Amazon. Christmas. Neo-neocon.
There’s still plenty of time to order from Amazon!
And a great big “thank-you” to all who’ve done so through neo-neocon, and all who are about to do so.
A few more suggestions:
Out of ideas? Get an Amazon gift card.
And here are two books I can vouch for, because I own them and love them. They’re coffee-table type art books, but somewhat smaller and significantly less expensive. And yet the quality of the reproductions is excellent for the price, and the choice of paintings is varied (in painter, era, and mood), sometimes surprising, and always satisfying. A good gift for New England and/or Maine aficionados and/or dreamers, or just about anyone who loves beauty.
The first is Carl Little and Arnold Skolnick’s Paintings of New England.
The second is The Art of Maine in Winter, compiled by the same authors. This one is especially well-suited for gift-giving at this time of year, I think, and some of the paintings are very mysterious and subtle.
I assume that the other books in the series are equally good, although I’ve not seen them. One is entitled Paintings of Maine.
Another is Art of the Maine Islands.
A third is The Art of Monhegan Island.
Edward Hopper’s New England is more specialized, since it features a single artist, but if you have an Edward Hopper fan on your gift list, it could be perfect.
[NOTE: Don’t be concerned because only some of them are available from Amazon, and others come through Amazon but are from other sellers. It’s my impression that both categories still qualify under the program.]
[ADDENDUM: I want to call your attention to the fact that our very own commenter “Sgt Mom” is an author whose books are sold through Amazon (and also available there on Kindle). So if you want to benefit both neo-neocon and a member of the commenting community here—and yourself and/or your gift recipients, of course—take a look at Sgt. Mom’s Amazon page. In the comments section to this post she writes:
I have a number of volumes of historical fiction out there, all of them carefully researched, and which honor American values of decency, patriotism, hard work and a belief in the future: To Truckee’s Trail is about a pioneer wagon train party attempting to cross the High Sierras in winter, The Adelsverein Trilogy concerns the German settlements in Texas (Yes, there was a big venture in Germany in the 1840s to bring over farmers and craftsmen to fill up a huge land grant ”“ hardly anyone outside of Texas knows about this ) and Daughter of Texas/Deep in the heart is about the early days in Texas, through the eyes of a woman settler.
Thanks ”“ and Merry Christmas!]
http://www.explorethomascole.org/
Neo-neocon, check this link out. It is to the work of painter Thomas Cole. You’ll notice that he discovered HDR concepts long before digital photographers did.
Neo, may I beg of your indulgence and note that my own books are also available on Amazon.com? I have a number of volumes of historical fiction out there, all of them carefully researched, and which honor American values of decency, patriotism, hard work and a belief in the future: To Truckee’s Trail is about a pioneer wagon train party attempting to cross the High Sierras in winter, The Adelsverein Trilogy concerns the German settlements in Texas (Yes, there was a big venture in Germany in the 1840s to bring over farmers and craftsmen to fill up a huge land grant – hardly anyone outside of Texas knows about this ) and Daughter of Texas/Deep in the heart is about the early days in Texas, through the eyes of a woman settler. My Amazon page is here -http://www.amazon.com/Celia-D.-Hayes/e/B002BM1QHG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 – but it should be easily accessed through your Amazon portal.
(Oh, and they’re all available in Kindle, too.)
Thanks – and Merry Christmas!
Sgt Mom: I will add that to the post!
Thanks, Neo! You’re a princess!
“Yes, there was a big venture in Germany in the 1840s to bring over farmers and craftsmen to fill up a huge land grant — hardly anyone outside of Texas knows about this ”
I’ve even heard that German was the second most spoken language in Texas at one point in time. My grandfather immigrated from Germany, his brother’s name was Emil, and my mom had to teach English to several of my great aunts and uncles so they could “get along”.
When visiting Texas, try to get to New Braunfels and Fredericksburg to see a beautiful and interesting part of Texas. They welcome Auslanders there :).
Admiral Nimitz was from Fredericksburg. It must have galled Hitler that that two of the leading USA officers during WWII were named Eisenhower (also born in Texas) and Nimitz.
Sgt. Mom,
I just sent the Kindle edition of Adelverein to a friend in the US. And Neo, she also got a gift card through your links.
Thanks, expat! Much appreciated! Oh,yes, texexec – German was a major language for well into the 1920s in the Hill Country; churches, schools, newspapers, civic organizations – all German. And not just in the Hill Country – San Antonio itself had a huge German element. Frederick Law Ohmstead visited (for a travel book he did) in 1855, and he noted that San Antonio was divided in thirds; Mexican, Anglo and German. Three different languages and cultures, three different ways of dressing, building, amusing themselves and doing business. Some of those German-founded businesses are still going strong; the Menger Hotel, and the Pioneer Flour Mills, for instance.
The head of the Nimitz Foundation in Fredericksburg and his wife are some of my biggest fans for the Trilogy – they absolutely love it that Admiral Nimitz’ grandfather (who was a huge influence on him) is a character in the Trilogy … and that I worked in all kinds of real people into the background. I can’t count the number of times I have met a descendent of someone I had mentioned in the books!