Book Description
"Account planning exists for the sole purpose of creating advertising that truly connects with consumers. While many in the industry are still dissecting consumer behavior, extrapolating demographic trends, developing complex behavioral models, and measuring Pavlovian salivary responses, Steel advocates an approach to consumer research that is based on simplicity, common sense, and creativity--an approach that gains access to consumers' hearts and minds, develops ongoing relationships with them, and, most important, embraces them as partners in the process of developing and advertising.
A witty, erudite raconteur and teacher, Steel describes how successful account planners work in partnership with clients, consumer, and agency creatives. He criticizes research practices that, far from creating relationships, drive a wedge between agencies and the people they aim to persuade; he suggests new ways of approaching research to cut through the BS and get people to show their true selves; and he shows how the right research, when translated into a motivating and inspiring brief, can be the catalyst for great creative ideas. He draws upon his own experiences and those of colleagues in the United States and abroad to illustrate those points, and includes examples of some of the most successful campaigns in recent years, including Polaroid, Norwegian Cruise Line, Porsche, Isuzu, "got milk?" and others.
The message of this book is that well-thought-out account planning results in better, more effective marketing and advertising for both agencies and clients. And also makes an evening in front of the television easier to bear for the population at large."
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book, concise and insightful........2007-02-15
Really, I suppose, the type of book a planner should write.
It is a great introduction to what a planner is and does. A good textbook for anyone involved in advertising or dealing with ad agencies. A brilliant "manual" for planners.
The best planning book I've read to date.......2007-01-12
There is a huge shortage of good account planning books. This effort by Jon Steele makes up for it. He is a man passionate about advertising (that's evident throughout the book) and very good at it too.
Jon covers the theoretical and practical aspects of account planning thoroughly and provides insights and advice for planners at all levels, account management staff, creative staff and clients.
Reading this book will show you how to improve the quality of your advertising product. It has certainly helped me do that at the agency I work for in New Zealand. One of the best buys I've made on Amazon.
Perfect.......2006-11-15
Perfect! The book is absolutely AWESOME! A nice way of teaching a lesson about advertising!
Excellent Introduction But Too Consumer Focussed.......2005-01-07
Without a doubt, this is the difinitive book on the art of account planning. Having been an account planner myself, I can assure you that no other book comes close in terms of providing 1) an overview of the discipline 2) a realistic account of how planning functions in everday situations within the agency 3) is done in an extremely readable and clear format unlike many other advertising strategy/research books which are more strategic textbook. Steel's book reads like a biography which is a testiment to his skill as a writer and as a planner.
However, I do have a few issues with this book in that it places too much emphasis on the power of the consumer in the planning process. I have known many non-planners who have read this book and come away with the idea that everything the consumer says and does is the word of God and planning is nothing more than a glorified consumer tape recorder. This in turn makes the planner's job more difficult in some respects as they in turn must justify all of their work with,"the consumer said this." Often, agency personal new to planning desperately want to strictly classify this multi-faceted discipline and often put it in in a smaller box (consumer) than it is suited for (incidentally, this often says something about the quality or lack thereof of those who you are working with).
The reality (for me anyway) is that account planning encompases many different skills and functions of which listening and interpreting what the consumer says is just one. Consumers are only a rear view mirror in that they can tell you what happened in the past but cannot predict the future. They are also extremely literal and what they say is not always what they mean or feel which is why instinct (a dirty word in many advertising circles) is so essential. Many great brands and briefs utliize a strong point of view rather than direct and literal consumer insight which is counter to the case studies that Steel uses to explain the 'planning process.'
Overall, this is an excellent 'introduction' into account planning. In a sense, the dilema that this book creates though, is also why planning is such a wonderful discipline. A planner's job cannot be easily classified in a sentence because there are so many diverse skills required of a first-rate planner.
HighlyRecommended!.......2004-06-04
Successful ad campaigns are not linear developments where a business need meshes straightforwardly with an effective creative approach and actually produces successful tangible results. Instead, building memorable, provocative advertising campaigns is such a complex, political task, both rational and emotional, that a successful campaign is a wonder. Veteran advertising expert Jon Steel contends that building a good campaign is the common sense responsibility of the account planner - the new nexus of the consumer, agency creative staff, client and researchers. Steel shows the pitfalls of misguided research and creative arrogance as he explains that a good business-oriented account planner can help produce wonderfully effective, often simple, ad campaigns. His witty, erudite book concludes with its best case study: a look inside the successful "Got Milk" campaign for the California milk industry. We recommend this book to those who buy and sell advertising and to anyone working at an ad agency.
Book Description
Here are more scathingly funny tales from the wild side! Laurie Notaro survived the debauched ride of her twenties and the bumpy road to matrimony. Now she’s ready to take on the thirtysomething years . . . and almost middle age has never been more hilarious.
Laurie is married, mortgaged, and now—miraculously—employed in the corporate world, discovering that bosses come in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of mental stability. After maxing out her last good credit card at Banana Republic, she’s dressed for success and ready to face the jungle: surviving feral, six-foot-plus Gretchen (“Three Thousand Faces of Eve”) before battling the overbearing, overstuffed (in way-too-small pants) new mom Suzzi, who ruthlessly cancels Laurie’s newspaper column and learns that payback can be a bitch. Laurie also explores the backstabbing world of preschoolers at a Halloween party, the X-rated madness of a family trip to Disneyland, and the pressure from her QVC-addicted mother and the rest of the world to reproduce. But while losing more friends to babies than to booze, she realizes there’s a plus side: at least for a couple of months she gets to be the thinner friend.
I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) is Laurie Notaro at her deliciously quirky best. Can a woman prone to what her loved ones might term “meltdowns” (she considers them “Opportunities to Enlighten”) put a smile on her face and love everybody? Take a guess.
Customer Reviews:
HAHAHAHAHA AND MORE..................2007-09-19
I haven't laugh this hard in a long time.... I was having so much fun that I gave one to my daughter and she would called me late at night, just laughing and telling me which page to go to and it was a great bonding experience........It is awesome! thank you Laurie!
I love everything she writes - funny, quirky, will lift your spirits! .......2007-05-19
Although I feel compelled to note, right up front, that humor is tricky and what one person finds funny may not appeal to another, I still think this book is one that MOST readers will find laugh out loud funny. I love every book Notaro has written and they've found a permanent place on my bookshelf because they're guaranteed to lift my spirits on even the worst days.
