Violence has been an integral part of art in all its forms ever since man invented art. It has been, and probably always will be, a part of life, no matter how civilized we become. Civilization itself is not only created and molded by violence, but sustained, perpetuated, and developed by its application or the threat of it.

Violence is disturbing but it can also be cathartic, and art presents both of these in an unsettling synthesis that is bound to get as many people upset as it will get to delight in it. Going back to Sumerian myths, Greek tragedies, Chinese folk tales, Elizabethan drama, and more recent literary examples reveals a long and cherished tradition of reveling in violent excess to the great entertainment of audiences as varied as one can imagine. Pictorial art tries to outdo the written word with cruel displays of bloodletting, and even when ostensibly depicting religious events the artists tend to go for the shocking, sensational, and sublimely disturbing.

It is little wonder then that films, just another art form, would seize on this long tradition, integrate it into its own canons, and fully participate in it, expanding it and adapting it according to the requirements and possibilities of the medium.

Films that depict violence have always been subject to the ferocious attacks from various corners, depending on what the movie portrays. What do the film-makers do or say in their defense? This is the subject matter of Bouzereau's book. It is not as much about what violence is, what role it plays in society, and how it is reflected in the arts, as it is about the various responses to its presence in films. The author traces how critics, the public, the law, the industry, and finally, the directors themselves view the presence of violence in these films.

The book is divided into eight chapters that cover everything from the films of Sam Peckinpah to those of Clive Barker. While the book does not dwell on horror films apart from some brief look at slasher, fantasy, and zombie movies, it does present a rather extensive catalogue of the most famous violent movies made in the U.S. This should be made quite clear: the book is only about American films despite featuring a Belgian B&W feature and making references to reactions in Britain and France to some of the films in the study.

This is a shortcoming, and a very serious one, because it deprives us of the comparative look at violent films that might shed some light on the role of violence in life and art, and thereby provide a much better justification for its use in films. Some cultures are even more tolerant to violence than America (e.g. Japan) and their arts inevitably reflect that as well. Omitting serious cinema from around the world handicaps the argument by forcing a distinctly American frame of reference on a globally shared phenomenon.

Ultimately, the book does not offer much insight. It is really a collection of film synopses, woven around anecdotes, interviews with directors, and cursory look at the controversies surrounding some of the films. Even this becomes fragmented in the second part of the book, with the chapters getting shorter, as if the author was in a hurry writing them, and the discussion being less and less attentive to the social implications of the subject matter. By the end of the book, the author simply recites brief summaries of the films and sometimes does not even include much of the reaction to them at all.

It is as if The Wild Bunch, Clockwork Orange, and Natural Born Killers are somehow worthier than Night of the Living Dead, Scream, or Man Bites Dog. Again, the ugly and entirely artificial distinction between art haute and the low-brow, low-budget horror flick rears its ugly head. Even in this marginalized genre hierarchy is imposed by critics who seek to redeem the images of death by uncovering some social commentary in the films.

The premise, however, appears flawed to me. It assumes that these films are in need of defending. Indeed, the book (and the directors) spend a lot of time trying to justify the violence in these films. Most of them center around the "life is full of violence, we're just showing it they way it is" variety. But this defense misses an essential point. If movies were simply photographs of reality, they would make great 8 o'clock news, but art they will not make.

It is naive to claim that art is just a mirror of reality. The film-makers do that for obvious reasons: they want to protect their creations from the depredations of the multidinous censors. Yet art's purpose is to evoke emotions. Showing violence does that. But so do romance, horror, bravery, depression, you name it. If it's well done, the audience would respond. And that is the purpose of art, to get a response. A lot of times we might be surprised at our own reactions, we might even be disgusted by them. Maybe the veneer of civilization is not as thin as many would have us believe and maybe, just maybe, our rational selves would be able to recognize and suppress these traits that we deem unworthy of perpetuating.

Civilization has routinely glorified violence and for good reason. We always have to fight for our gains, we always have to protect our freedoms. Liberty dies as soon as we are unable to kill to keep it.

Violence is destructive, it is ugly, and it is life. There is no existence apart from violence. We may not like it, we may deplore it, but it will never be further than inches away from even the most docile among us. Violence can also be a way of expressing ourselves and thus moving others. There can be no heroes without violence. Being a hero means overcoming fear and the only fear worth overcoming is that of untimely violent death. Getting rid of violence in the arts would simultaneously rid us of our heroes.

