Julie Andrews Books

I carelessly flipped the pages of a copy owned by a coworker and it seemed good. So I bought one for myself.

I had not noticed the book does not have an alphabetical index. It is set up as a horrible maze where you cannot find anything easily. Its only index is arranged by categories and only with the generic names. When a patient tells me he is taking a certain drug, first I have to look it up on line or in another book to see what the generic name is and what category of drug it is, and only then can I look it up in this book. But then it is useless, because if I have to look it up somewhere else, I get all my information there in the first place.

The book has lots of useful information, but most of it is inaccessible when you need it.

I cannot recommend it until they come up with a decent complete alphabetical index of generic and brand names.

This is good start for CA-1 who want to be an critical care Anesthesiologist.

I would reccomend to buy it.

thanks

This would have been the perfect book to refer to when I was in clinical. We had the MGH Clinical Procedures book and John Snow's manual, but this goes way beyond those two. Like the previous reviewer, I would carry this book before any others. (It is also available for the PDA.) A "must have" resource for your practice or residency.

This is a must-have for anesthesia residency. It contains complete information not only for po/iv drugs, but inhalation agents as well. In addition, the book has appendicies that cover additional information in condensed form for easy reference (categorized drugs and their affect on local, general or regional anesthesia, tables of all anesthetics with their chemical and physical properties, flow-graphs of ACLS and other protocols. If I could carry only one book (beside Morgan and Mikhail) this would be it.

Dumpy Saves Christmas is another wonderful addition for any little Dumpy fan. All the Dumpy stories are amazing and wonderfully written. My pre-schooler loves them all!

Dumpy the dumptruck lives on a farm with a family. His particular favorite family member is Charlie, a little boy. It's Christmas Eve, and Charlie can't get to sleep. He hears a noise and realizes Santa Claus has crashed his sleigh. Christmas will be ruined if Santa can't deliver the toys to the children of the world, so volunteers get Dumpy to help. It's now up to Dumpy to save Christmas for everyone.

This is a very creative book, and a must read this Christmas.

The writing is pallid. The illustrations are numbingly bad. This is an excellent example of what a children's book should not be -condescending, smarmy, hollow and hokey. If it weren't for Julie Andrews Edwards' name on the cover, this book would be a hard sell at a vanity press. Julie, Julie, Julie! This regrettable foray is to children's literature what your topless scene in "Victor, Victoria!" was to drama. Only the topless scene made more sense.
Please, spare the lives of future trees and brain cells. Let Dumpy be pulped.
(...)

Dumpy Saves Christmas should be nominated for the Caldecott metal for outstanding illustrated juvenile books. I am pleased that Julie Andrews, her daughter, and her ex-husband are able to collaborate in writing such an imaginative series of Dumpy the Dump truck books. This book has an unusual twist from the traditional Santa Claus and reindeer story. This book is an excellent addition to any child's Christmas library. I am buying several copies of this book for Christmas gifts as well as keeping a copy for myself.

This is a very nice Christmas story for your little ones that is beautifully illustrated. My kids really enjoy listening to it, and it is a pleasure to the eye as well.

This book has the most lovely illustrations.Each page is a feast for the eyes with many tiny,wonderful details to discuss with your child as you read it. But the story itself falls flat. Miss Ryan's style of storytelling is just matter of fact,boring, no lovely descriptions to match the wonderful artwork. I am a children's librarian and the book keeps being checked out and returned in a day or so because each and every child has told me they didn't like the story or they couldn't even finish it because it was too long or not interesting enough. With the name of Julie Andrews attached, I really expected more.

I own the novel version of The Legend of Holly Claus, and I fell in love with it. I have now been re-reading it every December, to re-experience the magic and to get into that Christmas feeling.

Brittney Ryan's narrative is compelling and heart-warming, and it is simple enough for most children to read, though many adults will adore this story as well.

I have yet to purchase this book, but I feel it is simply the condensed version of the novel, along with gorgeous accompanying illustrations. I greatly admire Laurel's artwork, in its detail, delicacy, and the ability to let the viewer sit for long periods of time just taking in the nuances within the art.

