Book Description
Thoroughly revised and updated, the 4th Edition of this practical reference presents superbly illustrated guidance on the visual diagnosis of hundreds of common and important pediatric disorders. Accompanying text emphasizes pertinent historical factors, examination techniques, visual findings, and diagnostic methods rather than therapy. Expanded coverage from new contributors enhances readers' diagnostic skills, enabling them to take advantage of the best treatment options available. "This book is more than just an atlas. It contains thorough text in most major subspecialties of pediatric practice."*JAMA, rev. of last edition.
Customer Reviews:
Sigh...........2006-09-25
Another ubiquitous book. A "must have"....i don't own one. Don't want one. Too big. People just buy it for the pictures anyway, has anyone really read the text in Zitelli's? Most people use it as an atlas to review for boards...My logic is, if you're gonna just use it for pictures, why not buy the atlas by Shah? There are other atlases out there that are less cumbersome and cheaper. Plus, do you think the pedi board people will take a picture right out of a well-known text?
Useful as a bookend.
Could not be better.......2006-04-26
This is the finest text a pediatrician can own for daily practice, board brush up and companion to the standard textbooks. It can fill many gaps inherent in the nature of pediatric training and is eminently relevant. If the authors never pen another things, they can be forever proud of this work. Brava.
Must-Have for anyone in Peds.......2005-12-27
This is undoubtedly a must-have reference for anyone in pediatrics. This has a great collection of color images & is well-organized. The new edition is definitely weightier, but there is more text & more diagrams. Considering the cost, it's probably not worth getting the new edition if you already have the older one. However, if you're buying, buy the new one.
Treasure for pediatric residents.......2005-07-21
I became familiar with this book in the 3rd year of my medical school. I used a previous edition to study for USMLE 2. Figures and contents are excellent. Great resource to use in addition to Nelson's. This is a must buy book for every pediatric, med/peds, and family medicine residents.
A Must-Have.......2004-09-12
If you need to buy one Pediatric book for pictures, quick reference, and ease in using, it is this one. It is the first place I go when looking up specific pediatric pathology. It's application to general Pediaric is relevant to all facets of my practice.
Book Description
The only performer to earn 5 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--for film, recordings, TV, radio, and live performance--Gene Autry was the singing cowboy king of American entertainment. Now, in Public Cowboy No.1, Holly George-Warren offers the first serious biography of this singular individual, in a fascinating narrative that traces Autry's climb from small-town farm boy to multimillionaire. Here for the first time Autry the legend becomes a flesh-and-blood man--with all the passions, triumphs, and tragedies of a flawed icon. George-Warren recounts stories never before told, including revelations about Autry's impoverished boyhood, his adventures as an up-and-coming singer, and the impact his unbelievable success had on his personal life. She describes Autry's loving but doomed mother, who died on the brink of her son's success, and his ne'er-do-well father, who married five times and wandered the west. Autry battled his own demons but emerges here in a positive light, an immensely personable man, one of America's most charitable benefactors, known for his boundless generosity, and a patriot who enlisted during World War II. The book provides equally colorful details of Autry's lengthy radio and recording career, which included such classics as "Back in the Saddle Again" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; his movie career, where he breathed new life into the Western genre; and his role in early television, being the first movie star to develop his own TV shows. And along the way, we see how he invested shrewdly in radio, real-estate, and television, becoming the owner of the California Angels and the only entertainer listed among 1990's Fortune 400. Based on exclusive access to Gene Autry's personal papers, as well as interviews with more than 100 relatives, employees, colleagues, and friends, this engaging biography brings to life a major Hollywood star--a man who, more than anyone else, put Western music and style on the American cultural map.
Customer Reviews:
All About Gene.......2007-09-25
This is a big book all about the career of Gene Autry, and not enough about his personal life, which is usually what I like to read. I don't need to know about every record he made and when and every performance, etc., etc., etc. And I don't need to know about all his business dealings. But I like to know about what stars did behind the scenes, etc., and surprisingly this seemed to involve a lot of drinking and womanizing which I didn't think Autry had done. Oh well. There just wasn't enough about him personally for my reading taste, but the guy had no children and had a solid marriage, so I guess there isn't much dirt on him.
Autry Fans - Buy It!.......2007-08-12
Anyone who was a fan of Gene Autry or who liked westerns during their golden years or who just enjoys good biography will find this a very compelling story. It tells the story of a very good, but a very complex man who grew up in poverty, endured a difficult childhood, and displayed very human flaws. This book is endorsed by the Gene Autry Corporation but doesn't coverup or sugarcoat the fact that, despite his image, Gene drank heavily after WW2, maybe to the point of alcholism, and was not always faithful to his wife. Yet he never failed to visit children's hospitals, give supergenerously to those in need, take care of family and non-family alike, and do much good for many people. This includes several generations of children to whom he was always the ideal role model.
Holly George-Warren did an admirable job and deserves to be congratulated. One criticism: I wish Ms George-Warren had gone into greater depth into the extraordinarily complicated relationship between Gene and his wife Ina.
Memories of one of my favorite cowboys.......2007-07-31
This book brought back many great memories of Saturday matinees at our
neighborhood theatre. Gene Autry was one of my favorite western movie
stars. My favorite western movie star was Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid.
Our local movie "show" was a Columbia theatre which showed Columbia
movies including Columbia serials, the Durango Kid and assorted Columbia
"B" movies susitable for the kids' matinees. I enjoyed the Gene Autry 30's
and early '40's westerns more then the later ones he made. This book will
certainly return one to the "days of yesteryear." Excellent book!
Gene Autry, An American Idol.......2007-05-31
Public Cowboy No.1: The Life And Times Of Gene Autry, by Holly George-Warren
A book review by Jerry Rojo, May, 2007
Gene Autry, An American Idol
Holly George-Warrne's biographic tome is a definitive must-read, not only for the worldwide legions of the American cowboy moviegoing public, young and old, but also, anyone interested in a prototypical American dreamer on a lifelong trek, as defined by the arts and entertainment industry's dream factories from Hollywood to Madison Avenue. George-Warren's impeccably researched Gene Autry story, interestingly, is somewhat reminiscent of Doris Kerns-Goodwin's recent Abraham Lincoln book, Team Of Rivals, that chronicles the president's rags-to-riches life in the political arena. Both authors masterfully use the biographic form to convey their respective visions, yet provide the reader scholarly researched stories to ponder any number of themes and ideas about their subject. Like Lincoln, Autry was dirt poor, grassroots, self-made and ambitious; carefully grooming his career with a lifelong, unrelenting, innate ability to charm colleagues, friends and the public at large. Lincoln, too, was a performer. He cherished the spoken/written word, and the theatre, to the chagrin of his aristocratic, snobbish cabinet. Ironically, he was assassinated by a Shakespearean actor. The Autry book, like Lincoln's, defines his respective context/time in America. The political-rodeo arena is a metaphor for our country's so-called "culture", epitomized by the American Idol phenomena, with its demigod-like celebrities from respective realms of, popular entertainment, sports, politics. religion and, now a days, big corporations, all of which defines the current American ethos.
