Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2
Book reviews for "Smith,_Arthur_C." sorted by average review score:

Arthur Kennedy, Man of Characters: A Stage and Cinema Biography
Published in Paperback by McFarland & Company (2002)
Authors: Meredith C. Macksoud, Craig R. Smith, Jackie Lohrke, and Laurie Kennedy
Amazon base price: $29.95
Average review score:

Couldn't put it down.
I got this book because I'm a fan of Kennedy. As I expected I got a very good overview of Kennedy's acting career. But what surprised me is how this book places Kennedy's work in historical context. It's a remarkable achievement. The pages written by Kennedy's daughter are a great addition -- poignant and richly detailed.

More than a man of characters
It's about time that someone wrote a book about one of the greatest, and sometimes overlooked, American actors of the 20th Century. This book is one of the best film biographies I have ever read for two simple reasons (besides the fact that it is extremely well written and researched): 1) It is about the man and his WORK - and I emphasize W-O-R-K as apposed to G-O-S-S-I-P.
The main thrust is focused on the richeness that he has brought to the screen and shared with his audience. 2) It ties his life and work by interjecting what was going on in the world at each major step in his illustrious career. This is a very illuminating device for me as I believe that artists cannot separate themselves from the events and idiologies of their time. For actors, choices such as the roles they accept or reject and, needless to say, the films themselves are a reflection of their times. So this becomes a vaulable avenue by which one can better understand the artist.
The research that must have gone into writing this book, and the careful attention to detail is impressive. This a book that should set the standard for other books on actors and one that should be part of anyone's bookshelf if they are seriously interested in the history, art and legacy of a great actor. My only critisism is really directed toward the way the book is promoted. On the surface, it appears that the publisher is bent of promoting Kennedy as an actor in Westers when his greatest roles (such as in "Elmer Gantry and Lawrence of Arabia") were clearly not. So don't let the cover of the book deceive you. This is an exceptinal book about a very great artist who left an impressive body of work for us to enjoy. Meredith Macsoud, we can never thank you enough!

Arthur Kennedy, Man of Characters
This book brings to life a time when character actors were an integral part of a film. Arthur Kennedy's role in each of his films demonstrates the vitality of the character actor. His ability to give meaning to a scene by just a gesture, glance or reflection of his voice made the difference of caring about the story and its characters. He made each one come to life. From the beginning of his career on stage at the Globe Theatre in New York in 1937 to the end of his career in a film called Grandpa, in 1989, a span of 52 years, Kennedy gave us a quality of acting that even Laurence Olivier called him a "lovely" actor during their production of Becket in 1961. The book is a treasure.


Political Handbook of the World, 1999: Governments and Intergovernmental Organizations As of March 1, 1999, or Later, With Major Political Developments Noted Through June 1, 1999 (Political Handbook of the World, 1999)
Published in Hardcover by Csa Pubns (1900)
Authors: Arthur S. Banks, Thomas C. Muller, William Overstreet, Sean M. Phelan, Hal Smith, and State University Of New York at Binghamt
Amazon base price: $125.00
Average review score:

An excellent political reference work
A reliable reference work - I have found it to be very useful and informative. I would rate it alongside Helicon's Political Systems of the World, by Derbyshire and Derbyshire, which looks at the political structures and histories of each of the world's states. The latter is very readable, while the handbook contains a wealth of detail.

Great Reference
If you need to know anything about the world whether it is specific info. about a country or simply general information, this is the prefect reference. is is clearly organized and extremely useful for everything. i highly recommend it!