They have gone further with this novel, adding full, vibrant colour to each work of art (since the original illustrations in the novel are black and white), which further enhances the reading experience for children and grown-ups alike.

Lovely story, lovely art.. and brimming with Christmas spirit. What more can be said? I highly recommend this for every parent, book fanatic, and Christmas lover alike!

For centuries upon centuries Santa Claus has traveled the world every Christmas Eve upon a sleigh pulled by reindeers, a sack of toys perched by his side. Over the course of these years, Santa Claus has never asked for anything in return, and, amongst all of the letters he receives each and every day, no one has ever asked him if he, himself possessed a Christmas wish. Until one year - in December of 1878, to be exact - when Santa Claus opens a letter from a young boy named Christopher W.C. Christopher is kind enough to put his own wants aside, and asks Santa Claus what he desires for Christmas. And so, Santa Claus's wish is granted - he receives the child he has always longed for.

Holly Claus - the Christmas Princess - is brought into the Land of Forever, along with shouts of joy, and celebration. Unfortunately, the splendor of her arrival quickly turns to sadness when the festivities are cut short thanks to the arrival of the evil Herrikhan, an individual who was banished from the Land of the Immortals many years ago for wrongdoing. Herrikhan leaves a curse upon Holly Claus, one that encases her heart in ice, forcing her to stay in a frosty climate for all eternity, or her beautiful heart will melt. But there is an ultimatum. If Holly Claus manages to find the strength to marry Herrikhan, she may live forever - just like her parents. Santa Claus is horrified by the curse, and quickly locks the gates to the Land of Forever, vowing never to open them again. This, in turn, causes Christmas to be put on hold. Suddenly, children of all ages are not experiencing the wonder of Christmas, all because of Herrikhan and Holly. So, when Holly becomes of age, she escapes from the Land of Forever along with her animal friends - Tundra the wolf; Euphemia the owl; Empy the penguin; and Lexy the fox. Holly Claus is determined to change the ways of the Land of Forever, and bring Christmas back to the masses. But when she arrives in New York City, she realizes that her quest may be harder than she originally thought - especially with Herrikhan on the loose to demolish her plans.

Years ago I fell in love with Brittney Ryan's THE LEGEND OF HOLLY CLAUS. The exuberant story, accompanied by an irresistible, compassionate heroine, and Laurel Long's breathtaking illustrations took me to another world, and kept me on the edge of my seat as I experienced the Land of the Immortals and 1800 New York City alongside Holly. Now, with the release of HOLLY CLAUS: THE CHRISTMAS PRINCESS those memories have been brought back to me quite vividly. HOLLY CLAUS: THE CHRISTMAS PRINCESS is basically an abbreviated, picture book-esque version of Ryan's 500+ page THE LEGEND OF HOLLY CLAUS. While the story is shortened quite a bit, it still holds every bit of the magic that THE LEGEND OF HOLLY CLAUS dispersed. And, with the illustrations of Laurel Long, along with Jeffrey K. Bedrick, readers of all ages will find it hard not to fall in love with Holly Claus; and, will, most likely, find themselves drawn into the story in an instant - much like myself. Once more, Ryan has outdone herself, as have Long and Bedrick. Ryan's enchanting words, located side-by-side with Long and Bedrick's magical illustrations are absolutely irresistible, and will keep you occupied for hours upon hours as you pore over the beauty of this book. A magical way to spend the holidays with the ones you love!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

I love this oddball disc. It is a cornucopia of American post-War popular culture -- radio humor, pop music, Broadway hits, RCA "Living Stereo" audiophile culture, "world music" golden oldies, and -- the bonus -- cover art by Mad Magazine's Jack Davis. This is the sort of eclectic but thoroughly middlebrow stuff that was in the living rooms of America when the LP was an exciting thing. And the more one listens to it, the more weird and revealing it is.

In the 1950's, record companies and phonograph manufacturers distributed albums designed to demonstrate the "stereo effect," aimed primarily at people who were either contemplating or had just purchased their first "high fidelity" audio system. Most of these albums had bizarre audio effects (such as sounds moving around the room in a circle or ping-ponging between speakers) to exaggerate the stereo "experience."

