Showing 1-30 of 41
 
SEE ALSO: "Judy Holliday Comedy Collection"
In this 2-DVD set, Judy Holliday stars in five of her best films from the '50s
McKee Jungle Gardens (listed) closed in 1976
Aviation historians remember Pan American World Airways as “the chosen instrument” of the U.S. government because it represented American interests, values and beliefs as it pioneered air routes over mountains, across oceans and around the world. During the 1930s and ’40s, it was the only commercial airline that was authorized to bear the American flag to other nations as it carried the rich and famous in comfort and speed over unprecedented distances in flying boats called Clippers.

The aircraft themselves truly captured the public imagination at a time when some counteraction to World War I and the Great Depression that followed was desperately needed. As Larry Weirather points out, “Though no Clippers survive today, they continue to fly on in contemporary popular culture.” The proof of the extent of public infatuation with the Clippers ranges from motion pictures, music, toys, comics, games and automobiles to books, pulp fiction, agriculture, poetry, clothing, advertising, stamps and nose art.

Weirather’s work is more than a collection of stories about how Pan Am symbolized the changing needs and beliefs of the United States through its aircraft. It shows how the airline used Martin, Boeing and Sikorsky flying boats to help influence the course of World War II through their capability to fly cargo, mail and passengers nonstop over great distances. In the chapter titled “The Clipper as Military Icon,” we are reminded that aircraft were used to assist the show more war effort in other ways. For example, Pan Am, Eastman Kodak and Imperial Airways of Great Britain formed a company to develop Airgraphs, which led to V-Mail. When it did not catch on at first, Pan Am Clippers were used in advertising to show how easy and fast letters could be exchanged by servicemen and their families.

The Clippers were also involved with codes and espionage in the Pacific and had a role in breaking up spy rings in the Atlantic. This involvement continued in films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Case of the Pacific Clipper. They also played active roles in real-life dramas in Cuba in 1933 and acted as flying observation posts when Pan Am established advance bases along the Pacific routes to the Far East and in China with its subsidiary, the National Aviation Corporation.

In the chapter on “Clipper Heroes and Celebs,” Weirather briefly reviews Juan Trippe’s life and his direction of the airline’s growth, then covers some of the people who helped influence its image: chief pilot Captain Ed Musick; navigator Fred Noonan; first ladies Lou Henry Hoover and Eleanor Roosevelt; first flighter Clara Adams; movie stars Charlie Chaplain, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn; writer Ernest Hemingway; and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The clandestine roles of “shadow heroes” like former Pan Am pilots George A. Doole and James W. Walker Jr., who rose through Pan Am’s ranks, are also explored.

This detailed examination of the past and present influence of Pan Am’s Clippers goes far beyond a recitation of the company’s history. There is much here to surprise readers who want to know more about these fascinating aircraft—although they and the company are long gone.
show less
No one can review this book better than a man who was in the thick of it — a man who not only knew, but was a close personal friend of Wyatt Earp:

A letter dated October 26, 1931, written to Stuart N. Lake from Fred Dodge about the book "Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal"

"Dear Mr. Lake:

. . . Now for the Book. You may be sure that I have read it with the greatest care and interest, but before I comment on it I want to thank you for it, and for the presentation you wrote in it. It will be doubly precious to me always because of it, and to Son Fred after me.

As you know, until I met the Earp boys in Tombstone I knew none of them personally. And all that I know of Wyatt previous to that time is what he and his brothers have told me, and the various stories of them that were current. Of course I am thoroughly familiar with the Tombstone part of their lives. So that part of your material I know is accurate, and handled in a most masterly manner. I must congratulate you in the way you have made Wyatt to stand out from his background without in any way changing values or atmosphere.

You have drawn an accurate picture of one of the coolest and bravest men I have ever known, and made it alive. It is a pity he could not have lived to see this book, which should go so far to refute the many blood and thunder stories that have been told about him.

Naturally the part that was familiar to me was of deepest interest to me — and right here I want to thank you for the way you have handled my show more double life in Tombstone — but the whole book is so interesting and so true that I feel that you have done a real service to my generation on the frontier. Fred Jr. knows that the Book is here, and he and I are planning to read it aloud together during his first vacation. We have only had time for little bits, so far, and are looking forward to making the whole a family affair.

Mrs. Dodge joins me in kindest regards to you and Mrs. Lake. You couldn't be human without being a bit puffed up, for you have done a good job of work, and I hope sales are satisfactory and that you are having a good time after your hard work.