The Pictorial Key to the Tarot: Being Fragments of a Secret Tradition Under the Veil of Divination
Published in Paperback by Lyle Stuart (1989)
Authors: Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela C. Smith
Amazon base price: $11.95
Average review score:

Great Introduction to The Tarot, for Beginners
A.E. Waite is a well-respected author in the study of The Mysteries. However, this book is not his best work. To be honest, I never could bring myself to do more than read sections of this book. I coul dnever read it straight-through. However, given the system of Tarot, flip-throughs are usually all you need, to discover what you need to know. There are many better books on the the subject of How to Study The Tarot, but this is a good Beginner's lesson. So many people try to make the Study of Tarot a "cut & dry" issue (i.e., "this is the way it is....")--however, in actuality, it is a life-long process of Study, Experiment, and Collection of Knowledge. It is best to read books by Many authors of Many perspectives and study Jungian Psychology, as well. Consider this book a "first stepping-stone on the Path of Enlightenment."

A hard to read, obscure, and confusing little book.
I've bought this book with expectations of getting loads of information in it, and was somewhat disappointed by it.

The book suffers from several problems :

- The book is a hard reading - Waite's style is obfuscated, which makes the non-trivial material harder to understand.

- Waite doesnt tell the whole truth, and not even half of it, not to mention the inclusion of misinformation. Examples include unexplained symbols (symbols on charioteer's belt, the fool's clothings, and many others), desciption of the emptress being 'virgo intacta', etc.

- Some of the cards' descriptions contradict, or at least appear to contradict, the pictures on the cards.

- Waite borrows a lot from earlier writers, but then goes on to pass criticism on his sources and belittles them.

So the book has to be read very carefuly, criticaly, and with a lot of patience. And those who do so *will* gain - the book is better than many of the instant tarot reading guides, giving truer and deeper information from the horse's mouth.

I suggest people to read this book, but *not* as the first book on the deck, and preferably along with other material (e.g. books about the golden dawn, tarot history, or symbolism).

A must to help wade through the other "Tarot muck"
Waite's pretentious as all get out, but he stresses that the tarot reader is "Boss". THat Tarot is esoteric, and above all, when there is question, it is the diviner him or her self that must come to the answer. THat is what it's all about. He's the first that stresed this. BUY THIS BOOK AND READ IT IF YOU READ TAROT


The New York City Fire Patrol: An Illustrated History
Published in Paperback by Exeter House Books (1997)
Authors: Arthur C. Smith and Charles J. Adams
Amazon base price: $10.36
List price: $12.95 (that's 20% off!)
Average review score:

The only book on an important part of firefighting history.
I gave this book 4 stars because it is the only one on its subject anywhere. Smith gives a good general history of the Patrol, and fire salvage in general, but many photos are of poor quality, and there are no shots of the Patrol's more recently-purchased trucks.

Smith also writes in an interesting manner.

Every sentence is its own paragraph.

As you can see, this can be a bit annoying.

Despite its shortcomings, the book makes an important contribution to local history, and to the story of firefighting.


Comics: A Decade of Comedy at the Assembly Rooms
Published in Paperback by Pan Macmillan (09 August, 1990)
Authors: John Connor and Arthur Smith
Amazon base price: $
Average review score:
No reviews found.

An Evening with Gary Lineker / Trench Kiss
Published in Paperback by Josef Weinberger Plays (1992)
Authors: Arthur Smith and Chris England
Amazon base price: $
Average review score:
No reviews found.

History of India from the Sixth Century B.C. to the Mohammedan Conquest, Including the Invasion of Alexander the Great
Published in Hardcover by AMS Press (1996)
Author: Vincent Arthur Smith
Amazon base price: $32.00
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Introduction to the Natural History of Southern Ca
Published in Paperback by University of California Press (1989)
Authors: Edmund C. Jaeger and Arthur C. Smith
Amazon base price: $7.95
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Live Bed Show
Published in Paperback by Josef Weinberger Plays (1995)
Author: Arthur Smith
Amazon base price: $
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Management Analysis in Public Organizations
Published in Hardcover by Quorum Books (28 February, 1992)
Authors: Ray C. Oman, Stephen L Damours, Arthur T. Smith, and Andrew R. Uscher
Amazon base price: $64.95
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.