For whatever reason, RCA asked Bob & Ray to do a stereo demonstration album. This is it. The album consists of comedy segments parodying the excesses of other stereo demos, separated by one of the strangest collections of musical performances you'll ever hear on one record. (Imagine Lena Horne, Julie Andrews and Abbe Lane sharing an album with the Radio City Music Hall Organ and The Guckenheimer Sour Kraut Band.) The musical performances, with the exception of the Guckenheimer Sour Kraut Band, are all straight, and all of them were simply lifted from other RCA albums of the time (1958).

You won't hear any of the Bob & Ray classic comedy routines, but the audio demonstrations by "Dr. Ahkbar" they concocted will still get you laughing. If that's not enough, you can enjoy the pseudo-lounge music of George Melanchrino, Dick Schory's New Percussion Ensemble, or The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. (If you've never heard of any of them, join the club.)

An okay book for little one's to be read to bed. It sure could put me to sleep.

It's a day of firsts at Merryhill Farm. Dumpy is off to his first construction job away from the farm, building the new school playground and Charlie is off to his very first day at school. New firsts are a little scary and Dumpy's radiator feels full of bubbles while Charlie's stomach has butterflies. Each feels a bit lost at the beginning of the day...Charlie, meeting a new teacher, Mrs Bundle and making new friends and Dumpy, feeling a bit overwhelmed by Buzz the Bulldozer as he works hard on the new playground. But both do very well. And, at the end of the day when Steady Gus the School Bus breaks down and Mrs Bundle doesn't know how the kids will get home, Dumpy and Charlie save the day..... Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Hamilton are back with a new and endearing Dumpy story, pre-schoolers will love. Their gentle text, full of true to life situations, little ones will identify with and silly sound effects is complimented by Tony Walton's wonderful expressive and colorful illustrations and together they let youngsters know in a very positive way, that firsts can be fun.

I used this book only in Beijing and Shanghai, so I can only vouch for those two sections. The maps of Beijing were great, when they were there. Because the book appears not to have been copy edited, there are lots of references to more detailed maps there are not actually in the book.

Also, the Beijing section doesn't include some of the most interesting areas for tourists to visit. It seems like someone just did a google search on Beijing and listed the first few things that come up, regardless of their interest or relevance to tourists. A major park walking distance to the forbidden city surrounded by cafes, museums and excellent souvenir shops is simply not listed.

Shanghai was a little better.

It is a good book for dreaming though. I am keeping my copy so I can plan ahead for next trip. Before I actually go though I will be buying a different book.

We are independent travelers who usually travel with Lonely Planet. China is changing so fast it is hard to keep any guide up to date, but the travel and site information here was generally accurate and very helpful. I was disapointed in some of the restaurant recomendations.

I was born in China and lived there for more than 20 years. Since I moved to the States, I have traveled in China frequently on business and for family reasons.

I am planning a trip to China with the rest of my family who traveled in China only once in 2006. To help them organized for the trip, I was looking for a guide book. I browsed this book in a local book store. I was shocked to see that it contains so much value-judging commentaries about Chinese history, customs, government policies, etc. Unfortunately the authors seem to understand little about Chinese history, culture, politics, economy and business. Some of their commentaries are blatantly racist. In describing Chinese moving around in their own country (whether Tibet or Xinjiang), on their own free will, the book's use of "hordes" and "flood" is derogatory, if not plainly racist.

I do not intend to buy this book to brain wash my kids: They are going to China with an open mind and will be there to see with their own eyes and to judge on their own. Thank you very much.

I also found quite a few misleading information about some popular sites. Other readers have already commented on some of them.

So thanks to the authors for spending so much time on the commentaries and not enough time on providing accurate information for tourists, I am not buying this lonely planet.

I used this book during my second trip to China in summer 2007. We did not take any organized tours. We used it in Beijing, Shanghai and Hunan province and we took its advice and avoided Shenzhen.

That out of the way, I found the book eminently useful. There is enough Chinese script in it to show a taxi driver where you want to go by pointing to the characters. Every place name has a set of Chinese characters you can point to. The maps are particularly useful (of course), but I thought they could have edited out some of the color pictures for more maps. Can't get enough maps in a travel book.

