Customer Reviews (2)

The special quality of the Paris Review interviews
Long before the age of endless hype by multi- media means readers hungered for more details about the writing lives of their favorite writers. The Paris Review chose first- rate writers, and asked them intelligent questions about their own writing practice. As I understand it did not rely on the conversations alone, but enabled the writer to look at the transcript of the initial talk and rewrite. Thus what the reader was given was a really polished literary document. And the interviews supplied many fascinating details. One from this collection I particularly remember was with Hemingway who spoke about his famous sharpening of his pencils, and his rewriting thirty- nine times the ending of I believe ' A farewell to Arms' and his belief that what every writer needed is 'a good sh.. detector'.
A truly excellent series for all those who care about writing as ' craft' and as 'art'.

This should be re-published
It's a damn shame that this eight-part series published by Penguin and edited by George Plimpton and Malcolm Cowley is no long available.This series is truely one-of-a-kind, and the quality of the writers who participated will likely never be duplicated.These remarkable interviews by the Paris Review explore the motivations, habits, and techniques employed by some of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

This second work in the series includes interviews with Ezra Pound, Hemingway, Huxley, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Henry Miller, Boris Pasternak, and Katherin Anne Porter, just to name a few.The intelligence and imagination of both the interviewee and interviewers comes shining through, and the reader is kept continually entertained.If you can get your hands on a used copy, I heartily urge you to do so. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of writings on sports covers everything from baseball, to snorkeling, to race car driving, and includes essays by Roger Angell, Mark Twain, W. P. Kinsella, John McPhee, Ring Lardner, James Joyce, Don DeLillo, and many others.Amazon.com Review
You know the old desert island game that lets you pick onlyone book as company for the rest of your days? Most folks pick theBible or Shakespeare, but if sports are your game, you'll need go nofurther than this sports anthology. Sure, there are better collectionsof golf and baseball, but no one book sweeps across the vast landscapeof the sporting scene with such breadth--and depth--as this lively,essential volume. It begins with a terrific essay by the peripateticPlimpton riffing on his "Small Ball" theory, and just gets better fromthere. You want a heavyweight lineup? How's about one that includesMark Twain, Donald Hall, A.J. Liebling, Sir Edmund Hillary, JohnMcPhee, Roger Angell, the Wolfes (Tom and Thomas), James Joyce, CarlSandburg, Maxine Kumin, Ring Lardner, John Updike, Red Smith, GayTalese, and Robert Penn Warren? You want all-star selections? How'sabout William Hazlitt's "The Fight," Roger Kahn's "The Crucial RoleFear Plays in Sports," Wilfred Sheed's "The Old Man and the Tee," TomMcGuane's "The Longest Silence," Paul Gallico's "The Feel," andUpdike's monumental "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu." With stuff like that forcompany, you just might look forward to the marooning. --JeffSilverman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great sports book.
This is a master work of editing. There are dozens of stories, both fiction and non-fiction that are the best of their kind. Topping the List is Tom Wolfe's The Last American Hero about auto racer Junior Johnson. Edmund Hillary's tale of his trip up Mount Everest is fascinating as is Bill Russell's inside story of clutch players and cowards in the NBA. Of the hundreds of sports books I have read this is one of the two best. The other being a similar anthology by Al and Brian Silverman. ... Read more

Product Description
The art of action photography and portraiture is brilliantly displayed in this stunning collection of Neil Leifer's best color and black-and-white images.

From sports to politics and from celebrities to celebrations, Neil Leifer has traversed the world since 1960, capturing major events for Sports Illustrated, Time, Life, Newsweek, and other leading publications. His artistry, composition, and unerring instinct for photographing just the right moment are evident in the memorable pictures included here. Among his best-known images are a triumphant Muhammed Ali defeating Sonny Liston, thought to be the best sports picture of all time; a dazzling Kristi Yamaguchi in midair on her way to Olympic gold; Michael "air" Jordan slam-dunking; and countless other sports superstars. For decades Leifer has attended premier sports events, and the photographs he has taken at them allow us to have ringside seats at many of the most exciting competitions of the last half of the 20th century.

But as this collection amply displays, Leifer also offers awesome views of many non-sporting subjects, including popes, presidents, prisoners, African wildlife, aircraft carriers, and Hollywood celebrities. Accompanying the images are Leifer's lively, anecdotal accounts of the events and personalities he has photographed, as well as an insightful introduction by George Plimpton. Filled with familiar faces, extraordinary events, and evocative scenes, this mesmerizing book will be a prized gift for anyone interested in sports or great photography.

Other Details:
173 illustrations, 139 in full color. 256 pages. 11 x 11" trim size. Published in 2001. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Classic of Sports Photography
If you enjoy classic sports or are a photography buff this book is a "must have". It is well written and the images are incredible. Neil Leifer has seen so many of the great sports events of our generation and his images truly are amazing. It is one thing to attend an event and another entirely to tell the story with photos.

ACelebration of American Photojournalism
More than just a good-looking coffee table book, and much more than simply a book of sports photography, this is a celebration of American photojournalism in the last half of the 20th century. When I first leafed through it, I was amazed at how many iconic photographs were taken by just one man. Leifer has a gift, and we are fortunate that he is willing and able to share it with us. Highly recommended.

