Blanchard's book is about a whole counterculture, not usually suspected of flourishing in the last decades of the 20th century in the America of Carnegie and Bryan. Blanchard not only proves beyond doubt that it was there, like the contemporary movements in England and France, but also that it was rich, embracing all the arts, both sexes, and every expression of gender, not to mention fashion, popular culture and arts usually labelled "domestic." Designed with an equally rich iconography, its text laid out together with contemporary pictures, "Oscar Wilde's America" is a model of cultural and intellectual history -- which might confuse poststructuralists and anti-poststructuralists alike.

Ms. Blanchards book was meticulously reasearched and presented. It was an innovative approach to the years after the Civil War exposing a counter culture that I was astonished to discover.But she did discover it and unknown and unheralded women who make this worthy book even more fascinating.

Reading this book has been an astonishing experience . . . Never have I been so informed by the substantiality of the aesthetic ideas of Oscar Wilde in an American context I thought I knew. Who, after all, has ever connected Wilde with William Dean Howells and Henry Adams? Nor was I aware of the impact of aestheticism on the thoughts and innovative behavior of middle class women during the so-called Gilded Age. Henceforth that catch phrase will always betoken a deeper or at least a double meaning. Blanchard's subtle yet precise writing, drawn from an enormous range of fresh and original materials, exhibits the aestheticism Wilde so powerfully preached.

Everyone knows OW was a witty guy.

If you want to find witty things he said in one small book such that you can try to emulate his wit, this book is for you.

It's good for an hour's read where you will snicker, snort, and grin.

It's exactly what i expected and exactly what I got. Whee!

"I can resist everything except temptation."
"There is no sin except stupidity."
"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances."
"It is always with the best intentions that the worst work is done."

These laconic aphorisms are just the tip of the iceberg of Wilde's impressive, yet oftentimes eclectic and nihilistic, use of the English language. Dover gives us 60 pages of brilliant witticisms and axioms to use over and over again for a mere dollar. You can't go wrong. Also recommended - Dover's Shakespeare quotes book for a dollar. Enjoy.

This collection of Wilde's greatest quotes is an easy read, and wonderful to keep around the house. Wilde's wisdom is displayed throughout this edition, and is a must have for any Wilde fan.

The story is simple: Oscar Otter wants to meet a goldfish, so after catching a glimpse of one, he starts searching for it. Six pages feature flaps to lift in the search. Each flap activates a pop-up or causes something to move. As the last page is opened, a full two-page pop-up is revealed. The artwork is very cute. However, the animals are realistically enough drawn, that the cooperation and friendship between predator and prey seems odd.

This is an entertaining book that we have enjoyed sharing with our 7 mo. old baby. She especially looks forward to the last page because of all the pop ups. Be careful not to put used baby wipes too close to the book, you may end up having to order another. A humble Dad!

Wilbur faithfully reproduces some of Moliere's more experimental versification in this update of Plautus' Amphitruo, the story of Greek general who is impersonated by the god Jupiter-- so that Jupiter can share a bed with his wife! Moliere, a master of farce, plays this mistaken identity to its comic hilt.

Wilbur's translation here is peerless and his Afterword is wonderfully informative. This is not my favorite of his Moliere translations (I like The School for Wives and The Misanthrope) but I'd be hard-pressed to name a fault. Voltaire said of this play, "I laughed so hard that I fell over backwards." I didn't fall over backwards, but I got a good chuckle or two out if it.

This is an extremely funny, well written (& translated) play; Wilbur does a terrific job with the English verse, which makes the play read like an original--rather than a translation. Finding a well translated version of non-english written plays can often be difficult (especially with so many translations available), but this one is truly terrific.

This was the first play I had read by Moliere, and it wasn't at all what I was expected. It is a very light, easy and hilarious read. I laugh out loud each time I read it.

Every person ever nominated for an academy award is listed in the appendix, but the book has even better things to offer.

Anthony Holden begins the book back in the 1920s and chronicles every year of the oscars up until 1991. He explains how the Academy began as a company union and evolved into the present day awards. There are many great stories. Most of them concerning the politics behind the awards.

He explains how the lifetime achievment awards were created to fill in the gaps of the hollywood greats who were denied the award for one reason or another. Many of these awards were shamefully given out when a person was on his/her deathbed.

