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LOL...Classic post, GPO!
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 Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:07 am |
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| The Giant Pacific Octopus wrote: |
But seriously has this book gotten any bad reviews? I was hoping there would be one somewhere, so I can throw it into your face if we ever have an arguement about something on these boards.
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Take a look at the one at Sci Fi Japan. Can you tell if it's a good or bad review? I sure can't.  |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:34 am |
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| The Sci-Fi Japan bashing is getting old. The review is clearly a positive one. As it should be. |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:38 am |
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According to several people who've read it (I haven't and won't, no disrespect to Richard), but there's no denying that they have bad blood towards me. Do I towards them? No, because I don't have an axe to grind -- and I'm too busy with paid writing gigs right to concern myself with fandom hierarchy pissing contests. That's why I disliked High School: cliques.
I wasn't really happy with them excluding coverage of G-Fan or G-Fest on Henshin! Online, because I thought it was Yellow Journalism. Funny how they accused J.D. of it, but then turned around did the same thing and Bob Johnson had a falling out with J.D. at G-Fest 2000. Can you smell the hypocrisy? Nothing wrong with being a hypocrite, I guess, but don't turn around and say that you're not. You can't have a public face and a private face and get upset when you're called on being two-faced. We get that enough from politicians as it is.
I'm not bashing their website (I've never looked at it), I'm bashing them as honorable people. They aren't. Period. I have thought that way since our fellowship broke off, before the creation of their website. Instead of being up front, they snuck around like rats, and then one of them has the I'm-safe-behind-my-keyboard balls to say that I'm "paranoid" and did them wrong (among my friends in real life, people like these characters would be blown off).
"Paranoid"? What's there to be paranoid about? That's exactly how they went about it, as Fifth Columnists. Now, am I upset? Disappointed perhaps that I trusted these people for years (and wasted a lot of time and energy on them). Were these people ever friends? I guess they never were, as real friends stick by you, warts and all (unless you're a felon). In retrospect, they were simply fellow fans and we worked together. None of them ever called on the holidays or birthdays (and vice versa). Meanwhile, friends are people that have deeper associations with you -- and I still have all of mine.
But, I digress. As per the review, I must say (according to what I've heard), the apparent tone of the review was painfully predictable. With apologies to Richard. But, for whatever the agenda, I could care less -- why would I when Time magazine gave it a lengthy and glowing review? And Barnes and Noble, etc.
Here's something I received in reaction to the said review: "It took too much space/time in how the book came about... it also elevated people who 'contributed' photos, etc. and it seemed to minimize your involvement, despite the fact that you wrote the manuscript. Is was as if everybody else did everything and, oh, by the way, August Ragone wrote the text."
Sounds like a case of people trying to ride on the coattails of this success. If the book bombed, as my late Uncle Frank would have said, "I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts," that they would have distanced themselves from it. I only asked Guy Tucker and John Cassidy to contribute. Everything else was done without my knowledge, except for the contributions by Akira Tsuburaya, Brad (whose job was to make sure the book was put together from the Tsuburaya side), Guy Tucker, Norman England, and John Cassidy (whom I all wanted to contribute these "Sidebars" that Chronicle wanted to break up my text).
I was told that Brad asked Ed G. to help contribute some images, which is why I thank him in the acknowledgements. (I cover the subject of photo contributions in another thread.)
With that being said, I was the one who quit my job and spent the better part of a year translating, researching and writing the manuscript. Do the math. (Besides, whose name is on the cover? It wasn't because of a contractual obligation.)
The person continues: "Granted, footnotes would have been useful, but I read no such quibbles in all the book reviews I've seen to date. I would guess that if this were a major issue, the 'professional' book reviewers would have pointed that out themselves. It was the worst review on the book I've seen. It seemed to be written with pleasing [certain people] as the goal."
Just a tidbit about the footnotes. I wrote extensive footnotes and Chronicle either jettisoned them as extraneous or incorporated those that they thought were relevant to the narrative into the text. They're the professional publishers, right? So, who would know better? Also, if these were such glaring omissions, I think that the Library Journal would have roasted me for it, because they have no axe to grind (Richard doesn't, but the people publishing his review, do).
In the words of Stewie, "How dare you sully my good name by spreading your slanderous filth!" 