I did not really read this book until we actually landed in Beijing. From there it was pretty much a thing I could immediately pick up, figure out and use to get moving. The descriptions of things are acurrate.

I'm not sure why some reviewers are complaining that the descriptions are too short or simple. China is a massive country of 1.6 billion people over a huge land with dozens upon dozens of cities -- more detail would double the book's weight.

If you have to go to China (which I wouldn't really recommend) then you cannot go wrong with this book. It's a starting place, and a savvy travelor will find one of the millions of internet cafes available to look up more things in depth, or just ask questions of other travellers or hotel workers, shop clerks, waiters, etc. Anyone who wants more information than this book offers should just book an organized tour for their entire trip and have their hand held the entire time. Or better yet, take a cruise. Otherwise, this book will get you started and the rest is easy to figure out. It's very easy to travel around China. My first trip I didn't even use a book or a Chinese-Engilsh dictionary or even the internet.

An exceptional travel guide. Do not count on the prices being accurate but the big picture is spot on.

There are two problems with the Lonely Planet guide: it is too heavy for a traveler; it is on the banned books list in China (but my copy was not taken in my last two trips).

Death by Lonely Planet refers to guiding thousands of tourists to a once untouched spot. The Lonely Planet guide is a blessing and a curse.

All of these reviews are for the previous edition. I have bought the previous editions. Has someone read this 2007 current edition? Is it improved and updated?

Thanks

With international travel booming, the travel book industry churns out books like this, short on historical perspective, long on mother hen nagging, and eager to show political correctness at every turn. Worst of all is the hype. When are these people going to figure out that we buy the book because we're Going To The Country? We don't have to be Sold On The Country. Let me now join the international call for a moratorium on the following words in travel books: vibrant, boasts, awesome, enjoy, proudly.

If you think I'm exaggerating about Mother Hen, just turn to page 23. There, you are advised not to leave home without tissues or tampons or shoes or clothing. It's hard to pinpoint the exact time that travel book companies got the idea that the bulk of their readership was under the age of ten, but social scientists have theorized that it was in the early eighties when many leaders of the Nanny States in the US and UK lost their jobs in government and went into publishing.

Mother also wants to remind you to be "out of any river by 3pm or 4pm." (p.141) It seems "afternoon showers are a daily occurrence and rivers can become swollen very quickly. Also, be on the lookout for snakes." If you forgot to bring your shoes to Taiwan a snake could bite you on the toe, and if you traveled to Taiwan without health insurance against Mother's advice (p.354), "emergency evacuation is expensive...over US$100,000". Page 72 boasts a sermon on recycling as well as an admonition to refrain from "extensive gawking" at the aboriginal locals, who've complained that tourists "treat the locals with less respect that the locals would prefer".

In addition to not venturing to Taiwan without clothing, readers should also not go there without reading the LP guide to its very end, because some of the advice given at the beginning changes by the end. For example, page 63 touts local food and drink: "Fresh fruit stands selling juices are all over Taiwan...wonderful thirst quenchers on a hot summer day. All you have to do is point (not gawk) at the fruits...and the person standing behind the counter will whiz them up in a blender for you after adding water." You might be gullible enough to fall for this seduction (clearly offered in jest) if you don't read all the way through to page 358, which sternly warns: "Avoid fresh juices--they may have been watered down."

Well! Dear reader, you KNOW they have been watered down! By that local person behind the counter!

But all kidding aside, Taiwan offers much more than just the fetishization of aboriginals and opportunities to protect yourself against foreign danger. A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that the aboriginal languages of Taiwan are thought by many linguists to be the source of the Austronesian language family which comprises over 1200 related languages spread over an area from Madagascar to Easter Island and from Taiwan down to New Zealand. Is it too much to ask that the makers of the LP travel guides dig up some striking vignettes or anecdotes relating to the Austronesian language family? Must we beg for fascinating information regarding the fifty years that Taiwan was a part of Japan? What about the childhood home of Wen Ho Lee, the Taiwanese American scientist who was falsely accused by the FBI of espionage? Why isn't that included in this guidebook? How about some locations of tea plantations where one could go see how it is cultivated? And considering Taiwan is less than half the size of Ireland and has an excellent circumferential railroad, wouldn't it make sense to discuss a few walking tours, which have long been acknowledged by seasoned travelers to be the best way of seeing a country? I could go on, but I've gone on enough.

