While he was alive Tibor Kalman spent his design career showing that one could find "high art" in the everyday world. (un) Fashion is a wonderful tribute to the life of Mr. Kalman (it can be assume that the driving force behind the book is Maira who is a very talented artist in her own right).

The book has several catwalks of a wide range of people from every corner the planet. Each chapter features a traditional or (un)traditional fashion theme like body art, accessories, tribes, dressed to kill and (un)mentionables. Sometimes a featured photo can make a political statement while others show a slight touch of humor, making for entertaining page turning.

While this book isn't your typical "oversized coffee table" the production and presentation show a respect for quality. Unlike your average overpriced collection of pretty pictures this book will make you think, which is rather novel for a book of so few words. (un)Fashion is the sort of book which you will want to share with friends and family and would be a great conversation starter for any social gathering.

This is a book of photos, culled from stockbooks and everyday travels. It was completed a few years after Tibor died, but nevertheless shows his mark: deep thinking, natural + vernacular aesthetics, and a focus on subtle (un)design that would do Dieter Rams proud. Basically, the book consists of a series of (mostly full-bleed) photos with little or no captions, no page numbering, no table of contents, and only a token frontispiece -- in otherwords, stripped down to the most basic level. The photos are almost all of people: odd, creepy, weird, or out-of-place, but all interesting. The twist is that, like a lot of what Kalman did for Colors, the pictures may be viewed not only on their own, but next to and in conjuction with the photos that are adjacent to it. One image has a punk rocker wearing a belt of ammunition -- the ultimate poser. But opposite is a picture of a female gangster with a pistol and you get the feeling that she is anything but a poser. Individually they are cool photos, opposite one another they make you think. The whole book's like that. Cool cool stuff.

This book is incredible. It's like being a child again and walking around the world and seeing 500 different people, with 500 different cultures and ways of expressing ideas. It's like having the eyes of a 5 year old and asking the question over and over..."What? and Why?" This book is playful discovery. Just imagine opening a book with no introduction, no words...only photos of people around the world - what they wear, what they're doing and how they do it. But like a child you have no idea, no clues or anything. These photos begin to speak for themselves. You don't have the advantage (or disadvantage) of having a writer attach prejudices or judgements to these photos - you are left to explore your own words, prejudices and thoughts. You not only learn things about people...but you learn a lot about yourself and your pre-conceptions about other folks.

For those of you who are Tibor fans...Maira has a very touching write up about her late husband and why he initiated this book.

The artwork is unappealing, and seems as though she is ridiculing people. The tone is too bitter for children, and the book lacks any emotional truth that might appeal to a teenager or an adult. Like most of Kalman's work, this book generally is pointless; like when a college student feels embarrassed after making some vapid comment, and so pretends that it's an "inside" joke.

Author Maira Kalman takes us on a fascinating and entertaining whirlwind tour of Grand Central Station, "the busiest, fastest, biggest place there is." Meet some of the people who work there from Lenny Maglione who's in charge of the whole building, Wanda who hears complaints, Ed, the lightbulb changer, and Marino Marino who makes oyster stew at the Oyster Bar, to Audrey in the information booth who will answer your questions, Melvin Johnson who helps you find the right train and step aboard, and Frank Chidester who runs the Lost and Found. And watch the travelers, waiting, looking up and down and all around, rushing, eating, and going to work, or play, or appointments, or visits. The action never stops at Grand Central because people need to come and go all day and all night long..... Ms Kalman's creative text is full of wordplay, puns, energy, humor, and fun that will send imaginations soaring, and is only outdone by her bold, busy and engaging artwork. Kids will love poring over all the marvelous detailed illustrations and are sure to find something new and exciting each and every time they open the book. Perfect for youngsters 5 and older, Next Stop Grand Central is an innovative smorgasbord of fast-paced action and fun that transports the reader to this very "grand" place for the adventure of a lifetime. "Trains are trips. And trips are adventures. And adventures are new ideas and romance and you can't ever know what in the world will happen which is exactly why you are going." Jump aboard and enjoy!