Sincerely your friend,

Fred Dodge"

Fred Dodge (August 29, 1854 — December 16, 1938), was an undercover Wells Fargo detective and a former constable in Tombstone, Arizona—and longtime friend of Wyatt and Virgil Earp.

In December 1879, Dodge was working in Tombstone and recommended that Wyatt Earp be hired as a guard and messenger for the stage line. The two quickly became good friends and Dodge supported Wyatt and his brothers in their troubles in Tombstone including those that led up to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He was a personal friend of Wyatt and Virgil Earp and remained friends with them the rest of their lives.

The author of this book, Stuart N. Lake, corresponded regularly with Fred Dodge while writing this book. This letter and many others can be found in Fred Dodge's autobiography. "Under Cover for Wells Fargo: The Unvarnished Recollections of Fred Dodge", which is a compilation of Dodge's diaries and correspondence, edited by Stuart N. Lake's daughter, Carolyn Lake.
show less
The White City entertained millions of visitors that summer to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering the new world. This unbelievable book was originally published in 1893 by the Columbian Guide Company in Chicago and unearths meticulous details about the world's greatest temporary city that most other books about the Fair omit.

The Official Guide serves as an incredible reference guide to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and an entertaining piece of history that covers the world's biggest party from a contemporary viewpoint
August 2023

I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of this now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

- Grandpa
August 2023

I hope to buy this next month. In the meantime I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of what is to be to be put in here now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

- Grandpa
August 2023

I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of this now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

- Grandpa
August 2023

I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of this now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

- Grandpa
Everything in the "RTA" collection came to me from my Dad. -- Grandpa
August 2023

I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of this now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

- Grandpa
August 2023

I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of this now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

When completed a detailed list can be found here: FOREIGN NATIONS ALBUM

- Grandpa
August 2023

I'll bet you were hoping there would be $1,000,000 in here...

So did I, but I never won the lottery. But like I always said, "Every little bit helps."

-- Grandpa
Published shortly after his death, this more a eulogy than a biography of Will Rogers. Although much of Will Rogers' wit and wisdom is timeless, the majority of it is lost on us today because it was spontaneous and based on current events, of which most of us today are not familiar. This book was written for the people of his time rather than for posterity.

Overall it is however a good read and does give one a good deal of insight into the kind of man that Will Rogers was. He was generous to a fault, quick-witted, and loved by people worldwide, yet he remained rooted and humble throughout his life. And, of course, "He never met a man he didn't like," -- Grandpa
Fairly unique photos (including a hilarious one of some tourists wearing decidedly 90s Little Mermaid shirts) in a book organized by attraction, this book is one to definitely check out. Features fairly in-depth coverage of The Disney-MGM Studios and the Vacation Kingdom.
Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation. It was the first of several novel processes introduced during the 1950s when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. Cinerama was presented to the public as a theatrical event, with reserved seating and printed programs, and audience members often dressed in their best attire for the evening.

The Cinerama projection screen, rather than being a continuous surface like most screens, is made of hundreds of individual vertical strips of standard perforated screen material, each about 7⁄8 inch (~22 millimeters) wide, with each strip angled to face the audience, to prevent light scattered from one end of the deeply curved screen from reflecting across the screen and washing out the image on the opposite end. The display is accompanied by a high-quality, seven-track discrete, directional, surround-sound system.

The original system involved shooting with three synchronized cameras sharing a single shutter. This process was later abandoned in favor of a system using a single camera and 70mm (~2.75 inch) prints. The latter system lost the 146-degree field of view of the original three-strip system, and its resolution was markedly lower. Three-strip Cinerama did not use anamorphic lenses, although two of the show more systems used to produce the 70mm prints (Ultra Panavision 70 and Super Technirama 70) did employ anamorphic lenses, 35mm (~1.38 in) anamorphic reduction prints were produced for exhibition in theatres with anamorphic CinemaScope-compatible projection lenses. show less
This is a gorgeous confection of a book..."As Seen on TV" manages to plug directly into the more mundane fads and fashions of popular culture., In this entertaining and informative book, Marling uses a variety of visual icons of the 1950s to depict the decade as an ocean of vibrant color, movement and style...[She] is one of this country's strongest advocates of the study of popular culture. She is also one of our most eloquent analysts of the meanings to be found in objects. Her book's multilayered, dizzying descriptions...plunge the reader into a culture drunk on color and form. They testify to the complex cultural significance with which Americans in the postwar years invested commonplace objects and images. They also blur the lines between aesthetics and sociology...Marling's full and convincing interpretations of the objects under discussion exhibit both humor and empathy.,

"As Seen on TV" offers fresh, imaginative readings of individual artifacts, particularly Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book and television commercials for automobiles. Moving Beyond text to context, chapters on the ongoing spectacle at Disneyland and the one-time-only "Kitchen Debate" between Nixon and Khruschev provide suggestive rereadings of familiar topics. [The book] becomes most interesting when imaginatively leaping from one set of cultural products or practices to another. It glides from Mamie Eisenhower's 'New Look' to the 'Chemise' or 'sack dress'..