More than just a sports book
The image on the cover of the book is perhaps the most famous sports image of the 20th Century. While at Sports Illustrated, Neil made incredible pictures by capturing the "decisive moment" in sports both on and off the field. But many people do not realize that Leifer also covered celebrities and political events for other publications. This book is long overdue and should place Leifer on everyone's top ten list of great documentary photographers. A must have for photography book collectors and popular culture fans. ... Read more

Product Description
Published just in time for graduation day, this inspiring collection of commencement addresses celebrates the value of education, and its crucial place in the weaving of our social fabric. By turns playful and profound, Graduation Day includes speeches from Jodi Foster, Russell Baker, Alice Walker, Robert Redford, Bill Clinton, Ann Richards, Toni Morrison, and others. This unique anthology will be well cherished long after graduation day. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not too bad, but not the best
A commencement speech is suppose to take care of the needs of the graduates, not the near or long term expediency of the speakers. There are too many speeches in this book that are plainly the PR for the speakers. I have no objections to speakers speaking the things that are dear and near to their hearts. What I think the speakers should have done is to put their own wants aside and consider what the best is for the graduating seniors and use that as a starting point for composing their speeches.

With this said, there are a few good ones in this book: The speeches by Ted Turner, Madeleine Albright, Ronald Regan, and especially Ross Perot.

The best book so far on graduation speeches is "Graduation Moments."

What a great idea!
I laughed, I cried! There is so much in this book! Good advice, humor,perfect not just for grads but for kids just heading off to college whowonder just what they can expect. pretty motivating and inspirational. Great collection!

Fun and inspiring
A funny and uplifting collection by interesting people. There were plentyof times I laughed out loud and felt inspired. I only wish I'd had one ofthese folks speak at my graduation! ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1908.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 (2)

Interesting and available for free on the Internet
All the Paris Review interview volumes are interesting. This one is no doubt no exception.
But I wonder if this in any way matters anymore. All the Paris Review interviews ( from all the eight volumes) are available for free online. What sense then does it make to think of this project in terms of 'eight volumes of interviews'? There are three- hundred reviews available .
What this means in relation to the way we read about reality is a question many people are addressing now, and to which I have no special answer of my own.

Brilliance
A collection in which each article contains at least one essential guide for life. Though diverse in experience and outlook' all these writers truly know the reasonong behind their work. They pass on the reason to live. ... Read more

Product Description
The tranquil life Truman Capote led in the quiet enclave of Brooklyn Heights in the 1950s and 1960s stood in sharp contrast to the glittering scene he adored in Manhattan. Intimate and wry, A House on the Heights vividly evokes the neighborhood that Capote came to know well and described as one of Brooklyn’s “splendid contradictions.” Its denizens, including a celebrated Russian spy, a globe-trotting antiquarian, and a cat-rescuing dowager with a pointed social agenda bring to life the Brooklyn that cast its spell over Capote. In A House on the Heights he meanders through a special time and place still recognizable today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A walk with Truman
Short, descriptive, life in Brooklyn Heights as seen through Capote's keenest of powers of observation. A lot of space between the lines invites reading between the lines . . . . Plimpton's intro is as Fun as the little book.

Stocking Stuffer of a Book
Yes, it is a tiny book.Even though I read the review here that mentions that, when it arrived this week I was surprised.It is something he wrote for a magazine way back when.The Brooklyn he wrote about has changed, yet again.Did any of us think we would live to see Brooklyn become so expensive you couldn't afford to live there!It has happened, my friends.This book is a history of the borough and the area.NYC changes like the fall leaves.It grows and grows and changes and changes.He captured the Brooklyn of his time so elloquently you feel as if he lived 100 years ago.I am going to give this book to all my friends for the December holidays.It will fit nicely in a Christmas stocking.Truman Capote's books, now more than ever, are a must read.Other than Dominick Dunne, who do we have that writes so well and transports us to these exotic places with exotic people we would never have an opportunity to meet?You will put this book in a special place so everyone can see it.I already have.

Don't need to save much time for this small gem
I'll post a more extensive review later, when I've had time to do more than scan the book.But I want to warn buyers that it's a very slim, undersized book of only 43 pages, with lots of space between the lines.If Capote was paid by the word for this article-turned-book, he didn't make much.

Another winner by Capote...
I rated this one four stars because I can't help compare it to my two personal favourites, 'Music For Chameleons' and 'In Cold Blood.'
Nonetheless, this book has all the beautiful Capote observations in it as well. Whenever Capote describes something or someone I am completely amazed. The visuals he brings forth in the readers mind are like no other. This one's a quick read. I was a lil' angry it was short because I wanted more beautiful sentences.

classic
Only reason I'm docking it a star is the typically tiresome bloviations of gadabout dilettante Georgie in the introduction.The presence of Georgie between the same covers as Truman might have some value for bulmics, but to me it's just repulsive.Beloved Truman wrote all too little, and Georgie keeps typing, typing, typing!When will it all end? ... Read more

Product Description
Sixteen of the world's great women writers speak about their work, their colleagues, and their lives.

For More Than Forty Years, the acclaimed Paris Review interviews have been collected in the Writers at Work series. The Modern Library relaunches the series with the first of its specialized collections -- interviews with sixteen women novelists, poets, and playwrights, all offering rich commentary on the art of writing and on the opportunities and challenges a woman writer faces in contemporary society.

"The editors and interviewers of the Writers at Work series have become curators of live genius, marvelous literary taxidermists who have discovered a way to mount the great minds of their day without the usual killing and stuffing, to preserve them for all time. Surely this is now one of the single most persistent acts of cultural conservation in the history of the world, and one of our great national resources."

-- Joe David Bellamy,

Writing at the End of the Millennium

"Aspiring writers should read the entire canon of literature that precedes them, back to the Greeks, up to the current issue of The Paris Review."

-- William Kennedy

"It is a safe bet that thirty and even three hundred years from now these conversations will be invaluable to students of twentieth-century literature."