This book rules. I work at Grand Central TERMINAL (not Station!) and Kalman captures the marevelous energy and wackiness of the building. I can think of few places that offer such a great opportunity for people watching, and "Next Stop Grand Central" portrays this in a bright and colorful way that adults and children alike can enjoy.

Talking With Artists volume.3

This book is pretty interesting. It is about artists who share what they like to draw and about their lives. They are asked questions such as, "Do you have any kids or pets?" The illustrators show some of pictures that they drew when they were children. They also show how the children illustrators got their inspiration to draw.

I liked this book because it was neat to see how good some of the kids are at drawing and then to see them draw as they are older. Also that was cool it showed how to draw pictures in the back of the book. I recommend this book to people who are just stating to draw and people that want to read an interesting book.

I got this book at the library for my children, but I think I enjoyed it as much as they did! (I plan to buy a copy of my own!) Instead of a cool, impersonal presentation of artists and their work, this book provides a refreshingly personal view. The artists talk about their childhoods, how they spend their days (the answers are fun & honest!), their families, and best of all, they give us peeks inside their studios. I don't know about you, but I love seeing inside of an artist's private workspace! It's like a glimpse inside his/her mind.
The styles of the artists are very diverse and they use many different techniques that kids and adults alike would like to try out. I highly recommend this book!

I'm in my 20's but I love children's books. This one is very touching and written from a different slant. I think parents would enjoy it too.

Max in India has fantastic illustration art and offbeat textwith lots of play-on-words. Most kids (especially as young as the "4-8" range)will not be able to relate to this tale of a man/dog pondering the meaning of life while expecting his first offspring. It's more like a fun gift book for adults or maybe older kids/teens with an interest in India, art or philosophy. My six-year-old liked the pictures but didn't get anything out of the story.

Max Stravinsky (poet, dreamer, dog) is back in full color in a charming romp through India's exotic locales and treasures. As he anxiously pursues the "meaning of life," Max encounters Kalman's usual eccentrically lovable characters and valid lessons. This book can be read BY youngsters or read TO them, but it is the inner child in the adult who benefits the most. Throw away those dime-store psychological self-help tomes...and let Kalman's magic combination of drawings and delicious vocabulary make you a Swami for life!

After reading 3 ravings reviews on this book on Amazon, I special ordered it at local [store] before making the purchase, luckily I flipped through the book before making a big mistake. Yes I can understand the significance of the 42nd street project in NY. Like alot of people, I love to sit somewhere on a weekend and people watch, guessing and pondering what each person is up to and doing at that moment. This book does NOT deliver any of that.

Besides 1 page in the beginning of the book and 3 or 4 at the end, the rest of the pages are filled with face only portraits on white backdrop, so no real street scene were included. Personally I just couldn't see the purpose on that. Yes, the pictures were later enlarged and posted as posters on the wall along the street, however, as content for a book? it lacks everything that would provide a detail time, place, date, emotional state of that person at the moment the pictures were taken. I would have thought the author, as a professional photographer, could have either used selective focus or even necessary later use photoshop to add the white drop. As for the information on each individual on that day, each picture usually has less than 7 words subtext description.

I am not trying to talk trash about the author or previous reviewers who seems to enjoy the book (one persons father was in the book, so the book has personal siginificance). But if you are looking to learn photography techniques, composition, or even light coffee book reading, forget it, none of that is in this book.

This book is perfect. i cannot think of any improvements that cd have been made. the design is perfect. the photographs are perfect. Selkirk is a marvelous portrait photographer. I loved the book. I actually came upon the project at 42nd st. by accident and thought, WHAT IS THIS? The book is wonderful to have and wonderful to give. It is a very optimistic book.