Hers is the kind of humor that I'm tempted to call a combination of humor and self-help because I ALWAYS feel better about my life after reading about her misfortunes (but not guilty, because she is able to laugh at herself and, besides, her books sell well, so I figure any temporary humiliation is offset somewhat by that).
Notaro has a knack for being totally shameless about exposing life's various insults foisted upon her - and making normally dull subjects seem funny (everything from having kidney stones to finding herself traumatized and in a state of near nakedness, quite by accident, at Disneyland (yes, DISNEYLAND).
She is quick to point out her character flaws as well. She can be impatient, clumsy, drawn to the wrong type of boyfriends (until she found her husband) and prone to the most embarrassing experiences. Somehow this makes for a great read. I relate to her and I think a lot of others will.
I should note that this may fall into the type of book known as a "woman's book" and I'm not sure how many men will relate to this one. I hope I'm wrong about that.
Review from a loudmouth girl.......2007-05-16
Laurie Notaro is my hero. She has a great writing style. Her stories are hilarious. I suggest every woman who has ever struggled to fit in and do the right thing to read her books.
Very forced........2007-02-12
I purchased this book on a whim and was thoroughly disappointed (there goes my future spontaneous purchases!). Couldn't even get through it because it's attempts at humor were so flat, they were almost insulting. Thank God for target's return policy; I exchanged the book for Susan Gilman's 'Hypocrite...', which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.
The Funny for the 30-something Crowd - Notaro Style.......2007-02-04
Older, but still an Idiot Girl, Notaro's "I Love Everybody" recounts snot bubbles, the trouble with email, and other minutia done in classic Notaro style.
Notaro is one of my absolute favorite authors. She never fails to make me laugh-out-loud. I highly recommend any of her books!
Amazon.com
It's a good thing Lawrence Block is so friendly and generous with his writing advice. Otherwise, you'd just have to hate the guy. After all, it took him a mere two weeks to write his first novel. He was still a teenager at the time, and he promptly sold it to Fawcett, the first publisher to see it. What can a guy like that tell the rest of us about fiction writing that could possibly apply to our lives? Lots, actually. Telling Lies for Fun & Profit comprises four years' worth of Block's monthly fiction-writing column from Writer's Digest magazine. In it, Block turns his witty, welcoming prose to many aspects of the writing life, including collaboration, which Block maintains he does "largely as a means of avoiding work"; speed writing (surprise: "Sometimes a book or story will be better for having been written more rapidly"); the benefits of using strong verbs; and the importance of good character names.
As one might expect from a man who seems to have such a facile way with the typewriter, Block can make writing seem a lot easier than it does in real life. "If you write one page a day," he says, "you will produce a substantial novel in a year.... Don't you figure you could produce one measly little page, even on a bad day? Even on a rotten day?"
Still, just because he's published about, oh, 50 books, don't think Block considers novel writing to be all fun and profit. "Those of us who are driven to produce great quantities of manuscript don't necessarily get any real pleasure out of the act," he says. "It's just that we feel worse when we don't write." --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at writing as a craft and as a career.
From studying the market, to mastering self-discipline and "creative procrastination," through coping with rejections, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information. It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.
Customer Reviews:
Behold the Grand Master!.......2007-05-21
Lawrence Block is an absolute master of the mystery genre, so much so that he was voted Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America back in 1993. The man has an incredible output of novels and short stories, and along with Elmore Leonard dominated the mystery scene of the `80's and `90's. Until this past year, I'd never read much of Block's work, preferring newer authors and titles. So after reading a title from Block's Matthew Scudder series, I looked forward to reading TELLING LIES FOR FUN AND PROFIT, hoping to discover a little of what makes Block tick as a writer and if any of that could help me in my writing endeavors.
The result? Block definitely hits it out of the park with this book. Lots of great tips on visualization, characterization, creative plagiarism, procrastination, how to submit your work to publishers, framing, distancing--the list goes on at great length, not to mention at a great service to all would-be writers. Block touches on so many aspects of the writer's life--including, infamously, his comments on how many writers don't actually enjoy the process of writing, but are pulled along at the thought of the finished product--that it's hard to think of what Block DIDN'T cover in this book. Sure, some of his advice seems to be cliché by now, and no doubt it can be found in numerous other writing books. But when you consider that Block wrote this book in 1981, you realize that he was ahead of the game just that much.
Very funny, very insightful, and coming from a wizard of the genre, TELLING LIES FOR FUN AND PROFIT didn't disappoint a bit. And while Block is a mystery writer, TELLING LIES isn't exclusively for those looking to write mysteries; it's good enough for every genre. Pick up this and DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY and see your writing improve.
Content OK, Reprint Edition Horrid !.......2007-04-03
Don't waste your money on this reprint edition. It is printed on poor paper, the type has been reduced in size, the typesetting thus compacts and makes it difficult to read, and the ink has blurred.
I had borrowed an earlier paper edition and thought that was what this is. Not so. Buy an earlier paperback edition if Block is your mentor. I wouldn't buy it again. Perhaps that's why there are so many "used" copies available everywhere. Books are written to be read; this particular printing was printed to be sold. They should have left well enough alone.
By the way, I'm not a beginner. I've been writing and published in numerous venues for 42 years.
The "Writer's" Block!.......2007-03-21
I bought this book at least 10 years ago (maybe 12), and have found it wonderfully useful for advice and information whenever I'm foolish enough to try & live out my dream of writing a novel. It's a very entertaining read in and of itself, and is useful for anyone trying to write ANYTHING, not just fiction; I certainly found the advice helpful when engaged in academic writing (I've published several articles and a book)! Block's humour and common sense help make _Telling Lies for Fun & Profit_ a real friend in times of difficulty, especially when the (troubling kind of) writer's block hits!
This is what I've been waiting for.......2006-09-25
I have a lot of how-to-write books, and find new tips in each, but if I could only keep one, it would be this. Block covers what most other books do (description, characterization) but goes into some of the "minor details" I think a lot of writers want to know (how long each day, pen names). Unlike a lot of such books, Block does not insist that his way is the way. He provides advice and flexibility. More importantly, he encourages readers to be themselves and write in their own voice. Become a follower of Marshall or Frey and you might lose your voice to them. Block inspires you to write more, and to improve *your* writing, not become a clone of him. I can see myself consulting this book over, and over, and over.