My can't-put-down read of George-Warren was fueled not only by her writing, but by my own childhood spent idolizing Gene Autry while growing up in Illinois, and, my subsequent professional interest in dramatic arts adds to the attraction. A compelling aspect of the book traces Autry's genealogy from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to pre-great depression Texas/Oklahoma, where Autry's story begins. During that period, one is amazed by his personal and professional character development, growing up in a family of six in abject poverty, with an on-and-off absentee, hard-drinking father, and by contrast, a deeply religious and nurturing mother. Everyone knows Autry's interest in the great American pastime, baseball, but a telling tidbit reveals that he was a pretty good sandlot player, and was offered a chance to play for a minor league team, but, declined because he was making more money working on the railroad and needed to support his family. That anecdote helps define this complex man. His devotion and generosity to family, friends and associates throughout his long life was always balanced by his knack for good judgment when it came to decisions about human welfare and the business of life.
It was during the seven odd years in the late 20s early 30s, while in the Chicago/Midwest, that young Autry began his "singing cowboy" career. But there was no overnight success here, instead, an astonishing story of how to succeed in show business--a methodology that paved the way for popular entertainers ever since. With a modicum of musical talent Autry used love of performing, hard work, determination, his WASPish good looks and savvy business acumen to mold a career that would lead to five-star recognition at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The book documents, in wonderful detail how he shrewdly evolved his signature persona-image, which, once established, never changed. At 91 he died with his boots on.
Before his Chicago days, Autry didn't start out as a cowboy singing around the campfire soothing a restless herd of cattle. He had his sights set on the popular music of the roaring 20s tin pan alley, which featured the likes of Gene Austin and Rudy Vallee (Autry's first name, Orvon, was substituted for Austin's). Ultimately, Gene Autry changed his musical style by literally imitating yodeling Jimmie Rodgers, the father of country/hillbilly music, who's great popularity appealed to blue-collar folks from the South and Midwest. After a brief trip to the Big Apple--before giving up his day job on the railroad--a failed audition with a record company sent Autry home to gain experience singing on local radio stations and other venues. He actually sang with a medicine show, a lesson learned, hawking products. Professional contacts and an established country-folk sound led him back to New York to make records. His recordings caught on, and with astute self-promotion Autry's popularity grew, garnering a spot on Chicago's popular WLS radio station's National Barn Dance program. There, his image was transformed to The Singing Cowboy.
With royalties from a national smash hit record, "That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine" in his hip pocket, a newly minted Martin guitar with his ivory signature on the frets, a new Hollywood-like-Tom Mix cowboy "look" and Buick automobile, he barnstormed the environs of Chicago, Illinois. There, he discovered a key player on the road to success, the highly talented musician, singer, song writer and naturally gifted comedic performer, Smiley Brunette. Autry always had a keen eye for talented associates, musical and otherwise. Back in Chicago on the airwaves, and on tour, they soon developed their signature hero/sidekick routine.
Unlike the multitude of American denizens, then and now, seeking instant success in golden California, Autry didn't go to Hollywood; Hollywood came to Autry. He was already a "star", self-made, and, at a time when the Great Depression was raging world wide. Now, only in his late 20s, part two of his odyssey begins at a B-Western studio factory that Autry would bale-out of near financial ruin, Republic Pictures. Here, Ms George-Warren really delivers the goods with a compendium of data-based facts of tinsel-town fiction that chronicles Autry's American idol success story.
It was 1934, but he didn't have an auspicious start in the movies. After an initial bit part in a Ken Maynard flick, studio executives had reservations--with good reason--about Autry's abilities. It seemed clear, he excelled at nothing cinematic: a marginal singer-guitarist, bad acting, awkward in the saddle and, most of all, he lacked gunslinger machismo, a staple at the time. But, no matter, the audience Autry already established, had a different opinion. He had something!! And it didn't take but a couple of years or so for the Studio and Autry, tinkering with the chemistry, to come up with THE original Gene Autry that would become a one-of-a-kind icon. By 1939 he was in the big leagues with Clark Gable/Gone With The Wind, if you consider audience appeal and box-office numbers. Now, cash-cow-boy Autry played to millions of adoring fans of, so called, sophisticated folks from the East, NYC to Boston, and, Great Britain, where he seduced hundreds of thousands from across the island empire, evidenced by massive turnouts on tour. It was 1942, a turning point in Gene Autry's fame if not fortune. Here again, he makes a watershed career decision. Much to the dismay of Republic Pictures/Hollywood, he joins the military to fight in World War II. George-Warren reveals insightful, detailed stories of the war years that further defines this remarkable man. For example, why, arguably, at the pinnacle of popularity and performance-form does he do it? Is he a consummate patriot, or as he says, protecting his image-based code of cowboy ethics? He survives air force missions, military boredom and keeps in tune doing a stint with the USO at the end of the war, meanwhile at home, movie reruns and other strategies kept him in the public mind's eye. After the war Autry picked up where he left off with his still adoring fans, donning his cowboy persona, producing and performing a mind-boggling schedule of entertainment engagements, including burgeoning TV (he was the first Hollywood star to do so); but, it WAS the beginning of the end and not the end of the beginning, as Churchill coined. Then, in the early to mid 60s the fame-flame goes out, but the fortune doesn't. Now, Gene Autry transitions to the business tycoon still wearing cowboy clothes, occasionally sporting an LA Angels baseball cap. Autry scrupulously designed and protected his public image that, except for in the military, never changed. As entertainer he performed the SELF and when he hung up the guitar in the early 60s he took on the role of CEO, Gene Autry Enterprises, but little else changed.
But what was at the heart of that masked man? It's all there in Holly George-Warren's biography that unearths the Man UNDER the persona, and as she perceives you don't need his purely business-life endgame story. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone, public or private that hated or disrespected Gene Autry, then or now. And he was no pushover while wheeling and dealing in either his business interests or performance career. That's evident by his tough, recalcitrant stance with the tightfisted studio honchos, which, by the way, help lead to Actors's Equity and the independent film makers of today. And yes, the book gets into the nitty-gritty of his postwar performing years of womanizing and binge drinking but that served to make him more human and strengthen his character. A shrink would have a field day, given young Autry's polarized parenting. As a 10y.o. boy I idolized that innovative kind of cowboy-man who was good and strong, and that seemed to portray the best of American values (My grandsons have his 10 Cowboy Commandments, framed.). Singing and playing the guitar as a real-life person his pictures were action-filled musical westerns, portraying the American mantra during that time: talk softly and carry a big stick; he toted a six shooter but never killing the bad guy. My growing up after the war, it was easy to see his weakness as an aging performer and ever more commercializing career strategy, but in the long run, that never led to diminishing the demigod I worshiped circa 1942.
