This is book shows several of his masterpieces and is definitivelly worth of buying. A sense of humour is hidden in his photographs...

I recieved this book last christmas as a gift after been totally inspired by his work in various galleries and musems for some years. This book is beautifully presented covering the different subject matters including london, north england, nudes. Looking at these pictures gives one an overall idea what a great talent he was and is one of the gretest photographers of all time. If you are a lover of fine art photography or just enjoy great photography this book is most defently worth buying. A brilliant book.

This book really shows how amazing Bill Brandt was as both a photographer and an artist. His work dives into so many areas from landscapes, to documentry work, to stunning figure studies. His use of high contrast is haunting in the best possible way. I was particularly pleased with the way the book covers his entire body of work.

Bill Jay does it again with his rendition of a late 19th century photographer in England. He brings all his vocabulary and wit to bear in the story of a man caught up in a storm of early photographic erotica which is beyond his control. Little by little he slips into the role of voyeur, photographer, criminal(by Victorian standards) and innocent victim. Jay makes this small volume ring with humor and joie de vivre as you turn the pages of what would be "Banned in Boston" in 1880. Did Jay make these photographs? Are they a find in some attic along with the manuscript? You never know for certain, but you are rooting for the hero as he plods uncertainly through the legal morass which isn't too different from todays moral pitfalls of photography. A true delight for the photographer or historian.

IMHO this stands with the best of Turow, RN Patterson, Martini, W. Friedman, & J. Amiel in courtroom dramas.

Combining a satisfying plot with sparkling dialog & sharply drawn characters, this book ranks as one of the best of its genre.

This book is filled with historical information about the mission and mission life in general. Historical perspective also on the reason the missions were built and later secularization.

Extremely detailed plans for your mission and step-by-step instructions on how to assemble the pieces. There are even suggestions as to how to replicate the look of the white Spanish adobe walls.

If your child chooses San Juan Bautista for his mission project, this book is a must have!

STUNNING STORY. Deep dark plot. You won't be able to put it down

While this book is currently out of print, it deserves to be sought and is well worth the search. Focusing on the need for a life affirming,content driven photography, Bill Jay succinctly outlines and dispells the negative influences that effect the direction photographers might take and inspires/challenges thought about out how we might go about creating really moving/ thought provoking images: through a conscious approach to living and in turn seeing what is lived. I highly recommend this book to those whose interest in photography is deep and who are interested in changing the world. Ground breaking for youngish photographers and a much needed talisman for the more experienced at a time when what is most important is so seldomly discussed in academic circles.

Call this genre fiction if you like, but Jay Brandon elevates the familiar cops and courtrooms drama with mature insight into the lives of a Black lawyer, the first of his family out of poverty, and a White cop whose affection for the old neighborhood is expressed in terms only a vigilante would understand. Raymond Boudro is the Black lawyer with a client list packed with drug pushers and convenience store robbers. Mike Stennett is the White narcotics cop who doesn't shy from bashing heads and breaking ribs when he can't make a case stick in court. When Stennett is accused of beating a Black man to death, he comes to Boudro to defend him. Boudro deplores this renegade cop's methods but wants to know the truth; taking the case is the only way he'll ever know. The crucible in which these two characters are locked creates all the tension you expect from the genre, but there's much more to savor--authentic lawyer talk to be sure, but it's the finely wrought human side of the two characters that sets this book apart.

An uneven and loosely connected collection of essays on photography ranging from very instructive (the insight on the cultural context surrounding "The Family of Man" exhibit) to absolutely uninformative (the interview with Diane Arbus where much is made of her reluctance to speak but what is actually discussed after she relaxes & actually gets to talk remains a mystery. Likewise the interview with Bill Brandt where nothing is discussed).

The text is written in a very readable fashion but the style is patronizing and dominated by cliches and commonplace arguments.

In my view, many of the discussions address the concerns of teen-agers interested in becoming photographers. This is perfectly legitimate but it may put off readers who do not fall in this category.

3 stars for the truly informative discussion on Steichen's exhibit and for the lovely illustrations which together justify the purchase.

This book is a companion volume to Bill Jay's book entitled "Cyanide & Spirits: An Inside View of Early Photography" which focuses on 19th century photography. Occam's Razor discusses 20th Century photography in a series of expertly crafted essays on a wide variety of subjects. One essay discusses disturbing images and is especially worthwhile in the aftermath of September 11th. Jay concludes that the "most disturbing subjects threaten our survival as a species." It took a lot of thought to reach this conclusion, which is well supported. I also enjoyed the essays on Diane Arbus, W. Eugene Smith and the explosion of the Hindenberg.

