[PDF] Visual Merchandising: Mirror and soul of a point of sale by Gianfranco Giacoma-caire at Arts-Photography

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Perfect Biography? Damn close!By Ike47I buy too much stuff at to review most of it; but I had to make an exception for this book. For the subject matter; it is just about a perfect biography. There are lots of stories around about Piaf; many of them apocryphal. Burke addresses them all; evaluates them; and gives cogent arguments to evaluate how likely each is. In addition; she digs up incredibly complete information on Piafs life from her childhood years through her discovery; her development as a great singer and icon of France; her almost innumerable lovers (though Burke does enumerate and explain each in detail!); to her death and beyond.In addition; Burke provides insightful explanations of the culture in France during each part of Piafs life; giving context to her life and achievements. If you love Piaf as I do (the only singer who can compare with her; in my opinion; is Ray Charles); then this book is a must read; giving context to all of her recorded songs (and a number that; sadly; were never recorded).My only criticism; and it is minor; is that her documentation; while exemplary; is done by means of end notes that are not referenced in the text; so you dont know when to go look at them (and there are hundreds; literally). If they were purely citations of sources; this would be fine; but like most authors; Burke slips in a few anecdotes into the notes that any reader would not want to miss. If she ever puts out another edition of the book; she should either put the notes at the end of each chapter and add raised numbers in the text to refer to them; or; if as I suspect; she didnt want to clutter the text with raised numbers; then she should put all the anecdotes into the main text; removing them from the notes.In any case; I highly recommend this book. Biographies for persons of different careers and time periods will vary in the characteristics that make them good or bad biographies--a biography of an ancient Greek general; like Alexander the Great; will have very different criteria than a biography of a 20th century singer and cultural icon. For a person like Edith Piaf; this is as close to a perfect biography as one can get.12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Singing for her lifeBy Susan MarescoI grew up listening to and admiring French pop music; always trying to sing along with the proper words; hoping to become immersed in the French language while studying it in high school. The songs of Edith Piaf were tops; oh so French; iconic. Her life as a free; though tormented; spirit; haunted me in the bohemian 1950s; and although I knew almost nothing of her real life; intimations of her living a louche and druggy existence abided and acquired a patina that seemed to be a widely held notion.Carolyn Burkes biography of Piaf rubbed away decades of this fuzzy thinking. Reading it was like watching a burst of magnificent fireworks rear up into the night sky and release streamers of words and music that mesmerize. Burkes book gives us easy access to the world of this great talent with new depth and heart. She details the real events of the Little Sparrows life; dispelling myths; focusing on Piafs gifts of talent; generosity of spirit; enormous energy for love; life and expression with specific references to the words of her songs and their origins.Here is Piafs life drawn without sensational headlines--how she functioned as a force of nature; a sensual woman who was a tireless lover of men; a woman who pushed herself constantly to the edge of her energy store; a woman whose consequent ill-health caused her to make bad choices and become addicted to various medications. Burkes book delves into the complexity of Piafs relationships with family; friends; songwriters; and lovers. The result is wholly memorable--a serious; yet entertaining and inviting book--the tiny woman behind the voice and songs still touching our hearts._________________2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. the story of an amazing woman in extraordinary circumstancesBy MIKE Kthe story of an amazing woman in extraordinary circumstances. I had seen her on TV on the Ed Sullivan Show on a few occasions and now I wish that I had known her story then. I would have appreciated her even more.