For the seventh edition of their Taiwan guide Lonely Planet didn't just stick a new cover on an old book. The guide has been extensively updated and includes some new places. The east coast section has been expanded with details of many of the interesting places between Taidong and Hualian as well as the expected coverage of these two cities. There is also more detailed coverage of Taiwan's islands such as Penghu and Kinmen.

There are always a few places that will get left out of any guide book. Nanzhuang and Taipingshan were two that I thought were notable for their omission. However, I don't think this is such a bad thing. It still leaves a few interesting places for the traveller to discover and adds an element of surprise. There are also a number of places listed in the book that I had never heard of but am certainly curious to visit. The Danayigu Ecological Park is one. I suggest you read the book if you want to find out more.

The coverage of hiking is great and there a range of hikes covered from easy walks that take a few hours to multi-day expeditions. I like the writing style of the with its many interesting little anecdotes.

There are plenty of maps, as is the standard for Lonely Planet guides. The map keys have place names written in English/Pinyin as well as Chinese characters. Names in the text also have pinyin with tone marks which should be useful for getting the pronunciation right.

Overall, this is an excellent guide that would serve any traveller in Taiwan very well.

All the other reviews for this book are for the previous edition. I'm very happy with this updated Taiwan 7th edition which came out a month ago. The two writers live in Taiwan and have added an extra focus and assembled detailed information on a range of Taiwan's attractions like hot springs, mountaineering, river rafting as well as the more well-known things like eating out, temples, museums etc. that bring people to Taiwan. At the same time, the urban attractions of Taipei and more established destinations like AliShan, Taroko Gorge, Kenting beach and other areas have been updated and more obscure areas have been added since the last edition. Despite its small size and reputation as a junkyard, Taiwan has a wealth of things to see and do and this Guide, for my money, has been successful in showing how to get the most out of it.

Last summer, I took nearly three weeks and traveled all around Taiwan, an excursion which included three additional islands: Kinmen, Orchid Island, and Green Island. Before I left, I picked up a copy of this Lonely Planet, even though I've lived here for nearly a decade. All in all, I found it useful, and, hence, I don't really have any serious complaints about it although I might if I were new to this country.

Absolutely, the volume could stand to be thicker. Taiwan is actually deceptively small; a round-island trip entails about 1000 km of transport by bus, train, what have you. And more places could have been listed in the "Places to Stay" sections. Having said that, there are loads of hotels (usually marked as such in English) in cities and towns in Taiwan and people are so friendly here (something that should become apparent to anyone relatively soon after arrival) that inquiring at a place, say, next to a recommended place that is unfortunately booked shouldn't be such a stretch. If you made it to Taiwan, you can make it into the lobby of large building marked HOTEL on a main street and ask if they have a room; really, you can. After all, a guide book is meant to guide you, not to suck all the adventure out of traveling. And it's not like this is Sudan or something.

The book's maps were fine, and, well, as mentioned, the book was generally fine too. One more suggestion, though, and admittedly its a very random one: Kinmen (an island in the Taiwan Strait) is such a confusing place to drive around (all the roads look the same/it's difficult to tell which direction you are going) that the writer(s) might want to suggest picking up a compass. Actually, a compass in any Chinese city is a great idea as the roads are usually laid out along compass points. How convenient. Oh, and one more thing...

Back in the good old days, Lonely Planets were much more honest in their assessments. If there was bugger all to do in a place, they would say so. Nowadays, all travel books have to hype places and hype them big, otherwise potential customers glancing through them might think, "That sounds like a dreadful country," before putting the book back on the shelf and heading off to the magazine rack. But at least with the Lonely Planet, it's easy to read between the lines. If the first listing in the "Things to See and Do" section is, say, a botanical garden, that might be a good indication that there just isn't a whole lot on offer in that particular town. Also, they provide a handful of routes and suggested itineraries at the beginning of the book. Another reviewer noted how only six hotels were listed under "Places to Stay" in Kaohsiung. 'How could that be,' the reviewer wonders, 'in Taiwan's second largest city?' If they had looked more closely, they may have noticed that Kaohsiung failed to make it into any of the prescibed routes. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink. Never mind the mediocre reviews: The Lonely Planet Taiwan is a decent travel guide. It shouldn't be confused with a tour guide.

