Brisk biography of a great apparition, Picasso's meditation on war, and the atrocity of the bombing of the Basques. Detached,almost remote from politics Picasso is suddenly drawn into a protest against the fascist tide in the period of the Spanish Civil War, the outcome the masterpiece one once saw many times at Moma--the author recounts the return of this orphaned msterpice to Spain after its long years of exile and rejection by Franco's spain. Well told, important story.

In a small village of Spain, it was market day on 26 April 1937, with farmers bringing in harvest. The village within the Basque region of northern Spain was without any serious strategic import, but it was less than twenty miles away from Bilbao, a Basque stronghold, and Francisco Franco wished to threaten the Basques. At the request of Franco's rebel army, Luftwaffe planes poured bombs, percussion and incendiary, onto the village for three hours, and strafed the people trying to flee. The event was to inspire possibly the most famous painting of the twentieth century, and the painting was to sear the events in Guernica into the world's memory. The story of the history that made the painting and the painting that made history is dramatically told in _Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica, and the Masterpiece that Changed the World_ (Dutton) by Russell Martin. It is a great story of art and history, and it is told here with earnest verve.

Picasso didn't like the idea of a commission for a big mural, and although he fully supported the Spanish Republican forces in their efforts against Franco's fascism, he was not interested in making what he knew would be a piece of propaganda. He had never visited the Basque country, but once he heard of the attack, he began sketches for the commission. It was not immediately accepted as a masterpiece, although the partisans of the Spanish Republican cause were, of course, enthusiastic. It wound up at the commencement of World War II in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it would be a showpiece for more than forty years. Picasso made clear that the Spanish Republican government had paid for the painting and it thus belonged to the people of a democratic Spain, but he stipulated that democracy and freedom had to be restored before it returned. After Franco's death, and after serious legal tangles, possibly because the museum wanted to hold on to the painting as long as possible, the painting was sent to the Prado museum in Madrid in 1981. The national newspaper had the headline THE WAR HAS ENDED.

That might have been so, but controversy over the painting and the locale it deserves has not ended. It was moved to another Madrid museum, probably its permanent home, but many Basques believe that it needs to be closer to the rebuilt Guernica village. Hope for such a move peaked when the Bilbao museum was built. The architect, Frank Gehry, even showed the Spanish king and queen the wall on which _Guernica_ should be installed. Having the painting return to Spain helped to heal the years of repression, and perhaps sending it to Bilbao would heal the wounds between Basques and Spaniards; it is not impossible that the famous painting still has work to do. But Martin reminds us that Picasso said, "Wars end, but hostilities endure forever." Martin was researching his fine book, and looking at the painting himself, when other museum visitors hinted that as an American he ought to get to a television. It was 11 September 2001, and the world has not fully learned _Guernica_'s lesson.

Hanging in The United Nations is a tapestry that replicates the image of the painting that is the subject of Russell Martin's book, "Picasso's War". The painting is "Guernica" that Picasso created as a response to the destruction of a small town that is of the same name but at times is also spelled "Gernika". The first bit of irony I experienced while reading this wonderful book is that the tapestry hangs in The United Nations but is covered when various topics are discussed. For instance, when Secretary of State Colin Powell recently gave his presentation to The UN on Iraq the tapestry was covered, lest any television or print cameras photograph those speaking with the tapestry as a backdrop. So firstly there is this internationally renowned anti-war symbol hung in a building that rarely averts violence or acts quickly to prevent the spread of violence. And then when the possibility of violence is discussed, the imaged is removed from view.

The second instance was a personal experience involving the author, for on the day he was in Spain viewing the original work that documented the bombing of a civilian population by airplanes; the city of New York was targeted by airplanes used as massive flying bombs. The events that took place in Spain that shared the sorrow of that day are amongst the most poignant in the book. The similarity of events also made relevant once again a quote of Picasso's, "War's end, but hostilities endure forever".

