I have been searching for a book such as this for years! Scholars and novices alike will not be dissapointed with this comprehensive text by Elizabeth Zarur and Charles Lovell. This exceptional publication documents an exhibit of mexican retablos and ex votos held at the New Mexico State University Art Gallery (holders of THE largest collection of retablos in the USA). The catolog raisonne provides a wealth of information on the topic, that will become an invaluable reference source. The publication however goes far beyond documenting the exhibit. Undoubtably this text will become the "bible" for chronicling and deciphering these treasures. The two editors have brought together prominent scholars on the subject who comment on the works from an interdisciplinary ( art history, anthropological, folk art, and religioious) point of view. The iconography within the retablos is clearly deciphered throughout the text in a manner that will enlighten the reader who is new to these works, and will serve as an invaluable resource to the learned hagiographer. Additional topics in the text will provide the reader with information that has not been covered in other texts on the subject, such as: insights into religious orders who influenced the visual qualities and symbolism in the artworks, conservation and care of retablos in general. Of particular interest is editor Zarur's commentary on the impact of Spanish missionization upon the indigenous people of Mexico. She presents profound insights into how the fusing of these cultures impacted and altered visual representations of the saints and cult imagery. The visual reproductions of the works are exceptional! One can feel as though they are viewing the works in person. Brushstrokes, tin surfaces, and age of the artworks are evident in the photographs. Many of the works are complemented with close up photos. If you purchase one book on Mexican religious artworks this is it. You will not be disappointed with this one!

I bought this purely for as a reference on Native American culture and have since become a huge fan of Lovell's work. His painterly style and use of colour are both strongpoints and remind me, sometimes, a little of J. C. Leyendecker. His handling of horses and his set-direction are very strong and while the pride and nobility of his depictions of the Native Americans is perhaps a touch idealised it makes for compelling imagery. Occasional charcoal drawings, reproduced as little 'notes' throughout the book, provide a lovely counterpoint to the completed canvases and most of them are firm favourites of mine.

The book is divided into five parts, the first three parts featuring western scenes, with Native Americans, settlers and soldiers from the entire span of the 19th century and before.

Part Four, "The Civil War" is fairly small but features some stunning depictions of actions as varied as the Union fleet passing Vicksburg and the attack on Battery Wagner. It also includes a commission from the National Geographic Society of the surrender at Appomattox courthouse described as the most authoritative depiction of this momentous event featuring, among others, Lee, Grant, Sheridan and Custer.

Part Five is titled "Tom Lovell The Artist" and covers his illustration work spanning over forty years and contains many of the most dynamic and exciting paintings in the book. The varied subjects help to show how wide-ranging his talent is.

The text by Don Hedgpeth and Walt Reed provides historical details and some fascinating insights into the paintings and are a good companion to the plates. As one would expect of a book of this type the reproduction and printing are superb.

I hope that Morrow reprint this as I am sure it will find an enthusiastic audience judging by the inflated prices it can fetch on the second-hand market!

Whitfield Lovell is famed for his art combining on-site drawings with found objects and other components of personal metaphor, African-American ancestry, and cultural memory. Using images from photographs of people from the 1920s and 1930s, Lovell evokes and honors an era with heavily layered narrative drawings manifesting timelessness and universality. The Art Of Whitfield Lovell is enhanced with an informative essay by Lucy Lippard and a "must" for all Lovell fans.

Dead Whales Tell No Tales is a great followup to Lovell's popular Murder at Yaquina Head! His protagonist, college professor and amateur sleuth, Thomas Martindale is a very real and "human" character who is driven in his desire to help those who he knows are in need.

Highly recommended! An easy read...lots of suspense and fun. Lovell keeps you guessing whodunit until the very end!

I am a first year medical student. The library in my town has this great three-volume dictionary. When I study there, I try to get the seat next to the shelf with the dictionary. There are several things that I like very much about it. Very many of the entries explain the how the words are derived from latin and greek roots and suffixes. For me, this really helps me remember what the words mean so that I can recognize them and use them after looking them up in the dictionary. It also gradually builds up my familiarity with latin and greek roots in the vocabulary of my field of studies, which means that the names of things start to make sense and learning and remembering them gets easier all the time. The anatomy entries are listed by the latin forms of the terms. If I only know the English form, I just turn to that and find a reference to the entry with the proper latin term. If I for example turn to "cricoid cartilage" I find a reference where it just says "cartilago cricoidea", which is the name of the entry where a description is found. Since my teachers (and I) prefer the latin nomenclature, this works very well for me. For terms that have synonyms, most (if not all) of the synonyms are listed in the dictionary and refer to the one that has the definition under it. Even really old names for diseases are listed. The dictionary is very complete, as it should be, the size (and price) of it being considered. However, it was written in 1986, so it lacks any knowledge that has been gathered since back then. If a new edition of this dictionary comes out, I'm buying it.

From the first chapter of his novel, Ron Lovell captured my attention and continued to engage me in the story of investigation and adventures as Thomas Martindale sought to solve the murders at Yaquina Head. His characters became very real and personal through the author's fine descriptions. I learned about the geography and people of the Oregon coastal area. The insertion of the memoirs of a French woman to describe her part in the WWII Underground activities added an excellent literary and historic dimension to the story. This was an exciting and well-crafted mystery.

Set on the windswept Oregon coast and capably written by Oregon resident Ron Lovell, Murder At Yaquina Head is the riveting story of a journalism professor Thomas Martindale, a man who becomes drawn into a tangle of deceit and death when his friend's life is endangered and he discovers a murdered body. Wry, thoughtful, moody, and structured around a secret that reaches back to the era of World War II, Murder At Yaquina Head is a 183 page, gripping mystery which is highly recommended reading for mystery buffs and would make a welcome and appreciated addition to any community library Mystery/Suspense collection.

Why don't you offer this book for sale

I was so pleased to be able to illustrate this excellent book! It gives much needed balance to the test-driven classrooms. Portfolios are STILL an amazing additional snapshot of who a child is and is becoming. I highly recommend this book!

This handbook is a must for adults who wish to ease a child's transition into a foster care situation. It is user friendly and provides tools that caregivers can use to help nurture the bond between themselves and foster children. The workbook is short. It isn't intimidating. It provides questions about the story, THE STAR, that foster parents and professionals can use to indirectly gain more understanding of the foster child's experience. It also includes fun activities for both children and adults that can help break the ice.

Foster parents may be unpleasantly surprised by foster children's hesitancy to get close to them. This booklet can serve as a guide to help adults to effectively help each unique child. The beauty of this book is that the author is an experienced foster parent (in addition to being educated in psychology and pediatric nursing). Her experience in working with children, who have been deeply wounded, helps her to effectively relate to the unique issues that foster parents and pediatric professionals may face. The big bonus is that a pediatric psychologist co-authored the workbook. The person who reads this short book is truly receiving sound information. This is a quality product and a must for people who work with children.