Television Books

I had the opportunity to attend one of Ellen Sandler's lectures, recently and was impressed by what she had to say and had to know more, so I bought her book at the event. Best tv/screenwriting book, I have bought in years. This is one that I will continue to reference as needed. It is written in a voice so entertaining, that you can understand why she has been so successful in her career as a tv writer. I recommend this book to anyone who is starting out and to anyone who needs a fresh prospective.

I feel like I am in a Master Class and teacher's pet! Ellen Sandler provides a friendly and in-the-know work guide in how to write TV scripts. She offers exercises that had me laughing hysterically at my OWN details/specifics that will be used for my characters. The 7 deadly sins became that evening's "dinner topic" with a group of journalists that not only livened up the night but provided MORE embarrassing, sensitive and humiliating inspiration. I have more to read and to study but I knew I was in wise and experienced hands from the first few pages. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I rarely make a recommendation, but this book is the most helpful I have ever read on TV writing. It offers a very practical process that is like a key opening a door to your own creativity.

This is by far the BEST TV writing book I've ever read and I have nearly all of them. Sandler doesn't just tell you the steps necessary to write a fantastic spec script, like all these kinds of books do, she guides you through the creative process of mining story material for it. And she tells you how to fashion subject matter that has the most emotional meaning for you, the author--which is the benchmark of great writing. It was a concept that until now, that no matter how many books I read, or how many harsh notes from execs I received on all my previous specs (or so I thought, now I FULLY understand their notes!) that I didn't grasp until now. TV Writer's Workbook, has provided the creative lightbulb I needed to get me out of my sucky spec script darkness. Highly recommended!

I've been using Ellen Sandler's book as a guide for the last few weeks, and I feel I've done much better work in that short time than I did all last year. The book is mainly geared towards sitcom writers, and for those interested in writing a comedy spec, this book is the one to get!

Chambers book is fun, funny and full of surprises. It really helps you prepare for all of your auditions!

The Ultimate Commercial Book for Kids And Teens is an amazing resource for all ages who want to break in to the commercial business. The commercials in this book really allow me to get into so many different characters.Chambers is a genius for writing this book. By reading the information in this book anyone can tell that he knows what he's doing.

Its a valuable source in preparing for commerical auditions. The book is easy to read and fun to work with. The commercials that Chambers had created were real life ones, and very clever situations. Its easy to pick up on them.

My daughter enjoyed memorizing a commercial a day from 24-Carat Commercials for Kids which got her "in shape" for auditions. The Ultimate Commercial Book for Kids and Teens provides more great material for learning and training-

Another great book in Stevens' series for teens. My daughter found "Sensational Scenes for Kids" very helpful in her speech class. Her teacher kept a copy in the classroom. Students found the scenes fun to learn, with timely topics, and language they could relate to. "Ultimate Commercials" will be a useful tool for aspiring actors or teens working on public speaking.

I have been interested in shortwave radio for 50 plus years. This handbook is quite helpful when searching for information concerning a particular radio station. I have owned several of them over the years. I think the handbook would make an excellent addition to any one interested in shortwave radio. It would be a nice gift also, either to give or receive. Tom MI

The book provided the information that I was looking for plus additional information concerning other radio transmissions that was a bonus. An informative book containing a world of information.

WRTH has long been a very valuable tool for the broadcast professional who has dealings with the international industry. Details of the fifth estate of the world are clearly detailed, also including the different stations and organizations from all corners of the planet. But there are many more facets to this book. Reviews of shortwave receivers are clearly useful for the avid DX'er. Information about digital radio and TV also help keep one abreast of that's happening there. If broadcasting is your bag, or if you just want a good, up-to-date resource to help you find that elusive shortwave station, the annual issues of this fine book are your best choice.

The one and only book for a travelling short wave listener.

If you don't have this or the 2007 guide and Passport to World Band Radio, well, you have squat! Buy 'em NOW!

Jean-Marie Potiez is, of course, from France. I knew him through ABBA fan clubs some years ago. He gives a good account of the ABBA phenomenon. Agnetha was born in Jonkoping, Sweden on April 5, 1950. Her father staged amateur reviews in the town, and Agnetha began singing in them at an early age. When she was 15, she left school to take a job as a telephone operator with a car firm. She was singing with a group called Bernt Enghardts. She left them when her composition, "Jag Var Sa Kar (I Was So In Love)" became a hit on the Swedish charts. Agnetha moved to Stockholm and recorded her first album.