The decisions and events that lead to the targeting of a civilian population in a manner that at times bordered on sport are repulsive, but are also familiar as they were repeated so many times in the 20th Century, and virtually every other century one may care to examine. Picasso managed to place on a massive canvas images that are horrible, but in a manner that is unique and that has made the image one that has been adopted for human cruelty around the world.

Author Russell Martin has created a well crafted book that is a work of History, Politics, Art, and Sociology. It is an extremely readable book for anyone interested in 20th Century events. You don't need to be an admirer of Picasso, you can even dislike his work and it will have little impact on how much you will enjoy this book. For what the author has done is to take what has become an icon for a variety of tragic and shameful human behaviors, and trace it from it's origins to the controversial location where it resides today. Nothing about Picasso's massive work is without controversy, except for the people who stand in endless lines to view it, almost everyone else involved in its custodianship since Picasso's death has little to be proud of and much to account for.

War often can be distilled down to one group coveting that which another has, and then using escalating levels of violence to make it their own. Picasso created a documentary of the result of these human failings, and had he lived he would have seen how his work became yet another object for an elite few to argue over and covet, while the masses that he painted it for have waited for decades to even view what he created for them.

At the risk of repeating what has already been said: this is a deeply intellectual and beautiful work by a significant artist. Ms. Barth presents a disciplined and challenging oeuvre. The prints are in color and the aesthetic rush is immediate. One should view Barth's work in a gallery, if only for the totality of the experience. The sheer size of her work; the impact of her triptychs and so forth, cannot be contained within the pages of a book. This book, however, successfully displays the painterly sensitivity that Barth brings to her camera work.

The deeply evocative photography of Uta Barth finds its match in this most excellent publication. Barth's imagery, purposefully blurred though it may be, is beautifully presented in this book, which is perfect in its scale and balance between word and image (kudos to the designer.) Three texts round out the mix: Russell Ferguson's take is, as always, critically incisive and highly engaging and Timothy Martin's reading is downright poetic (he writes about her work in terms of perception and phenomenology -- very convincing.) I also appreciated the interview with this very mysterious artist -- it really helped me gain insight into her practice. As for the price: art books with good production values, good work and good essays are hard to find. This one is well worth it.

An absolutely astonishing book, "In Bewteen Places" is the record of the exhibition of Barth's work on display in Seattle's Henry Art Gallery, as well as a very thorough record of her development over the last ten years. Her elegant, unsettling, serene, engaging images are shown here in full plates as well as details, many of which are interspersed throughout the book's excellent critical commentary. The criticism is well-reasoned and intelligent, but the images themselves are ravishing. I own two of her photographs, and the reproductions here are superb. At a time when art books in general, and photography books in particular, are expensive exercises in self-indulgence that are often ludicrous puff-piece advertisements for the galleries that sell the work, this book is a shining exception. It's truly worth the cost, and I highly recommend it.

Being owned by 24 cats can present quite a challenge. With so many disparate personalities among the cats, I am always looking for books that offer insight, hoping that through understanding harmony can be achieved. While I can't report perfect harmony, I can report that matching the cats' sun signs to their personalities has provided interesting and useful information.

For persons who don't know their cat's birthday, behavior easily will match their sun sign. All humans will find the information useful in gaining a better understanding of their cat's behavior as well as insight into personality quirks. The illustrations are wonderfully drawn, and I admit to being quite delighted when I turned to the Taurus page. Not only does my Dickens match the Taurus description perfectly, but he's the match for the illustration as well, right down to the perfect black beauty mark over his mouth. SUN SIGNS also includes information into making successful matches between cat signs and human signs as well as amusing stories of cats to accompany each sign. A wonderful resource, SUN SIGNS comes highly recommended.

Bright Blessings,
Weaver

This book is is a great book if you love dolphins and the movie. It has pictures of the movie. The book shows how much the boy loves the Flipper. The boy saves Flippers life and Flipper saves him. Flipper is great book for dolphn lovers

Clearly written and full of interesting side material. I especially found the section on medieval Europe to be informative. The writer makes good use of a wide range of information without making the reader feel like they are being talked down to. Well done. I just wish that the pictures had been done in color.