How I Read Lawrence Block and Got My Groove Back.......2006-07-19
Well now, I can see from all the raised hands that there's lots of questions. (OK, I know, that's LB's tactic, and a very amusing one.) I could list several pages of why you or any writer should buy this book. However, let me just say that, after reading God-only-knows how many books on writing, I finally was made to lie down in green pastures by the authorial insights of Mr. Block. It's as complete a how-to-write book as I've ever read, and it's hard to imagine one more comprehensive than this. LB's seemingly done it all, even if it was illegal in fourteen states and the territory of Guam, and Telling Lies for Fun & Profit will simply shorten your learning curb and teach you some valuable lessons you might not ever learn elsewhere. So do yourself a favor and buy this book if you're a writer, or even a Scribe-in-Waiting. (PS: He's also one of the publishing industry's true good guys.)
Average customer rating:
|
Lies The Media Tell Us
James Winter
Manufacturer: Black Rose Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Media Studies
| Mass Media
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Media Studies
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1551642522 |
Book Description
The mainstream media's usual agenda, with a few worthy exceptions, is limited to the issues that the propaganda system wants us to hear, giving the viewer a narrow and biased view of what's going on in the world.
Appalled by the duplicity and misinformation churned out by the corporate media, James Winter records example after example, from major newspapers and televison programs, of the use, misuse and abuse of information. Included is a scathing analysis of actions by the U.S. administration since 9/11, in a global agenda which stretches from Iraq and Afghanistan to Venezuela; a look at how the corporate media have demonized youthful protesters, portraying them as irrational and violent thugs; how they have fought the Kyoto Accord; and how they push pharmaceutical drugs, not just in ads but in news stories and programs, omitting the downside of so-called "modern medicine."
Understanding how media shape our thinking about social issues, Disney's animated feature films-which inundate our children, promote hierarchy and are loaded with stereotypes, presenting negative images of women, visible minorities, gays and lesbians-are scrutinized. As are a number of video games from which children as young as 8 are learning violence, sexism and racism, through innocent-sounding games such as, "Grand Theft Auto", "Waste the Wife" and "Kill All Haitians."
In their rave reviews of these films and games, the corporate media are oblivious to these damaging representations. If real power is exercised today not by governments, but by private interests, then the corporate media deserve our attention.
James Winter is a professor of communication studies at the University of Windsor, in Ontario, Canada. He has taught media literacy to thousands of students, for the past quarter century. He is the founding editor of the Electronic Journal of Communication, and the muckraking alternative webzine, Flipside. His recent books include: MediaThink, and Democracy's Oxygen: How Corporations Control the News.
Book Description
The classic, inspiring account of a poet's experience teaching school children to write poetry
When Kenneth Koch entered the Manhattan classrooms of P.S. 61, the children, excited by the opportunity to work with an instructor able to inspire their talent and energy, would clap and shout with pleasure. In this vivid account, Koch describes his inventive methods for teaching these children how to create poems and gives numerous examples of their work. Wishes, Lies, and Dreams is a valuable text for all those who care about freeing the creative imagination and educating the young.
Customer Reviews:
A superb introduction to the art of writing poetry.......2007-05-30
Some 35+ years after its initial publication, this remains one of the finest books about writing poetry -- and not just for children, either! Kenneth Koch walks a delicate & difficult line here, trusting in the experiences & imaginations of children, yet also emphasizing (in an unforced but gently firm manner) the need for work & craft. Most of all, it demystifies poetry without stripping it of its wonder & magic, making it accessible to all who are willing to meet it halfway. There's never a note of condescension here, just a genuine love of poetry & the expectation that any aspiring poet will give his or her all in creating poems. Most highly recommended!
The Book to Make April Special.......2006-02-07
April is National Poetry Month. Here's a book that will bring the joy of poetry to your classroom. The title exercises are especially effective. The kids in our library loved to list lies! It sounds so simple. Try it--it's pure magic.
Every teacher should read this - and use it!.......2003-09-06
I was first introduced to this marvelous book as a sophomore in an advanced placement English and History class in high school. An older graduate of the program had gone on to study poetry under Kenneth Koch at Columbia University, and returned to share what he had learned.
Now, with Bachelor's Degrees in both English and Elementary Education and a Master's in Language, Linguistics and Culture, I still consider WISHES, LIES, AND DREAMS to be the single best book on teaching writing that I have ever read.
Koch does not waste time with "assessment" of students' skills, collecting data, or any of the other peripheral matters that clutter most writing "methods" texts. This book is about WRITING, about inspiring students to write, about focusing the talents students already have but might not know that they possess.
I first used this book as a teacher when I was student teaching with a class of recalcitrant fifth graders who had been taught strictly by the text throughout their elementary school years. They almost unanimously declared that they hated writing. Employing Koch's ideas and combining them with the District-required skills lessons, I successfully taught these students what they needed to know - and they loved it!
After I began teaching in my own classroom, I used WLD with my students in bilingual third grade classes. Again, we were successful, even with second-language learners. Years later, when I began teaching second grade, and last year, when I worked with first graders, this book was an essential part of our writing program.
Having been an elementary school teacher now for eleven years, I have come to the conclusion that the best teachers begin with the students' interests and talents, then direct this energy toward teaching the students what they don't know.
Even though the subtitle is "Teaching Children to Write Poetry", the ideas Koch presents serve as a starting point for introducing children to other forms of writing. While the book is directed primarily toward elementary school students, I cannot imagine that high schoolers and even college students could not benefit from it.
Best of all, Koch himself takes up little space explaining to us, telling us how to teach, or - as so many methodology text writers tend to do - ramble on for page after page stating the obvious. Most of the book is filled with examples of writing from the STUDENTS Koch worked with in the New York City Public Schools. These brief poems provide students with a concrete example of what children before them have written, and inspire them to write their own poetry.
The Six-Traits writing process hadn't even been invented (or at least hadn't been named that) when this book was published over thirty years ago, but I found it easy to find examples of good use of Voice, Word Choice, Conventions, Ideas, and Sentence Fluency throughout the book.
No matter what program your school district requires, WLD will help provide inspiration. Teachers can easily supplement skills and grammar lessons in addition to Koch's marvelous ideas, and will probably think of millions more.
If you're not a teacher, sit down with your children and read this book together, read the children's poems, and try some of the ideas. You'll probably end up recommending WLD to your child's teacher - and he'll be glad you did.