Agnetha composed music. She did nine solo albums between 1968 and 1988. She recorded in Swedish, German, English, French and Spanish. Her label in the early days was Cupol. She went on to form Agnetha Faltskog Productions with Staffan Linde as her manager.

Benny Andersson is the only one of the four born in Stockholm, Benny came from a family of accordion players. It was natural for him to teach himself piano. From 1964 to 1969, his Hep Stars were Sweden's biggest group. They had a rougher image than Bjorn's Hootenanny Singers. When their career ended in bankruptcy, Benny came away with the idea that there would have to be greater economy in the future. It gave him incentive to become co-owner of Polar Music with Bjorn and Stig Anderson.

Bjorn Ulvaeus came from Gothenburg, Sweden's western port and second largest city, where he was born in 1945.

Bjorn was still in school when he formed the West Bay Singers, a folk group. Stig Anderson suggested the name, Hootenanny Singers. Stig was great at naming groups.

Bjorn is known for his business sense and studied corporate law for a term at the University of Stockholm. He meant to be a civil engineer. He was drafted into the Swedish military for the mandatory 10 months, a handy experience if you are going to write songs like Fernando.

Frida Lyngstad was raised by her grandmother in Eskilstuna. Her mother had died at age 21, and it was felt that little Frida would fare better in Sweden since her father had been part of the occupying army.

Frida started singing professionally when she was 13. She sang with a big band, and that is how she met her first husband, Ragnar Fredriksson. He played trombone. Frida had two children by him: a son, Hans, and a daughter, Lotta.

If you are an ABBA fan, then you will love this book. The book takes you into the lives for 4 very special musicans.

Abba remain hugely popular in Britain and many other countries more than twenty years after they disbanded. This book is not an in-depth study of the different personalities and their difficulties, but it gives plenty of information about the members of Abba and their manager, including their lives before and after Abba. And (at least in my hardcover edition) there are pictures - plenty of them.

Regarding the four members of Abba, three of them (Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha) were born and raised in Sweden, all apparently having fairly normal childhoods, only their musical talent setting them apart from others. All three became hugely successful in the Swedish pop charts, Agnetha as a solo singer, Benny and Bjorn as members of separate groups.

The odd one out was Anni-Frid, better known as Frida. She was born in Norway as the illegitimate child of a German father and Norwegian mother. Frida was mainly raised by her grandmother, who took her to Sweden, where her mother joined them but died of illness a few months later, aged just 21. Frida also found it much harder than the others to achieve success in music, but she did eventually have some big Swedish hits of her own.

The author presents the main years (1969 to 1982) on a year-by-year basis, explaining the different events that occurred in each year - records, tours, TV, their personal lives - in a semi-diary format.

As far as the music is concerned, the story is quite complicated and not always easy to follow, but that is no fault of the author. Before they became Abba, they were four separate acts, each with their own careers and signed to different record companies. Once they came together as Abba, different things were happening in Japan, Australia, Germany, Sweden and elsewhere with different records - even before 1974. That was the year that Abba won Eurovision and charted for the first time in Britain and America.

There have been many books on Abba and will surely be many more. Despite being a huge Abba fan, this is the first I've read. If you're only going to have one book on Abba, it might as well be this one.

Did you ever come across a favourite song and say, "I wonder whatever happened to....? Abba took the world by storm back in the 60's when a quarter bought you an afternoon matinee at the movies, and minimum wage in my home town was $1.00 per hour. If you earned $1.25 or more, you had it made!

Abba possessed a unique blend of charisma, talent, and originality. Who can forget the sentimental lyrics of ,"I Had A Dream", the gentle flow of "The Rivers of Babylon", the melancholy strains of "Fernando" or the upbeat dance-hit, "Dancing Queen"? The list of hits went on and on.

