Dark Side of the Moon (A Dark-Hunter Novel, Book 10)

Book Description

Susan Michaels was the hottest reporter on the Beltway Beat until she walked into a setup that ruined her reputation. Now she’s working for a small Seattle paper, penning stories about killer moths and alien babies, convinced that her life couldn’t get any worse…

That was before an idea for a breaking news piece brought her to a local animal shelter where she ends up listening to her source rant about vampires and gets coerced into adopting a cat despite her allergies. But when her new pet suddenly reveals himself to be a gorgeous—and lethal—shapeshifter, Susan realizes that there’s far more at stake than a career-saving by-line.

Born into a world of predators, Were-Hunter Ravyn Kontis was betrayed by those he loved best. Soulless, pitiless, he has spent three hundred years battling the Daimons who seek to subjugate humankind. Against all odds, Susan evokes in Ravyn feelings of tenderness. Desire. Love. And with the ultimate battle about to begin, this one very human woman holds the power to shatter both their worlds...

Customer Reviews:

The "weakest link" in the series.......2007-09-28

I love the Dark Hunters and have enjoyed learning about the world that SK has created. There have been some good books and some outstanding books in the series, but this one has been my least favorite. First of all, it was not written well and seemed to be thrown together. There were certain things that were repetitive. The characters were not well developed, and like another reviewer said, Susan was just way too sarcastic. I did not feel any empathy for her at all. I like the sexy scenes as much as other fans, but the scenes in this book were bordering on the ridiculous. It's pretty telling, when some of my favorite characters in the book were the bad guys! Please write a better one next time, Sherrilyn. I'm still a big fan and will forgive you this one.

Loved this book.......2007-07-12

I picked this up randomly in a library while shopping for something else. I am an avid reader, and I just couldn't put this book down. Other D-H's fans may be disappointed, but since this is the first of the series I read, it sent me running to read the others.
Heros are likable, even if some of them have flaws... as everything else, it's not perfect (as I am sure, not meant to be). Some people will like/love it, others won't.
As for me, I just had a great time reading it.

No Anne Rice here.......2007-06-15

I've read Anne Rice, and loved it. I don't love this. This is a combination of romance novel (which I don't enjoy in general) and fantasy/occult which I often like quite a bit. Perhaps it's not fair of me to review this book because I don't as a rule like romances. But I was willing to give it a shot, and I'm sorry. The characters were unbelievable, their "Rules" of engagment were just silly (e.g. immortal killer beasts cannot enter a home without an invitation), and there were many inconsistencies (e.g. Ravyn's bullet holes heal in a matter of hours, but he still has blisters on his hands or bruises on his neck long afterwards).
I enjoyed the sarcasm of Susan, though.

She has something here, but..........2007-06-15

I bought it when it came out in hardcover because I was still a loyal--if closeted--DH fan. Even though that loyalty is waning, I have to give props to Sherrilyn Kenyon for this book, which serves a few purposes.

The first is to give you a mix of her two genres: Dark-Hunter and Were-Hunter. I'll spare you the story of those and begin by telling you that our hero, Ravyn Kontis, is both, which makes him special (he kills vampires and can turn into a leopard or a cat) but hated by his family. The prologue says he's lethal and would kill anyone in a heartbeat-- and yet this is never seen.

In fact, he warms up quickly to this reporter named Susan Michaels, who works for a tabloid paper but is seeking the chance to get her fame back. So these two meet after one of her friends asks to pick up a cat (Ravyn) even though she's allergic to them, and she's attacked by his enemies. She's pulled into the Dark-Hunter world, becomes infatuated with Ravyn (and vice versa. I'm still waiting for him to take people down).

This is a nice effort on Kenyon's part. She has a tortured hero (got to have one in her books) who doesn't let the tortured part bother him. What? I know, I'm shocked too. And even though the heroine is only two dimensional, she's an okay person.

BUT...

Like the other readers say, WHAT THE BLEEP DID SHE DO TO ACHERON? I was so in love with that mysterious, wonderful man and she reduces him down to a sex slave for Artemis. I have to put the book down for a bit and vent out my frustration. This isn't the guy I love. I'm left with a depressing piece of fluff.

And Nick. My sweet Southern boy just does something so despicable because he wants to show Ash who's boss, and I have to shake my head.

Even though there are some disappointing elements in this book, I must admit I liked it the story (when it wasn't being disappointing). Sherrilyn Kenyon still has a long way to go before she finds writing perfection, but she'll get there one day.

In the meantime, I'll wait until Ash and Nick become the characters I rememeber them to be, and for Ravyn to kill someone because he can.

i thought it was a gag.......2007-06-13

disclaimer: i dont buy romance novels. i have read all of anne rice's books though and bought this in amsterdam airport with 6 hours to spare. after the first chapter, i continued reading because it was so bad i thought it must have been some kind of a gag. after the second chapter i was just caught like a deer in headlights until making it to the end where i left it on the bookshelf of an Italian beach resort in Zanzibar. it's the worst novel i can remember reading. i read at least a book a week and buy lots of random authors to see whats out there and i've never been this disappointed. if this is all it takes to be a novelist im definitely giving it a shot.

Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest

Average customer rating:

Inaccurate, biased and sneering
I Wanted to Like This Book
Utter tripe...
A Book Filled with Errors, Disdain, and Outright Smears
A Superficial, Erroneous, and Embarrassing Book

Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest
Gerard Degroot
Manufacturer: NYU Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Aeronautics & Astronautics | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo
Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes
Is Pluto a Planet?: A Historical Journey through the Solar System
The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965 (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of S)

ASIN: 0814719953
Release Date: 2006-11-01

Book Description

View the Table of Contents. Read the Preface.

A selection of the History, Scientific American, and Quality Paperback Book Clubs

”The book is well written and quite engaging with its cast of colorful characters.”
—Choice

”Dark Side of the Moon is an elegant contribution to the history of the space age.”
—The Sunday Times

”DeGroot presents a chronicle of exploration, concentrating on the utter uselessness of NASA's lunar missions, boondoggles every bit as myopic and costly as the Cold War that spawned them.”
—The Atlantic Monthly

”DeGroot writes compellingly about the convergence of political, military, and industrial forces that produced the `magnificent madness' of the space agency NASA in the 1960s. . . . A fine writer with a real flair for storytelling has fun with NASA's extravagance and its tendency to look for complex solutions where simple ones would do.”
—The Financial Times

”DeGroot weaves a compelling tale.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

"DeGroot crafts a winning formula: While peeling away layer after layer of the deceptions and spin that sold NASA's lunar program to the funding public, he indulges readers with a nostalgia binge of epic proportions. . . . The author provides lots of philandering-astronaut stories and similar fun stuff to go along with the overview."
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Entertaining reading. Anyone interested in a corrective view to the official hagiographies of the space program will find this acid-etched history hard to put down."
—Publishers Weekly

"For fans of real-life political intrigue this is essential reading. . . . DeGroot's stories make excellent reading . . . and he correctly exposes the myths constructed by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations that have likely sustained NASA in the post-Apollo years. . . . DeGroot deserves plaudits for painstakingly piecing together the stories that won both the propaganda war and the moon race."
—The New Scientist

”Degroot should be commended for shining a light on the lunar quest. Citing American competitiveness, Degroot argues that the moon landing was primarily a stunt of one-upmanship: the Russians getting into space first with Sputnik had a profound affect on Americans, as politicians and citizens alike became obsessed with beating them to the moon. Never mind the `obscenely huge' cost of a lunar mission and consequent risk to defense, or that sending a man into space was perhaps negligible in terms of science. At the present time, when NASA has scheduled another moon shot for 2018, Degroot revisits the question that should have been fully explored the last time around: Why?”
—Booklist

”DeGroot's wonderful new book, Dark Side of the Moon, looks at all aspects of the space program and gives us a complete picture of the glorious folly that was the race to the moon. . . . A witty and elegant book about America's desperate gamble for space supremacy. . . . No matter how cynical we might be about the motivation behind the space race, DeGroot makes us appreciate the splendor of the achievement.”
—St. Petersburg Times

“DeGroot's strength in Dark Side of the Moon is going back and covering the space program from Sputnik through Apollo 17 without the starry-eyed vision most of us had. . . . He leaves practically nothing out, discussing the political, cultural, military and social aspects and the effects on each. It's a complete and serious (with occasional splashes of humor and irony) re-examination of a huge project.”
—Santa Fe New Mexican

"DeGroot has done it again. After writing two of the best books on the Vietnam War and the nuclear arms race he has written another intelligent, insightful and remarkably readable history of the space race. Dark Side of the Moon shines a bright light on America's sprint to the moon."
—Martin J. Sherwin, co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography)

"The U.S. victory in the 1960s space race still lies at the heart of American triumphalism. In this fresh, insightful, and irreverent history of the U.S. space program, DeGroot punctures the scientific pretensions of manned space flight more effectively than any writer since Tom Wolfe. DeGroot deftly cuts through the dense mythology crafted by NASA and the Kennedy and Johnson administrations to expose politicians' and space enthusiasts' cynical manipulation of public fears and dreams and eagerness to spend enormous sums of public money in the race to the moon. This witty and erudite work not only illuminates key aspects of Cold War politics and culture, it is also crucial for understanding current space policy and misadventures."
—Peter J. Kuznick, director of the Nuclear Studies Institute, American University, and author of Beyond the Laboratory: Scientists As Political Activists in 1930s America

"Splendid. . . . Grounded in serious scholarship, covers issues well, has an argument that comes through loud and clear, and is at the same time eminently readable and enjoyable. Drawing on NASA files and documents at the JFK Library in Boston, the manuscript at the same time relies on elements from the popular press, and manages to integrate popular culture with larger issues of policy in a highly effective way. . . . DeGroot has a unique ability to characterize issues in a vivid and vibrant way."
—Allan M. Winkler, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

”Drawing on meticulous archival research, DeGroot cuts through myths created by the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations and sustained by NASA ever since...Exposing the truth behind one of the most revered fictions of American history, Dark Side of the Moon explains why the American space program has been caught in a state of purposeless ever since Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the surface of the moon.”
—NYU Today

For a very brief moment during the 1960s, America was moonstruck. Boys dreamt of being an astronaut; girls dreamed of marrying one. Americans drank Tang, bought "space pens" that wrote upside down, wore clothes made of space age Mylar, and took imaginary rockets to the moon from theme parks scattered around the country.