Worth its weight in gold.......2000-04-14
This is one book I can't do without. I was introduced to Kenneth Koch's work when I was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison taking a workshop from an author who had taught with Koch. It has been my "writing Bible" ever since. I have used almost every exercise at one time or another with elementary school children, with fantastic results. Along with Koch's "Rose, Where Did You Get That Red?", this is a classic.
Amazon.com
Something odd, if predictable, became of screenwriter William Goldman after he wrote the touchstone tell-all book on filmmaking, Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983), he became a Hollywood leper. Goldman opens his long-awaited sequel by writing about his years of exile before he found himself--again--as a valuable writer in Hollywood.
Fans of the two-time Oscar-winning writer (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men) have anxiously waited for this follow-up since his career serpentined into a variety of big hits and critical bombs in the '80s and '90s. Here Goldman scoops on The Princess Bride (his own favorite), Misery, Maverick, Absolute Power, and others. Goldman's conversational style makes him easy to read for the film novice but meaty enough for the detail-oriented pro. His tendency to ramble into other subjects may be maddening (he suddenly switches from being on set with Eastwood to anecdotes about Newman and Garbo), but we can excuse him because of one fact alone: he is so darn entertaining.
Like most sequels, Which Lie follows the structure of the original. Both Goldman books have three parts: stories about his movies, a deconstruction of Hollywood (here the focus is on great movie scenes), and a workshop for screenwriters. (The paperback version of the first book also comes with his full-length screenplay of Butch; his collected works are also worth checking out). This final segment is another gift--a toolbox--for the aspiring screenwriter. Goldman takes newspaper clippings and other ideas and asks the reader to diagnose their cinematic possibilities. Goldman also gives us a new screenplay he's written (The Big A), which is analyzed--with brutal honesty--by other top writers. With its juicy facts and valuable sidebars on what makes good screenwriting, this is another entertaining must-read from the man who coined what has to be the most-quoted adage about movie-business success: "Nobody knows anything." --Doug Thomas
Book Description
From the Oscar-winning screenwriter of
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and
The Princess Bride (he also wrote the novel), and the bestselling author of
Adventures in the Screen Trade comes a garrulous new book that is as much a screenwriting how-to (and how-not-to) manual as it is a feast of insider information.
If you want to know why a no-name like Kathy Bates was cast in
Misery-it's in here. Or why Linda Hunt's brilliant work in
Maverick didn't make the final cut-William Goldman gives you the straight truth. Why Clint Eastwood loves working with Gene Hackman and how MTV has changed movies for the worse-William Goldman, one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood today, tells all he knows. Devastatingly eye-opening and endlessly entertaining,
Which Lie Did I Tell? is indispensable reading for anyone even slightly intrigued by the process of how a movie gets made.
Customer Reviews:
Which Lie Did I Tell?.......2007-03-29
The best of it's kind for anyone interested in screen writing. Easy to read, full of help, Excellent.
The Trials and Tribulations of a Hollywood Screenwriter. And Some Advice. .......2006-07-31
"Which Lie Did I Tell?" is a follow-up to William Goldman's 1983 book "Adventures in the Screen Trade" in which the screenwriter gives us the inside scoop on Hollywood moviemaking from a unique point of view -that of the writer- and provides some lessons in screenwriting through examples from his own and others' attempts to create movies from the raw materials of experience and imagination. This book has 4 parts, but if you're only interested in the stories Goldman has to tell about his Hollywood experiences, those are found in Part 1. Parts 2-4 address the craft of screenwriting: what works, what doesn't, why, and how to pitch it. Goldman is opinionated, blunt, and he refers to his Oscar-winning "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" screenplay far too often. It's obviously his pride and joy. "Which Lie Did I Tell?" is briskly paced, personal, and it gives us the lowdown on what it takes -not just the writing talent, but the mettle- to write movies in Hollywood.
Goldman starts with the 9 years he didn't work, 1978-1986, after having written 7 movies in the prior 8 years. Not exactly encouraging to aspiring screenwriters. Then Goldman takes us through his experiences writing -and in some cases filming- seven screenplays he wrote 1986-1997: "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", "The Princess Bride", "Misery", "The Year of the Comet", "Maverick", "The Ghost and the Darkness", and "Absolute Power". These screenplays provide insight into a variety of writing challenges, as some are original, some adapted, one adapted from Goldman's own book, some from novels, some entirely fictional, and one is based on a true story. And, of course, some were hits, some flops, and one didn't make it. Goldman relates the ideas behind these movies, his intentions and struggles in writing them, with plenty of commentary on studio executives, stars, directors, and test audiences. Goldman's goal is to tell it like it is in the screen trade.
In Part 2, Goldman examines the screenplays for some famous -and famously successful- movie scenes from "There's Something About Mary", "When Harry Met Sally", "North by Northwest", "The Seventh Seal", "Chinatown", "Fargo", and his own "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". He presents analysis and opinion on why these scenes work so well and shares his technique for finding the heart of the material when adapting work for the screen. In Part 3, Goldman looks at some real-life dramas that might make interesting movies, but notes the difficulties in adapting them and discusses the problems inherent in writing about real people. Part 4 is a screenplay that Goldman wrote in order that others might criticize it for this book, followed by critiques from 6 successful screenwriters. This is a worthwhile exercise that really illuminates the pitfalls of creating characters for the screen.
Which Lie....?.......2006-06-25
a hilarious account of the 'politics of hollywood' from the perspective of a brilliant writer...
Another Great Read from Goldman.......2004-11-08
I loved Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and loved this book almost as much. It's interesting, funny and revealing, written in a casual and frank manner that you'd expect from a good friend. Goldman writes books and screenplays in multiple genres because he focuses on whether each story is one he wants to tell - not whether it's the same type of story he succeeded with before. What amazes me about this versatile writer is his generosity. In this book he discusses his creative processes and offers detailed, useful guidance to aspiring writers (for comparison, Joe Ezterhaus did not do this in his interesting memoir). At the end of the book, Goldman even has the guts to offer up a new script draft for criticism by top screenwriters whose comments he includes. Who else would dare to expose his work-in-process like that? Not I! He is my hero.