Even if all the essays don't interest you this book is a must read because Jay writes so well and thoughtfully about photography. He is one of a rare breed.

For forty years I thought there was something wrong with me. I never understood the writing about the subject which is my life's blood. Bill Jay has given me a photographic rebirth. I now know the problem is not my understanding, but the esoteric babble of academic writers. I can not thank Bill Jay in the proper terms. --- Yes I may be able to. I will also pass the word.

jay, this is the best book i have ever read, it truly is! it has everything that a reader could possibly want in a book. his stories are so heartwarming, that most people including me can relate to. his stories are told from jay's heart, with love to all of his fans. i had a chance of meeting jay back in 1996, the nicest person! He really does care about his fans. i personally think, jay is the funniest person i have ever heard. his comedy is brilliant, other people prefer letterman, or carson's comedy, the more classic, more goaled to the older generation of people. leno, truly has a brilliant, magnificent mind, in the way he does his show every single night of the week, and shows his care for his fans, i will tell you about a recent example, this past thursday night, he did a show in the dark, to help save energy, i know this may not sound like a big deal to most people, but this is just another example, of how nice, and generous he is. i always wish, that i knew him better, like a best friend, he has all the great qualities that i would want in a person, his wife is very lucky!! jay i have been watching you every night, keep up the great work. i hope you never retire, you are truly a genuis at what you do!! hope you have a peaceful and joyful life. godbless. p.s. my birthday is april 28 too, but in the year 1970.

Heard the taped version of LEADING WITH MY CHIN,
written and read by Jay Leno . . . it is his autobiography, but
told only as he could tell it; i.e., with large doses of humor and without being too offensive . . . so if you're looking for the "dirt" on any famous personalities, you won't find it here.

Instead, you'll laugh at the stories of his childhood, as well as his attempts to get into the comedy business . . . as he tells it, he wasn't that funny in the beginning; in fact, what he often did in the beginning to get a laugh was raise his voice
and repeat back what he had just heard . . . or he
would ask something to the following effect: You hear about the
new men's personal hygiene produce? Umpire--for guys
with foul balls. (Hey, I thought it was funny!)

As his career progressed, I found myself cheering for his
successes . . . what I especially liked was how he spoke
of his parents and their role in making him the person he
is now.

I may only be a sophomore in college, but I have loved Jay Leno for years now. :o) I read his book and when I finished it I wanted to cry, simply because there weren't any more wonderful stories left to read. I didn't cry though--I just flipped it back to the beginning and read it again. This book really lets people into his life. He doesn't back-stab anybody or put anybody down, and his stories aren't "And that's why I'm perfect" He shows us the more human side of him, and his style of writing makes you feel as if you were actually having a conversation with him, and these were the stories he was telling you. These are stories that nobody will ever get tired of reading. They are no doubt stories that, if Jay were a father, his children would beg him to tell over and over again. This is my new favorite book! Way to go Jay!!! :o

The actual story behind this book is interesting, and it's nice to get a chance to examine the personalities of Jay Lenoand David Letterman, but Bill Carter's writing is unbearably bad. This book has all the style of a bad true crime book. The story kept me involved, but the writing was very irritating. (Especially terrible was the repeated use of the word "coronated".)

This is a must-read for any Leno and Letterman fan who wants the inside scoop on exactly what went on behind the screens during the fight over "The Tonight Show". It is easy to follow and it mentions all the key players. As I'm in the UK, and we only got the Letterman and Leno shows in 1994, it details everything that happened that we didn't already know. The only distracting thing about the book is that it swings Letterman's way. As it is a couple of years old now, the last chapter (Carter's own feelings on the matter) doesn't ring entirely true. It is, however, an entertaining and insightful book giving a great view of network politics and contracts.

It was a heck of a battle, and some folks didn't exactly play fair. Letterman, by far the more deserving of the "King of Late Night" crown following Carson's unceremonious ousting, tried to win by being the best at what he does. Leno's camp won by using strongarm tactics, bullying, and underhandedness. Even Leno's show "borrows" rather heavily from Dave's old show, partly because his people lured Letterman's chief writers to their side. Leno may be a decent guy (I hear), but his management quite literally stole The Tonight Show for him. Dave was hoping to be let in through the front door, but Leno's camp broke in through a window. The companion HBO movie treatment of this book is also a very entertaining and enlightening dramatization of the basics of this ordeal.