This book seems extremely useful for a person interested in the formation & developement of a modern architecture, which was born in the period of Renaissance. The contributions made by different architects, sculptors & decorators into performing the world a new way of life are fully revealed by David Thomson in his book. This research also strikes the reader by some new & unexpected facts & ideas, appealed to immerse the reader into the atmosphere of Renaissance Paris.

David Thomson was a British man with a great love of Ireland and its people, with a deep understanding of its tragic past and of its present troubles. In his story is woven the story of Ireland. Thomson's memoir covers his 10 years at Woodbrook, a house in Co. Roscommon, owned at that time by an Anglo-Irish family. He arrived as a shy, young tutor and in his years at Woodbrook he naturally became very close to the family, as well as to their neighbors. His position gave him a unique possibility to befriend both Protestants and Catholics, aristocrats and farmers. He writes at length about Ireland's history, using references as well as anecdotes told to him during his stay. But this is not a history book; a poignant love story is at the heart of this memoir. For anyone interested in Ireland, this is a book to be savored.

While this books is easily worth the cover price to any Madonna fan or pop culture theorist, as it contains dozens of articles and texts that would be otherwise largely inaccessable, the editorial work is horrible. There are several transcription mistakes, which are painfully obvious even on a cursory reading. There are also many mislabled items, most notably pictures. The worst is a series of articles that are from USA Today dated 1996 - that discuss Madonna's "new" video, "Like A Prayer",which premiered seven years earlier. The articles are obviously mislabled, and no one caught on.

A recomened book for the content, but not for it's shoddy editorial job.

Being an extrememly dedicated Madonna fan, I am inclined to like almost any book about her. This was no exception. My favorite parts were towards the beginning because there were a lot of interviews, which I love. There were a lot of articles on other people's opinions of her work and although they were enjoyable to read for the most part; some times it would get a little monotonous. There were also some parts where it seemed many articles in a row would be negative, and that was a little annoying to read over and over. But that's what opinions and commentaries are for, right? That's definitely what this book is!

Academic scholars and fans will eat up this book of popular articles and critical essays on the queen of pop music. Anyone interested on the phenomenon of "Madonna" should definitely read this. This book provides valuable insight on her career, artistry and impact on on society, (whether you care to admit it or not.) Feminists, gays and lesbians should take note, there is plenty of material here to generate tons of debate on Madonnna's impact for years to come. A VERY VALUABLE AND FAIRLY RECENT RESOURCE!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say that I was disappointed with this book. It seems less about the legends about the selkie folk and more about what the author thinks he might feel about such legends---it feels removed, remote, uncommitted. If he was really on search for the truth behind the stories, he didn't seem to be searching very hard, and he didn't seem to share his results particularly successfully, and I never really felt touched by any sense of Celtic other-worldliness---and that's what I was hoping for and waiting for. The introduction by Seamus Heaney was, alas, the best part of the book...

I was fifteen when I first read this book, in 1967. I had never heard any of the Selchie legends, and I was completely enchanted by them, and by Thomson's writing. He doesn't just retell these tales; he finds those people who still tell them, and lets them speak for themselves. We hear about how they lived then, and how they live now, showing how beautiful some of the old ways were, and how sad their loss is. I have re-read it many times since and, as I get older, I find more in it that speaks to me. It should be impossible to feel nostalgia for something you have never experienced, but Thomson has managed to fill me with that emotion. I'm thrilled that it is back in print again (my copy is worn thin!) and that the celebrated poet Seamus Heaney has written the new foreword.

This is one of the most marvelous (in all senses of the word) reading experiences I've had in a long time. Thomson's book was originally published in the 1950's, but had fallen out of print and was resurrected through the efforts of Seamus Heaney, a friend of the author's who also provides a very helpful introduction. As a child, Thomson became fascinated by legends of seals who transform themselves into human beings (or vice versa), and in pursuit of this interest he traveled into remote areas of Scotland and Ireland where these legends were still part of the living folk tradition. But in the 1940's the tradition was dying out: the educational system pressured children to speak English rather than Gaelic, and listening to the radio had superseded traditional entertainments such as storytelling. Thomson's chapters depict a way of life that was already disappearing; he conveys not only the stories themselves but the entire "flavor" of the storytelling -- the people who tell them, the phraseology they use, their audiences, and the smoky cottages and fishy seaside shacks where the stories are told. His summary of the seal legends is fascinating, but the greatest pleasure of the book, for me, was its evocation of the world in which the legends arose. I can't recommend this book highly enough. (Suggested listening to accompany the final chapter: "The Song of the Seals" from Matt Molloy's album "Shadows on Stone.")