But despite the best efforts of a generation of scientists, the almost foolhardy heroics of the astronauts, and 35 billion dollars, the moon turned out to be a place of "magnificent desolation," to use Buzz Aldrin's words: a sterile rock of no purpose to anyone. In Dark Side of the Moon, Gerard J. DeGroot reveals how NASA cashed in on the Americans' thirst for heroes in an age of discontent and became obsessed with putting men in space. The moon mission was sold as a race which America could not afford to lose. Landing on the moon, it was argued, would be good for the economy, for politics, and for the soul. It could even win the Cold War. The great tragedy is that so much effort and expense was devoted to a small step that did virtually nothing for mankind.

Drawing on meticulous archival research, DeGroot cuts through the myths constructed by the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations and sustained by NASA ever since. He finds a gang of cynics, demagogues, scheming politicians, and corporations who amassed enormous power and profits by exploiting the fear of what the Russians might do in space.

Exposing the truth behind one of the most revered fictions of American history, Dark Side of the Moon explains why the American space program has been caught in a state of purposeless wandering ever since Neil Armstrong descended from Apollo 11 and stepped onto the moon. The effort devoted to the space program was indeed magnificent and its cultural impact was profound, but the purpose of the program was as desolate and dry as lunar dust.

Customer Reviews:

Inaccurate, biased and sneering.......2007-05-26

The author obviously did not do the basic research required (Apollo 9 did NOT go to the Moon), and obviously has made it his mission to deflate any sense of American accomplishment.

If you want a critical view of the US space program that is honest and not just a hatchet job, try:

...the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age

or

The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo

I Wanted to Like This Book.......2007-04-28

It grabbed my attention when I first saw it: an overview history of the US space program, written by a foreigner who presumably didn't grow up with NASA propaganda. It started out strong, with a 50,000' survey of the German WWII-era missile program, then shifts to the American reaction to Soviet space efforts. But the author can't resist showing us how utterly cosmopolitan and sophisticated and ironic he is, especially compared to us uncultured Yanks. In his discussion of the National Defense Education Act, which funded science and engineering students, he snarks that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, received his education under it. So what? So did I, and so did most people I know. Almost no women find space appealing? News to this one. Vending machine suppliers made lots of money selling candy at NASA? So what? NASA employees were as human as the rest of us. DeGroot's main research into everyday life in the US in the 60s seems to come from watching old sitcoms.

Two stars for making me look up some of the early history of the space race, but otherwise you can save your time and money. Wolfe's The Right Stuff covered the fallibility of the astronauts a lot better, and the excellent HBO series From the Earth to the Moon, though extremely pro-NASA, presents varied views, including the effects of the space program on the astronauts' families, with much more impact that DeGroot does.

Utter tripe..........2007-02-18

That pretty much sums up this waste of paper and ink. Deserves a zero star rating.

A Book Filled with Errors, Disdain, and Outright Smears.......2007-01-17

DeGroot seeks not to so much illuminate the history of humankind's greatest technological triumph as to deconstruct it. In a way he is like the revisionist historians who want everyone to believe that American history is just a sorry list of rape, plunder, murder, and lies. There seems to be a kind of preversity in certain people that causes them to look upon greatness and to want to vomit on it. Andrew Chaikin's book on the same subject is far more comprehensive and balanced.

A Superficial, Erroneous, and Embarrassing Book.......2006-12-29

A spring 1999 poll of opinion leaders sponsored by leading news organizations in the United States ranked the 100 most significant events of the twentieth century and the Apollo landings on the Moon muscled itself to a very close second to the splitting of the atom. Probably historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. best summarized the position of many opinion leaders polled: "The one thing for which this century will be remembered 500 years from now was...when we began the exploration of space" (Arlene Levinson, "Atomic bombing of Hiroshima tops Journalists' List of Century's News," Associated Press, February 24, 1999). Not surprisingly, both the development of the atomic bomb and the Apollo program has enjoyed enormous attention as a subject of historical research and writing. University of Andrews historian Gerard J. DeGroot, having already tackled the story of the bomb, turns his attention to the Moon landings in "Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest."

He begins with the appropriate concern that Apollo has taken on mythical qualities, and is remembered with nostalgia for a time long gone. Such a situation begs for an antidote, and apparently DeGroot considers himself just the person to deliver it. Questioning the reasons for the Apollo program, as well as the execution and results of it, DeGroot presents a poorly researched book--based almost exclusively on secondary materials, and then even missing many of the most significant of those works--with an excessively over-the-top thesis that is both indemonstrable and ineffectively argued. While I believe it is appropriate to criticize aspects of the history of space age, responsible criticism grounded in the historical record should always inform it. Unfortunately, this work does not warrant serious consideration.