A lot can be said for this book, but I'll try to keep it short.

First, the cons. This book can be a bit dry. It takes a genre (i.e. Law and Order for police movies), then it will choose several films from this genre and discuss what the movie was about, why critics either hated it or liked it. Some movies even get a section on any particularly famous, gory scenes within. Another thing that I didn't particularly care for was that it included several horror films that weren't particularly violent. Psycho, which has a relatively low body count when compared with Friday the 13th, etc. Of course, Psycho was included because it was directed by the master Alfred Hitchcock, but doesn't seem ultra-violent.

The best thing about this book is that it shows how violence has progressed in movies, starting with Bonnie and Clyde, all the way through RoboCop (one of the bloodiest action movies ever made in my opinion). Many well known movies are discussed (Dirty Harry, Clockwork Orange), as well as some smaller, lesser-known movies (Walking Tall).

The pros far outwiegh the cons. For any one who lies their movies full of Desert Eagle handguns, this book is for you.

And anytime an author can make gore an exciting and interesting element, then he's done his job. DEATH WISH, WALKING TALL, TAXI DRIVER, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and more. Buy it and be disgusted [...] and just enjoy!

Mine is a hardcover edition. The pictures are nice, but a bit small, you have to strain to see little birds in the nests
being fed their worms (in the Spring section). The book is basically a book about seasons, it features Babar and his family in all seasonal activities, but could as easily be Barney,Elmo, or any other character. It has no real story plot, and no drama, like the Story of Babar (my children's favorite). It's nice and educational for 2-3 year olds perhaps, but one shouldn't have to pay 10 bucks to teach about seasons.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Meet Babar and His Family was one of her picks.

The Babar books belong in every home with children. If you already know the series, I'm certain that you agree. If you don't know Babar and his family, you should. They represent idealized "family values" as elephants together. Their relationships with others are ideal as well, including their elephant friends, other animal friends, and the Old Lady (a human) who teaches school in Celestville, where they all live. I also like introducing children to a world where animals may have more authority than people do. That can help establish all kinds of interesting new thoughts about our relationship to the natural world.

Meet Babar and His Family has a good balance of illustrations, actions, and story development to keep your youngster's mind occupied while you read to him or her during the preschool years. Later, your child will be reading this and other Babar stories to you. Memorizing what you have read aloud and learning to follow along with the words will be part of that process of learning to read.

As the title suggests, this story is built around introducing each of the characters, helping you understand their qualities and role in the series, and showing the kinds of activities they typically do. The only aspect of the stories that is not fully developed is that Babar and his wife, Celeste, are king and queen of the elephants and rule over Celesteville. But they are wearing their crowns and are identified as king and queen, so you can expand on this theme of the later stories easily enough.

Most of the other stories in the series do not include all of these characters, so finding them all here will make it easier for your child to understand the other stories when you move on to them.

The Babar family's children are Pom, Flora, and Alexander. As is usual, they get a little too active, and one of them gets hurt (Pom, in this case) and is treated by Doctor Capoulosse. Naturally, Babar's young cousin Arthur is in the story, playing with his friend Zephir, the monkey. Cornelius, the oldest of the elephants, has tea with the Old Lady.

The story takes you through four seasons' worth of activities, including ones that the family does together (like go skating, picnicing, and listening to a concert) as well as children's activities (like a snowball fight, going to school, and taking the school bus). The Babar family likes to be together with their friends, also.

After you have enjoyed this warm family story, I suggest that you get out your calendar for the year ahead and jot down the activities that you would like to do with your family and friends. Then speak, call, go on-line, or write to make the arrangements. Spending the time you want with those you love requires a little planning and putting a priority on this activity. After all, you probably were looking forward to having a nice family life when you got married and decided to have your first child, weren't you? Stalled thinking, lazy habits, and lack of focus can keep you from enjoying this opportunity. Be like Babar and Celeste and be the royalty of your family by leading on to worthwhile activities!

Live a full and happy family life together!

Alice Rawsthorne has done a breathtaking job researching the complexed life of Yves Saint Laurent. When finishing it I felt wiser about YSL, about the man and his carrier, also about the fashion industry from Diors heydays up until today. I've learned a lot about the industry, the people and the pressure a designer is under during the preporation of an haute couture or a prêt-à-porter presentation. It made me feel happy I chose fashion journalism and not fashion design. If I should say anything negative it would be that Alice Rawsthorns journalistic interest in finance is a bit boring. Especially for the fashion interested readers, that are the ones who will read her book. Imbicile as it may sound, all the money I care about are the ones I spend at Rive Gauche Homme.

