Reviews for Success with BEC: Vantage Student's Book: The New Business English Certificates

The average rating for Success with BEC: Vantage Student's Book: The New Business English Certificates based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-06-01 00:00:00 Curtis McBride Monika Kinley and her husband Victor Musgrave work among the people who were active in the 60s and 70s promoting the work of what is now known as ‘outsider’ artists. They not only collected works from people who are now the major names in the genre such as Adolf Wolffli, Madge Gill, Henry Darger and Schroder Sonnenstern, but also helped to nurture and support the talents of living artists such as Pascal Verbena, Ben Wilson, Albert Louden and the artists of ‘Gugging’. This volume is an account of the growth of the collection from its earliest days until its translocation to the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin where it's resides today. It is necessarily autobiographical and we read of the joys and frustrations of the author as she attempts to gain recognition for a group of artists whose voices were, at that time, seldom even recognised, let alone heard. For those who love collect and promote creatives from the fringes of culture this will be a (sadly) familiar story. It is apparent that Kinley was of exactly the right type of temperament to be able to undertake the delicate negotiations with Artists who were, almost by definition, somewhat removed from the world of contemporary Art and its commercial manifestations. The writing style has great enthusiasm, charm and humanity, (I experienced all these myself on my visit to the archive in the 1980s) although it is perhaps at times a little too saccharine for my taste. The book is generously illustrated in colour and b/w with examples of the artworks and artists biographies. These reveal the extent and diversity of the works held by the archive ranging from the delicate semi-abstract figures of Oswald Tschirtner to the claustrophobic ‘poupée's’ of Michael Nedjar and demonstrate the archives wide remit and openness to preserving a diversity of work some of which they acknowledge may only have a limited ‘shelf-life’ due to the ephemeral nature of the some of the materials. Overall it is an excellent and accessible introduction to the subject and makes a good ‘jumping-off point’ for those who wish to read more while those already familiar with the genre will enjoy the biographies and artworks, many of the latter previously unpublished.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-06-30 00:00:00 ken sutherland I read it cover to cover. I loved reading about the history of the fire tower mountains I have climbed, have yet to climb, or no longer have towers. I enjoyed the glimpse into the life of an observer and a ranger. I laughed out loud at some of the stories and was saddened about the tragedies that also occurred in their lives. I look forward to reading more of Martin's books. There is one correction I wish to make regarding the chapter on Azure Mountain in the section entitled "Take a Hike", in the very last line it says: "On a clear day you can also see islands in the St. Lawrence River and the City of Cornwall in Quebec, Canada." Having been born and raised in the City of Cornwall, I wish to point out that it is in Ontario not Quebec. That aside, it is a great read.