Product Description
This beautiful collection of poems and photographs of the landscape of Martha's Vineyard is a serene and noble tribute to this lovely island. This book portrays the island's character more than any other volume on the subject, through the combination of Rose Styron's evocative lines and Craig Dripps's stunning images.

Styron evokes the rhythmic waves caressing the beaches, the lighthouses and fairways, and the lantern-lit night. She speaks of the oxen at Brookside Farm, foggy Chilmark Pond, and the limbs of the ancient oak in West Tisbury with a love of place born in the soul and painted in words.

The photographs capture in color the silvered tones of the poetry, conveying the spirit of Martha's Vineyard in all seasons. Feel the bright wash of sunlight during the late summer afternoon and the blustery gusts of autumn-- the life of this enchanted island is palpable in these pages.

KATAMA
This antique landscape rubbed by hand
shines through the mist like silvered hay.
Its hewn rail fence, greyed barn, sweet fields
where dusty birds hide, startled, focus day.
--Rose Styron
... Read more

Product Description

The first comprehensive history of squash in the United States, Squash incorporates every aspect of this increasingly popular sport: men's and women's play, juniors and intercollegiates, singles and doubles, hardball and softball, amateurs and professionals.

Invented by English schoolboys in the 1850s, squash first came to the United States in 1884 when St. Paul's School in New Hampshire built four open-air courts. The game took hold in Philadelphia, where players founded the U.S. Squash Racquets Association in 1904, and became one of the primary pastimes of the nation's elite. Squash launched a U.S. Open in 1954, but its present boom started in the 1970s when commercial squash clubs took the sport public. In the 1980s a pro tour sprung up to offer tournaments on portable glass courts in dramatic locales such as the Winter Garden at the World Trade Center.

James Zug, with access to private archives and interviews with hundreds of players, describes the riveting moments and sweeping historical trends that have shaped the game. He focuses on the biographies of legendary squash personalities: Eleo Sears, the Boston Brahmin who swam in the cold Atlantic before matches; Hashim Khan, the impish founder of the Khan dynasty; Victor Niederhoffer, the son of a Brooklyn cop; and Mark Talbott, a Grateful Dead groupie who traveled the pro circuit sleeping in the back of his pickup. A gripping cultural history, Squash is the book for which all aficionados of this fast-paced, exciting game have been waiting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Squash History
Thoroughly enjoyed reading the background on the creation and evolution of the best sport in the world.Escapes me why it hasn't made it into the Olympics at this point (editorial comment on the state of sport in the world)!!!

Calling all squash junkies!
When I asked the squash pro at my club if he'd read Zug's book, he turned up his nose. He found much of the material self-indulgent. As for me- a person who took up the sport at a time when many others my age have retired their rackets - I admired the quality of Zug's writing and the way he unraveled the story of the game's evolution. I dug those historical tidbits (did you know the Titanic had a squash court?) and the tales of some of the sport's more eccentric players.Yeah, sure, there were some parts of SQUASH which "hit the nick and died" for me, but no big deal. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has been bitten by the SQUASH bug.

A Great Read

"Squash: A History of the Game" was a very interesting read, and I especially recommend it for all players of Squash. Although dense at points, this book really gives a great history of how squash came to be. James Zug takes us through the transformation from a game named fives, first played against a kitchen chimeny wall, to raquets made from bamboo sticks, to the regulation size courts and oversized hyper titanium raquets we know today. It even explained why "Squash" is called squash, the mysterious question that nobody on my team seems to know the answer to. Im not going to tell you however, you'll have to read it on your own. Like I said before, I belive this book is more enjoyable for squash players. This is just my opinion however, so if you don't play squash I still suggest you try reading this book.

Well anyway thats my 2 cents. Altogether I think this book is definitly a great read, and definitly very useful as a reference if you are writing an essay on the history of squash. Four star material.

-Jalper

North Am Squash
The title of the book is misleading - it is purely about North American squash history.

I was expecting write ups on recognized international greats and found nothing.

Instant Classic of a Mine Unworked
This book, as the forward by the late George Plimpton indicates, is the first comprehensive history of American squash, and it is a hard act to follow.As such it is pretty much assured "instant classic" status.

Problems with the book:1) The title does not indicate that it is a history of squash in America.Except for the very early history of squash in England, do not expect to find much outside the U.S. and Canada.2) It is written for the squash player, and will be difficult to read for outsiders--except perhaps as a reference.

