Matthew Barney is a disappointment to the art world. I, as an artist in ny, am ashamed to see that it takes so little to amuse the simple mind. His work is not about violence of creation, change, and revolution, but about corporate cheap tricks to bring in the herd of cash cows willing to submit to what a museum calls art for the sake of selling tickets to a side show
In his amateur attempt to create he has plagiarized the work of Fellini's satyricon. His use of the Guggenheim reflects these cheap tricks by the way he uses the spiral ramp with the vaseline flowing down it. An extremely arbitrary move, and a move that many amateurs make frequently when they don't know how to take an idea and transform it into a form.
Ideas are a dime a dozen, but if the end results or form is as cheap as mattew barney's work is then the idea was not translated well. Simple garbage is the only way one can explain his work. I am glad to see there are many puppets out there and less masters.

Matthew Barney has the bizarre ability to disturb you and move you to joyful tears. His work is AMAZING, original, thought-provoking, and surreal. If you saw his work at the Guggenheim, you surely were impressed with his creativity, whether you think it's "art" or not, and must have felt you were inside some epic dream world the whole time. Incredible. His images speak for themselves...so does the book. 5 stars....i'd give 6 if i could.

Matthew Barney's new installment of his Cremaster series is available in book form. The movie, Cremaster5 will be shown in NY in mid October. If you don't get to see it the book hints at what it is all about. Barney's multi faceted works that not only incorporates sculpture, video, photography, and cinema are the most poignant and revolutionary art being created today. Of course many will disagree feircely and feel quite the contrary. The mythology that Barney creates can at times be disturbing, still the provocative brilliant artist is changing the concept of art today. Cremaster5 brings us a little closer to this work, that complex, ambigous, and revealing man-created myth.

Darnell is going to be in the newspaper just to impress a girl. He is saying this is sort of fun. Later he becomes the most popular kid in the newspaper. I did not like this book but you might. I thought it was cool how Darnell did things how he wanted to do them.
Another book I read like this was Crash. They were similar because they both were trying to pick up girls.

Darnell is an African American that goes to Oakdall Middle School and he finds that he gets into a lot of trouble. He gets low grades and visits the principal often. The principal comes up with a suggestion for Darnell to join a school club, which he does. He begins to help the school newspaper with hesitation until he befriends a homeless man. By talking to the homeless man, Darnell gets a different outlook on life.
I liked and disliked this book. I disliked this book because the story moved slowly. I did like this story because I believed that Darnell was not a loser. He finally finds a homeless person who he helps by writing an article to help the others think beyond their own world.

The reason I think Darnell Rock Reporting is a fantastic fiction book for young readers. Darnell Rock is a cool kid who didn't get into many activities at school. That was until he got into the school newspaper. At first he didn't like it that much, but it turned out to be a great success. So you see, this is why I Darnell Rock Reporting. Why do oyu like it?

This book is great for the beginner or the semi-experienced. There is a lot of useful information and detail. Some aspects are outdated but overall the book is very accurate. Keep in mind this is a textbook and it reads like one. However, if auto mechanics is your interest then you should have no problem enjoying this book.

This is a pretty good book for either the inexperienced or master mechanic. I would recommend this book to any person who is limited in knowing the inner wotkings of their cars and would like to know what the mechanic is really talking about. The chapters in this book will give you basic information on how the different systems work in your car from engines to brake systems to drivetrain systems. the second part of the chapter will give you tips on how to troubleshoot and repair your car, if you decide to take the task upon yourself. This book provides highly detailed pictures and diagrams and explains everything in easy to understand terminology.

If modern automotive technology fascinates you (as it fascinates me), you will absolutely love it. Duffy really drives home the key points about the computer and electrical systems.

From one enthusiast to another - great job Frank.

This is my first Peter Abrahams book, so don't know how it compares to his others. But it's definitely a page-turner and has decent characters, most of whom are not supposed to be the least bit lovable. Yes, there is swearing, but the author knows how to make a reader use a dictionary occasionally as well. A nice combination of light humor mixed with the dark character of the tutor-from-...! A nice change from detective/crime/lawyer novels when you're not busy reading Tolstoy.

Like Stephen King, Peter Abrahams has the literary skill and imagination to tap into our worst nightmares and bring them chillingly to life. His special forte seems to lie in exploring the nature of obsession: the monster that lurks beneath a mask of normalcy until circumstances suddenly combine to put its prey within reach. Julian Sawyer, THE TUTOR, is a man obsessed with a meglomaniacal desire to create a living novel out of the raw material of ordinary people's lives...to first learn their secrets and then exploit them at his will in order to destroy them. The Gardner family is his chosen target. Scott and Linda are doing their best to achieve today's upper-middle class dream of 'having it all', but their sand-castle world is a sadly dysfunctional one. Scott, desperately competing with his more effectual brother, has never been able to achieve the quick-fix financial success that he craves; Linda is career-driven to the point where she has become oblivious to what's going on with her children, and both teen-age Brandon and his precocious eleven-year-old sister Ruby are in trouble. That trouble becomes grim reality for his shocked parents when Brandon's SAT results are far below their expectations, although only Ruby...escaping parental pressures to become what she is not into a dream world with her idol, Sherlock Holmes...realizes the full extent of his rebellious, anti-social behaviors. In desperation, Linda calls a tutoring service, and Julian Sawyer enters their lives. In the tradition of "Kind Lady" and "Night Must Fall", he slowly gains their confidence and trust which, in turn, also exposes their fears and weaknesses. When circumstances combine to place Julian in charge, the stage is set for an increasingly horrific series of life-threatening confrontations that beggar description.

