"You know, I love this series.
I have the book on Mathematics
and
the book on Chaos. You can read them in one sitting, they're in comic
book
format, and they give the basic info you don't seem to get in
university..." (See
Reviews section: Cultural
Studies)
"...what
pictures they are! Borin Van Loon's clever and
exhaustive illustrations should be the required text for anyone who
wants to design educational graphics."('Harvard
Crimson' review: See Reviews section below)
The Introducing... series
Click the cover
for its own
webpage (shown in chronological order
of
publication in the UK - apart from 'DNA')... ------------
Borin Van
Loon has created fourteen Beginners-style
books over the
years; several are relaunched
by Icon
Books in their Introducing...
series with new livery. Icon Books was formed in 1991
expressly
to publish a groundbreaking
series
of illustrated guides to topics such as Freud, Marx, Darwin and
Einstein.
The books became a huge success throughout the world, especially
following
titles on Postmodernism and Stephen Hawking in 1995. The series - which
has sold in excess of 3 million books - has been hugely aclaimed for
its
innovative and truly brilliant combination of words and pictures.
The series is a unique blend of
authoritative text
by notable
authors and stunning visuals, comic strip, typography and illustration
creating
the perfect introduction to abstruse, 'difficult' and jargon-ridden
topics.
Van Loon's eclectic approach is perhaps best exemplified by the Mathematics
and Sociologybooks
which are
pure collage works from a myriad sources. It's the fulfillment of a
long-held
ambition to create one of these books in this way - barely picking up a
pen or brush - and now he's done two! Elsewhere dip-pen and brush
drawings
enrich the mix.
Richard Appignanesi, poet, novelist,
impressario and
series editor
of
the 'Introducing' series, took the precursor of these books, 'Marx for
Beginners'
by the Mexican artist, Rius, and working with writers, designers and
illustrators
established a whole new genre in publishing: the documentary comic
book.
The series now comprises nearly a hundred titles - a remarkable
achievement.
Richard's novel has a cover-painting 'Domestic
Interior' by Borin Van Loon.
Reviews
(A Review
section now appears at the bottom of each
book's page.)
<< ... the
"Introducing . . ." series surveys a number
of heady topics in a
lavishly-illustrated format. Readers wanting
light
but not insubstantial overviews of such topics as postfeminism,
postmodernism,
and semiotics will find them herein. [They] tend to be written from a
British
point-of-view, but for North Americans that can be enlightening.
>>
(The Cultural Construction
Company Book Club Queue)
The
Beginners / Introducing Books --
"Their cartoon format
and irreverent wit make difficult ideas accessible and entertaining."-
Newsday
I
was led to graduate studies by a
fascinating comic book
that
raised intellectual questions within a fun format. So, I place a lot of
stock in illustrated books -- sort of like hefty comic books with
thought-provoking
content. For a fun exploration of some of the ideas presented above,
try
the illustrated/comic book series "Introducing..." or "...For
Beginners." Some of these include:
Introducing the Enlightenment, by Lloyd Spencer and Andrzej Krauze.
Cambridge:
Icon. 2000. Introducing Media Studies,
by Ziauddin Sardar and Borin Van
Loon.
New York: Totem. 2000. Introducing Cultural Studies,
by Ziauddin Sardar and Borin Van
Loon.
New York: Totem. 1998.
Postmodernism for Beginners, by Jim Powell. New York: Writers and
Readers.
1998.
(Excerpt from "A Guide to Philosophical Discussions of Community Media"
by John W. Higgins, "Community Media Review", 25:2 (Summer 2002).
A verbal 'review'...
While attending the launch of The Health
Matters Gallery in London's
Science
Museum in 1994 (opened by Dr James Watson), Borin was standing near to
his
huge mural on DNA (executed in 'Introducing...' style using collage
caricature
and cartoon), he met a genetics researcher who had first become
inspired
to study and graduate in the subject by reading Borin's 'DNA
for
Beginners'.
Such is the power of books; this chance meeting somehow makes it all
worthwhile.
A blast from the past (Borin's first ever 'Beginners' book - which
hasn't
got its own page yet)... Capitalism for Beginners.
LeKachman, Robert and Borin Van Loon.
Highly readable, and illustrated with cartoons. Explains the theories
of
Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, and others. (http://www.newparty.org/econo.html#leka)
This is another of the
excellent documentary "comic books"
published by Pantheon Books. However, just because it is a "comic book"
and uses well-selected illustrations to drive home its point (often
with
considerable good-natured humor), do not think that it isn't also an
insightful
and well-researched guide into the workings of the capitalist system.
