Product Description
The year 2000 marks issue 200 and year 20 for i-D magazine. What better way to celebrate than make a book? As founder and editor-in-chief Terry Jones writes, "A cross between a menu and a diary, Smile i-D maps the magazine's journey beyond the veneer of regular fashion." Now that most of us consider i-D a household name, it's interesting to be reminded that 20 years ago, street fashion was a nascent concept. Finding music and street culture more interesting than the traditional fashion world, Terry Jones abandoned his post as Art Director at British Vogue in 1977 to embark on a journey that has revolutionized not only the world of fashion magazines, but arguably fashion itself.

Blending fashion and social documentation, early issues of i-D (major collector items now) were 40 pages stapled together which sold for 50p. Journalistic in spirit and revolutionary in form, the magazine sought to show the world the gritty, real side of fashion as seen in the streets of London- kilts, mohawks, safety pins and all. When newsagents hesitated to sell i-D because of finger injuries resulting from the staples, early supporters helped by selling issues from the trunk of a Cadillac. Lots of teamwork and innovation brought i-D to the forefront of contemporary fashion culture and today it can be found at newsstands practically everywhere on the globe (minus the staples).

Smile i-D incorporates a single spread from each issue of the magazine thus far. Watch out for the stars who appeared here before the rest of the world even knew who they were. And don't forget to check out the Madonna cover from issue 14: why is the mole on the wrong side of her face? You'll have to read the book to find out. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

OUTSTANDING 5/5!
On Page 316 of Smile i-D, there's a reprint of a two-page spread from i-D Magazine's December 1992 issue. The left page is empty, save for a black-and-white photo in the center of the page of a female model in a ripped white t-shirt. The page on the right is exactly the same, except for a similarly sized photograph of two vacuum cleaners. The spread is part of a piece on creating your own couture.

But then again, we're talking about i-D here.

For over two decades, Britain's i-D has had a singular mission of documenting street style, coupled with an utterly innovative artistic vision. Smile i-D is a 600-page retrospective incorporating covers and spreads from the first 200 issues of the magazine. More than this, it's a consummate documentation of the past twenty years of cutting-edge style and culture.

24 years ago, Terry Jones, then Art Director at British Vogue, decided to abandon his post to document underground, "street" style, then an unheard-of concept. The result was the founding of i-D magazine. Taking a journalistic approach, i-D sought to document the spirit and style of the real world by using the streets of London as its canvas.

At times, people ended up in i-D just because they looked either hip, unique, or bizarre enough. More often than not, it was all three.

As a result, every nascent trend of the past twenty years fell into the pages of i-D. Punks, mods, ravers, trustafarians, bikers, hip-hoppers, modern primitives, gearheads, drag queens, club kids, dominatrixes, skinheads, glam rockers, dreads, new wavers, and so on were documented equally with an utter disregard - almost a contempt -- of what the latest news from Milan or Paris was.

Taking the concept of innovation to the next level, i-D began to feature anyone who seemed to be on the verge of crossing over to the mainstream, and as you leaf through the pages of this retrospective, the roster of then-unknowns who graced i-D's pages and covers is nearly breathtaking. Boy George in 1980. Galliano and Margiela years before they became household names among the fashion cognoscenti. Sade in 1983, a full year before her debut album was released. Madonna in 1984, just as "Borderline" was beginning to break radio. The list goes on.

Of course, there is a method to all this madness. Over the course of its 608 pages, it becomes clear that the fever pitch that i-D has sustained into its third decade is the side effect of its goal: the total democratization of style. By highlighting every trend, fad, and style movement in existence it transcends the dictatorial nature of fashion magazines. There is no right or wrong, no "in" or "out". By presenting anything that looks good instead of prescribing a specific look, the concept of fashion is rendered irrelevant, usurped by a manic promotion of individual style. All racial, social and economic boundaries are erased, replaced by the notion of pure individuality.

Accompanying all of this is Jones's unique art direction, which although it has evolved a bit over the course of twenty years, continues to complement the "anything goes" ethos of i-D with a likeminded aesthetic. Minimal layouts are sandwiched in between pages of utter chaos. Text runs in all directions ont any given page. Models fly across the pages, their expressions and bodies frozen in gleeful contortion. Full pages are devoted to minute details, while entire style spreads take up a half-page.

