{"title":"Curator For Ancient Near East Paul Collins","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"banvard-s-folly-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9780312300333","title":"Banvard's Folly","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe historical record crowns success. Those enshrined in its annals are men and women whose ideas, accomplishments, or personalities have dominated, endured, and most important of all, found champions. John F. Kennedy's \u003ci\u003eProfiles in Courage\u003c\/i\u003e, Giorgio Vasari's \u003ci\u003eLives of the Artists\u003c\/i\u003e, and Samuel Johnson's \u003ci\u003eLives of the Poets\u003c\/i\u003e are classic celebrations of the greatest, the brightest, the eternally constellated.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Paul Collins' \u003ci\u003eBanvard's Folly\u003c\/i\u003e is a different kind of book. Here are thirteen unforgettable portraits of forgotten people: men and women who might have claimed their share of renown but who, whether from ill timing, skullduggery, monomania, the tinge of madness, or plain bad luck-or perhaps some combination of them all-leapt straight from life into thankless obscurity. Among their number are scientists, artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and adventurers, from across the centuries and around the world. They hold in common the silenced aftermath of failure, the name that rings no bells.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Collins brings them back to glorious life. John Banvard was an artist whose colossal panoramic canvasses (one behemoth depiction of the entire eastern shore of the Mississippi River was simply known as \"The Three Mile Painting\") made him the richest and most famous artist of his day. . . before he decided to go head to head with P. T. Barnum. René Blondot was a distinguished French physicist whose celebrated discovery of a new form of radiation, called the N-Ray, went terribly awry. At the tender age of seventeen, William Henry Ireland signed \"William Shakespeare\" to a book and launched a short but meteoric career as a forger of undiscovered works by the Bard -- until he pushed his luck too far. John Symmes, a hero of the War of 1812, nearly succeeded in convincing Congress to fund an expedition to the North Pole, where he intended to prove his theory that the earth was hollow and ripe for exploitation; his quixotic quest counted Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe among its greatest admirers.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Collins' love for what he calls the \"forgotten ephemera of genius\" give his portraits of these figures and the other nine men and women in \u003ci\u003eBanvard's Folly\u003c\/i\u003e sympathetic depth and poignant relevance. Their effect is not to make us sneer or revel in schadenfreude; here are no cautionary tales. Rather, here are brief introductions-acts of excavation and reclamation-to people whom history may have forgotten, but whom now we cannot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49534708187409,"sku":"GOR007546262","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50255908700433,"sku":"CIN0312300336G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50527605293329,"sku":"CIN0312300336VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000866767121,"sku":"NIN9780312300333","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51876224991505,"sku":"CIN0312300336A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53592213684497,"sku":"GOR006255564","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0312300336.jpg?v=1751356694"},{"product_id":"not-even-wrong-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9781582344782","title":"Not Even Wrong","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eNot Even Wrong\u003c\/i\u003e, Paul Collins melds a memoir of his son's autism with a journey into this realm of permanent outsiders. Examining forgotten geniuses and obscure medical archives, and beginning to see why he himself has spent a lifetime researching talented eccentrics, Collins shows how these stories are relevant and even necessary to shed light on autism. \u003cbr\u003ePaul Collins is the author of \u003ci\u003eSixpence House\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBanvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World\u003c\/i\u003e. He edits the Collins Library for McSweeney's Books and lives in Portland with his wife and son. \u003cbr\u003eA Book Sense selection in hardcover. \u003cbr\u003eBrilliant.-\u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFew things are more heartbreaking than learning that your child is destined to be an outsider.Collins conveys this sad truth beautifully. A fascinating portrait of his son. A-\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eStriking.Brave man, brave book.-\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA genre-bending spellbinder.-\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThis is a smart, compassionate study of autists-'the ultimate square pegs'-and how they see the world, darkly, through the thickets of their own genius.