Troy Parfitt, author

As a loyal fan of Julie Andrews, I have followed her life & career over the past twenty or so years with much interest. In my humble opinion, Mr. Spindle's book is a major and welcome addition to the short list of Julie biographies. This is the first book to truly cover Julie's ENTIRE career, spanning the Broadway stage, film, television, concert tours and her writing career. It is exceptionally well-organized, divided into 4 major areas - Films, Stage, Television & Recordings - and the author has invested much time and research in this major compendium. Mr. Spindle truly deserves some kind of award for this major undertaking, for discussing Ms. Andrews's career can be a daunting task. Most of the fans I know (after running a Julie fan club for five years) have stated they enjoyed the book, and found it an accurate and well-crafted work. As well as the four main sections just mentioned, the book also contains a short outline biography, a chronology, lengthy bibliography and index. The photo section is very impressive, with some great shots from "The Julie Andrews Hour" (ABC) not seen in previous books on Julie, as well as other photos. The shot from "Duet For One" with Julie holding the violin, is simply lovely. The author (or editor) did a good job in the photo selections. I must mention that the book was part of a series of "Bio-Bibliographies in the Performing Arts" published by Greenwood Press in the 1980s. Other volumes discussed such stars as Patty Duke, Elvis and Sinatra. Worthy company for our Julie! I must mention that there are several errors in the book, most noticable in the Bibliography and Discography sections. Several entries for books and magazines contain factual & grammatical errors. The blame for this should probably go to the editor or proofreader & NOT to the author, as one malicious "fan" deemed. The Discography is extremely well-organzied, containing Julie's early recordings done in England when she was a child performer - the FIRST Andrews biography to include these recordings, I might add. This section should serve as a model for standard discography listings in future biographies; with full details such as record label, year and catalog number. Mr. Spindle unfortunately appears not to have been aware of several audiotapes narrated by Julie in the mid-eighties for Dove Audio - an abridged version of her own book, MANDY, as well as lending her voice to one story on THE SUMMER FRIEND, and narrating yet another audiotape, the classic tale of knomes in THE LITTLE GREY MEN (one of Julie's favourites when she was a child). The author also makes a few minor errors in the TV section as well, such as stating in the entry for "The David Frost Show" (1970) that she appears "with future husband Blake Edwards" while the fact is they were married in 1969. A major accomplishment is the author's detailed listing of every episode for Julie's variety show, "The Julie Andrews Hour" (1972-73). This section alone shows how much time and work the author put into this project. The book has some interesting sections, such as the listing of film roles Julie either turned down or was considered for, among them the comedy "Forty Carats" (which starred Liv Ullman), "International Velvet," a sequel to "National Velvet;" and "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" which won an Academy Award for Maggie Smith. Julie would have given a superb performance as the lonely middle-aged schoolteacher who deals with life as best she can. A pity that Julie turned down the role. In summing up, I consider this book one of THE BEST volumes ever written on Julie Andrews; and it is a major achievement in which the author discusses every aspect of her glorious career. Throw in a delightful photo section, as well as outline biography & very lengthy bibliography, and I think any Julie Andrews fan who reads this book will find it just as compelling & well-crafted as I have. Take a bow, Mr. Spindle. You have done an excellent job with this exceptional book!

