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| The Principles of Uncertainty | 
 enlarge | Author: Maira Kalman
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $15.50
You Save: $14.45 (48%)
New (33) Used (14) from $10.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 9417
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 159420134X
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.6092
EAN: 9781594201349
ASIN: 159420134X
Publication Date: October 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 2007 hardcover/dj, light shelfwear to dust cover,small scuff to dustcover, else great Sk-4, box-00000
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Amazon Best of the Month, Octhober 2007: In 2005 Maira Kalman brought a fresh vision to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, filling the pages of the reference classic with her whimsical illustrations. And much like its multi-talented creator--who has illustrated children's books and New Yorker covers and collaborated on fashion projects with Kate Spade and Isaac Mizrahi--her new book, The Principles of Uncertainty, defies easy classification. Is it philosophy? Art? Memoir? Travel? Sociology? The answer is All of the Above (and more). This charming collection of text, paintings, and photography presents a "profusely illustrated" year in a life, with illustrated musings that range from a young Nabokov "sitting innocently and elegantly in a red chair" to two stuffed rabbits in the window at Paris's Deyrolles taxidermy to Kitty Carlisle Hart at home in her "pearly pink palace." Delightful, inspiring, and often very moving, this little charmer is a a book you might find nestled on Wes Anderson's coffee table. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Product Description
Maira Kalman paints her highly personal worldview in an inimitable combination of image and text.
The Principles of Uncertainty is an irresistible invitation to experience life through the psyche of Maira Kalman, one of this country's most beloved artists. The result is a book that is part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, part chapbook, and all Kalman. Her brilliant, whimsical paintings, ideas, and images-which initially appear random-ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, an idiosyncratic inner monologue. Kalman contends with some existential questions-What is identity? What is happiness? Why do we fight wars? And then, of course, death, love, and candy (not necessarily in that order).
The tremendous success of Kalman's 2005 illustrated edition of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style established her as an original, inspirational voice, and the quirky, hilarious, heartbreaking style of The Principles of Uncertainty reveals Maira Kalman for what she truly is: a national treasure.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Zen-like meditations on the magnificent and the mundane October 30, 2007
28 out of 33 found this review helpful
Kalman's illustrations accentuate her pithy prose. Her pictures seem derived from some other time, perhaps the Impressionist era in France? They have a 19th century vibe. Think Van Gogh. Imagine Monet.
Her thoughts spring from the page as she passes through her days. Each thought evokes a picture. In her observation of a life that is mostly "normal" (if there is such a thing) Kalman connects readers with the deep reservoirs of personal feeling that we frequently fail to recognize.
This is a lovely, one-of-a-kind volume that will delight as it subtly conjures up the emotions that lie just below the surface in every one of us. Bravo!
 Principles of Wonderful Art and Atrocious Design November 26, 2007
20 out of 25 found this review helpful
I loved this when it ran in the NY Times. I couldn't wait to have the wonderful drawings and subtle text in my possession. And then the book arrived. I was dumbfounded. Whoever designed it can't possibly have done a book of art before. Images spilling into gutters, no white space. Why? To save money? This should be reprinted by a publisher who can see what damage has been done to this wonderful work. It kills me to say it because the artist, Maira Kalman, deserves every bit of attention she can get and every nickel they pay her. But this book design is a travesty.
Magnificent, magnificent, magnificent!!! October 24, 2007
16 out of 21 found this review helpful
Having read each of the pieces in The Principles of Uncertainty as they were published in Times Select, I initially ordered three copies of this book--one for me, two for gifts. Now I've ordered a fourth--I want to give one to everyone I love. And I want to spend a day with Maira Kalman--of course with this book I can spend part of every day with her. I love this book!
Maira Is Forever November 17, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I can't believe that there have only been two reviews of this book! It is a Maira Kalman book for grownups - for anyone who loves her childrens books - the wit, the art, the words - finally there is a picture book for us!
And, for a short period of time, the original paintings are on view at Julie Saul Gallery on 22nd St. in NYC. What a bonus!
In Principles of Uncertainty, Kalman touches on nearly every human emotion - yielding a book that is tender, tough, ironic, big-picture, "God is in the details", mellow, poignant, funny - you name it. In her deceptively naive paintings, she captures the essence of things - relationships, beauty, life cycles.
I went to see the exhibition at Julie Saul two times - and I would have gone 200 times. This will be one of those books that we will return to over and over again.
Words cannot describe how this book FEELS to read and see! November 24, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book just arrived, I read it and am now ordering copies for many friends. This is a case of "less is more"--drawings and words are minimal, but the impact of whimsy and profoundness is great. It goes straight to the heart.
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