After buying this book, turn to picture 863- Carl Schlesinger. There you will see my father's picture. This fascinating book contains 1000 pictures of people and animals who happened to walk down 42nd St. in New York on a few selected days. We serendipitously found it this past Sunday on the way to a tap dance review co-produced by my father. My 16 year old glanced at the cover in a museum gift shop, picked it up and it opened automatically to my father's picture. What an amazing coincidence...or was it? Even more amazing is that my father does remember having his picture taken, did not know what for and hadn't seen the book. Each photo has a caption stating the name,town of residence and purpose for being on 42nd St. that day. My father lives in New Jersey and was in the City because he was doing final preparations for his tap show in 1998. Out of all the days we could have been in NY and out of all the museum gift shops we could have visited, out of all the books my daughter could have chosen and out of all of the 1000 photos she could have opened to, she chose this book and that photo. Buy this book. You may find someone you know. It's great fun and will create good conversation.

This is the worst Max book. Max Makes a Million is brilliant. Oh-La-La Max in Love is very strong. But this is just muddled, not easily grasped, and not very interesting. My kids never want to hear this book and I never want to read it.

It is easy to see why Maira Kalman's MAX IN HOLLYWOOD, BABY received a citation as "one of the ten best illustrated books of 1991." Those illustrations contain as many wonderful surprises and secrets, double meanings and jokes as the words they sit with. Even the end papers are filled with delightful drawings of dozens of Hollywood superstars from Charlie Chaplin and Fanny Brice to Judy Garland and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

The text is, I guess, written to entertain children but it is just as charming and entertaining to this adult with its story of the "real" Hollywood: Dozens of wacky Show-Biz types appear including the psychic to the stars, Madame Gilzelka; the producer, Bella Broccoli, who insists on drinking a concoction which produces "the secret of youth;" and his "tantalizing" starlet Monica Zitti; The hero is, of course, Max,the dog/movie-lover who becomes Mr. Stravinsky, hot-shot director pining to be a celebrity. ("I won't have conversations, I'll just have monologues.") Can our Max handle the pressure? the pretense? Well, you'll have to read the book to find out. Along the way you'll also discover why Ferrrnando Extra Debonnaire who studied at the Royal Academy of Driving Directors tells Max, "Watch your step in this town. There are some back-stabbing, power-hungry, status-seeking vegetarians here." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, especially for those readers determined to have a career in the movies, no matter how high the cost.

Max in hollywood, baby is a great story, the author,Maira Kalman, has a real feel for charactors and is so in touch with Max that she is becoming that charactor, at least to me.If you read this book you will love it so much you will want to read all the Max books. I can speak as one who has read it and I fell in love with this charactor at once,maybe you think I am just babeling but I speak the truth.

I was expecting more insight, more celebration, more highlights...and instead you have some very reduced page layouts (maybe 40% of the original) that can't be appreciated, Kalman's scribbles and comments, and the photography of Issue 13...What was the point???

I was disappointed with this books as soon as I browsed its contents. One third of the book is a reproduction of COLORS issue 13: probably the least interesting issue produced under the editorship of Tibor Kalman. Issue 13 had no words but 80 pages of stock photography - more of an indulgence than an issue of an otherwise extrodinary magazine. The previous 12 issues of COLORS had a wealth of both words and pictures on such themes as the street, wealth, religion, AIDS, travel, and sport. Unfortnately, in this retrospective, each issue only gets scant attention. As well, some of the excepts of the magazine are so inexplicably reduced in size that the text is impossible to read. The remainder of the book are exerpts from Tibor's scrapbook. Some of these excerpts are facinating, such as the FBI's reports of Tibor during his 'Cuban phase', but most merely confirm that that Kalman's strength came from his ideas and not from his skills in drawing or design.


Ignore this book. Buy Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist instead.

My hope when buying this book was that I would find more indepth information about the creation of colors with insight coming from the people who assisted in its production. What I found was 1/3 of the book being redundant with Tibors book "Perverse Optimist." The last 1/3 of the book is a reproduction of issue 13 - an issue I already own - so that wasn't very helpful either.

I was almost completely dissapointed with this book until I reached the middle section - an archive of Tibor's sketches, doodles and thoughts that help readers like myself see exactly how he initiated ideas for Colors Magazine. THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. This fairly extensive section of the book offers heaps of photos that document Tibor's professional and activist life from High School onward. The supporting text by Maira is heart warming, funny and enlightmening. This section alone justifies buying the book.