-- TimeAmazon.com Review
"What is it about interviews that attracts us?" Margaret Atwood asks in herintroduction to this collection of 16 interviews from The ParisReview. "Specifically, what is it about interviews with writers?"Women Writers at Work may not answer that question, but it raisesmany, many more--and allows the writers included in this volume to speak forthemselves. For decades the Paris Review has been interviewingauthors of both genders and every literary stripe, and many of theseinterviews have been collected together in volumes like this one. This,however, is the first time the Writers at Work series has dedicated itselfto one gender only. In this volume readers will find insightful interviewswith Marianne Moore, Katherine Anne Porter, Rebecca West, Dorothy Parker,P.L. Travers, Simone de Beauvoir, Eudora Welty, Elizabeth Bishop, MaryMcCarthy, Nadine Gordimer, Maya Angelou, Anne Sexton, Toni Morrison, SusanSontag, Joan Didion and Joyce Carol Oates.

The Paris Review is famous for getting authors to open up. Thesubjects here offer honest, often provocative opinions about themselves(Dorothy Parker on her humorous verses: "I read my verses now and I ain'tfunny. I haven't been funny for twenty years"); each other (Mary McCarthyon "women writers": "Katherine Anne Porter? Don't think she really is--Imean her writing is certainly very feminine, but I would say that therewasn't the 'WW' business in Katherine Anne Porter"); and writing itself(Toni Morrison: "What makes me feel I belong here, out in this world, isnot the teacher, not the mother, not the lover but what goes on in my mindwhen I'm writing"). The end result is a fascinating glimpse into thesewriters' minds and works. --Margaret Prior ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nectar and Wormwood
Most readers will first of all be most drawn to the photographs of the sixteen women writers interviewed in The Paris Review's Women Writers at Work. But there are other visual clues to the personalities of the women whose words we are about to read, including a swift evocation of the writer in her lair--her view, her books, her style, her looks--along with a page from a work-in-progress, often heavily annotated.

Rebecca West's page is decorated with line after line of a script so microscopic it looks like miniature embroidery while Anne Sexton's poem is uncorrected and drifts definitely eastward. The manuscript page submitted by P.L. Travers has a drawing of a snail posed against a beach of text while Elizabeth Bishop's page looks untidy and musical. Mary McCarthy's page, on the other hand, has been typewritten, and of its five corrections, three have been typed in, with the consequence that we are given very little sense of how she works when she's alone and feeling spontaneous. And yet the interview with McCarthy is marvellously opinionated and candid; she also gives an intriguing answer to the interviewer who asks her what she thinks of the category "woman writer" by first defining a certain kind of "woman writer" (WW, as she puts it): "I think they become interested in decor. You notice the change in Elizabeth Bowen. Her early work in much more masculine. Her later work has much more drapery in it."

And so it's with apologies to Mary McCarthy that this reviewer is going to do what the WW's do and describe--in the present tense although many of the writers are now dead--some of the living arrangement of several of the writers in Women Writers at Work: P.L. Travers' front door is pink, the same pink as the cover of Mary Poppins at Cherry Tree Lane, and in her hallway there's an antique rocking horse. In Rebecca West's hallway there a drawing of her by Wyndham Lewis, done in the thirties. ("Before the ruin.") Toni Morrison's office at Princeton is decorated with a large Helen Frankenthaler print, pen-and-ink drawings that an architect did of all the houses that appear in Morrison's work, a few framed book-jacket covers and a note of apology from Hemingway, a forgery meant as a joke. Susan Sontag lives in a nearly unfurnished apartment in Manhattan, but she is the owner of over 15,000 books. Eudora Welty will not discuss her private life and is, in any case, interviewed in a hotel room. And Maya Angelou can only work in hotel rooms; she insists that the staff take down all the pictures and she will not permit the maids to come in to change the pillow cases and sheets.

Are any of these writers poor? They don't seem to be. With the possible exception of Dorothy Parker who says, "I hate almost all rich people, but I think I would be darling at it." Parker also shares a small New York City apartment with a youthful poodle that has the run of the place and has caused it to look, as she apologetically says, "somewhat Hogarthian."

In their opinions of other writers they are both scathing and generous; Dorothy Parker says she so much wants to write well, "though I know I don't. But during and at the end of my life I will adore those who have." Marianne Moore says of William Carlos Williams, "He is willing to be reckless; if you can't be that, what's the point of the whole thing?" Susan Sontag responds to being asked if she minds being called an intellectual by saying "Well, one never likes to be called anything. And I suppose there will always be a presumption of graceless oddity--especially if one is a woman." Nadine Gordimer feels that the solitude of writing is "quite frightening. It's quite close, sometimes, to madness.. the ordinary action of taking a dress down to the dry cleaner's.. is a very sane and good thing to do." Elizabeth Bishop tells us that when she was a student at Vassar she believed that if she ate a lot of cheese before going to bed she would have fascinating dreams; this conviction led to her keeping a huge hunk of Roquefort cheese in the bottom of her bookcase. Anne Sexton, speaking of Robert Lowell's gifts as a teacher, says that he "worked with a cold chisel, with no more mercy than a dentist. He got out the decay, but if he was never kind to a poem, he was kind to the poet."

Marianne Moore talks of her longing to write plays. "To me the theatre is the most pleasant, in fact my favourite, form of recreation."

INTERVIEWER: Do you go often?

MOORE: No, never.

Rebecca West, at the time of her interview, is in her late eighties. She wears a bright caftan; her eyes are penetrating; she wears two pairs of spectacles on chains like necklaces; she wears beautiful rings. She is also too old to monitor herself, and so she's a particular delight to read. She thinks T. S. Eliot a poseur and says of Somerset Maugham, "He couldn't write for toffee, bless his heart." But when the conversation moves on to Arnold Bennett and the interviewer tells West that her reviews of Bennett's work were absolutely sparkling--"I love the essay you wrote about The Uncles"--West says, "Oh, Bennett was horrible about it. He was a horrible, mean-spirited, hateful man. I hated Arnold Bennett."