Good things about the book:Everything else. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Look Back at a Different Era of Football
The name of the book says it all. Then, the make it or break it training camp started in July. Today, training camps don't even start until August. Bill Curry details one more training camp in the mid-70s as his distinguished football career was coming to an end. At 230lbs, Curry would be an undersized strong safety in 2009, but in the 60s and early 70s he was an all-star center on championship teams. Articulate and interesting, Curry gives hints why he became such a good coach and commentator after he retired. And, of course, having George Plimpton as your writing sidekick never hurts.

Best& funniest football story!
If you're into football, like entertainment stories (fact), this is a must read.I read this book back in the early 1990's & it is just the best.i still have my copy & reread it once a year.Still makes me chuckle.I am now ordering a few more copies, for my football friends.It's a cross country (in a car) interview with Bill Curry (Center for Green Bay) & George Plimpton.Includes an interlude with Sandy Kofax, among other game athletic stars.(Interesting & funny read!)This is at least one of my all time favorite books, if not my favorite!!Do not miss, if you love football. ... Read more

Product Description
Signature Flowers showcases 100 flowers drawn by celebrated movie stars, artists, musicians, writers, and more.

Victoria Leacock has chosen these very special "autographs" from her unique twenty-year collection.Complete with biographies of the contributors and fascinating stories behind select drawings, Signature Flowers is a one-of-a-kind garden of perennials.

Victoria Leacock will donate thirty percent of her proceeds to Love Heals, the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education and to the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR).

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful book
This is a beautiful book to keep and to give. The drawings are very interesting and beautiful, some of them are very basic sketches, some are complex artistic works, but all of them have one thing in common: they were drawn with lots of love. And that shows. Thank you for this book Ms Leacock!

A great person and a great book
This book is absolutely great.Kids of all ages enjoy looking at the flowers that were drawn by the many famous stars that appear in it.I personally know Victoria and the work that she put into the book.There are stories in it that will make you cry, like the Alison Gertz story.It is very heartwarming.Thirty percent of the profits go to the Aid foundation known as Love heals which is absolutely great.

A beautiful book to keep forever.
A very beautifully well put together book.Not only are the drawings interesting, the text that goes along with them as Ms. Leacock remembers the acquiring of the flowers will make you laugh and cry. The wide range ofcelebrities drawings of flowers is quite amazing (authors, directors,actors, etc.). That Ms. Leacock would share these very personalrememberances make it quite touching.Makes a wonderful gift for anyoneand you will want to display it on your coffee table forever. The fact thata large percentage of the proceeds is going to AIDS charities is even morespecial.

Check out what Leonardo drew!
What a cool book!Who knew all these celebrities could also draw!I bought 2 copies.One for myself and one as a gift for Christmas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A social view of New York at the end of the century.
This book is intresting by showing New York trough the season and everyday life (street scene, political meeting, people ...). But pictures are too gray and compare to the works that have been done by other photographers onthis extrodinary city we could have expect a more beautiful graphism,beautiful pictures and a higher quality of the print (see the great exampleof "Signs" from Walker Evans)

great
I love this book my aunt and unclemade i

Stunning work!
Mr. Ginzburg for me has captured the thing that is New York. I got several of these books as gifts for friends going to the City for the first time. It is much easier than trying to tell them about a city they'll onlyexperience a small piece of.

Fantastic - Pure New York
What a phenomenal journey through the greatest city on Earth.Mr. Ginzburg has captured the essence of New York.You must see this book.

How do you capture a thousand stories? With a picture!
Beauty, ugliness, joy, tragedy, humor, on and on, and on, Mr. Ginzburg trains his eye on a tiny slice of time and captures in only a few frames the moments, people and places that make New York one of the greatestcities in the world. This book should be in the cornerstone time capsulesof all new buildings in New York, as well as an heirloom essetial for everyNew Yorker's private library. With sharp writing and dynamic visuals theteam of Ginzburg and Ginzburg have done it again. If you love New York, orjust excellent photography, this book is a must have. ... Read more

