American Greats [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Wilson, Robert A. (editor); Marcus, Stanley (editor); Baker, Kevin; Barra, Allen; Beschloss, Michael; Brooks, James L.; Buckland, Gail; Buckley, Christopher; Budhos, Marina; Cooney, Joan Ganz; Dawidoff, Nicholas; Duncan, David Douglas; Giddins, Gary; Grace, Roy, Greene, A.C.; Halberstam, David; Hitt, Jack; Kalb, Marvi; Keegan, John; Kisseloff, Jeff; McGrath, Charles; McCullough, David; Reichl, Ruth; Remnick, David; Ritchey, Mike; Talese, Gay; Updike, John; Wilson, Robert; McElhaney, Jackie; McFarland, Mike

Published by PublicAffairs , a member of the Perseus Books Group, 1999

About this Item

Fine condition color illustrated heavy oversized (folio - 12 inches tall) softcover wraps. Includes Dedication; Contributors; A Note from Robert A. Wilson; A Note from Don Carty; Preface; Bibliography; Photo Credits; Acknowledgments; and Index. Profusely illustrated with color photographs, black-and-white photographs, drawings, etc. The rear lower left corner cover has a 4 inch crease. (see photographs). Highlights from American Greats (from the rear outer cover): "It remains what it was, the greatest of bridges, the Brooklyn Bridge, made in America, its appeal defying time, a symbol now no less than ever of brave work nobly done." - David McCullough on the Brooklyn Bridge. "There is only one Chez Panisse. In this age of multiple restaurants it has no clones in London, Las Vegas, or Tokyo. Because Alice Waters has more than money on her mind." - Ruth Reichl on Chez Panisse. "Duke Ellington liked to claim he won his job at the Cotton Club, in December 1927, because he showed up three hours late for the audition, as did the owner, who heard only Ellington and non of his rivals." - Gary Giddins on the Duke Ellington Orchestra. "They [the editors] had uncanny ears for a false note; they sometimes surprised you by accepting a daring or experimental piece; they manifested a cloistered virtue, in a fallen, hustling world, that made appearing anywhere else feel like a dangerous trespass." - John Updike on The New Yorker. "Our original goal was simple, and only in retrospect, revolutionary: to use television to help children learn. We knew young children watched a great deal of television in the years before they went to school. We also knew they liked cartoons, game shows, and situation comedies; that they responded to slapstick humor, music with a beat, and above all - sadly - fast-paced, oft-repeated commercials." - Joan Ganz Cooney on Sesame Street. "So here I was, my anxiety over the flight spilling all over Danny DeVito, my fears at the time very real. Danny responded, 'Look there's no way you're going to crash because I am the LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE, and since I need you to do this work with me when you come back, there is no way you don't make it back.' 'Great,' I said. 'I can just picture it; the plane is on fire and as we crash I'm screaming, "Ha, ha Danny. Your luck has run out.' " - James L. Brooks on television situation comedy. "What made the Wright brothers' successful early experiments so remarkable is that neither had any academic education in physics. They were entirely self-taught. The difference between them and other small town entrepreneurs was they had a genius for learning, and for identifying new problems to solve." - John Keegan on the Wright Brothers. "West Point has always seemed to me to be unusually close to Main Street in Middle America; it is a place without glitz, which without consciously trying, reflects both the norm, the center, and the diversity of America. Again and again it turns out good people of significant personal modesty and a powerful sense of obligation." - David Halberstam on West Point. Seller Inventory # 003879

Bibliographic Details

Title: American Greats [FIRST EDITION, FIRST ...

Publisher: PublicAffairs , a member of the Perseus Books Group

Publication Date: 1999

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st Edition