Absorbing all of this in one or two sittings is impossible; the combination of Jones' hyperkinetic visual style and the nonstop barrage of style, music and pop culture will literally make your head spin. Smile i-D is a coffee table book, to be sure, but its eye-popping visuals and undiluted take on everything that has been hip for the past twenty years ensure that it will be a book you come back to again and again.

Superbly chronicled evolution of a top style magazine
There's a passage in the introductory text written by former editor Dylan Jones that says: "i-D was the first street fashion magazine, a pick'n'mix grab-bag of punk fashion and DIY style, a pop-cultural sponge soaking up everything with inelegant haste."Very aptly put.And it's all symbolized with an iconic wink (or a gesture suggesting one) on the cover of every issue.

Throughout the nearly 600 pages of this heavy, photo-packed book (which I happily made the time to survey, one page at a time, front to back), you'll see a maturation from a haphazardly compiled fanzine of punk fashion to a more polished journal of all that which is currently fashionable.No subtle difference, indeed.Black and white photos of random subjects sporting the latest in 80's leather, safety pins and spiked hair give way in the 90's to better-produced shots of more recognizable models and artists.I'm impressed that the raw, "immediate" flavor of the photography and design just gets better throughout i-D's first twenty years.

There's not enough space to detail all the things I liked about this book, but I found especially interesting the early photos of some models and pop icons before they became widely known.I thought the numerous quotes by artists/actors/musicians added a good comical complement to the pictures.Also, the refinement (my opinion) of grahic design techinque is evident with the aging of i-D:it's not unlike looking at a scrapbook of an acne-ridden adolescent who grows into a hip and handsome young adult.Although i-D is somewhat new to me, it's now one of my favorite style publications.I wish I hadn't missed the first couple hundred issues, but I'm glad I got this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a story of a Viking warrior who thought there must be more to life than rape and pillage. ErickÕs doubts about his own lifestyle begin when he inadvertently falls in love with a rather pretty girl he has just killed. Not that he meant to kill her, you understand, but - this being the legendary Age of Ragnarok - killing people is rather in fashion, and mishaps are bound to occur.

According to the Old Norse legend, this is the age when Fenrir the Wolf has swallowed the Sun, and the Great Winter has settled over the World. It is an Axe Age, a Sword Age, when brother will turn against brother, and men will fight each other until the World is finally destroyed...unless...unless someone can awaken the gods and bring the Sun back to shine upon the Earth once again.

Comedy, spectacular adventure and pure fantasy combine to tell this story of a manÕs attempt to bring peace to a war-torn world. ... Read more

Product Description
Three experts on aviation and a photographer for National Geographic present a lavishly illustrated volume that traces the fourteen-thousand-mile flight of the Vimy in 1919 and its recreation seventy-five years later. 25,000 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful story about re-creating history
This is a really interesting story; well told. A re-creation of a historical event in a historical machine. Clearly, the people involved are passionate about the adventure; making it all the more readable and enjoyable.

A gripping story of a recreation of an epic flight.
An incredible book about an incredible flight.It is difficult to knowwhich is the more interesting -- the historical part of the book about theoriginal Smith brothers flight, or Peter McMillan's account of his modernday recreation of the same flight.As an aviation buff I loved the detail ofhow the airplane was built (using the original plans) and tested and thenthe day-by-day chronicle of the flight. The chapter about the crash inIndonesia (by uncanny coincidence in virtually the same place as the Smithbrothers 75 years before) is a great read. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Academic Mercenaries - the business of writing poor books for money
I wish that i had not paid money to read this book but had got it out of the library instead.This book is not up to the standard that would be acceptable in a third year university history degree.It is staggering how an author could take such a rich and fascinating topic and yet produce a book that is so lacking in energy, content and interest.The book waffles and wanders into innumerable irrelevant areas.There is an entire section upon Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain and Ellis Peters that is utterly irrelevant and, in discussing Chaucer, at any moment i expected him to reference the Heath Ledger film The Knights Tale. The treatment of the entire subject is superficial and trite with poor attempts at humor thrown in.

Judging by the space dedicated to it the author seems to think that the only place that mercenaries were used was in the Hundred Years War and the Baltic.However, even throughout the discussion of the hundred years war, more space is given over to irrelevant details, annecdotes and asides than the actual business of raising and fighting mercenary armies.