Other interesting tid bits include the story of how France's Gérard Depardieu cost himself an oscar by giving a politically incorrect interview, George C. Scott's inconsistent reasons for turning down acting awards, and Woody Allen's indifference for the event as a whole.

Ah, yes... every single March, when that one evening rolls around when a red carpet's rolled out and somebody makes a name for himself or a fool of himself, or somewhere in between, we can only say one word unanimously: "WHY?" And now you will know why... you will know the whole truth, all the hearts and flowers and arsenic. In this juicy tale of the Academy and its unique, oddball system of selecting who gets the Oscar, who should get an Oscar, and it-was-just-too-darn-bad-so-and-so-didn't-get-one, Anthony Holden takes us back to the late 1920's, when a small group of individuals banded together to form the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. From then on, we're taken on a tirade of how simple campaigns, malicious manipulations, and simple mistakes or happenings influence the decisions for Oscar's many surprising receipients. Stars and directors share memories and reminisces throughout the book, which is also illustrated with several darn good photos. The book remembers Oscar's infamous moments such as "Scott, Brando, and The Art Of Rejection" to Greer Garson's "hour-long" speech and dear, sweet Sally Field's "You really like me!" speech. The book also details times when the Academy has been put on the spot: i.e., 1952. In a year of big, bustling dramas, the Academy was able to sigh with relief and vote the year's best picture to the big, bawdy "The Greatest Show On Earth". Another example, this time exploiting the Academy's sentiment: 1981's Best Actor: ailing Henry Fonda won over the "sure-fire" Burt Lancaster. That same sentiment also dealt many, many very deserving Oscar receipients the less glorified "Lifetime Achievement" Awards. And sometimes the Academy has been downright prejudiced: 1954's Best Actress: Grace Kelly over scandal-ridden Judy Garland (the book reveals that Kelly won by a mere seven votes to Garland). Most film critics today will cite Garland's as the better performance, but in 1954... And there have been bitter disappointments. Rosalind Russell's publicity agent had a house riding on a failed 1947 Best Actress win, and Bette Davis was stunned beyond belief when Anne Bancroft won 1962's Best Actress for "The Miracle Worker" over her "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?". The bottom line: the book is bursting with facts, dirt, and fun and all the way through it keeps up the things the Academy Awards are famous for: drama, suspense, and pure, unadulterated entertainment.

While most monographs are unfortunately stuffed with photos of built work, Office dA has very little built work, this one is is pleasantly filled with many sketches and working drawings. There are two completed projects (as seen in Architecture) and many uncompleted projects. I heard Nader Tehrani speak at the Wexner Center and unfortunately the book cannot begin to describe the thoughtful manner of their designs. Otherwise, it is an excellent book that shows the process of their design. For a monograph this is an excellent book.

I've never understood architecture monographs that rely almost solely on text and photos. Design is about drawing, and without sketches, details, section and plans, the resulting building exists in a vacuum. For that reason, I really enjoyed this book. The use of working drawings gives you an understanding of the thought and technique that results in some very creative and beautiful designs. The photographs (and there are quite a few of them) do a great job of bringing out the subtle details of Office dA's work. Granted, it's not all architecture (there are furniture and sculpture pieces) and not much of it is built (8 out of 11 projects are in model form), but it's engaging and inspiring nonetheless. It was also nice (and, as a student, instructive) to see scale models of such a high quality, instead of the usual computer-generated renderings. It's a great book for anyone interested in current design, and a must-have for architecture students.

Wow ! What incredible discipline from such young minds. They just remeber how the beauty of nature is the master artist and they always "check" to it's greatness. The bonus spaces (porches, deep roof overhangs, courtyards, etc.) increase the value of their architectural products. By "forever erasing" the barrier between the indoors and outdoors - this truly reinforces their love of nature. I wonder how many other of their piers have the courage to check their ego's at the drawing board and pay homage to the power and honest beauty of nature?

lake/flato made a name for themselves as residential specialists. this book covers that beginning. the end of the book starts to cover a new range of the work that the firm was beginning to enter at the publishing date. the sensitivity and attention to detail is translating into larger non-residential commissions. the character of the firm and its work is dramatically changing, but this book serves as a strong introduction to the topics that interest and inform l/f's work now and hopefully in the future.

