Belgrad attempts to answer this very powerful question quickly, defending the men's respective turmoil well appealing logically to the difficulty of going against the accepted norms of culture. Belgrad's entire book is dedicated to investigating fairly complex and abstract subject in depth, yet all too quickly posits and answers a very difficult and interesting question. Perhaps Belgrad did not recognize the power and importance of this question in the overall consideration of the importance and impact of spontaneity; or he does not wish to dedicate too much time to a question that might break the lovely façade that he established for spontaneity. Either way, it is a fascinating point for Belgrad to make and one that can be contemplated for quite sometime.
Belgrad does an excellent job tackling a complex and broad topic such as the art of the postwar period. Though it is a broad topic, Belgrad unites the works together very well. Any reader, though, cannot approach this book; the book is very complex and requires some background in the art, music, literature etc as well as in philosophy, psychology and other influential factors on the artists of spontaneity. Belgrad's work is excellent and ties together both Graebner and Herman quite well. The Culture of Spontaneity goes past Graebner's discussion of the 1940s (to show how Graebner's "Age of Doubt" went into the 1950s) and also how psychology (Jung and Goodman specifically) impacted the arts in the postwar period.

He is sublimely articulate about his working methods, honest, and interesting to read. I can't wait to try some of the improvisations he describes with my tertiary students.

An important book by an important dancer and choreographer.

Thumb through "Dance and the Specific Image: Improvisation" and you will envision yourself performing improvisations onstage. Daniel Nagrin's exercises, games and structures (EGAS, he calls them) work behind closed doors or in front of live audiences. They are clear and have a beginning, middle and end, and yet offer rich unpredictable results.

Nagrin's instructions are set apart from the rest of the text, so it's easy to graze through the book. But the greatest rewards come from reading the book from cover to cover, because the narrative reveals every step of the creative process to which Nagrin committed himself. It's an enjoyable read. It's very generous in its sharing. It makes you want to dance in a whole new way -- particularly in group sessions like the ones he directed.

Reading and re-reading this book is the next best thing to having Mr. Nagrin in residence.

A surprising application: At George Mason University this book is required reading for graduate courses in 3D human animation!

David Vrooman fills a BIG VOID to document what was a harbinger of the so-called Japanese style of corporate management, the principles of which were developed by W. Edwards Deming after World War II under the name of Total Quality Management, or "TQM". Rather than trying to upstage Deming, Vrooman presents Daniel Willard's common-sense approach in recognizing the dignity and worth of every employee in the corporate structure which he based on good individual upbringing and having been on virtually every rung of the railroad career ladder himself, culminating in the presidency of the B&O Railroad from 1910 to 1941. Throughout his 31 years as B&O president, Willard raised the status of his company from a large, second-class railroad to one that became a model for others to emulate. He did this through two major programs: 1) the Cooperative Plan, during the teens and twenties, receiving exemplary results based on employee unit meetings where suggestions for improvement of their individual work processes were solicited, and 2) the Corporate Traffic Plan, where employees were rewarded if they were able to get new freight accounts and passenger traffic during the years of the Great Depression. Vrooman also examines Willard's contributions to the country's logistics efforts on the railroads during World War I and his successes in averting major labor shutdowns of the nation's railroads. Also, Vrooman admiringly documents Willard's success in his effort to bring together the nation's railroad presidents and rail labor to save them from bankruptcy during the Great Depression by getting them to agree to an across-the-board 10% wage cut! If you were to ask if this could be done today, I would be forced to give a resounding NO! Willard did this through the TRUST that he was able to garner throughout all levels of the railroad industry, to become one of the most beloved individuals in his field as one of the greatest unsung Captains of Industry that American history SORROWFULLY OVERLOOKS!

This is a MUST READ for all those in corporate venues who want to get ahead, and at the same time, exercise the individual scruples they personally have developed in how they deal with their clients, superiors, and employees.

Furthermore, this book shows a more accurate picture of the impact of white settlement in the Amer West than most of the popular YA historical fiction. There is no whitewash of the settlers, and no romantic images of the native Americans, either. Compared to some of the "Dear America" books, for example, _Daniel's Walk_ is far and away more historically accurate.

Students especially should get hold of it. (...) It's rare enough that we come across a decent story based on decent historical research.