DeGroot takes exception to the reasons for the space race, arguing that a group of space advocates hijacked the national agenda during the Sputnik crisis of 1957-1958, created a federal agency to accomplish their dreams, and pried national treasure from a range of other more worthy causes to fund trips to the Moon. He sets the stage by characterizing German rocketeer Wernher von Braun as a self-righteous traitor and John F. Kennedy as a dupe. He then weaves a conspiracy of bureaucrats, industrialists, and politicians who promoted space exploration as a means of feathering their own nests. The low point in that discussion revolves around convicted felon Bobby Baker, DeGroot claiming that he had the contract to provide candy vending machines at defense plants. His last sentence about this subject is telling: "And you thought Apollo was a story about heroes" (p. 153). How this relates to the Apollo program is never quite clear since there is no indication of any malfeasance from NASA officials whatsoever.

Most of what DeGroot claims in "Dark Side of the Moon" has been argued before by other scholars, and generally those critiques are more innovative and reasoned. Certainly he is not the first scholar to challenge the necessity of the Moon race. Amitai Etzioni in "The Moondoggle: Domestic and International Implications of the Space Race" (Doubleday, 1964) offered an important critique more than forty years earlier. Pulitzer Prize-winner Walter A. McDougall presented a strikingly sophisticated challenge of the necessity of the Moon race in "...The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age" (Basic Books, 1985), arguing that Apollo prompted the space program to become identified almost exclusively with high-profile, expensive, human spaceflight projects of limited value. Others have done so as well. For readers interested in this type of critique of the space program, "...The Heavens and the Earth" is the gold standard.

Other difficulties abound. Ostensibly about the Apollo program, only half of the book actually deals with it. The first seven chapters recite in a not particularly insightful manner the early history of space advocacy, Sputnik, the politics of creating NASA, and the early U.S. efforts to reach space. The rest of the book skips through the unfolding of the Apollo program, and the last chapter carries the human spaceflight story into the post-Apollo era. DeGroot's concluding assertion--"Hubris took Americans to the Moon, a barren, soulless place where humans do not belong and cannot flourish. If the voyage has had any positive benefit at all, it has reminded us that everything that is good resides on Earth" (p. 269)--is the ultimate arm-waving statement in a book filled with them. The issue of hubris in Apollo deserves serious scholarly attention, the apparent barrenness of the Moon has been challenged by scientists, and whether or not humans can survive there for long is very much an unknown. The reference to seeing the Earth anew because of the trips to the Moon is now so obvious as to have become trite. Such assertions, without elaboration and substantiation abound in this embarrassing book. The Apollo epic deserves responsible consideration and reflective analysis, and responsible criticism; unfortunately Gerard DeGroot accomplishes none of this in "Dark Side of the Moon."

The Dark Side of the Moon: Stories of the Future

Average customer rating:

The Dark Side of the Moon: Stories of the Future
Jack Vance
Manufacturer: Underwood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Speak To Me: The Legacy Of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)

Average customer rating:

Speak To Me: The Legacy Of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)

Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece
The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
Pink Floyd - Live at Pompeii (Director's Cut)
David Gilmour: Remember That Night - Live from the Royal Albert Hall

ASIN: 0754640183

Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon, Guitar Tablature Edition (Pink Floyd) (Pink Floyd)

Average customer rating:

Good book
Definitive Dark Side of the Moon for guitar....
Good As The Original Music

Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon, Guitar Tablature Edition (Pink Floyd) (Pink Floyd)
Music Sales Corporation , and Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Amsco Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here GTE (Pink Floyd)
The Wall (Guitar Tab)
Pink Floyd Guitar Tab Anthology (Matching Folios)
Pink Floyd: Animals
Led Zeppelin Classics (Authentic Guitar-Tab)

ASIN: 0825625955
Release Date: 1999-12-31

Product Description

Features: Breathe, Time, Breathe (Reprise), Great Gig In the Sky, Money, Us and Them, Breathe (Second Reprise),Brain Damage, and Eclipse, plus great photos.

Customer Reviews:

Good book.......2006-08-09

Its a good book and all the notes are accurate. My only compliant is the the tabs are a little bit hard to read. The way the lettering is done makes it difficult to see the letters while ur trying to play along with the song.

Besides that its awesome, and a must have for Floyd loving musicians.

-King

Definitive Dark Side of the Moon for guitar...........2002-11-04

Attractive book design with perfect guitar tablature of the Pink Floyd classic album 'Dark Side of the Moon'.

Book comes complete with rare photos and a 1973 interview with the band's Road Manager, Peter Watts. Watts gives a very informative and detailed description of what the band did to achieve their live sound in the early 70's.

Tablature is perfect and true to the album note for note.

Good As The Original Music.......2001-05-17

If you are a guitarist like me, and enjoy Pink Floyd, this is a great book for you. Internet TABS are unpredictiable and inaccurate. This book clears up the confusion by giving the proper TABS to the songs of one of the best selling records of all time. This book is strong in its accuracy from the first note of Speak to me to the haunting melodies of Eclipse. I suggest this book as a gift to any fan of Pink Floyd that has wanted to play there songs.