Gene Autry represented as performer and citizen the "God and Country" ideology. The ancient Greek and Romans worshipped a pantheon of Gods who were half-God and half-Human. A recent book, The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins offers a view on the subject of the human need for God/demigods: it's in the genes, a kind of inner quest for survival. The American mystique seems particularly wedded to the phenomena of super hero, professing a particular moral/ethical/ism standard, albeit augmented by commercialism. Some Heroes are good and others not so, Abraham Lincoln/Adolph Hitler obvious opposites, others, Brittany Spears, Babe Ruth, Jerry Falwell, and Bill Gates fall somewhere in between. Gene Autry was clearly one of the good guys/entertainers, among American's pantheon of God/demigods, further identified in the Epilogue, that points to the multimillions he gave to charity in his lifetime, contributing to schools, hospitals and building a world-class western art museum and institute for western studies. Holly George-Warren's book gives us the arc of this complex quintessential American, who was Gene Autry.
A VERY PUBLIC COWBOY by John Paddy Browne.......2007-05-10
Whatever Holly George-Warren says in her new biography of Gene Autry; however much detail she covers; however many previously unpublished facts she unearths, she is never going to please everyone. Even a monumental biography such as this one, packed to bursting as it is with dates and names and stories, will never record everything that we, the readers, will want to see.
The problem is not Ms George-Warren's. When she says she could have written a book twice this size, I believe her.
No, the problem was created by Autry himself. He lived to a mighty age, and into that great expanse of time he packed enough life experiences to fuel any number of books and magazines and newspaper articles. One glance at George-Warren's footnotes and bibliography shows how the world has been flooded with Autry newsprint throughout a career - no, several careers - that spanned 70 years. And that doesn't take account of his austere childhood (a story in itself that George-Warren tells in remarkable detail), or the vast amount of Autry material that has appeared since his death in 1998: the DVDs, the CDs, the books, the websites - even the belated victory of his Angels team in the World Series. Look at any of the online auction sites any day of the week and you will get an idea of just how much stuff Autry left behind: the supply seems endless, and endlessly varied, and all of this is merely an illusion of the man's actual working life.
Autry was a workaholic, driven, it seems, to be always doing something. When his contemporaries Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy and Tyrone Power finished their day's work at the studio, they went home and put their feet up. Not Autry. As George-Warren records in breathless detail, even while shooting a movie, Autry would be called to the phone to deal with some other business in which he was involved elsewhere: or he would receive commercial partners for discussions on set. There simply weren't enough hours in the day for him.
This handsome biography could never hope to cover everything in such an industrious life, and some of the material that is missing has been judiciously excised for purely logistical, editorial reasons. Quite rightly, the author almost completely eschews Autry's involvement in baseball (a blessed relief for those of us not interested in sports), and instead concentrates a good deal of time to his early radio and recording work. A fascinating account of Autry's notorious shoot-out with Herb Yates at Republic Studios, usng the evidence of surviving documents, brings that painful episode to vivid life. George-Warren skirts around the hackneyed stories, veracious or otherwise, that Autry told so many times that he eventually believed them himself. She neither confirms them or denies them, but puts them into a sort of context from which the reader may draw his or her own conclusions about their probability.
Not that any of this matters, except insofar as how it paints a picture of a man who was as much a media creation as a real-life figure, and possibly more so since he carried the cowboy image into his private life by wearing his Western-styled clothes - his uniform - in public and at home, away from the working environment of the studios. He put on this uniform in the same way that Superman or Santa Claus put on their uniforms, and became a figment of our collective imagination. It was how he made money.
And money is the one constant in Gene Autry's life. Whatever he did, and he did an inordinate number of different things, money was at the heart of it. "Working with figures is what I do best," he allegedly said. "What I do less well is act, sing and play the guitar." There is no hint whatever in the 400-plus pages of Holly George-Warren's book that Autry ever did anything for the love of it. He frequently spoke about how "proud" he was of certain of his achievements, and he had every reason to be proud of them - but that's not the same as "love". No-one ever got him to say that he sang certain songs because he loved them, in the way that, say, folk singers might sing songs for the love of them. Autry sang stuff that would make him money, and that was the criterion for performing and recording it.
His pursuit of money, indeed, seems to have been the one true love-affair of his life - and he has said as much. No-one will begrudge the man becoming one of the richest people in America when he worked so diligently and tirelessly to attain that pleasant state. Nobody gave him his wealth: he went out and worked for it. Ms George-Warren could easily have published a page from any one of Autry's touring schedules (and I've seen them) that would have shown him to be working in a different town or city every single day for months at a stretch. None of your two-days-on and four-days-off for him.
Along the way he gave the illusion of being a happy, carefree cowboy, bestowing a bounty of delight on his fans - fans who would carry their affection for him and loyalty to him into their old age. Autry's trick, if this does not sound too cynical, is that he made them feel that they all mattered to him when, in fact, everything he did, be it hospital visits to chat with sick children, merchandising his name relentlessly, [...] or claiming writing credits for someone else's work - and even his enlistment into the armed forces in World War 2 - all of it had a "money handle" - and he saw it all as a means of furthering his career.
Autry's publicity as high-flying business magnate, which so fascinated the Hollywood press, has done his artistic reputation no favors. Dismissed as "commercial" and superficial by many, it has been an uphill struggle for those of us trying to keep his memory alive, to justify his place at the top of so many lists of achievements in the arts. Indeed, the juxtaposition of the name "Autry" with the word "art" is almost an oxymoron - a contradiction. Yet the trail that Autry left behind him, that so many fledgling artists have followed to their benefit, speaks volumes for the influence he has had on the cultivation and development of the Country and popular music of America and other English-speaking countries. Academically, though, he was never recognised in his lifetime, nor was his work and contribution ever seriously analyzed or documented.
At the end of the day we, his fans, seem not to be troubled by any of this, and even Holly George-Warren's commendably open, impartial and well-written book, with its tales of risque songs, binge drinking, and amorous dalliances with his leading ladies (and some of his female Fan Club members) does nothing to lessen the man's stature. If anything, it reveals him to be more human than the singing cowboy of the screen ever was: the sort of man we are able to relate to: a flawed hero we can identify with.