The Land of Dreams.......2004-08-28
After the Adventures in the Screen Trade many years ago, I had to sink my eyes in this second adventure. I must admit to being a Goldman fan. It was a hard volume to put down. I went from cover to cover in a couple of days. Back again a few more times. I laughed so many times I felt dizzy. Kinda got a buzz! Good reads are supposed to do that to you! Goldman's read is cool! It's heavy with experience! He's crossed a lot of bridges, built some, and burned some too! This one is a Do Not Miss read too. As usual, no butt kissing here! He tells it like it is, not how it should be! An E-ride ticket to how things are in Dreamland. Hey, Goldman! We're waiting for the next Adventure!
Book Description
One of the most audacious and provocative writers on either side of the Atlantic now gives readers a dazzling, arousing, and wise improvisation on art, Eros, language, and identity. "A series of intense, artful musings that are exhilarating and visionary. . . . Unsettling yet strangely satisfying."--Newsday.
Customer Reviews:
White Starlight.......2005-12-11
If you commit to it, it is one of the most amazing pieces of writing you will ever read. Many a delicious quotable niblet!
From the Publisher and Reviewers-----.......2004-11-11
Art and Lies: A Piece for Three Voices and a Bawd, American Ed.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The novel brings together three apparently disparate figures on a single day in a single place - a high-speed train hurtling through the present or near-future (though the book itself ranges freely over the centuries). Handel is an ex-priest turned surgeon, a man whose humanity has been sacrificed to intellect. Picasso, a young woman cast out by the family that drove her to madness, is comforted only by her painting. And Sappho is the famed lesbian poet of antiquity, as alive as her immortal verse. Each is at once beguilingly symbolic and painfully real, alienated from a brutal technological world and united by Winterson's narrative, which directs them together towards a single end of satisfying inevitability. A story of lust, the unloved and loss, Art & Lies is also a jeremiad upholding the virtues of culture against the cold numbness of modern life. Erudite, impassioned, philosophical and, above all, daring, Winterson enfolds her characters in the ageless beauty of art - with a depth of feeling every bit as dazzling as her rich prose and fierce intellect.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publisher's Weekly
Set on a train traveling through a dystopian future England, Winterson's latest novel is a patchwork meditation on identity and artistry.
_______________________________________
To read Jeanette Winterson's 'Art & Lies' can and should be compared to the process of eating a glazed cream éclair. It is rich, it is melancholically sweet, it is pleasurable. Conjuring, her work strikes the reader with its clarity, its lucidity, its beauty. A delicious delirium. While the plot remains in the background, the nudity of confessional tone and stylistic voice lulls you to sleep only to slap you awake in the following paragraph. The price of each paragraph is a petal, as Emily Dickinson once wrote. A remarkable poetic novel, these words should keep you up nights and days in daze.
................................................2004-03-23
Art and Lies is in my humble opinion the best work of fiction (or is it?) I have ever read. It's dense, profoundly intertextual, and at times absolutely poetic. Please don't be fooled by Publius' obviously misguided review (for example, the comparison between Sophokles and Sappho is flawed from the start, and one might consider reading a bit about the historical reception of Sappho's work before making such bold statements); if Winterson will enter literary history as a footnote to a footnote, it will be one that disrupts the entire textual frame itself.
Another one of the "idols of our age".......2004-02-14
Jeanette Winterson is one of those IMPORTANT writers who are presented as the future of English literature. Note that I said important, not good. Winterson started off as a bad writer, and has become steadily more unreadable ever since. As an Amazon reviewer said about another of her novels, "Jeanette Winterson is not as smart as she thinks she is." She is a perfect example of the arrogant modern artist whose only goal seems to be to confuse and frustrate the reader with wretched prose, which at least helps to disguise the mediocrity of her insights into human nature. Unfortunately, her followers seem to treat every one of her turgid, unreadable books as gospel. I've read three- "The Passion," "Written on the Body," and this one -and each one has left me repulsed and derisive in equal parts. AS you might expect, all this praise by the lit-crit crowd has gone to Winterson's head, and she has presented herself as some sort of literary genius in interviews and elsewhere (we all should remember that true geniuses rarely describe themselves as such; their talent is self-evident as to warrant no bragging). But if we take her foolish pretensions to greatness as fact, then I must ask: what is wrong with us? Is Jeanette Winterson the best we as a culture can do? If so, then may God help us all.
A word on Sappho, who is one of this book's main characters. While not enough of Sappho's poetry has survived the ages to properly judge her talent, it is unfortunate that a decent Greek poetess such as her has been turned into one of the Anointed for the modern feminist movement, typified by Winterson and others. Throughout this book, Winterson seems completely unaware that the reason why most of Sappho's poetry does not survive is because of the cultural disaster of the Dark Ages, not some ridiculous male conspiracy to pervert and destroy her poems. We possess 7 plays out of the 300+ that Sophocles wrote, and those by complete accident: do you really think the "patriarchs" would have destroyed Sappho's work while forgetting to preserve their own gender's great authors? Now, I do understand that many of Sappho's early modern interpreters attempted to rewrite her poetry to make it more acceptable to them, which is regrettable but not surprising. However, rewriting Sappho to turn her into a feminist icon is just as bad, if not worse. I will grant Winterson one thing, though- no matter who rewrites it, Sappho's poetry will be read and appreciated long after Jeanette Winterson becomes no more than a footnote to a footnote in the history of literature.
In conclusion, "Art & Lies" is not good literature, but second-rate fiction and politics disguised as it, and should be strenously avoided by anyone wishing for profundity in their reading choices. A real author once wrote: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." Winterson's books are neither beautiful nor true.
Inspiring philosophical meditation.......2003-12-09
"There's no such thing as autobiography, there's only art and lies," Winterson reports in this philosophical narrative which intertwines three lives. The surgeon Handel is running away from the mistake he made on the operating table. Self-named Picasso is a painter whose life has been constricted and nearly destroyed by her family, until her current escape. Sappho has wandered the ages following her poetry and reflecting on her loves and on how the world omits parts of her life. These stories, along with a fourth that is about a prostitute looking for her lover, cohere in Winterson's sparkling language and form a mosaic that explores art and love, living and sexuality, identity and consequences. "Art & Lies" defies the structure of storytelling and instead vividly illustrates the human condition. I didn't feel that the ending brought the narrative to any sort of completion, but overall I found the book inspiring on several levels.
Average customer rating:
- The Cybill Strikes Back!
- You Know...She May Be A B-List Celebrity But This Isn't That Bad A Book
- I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, and don't you forget it!