INTERVIEWER: But you were very nice about him.

WEST: Well, I thought so, and I think he was sometimes a very good writer. And I do think The Old Wives' Tale was very good, don't you? He was a horrible man.

INTERVIEWER: Was he in a position to make things difficult for you then?

WEST: Yes, he was not nice....

And so it goes. Katherine Anne Porter is scathing about the nineteen-twenties: "A horrible time: shallow and trivial and silly. The remarkable thing is that anybody survived in such an atmosphere--in a place where they could call F. Scott Fitzgerald a great writer!"

INTERVIEWER: You don't agree?

PORTER: Of course I don't agree. I couldn't read him then, and I can't read him now.

Mary McCarthy is brutal about Simone de Beauvoir, calling her "pathetic" and "odious"; Susan Sontag who was, early in her career, compared to Mccarthy says she has no desire to write like Mary McCarthy, "a writer who has never mattered to me." Nary McCarthy admires Tolstoy, but Rebecca West considers Tolstoy overrated. Alexander Woollcott says of Dorothy Parker's work that it's a "potent distillation of nectar and wormwood, of ambrosia and deadly nightshade", but Dorothy Parker is mainly charitable towards the writers of the twenties and thirties and says that they might have seemed like flops, but they weren't. "Fitzgerald, the rest of them, reckless as they were, drinkers as they were, they worked damn hard and all the time."

Two very different writers--Anne Sexton and Nadine Gordimer--both quote Kafka, and not only do they quote Kafka, they quote the same words from Kafka: "A book ought to be an axe, to break up the frozen sea within us~" And Katharine Anne Porter gives us a brief but fine lecture on the pleasure (and esthetic necessity) of using simple words, while Joyce Carol Oates speaks bracingly about the writer's life: One must be pitiless about this matter of "mood". In a sense, the writing will create the mood. If art is, as I believe it to be, a genuinely transcendental function--a means by which we rise out of limited, parochial states of mind--then it should not matter very much what states of mind or emotion we are in. Generally, I have found this to be true; I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes...and somehow the act of writing changes everything." These consoling words about the writing process are just one of about four hundred reasons for buying this spirited collection of credos and opinions.

A Must-Read for All Women and/or Writers!
Most definitely needs more stars!

If you read (have read) or admire any of the sixteen writers profiled in this awesome book, then this little jewel will not disappoint you in the least.It's enlightening, inspiring, encouraging and instructive; a voyeuristic peek into the minds and writing habits of some of the best women writers of our generation.I loved what Anne Sexton told the interviewer when asked if she had any advice to young poets.She said, "Put your ear close down to your soul and listen hard."

The writers interviewed are:Dorothy Parker, Marianne Moore, Maya Angelou, Susan Sontag, Anne Sexton, Katherine Anne Porter, Simone de Beauvoir, Nadine Gordimer, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Joan Didion, P.L. Travers, Eudora Welty, Rebecca West, Elizabeth Bishop and Mary McCarthy.

This is a first-rate book.
This book of interviews with women writers, originally done for the Paris Review, is the finest book I have ever encountered on women writing or doing any committed creative work. There's really nothing like it outthere. It is a prize in itself. ... Read more

Product Description
In this new paperback edition of Rizzoli's highly successful hardcover book, Hamptons resident Ken Miller parlays his intimate knowledge of the area and access to private properties to portray, in vivid color, the distinctive history, architecture, and natural beauty that have made the Hamptons so enticing for over four centuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Ultimate Photographic Book on The Hampton!!!!!!
If one has a photographic book of the Hamptons,it must be Ken Miller's, The Hamptons, Long Island's East End.The collection of photographs represent the overall feeling of this beautiful area.Wonderful pics witha unique perspective I could'nt be more pleased by my purchase. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Intro to Paris Review
Purchased for Elizabeth Gilbert's short story but enjoyed all the short stories.Not a big poetry fan but read a bit of that, also.Though I was aware of the Review, I had not had an opportunity to indulge until now.So glad I did.

Does anybody know?
If it is possible to secure The Paris Review - Interview with writers published by Penguin through the 1970's and 80's

fantastic read
The Paris Review is the best literary magazine around (even though they'verejected all of my stories). But anyway, the interview and stories are topnotch. I love the blend of unknown writers and famous writers. This issueis especially good, for it's a concept issue, "New BritishWriting." The forum is excellent, with each author asked to give theiropinion on, of course, the state of "British" literature.Furthermore, George Plimpton is very inspiring. Just reading an issue wantsto make you write better or start your own magazine. ... Read more

Product Description
Collected here are interviews with the great Beat and Black Mountain writers from the pages of "The Paris Review". In this new compendium, the writers describe their art and lives, creating a unique and fascinating record of their inspirations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Required Reading for Anyone Interested in The Beats
"Beat Writers at Work" is a fascinating and informative collection of interviews with writers and publishers of the so-called "Beat Generation". I consciously use the term "Beat Generation", rather than "Beat Movement", because the collection incorporates a diverse group of poets and writers who, while largely contemporaries, are each so idiosyncratic in their own right that it is inaccurate to lump them together in a single "movement". All of the interviews originally appeared in "The Paris Review" between 1965 and 1998. Each interview is preceded by a short biographical introduction and a description of the circumstances in which the interview occurred.

If there is any unifying characteristic among these writers, it is their rejection of literary formalism and their reliance upon sponaneity. As Lawrence Ferlinghetti observerves in his 1998 interview, one of the best in this collection, "I would call it the 'graph of consciousness' school of poetry because the poetry, as conceived and as defined in this manner, is exactly what goes through your consciousness at any given moment."