The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece

Average customer rating:

Fans of the album must have this, too!
OK for the diehard Fan, but this Band and this Complex Concept Album Deserves Better
Read it for yourself
Clever, Slightly Above Average, Slacker, Fluff
Best Floyd book to date

The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece
John Harris
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd
Speak To Me: The Legacy Of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon (Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series)
The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia
Which One's Pink?
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey

ASIN: 0306813424

Book Description

A behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at the making of one of the greatest sonic masterpieces and most commercially successful albums of all time

Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) is one of the most beloved albums of all time. A sonically stunning exploration into dark themes of madness, death, anxiety, and alienation, it has sold a staggering 30 million copies worldwide, and continues to sell 250,000 copies a year. Besides being perhaps the most fully realized and elegant concept album ever recorded, The Dark Side of the Moon was also one of the most technically advanced LPs of its day. It has aged remarkably well and still sounds as contemporary and cutting edge as it did on the day it was released. A perfect blend of studio wizardry and fearless innovation, The Dark Side of the Moon is illuminated by John Harris's exploration of the band's fractured history, his narrative skill, and his deft exploration of the album's legacy, such as its massive influence on bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails.

Drawing on original, new interviews with every member of the band-bassist and chief songwriter Roger Waters, guitarist Dave Gilmour, keyboardist Rick Wright, and drummer Nick Mason-The Dark Side of the Moon is a must-have for the millions of devoted fans who desire to know more about one of the most timeless, compelling, commercially successful, and mysterious albums ever made.

Customer Reviews:

Fans of the album must have this, too!.......2006-04-13

John Harris' THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: THE MAKING OF THE PINK FLOYD MASTERPIECE is a must for any Pink Floyd fan; even those already well aware of the power of the album. The album remained on the Billboard charts for over seven hundred weeks and has sold some thirty million copies around the world - and continues to sell thousands yearly. Here journalist John Harris reveals the album's underlying foundations, the band's stormy history, and uses original interviews with band bassist and lyricist Roger Waters, guitarist Nick Mason and more to add authoritative insights. Just as you wouldn't be without DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - you shouldn't be without this survey of the making of the masterpiece itself.

OK for the diehard Fan, but this Band and this Complex Concept Album Deserves Better.......2005-12-31

Like most kids of the latter 1960s and early 1970s I grew up listening to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and others when I wanted to be "cool." That was more often than I like to admit now, however; and I also went to the concerts, got stoned there (if only from the second-hand smoke wafting through the halls), and tried to act like I understood what the bands were trying to communicate. On the other hand, I was never as much of a fan of these groups and their style of music as some of my friends, but I had all of their albums and listened to them regularly, including "The Dark Side of the Moon." This book tells about the making of this extraordinary album and a little about its significance since its release more than three decades ago. Of course, the remarkable thing about "The Dark Side of the Moon" is its popularity over such a long time, since it is a complex concept album dealing with greed and insanity and very much anchored to its time and place. I haven't listened to it in years, but had to do so after reading this book. That may be the greatest compliment I can pay to this book, for John Harris's work, unfortunately, is very much once over lightly and both Pink Floyd as a band and their classic album deserve better. There are some fascinating interviews that interlace the book, a good biographical appendix of what happened to the people associated with the album, and a set of photos that are interesting, but as a whole this is a book for fans of the album. As such it is worthwhile. For those seeking a serious consideration of the place of "The Dark Side of the Moon" in American culture they will want to wait for publication of "Speak To Me: The Legacy Of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon," edited by Russell Reising, set for release in March 2006 from Ashgate Publishing.

Read it for yourself.......2005-12-08

I never write reviews, but the current ones for this book as of this writing are so insulting to me that I feel compeled.

One reviewer gives one star because it relates nothing new. But, as another review stated, this book contains exlusive interviews from '03 as well as unpublished photos. In any case, if you know the story so well why are you reading a book about it?

Another review has felt it necessary to write an huge tome of words describing his feelings. Like anyone will read it after taking a glance at its towering size. Paragraphs anyone?

And then there is Mr. Carlberg. I suspect a man who reviewed the book Crimes Against Logic would have more sense (but then again he did also give The Wall a 1 star rating). He scoffes "Yeah, right" at the statement that DSoM is "one of the most beloved albums of all time," even though it spent 741 weeks on Billboard.

Carlberg seems to refute the book for the author's opinion by claiming his own is more correct. There is no doubt the difference between objective analysis and subjective personal views is a mystery to him, but when you are busy writing nearly 400 reviews who has time for that nonsense?

Less a review and more a rant, I hope this compels you read the book and make your own judgements.