And if this flies in the face of that famous remark made by the fictional editor of the Shinbone Star: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend!" what it may do is make the legendary figure of Gene Autry a more approachable figure to a new generation of admirers. And in our hero, the Singing Cowboy, they will find a great deal to admire. Holly George-Warren has seen to that. --JOHN PADDY BROWNE
Book Description
500 Places to Take Your Kids allows parents, grandparents, and kids to create a lifetime of shared memories while visiting destinations the whole family can enjoy. Here are cities, zoos, sports shrines, museums, castles, beaches, outdoor activities, and more—500 thoughtfully-chosen places that will enchant and beguile both the young and the young at heart.
Each entry contains all the information families need to help plan a trip: age ratings, service details, and nearby kid-friendly hotels. A Specialty Index organized by type of trip helps families discover places and activities for all ages and interests, while a Geographical Index allows families to locate attractions across the world or simply across town. Photos throughout the book help bring destinations to life.
Customer Reviews:
500 Places to take your GROWN kids.......2007-08-16
While I certainly appreciate how much research went into this book, there are so many places that are really not for kids...but older kids. Many of these places I am just now ready to see..and I'm a grandma.
I was just going on a trip with 3 of my grandkids but couldn't use any of this for this trip. We were going on the east coast and many of the places mentioned in this book were either out west or in other parts of the world.
I could think of many places that would be more fun for children than the ones mentioned here.
Great gift for mom/dad.......2007-08-15
This is a really neat book for families that like to travel. Some of the 500 places are a big unrealistic... the Pyramids in Egypt .... the Sydney Opera house... fabulous places, I'm sure, but not on the list of places for our family to visit in the near future. There were actually some places suggested in our own state that we had never heard of. Makes a great Father's Day or Mother's Day gift.
I should have read the reviews first..........2007-06-18
Several of the reviews said what I will now say--I don't like the way the book is organized. If I'm planning a trip, I don't want to have to flip from the index around the book to find out what is where I'm going. It is interesting that they are grouped by activities, but I doubt anyone will paddle across America. Also, I'm still baffled as to why the author recommends the Cairo Museum in Egypt, yet doesn't recommend going to the Pyramids (only 30 minutes from the museum) or anything else in Egypt for that matter. I wonder who makes the decisions about where to go. I'll still skim through the book for ideas, but I'll use the Fodor's kids series (Around ______ with Kids) when I really want to know what to do with kids. We used "Around Paris with Kids" when we took our toddlers there, and it was great for kids. Sure, we didn't take the kids to the Louvre (too young), but we saw a ton of cool playgrounds near every tourist site.
disappointed.......2007-04-22
I have twin 5-year olds and we travel every chance we get, from local treats, National Parks, and campouts, to the Smithsonian, old forts, and amusement parks, but I found it hard to take this book seriously when Disney World is actually not one of the 500 places to take your kids before they grow up but the Museo del in Prado in Spain is (recommended for ages 6 and over...having been there, the 7,000 paintings, although lovely, will not hold the attention of a 6-year old...unless he was born in a leap year). You can add the Louvre, or Borobudur, or the Huntington Library for that matter. I have been to 212 of the places in this book -- many of them worth mentioning for older people. I am a fan of educational trips and stops, but a little fun is also necessary for the young ones, and this book makes it near impossible to actually plan a trip that drifts along from the locations in this book. And really, Disney is the happiest place on Earth (I swear I don't work for them....but ask your kid -- Disney or the Hermitage?)
Better than they say.......2007-04-06
Other reviewers have really given this book a bum rap. True, the layout is a bit confusing--a better world map, along with appropriate cross-references by geographic location, would have been helpful--but it is filled with quite a lot of useful and realistic travel destinations.
You child may not be up to visiting Mount Fuji or the D-Day beaches. Then again, maybe she or he will! I took my child to Verdun (recommended in this book) at age six, and the stark cost and meaning of modern war has stayed with him. Personally, I think the author deserves kudos for urging parents to aim high--to destinations that have genuine cultural and educational value--rather than just spouting the putrid Disneyworld-type destinations that far too many families consider to be appropriate family travel.
That said, unlike Patricia Schultz's 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (which reviewers, for some arcane reason, seem to love), the destinations recommended in this book are almost all within the normal financial range of the average middle-class family. Moreover, for those with less adventurous tastes, it contains plenty of museums and other mainstream kid-friendly destinations. For family travel off the beaten track, I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Four never-before-published paranormal tales from a quartet of top-tier talents.
In the realm between the living and the undead, between human and immortal, four of today's most thrilling authors explore the delight that ensues when opposites come together...
New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson challenges a charlatan exorcist with a sexy dead woman-and an unnatural romance.
USA Today bestselling author Emma Holly introduces a beautiful scientist to the realm of the Demon World...and an irresistible male she has experimented on.
National bestselling author Vickie Taylor throws a hell-bent man into the arms of a beautiful dark angel who is driven by ethereal desires of her own.
And award-winning author Catherine Spangler gives a vampire prostitute a last chance at redemption when an angelic hunk offers her a night of divine lovemaking.
Customer Reviews:
not bad.......2007-10-06
This is a decent anthology and Holly and Davidson do a decent job. I would buy this again. About half of the stories were pretty good, the other half were pretty pedestrian. More romantic erotica with a veneer of paranormal romance than paranormal or fantasy. Using 'demon' in the title is rather misleading.
A very mixed bag, with very few demons.......2007-07-16
Of the four stories in this collection, there's one that's completely worth it, one three-quarters worth reading, one half-worth, and one not worth bothering with, in my opinion. So, a total of 2 and a quarter stories out of 4, that's 56%, which is not a passing grade, most places.
The first story, "Witch Way," is by Mary Janice Davidson, and she's always funny. Even when the premise is lightweight and more than a little silly, her characters have such snappy dialogue that it's enjoyable. This story doesn't involve any of her regular series characters, no werewolves or vampires. It also doesn't have much to do with demons; the only demons are the ones Chris Mere, the witch, vanquishes. There is a cute little kid.
The second story, "Street Corners and Halos" by Catherine Spangler, has nothing at all to do with demons. It's vampire prostitute meets angel, and while the moral of the story is as subtle as a brick, the interesting twists to the usual vampire stuff make this worth reading, even if you can see the ending coming a mile away. The background of Jewish religion - which doesn't really have angels in the way that the Christian religions do - meeting up with a Christian-type angel, except that he refers to his Goddess, She, rather than a male god, makes for a nice contrast, and does offset the overly saccharin goodness of the angel. As a paranormal story in general, it's not bad at all, as a vampire story in particular, there's not enough of it to really characterize it. Oh, there is a cat, which is always a plus in a story.