- Example of one version of the Liberated Life
- You have to be a big fan, to find all of this interesting.
|
Cybill Disobedience : How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think
Cybill Shepherd
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Theater
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Actors & Actresses
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Theatre
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Television
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Moonlighting: Season 4
-
Moonlighting - Season 3
-
Moonlighting - Season Five - The Final Season
-
The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography
-
Moonlighting: The Television Soundtrack Album
ASIN: 0060193506
Release Date: 2000-04-04 |
Book Description
Few women in the past three decades have lit up the American imagination like Cybill Shepherd. From wholesome beauty queen to saucy cover girl, from heartbreaking movie star (The Last Picture Show) to one of television's most beloved comediennes (Moonlighting and Cybill), she has imbued each of her roles--right down to her current passions as devoted mother of three, champion of women's issues, and sultry cabaret singer--with an indomitable spirit that has made her, at fifty, a female icon to an entire generation. Now in her much-anticipated memoir, she tells her remarkable story with humor, pathos, and more highlights than her famously blond hair. Cybill has absorbed the lessons of Southern womanhood, including the whispered message about sex: Wait until you're married, then you won't enjoy it, and certainly never speak of it. She gleefully disobeyed these and other rules of decorum in a career laced with controversy, featuring unforgettable cameos by Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Orson Welles, Robert De Niro, and Jeff Bridges. Whether stepping on Elvis's blue suede shoes or going toe-to-toe with Bruce Willis, Cybill has never held anything back, and it's all in Cybill Disobedience, including:
the night a network executive tried to barter thirteen episodes for a horizontal tour of Cybill's bedroom
why she'll never be invited back to Ryan O'Neal's beach house or Marlon Brando's island
the time she greeted David Letterman in nothing but a towel
the real reason two of television's most popular and acclaimed series, died premature deaths
how she made Richard Nixon blush for the first and only time in his life
From her Memphis roots to her insider's track in Hollywood, Cybill Shepherd is a woman who has weathered every onslaught and withstood every rebuke to emerge as a luminous model of endurance, courage, and an insatiable lust for life.
Customer Reviews:
The Cybill Strikes Back!.......2007-05-07
I wanted to read this book mainly to see what Cybill would say about Bruce Willis and Moonlighting, one of my all-time favorite shows, and although I was left wanting more, she does give a few interesting tidbits about them. But even if she hadn't this would still be a page turner.
Most references to Cybill Shepherd by the media over the years have been negative. I just wanted to hear her side of her story for a change and I have no problem with this so-called 'B-list' actor making a few bucks in the process.
While I don't approve of or agree with everything Cybill says she's done or believes in, this little book is a small interesting slice of history and a record of how things work behind the scenes of the modeling and acting professions. The message I got is 'proceed with extreme caution - or better yet choose another career.'
Also, my belief that Hollywood culture is depraved in general remains unshaken after reading this. And you certainly can't blame it all on Cybill Shepherd.
Even so, I appreciate what I believe is Cybill's candor about herself, the people she's met and her experiences which is written with a witty humor and a verbal style I appreciate.
You Know...She May Be A B-List Celebrity But This Isn't That Bad A Book.......2005-10-16
I don't know what compelled me to check this out from the library since I didn't really know who Cybill Shepherd was, but she kept me reading with her honesty and `dang-it-it's-true' breed of self-flattery. In this autobiography, the star of the '80's TV hit Moonlighting (when she mentioned Moonlighting, I was finally like, "Oh, I know who she is...") candidly talks about the cut-throat world of Hollywood, tells about how Hef, of Playboy fame, stole images from her nude scene and improperly published them, talks about an affair with Elvis (who "charmed" her by telling her in one of his pill-popping hazes about the time a doctor gave him an injection directly into the pupil of his eye!!!!!) and throws caution to the wind and dodges claims of skankhood by talking about a seemingly unending series of affairs with scores of married and unmarried men, from her beauty queen teen years in Memphis, well into her fifties. Shepherd name-drops and that's the making of this book since it's most interesting when the focus is not on her. She tells about having Orson Welles as a long-term house guest, about how she introduced Elvis to certain amorous technique, tells of clashes with Bruce Willis, whose ego was a match for her own, and provides tell-all revelations about some of the biggest stars in the movie business during the 1970's. Shepherd is also doggedly committed to certain feminist causes and gives ink to her views on them. This book is definitely a celebrity stroking her ego, but it's not dull or preachy and since it can be read in about two hours, it's not a bad way to spend a free afternoon.
I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, and don't you forget it!.......2005-05-20
Truly the title sums up the whole of this autobiography. I wonder if Ms. Shepherd hadn't believed so deeply in her ephemeral outer beauty, maybe others wouldn't have assumed that that's all she had going for her.
Conspicuously absent from her story were her relationships with her siblings, which were touched on ever-so-briefly toward the end, tellingly admitting that they had a tenuous connection at best, their sibling bonds having been sacrificed at the alter of Shepherd's career.
Cybill Shepherd spent her life being promiscuous, including involvment with married men, and lays it all out for the record, no matter how it makes her look. It's amazing to me that she never came away from fling after short-term fling not feeling used or taken advantage of.
The comment that rings the loudest to me, out of everything she crammed furiously into this book, was the fact that she tried to make '5 minutes feel like 5 hours' with her kids, as if that were possible. Although she does go on to admit that it is simply not possible to do it all.
Contradictory to me is the fact that Ms. Shepherd found lurid tabloid stories to be embarassing and insulting to herself and her children, but she voluntarily lays bare all her personal laundry.
I picked up this book because I fondly remember Moonlighting as must-see TV of my teenage years, Maddie Hayes and David Addison being the best on-screen couple of my generation. Although that was just one small part of Cybill's story, I did find the Hollywood insider stuff a fun guilty pleasure.
One last criticism - the subtitle is far too long and completely unnecessary, bordering on downright silly.
Example of one version of the Liberated Life.......2004-08-24
Cybill Disobedience : How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think
by Cybill Shepherd
This was an interesting read and useful as a resource since it is a first person description of the kind of life one can lead as a liberated (using the pill) female. Not only was Cybill successful, but as she says, she was "a very, very, bad girl." Cybill did what she wanted to do.
Regardless of whether or not this sort of life should be recommended, it is certainly a resource that can be referred to as an example.