What I particularly liked about this book was the numerous photographs all depicting Abba at their finest. Many photographs are ones not often, if ever, published before, at least not on this continent. In addition, the book reveals a lot of factual, personal information about the individuals themselves. The road to fame and fortune is not an easy one as readers will discover through the pages of this book. Some facts have been printed before, but other aspects of their career are presented here in a more complete, in-depth light. Fans of Abba, will no longer need to wonder, "what ever happened to..." because the epilogue tells you just that. Of all the books on the group, this is one of the best in print.

Probably the best book you can get, if you want an ABBA photo book. In this case even better than "From ABBA To Mammma Mia", since there is pictures from a broader period . It is written in cronologic date-by-date, where each year, as well as "The Movie" and the concert tours got its own chapter. You don't have to be an ABBA fan to enjoy this book, everyone can enjoy this trip in text and pictures through the fantastic story of ABBA.

Great Book. It's a wonderful comparison of the manga and the Anime as well as a great reference for how each character is developed. Also makes a great picture book for my 2 year old. She sits with daddy and looks at the picturers.

This book has lots of interesting info on all the characters and enemies throughout the first part of this great anime/manga series Inuyasha. It has many full colored pages and director, voice actor,etc, commentary. It also features sketches of important characters and enemies in the series from Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku to Kaede, Seshomaru, Jaken, Yura, Mistress Centipede, and many others. I found the sketches useful for learning how to draw. Anyways, this is definetly a must have for all Inuyasha fans.

First of all, let me say my daughter is a complete InuYahsa addict. :) She loves the serial tale. That said, this book is marvelous! It has drawing examples, story snippets, voice character interviews.... very informative.

Beautifully colored drawings and detailed black and white work.

My only complaint refers to the hardbound version..... The spine of the book broke down the back very quickly and had to be taped. Otherwise the book is very well constructed.

Be aware the book is made to read from back to front in the typical Japanese manga manner. A little difficult for me, but my 9 year old daughter grasped the concept immediately....

Well worth the money for reference value alone.

Other reviewers have given accurate particulars about this volume, and I agree with their high ratings. This book is really a delight and a perfect way to spend a couple hours in Inuyasha bliss. I was incredibly impressed with the color panels from the manga, taken from Shonen Sunday Jump. The beautiful printing job brings out the quality of Takahashi's art, and I find myself going back and studying these pages again and again. There is also a nice section at the beginning (short but sweet) about the difference between manga and animation when it comes to storytelling techniques. As it's been said elsewhere in these reviews, if you're a fan of Inuyasha, this is a must-have. Keep in mind this isn't a voluminous book with tons of text ... you can read the whole thing in just two or three hours. But the art in it, and its A-plus presentation here, offers many more hours of enjoyment and you may, like me, find yourself returning to this book repeatedly and feeling like you've picked it up for the very first time. The art in it is that good.

I am actually over 13 years old , however I didnt want to give my email address out so I said I was younger. This is a great book. I bought it for my 16 year old son and he absolutely LOVES it. He is into drawing japanese animation and this book was a great inspiration. All of his friends who are mostly the same age want to get the book to. I did see it at Borders also , for the same price , and you dont have to pay shipping and handling charges, also you dont have to wait for it to show up. Borders also had a huge selection of other Inuyasha books and other Japanese animation characters.

This is the best book about music that I have read, and my recent (fourth in 35 years) reading solidified this opinion.
The reviews here offer many insights, so I just want to emphasize that this is unlike any other music biography you will read. It is not a linear life history, nor does it focus primarily on musical quotations. It digs deeply into Beethoven's spirit and tries to grasp what made him so special. That is a fundamental bias of the book, so if you find Beethoven less a genius than Bach or Mozart or Mahler or Wagner, then you probably won't agree with Sullivan's conclusions. But, as a mathematician, he approached his subject without the standard musicologist biases, and that shines through in a work that is accessible to anyone who wants to think deeply about the ultimate meaning of great music, and how one person could create what Beethoven poured forth in his life.

