Customer Reviews (1)

Relevant then and even now
Journalist Richard Reeves provides revealing portraits of major figures cerca mid-1970's such as Hubert Humprhey, Gerald Ford, Senator Henry (Scoop) Jackson, Ronald Reagan, etc.Reeves claims that Ted Kennedy has the brains to be President, and credits colorless Governor Hugh Carey for rescuing a then-bankrupt New York City.Reeves also does something smart that journalists rarely do - he asks Senators who among them should be President (their top choice was Henry ¨Scoop¨ Jackson).Ironically, his portrait of mediocre NY Mayor Abe Beame (1906-2001) is most inspiring.This poor immigrant pulled himself from poverty and succeeded at every level (except mayor) through persistence and determination.

This book was timed for the 1976 Presidential contest, yet still makes interesting reading for political junkies and others.Also, if I recall correctly, a certain Governor from Plains, Georgia who got the job didn't make the cut. ... Read more

Product Description
When a mysterious manila envelope reached the hands of Henry "Milt" Reeves, no one could have anticipated the story that waited inside. Enclosed he found a manuscript written half a century earlier and yellowed with age. Each fragile page unfolded the first-person story of a trip Dorothy Chapman Saunders had taken to Mexico in 1948 and 1949 with her husband and seasoned ornithologist, George, to conduct field surveys of waterfowl and white-winged doves for the U.S. government.

In Chico, George, the Birds, and Me, Saunders adeptly describes the birds they saw and the survey work they did. She also charts the other details of their journey as they traveled in a jeep they dubbed "Chico." A gifted naturalist, Saunders offers an engaging, lively account that reflects her education, experiences, and many capabilities as a traveler, newspaper reporter, journalist, marksman, pilot, and scientist. Her observations will give new insight to those interested in natural history, ornithology, adventure, travel in Mexico, and women in science. ... Read more

Product Description
Most U.S. presidents engaged in some sort of outdoor sport, prior to, during, and after their term of office. Without question, George Washington's main outdoor sporting interest was to be astride his favorite mount riding to the hounds in pursuit of Reynard the Fox. This sort of riding came easily to him after spending countless days on horseback surveying, participating in the French and Indian War in western Pennsylvania, the Revolutionary War, and at Mt. Vernon overseeing his plantation, visiting neighbors, and traveling. By all accounts he was a superb horseman. However relatively few sportsman-historians today appear to know that George Washington also hunted and fished below Mt. Vernon on the Potomac River and its tributaries. A fascinating account of George Washington's sporting life from his own journals! --Henry M. Reeves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The Bad Old Days
I guess a little revolution every now and then is a good thing, because the "advice" dispensed in here mainly belongs in the dustbin of history.

wise words from old wrinklies
There's pleanty of useful info here to help you write better copy - look for the inherent drama of the product, if in doubt ask the manufacturers why they make it, do your research, keep stuff simple. You just have to look for it. Great photos too.

The Art of Writing Advertising???
Just finished the book (which took me a couple of hours) and I have to say it was an interesting memoir of the great admen of all time.The book pinpointed certain questions and tired to find some correlation between the greats (and I think it succeeded in some ways)

But do not let the title of the book fool you to believe that it will help you in any shape or form in becoming a finer copywriter.In fact, the book will most likely only offer you a good read on a Sunday afternoon.

On a particular note, the interview with Reeves was the most interesting part of the book.A worthy buy indeed but do not expect to become a super copywriter after or you will be very disappointed.

A good compilation of thoughts from major advertising forces
The book is very helpful in that is gives you the thoughts behind some of the builders of today's advertising industry. I had read "Ogilvy on Avdertising"; the interview with David Ogilvy presents the same kindof thought. But I had never read anything by Burnett, Gribbin, Bernbach orReeves and that is where most of my benefit from this book came.

Inside the Mind
I love anything that is an interview with a person. It allows us to hear the information from the horses mouth, as opposed to a journalist paraphrasing him or her. My favorite interviews were with Bernbach andRosser Reeves.However, I don't think this book is really about the"Art" of writing advertising.I think the book should have beencalled "Conversations about Advertising." Because the book isn'tmade to be a teacher, it's simply a good book to read and enjoy if you'reinterested in hearing another perspective about the business. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Terrific for current and future lovers of Bloomington, IN
This book is a "must" for any person who loves, or will love,Bloomington, Indiana.