There is only a superficial and inadequate coverage of Hawkwood and the italian wars, the theatre in which mercenary generals and armies raised their practices to the highest point of professional venality.It is only finally on page 229 that we are given anything of substance about the Italian Wars (then only 30 pages of inadequate detail and asides), indeed, the word "Condottieri" only appears for the first time on page 219, with a mere three paragraphs devoted to the entire subject on page 231.In discussing the Battle of Fornovo in 1494 i am at a loss to explain the relevance of the following sentance from page 246:"Tourists ignore the statues of tough condottieri in Venice and Padua and never think of Sylvester Stallone in Rocky".

I would thoroughly recommend Frances Stonor Saunders book on Hawkwood over this twaddle any day.Basically i'm really annoyed that i bought this book, its an utter waste of time and money.

Very poor
This book is one of the more disappointing purchases I've made, especially considering it was written by a professional historian. It is a very poor example of scholorship. I have read books written by journalists with no real historical training that were more professionally done. I have read introductory textbooks that were more in depth, better documented, and more interesting reads. There is not even the element of a good flow to the title that could up its value. Topics are disconnected and seemingly random with very little beyond surface definitions involved. You will find no detailed examination of anything at all, just a very shallow overview of the historical era. The author seems to spend most of his time trying to convince the reader of his own clever wit rather than anything else. Unfortunatly, he falls short there as well. After the first few instances of the authors "witty" comments you are wishing you were reading a Terry Pratchett novel or watching The Holy Grail. At least those were legitimately entertaining. Although judging by the amount of times the author stresses the validity of historcal novels and film as legitimate sources makes me wonder if he didn't use Monty Python as a source.

In all, I do not reccomend this book to anyone.

not just military history
William Urban's trek into the world of medieval mercenaries, Medieval Mercenaries: the Business of War, is extremely interesting.Urban mixes historical fact from reputable sources with popular literature to create a better understanding of the mercenary in the tenth through sixteenth centuries.Mercenaries participated in every major and most minor conflicts of the medieval period.A mercenary is a professional soldier who enters into a conflict not for nationalism, but for profit.Urban discusses the intricacies, hazards, and profits of the mercenary soldier.
Urban kicks off his investigation with the Vikings, referred to as the Varangian Guards by the Byzantines, defending the imperial interests at Constantinople.Through their activities, the Varangian Guard helped Harold Hardrada, previously the King of Norway and at the time the commander of the Varangian Guard, gain a reputation as a powerful general.Hardrada had come to Byzantium to seek protection from rebels who had killed his half-brother.The Byzantine emperor employed him in the Varangian Guard, eventually promoting him to commander.This time spent in the employ of the Byzantine emperor and the reputation earned there helped Hardrada regain his throne in Norway.
The activities of the Vikings and the Varangian Guard in Byzantium are followed by the stories of William the Conqueror, Friedrich II, Edward II and III, Charles the Bold, a host of popes and too many would-be kings to name.These stories fill the pages with their quests for power, glory, and greed.At their service are thousands of mercenaries looking to get rich or die trying.
Urban gives extra focus to several medieval heroes and villains, most notably John Hawkwood.Hawkwood's humble beginnings and adventuresome spirit lead him to become one of the most notable mercenaries of the time.Hawkwood and his troop venture through Italy, working for popes and quarrelling noble families, fighting Greeks, Arabs, Italians, and other mercenary groups.Urban does a good job of illustrating how Hawkwood paid, hired, and deployed his mercenary forces, as well as how he dealt with difficult employers.
The business of war is a difficult one.Money runs out.Mercenaries switch sides mid-fight.Peace means unemployment.During the Hundred Years' War, mercenaries came to dominate the battlefield and were employed to supplement the feudal forces. However, during times of peace, they could turn on their employers and start a new conflict.Therefore, it was in the interest of all professionals to keep the wars as long and bloodless as could be managed.
The free companies of mercenaries operated all over Europe and were for hire to anyone who could afford them.The White Company, the Black Company, the Teutonic Knights, and other military organizations operated as standing armies without a nation.These groups did not have to look far to find a fight.Rivalry between kings and religious sects kept the free companies busy almost year round.Great profits were made and lost as mercenaries tried to survive to retirement.Very few died of old age however.
Urban uses several historic documents, as well as modern studies to compile the information of his book.Jean Froissart's writings are expertly placed throughout the book to back up the author's conclusions.Froissart, who lived through the first half of the Hundred Years' War, chronicled many of the events that took place during that horrible time.Urban includes poems by various authors as well as a section of artwork, pictures of castles, and maps of medieval Europe.
William Urban dissects the world of chivalry by using writings from Froissart, Shakespeare, Chaucher, and Mark Twain.Some of the writings examined by Urban are Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucher, The Prince and the Pauper, Saint Joan, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark Twain.Urban devotes additional space to examining nineteenth-century adventure novels, like Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott and The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.Doyle's novel is given particular attention in a comparison of its accounts with historical accounts of the real White Company's activities.
William Urban is a dedicated author who brings to life medieval mercenaries in a way I had not known before.My knowledge of mercenaries has been strictly from newspaper articles and internet news on "private military companies."The mercenary is a tradesman who fills the very real need for well trained and professional freelance warriors who can go any where, at anytime, and fight.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in military and medieval history.