Clever, Slightly Above Average, Slacker, Fluff.......2005-11-02

This book is a rush-job, slacker book, written by a clever, sometimes funny guy with an above average I.Q., who relies on a too few sources, gives us too much of his own worthless opinions, and really didn't ask any of the right questions when he interviewed Roger Waters or David G. First of all, if you're going to write a book about the Dark Side of the Moon, he should have specifically asked Roger Waters, what inspired him to write the lyrics for each song. (Where was Roger? What was he thinking about, reading about, looking at--when the song lyrics occurred to him. What movies was he watching?) This author doesn't. He should have had a list of the songs with the lyrics in front of him, when he interviewed Roger, and made Roger talk for at least twenty minutes on the original genisis of the lyrics for each song. You get it for one sentence or two in "Echoes," where Roger Waters tells us how inspiration hit him--but the book doesn't include much info that the proper follow up questions could have provided about some of the gorgeous lyrics in the song ("Coral caves..."). In the book you get stories about how the songs themselves evolved after they were written--basically the author gives you a bunch of useless descriptive verbiage of bootleg tapes he's heard--and you get a whole bunch of useless drivel about what 60ish Roger presently thinks they mean now, but you don't get the actual genesis of the song. Let me give you an example. I know that John Lennon wrote the first line of I am the Walrus on an acid trip. The second line one week later on another acid trip. I know that he had also watched Alice in Wonderland and thought of the Walrus as this big industrialist, etc... I know Paul wrote "Here There and Everywhere" while sitting poolside, on a warm sunny day, while John was smoking one, next to him, and Paul was feeling wonderful. I have no idea where the lyrics "Home, Home again..." comes from. What did Roger Waters do that day? What was he coming home from? What had made him tired? Was there an actual favorite couch and a fire and a cozy house and a churchbell in the neighborhood? I'd love to know. I don't. In this book, which is supposed to be about the Dark Side Album, and only sort of kind of is--it's actually a biography of the Floyd, the joker who wrote it tells me all kinds of theoretical crap about the songs on the album, that involve Marxism, socialism, everything else--stuff I don't care about. (I'm grateful he tells us a little--very little--about what Waters was thinking about when he wrote Time.) I want to know about the moment lightning struck. I don't want to know about what a 60 year old Roger Waters or Dave Gilmore think about a song--whether it's held up or not, whether they like it or not. I want to know what was in their twenty something year old heads when they wrote it. Gawd there is so much crap in this book. The author puts down songs by Richard Wright, like "It would be so nice"--he likens it to a Hollies piece of fluff and dismisses it with some brief, arrogant writing. He's friggen out of his mind. "It would be so nice!" is a fantastic song. I can't think of anyone I knew in my music listening heyday (who all had tons of floyd albums) that didn't LOVE that song. It's perfect to listen to when you are having some kind of peak experience. It's magic, it's ecstasy. It'll cheer you up if you feel blah. So what if it wasn't a hit? Hemingway's books often didn't make the top ten lists, and everyone is still reading them. There are going to be nineteen year olds listening to that song in a century from now, enjoying it. The author of this silly little book also does things like dismiss "Several Species grooving on a pict" as nothing but a failed little attempt at humor by Roger. The author is out of his mind. It IS funny and more importantly it's also an interesting journey into something very primeval. Something very dark and subconscious. I'd love to hear Roger tell us about the cave. Tell us the genesis of that song. Wouldn't it be great to hear Roger tell you about the "pict." To dismiss it as casually as the author does, makes me think he's got the MTV attention span of a gnat, and the depth of Brittany Spears. There are so many fun, early songs dismissed in this book, like "Point me at the sky" that you really learn nothing about. I don't know why the author feels the need to ultimately put down such good music. I don't understand why he thinks he knows something we don't? I'm not sure why he puts such weight on his own musical opinions. Who cares what he thinks? I'd love to know where David Gilmore was and what he was thinking about when he wrote Grantchester Meadows. Was he sitting in a meadow with an acoustic guitar, when the muse came to him? The author actually wasted time in this book on verbiage by the Floyd where they express why they think the album is so successful. What a waste of time! I can come up with better explanations than they do. I'd much rather the author had asked Nick Mason where he got the inspiration for the beautiful flutes in the "Grand Viziers Garden Party"--what the story behind the song is (which the author puts down in this book). Much of this book is another retelling of the Floyd story, and as with every other book on the floyd, it is completely devoid of detail. I can't tell you how many times I've read about the fabled UFO club. But I still don't know was it in an old building, a new building, did it seat 400 people? Did 1000 dance there? Who actually came and went there. Were there gargoyles on the outside of the building. Was it a warehouse? What did the people look like who went there? I can describe the Beatles Cavern club, the smell of it, down to the last detail--I've seen architectural drawings. Lordallmighty I'm really sick of these piddly little Floyd books. (This one gives you about two sentences of Beatle Paul McCartney unespectedly coming to see the Floyd. It tells you that Paul and Roger shared a joint. OK, so was Paul a Pink Floyd fan? Did he like Syd Barrett? Did Roger defecate in his pants when Paul walked up? Did they talk about songs? Did they pick up an acoustic guitar and sing together? What the heck happened?) Pink Floyd is one of the top five selling bands of all time and all we, the fans get, are these mini-slacker books, by authors who can't write their way out of a paper bag, judge songs by how much they sold, don't have any of the musical sensibilities to write about pre-1973 art-rock or progressive rock, and couldn't write a descriptive paragraph using concrete detail if you paid them one hundred dollars a word. Elvis gets book(s) that go well over 600 dense, single-spaced pages. So do the Beatles. With the Beatles you get a veritable hundred course gourmet feast of reading materials that you can heap on your plate. We Floyd fans get these plastic containers of ramen noodles.