THE TUTOR walks an extraordinary stylistic tightrope between spine-tingling suspense and dark horror...a tour de force combination of taut plotting and brilliant characterization that captured and held me spellbound. Peter Abrahams careful attention to the 'whys' of their behaviors made me not only understand the Gardners as fallible human beings, but care deeply about them, especially young Ruby who is probably one of the most enchanting fictional children that I've encountered in my recent reading. His talent makes the bizarre seem believable, and I found it impossible not to accept the complete plausibility of his nightmarish premise. This is not an easy novel to read, but it is one that the reader will not readily forget...a totally gripping literary experience and a benchmark for the genre.

Peter Abrahams must be a scary,scary man. "Crying Wolf" was a brilliant, intense suspense thriller in a class of its own. Now he's given us "The Tutor", outdoing himself by far, notching up the intensity to the n-th degree, creating a page-turner to beat all page-turners!

The Gardners are a typical upper middle class family, striving to be better. Husband and father Scott Gardner is jealous of his brother, who seems to have everything Scott doesn't. Scott pushes his family to excel and succeed...but is hampered by the memory of his dead son, Adam. Brandon Gardner, Scott's next-oldest son and still living, must survive with the pressure of Adam's ghost hovering over his world all the time. Scott is certain that Adam would've grown up to become the perfect uber-son, had he not succumbed to leukemia at a relatively young age. And now Brandon is beginning to show signs of failure.
Enter Julian Sawyer, an opportunistic man hired as tutor to Brandon Gardner. Think Norman Bates here. The tutor is a skillful sociopath with evil intent on his mind.
Throw into the mix a precocious young daughter who idolizes Sherlock Holmes, and you have a brilliant thriller that makes ones pulse pound to the very end.

Abrahams has written an intelligent, wonderful novel in "The Tutor". Well-portrayed characters, and a believable plot make this a must-read book!

This book has a wonderful premise, a circus train pulls into a small town, and proceeds to terrorize the town.

I was going to write about what was wrong with the book, but in the end, all I'm going to say, is that when I finished reading the book, I was glad I did not have to read it anymore. It's a shame because if this book would have had decent editors it would have been a classic.

I found this novel to be very tough to rate. The first 200 pages were forgetable; too many cliches, too much over-the-top characterization, too many characters, and too many bad guys. But then, the plot started to take hold. We delve down into the major characters and begin to see them grow. The quirky plot device of getting the "main" character (the author who is writing this tale) actually into the novel seemed contrived at first and almost hokey but somehow, they pull it off. My interest level definitely perked up and I rode the final pages of the book like a wave. When I finished the last chapter, I wanted to give it 5 stars but must cut back to only 4 because of the long drawn-out build-up in the beginning. The gory parts (and there are a lot of them) are very gory but often original. All in all, worth it in the end.

I recommend this novel if for no other reason than to revel in the sheer joy of its language. Crowther and Lovegrove clearly had fun writing this book, and I had a great time reading it.

I expected to see pictures of Galveston as it was . This is a bunch of pictures of Galveston decayed.

The city of Galveston, Texas was a vibrant, prosperous port at the start of the 20th century, outstripping even New Orleans. Fine Victorian homes were built by prosperous merchants, many in grand style. The deadly hurricane of 1900 dealt the city a blow from which it never entirely recovered. But Galveston's economic slump had a silver lining -- as shown in "The Galveston That Was." There was no economic incentive to tear the old homes down; so scores of these remarkable Victorian homes survived, though many fell into disrepair. Howard Barnstone secured two superb photographers and wrote text for this beautiful book, which displays the faded glory of Galveston's Victorian architecture. The book's first edition inspired Galvestonians to restore many of these homes, and sparked a preservation revival there that lasts to this day. Always a beach destination, Galveston now draws visitors to the Texas coast for beautifully restored Victorian homes and historic business district, the Strand. The book's photographs are simply beautiful and the concise history of Galveston is intriguing.

It is a good atlas for a trainee. It includes difficult part of body with a precise label. However, it is not easy to find the one that you want since there are plenty of labels. In addition, I think it is much better if there are few sentences to elicit the information concerning the radiological imaging like certain common normal variants that one could see in the radiological imaging

I highly reccomend this for MRI and CT images viewing. The images are very clear and capture the area of interest very well. Medical professionals will sure can rely on this atlas for normal images.

I found many of the agencies listed were out of date. This book does not differentiate between the legitimate agencies and the bogus agencies & schools that are simply out to rip you off! There is no rating system on the agencies listed. Looking for an alternative.