Imagining the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages were a long time back and, despite the many fanciful references to those times in books and film, we often do not know what that life was truly like. Medieval Mercenaries: The Business of War was written by a historian, who is also a university teacher, to help people to imagine that remote time.
He does this by recounting a large number of factual events and situations, in story form - almost like sports reporting but for battles and strategic developments - identifying and relating people and institutions in a way that is readily grasped. The presentation is orderly, going from early to "classic" mercenaries, chivalry, the Hundred Years War, the Baltic Crusades and more - but you can open the book wherever you like and find such readable accounts.
There is more to this book than the title indicates, though. It does provide data on the early mercenaries - who they were, where they came from, how necessary they were, how they were used - and also what it was like to have troops of restless mercenaries lying about in your castle or town after the job they were hired for was done! But the title might well have been lengthened to include "...and their Representation in our Literature." As one would expect, the references to the historical writing are ample (there are three pages of these, in small type, at the end of the book, so as not to interrupt the story), but a good part of this volume shows the way certain classics of European and American literature - Chaucer, Shakespeare, Arthur Conan Doyle, Twain - made dramatic use of these useful and disquieting outsiders.
Throughout the book, Urban suggests thought-provoking analogies to our own times, and the concluding chapter is a stimulating overview of the issues raised by this history and this way of telling history.

"Light weight" history
The book is an eclectic series of anecdotes, without much of analyses or insight, and not always accurate. ... Read more

Product Description
The fight for Cemetery Hill was long and bloody--whoever controlled the hill would win the battle of Gettysburg.

The battle of Gettysburg included many dramatic and controversial moments, several of which involved Cemetery Hill. This book covers in detail the three-day struggle for that crucial high ground from the soldiers' point of view. Using official reports, letters, diaries, and memoirs, it tells how and why the generals made crucial decisions and what it was like to be a soldier involved in the bloody hand-to-hand fighting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ewell's chance at Gettysburg.
This short read covers the first two days of the greatest battle on the American continent.Confederate Major General Ewell had a chance to defeat the North on the second day.He hesitated and the next day Lee ordered Pickett to go up the center.On the second day, Ewell and his North Carolina and Lousiana brigades could have thrown the Yanks off Cemetery Hill and won the battle if not the war.

This is a short read on the first two days of the battle.I guess I don't cotton much to what could have been.Lee's Army attacked strong defensive positions and lost close to 28,000 men.True if Ewell had shown more initiative, there might never have been a third day.However, Cemetery Hill was not taken by the LA Tigers, and the Army of Northern Virginia lost.I commend the author on summarizing the first two days in a highly readable account.

Cemetery Hill and Gettysburg
Cemetery Hill was critical to the Battle of Gettysburg. Controversy has ensued to the present day about the Confederacy's failure to attempt to capture this high ground on July 1, 1863, following its victory over two Corps of the Union Army to the North and West of town.Subsequent events during the Battle, such as Pickett's charge, the fighting on Little Round Top, and the fight for the Wheatfield, have received more attention than General Early's attack on Cemetery Hill during the evening of July 2.Yet, the fighting for Cemetery Hill was critical and may have constituted the South's best possiblity of winning the Battle of Gettysburg.

Terry Jones's "Cemetery Hill: The Struggle for the High Ground, July 1 -- 3, 1863" (2003) is part of a series called "Battleground America Guides" published by Da Capo Press. Each volume in the series attempts to highlight a small American battlefield or portion of a large battlefield and to explain its significance in a clear and brief narrative.Jones's study admirably meets the stated goals of the series.

The book opens with a brief setting of the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg.This is followed by chapters describing the Union and Confederate armies and the leaders who would play crucial roles in the fight for Cemetery Hill.There is a short discussion of the fighting on the opening day of the battle, July 1, 1863, which focuses on the failure of the South to attempt to take Cemetery Hill and the adjacent Culp's Hill following its victory of that day.