Consistent with Ferlinghetti's view of the Beat poets, Allen Ginsberg thus proclaims in his 1996 interview, that "there should be no distinction between what we write down and what we really know." Attacking literary formalism, the owlish iconoclastic "Howl" author notes: "the hypocrisy of literature has been-you know like there's supposed to be formal literature, which is supposed to be different from . . . in subject, in diction and even in organization, from our quotidian inspired lives."

Not surprisingly, Ginsberg's poetics echo the 1968 interview with Jack Kerouac, the breathless unpunctuated Beat proponent of unrevised prose, the very inventor of the term "Beat". In Kerouac's words, "by not revising what you've already written you simply give the reader the actual workings of your thoughts about events in your unchangeable way."

Charles Olson, whose virtually unintelligible 1970 interview appears here, follows this same poetic line. Olson (more appropriately identified with the "Black Mountain School") advocated so-called "open-field composition", described by George Plimpton in his introduction to the Olson interview as "poetry whose appearance and internal logic are governed by the spontaneity of the writing process."

Thus, in some respects, Beat poetics seems to resemble the spontaneity, the anti-formalism of Surrealist automatic writing (something which Ferlinghetti suggests in his interview). But this resemblance is attenuated by the Beat experience of America and of the Beats turn to the East (specifically, Buddhism) and to the influence of consciousness-expanding drugs. Furthermore, while there may be unifying strands running through Beat poetics, this collection of interviews also demonstrates the remarkable diversity of these authors, a diversity which makes it difficult to collate their writings under any unified theory. After reading the interviews with William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder, a reader is enthralled and exasperated at the eclection of thought among them.

"Beat Writers at Work" contains exceptional interviews with Ferlinghetti, Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, Paul Bowles, and Ken Kesey. These interviews make this collection required reading for anyone interested in the Beats. The interviews with Ferlinghetti and Barney Rosset also provide an insightful look at the role of City Lights Books and Grove Press in publishing the Beats in their early days, a time when censorship made such publication a financially parlous venture for small presses. Finally, Elissa Schappell, a contributing editor of "The Paris Review", provides a fascinating memoir of a graduate class taught by Ginsberg in 1995. The only weak pieces in this collection are the 1980 "conversation" among Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky and Russian poet Andrei Vosnesensky and the largely unintelligible wordplay of Charles Olson's 1970 interview. There is also one notable author missing: Gregory Corso, who is, in Ferlinghetti's words, "the most important Beat poet after Ginsberg."

Required Reading for Anyone Interested in the Beats
"Beat Writers at Work" is a fascinating and informative collection of interviews with writers and publishers of the so-called"Beat Generation".I consciously use the term "BeatGeneration", rather than "Beat Movement",because thecollection incorporates a diverse group of poets and writers who, whilelargely contemporaries,are each so idiosyncratic in their own right thatit is inaccurate to lump them together in a single "movement". All of the interviews originally appeared in "The Paris Review"between 1965 and 1998.Each interview is preceded by a short biographicalintroduction and a description of the circumstances in which the interviewoccurred.

If there is any unifying characteristic among these writers, itis their rejection of literary formalism and their reliance uponsponaneity.As Lawrence Ferlinghetti observerves in his 1998 interview,one of the best in this collection, "I would call it the 'graph ofconsciousness' school of poetry because the poetry, as conceived and asdefined in this manner, is exactly what goes through your consciousness atany given moment."

Consistent with Ferlinghetti's view of the Beatpoets, Allen Ginsberg thus proclaims in his 1996 interview, that"there should be no distinction between what we write down and what wereally know."Attacking literary formalism, the owlish iconoclastic"Howl" author notes:"the hypocrisy of literature hasbeen-you know like there's supposed to be formal literature, which issupposed to be different from . . . in subject, in diction and even inorganization, from our quotidian inspired lives."

Not surprisingly,Ginsberg's poetics echo the 1968 interview with Jack Kerouac, thebreathless unpunctuated Beat proponent of unrevised prose, the veryinventor of the term "Beat".In Kerouac's words,"by notrevising what you've already written you simply give the reader the actualworkings of your thoughts about events in your unchangeableway."

Charles Olson, whose virtually unintelligible 1970 interviewappears here, follows this same poetic line.Olson (more appropriatelyidentified with the "Black Mountain School") advocated so-called"open-field composition", described by George Plimpton in hisintroduction to the Olson interview as "poetry whose appearance andinternal logic are governed by the spontaneity of the writingprocess."

Thus, in some respects, Beat poetics seems to resemble thespontaneity, the anti-formalism of Surrealist automatic writing (somethingwhich Ferlinghetti suggests in his interview).But this resemblance isattenuated by the Beat experience of America and of the Beats turn to theEast (specifically, Buddhism) and to the influence ofconsciousness-expanding drugs.Furthermore, while there may be unifyingstrands running through Beat poetics, this collection of interviews alsodemonstrates the remarkable diversity of these authors, a diversity whichmakes it difficult to collate their writings under any unified theory. After reading the interviews with William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and GarySnyder, a reader is enthralled and exasperated at the eclection of thoughtamong them.

"Beat Writers at Work" contains exceptionalinterviews with Ferlinghetti, Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Snyder, PaulBowles, and Ken Kesey.These interviews make this collection requiredreading for anyone interested in the Beats.The interviews withFerlinghetti and Barney Rosset also provide an insightful look at the roleof City Lights Books and Grove Press in publishing the Beats in their earlydays, a time when censorship made such publication a financially parlousventure for small presses.Finally, Elissa Schappell, a contributingeditor of "The Paris Review", provides a fascinating memoir of agraduate class taught by Ginsberg in 1995.The only weak pieces in thiscollection are the 1980 "conversation" among Ginsberg, PeterOrlovsky and Russian poet Andrei Vosnesensky and the largely unintelligiblewordplay of Charles Olson's 1970 interview.There is also one notableauthor missing:Gregory Corso, who is, in Ferlinghetti's words, "themost important Beat poet after Ginsberg."