Product Description
Celebrated journalist and author George Plimpton sets out to find that elusive quality--which he calls the "X Factor"--that all winners, from famous athletes to successful CEOs, seem to possess. In a quest both hilarious and informative, Plimpton corners sports superstars, famous coaches, successful businesspeople, and others, putting to each the same question: What is it that allows an individual, or a team, to outperform competitors who are no less gifted, mentally and physically? Media pubilcity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Perfect Saturday Afternoon Read
Something about Plimpton's writing, his lack of adjectives I think, makes for quick reading.I read this in one sitting and laughed through a lot of it.This little book is Plimpton wandering around the country asking famous athletes and CEOs for advice on his upcoming horseshoes rematch against then-president George H W Bush. He asks each of these people, including Bush, what it is that makes them succeed in what they do. It's not hard work, practice, or innate abilities but rather some "ingredient... a potion that people in all walks of life would go to extravagant lengths to obtain if it came in a small earthenware jug corked at its mouth." In the process of interviewing people around the country he loses badly to Billie Jean King at tennis, discovers that his athletic stature most resembles a bull, and kicks it around Camp David. Classic Plimpton, and a unique look at Bush the husband and father.Read it on a rainy day. ... Read more

Product Description
The third installment in the Modern Library's Paris Review "Writers at Work" series, this is an all-new gathering of interviews with the most important and compelling playwrights of our time. Their singular takes on their craft, their influences, their lives, the state of contemporary theater, and the tricks of the trade create an illuminating and unparalleled record of the life of the theater itself.

"At its best,theater is an antidote to the whiff of barbarity in the millennial air. 'My feeling is that people in a group, en masse, watching something, react differently, and perhaps more profoundly, than they do when they're alone in their living rooms,' Arthur Miller says here. In the dark, facing the stage, surrounded by others, the paying customer can let himself go; he is emboldened. The theatrical encounter allows a member of the public to think against received opinions. He can submerge himself in the extraordinary, admit his darkest, most infantile wishes, feel the pulse of the contemporary, hear the sludge of street talk turned into poetry. This enterprise can be joyous and dangerous; when the theater's game is good and tense, it is both."
--from the Introduction by John Lahr ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

WORTH BUYING
It feels like these playwrights opened up to the interviewer in a big way.

Palywrights definitely Work
I had to read this book for my Playwriting class, and it helped me when I later went on to read each playwright's work. I think that it gives an excellent inside look at these playwrights' lives. It was not the most entertaining, and some interviews seemed to drag on, but for the most part, it gave a very detailed, in-depth look at these playwrights and their work.

An inspiring work!
I bought this series of interviews in hopes of discovering more about these playwrights' points of view on writing.I was pleasantly startled to find that their stories were inspiring, as well.As a young playwright, I find the business of theatre rather disheartening.Egos are batted around much like cricket birdies, while fad and fashion dictate what is theatrically acceptable.These playwrights coped with the same obstacles, with great success.I found it interesting that each playwright had his/her own particular challenges to confront, and that one theme, throughout all the interviews, was constant: writing a play is akin to facing one's own soul, and a playwright has to confront the mirror dead-on and keep going.

A wonderful read.

Playwrights at Work Succeeds
This book is excellent for teachers of theatre, or really for anyone whois interested in the inner workings of a playwright.Its only down-fall isthat the playwrights themselves were sometimes less than forth-coming withanswers we all want to know:HOW DOES THE PLAY GET ON THE PAGE??? However, it is very interesting in that we get into the heads of some veryfamous playwrights and shows us a personal side.I could barely put itdown because I've read and taught these playwrights for years, but now havepersonal insight into their work and lives. ... Read more

Product Description
Film has become central to all our lives--our most popular,influential, and hotly-debated mode of storytelling. This volume isthe second in a prestigious new annual series that collects the year'sbest writing about the cinema. Includes essays, profiles, reviews,interviews, and more.Amazon.com Review
Libby Gelman-Waxner's hilarious look at BarbraStreisand's The Mirror Has Two Facesalone is worth thecover price of this book. "Ms." Gelman-Waxner's loving,dead-on, and intensely cruel skewering of Streisand's ego is funnyeven if you're the biggest Streisand fan in the world, asGelman-Waxner is. If you want more, there's screenwriter Evan Hunter'sglorious recollections of his days with AlfredHitchcock, Jill Robinson's chilling portrait of RomanPolanski, and essays by such luminaries as Alice Walker, MartinScorcese, and GeorgePlimpton.While I was sorry to see nothing by Anthony Lane, the23 essays in this book are all good reading, well chosen by editorPlimpton, who can be forgiven even for including himself because hispiece is one of the best. --James DiGiovanna ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

totally enjoyable and addictive
This book is a lot of fun and really enjoyable reading.The Barbra thing is a hoot!This apparently is the first of an annual series - I can't wait till next year!