The chief subject of the book, however, is the fighting for Cemetery Hill late on July 2. Jones explains Cemetery Hill's role in Robert E. Lee's overall battle plan.He discusses the opening artillery duel on the Union right followed by the fierce attack by the Louisiana Tigers and North Carolina troops under the leadership of Hays and Avery on East Cemetery Hill.This attack reached the Union batteries defending Cemetery Hill and may have come within an ace of success given the depletion of the Union defense on the Hill to meet threats on the Union left.Elements of the Union 11th Corps and 2nd Corps reinforced the position and drove back the attack.Southern general Robert Rodes was to have supported this attack on the west but failed to reach his position in time to do so.General John Gordon's position was in reserve behind the troops of Hays and Avery but these troops were not ordered forward.

The book deals briefly with the third day of the Battle -- the day of Pickett's charge -- in which the Southern troops did not renew their efforts against Cemetery Hill -- such an attempt would have had scant chance of success in daylight.The final chapter of the book consists of Jones's views on the events of the battle, particularly the failure of the Lieuenant General Richard Ewell of the Second Corps of Lee's Army to attack Cemetery Hill on July 1, a decision Jones finds was correct, and the causes of the failure of the July 2 attack (poor coordination among Ewell, Rodes, Gordon, and A.P Hill of the Southern Third Corps.)There is a brief but highly useful discussion to the prospective visitor to Gettysburg of touring the Cemetery Hill portion of the Battlefield.

The book is clearly, crisply and succinctly written.It includes good maps and many interesting photographs and paintings.The reader with some overall knowledge of Gettysburg will find this book more accessible that the two volumes of Harry Pfanz's outstandingly detailed trilogy that deal with the first day of the battle and with the fighting for Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill.Serious students of the Battle of Gettysburg can get a good, clear overview of the fighting for Cemetery Hill from this slim volume.

I had a few caveats.I found some small errors in portions of the Battlefield that Jones was not treating extensively.I found one derogatory racial reference.I think this was due to the editorial failure to put quotation marks around a term that was used in a document contemporaneous to the Battle.Finally, although the book gives an excellent and clear discussion of Cemetery Hill, I found it overpriced.Readers on a budget will need to think about purchasing this volume or companion volumes in this substantively excellent series. ... Read more

Product Description
Goblins come in all shapes and sizes. This gallery of slimy portraits includes such smelly denizens of the Labyrinth as Hallow goblins, the Klutton, Zitzie, Stench and Foregoblins. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

My favorite!
This is probably my most favorite goblin book. Its not easy to find around where we live so I was excited to finally get it on here. The pictures are great and its fun to read. My 3 year old LOVES to look through it.

If you can find it, it's worth it
Brian Froud does it again with this beautifully illustrated book.This book is centered around goblins (rather than faeries).Still good, but sometimes hard to find.Good luck tracking it down, Froud fans!You won't regret it!

If only there'd been a Cottington in "Labyrinth"....
...Then this would be an ideal addition to the "Cottington Archive" series of books Including the Pressed Fairy Book, Pressed Fairly Journal, and Strange Stains & Mysterious Smells (all with co-conspirator and Monty Python alumnus Terry Jones) and Froud's solo contribution the Fairy Album.Like Strange Stains, the Goblin Companion offers whimsical Froud art accompanied by short comedic blurbs by Terry Jones, with these particular vignettes suggesting that the Goblin world, while distinct from our own, offers a humorous reflection of "Ungoblin" society through its depictions of goblin religion, politics, sports, and cooking.If you're a fan of the earlier books in the Cottington series, Monty Python, or the Labyrinth movie, The Goblin Companion will provide ample giggling and be a welcome addition to your library.

Not Froud's best
Don't expect the breathtaking paintings and art found in most of Brian Froud's books--the Goblin Companion is mainly full of quick sketches and gritty ink-and-watercolor drawings, and I found the art rather mediocre.