This Book is great for anyone who is looking to break into a Modeling or Acting Career. It's Like a Yellow Pages and a who's who all rolled into one. I like it because it has everything a new Model or Actor needs.

Finally a way to get MET info w/o spending $12 a pop for games I may never play (Oblivion comes to mind). The opportunity to write in offers an excelent sounding board to tell your stories to people outside your group (and like all good tubists, I love tellin' stories). I look forward to future issues with hopes of a subscription possibillity.

I picked this book up and was skeptical at first, of course, because of the connotations that could evolve from such a publication. "Oh no, another book of fluff. More stuff to buy." But after reading it cover to cover, I'd have to say I was quite impressed. No ad's really (just ones telling you about future White Wolf Mind's Eye Theater publications) , full of USEFUL information, including the all important forum and FAQ sections, as well as a listing of LARP's for all genres in the WoD. I can see this will be a great tool for communication in the world LARP community and is must for Live Action Storytellers and players everywhere. Good job guys!

James Patterson has churned out another thriller, this time with a co-author. To me, the co-author neither adds or detracts from the story. I couldn't tell either way where this De Jonge guy contributed. Patterson has such a great reputation that from previous quality work that it is hard to judge the Beach House alone on its merits.

Barry and Campion Neubarger are mega rich snobs who live on the Hamptons and are used to getting their way. When Peter Mullen is killed at their house at a party, Jack Mullen tries to get to the bottom of the death, which is first ruled a suicide. The story is predictible in that the Neubaurs use their money and power to intimadate witnesses and buy justice.

The story is a fast read and entertaining and the plot is somewhat predictable. I greeted each new plot twist with a "that makes sense" acceptance. Even the "stunning" trial at the end is rather lame.

The characters seem to be cardboard cutouts with Patterson throwing in details (like Pauline's tattoo of the Chrysler building on her arm) to add a personal touch. Maybe I'm wrong, but Patterson wasted a good opportunity that could have added a lot to the plot and characters of the story.

At the beginning, Jack is dating Neubauer's daughter Dana. Patterson has Jack, who is the narrator, in glowing terms and you really feel that Jack and Dana have something and their relationship could possibly last. Then when Jack's brother is found dead, Dana is their to console Jack a few times then basically she just disappears. Dana appears a few more times and Patterson hits that Dana was being forced to leave Jack because of her father, but Patterson never explores this possibility. Patterson also hints at Dana being abused and being part of the problems that killed Peter. But again he never finishes these thoughts. I don't know if it was missed because of the 2 authors or what, but as with most of Patterson's recent novels, he goes easy on the details.

Beach House would have been better if Dana and Jack had stayed together while at the same time Jack tried to prove Dana's family was involved with Peter's death. This would have added depth to Jack. Instead we are left with the rich versus poor conflict to hang our hat on.

All the above details about Dana are not spoilers because Patterson drops Dana early in the book as a character after making the reader care about her early on. I hoped she would be mentioned again and her role clarified but it never was.

So, Beach House is a good book that could have been better. It seems like that's the case with most of Patterson's efforts lately.

I've read all of James Patterson's novels and have come to expect the sort of high quality, high entertainment stories that he is known for writing. That being said, many readers have been disappointed by some of his latest work, most notably 'Violets Are Blue', which received lukewarm reviews. It is important to understand, however, that Patterson is pumping out three books a year and each has made for a worthy read. Not many other novelists can make that claim. As for 'The Beach House,' as long as readers begin knowing what to expect, they should finish feeling satisfied.

Patterson's rapid-fire prose and lightning quick 2 to 3 page chapters are present, which makes the story pass quickly. The main character, Jack, is an admirable protagonist who draws the reader's affection. The surrounding cast helping Jack to find justice for his murdered brother may remind some of the Women's Murder Club of 1st to Die and 2nd Chance. Perhaps the best character is Macklin, Jack's aging but still fiesty grandfather who weighs in with his strong opinions on just about everything.

Basically, this book is typical Patterson. Those looking for a deeply involved plot or courtroom scenes that rival those of Lescroart or early Grisham will surely leave negative reviews here. However, those looking for an entertaining story to pass a day at the beach or by the pool will get their money's worth. The book is even called 'The Beach House' - an apt title for the perfect summer read.

Not that he's not a competent writer of great murder mysteries in his own right, of course.

The formula of this book is no different than any other by this author or any in the genre. Someone's murdered, someone's going to investigate it, the person investigating it is going to have an edgy flirtation with the person who comes along to help with the investigation (usually a cop or PI) and using creative and completely illegal means, the original crime will be solved.

In this case, the victim is the brother of the main character, the "bad guy" is richer than words can describe, the love interest a female PI, and, as always, the police are inept and can't see a crime where one exists.

It's all about as formulaic as most of the reviews (seriously - how many book endings have literally "shocked" you?) but it's what Patterson does best. I've found these are great books to read on flights and while waiting in airports - great way to capture your attention, kill a few hours of time, and enjoy a storyteller's ability to draw you into their world where good eventually wins.