Frances F. Dunwell presents a rich portrait of the Hudson and of the visionary people whose deep relationship with the river inspires changes in American history and culture. Lavishly illustrated with color plates of Hudson River School paintings; period engravings; and glass plate photography; The Hudson captures the spirit of the river through the eyes of its many admirers. It shows the crucial role of the Hudson in the shaping of Manhattan; the rise of the Empire State; and the trajectory of world trade and global politics; as well as the rivers influence on art and architecture; engineering; and conservation.
#1102841 in eBooks 2004-08-11 2004-08-11File Name: B006OMM60U
Review
85 of 90 people found the following review helpful. Terribly boring. woefully incompleteBy P. SerillaThe 33 1/3 series is a gift and when I saw they were writing a book on one of my all time favorite recordings. OK Computer. I couldnt have been happier.The book in a word however. blows.Much of the book is dedicated to some aimless theories about the place of LP records and cds in the broad landscape of musicology. Considering how painfully short this book is to begin with. it seems like a perfect waste of space - filler for an academic journal. When the author does get around to the actual work of Radiohead. he almost exclusively refers to the musical score and references much of their work as only "sound effects." While his analysis of the notes on the page is at times compelling. he fails miserably to describe "musical" and "technical" choices not accounted for in the score and their impact on the recording.While other books in series may at times be criticized for being too journalistic. and speculating at the intent of the musicians. here the author goes to far in the other direction -- there isnt even a mention of the unique recording space this album was crafted in. not to mention any speculation as to the effect it might have had. Nigel Godrich the producer (along with the band) and engineer is reduced merely a mention. any notion of sculpting sound with studio tools is non-existent.Considering the direction the band has pursued after this record. highly electronic and diffuse by western musical standards. this book serves little interesting purpose. but perhaps to serve as a footnote in a more comprehensive book by an author who can synthesize the roll of the composer with the concept of a recording as piece of art that is constructed with a different set of skills than the score it maybe also represented by.In short. dont bother buying this book if you want to read anything about Radiohead the band or how they create music. This one will have little interest to anyone but musicology students and most of them will find it painfully incomplete as well.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. 2 starsBy Mary Besta lot of reviews on are misleading. but this one isnt. i dig the album ok computer as much as anyone else on here. and although i realized the book had the potential of being dry and academic (which is not always a horrible thing). i thought it would come up with some good insights or something. the first half of the book is about the history of recorded music in america. and (like another reveiewer mentions). it talks about the differences between cds and records and the changing concept of the "album" but mainly just points out that cds are one part instead of 2 complementary halves. this would be okay if the part that is actually about radiohead had more substance. he makes questionable lists regarding the songs running time and tonal centers. and devotes a large amount of time classifying the lyrics to "fitter happier." somehow all this quantitative study gets us nowhere. he doesnt even seem to "get" the music at all. he keeps complaining about sound effects. and is unsuccessful in synthesizing meaning from elements that are insignificant to begin with.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. It makes a clear and interesting argument about why OK Computer is a special album.By S. R. SegristWhoa! I dont know why there is such animosity against this book. I thought it was a fascinating examination into how Radiohead utilized the CD format to create an album for the 21st-century. It was a lot of fun to listen to each track on headphones as Griffiths articulates whats special about each song. Reading this book gave me a deeper appreciation of one aspect of this band: the way they used technology and the constraints of the medium to create a masterpiece.I wasnt expecting an extensive history of the recording process (although I would love that!) or much of biographical information. The author found an interesting angle about the way the CD format affected the bands creative decisions and he makes an intriguing argument about it. especially given how the formats for listening to music today have changed. All Im saying is that this book is worth a read if youre interested in how a media format can influence the decision-making process in art.