Great book, but rather odd...
A splendid blend of hilarious text and even-more-hilarious art, The Goblin Companion is great for the accomplished goblinologist, on for the dedicated fan of the movie Labyrinth. ... Read more

Product Description
G. Campbell Brown’s eagerness to report all he saw—from the quotidian to the bloodcurdling—makes his writings among the finest to come out of the Civil War. Brown’s fascinating memoir details his service under General Richard S. Ewell during the campaigns of First Manassas, the Shenandoah Valley, the Seven Days, Second Manassas, and Gettysburg, and under Joseph E. Johnston at Vicksburg. His correspondence and memoranda form a suspenseful recounting of the Overland Campaign, the siege of Richmond, and a harrowing retreat that ended with the capture of Brown and Ewell at Sayler’s Creek. Such leaders as Ewell, Johnston, Robert E. Lee (whose daughter Brown tried to marry), "Stonewall" Jackson, and Jubal A. Early come to life in rich anecdotes and occasional critiques of their wartime actions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Simply Fabulous
If you like British Humor like Monty Python and friends you will certainly appreciate these Calssics. All the episodes on this tape and the other two tapes are incredibly funny. I can't believe they are no longer available even on video, if that is the case...WHERE ARE THE DVD'S?

Comedic Glow of the Setting Imperial Sun
Michael Palin is what is called a 'national institution' in Britain. An ex-Python man, he is also renowned for the simple charm of a series of travel programmes -- Around the World in 80 Days, etc. -- where his good manners, stiff upper lip, and self-deprecating humour are his true passport.

Ripping Yarns was a series of 30-minute comical tales filmed for the BBC, written with the help of fellow Pythoneer Terry Jones. The name evokes the old fashioned qualities of endurance, bravery, and heroism that you might find in an old book for boys from the period of the British Empire, and, indeed, most of the tales are set in the past and start out as mock heroic tales.

Although these yarns from the late 1970s actually make fun of the virtues on which the British Empire was supposedly based, there is clearly a lot of affection for that lost World as well.

In episode one, 'Tompkinson's Schooldays,' Palin playing an unhappy student makes fun of the brutality of the English public school sytem. One reviewer said this wasn't your typical English public school because the headmaster gets caned, the students are made to fight with a grizzly bear or are nailed to a wall as punishment, and the most important person at the school is the school bully who apparently occupies some kind of official position. In a strange way, however, this range of comic devises captures the sado-masochistic essence of what an old-fashioned English public school was like. It was this kind of institution that built up the self-control, hierarchy, discipline, and genial brutality necessary to build up and adminster a great empire as well as two World Wars.

Speaking of World War, episode 2 - 'Escape from Stalag Luft 112B' - takes aim at POW movies, portraying the rigid habits and stiff upper lip so essential to the self-worth of British officers. The lifestyle of the officers and the pointless meanderings of the escape committee, which exists more as a gentleman's club than an effective escape committee, is ridiculed. Palin plays a prisoner who arrives at Stalag Luft 112B not quite knowing the social rules of the prisoner officer class and tries to escape without going through the proper channels. In an odd way this seems to be criticising the inefficiency of British industry in the 1970s, which, entangled with old-fashioned procedures and official red-tape, was in a steep relative decline.

This story also reflects some of the class tension that Palin probably felt in real life when he left his working class background in Yorkshire to mix with upper class types at Oxford. The third episode on the tape, 'Golden Gordon,' reflects this working class culture with Palin playing Gordon Ottershaw, a dedicated fan of the local and very unsuccessful football team, Barnestoneworth United. The plot is reminiscent of the Magnificent Seven with Gordon cycling all over the Yorkshire dales to reassemble a team of old great players to fend off an attempt to sell the team and its stadium to a scrap dealer.

These tales are not only endearing and heart-warming, they are almost historical documents of a Britain that is fast disappearing -- losing its culture to America and its economy to Europe.

Buy this video, you git!
Great stuff here. All 3 of the Ripping Yarns vids are excellent, & this, the first, is the strongest. Tomkinson's Schooldays & Golden Gordon are 2 of my favourite episodes from the series, & Escape From Stalag Luft 112B is right up there, too. Check it out.

Tompkinson?
This was just fantastic, by far the best of the Ripping Yarns!

MICHAEL PALIN AND TERRY JONES WRITE A WINNER!
If you like Michael Palin and Terry Jones in Monty Python, then you will like this video.This is the first of the Ripping Yarn series and I guarantee you will want to add the other two series as well to your videocollection.

