This is a superb critical evaluation of all of Hepburn's film roles until 1984. It is the only book about Hepburn that did not disappoint me. Hepburn biographies and studies have often tended to "normalize" Hepburn (eg. Kate - Charles Higham) or rationalize some contradictory aspects of her personality (eg. A Remarkable Woman - Anne Edwards) based on *conclusions drawn from* material that is in media circulation. Andrew Britton, in refreshing contrast, meticulously examines the implied beliefs and thought processes *behind* such material. Hepburn, through Britton's book, emerges in an arena all her own, resisting all attempts at conventional compartmentalization.

I absolutely agree with his views on many movies, say, "Woman of the Year", where Hepburn's presence in the title role suggests an independence and authority which the film's contrived, though expertly acted, ending, tries (unsuccessfully) to suppress. His views on the "violence of the performance" in "Summertime", which makes "the film's project untenable", are also very apt.

Apart from a thorough examination of Hepburn's roles with Tracy, Grant and others, this book makes pointed comparisons between the spinster roles of Bette Davis and Hepburn. It also has a very original discussion on The Philadelphia Story (Hepburn), Ninotchka (Greta Garbo), and Destry Rides Again (Marlene Dietrich), which according to Britton, were attempts to humanize (and hence compromise) its three female stars, who had previously been labelled "box-office poison".

For fans of Hepburn, for serious followers of films, and for all those who are concerned about the hidden ideas that films (sometimes inadvertently) propagate into the filmgoer's mind, this is an objective, insightful book which should not be missed.

If you love Kate the way that I do, you will enjoy these wonderful photographs of her career. There were so many shots that I had never seen before. Her life as an actor was so incredible that seeing this time capsule of wonderful images helps you understand the woman. It is wonderfully narrated. I love this book and I think the true Kate fan will also.

Way, WAY before there was such a thing as Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, Grace Livingston Hill was writing stories about people who find that trusting in God works! This is my favorite collection of her short stories, in that it is geared mainly towards young people. Through a variety of plots, the stories are a reminder to stop the hustle and bustle of life and look up. A girl discovers God's ability to transform even the mundane things in life, while a young man comes face to face with God listening to Handel's Messiah. I fully recommend this book to anyone who needs to be refreshed, or even just entertained a little.

I have traveled extensively in Eastern Europe and this is the best book I have seen about the region. It's informative, concise, and funny to boot! Anyone traveling in any of these seventeen magnificent countries should take Let's Go with them.

Beautifully illustrated and extra-sturdy, The Little Pumpkin Book is a great choice to introduce little minds to the world of books. It follows two children through the seasons as they work hard to plant and harvest their own pumpkins, and teaches about patience and life cycles. A charming little story!

Although the title suggests an assassination, it actually refers to Clarence Sinclair Bull, who was MGM's chief portrait and glamour photographer from the studio's inception in 1924 to his retirement in 1961. He began photographing Garbo with her last silent film The Kiss in 1929, and after that she wanted no one else to photograph her. Bull would take over 4,000 individual studies of Garbo, devoting 2 days in his gallery for each of her films. She would pose in the character she was playing, since she saw the stills as part of the film-making process. The stills from The Kiss are particularly striking, "suffused with an elegaic softness and allure" writes Terence Pepper in the text. Bull enclosed Garbo's face in a black shadowy background, and, in contrast to her previous demure studies where she averted her eyes, he had her look directly into the camera and communicate directly with the viewer, "preserving her inner mood". A beret photograph is so potent that the studio used it for the film poster, and it prefigures her think-of-nothing final close-up from her later Queen Christina. Bull also transposed a vignette study of Garbo's face onto a photograph of the Cairo Sphinx, to create "The Swedish Sphinx". When he timorously showed her the result, he was surprised that instead of being offended, she howled with laughter, and approved it's release. It may have become the most widely distributed of her images, but it remains camp at best. Bull would say that she had no bad side and no bad angle, which made her the easiest of all the stars to photograph. Plus he thought she enjoyed their sessions, never tiring of posing for him. The images confirm MGM's agenda of creating flawless beauty, held up before the admiring throng as "nothing less than the Hope diamond in the flesh". Garbo's skin has a statue-esque perfection, her hair lit to be look soft and pliable. She never smiles but emotion is still evident. The one study in colour is for Two Faced Woman, which is less flattering than the black and white stills. Her hair has been pulled back slightly with a hidden ribbon, exposing her large forehead, and the hardness of her later Cecil Beaton studies emerges, her mouth almost in a sneer of disdain. Perhaps she knew making the film would be a mistake and an end to her film career. We also have a study of Chris, Garbo's stand-in, who apparently was even more mysterious than the one she doubled for. After Garbo retired, perhaps it is only the studies of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn that can match the iconoclastic grandness of Bull's work with Garbo, which proves that no matter how talented the photographer, the subject is everything. This kind of portraiture would decline with the collapse of the studios, and when you see the later studies of less arresting faces, perhaps this was for the best. Garbo flourished in a period where the ideals of beauty she radiated were desperately needed, but she always a reluctant star. When the world became indifferent, so did she.