first-rate
There are some wonderful essays in here. Two of the best include one aboutproducing by a producer who worked for Robert Redford. Very interestinglook at the producing life, which I've rarely seen written about. Andanother utterly fascinating essay by a homosexual who explains whyhomosexuals idolize tough, bitchy, ballsy female stars like Madonna andStreisand and Judy Garland. I've always wondered why homosexuals wouldidolize these type women (why women, they love men?) and this essay is anarticluate glimpse into the homosexual mind. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
On the surface, the idea of a swimming anthology may seem allwet, but as with swimming itself, a whole lot more goes on beneath thesurface than meets the eye. Laurel Blossom, a poet by trade, hasassembled a remarkably eclectic group of writers that, one afteranother, builds a volume of short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry thatworks together like a medley relay team unified by a singlepursuit. The peripatetic George Plimpton dips his toes in for thepreface to this "melange of stories, reminiscences, and accounts byvarious folk--some champions, some not--sporting, competing, whateverin swimming pools, bays, lakes, oceans" before handing off to thelikes of, among others, Ray Bradbury, Maxine Kumin, John Cheever,Olympic gold medalists Dawn Fraser and Don Schollander, Jack London,Anne Sexton, and John Updike. The thought of reading the words ofthese fine writers should have you jumping eagerly into the deep endof the marvelous literary pool they've created. --JeffSilverman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Splash captures how swimming transforms us.
I got this book for Christmas two years ago and I finished reading it the next day.The anthology captures an essential truth about swimming -- when we immerse ourselves in water there's an opportunity for transformation. Some of the swimmers suffer pain and agony, others find courage, and othersexperience bliss.But each swimmer emerges from the water different ineach story, as will the reader when they finish this book.

inspiring
I bought this book last year.I have been a swimmer for sixteen of my 21 years and have never found literature that really captured the way I felt about swimming.It helped me understand why I love my sport when theseason got hard.It helped me, as captain of my team, to articulate theemotional and physical pain that a swimmer goes through.Often we findourselves wishing the pain wasn't there, but some of these stories remindus that it's part of being a swimmer.I also read passages to the teamthat reminded us of the wonderful sensation of being in the water.Wewouldn't trade it for the world.

Move and Breathe on the land as in the water.
Swimming emphasizes the importance of breathing. Water takes no offense but gives no quarter. Swimming allows us to feel at home in our coats of skin.Swimming gives rise to thoughts which express our experience in the water.Swimming is the thing itself wherein all benefits are in the moment of immerision ... Read more

Product Description
Marking a crucial phase in the author's life and career, Roughing It recounts Twain's experiences in the Territory of Nevada, recalling the boisterous days on the frontier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Mildly entertaining however long
This book is not one that you will sit down and read over a weekend.It is a slow reader, however the chapters are relativly short.There is typical Mark Twain humor, which I love.I wish there was more of his wit in the book.Not my favorite book by him, but for the love of the author, I read on!

Real wisdom and humor from a real American

After reading piles of books about politics, the Bush Administrations, the collapse of the US dollar, the collapse of the US.... I needed to regain my sanity. These books are not allowed in my bedroom. Instead I have Mark Twain's "Roughing It" beside my bed and am starting to recover.

Satyricon of the West
Before Clint Eastwood tore apart the mythic West in Unforgiven, Mark Twain's travelogue/novel portrayed the West as a humorous, amorally violent, rapacious, and racist land of opportunity, not all of it good.Most people would characterize the West like that now: testament to the staying power of Twain's prose. The "Genuine Mexican Plug" and "Lost in the Snow" episodes are magnificient.Roughing It also acts as a satirical outrider for Huck Finn.If you want the feel of a stage-coach, read the first section whenever you travel, just as George Plimpton does in his Introduction ... Read more

Product Description

Collected and edited by Pauline Ames Plimpton, his daughter, and with a Foreword by George Plimpton, his grandson, these journals, letters and diaries, written in the first half of the century, give a vivid autobiographic picture of the era. Oakes Ames was one of the group of extraordinary teachers that Harvard drew to its faculty under Eliot and Lowell; he devoted his life to the study and teaching of Botany and became a world authority on orchids and economic botany, directing the Botanical Museum and the Arnold Arboretum. The book gives a description of family life in Boston and the small town of North Easton, Massachusetts, as well as the experiences of travel in those early days. The main theme is his love of nature, whether in collecting orchids or acquiring land for his home. It is a book to be savored by those interested in the University, in orchidology and in the striking contrasts between the past and the present. His austerity of character and his subtle, surprising humor and insights are particularly relevant for the present time.