The third story, "The Demon's Angel" by Emma Holly, is apparently based on a concept that the author has also put into a couple of novels, where the demons are some sort of mutant humans living in an alternate world, where they have genes and chromosomes and all, and are doing genetic research, for which they need human subjects. I found this premise to be so offputting that I didn't finish the story. My own preference is that people keep science fiction and fantasy separate; trying to put a science fiction veneer onto demons and a lot of sex winds up, to my mind, bringing out the worst aspects of both science fiction and of the paranormal. The romance was, as far as I could tell, nonexistent, unless by romance you mean plain lust. Other people who don't mind completely illogical squishing of science fiction over fantasy with neither making any sense, may like this story better than I did.
The fourth story, "Angel and the Hellraiser" by Vickie Taylor, was another angel one - again, no demons whatsoever. It was full of cliches, but it was not totally bad, and the ending was not quite as saccharin as the second story, the other angel one. So this is the half-okay one.
In short: a book with demons in the title has more stories with angels than with demons; one humorous, two that take their paranormal elements a little too seriously, and one that does a bad job of trying to turn paranormal into scientific. You decide whether it's worth it; if you already like one of the authors, then you probably want to read this book just so that your collection of that author is complete.
disappointing read.......2007-06-02
One story was okay but the rest were just blah. I was very anticipatory about this book and then was extremely disappointed when I got it.
I've read better..........2007-05-22
This is more something to read if you have some time to kill. I bought the book only for MJD and Emma Holly's contributions, which were good. The others didn't deliver, but then I didn't expect them to. They weren't horrible, but I've read better.
demon's unsatisfaction more like it.......2007-05-14
very boring stories.. did not capture my interest at all
Average customer rating:
- reading fantasy is fun
- A Family Favorite
- Protesting the Price
- Spiderwick Chronicles-- Not just for kids
- I'm 22 and I loved this set
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The Spiderwick Chronicles (Boxed Set): The Field Guide; The Seeing Stone; Lucinda's Secret; The Ironwood Tree; The Wrath of Mulgrath
Holly Black , and
Tony DiTerlizzi
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Children's Books | Mythology | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
All Children's Boxed Sets | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
Literature | Children's Books | Boxed Sets | Formats | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You (Spiderwick Chronicles)
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Notebook for Fantastical Observations (Spiderwick Chronicles)
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Care and Feeding of Sprites (Spiderwick Chronicles)
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The Nixie's Song (Beyond The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1)
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The Dark Is Rising (Boxed Set): The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, Over Sea, Under Stone, Silver on the Tree, The Grey King
ASIN: 0689040342 |
Book Description
It all started with a mysterious letter left at a tiny bookstore for authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Its closing lines: "We just want people to know about this. The stuff that has happened to us could happen to anyone." Little could they imagine the remarkable adventure that awaited them as they followed Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace and a strange old book into a world filled with elves, goblins, dwarves, trolls, and a fantastical menagerie of other creatures. The oddest part is in entering that world, they didn't leave this one!
Five captivating books!
One thrilling adventure!
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Customer Reviews:
reading fantasy is fun.......2007-09-10
Reading a book that will be a movie in Feburary is fun for all ages. This book is full of imagination, magic and fantasy.
A Family Favorite.......2007-09-06
My kids can't get enough of these books! I have a 7 year old & a 5 year old, and we have read the books aloud to them. The 7 year old keeps trying to sneak the books away and read them himself, but we make him wait. They are an easy read--each book is about 100 pages, so it doesn't take long to read. The storyline is exciting for the kids. I'm glad we bought the boxed set, as you wouldn't want to buy just one! The five books make me think it's like one book broken into 5 parts.
Protesting the Price.......2007-09-05
These books are nice little fantasy stories, but I read the first one and couldn't bring myself to buy the others simply because you get so little book for your buck. At least the Series of Unfortunate Events, similarly packaged, were completely developed--and I thought they ran a bit short at the time! These Spiderwick books are more like 1/3 of a book each, or maybe even 1/4--and yet they're as much as 10 bucks a pop.
Anyway, the characters are pleasant and the central premise of a field guide to goblins and other fantastic creatures is a rich one. But I would want to see far more incredible story telling, and at a reasonable length, to invest in this series wholeheartedly.
Spiderwick Chronicles-- Not just for kids.......2007-08-25
I enjoyed many things about this book-- the artwork is enchanting and the storyline is inventive and as an adult reading this book - I was taken back to being a kid and loving every moment of being lost in the story and my own imagination. Great Read!
I'm 22 and I loved this set.......2007-08-24
My husband and I are into Fantasy and sci-fi books. We knew of Holly Black, and we love her other books. My husband loved the set and so did I. The pictures help give you a mental image of the people in the book, so as you read your mind has something to go off of. We plan on keeping this boxed set for when we have kids, I'm sure that they will love then just as much as we did.
Book Description
Beginning with studio practices and safety rules, this information-packed handbook is appropriate for both newcomers and experienced dyers but assumes that readers have a serious interest in textile design. An overview of dyeing starts with fibers and fabrics and discusses all aspects of the dyes favored by textile studios—fiber reactive, acid, vat, and disperse—before explaining discharging, screen printing, monoprinting, stamping, stenciling, resist dyeing, dévoré, and painting. Would-be fabric artists are advised along the way to identify a personal approach to dyeing—free spirit? rule-follower?—and color photographs of work by today's top fiber artists elucidate prevailing styles. Recipes and techniques are accompanied by step-by-step instructions with photographs, and a concealed spiral binding allows the book to lie flat. Ten appendices include a worksheet for recording chemicals, procedures, and costs for all projects; a guide to washing fabric; descriptions of stock solutions, thickeners, and steaming; a metric conversion table; and a guide to water temperatures.
Customer Reviews:
So much, much more than I expected!!!.......2007-09-25
Others have already related the key points about this book. I just want to further confirm for everyone looking to buy it that this author really did an EXCELLENT job. She obviously is a art and TECHNICAL expert in this field. She could've taken less time and put out a book that would've gotten her a solid 4.5-star rating. Instead she obviously put in twice the time and ended up with a 10-star book. She gives you all the details that people serious about trying complicated crafts look for but rarely find without studying in the studio of a professional. I just picked this up from the NEW BOOKS rack at the library because I am generally interested in the subjected. Like the one person so far who has given her a lower rating, it did make me think that this is probably too difficult for me. But on the other hand, she has many photos showing the possibilities of what I might be able to accomplish if I did try and it's very seductive. Nothing very special worth accomplishing comes easily and that seems to also apply to fabric art. I also appreciate the thoughtfulness of her making the binding a spiral so the pages lay perfectly flat for easy reference while you follow the directions. If I decide to seriously try this craft, it will be this book that I buy and I doubt I'd even need to buy another one ever.