I was so looking forward to reading this book, but it turned out to be not at all what I expected. Perhaps I'm too used to a more conventional style of biography, but I found "Rosebud" hard to get through. As fascinating a person as Orson Welles was, parts of this book were still slow going. The author constantly interrupts the narrative with "dialogues" between himself and...himself? The publisher? An imaginary reader? It's hard to say, and seems to be used mostly to insert his own presence into the biography, and to do an end run around any potential libel.

Other unnecessary bits include a whole chapter of this dialogue between the author and his imaginary friend as they watch the first few minutes of "Citizen Kane," and another entire chapter about how the author became a fan of Welles. This is supposed to be a biography of Orson Welles, not a book about how David Thomson feels about Orson Welles, and how Thomson has taught "Citizen Kane" in his class for years, blah blah blah. Every time Welles' own story gets interesting, Thomson pops up to remind you he's there. Ideally, a reader shouldn't be bombarded with the presence of the author in a biography.

There is some interesting information, but the book as a whole is not put together very well.

David Thomson is, now that Pauline Kael is no long with us, arguably the finest film critic writing in English. And this is the Welles book history has waited for, the one only Thomson could write. Not in any way a conventional biography, "Rosebud" is a brilliant meditation on the meaning of Orson Welles' life and art. He might have less stringent champions, but he's probably never had a fairer one. A perfect compliment to Frank Brady's "Citizen Welles" (the best conventional Welles bio) and Peter Bogdanovich's "This is Orson Welles."

David Thompson has written a biography that for the most part seems objective on all accounts. While acknowledging Orson Welles's great genius, he doesn't gloss over the major flaws in his character. Like the tragic figure in Citizen Kane, Welles's seemed to fall because of his own arrogance and indifference to others around him. As a young man in his twenties, Welles seemingly has the world on a string, but either because of ego and the aforementioned arrogance, never seems to learn the important game of diplomacy, whether it be with film executives or some of his talented inner circle. Like a good novel, this biography is an interesting read. It moves along at a nice pace, and the information surrounding Welles's early days in theater and radio are fascinating. The fascination only increases once Welles and Company set off for Hollywood. After inking one of the all-time sweetheart deals that a film studio ever put together, Welles just seems to take it all for granted. He's either alienating friends and executives or just plan goofing off. As a history of the entertainment industry, this book is terrific. As a history of someone who for unknown reasons squandered opportunity after opportunity it's both frustrating and sad. What would American film be today had Welles been a more disciplined individual? We'll never know, but Rosebud helps give us a glimmer of what might have been.

This massive 600+ book is a collection of black and white and color film stills and portraits from 1915 through 2000. Brief captions are provided for each photo. Unlike the previous reviewer, I don't have any objections to the quality of the photos. I think they are quite good and there were several images that I had never seen before. But then again, I do not consider myself an expert on photographic print quality. Overall I don't think that seasoned film lovers will find much new here and it may not be worth the price to you. However, if your library of film books is scant or if you are someone who is just discovering classic movies, then this would be a great purchase. Makes a good coffee table book too!

What I find most interesting is how the standards for beauty change over the years. This book is basically filled with scene stills, portraits, candids and behind-the-scenes images from the movie sets. David Thomson gives his insight in interesting narrative next to each photograph.

The photography is divided into main sections:

1915-1929 Golden Age of Silents
1930s Studio System
1940s The Dream Turns Dark
1950s High Fever in the Atomic Age
1960s Censorship Hangs Loose
1970s The Silver Age
1980s The Space Opera Begins
1990s The Cinema Goes Electronic
2000s The Future, The Meaning

I can't say Hollywood has been the best influence on culture. In fact, one wonders if it has done more harm than good. Eventually you learn how to weed out the good and the bad. Normally, you can tell what you are getting in the first 15 minutes of a movie or by doing research here at Amazon which really is quite educational in itself.

If you are looking for ideas for movies you want to watch, I can't think of a better way to be introduced to classic movies. As you look through the pictures, many movies will strike you as interesting and soon you will be making a list of new fantasy adventures.

This contains photographs from sweet as pie Shirley Temple films to Tom Cruises Mission: Impossible and Lord of the Rings.

The photographs all come from the Kobal Collection, the largest and oldest privately owned movie photo archive in the world, with more than a million images on file.

Impressive!