This is an interesting book but as the other reviewers have pointed out it emphasizes the financial aspects of the fashion business. It does not delve too much into why the designer was so innovative. Also, you don't get to know the designer very well through the book. If you are interested in the history of the fashion business from the 1960s through the 1990s, this book is for you.

It's different, is another point of view of quantum mechanics, for me is more easy and logical.

This is a really terrific story. By capturing and then befriending the charming little Wully Wully, the elephants learn some good lessons about respect and kindness. After some adventures, the young elephants and the Wully Wully do what Babar couldn't - establishing peace with the Rhinos! This book has a nice blend of tension, adventure, and all sorts of little lessons to take away from it.

I really like this book but it doesn't hold my 13 month old daughter's interest. She is not completely familiar with the Sesame Street characters so she doesn't recognize them in the book. I enjoy pointing out the different foods the faces are made of and naming them. She's anxious to turn the pages. I love the sticker sheet and the page for making your own face. My daughter pulled the sticker sheet out and I'm not sure where it is. I think she'll enjoy it later and if your kids are a little older, I think they'd have lots of fun with it too.

This material of this book was successfully used in a course of special relativity for advanced undergraduates at the University of Stockholm by the late professor Bertel Laurent, one of Oskar Klein's best students. When he sadly passed away shortly before retirement the manuscript was transformed into a book by his enthusiastic friend Stig Flodmark.

The book is unusual in that it does not discuss the historical, philosophical, and experimental background that most book dwell on a lot. Instead special relativity is clearly and simply presented with modern coordinate free (index free) notation as a correct and accepted theory of physics. I recommend it strongly as a concise, pedagogical, and compact course book with a modern point of view.

This is a very wonderful play, perfect for any small community theatre performance. I performed as the crazed and militant little boy carrie back in '91. I really enjoyed this show tremendously! There are no filmed versions of this play unfortunately, but the incidental music written for this play by Stephen Sondheim is fantastic and can be found on the cd Sondheim Unsung. Enjoy this wonderful piece of comedy! Also note the author is the writer of other famous plays and musicals such as Anyone Can Whistle and Gypsy!

Excellent tips on where and how to get the best photographs in the southwest. Tells where to go, what time of day and how to take photogrpahs of outstanding desert southwest locations. I travel extensively and found this book pointing out exciting photo opportunities that I had missed. The book is specificlaly for photogrpahers.

Here is a book that succeeds, without trying too hard, to teach its subject and to entertain the reader while it's about its business.

"Let's Talk Lisp" starts with an unabashed view of it's subject matter: "'Programming languages can be divided into two categories. In one category, there is LISP; in the second category, all the other programming languages!'" This is a good omen (no apologies offered; instead, unflinching belief) for the rest of the book that bears fruit in the following chapters.

The chapters are well-thought-out in their organization and also in their placement. They are organized as follows: lesson, example, exercises, repeat. This organization tightly groups activity with source material and suited me very well. Also, unlike other books where I found myself skipping around various chapters, this book reads well straight through.

What's fascinating about this book is also it's downfall: it reveals the strengths of Lisp 25 years ago -- map was a standard function on Lisp then. Nowadays, a programming language without this higher order function would be considered crippled (e.g. both Perl and C++ now have the map function), too bad for the community that such higher order functions weren't standard then, as well.

It's datedness shows in other ways: CAR and CDR are used extensively -- almost exclusively, and tail-recursion is not mentioned at all (functions are defined using it, but the reader is not to learn what this technique is called). A person programming in the style of this book would be branded a dinosaur. How unfortunate! for otherwise this book is a joy to read.

The joy of reading this book comes from listening to the author present each lesson. Each page has a secret joke -- unforced, easily missed at times, but there -- savoring the joke in the lesson helps one remember the lesson long after the book is set aside, and helps one pick up the book again with anticipation to learn the new lesson and to enjoy the new joke.

It appears (from discussions on comp.lang.lisp) that many teachers still teach Lisp in the old-style. If they must do that, I heartily recommend this engaging book over the other, drier, less-well-organized cousins (e.g. avoid Wilensky's).

A fresh rewrite by the author to include CLOS and other modern techniques (such as the LOOP macro) would receive my unqualified recommendation.