Throw away your notes - this is all you need!.......2007-09-04
This book has enabled me to recycle ALL of my class and workshop notes and just use this book - it's all there and in great detail. (now I have space for MORE books)
Wonderful book!.......2007-07-18
Holly Brackmann's new book The Surface Designer's Handbook is long over-due and I have ordered it as the textbook for all my fibers classes. As soon as it arrived my students all wanted their own personal copy so several of them purchased it outright just on sight alone. The spiral binding is excellent and the extent of the techniques covered is wonderful. I teach both beginners and advanced fibers students and this book has everything we need as a textbook.
I use it myself for my own work and find it very helpful, well organized and thorough. The information about making color cards with diluted MX dye on watercolor paper is worth the selling price all by itself. It is a technique I knew nothing about and I am thrilled to learn about it. It has saved hours and hours of dye testing time.
In my classes we had been using Kate Wells' book Fabric Dyeing and Printing and prior to that, Proctor and Lew's Surface Design for Fabric. Now, 16 years later, Holly's excellent book has arrived and is the handbook of the hour. It is up to date, comprehensive and thorough, and should be in everyone's library that works with dyes, textile paints and cloth. It improves on and surpasses every handbook published to date and encompasses a massive amount of information.
I look forward to using it in my classes for many years to come and I salute Holly for the enormous amount of work that went into creating this book. She has provided a gift for the entire surface design community both here and abroad.
Morgan Clifford, Professor
Art Dept / Textiles
University of WI-River Falls
Master Craftman Level Surface Design.......2007-07-14
This book is so complete that you nearly do not need any other books for working with surface design, dyeing and all processes related to fibre arts.
Congratualtions to the author, Holly Brackman for putting together the most comprehensive manual ever.
too much to digest.......2007-06-30
I had hoped for a book that had practical suggestions for using surface design in mixed media and art quilt work. So much of this book is devoted to very technical dye processes that I find only a small portion of it is actually of help to me. If I wasn't already a bit afraid of dying my own fabric, I certainly am now!
Amazon.com
Spiderwick fans will adore this gorgeous guidebook to the fantastical creatures featured in Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's spectacular series. The superdeluxe, lavishly illustrated "field guide" features 142 information-packed pages, 41 full-color plates, 6 spectacular gatefolds, 6 watercolor landscapes, scores of black-and-white and color sketches, and enough information to satisfy even the most demanding faerie enthusiast. Not only will readers learn all about the 14 fantastical creatures featured in the series, but they'll be delighted and astonished by an additional 15 creatures featured in this elaborate volume--including mermaids, gargoyles, and more. And if that weren't enough, we've included dozens of snippets from Arthur Spiderwick's personal journal--information that links the Guide specifically to the Spiderwick Chronicles--as well as cameos from a few of the series' favorite characters.
Book Description
It all began with a strange, mysterious correspondence left for authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black at a small New England bookstore. Written by three siblings, the letter told of their great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick and an unfinished tome filled with eyewitness accounts of creatures otherwise thought to be the stuff of legend. In the #1 New York Times bestselling serial the Spiderwick Chronicles, readers were enthralled by the account of the those siblings, Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace, as they battled dwarves, goblins, elves, and a diabolical ogre in their efforts to hold on to their uncle Spiderwick,s life work. Now, through the combined efforts of the Grace children and authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, Simon & Schuster is thrilled to present that work to you!
Beginning with a thoughtful and informative introduction, progressing through six exhaustive sections featuring thirty-one faerie species, and culminating with an addendum that includes observations supplied by Jared Grace, this long-awaited compendium to the worldwide Spiderwick phenomenon delivers enough information to satisfy even the most demanding faerie enthusiast. Not only will readers learn the habits and habitats of the fourteen fantastical creatures featured in the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling chapter books, but they will be delighted and astonished by an additional seventeen creatures. Also included are dozens of snippets from Arthur Spiderwick,s personal journal as well as cameos from a few series favorites.
With so much to offer, this book is destined to be pored over for generations to come!
www.spiderwick.com
Customer Reviews:
WOW!!! This is a classic treasure that will live on for generations!.......2007-09-22
I can now say that I am a lucky man. I got to meet one of my heroes in San Diego a few weeks back. His name is Tony DiTerlizzi, and as far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most talented illustrators alive. Not since Brian Froud's classic FAERIES book has such a magnificent collection of fairytale art been bound together. Tony's style has a very classic/retro feel, that is also somehow modern at the same time. The palette is perfect, and the takes on these classic faeries are fresh. It is simply a gorgeous book worthy of being enjoyed time and time again.
I had a blast looking through each page, pausing to drink in each pencil sketch, and all the wonderfully painted renderings alike. There is no throwaway art in this book -- none at all!
The imagination of everyday items like needles, thimbles, and scissors becoming proud objects of the fairies that stole them is masterfully done. I am proud to say that Tony has signed my copy -- and maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to own an original piece of art from the book.
Kudos, and masterfully done! This is a treasure!
A Rare Find.......2007-09-03
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You is a truly unique find. I stumbled across the novels at a friends house and thought the ink drawings were fun and playful, but the field guide itself is quite striking. The illustraions alone would have sold me, i love the little quick sketches and diagrams, plus the old-time travel log look is really appealing. All of the "little-known-facts", author's musings/notes, and narratives make this a rare find for any fantasy lover.
Awesome pictures.......2007-06-05
I love this book! I can look through it over and over again and never get tired of the beautiful illustrations. This illustrated book ties into the Spiderwick Chronicles books. It is the actual field guide that they talk about in this series that all of the fantasy creatures are trying to get ahold of. It is not supposed to be in human hands. No telling what the humans would do if they knew their secrets!
My kids LOVE IT!.......2007-03-11
We read the Spiderwick Chronicles series and wanted more. So, when we found there was a Field Guide available we jumped at it. My kids have studied the characters in the book and have gone on faerie hunts in the yard and elsewhere. Fun! I'd recommend it for all 7-10 year-olds who are seriously interested in all things faerie.