"As Seen on TV" draws on an extensive, show more eclectic array of sources: presidential archives, museum collections, business publications, scholarly accounts, popular histories, and even the responses of listeners to Professor Marling's appearances on radio talk shows,

This book is an invitation to celebrate the dawning of the world as television...[She] lovingly guides us through this landscape, the world of what design critic Thomas Hine called the "populuxe," glitz and glitter for the postwar masses...The whole period has found a sympathetic chronicler in Marling and her account of the influence of television on 1950s America makes for fascinating reading.,

"As Seen on TV" combines high seriousness and just plain fun. It's a pleasure to read...Marling is as mercilessly convincing as she is witty and bright. Her stinging portrait of the 1950s easily extends beyond that much-satirized decade, enabling us to see its primitive reflection in today's popular culture and mass markets., Irresistible...Marling's enthusiasm is refreshing, entertaining and imaginative. Her energy is infectious...She manages to make the decade that time forgot come alive.
show less
I came across a reference to this book in The Guardian and generally trusting the bulk of their judgement I picked it up and read it. It very short at only 100 pages or so. But believe me this is no ordinary book.

It is disgusting, erotic, pornographic, revolting, riveting, taboo ridden, cowboy-style ridden, filthy and well written. Given that it was penned by non other than the famous American poet Jack Gilbert you can well understand the eloquent style.

Now to the content. I guess if you have any real morals you will be upset about this book just as you no doubt are by the multiple murders daily portrayed on TV and things like poverty and hunger in real life. Not to mention the unending wars. And you will no doubt pen a mighty rebuke of this debauched excuse for a book as you no doubt do, daily, about the things mentioned above.

Also, if you were raised any of the sex-phobic religions, you will probably masturbate yourself silly and make a few notes, before condemning this book.

Beyond that, I found it really refreshing. In one scene the daughter explicitly shows her "brother" all the various sexual parts of her body and their names and in doing so she defines which terms are acceptable and which are not and why so. This one scene really nails the underlying psychology of mainstream society when it comes to sex and womens' bodies. Oh and she also explains what to do with all those parts and how to do it correctly so that the woman is pleasured.

There is definitely more sex show more education in the first couple of chapters than I had in years of schooling and it re-reminded me that the little sex education I had at school never once mentioned pleasure or the clitoris. Can you imagine a treatise on soccer that never once mentioned the feet?

Anyway, if I were you I'd really stay away from filth like this, trust me, I have read it thoroughly. -- Ken-Me-Old-Mate
show less
A fascinating and captivating book about the author's experiences during the five million miles plus that he flew from barnstorming in wood and fabric biplanes on to piloting the earliest airliners he experienced the evolution of aviation first hand and went on to transporting troops and supplies during WW II and Korea, and piloting modern (1950s) airliners as the a chief pilot for Pan Am.
This is a reorganized version of "Good Housekeeping The Complete Household Handbook: The Best Ways to Clean, Maintain & Organize Your Home". Still a great book in a larger format.

A great book for young birds leaving nest, newly married couples, or anyone moving away from home short term or long term. This book covers nearly every aspect of running and maintaining a household in clear, concise every-day language.
The author spends an inordinate amount of time energy on his seeming obsession with Ms. Hepburn's purported lesbian tendencies which are pure supposition on his part. He then wastes more time defending his position. It ruined the book for me.
This is a reorganized version of "Good Housekeeping The Complete Household Handbook: The Best Ways to Clean, Maintain & Organize Your Home". Still a great book in a larger format.

A great book for young birds leaving nest, newly married couples, or anyone moving away from home short term or long term. This book covers nearly every aspect of running and maintaining a household in clear, concise every-day language.
August 2023

This is the complete inventory of all my U.S. Paper Money! (If I ever get it finished!)

I'm working every day on cataloging and listing the contents of this now. I hope to complete it while I'm still above ground.

- Grandpa