Best Floyd book to date.......2005-11-01

I'm very baffled by the negative reviews below. One fellow seems irritated that Harris doesn't like certain albums as much as he does, and another mistakedly states that there's nothing new in this book, which couldn't be further from the truth. John Harris' "Dark Side.." is bursting with previously unpublished photos, and the bulk of the quotes from the band are exclusive to the book, from interviews conducted in 2003. Further, it's the most clear and succinct account of the creation of this album I've ever read, and I've read every book about Floyd. Harris places the album in context with the band's orgins expertly, and I left with an even clearer understanding of how it all fits together. Any Floydian will dig this.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Guitar Recorded Versions)

Average customer rating:

An excellent play along, but something is missing...
Thanks for telling me it's BASS tablature
Superb Lessons and Print Quality!

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Guitar Recorded Versions)
Pink Floyd
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

TOM PETTY VOLUME 75 BK/CD (Guitar Play-Along)
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL VOLUME 63 BK/CD (Hal Leonard Guitar Play-Along)
THE ROLLING STONES VOLUME 66 BK/CD (Hal Leonard Guitar Play-Along)
The Wall (Guitar Tab)
LYNYRD SKYNYRD VOLUME 43 BK/CD (Guitar Play-Along)

ASIN: 0634018949

Product Description

Features transcriptions of all the songs from Pink Floyd's 1973 landmark release that spent an incredible 741 weeks on the Billboard album chart: Any Colour You Like Brain Damage Breathe Eclipse The Great Gig in the Sky Money On the Run Speak to Me Time Us and Them.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent play along, but something is missing..........2007-07-29

Please look at the dates of the other reviews of this book. If a review is dated before June 2007 it is a review of different book.
When making a book and CD package like this editors must make compromises in order for it to be useful for the lone guitarist. Many songs on this album contain multiple guitars overdubbed, this tab is supposed to be compromise that blends all the guitar parts together so the lone guitarist can play along. Unfortunately the editors chose not to transcribe the dominate riff in, "Money" instead the rhythm guitar is notated, a BIG MISTAKE. Other than that the tabulate is incredibly accurate and will replace the other DSOTM tab books you may own.
Now here are the specifics: "Speak to Me" and "Breath" are both transcribed under the title, "Breath." The transcription of, "Time" includes the breath reprise. "On the Run" and "TGGITS" are not transcribed, as there is no guitar on these tracks. The CD contains a demonstration of each track with guitar and then a backing track with the guitar removed. The CD track order is listed incorrectly in the table of contents. There is no information about music theory, scales, or equipment.
This play along would have received 5 stars if the main riff for, "Money" had been transcribed.

Thanks for telling me it's BASS tablature.......2006-06-08

I purchased this book thinking it was for guitar, only the whole book is bass tab. You would think it would say so SOMEWHERE on the page...

Superb Lessons and Print Quality!.......2003-12-14

Discover the world of a Masterpiece: The Dark Side of the Moon. This edition is a must have for those who want to play and learn Pink Floyd's music from one of their all-time classics. Chords, chord progressions, and scales are applied to songs of the album that was released 30 years ago in 1973. Each song includes a one-page explanation on the lesson. Great format! Standard music notation and guitar tab, lyrics and notation legend, it's all there to make it easy. Print quality is one of the best I have ever seen. Many guitar tabs have really sloppy prints. The other edition of The dark side is one of them. This one on the contrary is absolutely immaculate. I simply love it!

Dark Side of the Moon (Silhouette Intimate Moments)

Average customer rating:

Dark Side of the Moon (Silhouette Intimate Moments)

Manufacturer: Silhouette Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

Intimacies

ASIN: 0671493817

Product Description

Ten years before, Andrea Monroe had loved politcian Jefferson Harmon, then watched helplessly as their relationship was destroyed by her brother's lies.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding thriller--add to your reading list now
A Psychological Thriller
A WINNER!
Don't waste your money on this book - BORING!!!
Sunny Side of Psychosis

Dark Side of the Moon
J. Carson Black
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Darkness on the Edge of Town
Blue Valor
You Kill Me (Signet Novel)
Head To Head
The Prey: A Novel

ASIN: 045121725X

Book Description

When two newlyweds are murdered in an Arizona campground, Detective Laura Cardinal is enlisted to investigate. Still reeling from a tragedy of her own, and teamed with a partner who's working her last nerve, Laura's already walking an emotional tightrope. What she discovers-a secret of a love gone bad, an underground society, and a high stakes conspiracy-could send her over the edge.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding thriller--add to your reading list now.......2006-04-27

Arizona Department of Public Safety detective Laura Cardinal goes to Grand Canyon gateway town Williams, Arizona to investigate the murder of two NAU students shot to death in their tent in a campground near town. J. Carson Black tops her first race out of the gate (Darkness on the Edge of Town) with this superthriller made visceral with a suberb story of love gone bad and a well-integrated subplot of ecoterrorists who hijack a government semi-truck carrying plutonium waste. The twists and turns in this subplot draw the reader into surmising the identity of the young couple's killer, only to find out in a gut wrenching climax how the real killer was propelled to commit the crime. One of Black's strengths is the ability to bring characters into a here and now reality that makes the reader live within the book. J. Carson Black is definitely an author to be watched. Can't wait for the next book!