From Texas to Florida to Australia! What do they have in commo? Regional architecture based upon site and climate. Lake-Flato do beautiful, regional architecture and this book documents their work in a clear and deliberate manner with many photos. Two wishes. One, floor plans and site plans to help us see how the elements relate to both. Two, a second volume documenting their more recent work. If you like contemporary casual with metal roofs, concrete, stone and wood and a relation of indoor to outdoors buy this book. You will enjoy it!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I think that anyone who reads this will feel more comfortable in nowing that many people may love them and that it is okay to have more than one "family." Many love you just the same and they can care for you in their own special way. I think Oscar is unique and even though this is just a book I respect the characters.

Warm, homey illustrations that almost seem to glow are paired nicely with the sweet storyline. As always, James Herriott knows his animals, and can capture their essence on paper. I have known cats like Oscar, who is most definitely a "people" cat--he loves to be in the thick of things!--and reading Oscar's story was like a touch of nostalgia. If your little one loves animals, do get them this book. I have a hunch they'll like it.

I think I have not had a more pleasant reading experience than sitting down next to a burning fire place, listening to my favorite antique clock ticking.. the patter of rain on the window panes and reading James Herriott. It is a memory of that afternoon that all these years later I have never forgotten. James Herriott is the most pleasant, relaxing, refreshing writer. Forget all the worries and cares and escape for a few minutes into a quiet world where the animals speak their own language.. A wonderful book, a wonderful writer. Thank You James Herriott for the memories.

As a musical theatre performer, I found this score to be complete and a wonderful tool for auditions (especially the not-so-well-known songs that didn't appear in the movie version).

I'm not a great fan of the music, but it is fun to play. It is a nice combination of music.

If you're interested in this, then don't hesitate to get it! Other places online are selling it for (more money) now, but not Amazon.com! That's why I love them! This Vocal Score contains all music from the show (from the Overture to bows and exit music). (...)

When I read A Woman of No Importance, I realized that I have read it before. Though, not by the same author. It is drastically similar to the French Play Le Fils Naturel, by Alexandre Dumas, jr. Though, it was a really nice play, it dragged in many places.

When a woman has made a mistake she is the only one, with her son, to carry the burden. She is tainted forever and can only hide in some anonimity. But the play goes a lot further. The son becomes the target of the father who, unmarried, wants to find love in his son, and give his son the love he has never given to any one. But it is not that simple. The son has to choose between his father who provides him with an important ambitious position, and his mother who has been tainted forever by this man he does not know as his father yet, but not for long. But love will come in the way and will reveal the father as being forever unable to respect women. This man will try to soil the young woman the son is in love with. This will lead to a happy ending for the son and for the mother but a very unhappy ending for the father who will be deprived of his son. Is the punishment proportioned to the crime, because the father is exposed as a criminal, and in a way he is. Philandering is unacceptable in those days. The most intriguing aspect of the play is that this happy ending is brought by a young woman who is both American and a puritan. In a way Oscar Wilde, and we know the drama of his life, is advocating a real puritanism that is based on purity both on the surface and in depth. So he criticizes the hypocrisy of English victorian society because it advocates purity but practices (at least men can, but women cannot) any kind of unethical attitude or behavior. How can Oscar Wilde advocate such a position when he is what he is, hiding something that amounts to a crime in his society? We are also surprised by this salvation coming from an American woman. How can America be better than England? There is no easy answer. Maybe just the fact that in America ethics come first and do not accept any compromise or segregation against women. But is this true at the end of the nineteenth century? This play is very emotional but yet very unreal, surreal.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan

I've just started re-reading this play and I think it is one of the most beautiful works Wilde ever wrote. Mrs. Arbuthnot's speech at the end of Act Four, beginning "men don't know what mothers are" is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever read in Wilde. It's a very ironic speech, considering it was written by a man, but it shows what a wonderful insight into women Wilde had. The play is essentially about morality and the conflict between a person's own, private sense of morality and the moral values imposed on us by society. Ultimately, Mrs. Arbuthnot is the character who most deserves our respect, precisely because she refuses to buy into the moral values of those around her. Reading it, I can just imagine how it would be performed, I even find myself acting the play out in my head, such is the power and force of Wilde's dialogue. This is a truly beautiful work which I highly recommend