Television Books

Hank Barr puts you right in the patrol car with the crew as they ride through the dangerous streets, documenting our nation's police forces doing the job that they don't get enough pay for. Barr's writing style is friendly and addictive. You'll have trouble putting this one down and the end of the book will only have you begging for volume 2.

A must read for fans of the show and those who appreciate our friends in Law Enforcement! Get it while it's still available!

As to the book - it has been longer than I care to recall since I read a piece of non-fiction which was nearly impossible to put down. Mr. Barr may have been a sound man, but his words paint vivid pictures in the mind.

A word of caution - Don't lend your only copy to a L.E.O.(Law Enforcement Officer) it will quickly vanish as first one and then another L.E.O. "must" read it.

In the quest for more and more spin offs in the Star Trek market, this book stands out. Rather than another novel, or nitpicking reference volume culled from the shows - this presents authentic alien literature: the proverbs of the Warrior Race!

Providing insight into tlhIngan (thats Klingon: think Bejing versus Peking. The standard English term is a corruption of the correct pronounciation, just as the old name for China's capital city was) culture, this book cleverly draws from the film and video incarnations for pithy Klingon phrases. The author (compiler), Marc Okrand created the language and clearly knows his Trek.

Illustrating almost every proverb is a relevant black and white. The proverbs are presented in tlhIngan Hol and DIvI' Hol (Klingon and English), along with a paragraph or two discussing the cultural background, and occasional grammatical tips.

The book is well organized, so that you don't really NEED the The Klingon Dictionary (also by Okrand), the authorative guide on the language. However, it makes a great companion to it. Someone seeking to learn and use the language would do well to buy both books and use The Klingon Way as a workbook of phrases to study with the vocabulary and grammar provided by the Klingon Dictionary.

The Klingon proverbs and their meanings in the book will help us understand Klingon culture and society.

My record collection is filled with such artists: Howard Tate, Loleatta Holloway, Syl Johnson, Vanetta Fields, Otis Clay, Anna King, Shirley Brown and many others.

Author, David Freeland, obviously felt the same way, as he set out to showcase seven unheralded female soul singers from '60s, by giving them some overdue recognition in his new book, "Ladies of Soul". Among them are some of my personal favorites, starting with the incomparable, Bettye LaVette ("Let Me Down Easy"), who knocked me out when I first heard her demanding voice on the radio singing "You Killed the Love". I had no idea that this singer was only in her teens, for she emoted like an experienced woman of 40. That voice was coarse, even nasty at times, pleading and fraught with the damages of cigarettes, booze and life. Many feel she has a "churchy" sound, but LaVette swears that she is a child of the blues. Wherever it came from, that voice affected me deeply. Since, I have seen her bear witness, "live" in performance, giving 110% of herself and working harder than Tina Turner during her torrid times with Ike. Tina, by the way, covered Bettye's first hit record, "My Man (He's a Lovin' Man)".

Maxine Brown is gifted singer who has had many hits and deserves the spotlight in this book. Her immense talent has grown with experience and she is one of the best soul singers around. One of her big hits, "Oh No Not My Baby" was later recorded by Aretha Franklin.

The misunderstood, Timi Yuro, who's career and voice puzzled many (some thought she was a man, others were convinced she was African-American). She's Italian and has a soul as deep as the rivers. As a young girl, not only did she sing opera to appease her father, she sang in black churches (thanks to a religious black nanny) and toured later, as a professional, with the icons of soul like Little Richard and Etta James on the chitlin' circuit. She was asked by Frank Sinatra to tour Australia with him in the late 60s and her records were produced by such giants as Quincy Jones and Clyde Otis. Timi's first hit, "Hurt", was covered by Elvis Presley.

David Freeland has done a remarkable job with his hands on research and wasted not a second, quoting what others had written on this subject. He traveled the USA and found these women and interviewed them, in person, in depth. It seems that he quickly became the vehicle they could utilize to voice their anger, frustration, exhilaration and hope.

Also fascinating, were Freeland's conversations with Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, whose candid insights into achieving success in the record business (then and now) and the unpredictable tastes of the record buying public were truly telling. Frank perceptions into the lives of many soul performers were punctuated by Juggy Murray, founder of Sue Records.

David interviewed DJ's, engineers...numerous people who make their living in the recording industry. This gives his book its distinctive authenticity.

I was not familiar with the personal life of Denise LaSalle ("Trapped, By this Thing Called Love"), before reading this book. Over the years I have purchased her albums and enjoyed her brassy brand of r & b. After reading her story, I conclude that she is substantive, opinionated and also a savvy, smart business woman. Carla Thomas ("Gee Whiz") turns out to be an interesting character. Her career sizzled just below the boiling point and she never achieved the stardom she deserved. It was also interesting to read about Barbara Mason ("Yes, I'm Ready"), whose records I've enjoyed over the years, and to get to know the one singer I wasn't familiar with, Ruby Johnson.

The book is not just "I made this record and sang with this person", it covers the morose as well, not only in the music industry, but societal injustice, as well. Travels through the south, having to deal with the America's ugliest demon, racism, brushes with the Ku Klux Klan, all are undeniably apart of these scenarios.

Very revealing are the observations by Bettye LaVette regarding the city of Detroit, during the heyday of Motown. Hers is a much darker portrayal of the same occurrences that were described in other books like Mary Wilson's, the Temptations' or Martha Reeves' biographies.

The important accomplishment here, is that this book stimulates one's appetite to hear these grand ladies sing! Enter their names on any Internet search engine and you'll find more information on each of them. Thankfully, they have CDs in the large record stores or can be ordered online.

We don't read transcripts of old radio shows--instead, we get a front row seat on Sunset and Vine in Hollywood and find out--through the writers--all that went on before the show went on the air and how the whole frenzied process began again immediately after the show went on the air.

I always wondered how these old radio shows were put together. What we learn is that each comedy star had his own system. While Eddie Cantor may have employed a hundred writers in a chaotic fashion over his long radio career with only modest results, Jack Benny had a long-time stable of six or seven writers and by consensus, had established, along with Fred Allen, the "gold standard" in radio comedy.

I loved this book!

There are interesting reflections on music, sports, urban and suburban life in the 20th century and especially TV. The guy was on hand as TV became basically what it is today.

This book'd make great reading for young people in a similar position: figuring out their sexuality and family while trying to make the most of thier time.

His style is unpretentious and relaxed. I felt like I was sitting around one afternoon having a chat. There are photos.