Books about Curiously from Amazon.com

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A new collection of eye-popping rarities from a defining visual stylist of the 1950s jazz era.

The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora, following hot on the heels of 2004's The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora (which sold out within a matter of months, but which is being reprinted with this latest volume of Floriana) features a wide array of both his commercial work for prestigious record labels of the '40s and rare, personal work that he did solely for himself.

Flora was prolific in his commercial work; he created art privately in equal measure—and often with more fiendish pleasure. His style is cartoonish, evoking childhood nostalgia and dereliction of adult responsibility. There are clowns and kitty cats, grinning faces and beaming suns. But Flora did not restrain his darker impulses. His montages are crammed with bullets and knives and fang-baring snakes. Muggers run amok, demons frolic with rouged harlots, and Flora's characters suffer—that is, are afflicted by the artist with — severe disfigurement. The banal and the violent often coexist within inches of each other on the canvas. Figures from his burlesque-tinged absurdity "The Rape of the Stationmaster's Daughter" adorn the book cover.

There is also a wealth of 1940s Columbia Records printed matter exhibiting Flora's visual pranks; 1950s RCA Victor-era work; magazine illos, sketchbooks, and prints; 1930s Little Man Press-era drawings; paintings from all decades; photos, and personal keepsakes. All are abundantly represented in The Curiously Sinister Art. Flora's early 1940s musician portraits in Columbia bulletins are raucous and undignified, featuring piss-takes on such legends as Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Gene Krupa. Flora once said he "could not do likenesses"—so he conjured outlandish caricatures. His exotic fauna defy logic and the laws of physics. We suspect he often leaned back from the drafting table, examined his work, and issued a macabre chuckle.

Much of the work in the book is light-hearted—it's not all Flora 'rassling his demons. But even in his impish renderings, there's something vaguely unsettling in the nuances. His comic grotesqueries echoed, and in many cases foreshadowed, the 1950s Harvey Kurtzman-era MAD magazine, as well as the underground comix of the late 1960s.

When Flora died in 1998, his family gathered his artistic estate and secured it in a storage facility. In late 2005, the heirs allowed Chusid and Economon access to the vault. What they discovered were "lost works"—"lost" because fans of Flora's LP covers, kid-lit, and Mischievous Art offerings have never seen most of these eye-boggling treasures, which include paintings, watercolors, sketches, woodcuts and all manner of artistic genius.

Flora once said that all he wanted to do was "create a little piece of excitement." He overshot his goal with many of these works..
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Are You Crazy About Cats?

Prove it! With this illustrated quirky compendium of all things cats, you will delight in the most obscure factoids about the history, the biology, and the quizzical nature of our feline friends that will test your knowledge and fill you with wisdom.

Whether you're a cat lover, a trivia buff, or searching for information before you adopt your first kitten or adult cat, everything you always wanted to know (and everything you didn't think of asking) is revealed! Who's the smartest cat on record (besides yours!)? Why do cats chatter? What are the most popular cat names? When can a kitten use a litter box? Why does your cat lick you? Why do cats eat grass? Is catnip a good treat?

Jam-packed with tips from two of America 's most well-known feline experts—Marty Becker, D.V.M., and syndicated pet-care columnist Gina Spadafori—the cat really is out the bag thanks to this charming gift book.

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A fascinating look into the history of the American sideshow and its performers Learn what's real, what's fake, and what's just downright bizarre.

You've probably heard of Tom Thumb. The Elephant Man. Chang and Eng, the original Siamese twins. But what about Eli Bowen, the legless acrobat? Myrtle Corbin, the four-legged woman? Or Prince Randian, the human torso? All these and more were stars during the heyday of the American sideshow, from 1840 to 1950. American Sideshow chronicles the lives of truly amazing performers, examining these brave and extraordinary curiosities, not just as sideshow attractions, but as people, delving into the lives they led and how they were able to triumph over their abnormalities.

American Sideshow discusses the rise and fall of the original sideshows and their subsequent replacement by today's self-made freaks. With the progress of modern medicine, the physical abnormalities are disappearing, either through treatment or prevention; and, ironically, those same technological advancements now make it possible to change our bodies at will. It's amazing how easy it is to have your tongue forked, horns surgically implanted, or your earlobes removed. There are also modern-day giants, fire-eaters, fire-breathers, sword-swallowers, glass-eaters, human blockheads, and, oh, so much more.

These fascinating personalities are celebrated through intimate biographies paired with stunning photographs. Approximately 200 performers from the past 160 years are featured, giving readers a comprehensive and sometimes astonishing view of the history of the American sideshow..
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Are You Crazy About Dogs?

Whether you've just brought home your first puppy or you've known for years that your beloved dog rules the roost (and the bed!), you will delight in this quirky must-read canine compendium Filled with charming illustrations and little-known facts beyond just breeds and behaviors, you and yours will be the smartest at the dog park when you discover:

Who is the longest running dog on Broadway (and other puparazzi trivia)? Why do dogs have cold noses? Who were the most popular presidential puppies? What's the best way to train a dog? How did Lassie find her way home (and why can't your dog)? What's the best sport for your dog? How can you get your dog to stop digging? Why does your dog pump his leg when you scratch him?

Jam-packed with tips and trivia from two of America's most well-known canine experts—Marty Becker, D.V.M., and award-winning syndicated pet-care columnist Gina Spadafori—this is a charming gift book for dog lovers.

Make no bones about it: If you're a dog person, this must-read book is nothing to bark at.

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In these characteristically incisive essays, Mark Singer profiles eccentrics, monomaniacs, and other remarkable people he thinks we ought to meet. He takes us into the worlds of the sleight-of-hand master Ricky Jay, the ardent bibliophile Michael Zinman, and better-known personalities such as the entrepreneur Donald Trump and the meticulous filmmaker Martin Scorsese. He interviews a devoted fan of the cowboy movie star Tom Mix and a group of Texans who are determined to recover the skull of Pancho Villa from Yale's Skull and Bones society, among others. A riveting tour of obsession, Character Studies reveals the passions that drive the ordinary, the quirky, and the truly, fanatically fixated..
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