On first opening this book, I completely lost track of time, and two hours later, realized that I was late for a dinner date. To open this book is to take a magical trip through the history of Hollywood film making. I am a film-lover, so I had been initially sceptical. However, this book does not limit itself to the usual Hollywood cliches and obvious selections. It provides a decade-by-decade analysis of the development of filmmaking in Hollywood from the days of silent films to the present, highlighting those films, directors and actors that it considers influential in contributing to those developments. There are, in addition to those films generally known to all of us and periodically aired on television, many surprise choices, especially among the earlier decades. Do not expect juicy gossip about "stars". This is a book that focuses on actors' performances, and not on their private lives. At the same time, however, the book is very accessible, due to its inspired visual layout, one that avoids the wearyingly familiar images in favor of fresher, more surprising and more thoughtful choices. I found myself wanting to rush to the video store to find those great, but lesser-known older movies that sadly have been forgotten, or of which many of us would, but for such a book, remain unaware.

This huge compendium of journal-like snapshots of the Cinema from the beginning is a fascinating, capsulized visit to the highlights of movies described by year and special interest articles with plenty of pictures and poster art, citing most of the major movies and personalities involved in the motion picture industry including foreign films. Minor irritations only slightly detract from this amazing work. There are glaring black and white photos used for color motion pictures confusing the transition between the history of black and white to technicolor. There is special attention made to Oscar award winners without many of the awards failing to get the detailed attention that they might deserve or at least some guideline as to how the editors picked their film selections. Many of the picture arts and extra photos are given good exposure, yet the reader is left often times wanted to know a bit more about them. Regardless of these faults, "Cinema" remains a gorgeous, easily read masterpiece of film across the years.

I am lucky enough to have happened upon this book as an impressionable youngster. I guard my now-out-of-print copy carefully. In describing his own story, the author seeks to fulfill his dream to live the lifestyle of an old-time mountain man in the North American Rocky Mountains in the 1970s -- not in the great far northern reaches of Alaska, but down in the lower 48 states where men like Jim Bridger once roamed. He followed through with his dream and found himself unable to find what he sought. Instead, he wandered the most elusive and forgotten mountains only to make a disturbing discovery: he was in midst of the transformation of the US wilderness into small tracts of wild land surrounded by encroaching development from power companies, logging interests, private homes and ski resorts...and a country that seemed unmoved by the changes. Lyrically entwined in his story are tidbits of mountain man lore and history. Despite his sickening disappointment of the death of the once vast American wilderness, Thompson makes a personal journey that is wondrous and magical. The book leaves the reader longing for the same quiet discovery that could bring peace into a soul longing for adventure despite the loss of wild lands and creatures that cannot be regained. He made me so green with envy about his adventures that as an adult I have pursued wilderness conservation and the lost wilderness in my own travels, hiking cross country and appreciating the wonders of Nature I discover along the way. This book was pivotal in my life.

Few producers left so much on record as did David O. Selznick, the legendary producer of Gone with the Wind. This bio has something other bios of Selznick did not- a writer/author who had COMPLETE access to Selznick's papers - everything from notes on actors' contracts to his letters, gambling accounts and financial records. Along with that, there is a complete record of the Making of Gone with the Wind, nearly a disaster before it became a record-breaking triumph. The making Gone with the Wind, however, has been chronicled in other, perhaps better, books. I'd recommend this bio for the look at the private life and business moves of Selznick. And it makes for a fascinating book indeed.

This interesting collection of interviews, reviews and articles takes a look at Bowie's career as it was in the early 90s. It includes pieces from the US and UK pess and considers Bowie from all angles, including his stage and screen work. In the main, it avoids showbiz gossip and concentrates on his artistic contribution, although this can get a bit academic at times. Lindsay Kemp talks about his years as Bowie's mime teacher, while Ann Rice and Jon Savage discuss the gender issue. Craig Copetas' observations on Bowie and William Burroughs are fascinating, while the best quotes come from Lester Bangs (on Bowie's fear of flying), journalist Adam Sweeting and the man himself: "I usually don't agree with what I say very much, I'm an awful liar" confesses Bowie. The Bowie Companion is a valuable and interesting contribution to the literature on Bowie as multimedia artist.

This book is great since it doesn't just talk about Bowie, but also about the world around him and what other people were doing. Some of the essays are a little too academic, but they do give some insight into his albums and individual songs. This book is best read after you have listened to his early albums carefully, so that you have your own opinions and can understand what the authors are talking about.

As the other reviewer simply put it, this book is "Interesting, but not essential". That basically sums it up, but if you can find it, I would definately buy it. There's tons of interesting facts on the music and David himself. It's all very interesting material, but I would much rather own an actual biography, such as Loving the Alien.