Totally Worth It!!
The Paris Reviw interviews of the beats are famouse for their openness about the writers craft, and the insight into their work and lives. If you want to truly understand the beats, this is the place to go! Totally worthit!

Brilliant interview with Ferlinghetti
There was only one essay I truly enjoyed: Andrew Madden's "An interview with Ferlinghetti." That's writing! Worth the entire value of the book. Such grace. Such lyricism. I laughed, I cried, etc. ... Read more

Product Description
Contains a selection of poetry from "The Paris Review" interviews. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice short stories
Enjoy reading this book. So far about half way through.Many short true stories of adventure and exploration. A good book to throw in your backpack to take with you on your next overseas adventure/travel.

wish I was a fly on the wall
Loved this book !
I wish I was there in personto spin a few tales lolol

amazing stories from the ends of the earth
This book contains amazing stories from the ends of the earth as told by those that actually participated.These first hand accounts are simply wonderful, giving the reader an eye into the harsh climates of Africa and the Arctic among other places.Luminaries include Mr. Amundson of South Pole fame.This is a well written and well organized book that covers more then 60 years of exploration. ... Read more

Product Description
Every year millions of people flock to New York City, drawn to its unparalleled theaters, museums, restaurants, and sights. While much has been written about these topics, one of the city's greatest attractions has gone largely unheralded: its characters. Among the masses, there are some that stand out from the crowd, a special group of New Yorkers that gives this city its flavor and makes it such a vibrant, exciting, and unique place. New York Characters is a tribute to these people. Celebrated in both pictures and words, Gillian Zoe Segal's subjects include neighborhood fixtures, prominent celebrities, famous personalities, and the truly eccentric. Among the extraordinary New Yorkers you'll meet are Guardian Angel founder Curtis Sliwa; Ken Krisses, the president of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club; the "real" Kramer, on whom the Seinfeld character is based; sports fanatics Dancin' Larry and Fireman Ed; restauranteurs Elaine Kaufman and Sylvia Woods; Dr. Jonathan Zizmor, the "subway" dermatologist; and Jimmy Breslin, the legendary newspaperman. Segal has photographed sixty-six such characters in his or her own distinctive environment. Accompanying the striking portraits are colorful profiles of each individual. The foreword by George Plimpton, a "New York character" himself, is a tribute to Segal's extraordinary work and her fascinating collection of New Yorkers. 66 b/w photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

New York Characters
If you are a New Yorker, a former New Yorker, or someone new to the City, you should own this book.The photography is both penetrating and compelling, and the characters featured are truly fascinating.It's like the Zagat of New York people. I hope the author comes to Los Angeles to do a book on characters here (there are plenty)!

Fun game with this book.
I got a copy of this book and the other night three friends and I made a bet as to who had seen the most "characters" in real life.Sad to say I was not the winner but did pretty well with 24 and came in second.Anyway, it's a great book and a kick to get the real stories behind some of the interesting people we see around town.Highly recommended.

For New Yorkers and Non New Yorkers Alike
If you admire great photography and exquisite prose and feel the slightest attachment (or wish you did) to New York, then Gillian Segal's book is for you.I moved from New York a little over ten years ago and was determined to keep in touch with the city I love.However, it was only a matter of time before I lost touch with what really made New York special: the people's unique personalities.Gillian's book has allowed me to reestablish contact with the city that I still like to call home. Now, when my colleagues in Providence ask me what to do in New York, I no longer provide them with a mundane and outdated list of restaurants and sites. Instead, I refer them to Mrs. Segal's book.I inform them that in its pages is where they can find the real New York.Everything from great food, The Egg Cake Lady, to a wonderful opera on 57th street, performed by Opera Man, to a great jogging partner, the Mayor of the Reservoir (he is featured on the cover) can be found in "New York Characters".

New York Characters- A Must Buy!
Gillian Zoe Segal's book, New York Characters, is outstanding- the best photography book I've ever seen/read!The photographs featuring prominent New Yorkers are incredible.Each one captures the true essence of the "character" and truly comes to life on the page.The characters are all photographed in their natural environment, and as Segal points out and demonstrates in her book it is New York's characters that make "it the greatest city in the world".In addition to her photographic genius, Segal writes beautifully.The vignettes's about the characters are intersting, informative, humorous, and touching.No coffee table should be without a copy of New York Characters.It makes the perfect holiday gift for New Yorkers as well as out-of-towners because everyone loves or has an interest in New York, right?Furthermore, all of the proceeds of the book sales are going to the September 11th fund.So what could be more gratifying than supporting the city's recovery effort by buying this wonderful book for yourself, for your friends, for your family...?I feel confident in saying that anyone who picks up New York Characters will enjoy it immensely.What will Segal do next?I can't wait....

New York Characters- A Must Buy!
Gillian Zoe Segal's book, New York Characters, is outstanding- the best photography book I've ever seen/read!The photographs featuring prominent New Yorkers are incredible.Each one captures the true essence of the "character" and truly comes to life on the page.The characters are all photographed in their natural environment, and as Segal points out and demonstrates in her book it is New York's characters that make "it the greatest city in the world".In addition to her photographic genius, Segal writes beautifully.The vignettes's about the characters are intersting, informative, humorous, and touching.No coffee table should be without a copy of New York Characters.It makes the perfect holiday gift for New Yorkers as well as out-of-towners because everyone loves or has an interest in New York, right?Furthermore, all of the proceeds of the book sales are going to the September 11th fund.So what could be more gratifying than supporting the city's recovery effort by buying this wonderful book for yourself, for your friends, for your family...?I feel confident in saying that anyone who picks up New York Characters will enjoy it immensely.What will Segal do next?I can't wait.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Stunning Bio
The story ofa facinating man and his life told in his own words..And what a loss to all of us that we were not part of it..
How this wonderful man slipped under the radar of all of our lives is a mystery. Possibly because those who knew and loved him kept this treasure to themselves..Now at least we get to share in his journey

Milking The Moon
If you are looking for a quasi--non fiction biography that elicits theeccentric, theatrical and heartfelt this is it. It's full of encounters with known "characters" and divine locations...i.e. Paris, London and New York......a story of a southern boy who ventures far from home and lives well ......without much of an income per say but his charm and talent pays the rent. The subject of the story is a sweetheart...and in the end you'll feel you've enjoyed a treat.

