Erin Gray Books

All I can say is "Wow!" I had no idea actors had this much stuff to think about in addition to acting! An awful lot of what Ms. Gray and Ms. Purl had to say never would have occurred to me. Of course, I am not an actor and am not aspiring to be an actor, but I do find that I am fascinated by all that actors have to do and put up with. The call sheet alone... holy cow! I can see a good 16 hour course on that piece of paper alone! Like I said, I'm no actor, but I can see "Act Right" should be mandatory reading for anyone who wants to act. Anyone who does will only save themselves a lot of embarrassment and keep from looking too much like a newbie on the set. I guess what I'm taking too long to try to say is: "GREAT BOOK!"

Whether you are just starting in the business or have been around, this book is a must read! It contains everything you would ever want to know about acting but were afraid to ask. Mara and Erin have captured a way of sharing their knowledge and experience in this book that will become every actor's must-have manual! A must read!!!

"Act Right" is a wonderful guide for anyone wanting to break into the industry and I applaud you for giving today's generation and those to come a source of aid and inspiration while following their dreams. Bravo!

"What I like the most about this book is the anecdotal and real-life knowledge it provides. In acting school I was taught how to hit a mark but not how to relate to a crew."

As a professional Director of Photography for "Friends," "Mad About You," and at least thirty other Sit-Coms (but whose counting?), I've seen it ALL from behind the camera. I can tell immediately who knows their way around a set - and who doesn't. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to work with an actor who may know his or her lines - but doesn't know how to hit their mark! You don't want to make your mistakes here - on a professional set. If I can tell you don't know what you're doing, so can the producers - the ones who hire you. Do your homework! The only way a new actor starting out can get an advantage, is to read "Act Right" by Erin Gray and Mara Purl. If you're serious about working in this business - as a beginner, or as a returning pro - this book is a MUST READ. Got it? Get it!!

The book has interesting visuals, set-up for taking notes, and covers a wide range of what is contained in the history and present of the study of the mind in relation to the body.
I think it will definitely help me in my entry-level Psychology course.

As an Intro Psych instructor, I reviewed dozens of psychology texts. Gray's "Psychology" is clearly the best.

First, because it is written by a single author, it maintains a consistent style and viewpoint throughout--that is, the application of evolutionary biology and cognitive science to the study of the mind and behavior. Consequently, he does not shy away from putting forward strong arguments where they are needed. On this, see especially his superb discussion of the fall of behaviorism and the rise of cognitivism.

Second, the author has a powerful command of several lines of important research, and he uses this to "smarten up" the text to make it *more* understandable. As an example, see particularly his discussions of the heritability of intelligence.

Third, the text is beautifully organized.

The text does, however, suffer from two small weaknesses: the discussion of self-esteem owes too much to James, with James' errors especially, and the discussion of mental health and happiness needlessly bore little imprint from the chapters on cognition.

Still, Gray produced a superlative volume.

If truth be told, I do not even like psychology, and feel contemt of some sort for it.I took it this semester to fulfill my humanity requirement.Nevertheless, I cannot deny that this book is wonderfully written, and it was a true pleasure reading it ! Peter Gray is obviously very fond of psychology, as well as of teaching it.It was much fun reading a book written so sensitively and with so much enthusiasm. I know many universities assign this book and am therefore surprised only one person reviewed it so far.

The first day of class my professor felt free to note that the text for her class was boring, in the opinion of some of her students. After reading it myself, I had to disagree. The text is one of the better ones I've read. I took AP Psych in high school and the text used there was boring. This textbook, however, presents Psychology in an interesting light. The first chapter, on the founders of Psychology is written so that you can actually make sense of it. Most cases studies of the guys like Freud, Wundt and the like proved to be boring for me, but not in this text. The authors also go out of thier way to make sure that you understand what you are reading through the questions that appear in the margins of the text. The book also features comics and interesting pictures relating to the subject matter. This book is not your typical "college text." I also recommend the study guide. It has self tests that you can use to study for the final.

I thought this text was great--it provides information in a very clear and well-explained manner for the student who has never taken a psychology course before. Gray proves he has a sense of humor as well, injecting funny lines every now and then. It provides a lot of pertinent information in an interesting manner, and covers everything from theories on development and society to cognition and neuroscience. After finishing my intro psych class I even found myself wishing I could still use the text for my other classes (in fact I still refer to it every now and then).