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THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS is an extremely well written book by an American icon. It not only chronicles Lindbergh's famous flight, but also faithfully tells the story of his early life as well. The book provides insight into the early history of American aviation and does so in an entertaining yet compelling format.
A few years ago, Scott M. Berg's biography of Lindbergh chronicled the life of the famed American figure. That book delves into the entire life of the aviator, including his darker days when he was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer. THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS offers a different, more exuberant vision into the author's more youthful soul. I would recommend reading both books for a complete portrait of the man.
One would expect that a soft-spoken, intellectual type such as Lindbergh would write a rather drab, scientific account of the most dangerous and thrilling flight in history (yes, even more dangerous and thrilling than the Apollo missions.)
Instead we get a book that that carries us on wings of a pulsating first person indicative, from the beginning: his days as one of the first airmail pilots when the idea for the flight originated; to the final destination: the spectacular night landing at the Le Bourget Airport in Paris where a throng of hundreds of thousands swarmed toward the little monoplane, nearly swallowing it and its exhausted pilot.
The Spirit of St. Louis is likely the most absorbing true adventure story written by an American. It's a masterwork that rates as Lucky Lindy's second great achievement.
Author: B. C. Blake-Coleman
Format: Hardcover Textbook
Published: December 1991
ISBN: 3718652005
This is a definitive work which critically examines the principal events and circumstances which influenced the evolution of copper wire as a crucial component in modern electrical technology.
Now established as a milestone in the publishing of technological histories, Blake-Coleman's 'Copper Wire-' provides the template for all subsequent authors in the field. Highly readable, yet completely authoratative in the depth and breadth of its research, this book went even further in showing how careful editing can enhance the way information is conveyed to the reader. (All footnotes and citations for example are given on the page where they appear. This is of enormous value; given that typically citations are confined to the end of a book, requiring the reader to constantly flick through pages).
The structure and content of 'Copper Wire-' is of itself a lesson. To avoid the problem of intermingling the use and application of Copper wire with the technology of wire making itself, the opening chapters cover the history of wire making technology and then proceed to focus on copper wire per se. This arms the reader at the outset with an understanding of the slow development of wire making technology from ancient times up to the end of the 19th/early 20th century when automated techniques were virtually mature.
The traditional applications, trades and supply chains for copper wire are given a full treatment in the middle sections. Not only in terms of markets and uses but the organizations and companies that developed on the specific businesses of the day. This extends to the single tradesman supplying copper articles for the local market and drawing his own copper wire, to the dockyard industries providing the massive levels of copper and copper wire for both naval and private vessels. We see how slowly (but inevitably) the provision of materials for the traditional markets slowly make available a commodity that could be used in early electrical work.
Electrical science is then shown to be an overwhelming force for change in the copper wire industry - not least because (as we are suprised to find) the traditionally made copper wire does not have the qualities and attributes appropriate for electrical applications. Indeed, iron and brass wire are at first the primary choice as conductors in telegraphy and experimental applications.
How electrical science and the acceleration in telegraphic and telephonic communications came to change the manufacture and properties of conventional copper wire is a fascinating story, and is not only well told in this book but told with an emphasis that conveys vividly the trials and tribulations of those individuals who made our modern electrical systems what they are. Having read the later sections of 'Copper Wire-' one is left in no doubt that dismissing the current monopoly of copper wire in electrical technology as purely an evolutionary step ignores the fact - as this book clearly recounts - that there was nothing natural or evolutionary about it!
Not only is this book a prime example of good scholarship and pragmatism in approaching the problem of presentation, but the wealth and quality of research leaves one admiring the persistance of the author. Few would see the subject as compelling. There is after all no central character or single historical perspective and technological histories are hardly the best platform for getting to grips with the economic and social conditions which prevail. Yet the author does turn a potentially turgid subject into something truly engaging.
There are many criticisms to be made about this book (mainly editorial and typographical) but this remains the definitive technological history. Copper Wire- is recommended to anyone who is embarking on a similar task. Not only as a model for writing this kind of material but as an example of understanding what makes a complex and highly technical subject easy to understand and assimilate.
The girls in Elvgren's paintings not only come alive, but seem more warm and human, innocent with a twinge of spice. So this is what they meant by "sugar, spice, and everything nice." Maybe because most of them are smiling, with those pearly whites showing. I could spend hours looking through those pages, forming stories around the paintings.
Many look like celebrities. In "Let's Go (1957)," the blonde getting out of a white car looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe. The girl in "True To You (Sitting Pretty) (1950)" also resembles Marilyn but with brown hair. And the honey in "Evening Out (1969)" reminds me of Geri Halliwell.
Okay, so many of the drawings can be construed as sexist. The particular theme on that being girls who get their skirt lifted up by well handles, pipes, fence rails, ladders, and elevator doors, revealing two very shapely legs.
Equally interesting are paintings that were repaints of earlier work. "In For A Tanning" featured a sitting nude girl holding her bikini with a black dog to her side. "Dumb Pluck" featured the girl in the same pose, except she was wearing a candy-cane striped bathing suit and holding a shovel, the dog still on her left.
Some were risque even for their time and the more amusing ones are beach shots where the girls get into distress, such as having their beachware stolen by a dachsund (Taking Ways, 1950) And his nudes were never full frontal, only seen from the rear or side, the sole exception being "Harem," an undated painting of an innocent maiden captured by Arabs.
It's when looking at his work during the 1960's and 1970's, that yes, the models have changed with the times and despite having Elvgren's signature style, their hairstyle are with their times.
Other notes: the paintings are clearly better than the real-live model replications hands and legs down.
So, my favorites? That's a difficult one, as the models are oh so cute, but I'd have to settle for "Well Picked," of a girl in yellow dress wading in a pool and picking up a lily flower, "Golden Beauty," of a Diana Dors-lookalike, "Surprise Package," where the girl wrapping the X-mas present is clearly the title object, and "Lazy Days," of the girl lying leisurely on the summer grass.
Proof that too much of a good thing is better, and that too much cheesecake can be good for one and not be fattening. And with all apologies to the Beach Boys, "I wish they all could be Gil Elvgren girls!"
List price: $17.95 (that's 30% off!)
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a Christian perspective on success. Having said that, unlike others reviewers, this is not the best "how-to" success book that I have read. The Success Journey by John Maxwell provides better "tools" and "methods" for how to set goals, and achieve success. But Maxwell's book lacks a Christian perspective on the subject. Therefore, I recommend that those readers looking for books to help you plan your course along the pathway to success, look into both books, John Maxwell's and Dr. Stanley's.