Fabulous fodder for Joan of Arc fans, Francophiles, and lovers of fine photography.
Labry’s stunning monochromatic images of Joan of Arc statuary are a love letter to the Maid of Orleans.
A professional photographer for over 30 years, Labry chose equestrian and other statues of Joan of Arc, the martyred saint and heroine of France, as the subject of his first book. The statues, all but two of which are in France, feature considerable texture, which the photographer captures beautifully in rich black and white. There is a timeless, sensitive quality about the images, many of which are close-ups of one detail—clasped hands, a bound torso, the Maid’s face lifted to the heavens. A few too many tight shots of horse heads appear, however, and the one of the stallion draped in Mardi Gras beads in New Orleans seems out of place. But the depth and dimension of all the photographs are notable; the contrast is strong but not excessive. An artist’s statement explaining the photographer’s fascination with Joan, as well as an intro to the life and times of the medieval peasant girl–turned–victorious army leader, is provided. Although the photos easily could stand on their own, Labry pairs them with quotes that are attributed to Joan of Arc, directly refer to her, or could describe achievements and mindsets credited to her. For example, a photo of a sculpture of Joan prepared for battle is coupled with Maya Angelou’s quote, “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels.” The selected font for the quotations, Herculanum, an all-capital typeface that mimics Roman letters written in clay, however, is not reader friendly. Also, the index could be more helpful for readers; the general location of each statue photographed is given, but additional beneficial information isn’t supplied in the index or anywhere else in the book. For example, one reference to a statue reads, “Town Square, Chinon, France,” but a more helpful entry would say the piece was by Julies Roulleau (1855-1895) and is in the Place Jeanne d’Arc in Chinon.
Fabulous fodder for Joan of Arc fans, Francophiles, and lovers of fine photography.Pub Date: June 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-320-96360-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: Blurb
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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