Meet the Gaskitt family. First there's Mr Gaskitt, a slim, loving father who gets up one winter morning and puts on all his clothes, layers and layers of underwear, shirts, pants, sweaters, jackets, coats, scarves, gloves, hats, and his plastic raincoat. Then there's Mrs Gaskitt, an attractive mother who also drives a taxi. There's the twins, nine year old Gus and Gloria, and Horace, the cat. On the same morning that Mr Gaskitt put on all his clothes, Mrs Gaskitt got a call to pick up a gentleman at the bank, "In half an hour - on the dot", the twins had a substitute teacher who piled them all into a school bus for a field trip, and Horace curled up in his favorite armchair to watch TV. And as they all hit the road, to begin their day, the entire family's raucous, madcap adventure begins..... Allan Ahlberg has written a delightful short chapter book that will have early readers laughing out loud and rolling in the aisles, as they watch this action-packed story unfold. His easy to read, hilarious text is full of entertaining details, and asides from the cat, car radio, and even the refrigerator, and is complemented by Katharine McEwen's charming watercolor and crayon illustrations. Together this dynamic duo have authored an engaging little tale that's full of twists, turns, and more than a few surprises. Perfect for youngsters 7-10, The Man Who Wore All His Clothes is a silly, fun-filled, manic romp kids will love.

Metro is exactly the kind of text that meets the needs of multi-genre creative writing courses, which are the ones offered at the introductory or beginning level and in which students are exploring the various genres and the craft of writing. Metro explores with them and covers all of the concerns and issues brought forth by students and addresses them realistically. I would tell colleagues that, with Metro, you have a co-teacher.

Metro's major strengths are the breadth of its exercises, its chapter on reading, and the "Alternative Guided-Writing Scenarios." My favorite chapter is the one on reading because it adds a crucial dimension to any discussion of the writing process, especially in the context of multi-genre creative writing courses, where students are getting perhaps their first introduction to the whole notion of creative writing. It solidly dispels the too-common perception that "creative writing" happens in a vacuum and the mistaken idea that influence is a surrender that leads to slavish imitation.

Metro sets a new standard for books on the creative writing process.

Anyone who need very nice information should read it.The book provide quite day to day information to fit lab routine.It Also explain some impresive insight on future technics. Wiht out doubt I recomended.I gave it 5 star because I use it everyday at work. Lab.Gen e Molecular Biology. InCor. Brazil

a young boy goes on a journey (with several animal friends) to find the home of his lonely white cat, whom his mother bought from a gypsy. Their travels take them to the gypsy woman's home, miserable town, a ship, and the land of reindeer people, among other places. Along the way, each animal finds a new friend (and a new home), while they must overcome the obstacles thrown in their way by the evil magic monkey moog.