-\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAlso available: \u003ci\u003eNot Even Wrong \u003c\/i\u003ehc 1-58234-367-5 $24.95 \u003ci\u003eSixpence House\u003c\/i\u003e pb 1-58234-404-3 $13.95\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49616574906641,"sku":"GOR009436691","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49623389176081,"sku":"GOR006131035","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50393355976977,"sku":"CIN1582344787VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50828928385297,"sku":"CIN1582344787G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1582344787.jpg?v=1751342237"},{"product_id":"book-of-william-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9781596911956","title":"The Book of William","description":"Jonah didn't ask to be a prophet. 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Fish and all.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49645687603473,"sku":"GOR005142795","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49692764733713,"sku":"CIN1596911956G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49692848619793,"sku":"CIN1596911956VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1596911956.jpg?v=1750719646"},{"product_id":"small-garden-design-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9780806937878","title":"Small Garden Design","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49949251633425,"sku":"CIN0806937874G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":50120754037009,"sku":"CIN0806937874LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51695053046033,"sku":"CIN0806937874VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53017063424273,"sku":"GOR006559017","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0806937874.jpg?v=1751232879"},{"product_id":"book-of-william-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9781596911963","title":"The Book of William","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50134739452177,"sku":"CIN1596911964VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51695062417681,"sku":"CIN1596911964G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53032905179409,"sku":"GOR003113546","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1596911964.jpg?v=1751276535"},{"product_id":"introducing-candlemaking-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9780800841997","title":"Introducing Candlemaking","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50361867895057,"sku":"CIN0800841999G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0800841999.jpg?v=1751328834"},{"product_id":"mack-dunstan-s-inferno-book-curator-for-ancient-near-east-9781462032761","title":"Mack Dunstan's Inferno","description":"\u003cp\u003eMack 'Max' Dunstan has played Moses, Marc Anthony, Ben-Hur, President Andrew Jackson, and Long John Silver. He has starred in The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, El Cid, 55 Days in Peking, Planet of the Apes, Omega Man, and Soylent Green, to name a few. Sadly, in this age of social media, reality television, and political correctness, today's generation know him only for his hard right point of views and his outspoken nature.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMack Dunstan's Inferno was written as a satirical, fantasy work, where Mr. Dunstan succumbed to Alzheimer's, went through the death process, and descended into hell, where he met victims of his pro-gun policy. Collins was a fan of Mack Dunstan. This manuscript was actually inspired when the author viewed Michael Moore, who challenged Mr. Dunstan in Bowling for Columbine. The author did not support Mr. Moore's penchant for skewing the facts, or promoting his own agenda, but has acknowledged the filmmaker for providing the inspiration for Mack Dunstan's Inferno.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollins was never a fan of filmmaker Michael Moore. In fact he was utterly appalled and disgusted to hear how Mr. Moore accepted the academy award. The American Academy awards were about Gucci shoes, who was wearing what, and who's sleeping with whom. It was never about social issues. Collins never understood how a movie director could become infamous through documentary filmmaking. Only in America \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMack Dunstan's Inferno began with Mack Dunstan going through and experiencing the death process. As he journeyed, he met Virgil, who guided him through hell, heaven, and eventual illumination. In his journey, Mr. Dunstan met the many victims of his pro-gun policy. Many were Hispanic and African-Americans, all of whom were from the poorer classes. It was in this scenario of the underworld; Mr. Dunstan was confronted with the many sad and tragic stories, leaving him to go through the process of expurgation of guilt, anger, and elimination of the ego.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMr. Dunstan, however, did meet a lot of celebrities in his journey of the underworld. Some were from the silent era, golden age of cinema, and classic, American TV shows. Mack Dunstan's Inferno was not only a satire on those who enjoy distinction in the modern era, but a parity, or update, of The Divine Comedy. Within in the perimeters of fiction, Collins satirized and the so-called pillars of the communities and media darlings. He lampooned present actors, dead actors, present\/past members of the political and business elite. Therefore, instead of mentioning long, dead ancient figures of history, Collins sketched in Kelsey Grammar, Sally Struthers, or JK Rowlings.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMack Dunstan's Inferno does not promote a dogmatic, Christian belief system, but an Eastern point of view. 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