Live! Live! Live!
What you won't understand, reading this book, (at least I didn't), is that while Eugene may have always been in touch with his "monkey" side, he was seriously intelligent and a master of many genres. Otherwise, he would not have written the brilliant, and prescient, (wrong word, but as close as I can come), preservationist story, JENNIE THE WATERCRESS GIRL, nor, well, ANY of his work.(His poetry, too, is superb!).Whatever Eugene lent his hand to became magical; even his SOUTHERN COOKING, part of the Time-Life Series of cookbooks.That was how I discovered Eugene.I somehow knew the writer of this book was extraordinary, and so sought him out.

No.Eugene Walter as artist, writer, gardener, gourmand, et al, was no lightweight.Although he was a great storyteller, this is only 1/10th the man.

I rather despise both George Plimpton and Katherine Clark's introductions to MILKING THE MOON, though I have to be very grateful to her for writing it.I find their comments condescending.

My sense of Eugene Walter is that he was consumately alone in this life.And lonely.That he suffered a very hard childhood.And, that because he didn't "make it rich", those who are able to turn a name into a NAME, scorned him.But that's my take on E.W.You must have your own.

And Eugene Walter turns up everywhere, for example, turning up in Ronni Lundy's fine cookbook, BUTTER BEANS TO BLACKBERRIES ...Recipes from the Southern Garden, and, much to my supreme delight, in Joan Marble's NOTES FROM AN ITALIAN GARDEN.I cannot wait to see where Eugene will turn up next!

Someone has to release all the tapes Clark made, unedited.I want them.And, someone is missing out on making a fascinating movie.

Gore Vidal calls Eugene Walter the "nice"Truman Capote
I completely fell under the spell of Eugene Walter but must pay homage to author Katherine Clark for seamlessly allowing us to believe we are spending hour after hour with Eugene as he spins fascinating story after fascinating story about his southern childhood,his friends, both famous and obscure, and what it was like to work in every capacity on Fellini movies. Recently I saw a friend from Mobile and said, "I'm just going to say two words to you. EUGENE WALTER. It was so satisfying to see her face light up and hear her squeal, "I LOVE EUGENE WALTER!!!!"

Just like talking to Eugene.
I suppose I was one of the fortunate few who had a chance to meet Eugene before he died. The people I was working for back in the mid-nineties were friends of his and, therefore, I had the chance to be around him.

Eugene was the consummate storyteller. One of those who never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn. His idea was to make you enjoy where you were and who you were. To inject a little wonderousness into the world. Although based in truth, nothing he told was strictly true.

This book captures him almost perfectly. Although it cannot convey his gestures and antics and voice, it does convey his mind and gift for gab. Pour yourself a glass of port and read with the voice of an eccentric Southern uncle in your head and Eugene starts to come out. It's not quite the same as being there, but this book is as close as any of us will ever be again. ... Read more

Product Description
Well established as the premier sports anthology, The Best American Sports Writing brings together the finest writing on sports to appear in the past year. Chosen from more than 350 national, regional, and specialty publications, the 25 pieces here embrace the world of sports in all its drama, humanity, and excitement.Amazon.com Review
George Plimpton, that most peripatetic of sporting literati, takesthe reins on the latest edition of sportswriting's annual all-starteam, and lets these thoroughbreds run. As usual, the smart money ison Roger Angell, Rick Reilly, David Remnick, and Tom Boswell, all ofwhom are represented, and long-shot David Halberstam makes his comebackwith a fascinating profile of a fencer. But the roses go to the realderby winner in this year's group, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelistRichard Ford for his long, lyrical, sometimes funny, sometimesprofound meditation from Sports Afield on, of all thought-provokingarenas, hunting with his wife. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An American Treasure
The 2000 edition of "The Best American Sports Writing" has plenty of moments that will enthrall avid sports fans and even those less avid who merely like a good story.The series is a national treasure, which collects the best sports related writing every year and puts it into a single easy-to-read volume.The sports included run the gamut from the traditional team sports of baseball and football to more extreme examples like mountaineering.The main requirement for inclusion is great writing, and that's wht this series delivers consistently.

The best articles in the 2000 edition include Jeff Macgreggor's disturbing account of the violence that permeats Candian youth league hockey, Robert Hubert's sad biographical piece on Joe DiMaggio's only son, Michael Finkel's story about the cult of extreme marathoning, Allison Glock's entertaining biography of Robbie Knievel, and Charles Sprawson's tale of the feats of extreme swimmers.As always, the quality of the reporting means that even if you have only a margainal interest in the sport described, you'll still find it entertaining.

Overall, another fine entry in an outstanding series.

A Treasure of Great Writing About Sports
The 1997 edition of "The Best American Sports Writing" has plenty of moments that will enthrall avid sports fans and even those less avid who merely like a good story.The series is a national treasure, which collects the best sports related writing every year and puts it into a single easy-to-read volume.The sports included run the gamut from the traditional team sports of baseball and football to more extreme examples like mountaineering.The main requirement for inclusion is great writing, and that's wht this series delivers consistently.