You have to be a big fan, to find all of this interesting........2004-04-19
Some interesting comments about show business, and about some of the people she worked with, and went to bed with. The last part, about her TV show, "Cybill," would only interest a BIG fan of the show. (Who did what and who said what about the show's individual episodes isn't exactly gripping reading.) (I'm glad it's a short book.)
Book Description
"This is the most practical, hard-nosed, generous, direct, and useful guide to writing fiction."—Brad Watson
Finally, a truly creative—and hilarious—guide to creative writing, full of encouragement and sound advice. Provocative and reassuring, nurturing and wise, The Lie That Tells a Truth is essential to writers in general, fiction writers in particular, beginning writers, serious writers, and anyone facing a blank page.
John Dufresne, teacher and the acclaimed author of Love Warps the Mind a Little and Deep in the Shade of Paradise, demystifies the writing process. Drawing upon the wisdom of literature's great craftsmen, Dufresne's lucid essays and diverse exercises initiate the reader into the tools, processes, and techniques of writing: inventing compelling characters, developing a voice, creating a sense of place, editing your own words. Where do great ideas come from? How do we recognize them? How can language capture them? In his signature comic voice, Dufresne answers these questions and more in chapters such as "Writing Around the Block," "Plottery," and "The Art of Abbreviation." Dufresne demystifies the writing process, showing that while the idea of writing may be overwhelming, the act of writing is simplicity itself.
Customer Reviews:
A Rich Resource for Teachers and Students of All Levels.......2006-11-03
The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction is a rich resource for teachers of any fiction course (high school to graduate level), aspiring writers, or veteran writers seeking inspiration or the decadal refresher. Regardless of level or need, Dufresne has something for everyone. He covers the gamut, from the creative writing process (freewriting, first drafts, the habit of writing, your writing room, etc.) to the fundamentals of story craft (plot, dialogue, character, etc.).
There are three main parts: Process, Product, and Other Matters. Process addresses every obstacle an aspiring writer faces, from finding time to write to revising for clichés. Many points in this section bear mentioning, but I'll limit it to a few: Dufresne suggests harvesting material for stories from your own life, while minding the ethics of such theft (His mantra: First do no harm). He also notes that expecting too much from a first draft is a common beginning writer's mistake. And finally he prompts the writer to see, "to look at (the world) an inch at a time," so that our writing can light up with such details. In the Product section, Dufresne tackles the elements of craft. His chapters flow from openings/endings to plot to character to dialogue. In the section, The Queen Died of Grief, Dufresne explains the difference between a story and a plot, championing that a plot contains cause and effect, while story, in its rawest form, is simply news. And finally, in Other Matters, Dufresne discusses the necessity of writers to be readers and suggests that writers begin compiling catalogues (Sears, office supplies, lingerie, etc.) for imagining setting and details in your stories.
What makes this guide unique is Dufresne's voice, tone, and candor. He exposes his life and his writing mishaps in an attempt to demystify the writing process. For example, in the chapter titled, Doing It Again (And Again [And Again]), during a list of inspirational revision tips, Dufresne breaks the prose to write, "(I just wrote two lines here, and then I took them out. Here they are [or were]: Visualize your characters..." Dufresne goes on to share a long, nonsensical, and clunky sentence. By giving us his raw revision, we see it in contrast to his inspirational prose and the point of revision is hammered home. The guide is practical and straightforward, peppered by thought-provoking quotes by fiction greats. Dufresne diffuses the reader's writing fears by offering systematic advice for every possible writing obstacle or blunder. And at the end of each chapter there are exercises that reinforce the chapter's lesson.
Some quotable/referenceable moments: "The worst thing you can do in writing a first draft is to let your critical self (the boss) sit down at the writing table with your creative self" (page 72). Later, when discussing revision, Dufresne offers 15 editing/polishing tips on pages 87 through 90, including Challenge every adjective, Challenge the first and last paragraph, Cut every nonessential dialogue tag, and Challenge every line that you love.
The greatest strength of this guide is Dufresne's view of the first draft. In the brilliant section, Getting Black on White, he argues that the true first draft is the exploratory/discovery draft. Here the author is painting the set, from the rug to the roof. Dufresne suggests freewriting the set until the room is alive in your mind and on the paper. Then do the same for the characters. The first draft can go on for days, notebooks even, until the world you've created and its characters become clear. Dufresne writes of his first draft, "I answered the questions for days, writing away in my notebook" (page 74). The story you will start to tell in your second draft will be born of this first draft, but in the first draft there is no story yet. Here you are simply exploring.
As Breton might have fought with Greenberg, so might I fight with Dufresne. Dufresne subscribes to the freewriting school of thought, frowning on thoughtful plotting before the pen has met the page, or even after the first draft. It is not until many drafts into your story that Dufresne suggests you ask the story (page 85), "What is my story about?" While I plan on trying to leave the critic at home during my first draft, I think the content critic should creep in much sooner that Dufresne suggests. I am not sure this is a weakness of the guide, though, but rather a difference of opinion.
Urgency rating:
-Drop everything and read right now. Okay, well not right now, but definitely the next time you are stuck on a story, experiencing writer's block, or are just about to teach an introduction to fiction class. Then, yes--drop everything (unless you're carrying something fragile, like a baby or a melon.)
So Few Teachers Will Tell You Like It Is........2006-09-18
I guess if you name your book THE LIE THAT TELLS A TRUTH, then you better tell the truth. Dufresne's book is an in your face, what it means to write, what story, character, theme is all about, and whatever you do don't do this (his section on the Ten Commandments) kind of writing book that is inspiring and igniting all at once. What is evident is his passion, and for a profeesor over the age of 30, that's a downright miracle. He basically says, "If you've got the guts, then write." And for those of us crazy enough to try, this book is a must.
A great teacher.......2006-01-28
I procrastinated writing this review for weeks because it meant so much to me.
The great gift this book offers is its infinite passion for writing. You feel it from the author and from all the great authors whose quotes are included. Being immersed in this love of literature for the time it took me to read and reread this book was a pleasure.
The book also provides great insights into creating characters, starting stories, writing dialogue, "borrowing from other writers", and common mistakes made by authors.
The following two points helped me the most. First, don't be discouraged by flawed first drafts and scenes that don't match the images you had in your head when you decided to write them. All writers experience this. Rewriting is where the magic occurs.