Episode 1-Tomkinsons School Days (1913):Beating theheadmaster, fighting with a grizzly bear, and being nailed to the schoolwall.This isn't your typical English public school, but then you havenever attended Graybridge.Michael Palin has two roles.He plays the maincharacter Tomkinson, a young school boy who will do anything to escape fromschool.Michael also plays the head schoolmaster.Every school has abully, and Grayson is not only mean, but very well dressed.My favoritescene is where Tomkinson is in the school sanatorium (hospital), and hismom comes to visit.He begs his mother to let him come home and he looksand sounds so innocent.Terry Jones appears in this only episode as one ofthe teachers and the guest speaker.Later on Tomkinson gets into bigtrouble and is punished by doing the 30 mile hop.This is my favoriteepisode and has plenty of laughs.

Episode 2- Escape from Stalag Luft 112B(1917):In this episode the narrator tells us the story of Major EdwinPhipps.Major Phipps played by Michael Palin has attempted over 500escapes.Now in real life if you escaped from prison and was caught, youeither would be shot or punished.Instead, Major Phipps is sent to StalagLuft 112B, a prison camp for the privilege British officers. It's kind of asummer camp except with guards.The guards are funny characters, and so isthe General.Michael also has a small role as a blond hair solider whocries because his ex-wife got remarried.One thing I like about thisepisode is Major Phipps determination and how he makes an airplane out oftoliet roll holders.

Episode 3- Golden Gordon (1935):Michael Palinplays Gordon Ottershaw.Gordon is a very avid fan of his favorite Englishfootball team Barnestoneworth United.English football is soccer for usAmericans.His son is even named Barnestoneworth.He comes home after histeam loses and begins to throw things.He then takes off and begins tothrow things at the pub.He is very depressed and to make things worse theteam is being sold to a scrap company.Now what to do?He pedals his bikeall over the English countryside to bring the old team back.It's anepisode that is fun and Gordon's behavior reminds me when my favoritehockey team loses, but I don't go to the extreme of throwing things.Ifyou watch carefully, you may even spot an ex-Python.See the credits ifyou don't know who it is. ... Read more

Product Description
Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons' clothes are both inspired by and designed for confident male outsiders. His references to youth movements (like punk, goth, and mod) are not meant to be retro; instead Simons tries to translate their energy and determination into modern statements about mental independence. Yet, although they are impeccably cut and created with love and care, clothes are not at the core of Simons' universe. More important to this cult stylist are attitudes, moods, and statements. Music, art, performance, images, and words have each been a starting point for his designs, and, in an attempt to examine today's male psyche Simons takes his inspiration from the rebellion of past and present youth cultures, blending these notions with tradition and roots. This book--published on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Simons's work--presents both a wide range of the intellectual and creative aspects of the designer's work that have sealed his position at the top of fashion's roster.I don't want to show clothes, I want to show my attitude, my past, present, and future. I use memories and future visions and try to place them in today's world. --Raf SimonsEdited by Peter De Potter.Texts by Francesco Bonami, Marc Foxx, Maria Luisa Frisa, Jo-Ann Furniss, Ashley Heath, Ralf Hutter, Terry Jones, Mark Leckey, Simon Price and Collier Schorr.Hardcover, 8 x 10 in./128 pgs / 100 color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Raf Simons Delux
Well, how about that title?
Anyway if you're into Raf and what he does and stands for then you're in for a treat. If not, you're missing out. This is a great book for a fans and those new to Raf's world alike.
Enjoy.

A mystery reduxed
"Redux" extends Raf Simons' idea that fashion is more than clothes and celebrities. The book reveals Simons' social background, social isolation, social intimacy with his designers/models, and a blurry vision of the future.

Most importantly, the book doesn't reveal too much information on Mr Simons and is presented in such a way which seems unfinished but actually avoids pretensiousness.

The mystery is reduced but not revealed. Recommended ... Read more

Product Description
Tired of Tiger's boasting, the other jungle animals ask a wizard for something to make Tiger stop his enormous lies. ... Read more

Product Description
Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, UK. Text on sociology written specifically to meet the needs of occupational therapists. For students and practitioners. Includes highlighted activity boxes and references. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simple but helpful
Provides very basic sociological theory for occupational therapists and scientists. Seems to be geared toward OTs who need a sociology background, and not the other way around. Good basic reference for writing papers and identifying theories/theorists to study more in-depth. ... Read more

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Akita Research Institute of Brain & Blood Vessels, Japan. International Congress Series, Volume 1030. Proceedings of Brain Pet 1993 Akita, Akita, Japan, May 29-31, 1993. Advanced research in the positron emission tomography of the brain. ... Read more