The best articles in the 1997 edition include New Yorker editor David Remnick's hilarous book review of Dennis Rodman's "Bad AsI Wanna Be," Rick Reilly's revealing (and revolting) interview with former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air," the Outside Magazine piece that later became a runaway bestselling book, Gary Smith's account of how Tiger Woods destiny was largely predetermined by his father, and Padgett Powell's biography of an American arm wrestling champion.As always, the quality of the reporting means that even if you have only a margainal interest in the sport described, you'll still find it entertaining.

Overall, another fine entry in an outstanding series.

Great series that's focusing more on alternative sports
Many readers may take issue with the fact that this series represents sportswriting at its best. THe editor, Dick SCHaap is really a hack writer, at best. I'm sure there are many other examples of fine sportswriting out there. The series seems to be making efforts to dig up newer, alternative writers who often become as much a part of the story as what they are writing about, though no one will do that better than Hunter THompson! The strength of this series is that its increasingly focusing on lesser known or alternative sports, or just on activities that are beyond our normal view of what constitutes recreation. There are pieces on cockfighting, long-distance swimming, poker playing, bullriding, ultra-running, and guns. In fact, there are only a few pieces of writing on the big 4 sports of football, baseball, hockey and basketball. While this may turn off many a reader who prefers to read about their larger than life heroes, to me its a strength in that we get to read about people who are just as dedicated to their craft (however obscure), perhaps more so, than those athletes in the well known sports. But just when we get comfortable with a new sport, there will be a piece written totally tongue-in-cheek, such as the one by Garirison Keillor. I've read the books in the series going back a number of years and the series seems to be going more and more in this direction. This to me is its appeal, though those of you who are fans of the more conventional sports may take issue. Its not the best of American Sportswriting, but is among the most diverse of American sports writing. Many of the pieces were interesting enough to make me wish there was more to read on the event or sport, or that I could find a longer version of the story by the same author. Looking forward to next year's book.

Sour Mash
Schaap, who worked under Jimmy Breslin and Roger Kahn, could write with neither but he hustled better than either. His credentials: ghost writng and tv pap, sometimes nasty. Stout's work is about as big league as the home town he lists, Uxbridge, Mass. Anyone can pick a couple, three nice pieces, but this should not be done by these fellers. They are semi-qualified, too much on the make. Replace them with, say Bill Dwyre, the great Sports Editor of the LA Times, and John Cherwa, exec sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and Pete Carrey, of SI.Personally-- I am a clinical shrink who loves sports-- I wish professional standards were applied to any collection called best.

Best of the series
A mix of extremely entertaining stories. Much more about life than about sports this book gives an insight into many interesting personalities in obscure sports. In my opinion the best in the series "Best Sports Writing", not so much for excellent writing but the contents of most of the stories. ... Read more

Product Description
Ralph Kirshner has provided a richly illustrated forum to enable the West Point class of 1861 to write its own autobiography. Through letters, journals, and published accounts, George Armstrong Custer, Adelbert Ames, and their classmates tell in their own words of their Civil War battles and of their varied careers after the war.Two classes graduated from West Point in 1861 because of Lincoln's need for lieutenants: forty-five cadets in Ames' class in May and thirty-four in Custer's class in June. The cadets range from Henry Algernon du Pont, first in the class of May, to Custer, last in the class of June. "Only thirty-four graduated," remarked Custer, "and of these thirty-three graduated above me."Other famous names from the class of 1861 are John Pelham, Emory Upton, Thomas L. Rosser, John Herbert Kelly (the youngest general in the Confederacy when appointed), Patrick O'Rorke (head of the class of June), Alonzo Cushing, Peter Hains, Edmund Kirby, John Adair (the only deserter in the class), and Judson Kilpatrick (great-grandfather of Gloria Vanderbilt).They describe West Point before the Civil War; the war years, including the Vicksburg campaign and the battle of Gettysburg; the courage and character of classmates; and the ending of the war.Kirshner also highlights postwar lives, including Custer at Little Bighorn; Custer's rebel friend Rosser; John Whitney Barlow, who explored Yellowstone; du Pont, senator and author; Kilpatrick, playwright and diplomat; Orville E. Babcock, Grant's secretary until his indictment in the "Whiskey Ring"; Pierce M. B. Young, a Confederate general who became a diplomat; Hains, the only member of the class to serve on active duty in World War I; and Upton, "the class genius.""The Class of 1861", which features eighty-four photographs, includes a foreword by George Plimpton, editor of the Paris Review and great-grandson of General Adelbert Ames. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Disappointed
Maybe, as a history buff, I'm getting used to more interesting presentational formats of history. Perhaps that's why I found this book, generally, to be a very boring exercise in reading something. I was disappointed.

outstanding primary source material
The battles, leaders and controversies of the war are seen through the eyes of the young officers from the US military academy. From the earliest battles through the end -- insights on the military strategy and politicalissues of the war are illuminated. The post war careers of the officersbring to light still relevant controversies concerning the reconstructionperiod. Well documented and well selected this is a gold mine of insightsfor those interested in the Civil War period.

Class of 1861
The Class of 1861 is an immensely readable account of the group. Kirshner has provided a chronological account of the famous class that focuses primarily on various Civil War battles, but also the post war period. This collection of stories and short biographies taken from a prodigious amountof primary sources provides many interesting insights into the militaryexperience and mindset of the professionally trained soldier. All in all,this book gives an interesting account of a group of young individuals fromour Service Academy trained in the art of war that, perhaps fortunately orperhaps not, gets the opportunity to use their skill and knowledge rightafter, and in some cases, before graduation.

Incidentally, the picture ofthe front cover is believed to be the earliest photograph of the US Corpsof Cadets at West Point. Although undated, it was probably taken sometimebetween 1860 and 1862. ... Read more