Product Description
Originally published in 1919. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Classic Plimpton
This is a fun little book even if you know only a shred about baseball. It's a wonderful story about the thoughts in people's minds and of their experiences as they are part of a momentous event...be it a part from a distance or from practical participation. There are tornado warnings (literally), bad luck at the concession stand, and a truly hilarious event involving an oblivious telephone operator. From an entertainment aspect, it may include a limited amount of volume for a novice fan, but as a baseball junkie and from an historical AND entertainment perspective...a copy of this book was one of my father's most precious childhood gifts. ... Read more

Product Description
An all-star collection of the best fiction and nonfiction writing about baseball's most exciting momentThe game of baseball is full of moments of greatness. But no moment during a game elicits the roar of the crowd as does the hitting of a home run. And, as witnessed during the past few seasons, home-run fever has swept the fans and the players. Now George Plimpton, famed sports amateur and chronicler of the game of baseball-among many other sports-collects the best writing about the moment a home run is hit. From a memoir of Ted Williams's 1946 All-Star game homer to a fictional visit Babe Ruth made to Lake Wobegon, from Mark McGwire's 69th and 70th home runs to Hank Aaron's pursuit of the Babe's record to Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World," we see the effects on the athletes and the fans of that ineffable moment when wood hits leather and the ball sails out over the stands. This delightful and absorbing collection is the most complete, most authoritative, and most compelling assemblage of home-run writing ever put together.Includes glorious prose by John Updike, Don DeLillo, Roger Angell, Paul Gallico, Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Robert Creamer, Garrison Keillor, Donald Hall, Rick Reilly, and Rick Telander, among others.Amazon.com Review
The ideal pitch for a hitter is a fastball that hangs over the plate long enough to be knocked beyond the outfield fence. Home Run, a literary tribute to batters with a knack for the long ball, presents accounts of some of the most famous home runs in baseball history.

In this smart collection edited by George Plimpton, some of the best writers on baseball (Robert W. Creamer, Roger Angell) and some of the best American writers, period (Don DeLillo, John Updike), provide unique portraits of famous sluggers (Ruth, Williams, Aaron, and Josh Gibson, to name a few), their myths, and the circumstances of famous home runs (with nods to the pitchers who served them up). And as a bonus, Plimpton includes a chronology describing a century's worth of milestones.

These writers do vastly more than document baseball history: they write about something they love, and write with conviction. For example, Japanese ballplayer Sadaharu Oh, who hit 868 career homers (to Aaron's 755), describes the feeling of hitting one out in "A Zen Way of Baseball": "As the ball makes its high, long arc beyond the playing field, the diamond and the stands suddenly belong to one man. In that brief, brief time you are free of all demands and complications.... In this moment [you] are free." --Michael Ferch ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Home Run Review by Sam Boucher
The History of baseball has had some great moments and some great players, and Home Run is a great book for any one who wants to relive the experience. Home Run is a special kind of book because it doesn't have just one genre. Home Run actually splits into the 3 genres of fiction, non-fiction, and biography. Now some people might not like the idea of having a lot of different genres in one book, but it is an interesting concept and if you like reading about funny "after the game" stories while learning about your favorite players, then you should be satisfied. The first part of the book talks about some interesting stories that never happened which should satisfy most people looking for a good story, while the second part of the book talks about stuff that actually happened, giving new readers knowledge and the older readers nostalgia. Throughout the whole book, information about the former baseball stars, giving indication of biography. However as the book goes on, reading all the small text is difficult if you don't have enough light. The book can also be rather boring if you aren't the biggest fan of baseball. If you are a baseball fan, then this book is a must have, but if you aren't then this book is considered okay if you need some time to waste during the weekend.

collection of baseball stories with a home run theme
Interesting writers like George Plimpton and Garrison Keillor join with some of the great baseball writers of all time to put together a collection of fact and fiction centering around the excitement of the home run.Plimpton is the editor and he also contributes Chapter 1 which covers the history of the home run and the single season home run record.

Plimpton is not a sports writer but he made his entry into sports writing with the story Paper Lion, a true story about his experience as he attempts to play football for the real Detroit Lions.After that he became recognized as one who writes about sports.

This is a great collection with some articles that should interest every baseball fans,As the other amazon reviewer says, he found that the stories he didn't could easily be skipped.I do not see a single story that is not interesting to me.

Good compilation
Good stuff from Angell, Reilly, Rice, Smith and Telander. And the vital essay by Updike.

Could have done without the fictional excerpts about the Babe and Thomson, but the great thing about collections like these is the parts you don't like are easy to skip. ... Read more