A book to spark the imagination.......2007-03-08
My 5th grade son came home from school and insisted we buy this book. The reading teacher at his school had brought the book in to his classroom and they all went wild for it. It is very imaginative with wonderful illustrations of mythical creatures and is categorized in six different areas of fantastical creatures ("Around the house and yard" i.e. brownies, boggarts, changelings, pixies, etc. "In Fields and Forests" - cockatrices, elves leprechauns, manticores, sprites, treefolk, etc. "In Lakes and Streams" - kelpies, merfolk, nixies, sea serpents, trolls etc. "In The Hills and Mountains" - dwarves, giants, goblins, knockers, ogres, etc. "In The Sky" - dragons, griffins and phoenixes and "Outside At Night" - banshees, gargoyles, phookas, and will-o-the wisps among many many others. It is beautifully illustrated and has lots of information on the fictional (or is he?) Arthur Spiderwick's adventurous travels. My 2nd grade daughter really enjoys looking at the pictures although the text is too hard for her. This is a great book for older children, especially children like my son that are reluctant readers. Its the kind of book they pick up over and over. Because my children enjoyed this so much, we recently bought Spiderwick's The Care and Feeding of Sprites which is great but doesn't compare with the Fantastical World Around You (which covers many different species of mythical creatures with detailed descriptions and information on each). Happy reading and imagining!
Book Description
The complete handbook for the world of the concierge. This book was written from first hand experience and addresses all situations involving a hotel concierge from the philosophy to the the paper clips. It is a comprehensive guide to the hotel concierge. It can be used as a textbook or for training purposes as it has lesson plans and workshhets included.
Customer Reviews:
A "Must Read" for the "Five-Star Minded" hospitality professional (or, future professional)!.......2007-09-13
I found this book by chance as I was browsing titles and was very taken by its title. I was very pleased with its content. I found it to be textbook-instructional regarding concept and practice, as well as a general guide for setting up one's own concierge operation - whether that be in a hotel, corporate office building, or other high-profile "hub" service environment. After having spent more than 20 years as a NYC hotel manager, I found this book a refreshing read. It helped me reaffirm within myself the reasons why I pursued a hospitality career in the first place. I was additionally pleased to have discovered that I had actually worked with some of the hospitality professionals given credit by the author during my own career!
OK for beginners...........2007-07-12
This is a good "starter" book for a new Concierge. I have been a Concierge for 10 years and purchased this book to keep me "fresh". It was not useful at all. If you want to become a Concierge, you can't learn what you need to know from a book - it takes A LOT of hands on experience in a busy hotel to be able to adapt to any Concierge situation. But, if you are starting up a new Concierge desk, the forms are helpful.
a very useful book for people in hospitality industry.......2007-01-12
The book is very useful especially for the professionals in the hospitality industry and guest services. Easy to understand and follow, full of real case studies. Can be referred in trainings of concierge clerks.
Comprehensive Guide. Price Varies: from 30 to 3,000.......2006-12-22
I bought this book for my brother who is a Chef Concierge. As I was looking for a title, I came across some interesting findings about "Ultimate Service", which I share in this review. I am not a professional in the field, but this handbook seems indeed very comprehensive and effective. It is not about setting up a small business, but what the profession actually is and how it is managed on a daily basis. My two main points are as follows.
First, nowhere on the internet I could find the content list showing the book structure. So, as I now have the book, regrouping its 17 chapters, these are the main topics in panoramic view: 1) philosophy and ethics; 2) the profession in general; 3) relationships and mentality; 4) routine management (huge part); 5) dealing with the press, and coping with stress and angry customers; 6) industry, technology and the future of the profession; 7) appendix with management forms.
Second, you need to consider buying this book asap. I phoned Prentice Hall (publisher) to get the content list (above), and found out that the book is out of print, and that they no longer have rights over it. I then realized why the publisher has no memory of the book, when I came across one of Holly Stiel's websites: a very elegant, New Agey business project focusing on customer service, now selling a repackaged version of the same ideas in a book with CD-ROM for $3,000 (no typo here). So, think hard and answer: why pay $3,000 if you can get the essence for $30 (while it lasts)?
In sum, I recommend this book, both for its substance and price.
Excellent .......2006-11-04
I feel that this book was exactly what I was looking for in relation to pursuing a career as a concierge in a hotel. It was very thorough and is already saving me a ton of time on research and gives a great feeling of authenticity and enthusiasm in how to deal with the public.
Amazon.com
W. Atlee Burpee & Co., supplier of flower and vegetable seeds for more than 120 years, now provides a comprehensive guide to gardening with Burpee Complete Gardener. The book gives a wide range of information, covering such topics as starting and designing a garden; dealing with climate, soil, lighting, mulching, fertilizing, and watering; making compost; and controlling weeds. The best part, though, is the more than 420 descriptions (most with color photographs) of annuals, perennials, bulbs, roses, vegetables, herbs, ground covers, and vines. There are also excellent sections on the proper tools and equipment, controlling pest and disease problems, and the questions most asked by gardeners (divided into categories for easy reference), as well as a season-by-season guide to garden maintenance. Along with the photographs, the book includes many instructional drawings along with neat pictures of Burpee catalogs and seed packets dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The latter provide a touch of personality and charm that, unfortunately, the book otherwise lacks. That minor complaint aside, Burpee Complete Gardener is a solid work that offers handy information for all, but especially beginning, gardeners. --Andy Boynton
Book Description
The Burpee Complete Gardener is a comprehensive gardening bible, packed with solid information and sound advice from a team of gardening experts. It is an up-to-date, fully illustrated reference for gardeners at all levels.
Customer Reviews:
Loads of info.......2007-03-01
I am a new gardener and just bought my first house. I will be using this book like crazy to help me get started. It has so much information about everything. I don't think I will need any other books to help me build my garden and landscape. Great buy!
Best Gardening Book I Have Seen.......2004-05-06
This is an extremely thorough gardening book which covers all the bases of gardening, from starting seeds to pruning, this book has it all covered. I was happily surprised that it had a huge section dedicated to plant descriptions, along with how much sun they need, if it will work in containers, what season to grow them, and the herb section even tells what the herbs are used for in medicinal, culinary and relaxation purposes. I find myself going back to this book every time I have a gardening question, and always find a very helpful answer. If you are going to buy just one gardening book, this is the one you need to get that beautiful garden started and thriving! Happy Gardening!
Great For Beginning Gardeners.......2004-04-30
This book has been invaluable! It is written for the gardener who is just beginning. It has wonderful, detailed descriptions of annuals, perennials, bulbs, etc. and has lovely illustrations of most of the flowers, herbs, and vegetables included. It gives tips on a number of varying gardening aspects like, planning, planting, care, and pest control, to name a few. I have used this book endlessly, and have learned so much from it. Really a good buy!
If you only buy one gardening book get this!.......2000-05-11
This book is a must have for all gardeners! It shows you how to plan and set up a garden, goes over specific flowers, vegetables, herbs and roses in detail and helps with the problem areas. There is a section in the back to reference for what to plant in your areas that you have no idea what will grow. It tells you what to plant if you have (for example) a wet, shade area or a shady dry area. Covers pruning, fertilizing and pest control. I have had this book for 3 years and I use it all the time. I have neighbors who borrow it for their questions. Does not cover trees or shrubs. There is a whole section on roses and the specific types and how to care for them.
