David J. BookbinderRezensionen

I lived in NY briefly at the same time as this gentleman. It was a rough city. He captured it somewhat well but I would have liked a LOT more pictures and less talk about and with some of the inhabitants (especially the newsstand guy) it seemed very narrow focused and could have covered a wider range of folks.. I was also wishing, he had titled the pictures.

I lived in NY briefly at the same time as this gentleman. It was a rough city. He captured it well but I would have liked a LOT more pictures and less talk about and with some of the inhabitants (especially the newsstand guy). I was also wishing, he had titled the pictures.

David J. Bookbinder's Street People Portfolio does a superb job of documenting a city that no longer exists. Going through the various photographs I was constantly wondering whatever happened to these people. Bookbinder's book is a refreshing antidote to current trends in academia that place emphasis on categories of race, gender, and class at the expense of the individual. Irrespective of their position in life each of the subjects of Bookbinder's book celebrates the uniqueness of personhood. Each individual has his own style of expressing themselves despite the challenges of living in the city. Very grateful to Bookbinder for publishing this collection of photographs that capture existence for posterity. Highly recommend this book to everyone.

Really think there are things no one would see if I didn’t photograph them. Diane Arbus.

I have never been to New York and I only know it through the images I have seen in films or photography books or exhibitions. This book has allowed me to add other places to my knowledge, far from me not only in space (I live in Italy) but also in time, allowing me to get to know people and cultures that I will never be able to approach.

But there are other things in this book that make it interesting as well. In the introduction, the Author tells about his project, about the troubled history it had and discovers a part of himself that I find as interesting as the images he took. Among the thoughts he shares with us there is one that particularly struck me; is when he said: I have also witnessed how, through art, we can vicariously experience the lives of others and see their points of view from the inside. I find that this is exactly what this book communicates both about the people and places it portrays, and about the author himself.

This is a book of portraits of life in New York (Manhattan and Brooklyn to be exact) in the 1970s: street people, vendors, kids, regular people hanging out; a dead dog, people who might be dead. The author has taken some beautiful, unflinching photographs. In a section titled Streets, he has done some stunning work with shadow and light.

The photos also made me think about how each of the individual people found themselves in their current situation. Where did they come from? Who are they really? And this is also a gift. Because it really is more global than just New York. There always seems to be something or someone we try not to see. Street People Portfolio is mostly about the people that survive the streets in one way or the other. It is about humanity. So it is, in fact, about each of us.

It was okay, but the attempt at New Journalism didn’t quite pan out, as the fictionalizing of the “street people” made them seem wooden and verging on stereotypes. I wanted to like it more, but I just couldn't find myself all that interested in the people.
Also, I couldn’t help but feel that, for a book that aimed to explore the people of New York, it could have happened anywhere by just changing the place names.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the Early Reviewers program. No compensation was received other than the chance to read this work.

This book contains photographs and interviews conducted by the author when he was living in New York City during the 1970s. An interesting look into the lives of several people he spoke with, Bookbinder captures the feel of the street and the times in the various photographs and the in-depth discussions of everything from a person's personal history to how their worldviews are shaped by both the city and their everyday struggles.
The book overall is unevenly paced, with the pages on Morris the newspaper vendor slowing down the work and feeling like those pages overwhelm the chapters surrounding it. Those chapters, on prostitutes and trans individuals, feel as if they were shortchanged in the narrative when compared to Morris and a man towards the end of the book who is certain he is God come to Earth.
Lucid and interesting, this book is a good read when treated as a snapshot into New York City's ever-changing lifestyles.

Recommended for: Those who enjoy personal narratives, those who are interested in the lives of everyday individuals, and those who enjoy urban art photography.

I gave this book only three stars because at times it concentrated too much on two particular New YOrk residents to the detriment of the book, the newsstand owner, Morris, and Edward, the schizophrenic. Otherwise the book was well written and interesting as it discussed interviews the author held with various residents of NYC in the 70s. This included bag ladies, addicted homeless people, transexuals and prostitutes. Mr. Bookbinder amazingly enough gained the trust of these people who revealed details of their lives to him. The reader feels as if he/she knows the characters in the book after reading Bookbinder's interviews.

I received this book for free from Library thing in exchange for an honest review. I took my time reading this book as I really wanted its message to sink in. The author did an excellent job delivering information, yet kept it concise. This is a great resource for people dealing with stress as well as balancing life before one gets to the point of extreme unbalance. I especially appreciated his charts which aid in prioritizing actions to keep ones balance in check.

I have been reading psychological books for over fifty years. I divide them into three categories: academic, self-help/inspirational and moronic. My favorite academic book is Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, even though most of his concepts have been debunked over the last fifty years. Favorite self-help/inspirational is Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, enhanced by my experience of actually taking a class from him in graduate school. Then there are the many moronic ones I have started that tend to boast of cosmic connections that soon become weighed down in silliness, over-ripe imaginations and folly.

David Bookbinder’s submission into the pantheon of psychology books is The Art of Balance. I liked the book, very much. Freud invented the Id, Ego and Superego; Bookbinder created the more useful Balancer, UnBalancer, and ReBalancer. By these devices, he is able to define and externalize life’s slings and arrows and also our personal misperceptions and misconceptions to make them manageable. He also presents practical tools to try when needed. The “What to do" sections tell you exactly what to do. Readers will say, “That makes sense,” and “I can do that.”

I cannot recall a better organized, more practical, more useful and better-written self-help book. It is also compact, which makes everything even better. I also enjoyed the many delightful and helpful illustrations. This is the kind of book that could be read in high schools with great effect and I guess half the adult population could benefit from reading it too. I highly recommend David Bookbinder’s, The Art of Balance to anyone seeking better clarity for living a well-adjusted life.

I think that this is a truly beautiful book. The photography is amazing and the explanations of how the flowers relate to different aspects of our spirituality is enlightening and extremely original. I think this is an extremely helpful book to have around whether you are going through a difficult time or just need to be reminded that there is still beauty and happiness in the world. It offers great options for meditations with beautiful photos, quotes and essays. David Bookbinder has done a wonderful job.

I won this beautiful book from the publisher Diversion Books...thank you so much!
The 'adult coloring book' craze is on fire these days and this book is one of the best. It's not just a coloring book for stress relief but it is also inspirational because it includes quotes from people like Henry David Thoreau, Carl Jung, and Emily Dickinson just to name a few. The paper is of a wonderful quality...very smooth and receptive to color and all mandalas are printed on the right side of the pages. The quotes appear on the left side along with a blank square for your own interpretation. David Bookbinder took the photographs of flowers and Emily Sper designed them into the mandalas. What a fabulous team! I'm hoping that together they will be creating more of these stunning books. I have quite a few adult coloring books and this one is my absolute favorite. I highly recommend it.

Good book with a great discography, but if you've read a lot about the 60s folk music revival in the US, you won't find anything new here.

If you don't blow your own horn, nobody else will. This book is a collection of beautiful, hand-drawn interpretations of 52 Flower Mandala images matched with inspirational quotes, blending wisdom, relaxation, stress relief, and just plain fun.