A Psychological Thriller .......2006-04-25

In this second book of the Laura Cardinal series, J. Carson Black takes the reader to a small Arizona tourist town that is reeling from a double murder of two locals. In the very first chapter, Black introduces the idea--through the voice of the man who will become a leading suspect--that so much in life is not what it seems; not what it looks like; not what you hoped for. That theme continues throughout DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, where no one is what they appear to be and dreams are based on lies.

While I enjoyed Black's first book in the series, DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, this second book is even better--a full-on psychological thriller that explores the need for illusion and the lengths people will go to maintain those illusions. The ongoing story of Laura Cardinal also moves front and center as Laura copes with her fear of death and the collapse of her personal life. I'm eagerly waiting for the third book in this series!

A WINNER!.......2006-02-20

Like the book reviewers and the critics, I found this second novel by J. Carson Black to be a WINNER . The rich descriptions and detail, especially those of the desert settings, solidly place the reader in the milieu. This is where Black shines, in detail and in depth of character. Detective Laura Cardinal investigates what seems to be two unrelated crimes, yet in the end the connection of these crimes takes the reader to a higher level-the human condition. Thought-provoking and gripping. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I can hardly wait for the next in the Laura Cardinal series. Black has proven to be a writer worth following. Kudos!

Don't waste your money on this book - BORING!!!.......2006-02-18

I was really hoping to enjoy this new author because book reviewers and critics gave winning comments. I was bored to death, pushed myself to finish reading it so I could give an accurate review, but I was very disappointed. I live in Arizona where this book is based, and actually felt like it was some kind of travel manual. There were far too many details and not enough story line.
The first chapter of any novel should grab the reader and leave them wanting more. In this case, the reader has no clue what the 1st chapter has to do with the story line until long into the book. In fact, the book's description is completly misleading to the real story. The author did a poor job of giving the reader enough clues to keep the story moving. It begins with a double murder, but that isn't even the main plot. To cut to the chase.

Is it worth buying?

Absolutely not. In my opinion, it isn't even worth checking out from the library if that were an option.

Sunny Side of Psychosis.......2006-01-29

This one was a real twist when the perpetrator was revealed. But the crimes weren't the only story here. Background for the story was the multiple indiscretions and seemier side of life of a rural town that really has a lot to hide. This story really kept me wondering who was doing what to whom, and with a large cast of characters it keeps you guessing the motivation behind the crimes. Laura really gets cast as the sympathetic character here and goes through the emotional and psychological meat grinder during the investigation. Looking forward to see what she does next!

Average customer rating:

Mandatory reading before entering psychotherapy training
Unbelievably bad. The author has some kind of axe to grind.

The Dark Side of the Analytic Moon
Gerald Alper
Manufacturer: International Scholars Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Psychoanalysis | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Psychotherapy, TA & NLP | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Book Description

The Dark Side of the Analytic Moon transports the reader to the other side of the couch where the dynamics of what it means to be taught how to explore the unconscious minds of strangers while having your own personality systematically scrutinized from all angles are presented with unprecedented candor and clarity. In this new book, Gerald Alper, whose The New England Reviews of Books called portrait of the Artist as a Young Patient "one of the most important modern studies of the psyche of the creative personality that we have," and who possesses, according to Dr. Jerome Levin of the Pots-Graduate Center for Mental Health, "one of the more creative analytic minds of his generation," brilliantly illuminates the secret life of the therapist.

Customer Reviews:

Mandatory reading before entering psychotherapy training.......1999-06-20

A revealing and personal account which exposes much about psychotherapy and especially psychoanalytic training that is never usually allowed to be discussed openly in print. Raises controversial questions that will make the blood of many boil but should be manadatory reading for all those contemplating entering a psychoanalytic or psychotherapy training institute.

Unbelievably bad. The author has some kind of axe to grind........1998-06-30

I cannot believe anyone would publish this book--typos, grammatical errors, sensationalism and all! The author alleges all manner of abuses by psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic institutes based on his personal experience as a psychoanalytic candidate. The persons, places, events and incidents are supposedly disguised (to avoid charges of libel, I would think) and are so negatively portrayed and sensationalized as to be unbelievable. After reading this, the layperson having no other knowledge of psychoanalysis, psychoanalysts, or training institutes would be forever frightened away from pursuing this form of treatment. Those portrayed are so abusive, stupid, unprofessional, self-serving, so completely lacking any multidimensionality as to be simply unbelievable--caricatures of mental health professionals, not real human beings. Did this author have a bad analysis? Did he get kicked out of the various institutes he "exposes?" This book is so bad I couldn't finish it. Don't waste your money.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books