Year: 2008

Books routinely fall out of vogue and slip out of print. Non-fiction books are especially vulnerable, discarded when their subjects lose popularity or when more updated information becomes available. Regardless of the innovation, mastery, or irreproducibility of their stories, these books are doomed to obscurity in labyrinthine secondhand bookstores or among the dusty, stamped stacks of libraries. When Prophecy Fails is one of these books.

There’s no need to travel to see great Japanese artists when you can find them right in your city. That’s what co-author Eric C. Shiner discovered when the Japan Society asked him to put together an exhibit. Making a Home, based on the exhibit for the Japan Society’s centennial, flaunts the artwork of 33 Japanese-born contemporary artists living in New York. Each artist has a section containing an article and photographs on his/her work and interview excerpts.

In the intro, Robert Christgau says about making the selections for the book, “When I said I was on the hunt for writing, I wasn’t kidding.” He wasn’t. There are pages and pages of rock criticism in a gamut of styles ranging from journalism to Chris Ryan’s e-mail rants written in all caps. A collection of essays by eminent writers about eminent musicians, this book could be a load of pretentious crap—but the book sidesteps this danger because the writers clearly revere the musicians and the musicians clearly love their art.

In 1917, the Imperial War Museum (IWM) was founded in London to honor victims of World War I. Author James Aulich introduces L.R. Bradley, Keeper of War Publicity at the IWM in 1917, in the introduction to War Posters. Bradley began a collection of war publicity paraphernalia—advertisements, postcards, cartoons—that, in time, would grow to be the most comprehensive collection of its kind.

With over four hours of Ramones concert footage and television appearances along with an array of interviews and bonus features, The Ramones: It’s Alive 1974-1996 DVD set is a Ramones fanatic’s dream come true. Music supervisor Tommy Ramone provides a personal touch in compiling the band’s best moments on stage into a comprehensive anthology. From their earliest shows at CBGB to final concert footage at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, it is apparent how the Ramones grew from a New York bar band into beloved legends, and to many, the face of punk rock itself.