This is not going to get many postive feedbacks.. HOWEVER.. this is just a note to say THIS REALLY and truly is a BRILLIANT BOOK.... and for anyone wanting to dive straight into the deep end as to what Beethoven and ART and Classical Music par se is and the mind of a composer and the struggle of a life between Art, creativity, God and love and genius is all about this is the one book to get. Yet, surprisingly not only all made very understandable but then clarity and inspiration and feel good factor was never made so good in a book on a composer, also made so enjoyable. A true and real learning journey in this book.Priceless. I felt myself on tour with the writer and the works and mind of life of Beethoven as though the man was his art and his work. Out of MUCH self taught reading on classical music. This book truly remains my ALL TIME FAVOURITE book about any single composer. Supremely well written and written with clarity and passages I underlined endlessly. It is one of those books. Just well researched, well written and written about from angles and insights that you really DID want to know and not written anywhere else and never realised you did want to know and it is a real journey. If you feel a journey with Beethoven`s music this is the best book ever written to get into his mind , and his art and the music and his life as one.... A real cherished classic. I hate the phrase. This book is one of 20-30 that I look back really does come under the heading "life changer" and can give a truer real insight into the mind of genius and ART in capital letters and an artist`s intention and the working of a mind and spirit..and it explains the music so well in relation to his life and genius. A seriously great gem , where every page is a page turning inspiration and delight. Seriously 5+ Not a normal book. Exceedingly well done... This book is special. Class of it`s own and essential reading on Beethoven. Trust me. And write your own review. I challenge anyone not to adore this book and give it a 5 having read it. I`m serious. Think about it compared to all the others on Beethoven and dull ill written biographies and over detailed stuff. This book really hits the spot and is very very well writen in style and content and theme and insight....and is concise. : ) I.e not only readable but also exciting and a a book to learn from not just factually but with real thinking and a journey and highly enjoyable read. The world it takes one too to the mind of the composer and the music and the journey it takes one too is first class. A really enjoyable mind expanding insight. Seriously good. i.e Great.

Why has Beethoven reached this special place in the music world?
First at all his music is fundamentally human . The organic feature of his works shows the timeless conflict between the will and the fate ; the horizontality of the destiny and the verticality of the irrevocable and untamed human character .
Ernest Newman has said : " The peculiarity of Beethoven imagination is that it raises over and over to heights since we can do a new appraisement , not only of all the music but the life , the emotions and the ideas".
Think in the Final of the last variation of his Third Symphony and will understand the message ; you have to fight always without expecting anything in change ; because the hero attitude is to make not to think . And you know this wisdom statement of Goethe: "We are what we do".
This book is admirably compelling and reveals unknown facets , interesting letters and even I do not agree with the value of the last stage of his life in which the transfiguration and the evasion would seem derivate making a simple analysis of the endings of his last three Piano Sonatas , the text is a must for any reader really interested in the life and work of this icon beacon of the mankind : Ludwig van Beethoven.

This book profoundly deepened my experience of music. It opened doors of appreciation for both listening to music and expressing myself musically. It inspires one to put the whole of themselves with ever increasing passion into their creative endeavors and by extension their lives. As Beethoven said, "There is no loftier mission than to approach the Godhead nearer than other people, and to disseminate the divine rays among humanity." Read this book. You will not regret it.

Sullivan's book has remained in print for over 70 years, despite not being a definitive source book for facts about Beethoven's life and work. Sullivan's achievement is different. Sullivan wrote one of the very few biographies, about Beethoven or anybody else, that captures and understands the level of "depth of life" that results from identifying one's life with the search for the meaning of life and of the universe, if there is any such meaning. Beethoven lived on this level and the particular path Beethoveen pursued and expressed in his music is uniquely understood by Sullivan. This biography is a masterpiece in its own right.

This was a very good read, masterfully told and researched. This is the only book that tells the COMPLETE history of indie movies. Highly recommended.

This book blew me away. I love the way it covers the whole spectrum of indie film, not just "art" but "exploitation" as well. The story of how these films came to be against great odds makes for great reading. I learned something knew on every page. Highly recommended for fans of non-Hollywood films.

This was a great read. Very well-written. It covered more than any other film book. I especially liked the exploitation stuff and how it mixed with art films: the yin and yang of indie cinema.