Bloomington, one of the premier communities in theUnited States, is a place that one visits and ends up staying because ofits unmatched standard of living.

Offering the finest blend of smalltown ambiance and big city resources, Bloomington is home to IndianaUniversity, which makes the community an oasis of sophistication in atraditional midwestern setting.

Located in the beautiful wooded, rollinghills of southern Indiana, the city, home to 65,000 Hoosiers, many who haveleft the hustle of large coastal cities to seek a higher quality of living,is a crown jewel of midwest communities.

The book captures all that iswonderful about Bloomington with stunning photographs and interesting,insightful text. Included are sections on the city's history, arts, sports,entertainment, businesses, educational institutions, economy, and volunteeractivities.

Bloomington -A Contemporary Portrait, presented in qualitylarge "coffee table" format, offers the perfect gift or purchasefor the thousands of people who have a special place in their heart forBloomington.

You won't be disappointed! ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Norman Cook, Andrew Sullivan, David Walliams, Bill Frindall, Ray Mears, Rob Shearman, Bobby George, Steve Benbow, Alec Reeves, Trevor Kavanagh, Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, Richard Henry Mcphail Third, Francis Featherstonehaugh Johnston, Godfrey Ince. Excerpt:Alec Harley Reeves , CBE (March 10, 1902 - October 13, 1971) was a British scientist best known for his invention of pulse-code modulation (PCM). He was awarded 82 patents . Early life Alec Reeves was born in Redhill, Surrey in 1902 and was educated at the Reigate Grammar School , followed by a scholarship to the City and Guilds Engineering College in 1918, and then postgraduate studies at Imperial College London in 1921. Career Reeves joined the International Western Electric Company in 1923, and was part of a team of engineers responsible for the first commercial transatlantic telephone link. In 1925 Western Electric's European operations were acquired by ITT , and in 1927 Reeves was transferred to ITT's research laboratories in Paris . Whilst in Paris, he was responsible for a number of projects, including: a short-wave radio link between the telephone networks of Spain and South America , the world's first single-sideband radio telephone system, and developed a multi-channel carrier system for UHF radio telephones. He was also responsible for innovations in the design of automatic frequency control circuits, digital delay lines and condenser microphones . Pulse Code Modulation Reeves recognised the potential that pulse-code modulation had for reducing noise when speech is transmitted over long distances. With an analogue signal every time the signal is amplified, the noise contained in the signal is also amplified and new, additional noise is added. With pulse code modulation, all that is required is ... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Reaganism
This review refers to the unabridged audio cassette edition of "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" by Richard Reeves (Recorded Books)- Narrated by George Wilson

This book is not a complete biography of President Regean, but rather focuses on his very challenging political and personal times in the White House. It is a completely absorbing and thouroughly researched and reported account of the years that define the 80's. There is included many detailed political facts, figures,and quotations from various sources.It is not a lopsided or sugar-coated account, but reports on all sides of the spectrum, the good, the bad, and the ocassional goofy happenings(like when Reagan didn't know the microphone was on and joked about being at war with Russia - let the bombings begin!)

Reagan was a man with a vision for returning to the old fashioned times. But with things moving along quite steadily in space, arms, disease(it took him a couple of years before he could say the word AIDS in public),terrorism. federal spending, this was a tough ideal to hold on to. Above and through all, he was at all times a very patriotic man.The first president to have been described in the form of a noun - Reaganism, and a Conservative Repulican who usually carried a high approval rating even by the younger voters. Noted for his positive outlook, and joke cracking(sometimes repeating the same old jokes) even after being shot in an assassination attempt. And when his rating did drop a bit, he would quip that that was no problem, he'll just go out and get shot again. An actor turned politiican he was always on stage, and his way with words and patriotism seemed to endear him to the American People. It was just "Reaganism"

But the issues through the 80's were serious.Here's a sampling: the deficit,an unbalanced budged, the assassination attempt, terrorist hijackings,the Challenger disaster,arms and arms control,"Reaganomics",the Nicaraguans, the Russians, Greneda, Iran,Iraq, Israel,the Iran-Conta hearings(and Oliver North),atstrologists advising on good and bad days,and signs of Alzheimer's beginning to show - toward the end of his 2nd term an assissant was overheard telling him that he(Reagan) was in the oval office getting ready for an interview. And even though his health was beginning to fail him, he still managed to improve relations with Russian leaders. He made a difference.

