing with the book is that I wished it was a bit longer.

I think that the book "Lost! A Story in String" was a wonderful book because they story was kind of told by a piece of string. It starts out while kids are watching tv and the power goes out. They say they'll die unless they have something to do. So their grandma tells them a story about a girl with a piece of string. The best part about this book is on each page it shows you string art. Then in the back of the book it tells you how to do it yourself. I think that anyone who likes string art should definitely read this book.

In this story of a little girl who complains when the power goes off, her grandmother shares her own "pictures" by telling her a story with string. Thus does the grandmother keep alive an ancient tradtion of storytelling with string.

And thus does Fleischman keep us enthralled with the possibilities of creating our own string stories. Following the story are instructions for making each of the figures used in the grandmother's story. These figures are ones invented by Fleischman himself. In addition to being a versatile author, Fleischman is a member of the "String Quartet," a performing group dedicated to keeping the art of the string figure alive. His love for this medium is obvious in the well crafted story, and the wonderful woodcuts by Morden serve to enhance, not overpower, the grandmother's telling.

"Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus" is the third novel in the Lucky Starr series (originally published under the pseudonym Paul French), the hero and his partner, John Bigman Jones, travel to Venus to discover why another Council member has been declared a traitor and to investigate a number of unusual occurances. In so doing, they discover a telepathic species that can control the actions of others as well as a plot to gain power. Asimov, in an introduction written in 1978, apologizes for the scientific inaccuracies that had come to light since 1954. In the book, Venus is a water world with a carbon dioxide atmosphere (as was believed in 1954). Later studies and probes have shown that Venus does indeed exhibit a "greenhouse effect" with a carbon dioxide atmosphere (approximately 96% CO2 and 3% nitrogen with a small fraction of other gases). But, the atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus is about 94.5 times that of Earth's. Interestingly, there are at least four distinct cloud or haze regions in the atmosphere. In some of these regions, it appears that there are aerosol particles consisting of sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide! The surface of the planet appears to have been dominated by volcanic conditions and is definitely not a water world. But, Asimov was accurate for 1954 and it is a good adventure story for teenagers. "Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury" is the fourth book in the series. In this tale, David Starr and his partner travel to Mercury to investigate a series of accidents and setbacks of a research project (using light [in hyperspace] to supply energy). A Senator in the Earth government is pressuring the Council of Science with claims of waste on science projects (a story very familiar to real researchers today). There also is some subtle similarities in this book to McCartyism. The enemy planetary system of Sirius is obviously based on the Soviet "threat" to the West in the 1950s. Once again, in an introduction written in 1978, Asimov apologizes for the scientific inaccuracies that crop up due to recent discoveries of the planet Mercury (of facts not known in 1956). The most obvious of these is the rotation of Mercury about its axis. Until the mid-1970s, it was believed that Mercury's rotation was such that it always presented the same face towards the Sun. Thus, one side of Mercury is extremely hot while the other side is very cold. It was thought at that time that there would be a small region between the two "hemispheres" that would have acceptible temperatures for a colony in the distant future. But space studies, particularly the Mariner 10 probe of 1974/1975, showed that this first planet from the Sun does indeed rotate (at a sidereal period of 58.6462 days). Since Mercury revolves around the sun in about 88 days, all of the planet's surface will get exposed to direct sunlight. However, the days and nights will be long. Both stories are good adventure tales for youth, even if outdated.

I loved this book as a 12-year-old (girl!). I give it five stars because it is excellent (and clean!) in comparison to today's literature.