Your Action World: Winners Are Losers with a New Attitude |  | Author: David Byrne
Publisher: Chronicle Books
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $14.99
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 754559
Media: Plastic Comb
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 128
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 13.9 x 11 x 0.6
ISBN: 0811826236
Dewey Decimal Number: 779.092
EAN: 9780811826235
ASIN: 0811826236
Publication Date: September 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In his latest book, writer, photographer, musician, and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne has created an extraordinary document and critique of the times we live in. Your Action World parodies the "inspirational" promotional materials-including books, tapes, and corporate advertising-with which we are inundated daily. Byrne's impulse is to fight back, "to stem the tide of images and bullying texts that assault all of us, by building dikes and dams of my own images and texts. To understand the enemy I must become one with the enemy, I must be of one mind with the enemy. I must infect myself in order to be immunized." An intelligent, quirky document from one of our most innovative artists-with a cool debossed PVC cover and 4-color sticker-Your Action World will be the cult hit of the season.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 "surreal" May 27, 2001
Curmudgeon (West Australia)
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
There's not much to be said for the American imagination if it finds books such as this "challenging". I think "elliptical" would be a better defintion than "surreal". David Byrne has fashioned an interesting book that will not take up too much of anyone's time, which I suspect may be part of its 'raison d'etre'. It's bright, colourful, and printed on heavy stock - so heavy you may find it separating from the spine of the cover. All the dots are there, you just have to do the connecting.
A book for the surreal thinker May 24, 2000
Ahmad Jordan (Bufalo, NY United States)
18 out of 24 found this review helpful
People who buy this book should realize that what they are buying is a visual essay with sub-titles...not a piece of lengthy literature. That is not to imply that this book isn't any good. It's actually very thought provoking for people who actually think! The book is loaded with photos and illustrations juxtaposed with BRIEF TEXT. The goal of the book is to offer a surreal opinion about the moral and emotional motivations in our society. It's also poking a very accusing finger at the advertising world. If you're the kind of person who can solve this equation 5 + X =10, then chances are you have the mental abilities to fill in the blanks and produce the message that Byrne is trying to communicate. But if you're the kind of person who needs the message spelled out to you, then chances are you won't enjoy this book. Simply stated, this book is like looking at a piece of art..."some imagination required."
 Inspirational April 23, 2000
Mr. Grumpy (Newport Beach, CA USA)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
Brilliant...like a month's worth of dreams captured in color. It must've been very expensive to print, and it shows. Usually after buying books of this nature, I read through them once and put them down for...well, years, sometimes. But this one has kept my attention for the month since it arrived; I find myself looking to it at least once a day for inspiration. David Byrne's mind is fascinating. Hopefully, it will be preserved in a space-jar or something for future generations.
Man becomes manifesto January 25, 2000
Vaughn Davis (Auckland New Zealand)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
Books used to have beginnings, middles and ends. They don't anymore, only most people who make them do not realise this. David Byrne does. Your Action World is the hinted genius of the album liner grown to the point where the album itself is redundant - a natural progression that the death of vinyl and its generously proportioned sleeve only hastened. If you enjoy reading the care labels on children's stuffed toys and understand that yellow and orange make not orange, but McDonalds, obtain this book.
This Superbook helped me find my Superself. December 23, 1999
Michael Eckinger (The Great Desert, Ohio)
16 out of 25 found this review helpful
I really can't say much about this book... I laughed. I went "Wow!" a few times. My aunt thinks it's pretty. David Byrne is, like, so cool...and stuff. I'll never be that cool.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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