I have a dream that my son want be a black slave that he will be free. And saw my whife and my gran chudern

Peter Mc Daniel, and Tiger Woods have written a most interesting chronological history of African American contributions, participation and interest in the heretofore, White world of golf. This book contains beautiful photoghraphs reflecting the joy we all feel while playing golf. In the past golf was a reflection of our American society complete with all of the racial restricitions present in this major American past-time. This history of Blacks in golf will serve as the most needed light that must shine on the dark secret world of, "Whites Only" golf. Uneven Lies presents another side to this unfortunate period in our sporting history by graphically showing that Black People made significant direct and supporting contributions to this wonderful sport even uder the stress of racial segregation. Uneven Lies takes you From the Caddies, the Stanford White Club House at Shinnecock Hills Country Club, in South Hampton, New York, to the UGA, PGA and the LPGA tours. Had African Americans been encouraged and subsequently, allowed to freely participate, as much as they were detered from participating in golf, one would wonder how many Tiger Woods and Althea Gibsons would we have today. Fortunately, we have all learned from the past mistakes and the sport is moving in a positive direction. Uneven Lies is an exceptional, warm and engaing historic representation of the evolution of golf both socially, as a sport and metaphor for life's trials, tribulations and resolutions. A must read and a must see.

This book was a eye opening experience that allows you to appreciate something most of us take for granted -- SIGHT. It encourages you to look beyond the physicality of sight and to become acutely aware of the images you see from day-to-day.

Dr. Lester has performed a service for myself and anyone else who reads this book. It drives you to absorb more of the world that we "see" everyday.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in graphical design, imagery, or to those who want a deeped appreciation for the power that images play in our lives!

I found this book to be inconsequential. The author could have condensed it to 20 pages and still would have gotten her point across. All the information on the sections were repeated in many different ways. The only beneficial portion in this book was "the least you need to know."

I have owned JRTs for several years now and this book hits home hard. If you are even considering getting one of these dogs this book is the place to start. In fact, I gave it to some of the people who were planning on buying pups from us who knew nothing about the breed. It explained more than I could tell in an interview with a new or expectant owner. It made up the minds of some and disuaded others. It will always be a part of my collection of books on the breed beacuse it puts things in terms that non-owners can understand. This book is a "must have."

While the title is, admittedly, horrible, this informative, interesting and easy-to-read book covers all aspects of owning and/or being owned by a Jack Russell Terrier. Nutrition, purchasing a puppy, health care, and training are just a few of the topics addressed in this book. Everything is written in a simple and straight forward manner that is both educational and unpretentious. This is an invaluable reference guide!

The authors say : "Back before [school] consolidation, ... kids sat in alphabetical order and grew up reading about Puff jumping and Dick running, diagramming sentences, and passing Palmer Penmanship exams. If you can remember lining up with your parents for the Brand New Oral Polio vaccine, sitting under your desk during civil defense drills, ..."
And:
"[when] the year was divided into four different seasons: Planting, Haying, Harvesting, and Winter for Fixing. Similarly, the food groups were divided into Dairy and Meat in the barn, Grains in the granary, Fruits and Vegetables in the garden or cellar, freshly Baked Stuff in the pantry, and Snacks in town"
And:
"If you are old enough to have a small pox vaccination mark, the following photos and phrases are just what the doctor ordered."

This reviewer says: If you remember any of the above, this fun little book, "A Compendium of Phrases We Heard Growing Up," is sure to Take you back and bring a smile to your face!

What fun my sister and I had as we shared the comments from this book! Now, my mother has joined the laughter as we reminisce about the phrases that we heard during our farm years. This book brings back so many memories, so many words that we haven't heard for years. I recommend this book to anyone who has had the experience of living on a farm, and to others who would like to know what it was like.