This is the best book ever written on independent film. I wish I could give it move than 5 stars, because Celluloid Mavericks is a pure pleasure to read: witty, informative and always extremely entertaining. No other book comes close to its breadth and detail, especially in regards to the previously uncharted territory between 1896 and 1960. This is my all-time favorite film book, well deserving of its many raves reviews.

from the New York Press 3-29-2000 - copyright Matt Zoller Seitz

Merritt's book covers a century's worth of off-center cinema, including 1890s nickelodeons, 1940s chitlin-circuit black films, Sam Fuller's genre-busting work in the 50s and 60s, blaxploitation and hardcore porn in the 70s and the Sundance wave of the 80s and 90s. The central idea of free spirits bucking the system unifies waht might have been a too-broad historical text, and Merritt's tart wit enlivens the fact-packed narrative. His prose isn't merely amusing; it's lovingly polished, a real pleasure to read. He's honest enough to admit that most 70s blaxploitation films were garbabe, "rarely as much fun as their posters or soundtracks." He coins a wonderful new phrase to describe the hillbilly flicks that flooded rural drive-ins around the same time: "Whitezploitation." He describes Tom Laughlin's "Billy Jack" as a movie about pacifists who "come to worship a man of violence," and declares, "the real hoot is seeing the messiah take off his boots and kick the grins off rednecks."

This isn't one of those fuzzy, ruminative books where the author writes whatever strikes his fancy and crams it into a bulging thematic suitcase after the fact. The preface carefully defines "independent" to mean any movie "financed and produced completely autonomous of all studios," and "semi-indie" as a movie that received studio funding at some point. The definitions cast certain well-known American films in a fresh light. I didn't know, for example, that the Oscar-winning "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" didn't get a dime's worth of funding from any studio.

Chapter to chapter and page for page, "Celluloid Mavericks" is an indespensable book, as entertaining as it is informed.

Cheese Chronicles is a faced paced, funny, and event-driven journey through the life of a rock band. The story, on its own, pales in comparison with similar stories such as Rock Scully's 'Living With the Dead.' Womack doesn't show us Government Cheese as a hedonistic troupe by detailing sexual exploits or bragging about the volume of drugs ingested. In fact, no one even dies in the story. Therefore, unlike comparable books, the greatness of this one isn't attributed to the incredibility of the band's adventures. Instead, the book is a great read because of Womack's unique writing style, which allows us to feel the intensity of his experience.

Womack is always willing to sacrifice his ego for the sake of getting the story across accurately. He is brutally honest, self deprecating, and throughout, he's insistent on making the reader aware of the lousy state of the human condition. It is funny to read that Womack's apartment was broken into, but the burglars didn't take anything and in a sense that was insulting to him.

Also notable, is that Womack has a skill for being completely frank but yet still being a southern gentleman. In the book, most of the judgements he passes are on himself. If he has a beef with someone or something they did, he is quick to defend that person or try to offset his disclosures by mentioning something good about that person. He creates almost no villians in a book packed full of nights gone wrong.

At the time of this review, Womack's web site had a collection of songs on it in mp3 format available for download for free. Among those are some songs that are mentioned throughout the book and hearing them (while I was about half way through the book) enriched the stories.

I wish this book hadn't ended but that's part of the story's theme.

Tommy Womack is a great writer! I too was a Cheesefan back in the day, but this book would be amazing even if I hadn't heard of them. I laughed, I cried...I could not put it down! Facinating and definitely a must read for any young bands out there.

I used to go see this rock and roll band you've never heard of when they played my Middle Tennessee college town. Although none of them would ever remember me, I've actually met and spoken with them on a couple of different occasions. So, reading this book was like getting in on all the shows I missed. For me, it was a funny bit of nostalgia. For those of you who've never heard of Government Cheese or heard their music...well, that's a real shame.

Tommy Womack's excellent book, Cheese Chronicles, is an essential read for anyone interested in the music business. The book is hilarious and at the same time, it provides a gritty look at what it's really like to be in a rock band. I cannot say enough good things about this book. BUY IT AND READ IT!

This is the story representing the 1,000 bands who didn't make it for every one that did -- and I'd MUCH rather read about Government Cheese's failures than N'Sync's successes.

Tommy is a fabulous musician, a clever writer and funny as hell. I grew up near where he did and have never read a more accurate expression of wanting to be a rocker soooo badly in a place that has NO desire to be rocked, thank you very much. Tommy has never grown out of the pure fun of jumping on your bed playing your tennis racket to "Surrender" or air-drumming Peter Criss' "God of Thunder" solo on Alive II. (Try it, I don't care if you're a 42-year-old accountant with a minivan. It will keep you young.)

