Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone ISBN: 0-451-17135-7 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: December, 1996 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (83 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Magnifico
Comment: Irving Stone had the ability to do for a single person what James Michener had the ability to do for an entire country. Stone gives us biography on a large scale and it is impossible to read him without learning something or coming away from the novel a better person.
The Agony and the Ecstacy is the "biographical novel" of Michelangelo but much more than that it is the story of the Italian Renaissance in all its glory. Through Michelangelo's eyes one gets a full feeling for Florence and Rome at the time. Stone paints with a broad brush the stories of wars, feuding princes, religious machinations, and the wonderful art that the Renaissance produced.
This novel is however much more than that. It is an analysis of the struggle that is necessary to create. We experience the creation of just about every major work of art of Michelangelo and the personal struggles that went into the creative process. We see the artist as he struggles with family, princes, popes and other artists to get his designs accepted.And finally we see the glory of a life well lived as the artist dies leaving a truly monumental body of work behind.
I don't know how much of this work was novel and how much was pure biography but I do know that the result was one of the most enjoyable reading experiences that I've had for many years. The reader need not worry that he or she is not an expert on Renaissance art when this work is read. Supplemental material and photographs of the works discussed may be found on several web sites. Jump in and enjoy.
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent!
Comment: Being an architecture sudent, it's only natural that I have a great interest in history of art and its greatest expoents.
Of course, everybody knows (I think) that Michelangelo was a master of all arts, not only painting, but also (and mainly) sculpture, not to mention poetry, architecture and civil engineering. There are lots of books with Michelangelo as main subject, but rarely these books are fictional. I like books of fiction concerning real historic events or people. When I found out about "Agony and ecstasy", and read the reviews at Amazon.com stating it was a great book, I raced to buy this book.
I read in one of the reviews that Irving Stone does with people what Michener does with places. It's entirely true. With the difference that, when the main subject is a person, the author can develop the character as long as he wants, and Stone does that wonderfuly, with a depth that you don't find in every book.
"Agony and ecstasy" is as turbulent and emotional as Michelangelo. Through its pages, the reader goes from the early years of the artist, his struggles to receive money and acknowledgment for his works, the passion he had for art in general and sculpture in particular.
Michelangelo is one of the greatest men that ever lived. Stone narrates his life with the help of each work he has conceived, from the comissions he got, through the effort to create subjects with different yet meaningful purposes. What is best, in this book Irving Stone has re-created not only Michelangelo's life, but also the political and religious environment of Europe and, particularly Italy. Besides Michelangelo, some other characters in "Agony and ecstasy" are: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, the architect Bramante, the painters Giotto, Tiziano, the popes Julius II (among many other popes), Lorenzo di Medici, and many other historic characters.
We can see that the author is concerned in creating an authentic and correct work, because after the conclusion of the story, there's a bibliography concerning not only Michelangelo, but also many books about Europe, Italy, Florene and Rome in the XVI century, history of the popes, and many others.
This is a great book for everybody interested in serious subjects, specially for those who like historical and artistical ones. Almost perfect.
Grade 9.6/10
Rating: 5
Summary: Short and Sweet
Comment: I'm going to keep this short and sweet, because I know you just want to get on with your purchasing. The first time I saw a picture of one of Michelangelo's works... I fell in love. It was less than a year ago when I was 17. I am a senior in high school, and decided to read this for my own pleasure. It took me almost four months to read, but that was because I am juggling a full load of classes, college applications, and extracurricular activities. I was sad when I reached the end of this book, because it was just amazing. I loved it so much, and it is my favorite novel. I am now reading King's Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, just ordered two more informational books, and continue to 'collect' other books concerning this wonderful artist. I definitely reccommend this book to lovers of Michelangelo.
 |
Title: The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall by Christopher Hibbert ISBN: 0688053394 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 02 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Lust for Life by Irving Stone ISBN: 0452262496 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: January, 1989 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
 |
Title: Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King ISBN: 0142000159 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 30 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
 |
Title: Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King ISBN: 0802713955 Publisher: Walker & Co Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
 |
Title:The Agony and the Ecstasy ASIN: 6301628667 Publisher: Twentieth Century Fox Pub. Date: 27 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $9.98 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