Second, only include writing that advances the story or reveals something important about the charactor. No matter how much you love a scene you wrote, remove it if it doesn't meet this criteria.
I can't recommend this book enough.
Fictional Truths and how to reach them.......2005-12-06
This was a very easy to read guide for writing fiction with poignant anecdotes and explanations to encourage and inspire the beginning and the experienced writer. Dufresne guides the reader through character development, plot advancement, and narrative strategies with his technical considerations for writing dialogue and his fifteen challenges for editing and polishing your work.
This is a must read!
In the mind of a writer.......2005-10-25
I went to a big bookstore and went through every book on fiction writing they had. One by one, I sat down and examined: back cover, contents, index, and, if it looked like something that might interest me, I read a sample chapter or two.
Of all of them, this book spoke to me. From the opening sentence (a crucial one for any writer), Dufresne came across as someone I could easily have a conversation with. Interesting, down-to-earth, funny, honest, wise, provocative, practical and experienced, he makes a great writing coach.
Dufresne is a working writer, and he takes all of the tools that he's applying towards his own published fiction and opens them up for everyone to see. The result is a comprehensive, candid look at the writing process.
The book is practical. It makes you ask yourself why you're not writing now, and, if you haven't been writing, it gets you there right away. It shows you why, paradoxically, a good first draft is a bad first draft. After the first draft, it's on to revision... and revision... and revision. Every step of the way, you're barraged with penetrating questions to make your work better, and you learn that relentlessly asking these questions and constantly refining your vision is how good writing emerges. Seeing your work honestly and earnestly working to improve and improve it until it shines - that's what this book helps you do.
After laying the groundwork of process, Dufresne goes into the basics of craft. What is story? What is plot? Why is character so important? What is good dialogue? How can you manipulate point of view? Why is setting so significant? Even if you've read a hundred other books on craft and turned these questions over a thousand times in your mind, Dufresne's answers are worth reading because he's writing from his own experience and the organic understanding that has developed from that (he's not just groundlessly repeating "Sound Principles" like many other books on craft do). Surely if you've studied the craft before some of this will be review; some of it will be obvious; but it's all fresh and authentic because it comes from someone who's done a lot of original thinking and working with the content he presents.
A worthwhile introduction to the professional writer's life.
Average customer rating:
- His Most Popular Play Among Playwrights
- Not up to par....
- An accurate portrayal of imperfect human nature.
|
A Lie of the Mind.
Sam Shepard
Manufacturer: Dramatist's Play Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
| Humor
| Movies
| Music
| Performing Arts
| Pop Culture
| Puzzles & Games
| Radio
| Sheet Music & Scores
| Television
United States
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Shepard, Sam
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
| Shakespeare, William
| Shaw, George Bernard
| Stevenson, Robert Louis
| Stoker, Bram
General
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
United States
| Drama
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Fool for Love
-
Crimes of the Heart.
-
Sam Shepard : Seven Plays (Buried Child, Curse of the Starving Class, The Tooth of Crime, La Turista, Tongues, Savage Love, True West)
-
On Method Acting
-
Acting for Film and TV
ASIN: 0822206560 |
Customer Reviews:
His Most Popular Play Among Playwrights.......2001-11-29
In almost every playwriting class I have taken the teacher has asked the participants to go around the room and discuss their favorite plays. A Lie of the Mind is always everyone's favorite Shepard play. I have curiously never heard playwrights mention Fool for Love, Buried Child, or Curse of the Starving Class which are much more popular with actors and directors (and the Pulitzer Committee). True West is sometimes a favorite for its tight X-shaped structure. But, A Lie of the Mind has a gorgeous ensemble feel, interwining the lives of two troubled families into an alcoholic and violent aria of tortured love. I have seen it performed twice and seen actors work on each individual scene as class work so it haunts me a lot and never fails to astonish. The play has a heartbeat and sweet warm flesh. It also has one of the most dramatic and involving beginning scenes ever penned. A must read for playwrights interested in writing ensemble pieces.
Not up to par...........2001-10-20
As a theatre major and a huge fan of Sam Shepard's body of works, I was excited to read "Lie...." The play has gained popularity recently, especially in academic theatre circles. The characters, however rich, never seem to truely develop. The plot is stalled from the first scene -- the whole piece seems to be nothing but one loud, emotional outburst after another. If you want to be exposed to the greatness of Shepard, stick with "Buried Child" or "Fool for Love" -- even "Curse of the Starving Class" shines far above this work.
An accurate portrayal of imperfect human nature........2000-04-06
This wonderful drama is a great example of the imperfect quality of human nature. Even the characters that seem to be the most put together have their own weaknesses and foibles. Shepard has done a very good job of constructing the scenes in a logical manner, appropriately switching between the homes of two different, yet strongly connected families. One of the crowning achievements of this drama is that it draws you in and makes you feel for the characters of the two midwestern families, especially Beth, the now-mentally damaged wife of Jake. I have not seen this play performed but if the written play can draw you the reader in so deeply, I can only imagine what the performed piece can do to the audience. I highly reccomend this drama to anyone who loves to read well-written plays.
Books:
- Ultimate X-Men Vol. 15: Magical
- Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
- Ways with Words: Language, Life and Work in Communities and Classrooms (Cambridge Paperback Library)
- What Stories Does my son need?: A Guide to Books and Movies that Build Character in Boys
- Where the Sea Breaks Its Back: The Epic Story of Early Naturalist Georg Steller and the Russian Exploration of Alaska
- Witness to the Martyrdom: John Taylor's Personal Account of the Last Days of the Prophet Joseph Smith
- X-Men
- Zero Hour (Resident Evil)
- 28 Days Later: The Aftermath
- A Christmas to Remember (Cape Light Series #7)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Fundamentals of Power Electronics
- Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener's Guide to Planting, Seed Saving, and Cultural Histo
- A Basic Guide for Valuing a Company, 2nd Edition
- Audio CD set for use with European Musical Heritage
- Business Analysis and Valuation: Using Financial Statements, Text and Cases
- Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
- Exploring Mesoamerica
- F7 Financial Reporting FR
- Beyond Work-Family Balance: Advancing Gender Equity and Workplace Performance
- THE ALASKAN a Novel of the North
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads, Second Edition
Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business (Adweek Books)
Art of Client Service
Ogilvy on Advertising
Hitting the Sweet Spot: How Consumer Insights Can Inspire Better Marketing and Advertising