I once chased Tommy across a bar to praise his book with beer-induced enthusiasm. The next day I sent a letter apologizing and received a reply that still hangs on my wall: "I'll accept no apologies for drunken behavior. I heartily endorse it."

You could read this book 50 times and never tire of it.

Created By is NOT just another one of those "how to" books that show struggling writer's how to go from crashing on their friends couch in Hollywood, to magically landing into the writers room of a top-rated sitcom. This book offers a lot more than that. It has depth and substance. It is a journey into the minds of some of the greatest television writers of our time.

Don't get me wrong, it surely gives you some great insight on how to make it. But it offers much more. I felt I really connected with the showrunners interviewed. I showed me that no one is an overnight success story. It also demonstrated that everyone has their own journey and road to success. It also taught me about what happens when the business side of the entertainment industry interacts with the creative side. Some of the stories made me laugh and some made me reflect. What a positive book!

I was not sure what I would get out of this book when I originally bought it. But I was pleasantly suprised and very inspired.

I am a big Larry David fan. So I bought this book to hear what he had to say about creating Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The interview with Larry was really great. The book is very well done.

This book blew me away. It's the single best book on television writing I've ever encountered. This should be required reading for every college course on television. The interviews with television's A-List are insightful, humorous, and inspiring. Anybody interested in breaking into television writing would benefit highly from this book.

I am a television writer who has seen a lot change in this business over the years. Because of the rapid popularity of reality television, it is harder than ever to break into the TV writing game. There are a lot of books out there that claim to show you how to get a job as a sitcom or drama writer. However, in my opinion this book is the best ever written on the subject. You get to hear from the TV show creators themselves how to write a spec script, rewrite a script, get hired on a show, pitch a network, market a show, hire talent, and much more. The author did his homework and rounded up some of the top TV show creators in this business. I found the questions asked and the stories told to be very interesting as well as encouraging. I tip my hat to the author. This is a must buy!

I had an idea for a TV pilot brewing for quite a while. I spent a few months working on the concept. Then I spent another few months writing and rewriting it...trying to make the script the best I could. Then, when I was done I had the realization -- How Am I Going To Sell It? That question has troubled writers since the beginning of the fountain pen. So, I began to read script writing magazines and bought some books on the subject. None were hitting the core or practical enough for me to relate to. Well, that was until I opened Created By.

I have to say that this book showed me "the light at the end of the tunnel." I started reading advice from industry professionals that seemed real. I learned that many of the top TV show creators were once just like me -- a struggling writer with a script and a dream. I got some good solid and priceless advice on how to get my script read. I have just sent my pilot out to some agents!!!!

If you have a script just sitting in your hard drive with no idea how to sell it this book is your resource. Wish there were more books like this out in the marketplace.

This book really is the definitive source of all things Disney by the keeper of its archives. It is fascinating and complete, containing information about theme parks, characters, movies, television shows, music, and more. It is the must-have reference for Disney fans like myself.

This is a must have for Disney fans. Everything from ABC's LOST to the Alice Comedies and from Steamboat Willy to Meet the Robinsons is covered here. Some articles are more detailed than others but everything is covered. Makes an interesting read just on its own. Film historians and students will find a wealth of connective material here to jump start them on research and fill in the dots on hard to find questions. A beautiful display of pictures is included with this volume. If you can't actually visit the archives (and I certainly would like to) then this is the next best thing.

"Disney A to Z" is an awesome book that a true Disney fan cannot live without. It is a great book that will help you find out about old Disney movies, that you might have not seen. "Disney A to Z" encyclopedia is also an essential source for those that love to play the "Disney Seen it" board game. It gives a short description of ALL Disney movies including the short ones that came out after the World War II. I LOVE IT!!!

This is a great gift for any Disney fan. Many listing bring back great memories and coll trivia.

This book is a great resource for all Disney fans. All the characters, all the movies (unfortunately, the Mephisto movie made in collaboration with Salvador Dali is not in the book) and all the attractions, parks, properties and influentials employees are mentioned. Maybe just not as exhaustive as I would like it; it is, however, a great resource.