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August Ragone
Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS
Read my blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:37 am |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:54 am |
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I suppose it is a favorable review. But it did take a whole lot of time getting there. I'm getting that feeling too that you seemed to be relegated almost like an afterthought.
If book critics didn't have any problems of no foot notes, then nobody else should either. They are helpful if somebody wants to do their own research.
Great book! It is proudly displayed on my coffee table next to my chess set. |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:57 pm |
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Thanks for the kind words! :)
(BTW, I corrected the link for the Radio Australia story; Adam Connors said that there a mix up on the main site and sent me a link to his page which also hosts the story.)
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August Ragone
Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS
Read my blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:41 pm |
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Post subject: I'll be the judge of that!
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| Major Boothroyd wrote: |
If book critics didn't have any problems of no foot notes, then nobody else should either. |
Here’s my review of the reviews of my review of August’s book.
I alone wrote the review and I wanted to credit everyone who contributed. I also wanted to tell what I knew about the book’s history. Someone suggested I distance myself from the back-story and only write about the book itself. I did not want to write another 100% favorable puff piece like “Fun book, great pics, etc!” written by people who didn’t appear to have carefully read the entire book as I did. Perhaps I should have been more impartial, but I did want to credit everybody involved, especially Brad Warner. Perhaps that’s not the purpose of a book review, so you might say I had an agenda. I cut a few parts and adjectives that flattered August because they just seemed too gushing.
The review is favorable, but probably the most critical one I’ve read. I feel justified in having higher standards than a general reviewer. To the best of my knowledge, I wrote nothing false, and I stand by my well-informed opinions. I don’t think the review itself (and its one or two quibbles) is a big deal as it is just one piece on a minor website among a dozen glowing reviews in far more important forums and publications.
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"This isn't the Fine Arts Department. We are talking about a Baroque Japanese Giant Critter Picture!" |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:53 pm |
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I bet dollars to donuts all the time too, August!!
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"Mr. Forman, can I light this off in your house?"
"Sure. And then I'll light my foot off in your ass."-- Kelso and Red Forman
"Nakano says special effects means 'explosions'." |
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| Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:24 pm |
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Whatever makes you feel better, Richard. Sorry that you felt the need to purposely write a critical review -- the pressure can't be good (I'm glad I got those 500-pound gorillas off of my back). Or as you said previously, that because I thanked you in the acknowledgments you couldn't give me a 100% positive review (for fear that you would be accused of nepotism). Damned if you do, damned if you don't, eh?
Again, these "contributors" didn't quit their jobs and work for months, day in day out, on this book (sometimes going 36 hours straight to make deadlines). But, I did. It's very insulting to insinuate otherwise or give too much credit those who simply contributed a disc of photos. All of the research and translations were mine (except where credited) and no one assisted me with the manuscript until the editing process. Credit where credit is due, let's "keep it real" as the kids say.
Now, while Brad Warner was the go-between on the project, assigned to make sure to support me in the completion of the book and to provide needed materials to Chronicle -- it was his job, it wasn't a "creative position," per se. He was basically a Production Manager, or a Foreman, if you will. He was an instrumental figure, but let's not go too far overboard here. I haven't given it much thought, but it is possible that this was Brad's way of trying to make everyone happy, while being completely insensitive to me (considering that I wasn't asked to contribute to the CM project, ask yourself how you would feel?).*
[BTW, did anyone think that Ed G.'s first-person contribution (which I wasn't aware of until I got the galley layouts last March) was more about him (and his fanzine) than about Tsuburaya and his team? Considering that his tone was, "I thought he did everything, until I started doing research for my magazine (sic)." WTF? I knew that Tsuburaya was a team leader in 1974, thanks to an (reprinted) article on Eiji Tsuburaya in Famous Monsters #114. Is it just me, or doesn't it seem that the approach he takes undermines his authority?]
As for the photos, I contributed somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/3 of the images from my own personal collection -- I spent several hours in their offices coding and captioning these images for their final selections. Several of the major photo spreads in the book (the opening spreads were from my collection) where from the collection of Hiroshi Takeuchi.
The final photo selections were solely up to Chronicle's editors (although they made some switches by my request or suggestions during the galley edits.)
I still love you, Richard, but it's sad to see that you had to compromise so much.
*Even if they asked me, once I found out that they were involved, I probably would have turned the offer down; thus giving them a far better alibi.
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August Ragone
Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS
Read my blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA |
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| Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:58 am |
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