Blog
Win a Signed Copy of Jack Rakove’s Revolutionaries!
In his outstanding new book, Revolutionaries, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack Rakove offers a fresh perspective on America’s founding fathers. Last week, he spoke about his latest work at Philadelphia’s National ... Read More
This Month (and EVERY Month): Get Caught Reading!
Starting in 1999, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) celebrates May as Get Caught Reading Month. The movement to encourage kids and adults across the nation to read for fun ... Read More
Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By
Here's the description from Amazon. "Obsolete contains essays and entries on more than 100 alphabetized fading subjects, including Blind Dates, Mix Tapes, Getting Lost, Porn Magazines, Looking Old, Operators, Camera Film, ... Read More
A Relevant Summer Reading List thus far: Look To The Mountain by LeGrand Cannon, Jr. Summer Cottages In The White Mountains by Bryant F. Tolles, Jr. Great Hill Farm is featured in here... Country ... Read More
Selections from “The Tamworth Narrative” by Marjory Gane Harkness
AN AMAZING FIND! Via an antique bookshop in Minnesota, I tracked down my own copy of this anecdotal/historical tome about my future hometown, penned in 1958. Favorite excerpts follow... ---------------------- INTRODUCTION A ... Read More
Was I ever glad to find a familiar friend, 3000 miles away from Philly...! Walter Benjamin stands proudly atop a shelf in the store of the San Francisco Museum of Modern ... Read More
New Documentary In The Works: Michael Pollan’s “The Botany of Desire”
Thanks to this awesome event, I am now the bearer of great news! Two nights ago, in a small theater in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood, Michael Pollan, bestselling author and ... Read More
Book Covers As Art: Fontana Modern Masters
Coolest find of the weekend, courtesy of a pal. (Covered by click opera, the journal of Scottish artist and Berlin resident, momus.) Hearkening back to the 1970's, "Fontana Modern Masters was a ... Read More
ESSENTIAL MANIFESTO: The New Typography, Jan Tschichold
Two years ago, one of my most awesome and favorite design professors instructed me to get my hands on a copy of this tiny volume as fast as I possibly ... Read More
Oh, For The Love of Gluttony! The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book
Maestro Martino of Como is known as the world's first "celebrity chef" and considered by some to be The Father of Italian Cooking. He lived and cooked in the 15th ... Read More
Abe Lincoln Gets His Chance: “Especially For Children of The ‘Middle’ Years”
This oddly colored and whimsically illustrated tome arrived on my doorstep last weekend, declaring its presence with a note - wishing me a Happy Abe Lincoln's Birthday! Delight ensued. Originally published ... Read More
Oded Ezer’s The Typographer’s Guide To The Galaxy
Can't wait. Can't wait. Can't wait. I will have to wait. Until April, that is, until I can get my hands on a copy of The Typographer's Guide To The Galaxy, the ... Read More
Today I decided to poke my nose into what appeared to be the most boring looking book in our library. Much to my surprise, it was easily one of the ... Read More
BOOK REVIEW: Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design
Dear All Folks Who Call Themselves Graphic Designers, Do yourselves a HUGE favor. Get your hands on this book immediately. Consume contents. Repeat...79 times. Michael Bierut (principal at Pentagram, blogger extraordinaire, former ... Read More
Winner of Best Book Title, Ever: Caleb Neelon’s Book of Awesome
When I was a kid I would flip through books just to see if any pictures would pop up. If I saw anything interesting, then I would decide if it ... Read More
NICE REVIEW: Faux-Beau on Endless Bummer ‘Zine by Bill McRight
Kathryn Scott Proulx of the art/design blog Faux-Beaux, gave Bill McRight's Endless Bummer 'Zine a thumbs up! Check out the review for the great detail scans of the interior pages. Bad News: ... Read More
INTERVIEW: Historian Dr. David Contosta on Lincoln…and Darwin?!
In anticipation of our February Exhibition commemorating the bi-centennial of Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, I have been doing a fair deal of research on The Man, The Martyr, The Legend, and ... Read More
Walter Benjamin & Interior Decorating?! The Arcades Project & The Bourgeois Apartment
An awesome and insightful article from Drinking Upstream: Real clear thoughts on the philosophy of dwelling really got me thinking... Shane Waggoner writes, "In The Arcades Project, Walter Benjamin described ... Read More
IMAGE NECESSITIES: A Symposium on the Media-Theoretical Writings of Walter Benjamin
A two-day conference of Walter Benjamin scholars will take place this Friday and Saturday at Princeton University. Entitled, IMAGE NECESSITIES, the conference will feature talks by a variety of international ... Read More
Cabinet Magazine: “Getting High With Benjamin & Burroughs”
Housed within the pages of the latest issue (No. 30) of the ever-compelling art/lit publication, Cabinet, is an essay on Walt Benjamin, William Burroughs, and hallucinogens. [caption id="attachment_496" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The ... Read More
DESIGN & CRIME (and Other Diatribes): Hal Foster on Aesthetic Death
At first glance, this tiny tome appears to be a "quick read." The pocket-size collection of short rants spilling forth from art critic Hal Foster took me four months to ... Read More
BOOK REVIEW: Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen
To be completely honest, I purchased this book solely for its absurd title. Seriously, what in the world could a dead German philosopher and creamy frozen dairy stands have in ... Read More