As a great fan of Ms. Andrews I find this book a major disappointment. Despite finding several fans' names acknowledeged(including my own!)in the book I can't help but wonder if the author sought enough help from any of us or asked our advice. I'm sure we could have assisted in correcting mistakes and adding much more valuable information on Julie's career! The book was overpriced when it was printed nearly 10 years ago and remains even more so! A brochure from Greenwood Press states that the book is "a complete, all-in-one resource, the volume represents a comprehensive and accurate profile.." The book is certainly an ATTEMPT as an all-in-one resource. As far as being complete, comprehensive and accurate it most certainly is NOT! The concept of the book seems fine. Dividing Julie's career into 4 major areas(Films, Stage, Television and Recordings) would make sense to most fans as she has had major achievements in each field. A short biography, chronology, bibliography, several appendixes, and index thrown in for good measure would on the surface suggest a well organized book. However the small selection of black and white photos included is disappointing. Only beautiful color shots of one of the most attractive and photogenic actresses of our time would have done Julie justice! At the very least a generous selection of candid shots of Julie at work or relaxing would have been much better than what was chosen. I'm amazed that the publishers (Greenwood Press) can't afford to give us a nice dustcover for the book (no dustcover is included). Apparently only Elvis and Ol'Blue Eyes deserve dust covers in Greenwood's series of biographies.Everyone else in this series deserves nothing which I think is a slap in the face to Julie and many other great entertainers. Aside from bad window dressing let's pick out a section of the book - Discography. The discography is far and away the most disappointing section of the book. When the book was published in l989 we were very much into the world of ! Compact Discs. Julie had several CDs issued at that time. The book mentions NONE. To repeat, the book mentions no compact discs at all! Most of the listing is composed of tired old LPs that very few people collect anymore. That wouldn't be so bad, but the author lists several LPs with no tracks at all! This is unforgiveable. How difficult would it have been for the author to call some fans and ask what the tracks were on every LP issued on Julie? I maintain that it would not have been hard at all. Mr. Spindle(the author) owes all of us an apology for this oversight as well as numerous errors and omissions. Greenwood Press owes all of us an apology as well for not proofing the book in an accurate manner. I will mention several errors that I have picked out at random. The album "Love, Julie" is listed as being released in January, l988. That is strange because I bought my copy in the summer of l987! The LP "An Evening With Julie Andrews" is listed as only being released in Japan. I have an Australian pressing in my collection! The author omits a cassette only recording of Julie's reading of her own children's book: "Mandy" as well as 2 other cassette only releases with Julie's voice. The TV listing in the book omits tons of interviews that Julie did on Entertainment Tonight and other shows. A Japan TV concert appearance is not listed from the late l970's, a PBS Special with co-host Bill Bixby entitled The Puzzle Children is omitted as well.An appearance that is listed (David Frost show of l970) mentions Julie with"future husband Blake Edwards". Julie and Blake were already married at that time! A TV special with Rudolph Nureyev (Invitation to the Dance)was not broadcast from New York but the Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland! The only saving grace of this book is the detailed listings it gives us of each episode of the "Julie Andrews Hour" broadcast in the early l970's. If only the rest of the book could have been so meticulous as this! section I would not have a problem with it! Please note that the errors and omissions that I have mentioned were easily found by my perusing the book. I have never sat down and examined each section thoroughly and tried to find just how many mistakes there are in this volume. I will leave that chore to any serious Julie fan who wants to take on this daunting task! The book does contain some interesting facts but one is left with the feeling that the author must have had a deadline and in order to meet it he sacrificed a lot of accuracy. I truly hope that not too many editions of this book have graced library shelves. Since the book has not been reprinted in nearly a decade hopefully not too many copies have been sold. I would still tell most Julie fans that if they must collect everything by all means buy this book. But to the average fan or someone merely interested in Ms. Andrews life and career please don't regard the book as a serious reference work! In my humble opinion the only book that has come close to being a great all around reference book on Julie is the Arntz and Wilson book which is now sadly out of print. It is certainly the best book on Julie ever published. The Les Spindle book which I have just reviewed will remain a great disappointment to most fans of Julie. I think it is up to the fans to demand that an accurate bio-bibliography on Julie does indeed appear! Julie certainly deserves one as do her fans!

Review by Richard Pearson

Pretty dumb, bought this as a gag present for my boss's b-day, as she has 6 dogs and was pretty anti-marriage....

Yet another novelty "pocket" book containing the usual Sun Sign profile facts of Cancerians and compatability with friends/lovers of other Zodiac signs. Cute illustrations and bookmark with a gold coin and cancer design on it. Overall I wasn't very impressed, but then what can you expect for the price and something this tiny?