Customer Reviews

Men Before 10 A.M.

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book looking for more of the wisdom I had found in other Pam Houston novels, accompanied with pictures. Instead, I found a wonderfully pretty book of black and white photos of men, with a little narritive to accompany them. The men in these pictures are mostly people who I haven't heard of: not-yet-famous actors, designers, etc. The few "famous" men are indeed charming in their morning faces. The photographs are well done and very candid. However...

I wanted words. I wanted text. In this book I enjoyed very much what amounted to a short story by Houston and the dialogue between Houston and Vial. I also enjoyed the asides by Vial in describing the situations in which she phographed some of the men. It was typical Houston storytelling and candid thoughts by Vial.

In short, this pictorial is a very good coffee table book. It is beautiful. However, if you are searching for another "Cowboys Are My Weakness" you should look to something by Melissa Banks or another Houston novel. The pictures are very good, but how long can you observe another disheveled man?

All the men in this book are amazing in with their various looks and different ways about them. But, I'm sorry, Vin Diesel just looks sooo hot and stands out the most in this book. Of course, this is just my opinion, but it was reason enough for me to buy the book...hee.

No matter what celebrity drew you to this listing, you should know that this book is well worth having. Any star photographer can assemble a collection of famous people, but only Veronique Vial can bring you something quite like this. What you see, as you look at these images, are people so completely at ease with her -- and the camera's -- presence that they've let their guards down and revealed their most basic, human selves to her, to her camera, and to us. These are the stars before they put their public masks on, and Veronique treats them with enormous respect and kindness, while treating her audience to something we otherwise can never have: an intimate, private moment with our favorite public figures.

With coffee cups in hand, eyes half-open, tousled uncombed hair and razor stubbled faces, the men in writer Pam Houston and photographer Veronique Vial's new coffee table book, Men Before 10 a.m., were obviously photographed in their natural morning attire and attitude. In the introduction, Houston, a best-selling autor and licensed river guide, describes her first conversation with the internationally renowned photographer Vial about the book, and men in general. "I have an idea," Vial says to Houston, "that men put their masks on by 10 o'clock in the morning, so if you want to capture what's inside a man, you have to catch him when he first wakes up." With that idea in mind, Vial went about photographing 100 men during their morning rituals -- even rousing a few of them from bed with her camera. She asked Pam Houston to write the complementary narrative to her intimate photos, because she felt Houston shared her love of men. Fans of Houston's memorable first book, Cowboys Are My Weakness, might be disappointed at first that Men Before 10 a.m. is a book of photographs with narrative essays -- instead of more funny and touching stories about relationships and adventures with strong silent types. But, because it's the first coffee table book that I've actually read, I can tell you it's filled with Houston's wry and witty observations about men and love, and won't disappoint. Vial's subjects are mostly famous actors, film directors, photographers, artists, and musicians. Houston's essays mirror the mood of the candid photos perfectly. With neither woman uttering a harsh word about any of the men photographed or mentioned, their blind adoration of the male population come through crystal clear.

The photographer couldn't have done a better job capturing those sweet and innocent moments of the men we love most. Her depictions gave view to a soft and tangible feel to these famous faces. I absolutely love this book! I also loved the idea that you put the beautiful, Til Schweiger as the cover man. Til is my favourite actor; not so big in the United States, but definitely the Brad Pitt for Germany. My regards to the makers of this book.

MEN BEFORE 10 A.M. too! is a collection of photographs by Veronique Vial, apparently produced because of the success of her prior book WOMEN BEFORE 10 A.M. The concept may have been novel with the first volume but the results are only passingly interesting and a bit humdrum. Most of these men in the photographs that feel like moments just after awakening to the presence of a nosey neighbor (with a camera) are well known actors or in the film industry or in some other form of the arts. Their patience with this project would indicate that the photographer has an endearing personality as few of these images show the model to physical advantage. Esai Morales, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Patrick Demsey, Jackie Chan, Michael Rappaport, Jason Biggs grace these pages looking like they'd really rather not have been frozen in the moment. But apparently the success of the first volume warranted enough interest (and financial backing) to justify this volume. If catching people at less than their good moments is a desire for the reader, this book will satisfy. If not, the photography (composition/lighting/technique) is not rewarding enough to bother with the subject matter. Grady Harp, June 10

MEN BEFORE 10 A.M. is a collection of photographs by Veronique Vial, apparently produced because of the success of her prior book WOMEN BEFORE 10 A.M. The concept may be novel but the results are only passingly interesting. Most of these men in the photographs that feel like moments just after awakening to the presence of a nosey neighbor (with a camera) are well known actors or in the film industry or in some other form of the arts. Their patience with this project would indicate that the photographer has an endearing personality as few of these images show the model to physical advantage. Roger Herman is in the act of shaving, very disheveled Kiefer Sutherland sits in a towel smoking, Tim Roth smokes and drinks coffee in a blur, Terrance Stamp simple looks startled, Michael Ontkean glares through a door, Gary Oldman looks shabby and bored, etc. If catching people at less than their good moments is a desire for the reader, this book will satisfy. If not, the photography (composition/lighting/technique) is not rewarding enough to bother with the subject matter. Grady Harp, June 10

The book arrived in horrific shape - the binder was torn from the pages and many of the pages were stained with a white crusty substance.

I was INCREDIBLY disappointed.

When this book came out about 8 years ago, I was immediately enamored. It's amazing, because even relatively unattractive men are captured in a very flattering light. And the attractive men are captured in a VERY VERY flattering light. This book is so much more interesting than what I remember. Please note: this photo collection will not be of any interest to people who are not interested in looking at pictures of (sometimes half-nude) men.

This book isn't worth the money. The only one in it that looks great is Vin Diesel. The rest of the men, well what can you say. I wish that I had not bought the book. I was sadly dissapointed with it.