Great Reference! I use it every day!.......2000-03-03
I just bought a house and am planning out what I am going to do with my garden this summer, and I read through part of this book every day. I can just vision what it will look like! Informative, especially for a new gardener like me!
Book Description
Many people grimace at the sound of music theory. It can conjure up bad memories of grade school music classes, rattle the brains of college students, and make self-taught musicians feel self-defeated. Music Theory may seem tedious and unnecessary, especially since not many people can read music.
Luckily, Music Theory for Dummies shows you the fun and easy way to understanding the concepts needed to compose, deconstruct, and comprehend music. This helpful guide will give you a great grasp of:
- Note value and counting notes
- Treble and bass clefs
- Time signatures and measures
- Naturalizing the rhythm
- Tempo and dynamic
- Tone, color, and harmonics
- Half steps and whole steps
- Harmonic and melodic intervals
- Key signatures and circles of fifths
- Scales, chords, and their progressions
- Elements of form
- Music theory’s fascinating history
This friendly guide not only explores these concepts, it provides examples of music to compliment them so you can hear how they sound firsthand. With a bonus CD that demonstrates these ideas with musical excerpts on guitar and piano, this hands-on resource will prove to you that music theory is as enjoyable as it is useful. Don’t get discouraged by the seemingly complicated written structure. With Music Theory for Dummies, understanding music has never been easier!
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
Customer Reviews:
Great for beginners.......2007-05-12
This book really helps if you want to learn the basics of music theory. I sing in a choir and I always feel like I don't belong there because they spout off all this technical music stuff and I can't read music either. This book teaches you everything you need to know.
Very good, but lots of typos and errors.......2007-05-12
Overall, the book is very good. I've never had music theory but had piano and band as a child and am learning guitar as an adult. The best parts of the book explain a lot of things together (major/minor key signatures and associated sharps/flats, chord realtionships/progressions, scale structures, and so on). Things are seeming to click in the ol' gray matter and I WOULD have given it a "5" for the coverage of the subject matter, BUT...
...there are typos/errors throughout the WHOLE book. There are incorrect references to table numbers (trivial mistakes) and there are errors on a few of the example music measures and, in at least one instance, on guitar notes on a fret chart. The editor of this book did a horrible job. I know enough to say "yeah, that's not right" as I read through the book, but the number of errors is appalling.
An Excellent Reference .......2007-05-11
Music Theory for Dummies is the best of both worlds for those of us interested in learning music theory for the first time or refreshing our musical memories. As a child music student I was inundated with music terms which meant little or nothing to me. I faked my way along, despite my ignorance of proper theory or terminology, never thinking it might pertain to me. Only as an adult, who has now written a few songs with the desire to share them, has it occurred to me that I need to know how to write music others can read rather than trying to express myself by humming my songs out. Music Theory for Dummies is a necessity for anyone who wants to truly understand the basics of music, or anyone who already does but needs an excellent reference for refresher or support in learning or comprehending the more difficult aspects of music theory. Music Theory for Dummies is essential for all students, be they beginners, or the more advanced, in need of a simplified backup source for more difficult concepts. Additionally, the drawings and CD are simply a delightful topping on a very solid foundation.
Back in the saddle again.......2007-05-01
Man, this book is exactly what I needed to get back into learning music. I took piano lessons as a kid and again in college, and didn't retain much from the experience except how to count off four-four time. That, and an incredible dislike of structured music lessons. This book starts way at the beginning of note-reading and counting off beats and takes you through to the basics of improvisation and composing your own music. The process is easy and gentle and the information delivered sticks. I remember everything I've read in this, and at no point did I feel like an idiot trying to figure any of the topics out.
The CD is almost worth the price of the book itself, especially if you are a complete beginner. Every major and minor music scale is played out on guitar and piano, and make a great practice aid to play along with. All the chords discussed in the book are played on the piano for you to listen to--which is great, because I didn't know the difference between one 7th chord to the next just by ear, but now I'm learning to.
Also, how cool is it that the book has a short interview with Steve Reich on the composition process in it? I think it's cool, anyway, I'm assuming it's an original interview--had to check and make sure Reich was still alive when I saw that, and voila, he is! There's also a fairly recent interview with the late Robert Moog in it on keyboard design (saw another interview with Moog on-line by one of the authors, so I'm thinking that's original, too). It was a pretty cool way to break up the fairly heavy-duty chapters on chord construction and chord progressions. Overall, this book left me feeling like all my previous experiences with formal music teachers were mostly wasted ones, and that I could have saved myself a lot of time and agony if I had just had this book.
Save Time, money..... .......2007-04-30
If you are interested in learning Music Theory, and you can already read Music from a Lead Sheet (or better), and you also know how to deal with both 1 /4 and 1/8 notes -- look elsewhere.
Save yourself time, effort & money by clicking on the Amazon "Search" Box above and entering Books (then) Music Theory. Among those available from Amazon, I bought, have used, and highly recommend:
:
"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory" by Michael Miller; or (for a slimmer & lighter touch) "Edley's Music Theory for Practical People" by Ed Roseman. Miller's Book is also cheaper, and either one will take you many miles farther on your Musical Theory journey.
Release of this Book "Music Theory For Dummies" was delayed several months (at least on Amazon), and IMHO (and my case) I wish its 336? Pages hadn't made it at all. Why?
If you can use a Lead Sheet you won't even need to touch pages 1-104. Also, if you know how to read/use a Key Signature you can keep skipping to Page 147 where you will be introduced to -- Major and Minor Scales in 13 Pages (and listening to 60 of them from the CD's 93 Tracks).
Chapter 13 (pg. 160) starts "Building Chords" (Triads and Sevenths) using 32 Pages with lots of white space on them (for both Piano and Guitar), including blank Page 192. The Book has lots of white space.
In truth, the educational aspects start to improve markedly (for this Book) beginning on Page 193 (Chapter 14: Chord Progressions) and goes for another 53 Pages. Then it falls off a Cliff.
Two "highlights" of the final 70 pages for me included 1. Appendix B (37 Pages): the oversized, graphic "Chord Chart" in one continuous "Stream" for 13 of 14 Keys showing both Piano and Guitar "sets" separately (I already own better ones for Piano though); and 2. (next "best") was an 8 page detailed Table of the contents for all 93 CD Tracks, but .... I did not use the Index.
I continue to (periodically) study in Miller's Book, and wonder if I'll ever be through with it. It also contains "Lessons", "Exercises" to test you, and a CD. I really hope you will be as lucky to find Music materials that will make you feel similarly. Making Music is different from Playing it, IMO, so finding the right "Teachers" to learn that -- are worth the effort.
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