The book just doesn't touch on these subjects, it gives an in depth look at all sides of the situations.Also getting into Reagan's private thoughts as there are many diary entries as well. Narrator George Wilson gave an amazing reading. He not only kept me enthralled - there were many facts and figures to digest and I think listening to them was helpful - he became the characters that were speaking. He sounded so much like Reagan, at first I thought they were recordings of some sort, also getting the voices and nuances of many of the major players in the story just right as well. V.P. George Bush, Journalist Tom Brokaw,and others.
History buffs will love this one. There are 18 cassettes - with great sound quality - with 26 hours of the 1980's to relive.The only thing this audio edition didn't have, that I sometimes find helpful with bios and nonfiction accounts was the bibliography and any notes that might have gone along with the reading. But stilla 5 star read for audio enthusiasts.

Enjoy the read.....Laurie

Nice account of the Reagan presidency
Nice, not great. This is 30,000 ft fly by of the Reagan presidency. I was a bit surprised by it's lack of depth in some story lines but you can't put everything into one book. I know there is a liberal basis to the book and that was ok with me since I see myself as an independent. I didn't want to read a pro or con book about Reagan, just some interesting facts. That's about all you'll get, basically press releases from all 8 years of the Reagan administration. One thing this book did for me is motivate me to read other books to get a different perspective. So, for that I am thankful.

for some not others
This book is written by a liberal -and in my opinion-for liberals.If you are a conservative and a fan of Reagan I don't recommend it.Instead, I'd site a work like 'Ronald Reagan' by Dinesh D'Souza.

Deliberate Distortion
If you want to read a book about President Reagan, this is not the book to read.In reality, Reeves paints a word portrait of Reagan as Reeves would like you to believe Reagan was.It is written as though Reeves were present at every meeting of Reagan's eight years of presidency.He starts off with a day-to-day rundown of life as President, and with the word-by-word dialogue Reeves uses, the reader would think that Reeves actually was present.However, as the book continues, a spirit of vindictiveness in the author becomes apparent.Using every quote he could find by disgruntled people, ex-cabinet members, Reagan's enemies, as well as the liberal media, Reeves paints a picture of Reagan as a bungling old fool who didn't do anything while he was in office, and that if something gooddid happen, the reason was not because of Reagan's doing.The book closes with this quote on page 490 about Reagan's funeral:" `God, this is impressive,' said Steven Weisman, a New York Times White House correspondent during the Reagan years.`But the man they're talking about is not the President I covered every day.' " If you disliked Reagan, I can not imagine why you would want to read this 500-page book about him, even if you think Reeves' picture is what you want to believe.If you liked Reagan, you surely do not want to wade through this 500-page negation.And if you really want to get to know Reagan, there have been over 900 books written about him.So, I am sure you can find a better and more subjective book than this one.

Better Than The Title
Towards the end of President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination, Richard Reeves references the multiple books underwritten by the Hoover Institute and the Heritage Foundation which have sought to lionize Reagan.Based on Reeves' title choice, I thought I might be in for one of those.I also recalled a few reviews when the book came out that discussed Reeves' style, which seems to use documents and interviews to reconstruct conversations.As I listened to this on CD and did not read it, I could not check the footnotes to see how all of the quotations were reconstructed.

Starting with these somewhat diminished expectations, I was impressed with Reeves detailed account of the Reagan presidency.Although Reeves calls it a day by day, hour by hour, and even minute by minute account, I would argue that the book is written episodically.When certain issues come on the scene, they dominate sections of the book.For example, most of the last third of the book is devoted to Iran-Contra and US/Soviet Summits.While these issues certainly dominated the headlines in the last third of Reagan's presidency, it is difficult to believe Reagan himself and the multitude of aides were not engaged in anything else.This is not really a criticism of the book, just an observation.

There are two major themes that run through the entire book, despite the "episode" at issue.These are scandals besides Iran-Contra and Reagan's memory.Regarding the scandals, it is common for political biographies to mention ever mini-scandal that occurs and Reeves' book is no different.Although Michael Deaver was out of the White House when he was in a corruption scandal, the book spends a bit of time on it.As for Reagan's memory, there are multiple mentions and observations of his memory's shortcomings.Because these events are reconstructed from other people's writings and memories, we are getting multiple perspectives and Reeves never really addresses what the state of Reagan's memory actually was during his presidency.

Another observation about the book is that it does not really touch on the 1984 presidential campaign with any detail, so do not expect to learn much about it except some highlights most readers of this book probably already know. ... Read more