This
book isn't a piece of "free market" propoganda. The author consistantly
points out the shortcomings, absurdities, and out right injustice of
the
system. In fact, his examination of why so many Americans continue to
support
the capitalist system, when it is clearly contrary to the best
interests
of 9 out of 10 of us, is among the best I've seen. After reading this
book
you will know the basic textbook concepts of economics. You will know
mecantilism
from monetism, and microeconomics from macroeconomics. You will be
familiar
with the theories of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, F.A.
Hayek,
and Milton Freidman. You will understand the law of the falling rate of
profit, and how paying lower wages can only temporarily offset this.
You
will know what a multinational corporation is and how they operate.
Indeed,
the author's warning about "corporatism" (in 1981) is down right
prophetic. Some people might be tempted to write this book off as dated
or obsolete because it was first published in 1981. On the contrary,
because
of the good old "business cycle" conditions are once again very
simular to those of the early eighties.... The author is no wild-eyed
radical.
He was a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the City University of
New York.[5 star review]
(http://www.fetchbook.info)
DNA for Beginners [plans are
afoot to revise and republish this
title!] ...
>DNA
for Beginners is simply the
best introduction to genetics you can buy.
Sylvester and Klotz
write in The
Gene Age that
molecular biologists "stand out among
scientists as intensely visual, as imaginative rather than
analytic." DNA for Beginners
puts this visual imagination into
pictures. And what pictures they are! Borin Van Loon's clever and
exhaustive illustrations should be the required text for anyone who
wants to design educational graphics.
A documentary comic book from the prolific Writers' and Readers'
Publishing Cooperative. DNA for
Beginners succeeds better
than similar
introductions from the same publisher such as Marx for Beginners
or
Freud
for Beginners, which
deal with less visual subjects. Although
titled a "comic book," DNA for Beginners should not be confused with
science-inspired pulp serials such as "DNA gents" (which details the
adventures of a handful of artificial people created by a giant
corporation to do its dirty work.) Thoroughly researched, simply
written, beautifully laid out, DNA
for Beginners is in fact more
serious than most popular science writing. With Van Loon's magnificent
drawings to grab the reader's attention, the text can remain simple and
straightforward and avoid the eye-catching exaggeration all too common
in science journalism. Authors Rosenfield [and Ziff] provide precision
with an
English brevity of expression.
But it is Van Loon's versatility and imagination as an illustrator
which makes DNA for Beginners
so entertaining and understandable. The
range of his models is extraordinary. He draws on Auguste Rodin's
Thinker, Andy Warhol's soup cans, Thomas Nast's cartoons of Victorian
social commentary, and dozens of other artists' works. Caricatures,
engravings, photographs, and a diagrams are all intermingled without
ever clashing. Gregor Mendel's famous pea plants, study of which led to
the discovery of genes, show up as Jolly Green Giants.
Even the scientists are portrayed with an astonishing diversity of
styles; at different times Van Loon pictures Francis Crick and James
Watson, discoverers of the double helix structure of DNA, as Batman
and Robin and other fictional characters]. In
addition, the comic book format is the only one in which the arcane and
often ridiculous jargon of molecular biology makes sense.
... Even the most sparkling writing could never explain molecular
genetics without a good set of pictures; DNA for Beginners
is thus far
better for anyone interested in genetics out of pure curiosity. (http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=200950)
[This review has some typos
and omissions in its web version:
indicated by square brackets.] 'The
Harvard Crimson' review (no
writer credited, sadly). 23.1.1984
>If you want to understand how DNA works
and proteins are made
and
implications
of biotechnology to society then this book can explain complex terms
such
that an idot can understand it. I have been interested in biotechnology
and how it works. I would rate this book on the top of my list.
>Recomended for any
student of Biological sciences.
During my
first
degree (Biochemistry & Mol. Biology), this was one of the best
and
most
user-friendly of textbooks. Placed next to Stryer and Voet &
Voet.
Though
still relevant, it is begining to date and I would encourage the
authors
do a revised edition covering the past twenty years.
>Can be understood by
nonscientists. This book is best
appreciated
by aspiring biologist. Book lacks most current information concerning
genetics,
i.e. Gene Cloning and the Human Genome Project. Overall is an
outstanding
easy read that accurately covers many important concepts in genetics.
(4
and a half stars) (All
three reviews above from
http://www.fetchbook.info)
Reviews
of individual titles gleaned from
the Web appear on
relevant pages.
series
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