Television Books


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Television Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book, Season Two, Volume 2
Published in Paperback by Simon Spotlight Entertainment (2001-11-27)
Author: Various Authors
List price: $14.00
New price: $5.60
Used price: $0.85

Average review score:

Good Episodes
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-28
This was the first scriptbook I bought and I was really excited to read it. Some of the dialouge was wrong but most of it was correct. The episodes were spectacular and immediatly I got my freinds togethar and we acted it out.

Its been about 3 months and my script book is starting to curl at the ends. :( But thats alright because its still in good condition .... I dont know why I'm telling you this ...

If you love to act this is for you!! This is ALL SCRIPT!! Unlike, Once More With Feeling -- this is a bit of a better buy. :)

Awesome, Great, Spectacular, Fabulous, Except One Thing...!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-29
This was the first Buffy script book I ever bought and I thought it was pretty good. I could now act it out with my friends (I was always Buffy he he ) and stuff. The only problem was that it was the original script and some of the dialouge wasn't right. (as you will see with all the other Buffy scripts) but I think its totally worth your money!! Its brilliant! Awesome! Amazing! You'll capture Buffy, Drusilla, Spike, Angel, Kendra, Willow, Xander and GILES' humor, peronsality and everything that makes Buffy great!! BUY IT BEFORE THE RUN OUT!! ITS THE BEST!!!

Possibly even better than the scripts that preceded these
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-22
Although BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER had been a first rate show from its inception, it was during the shows based upon the scripts that it started moving towards something approaching genuine greatness. Before these shows, it had been a superb series, but after these it became something considerably more. The most unbelievable thing is that as great as these six episodes (well, five of them anyway) are, the ones following were even greater, so great as to place Buffy among the greatest shows in the history of the genre, and arguably the greatest. The two episodes following these six would be ?Surprise? and ?Innocence,? and from that moment on Buffy would exist on an artistic level unmatched on television.

?Lie to Me? was written by Joss Whedon, and as fine as many previous shows had been, it is one of the first truly great moments in the series. Billy Fordham, played by Jason Behr (who would shortly after this achieve television stardom playing an alien in ROSEWELL), an ex-boyfriend of Buffy?s from L.A., shows up unexpectedly in Sunnydale. Eventually we learn that he is, in fact, dying, and has cut a deal with Spike and his crew to turn the Slayer over to them in exchange for being made a vampire. The episode has many funny moments (such as when Angel, Xander, and Willow go to a faux vampire club, and Angel remarks that none of them know anything about vampires, including how they dress, when a wannabe walks by dressed exactly like Angel), but even more poignant moments, like when Ford explains to Buffy his reasons for betraying her.

?The Dark Age? was written by Dean Batali and Rob DesHotel, who co-wrote a number a number of episodes of Buffy during the first two seasons. This is the best script they produced. Ethan Rayne, to whom we were introduced in ?Halloween,? makes his second appearance in the series. By far the most interesting aspect of the show is the way that we manage to learn more about Giles background, all the way to learning that his former mates had called him ?Ripper.? I enjoyed the few episodes that featured Ethan Rayne, and was always perplexed that he appeared in only four shows??Halloween? and this episode in Season Two, ?Band Candy? in Season Three, and ?A New Man? in Season Four. There was talk on a couple of occasions of Anthony Stewart Head doing a show set in England based on ?Ripper,? and if he had, I?m sure Robin Sachs would have been his ?Lex Luthor.?

?What?s My Line?? is a phenomenal two parter, and is notable not merely for introducing Kendra, the second slayer, but for the writing debut of the great Marti Noxon, who would become one of the greatest writers in the run of the show as well as co-executive producer, eventually running things when Joss Whedon ceased the day-to-day overseeing of the show. She co-wrote the first half with Howard Gordon, and then wrote the second by herself. One of the major themes of Buffy during the first two seasons was her hesitancy to embrace her calling as slayer. Although she wouldn?t fully accept the role until the first show of the third season (?Anne?), these two episodes stress her reluctance to be the Slayer more than any other shows prior to them (and even after ?Anne,? although she has accepted who she is, she struggles against her fate). These are exceptionally well-written shows, and one can engage in endless discussion the Kendra/Buffy relationship. Kendra, unlike Buffy, has completely accepted her fate, and while Buffy can never be like Kendra, she does learn from her to accept her calling.

?Ted? (written by David Greenwalt and Joss Whedon) is not as strong on paper as it ended up being onscreen. Although it is a first rate script, John Ritter absolutely nailed the part of the psychotic robot Ted, and turned in one of the most memorable guest appearances in the entire history of the show. This is the episode that contains Giles famous quote about subtext rapidly becoming text. No other show in the history of TV has ever contained lines as clever as that one.

?Bad Eggs? was Marti Noxon?s third contribution to the show, and unfortunately perhaps the weakest script she ever did. One of the most amazing thing about the Second Season is that while the strong episodes established it as one of the great shows in the history of television, it nonetheless had a surprising number of pretty rotten episodes. Also, some of the strongest shows are preceded by the weakest. Just as ?Becoming? would later be preceded by ?Go Fish,? so ?Surprise? is preceded by ?Bad Eggs.? This might be an accident, but I doubt it. I suspect they realized it was a weak script, and wrapped the season-long story arcs around it. After this season, each season had considerably fewer weak episodes.

These six scripts show Buffy, which was already a very good show, in the process of becoming a great one. The scripts that immediately follow the ones in this collection are arguably as strong a group of scripts as any show in the history of television.

My Review
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-16
This book is great for fans who haven't seen the first six episodes of the second season. It gives the lines and stage directions to them so you feel like you've seen the actual episode. It even includes scenes which may have been removed from the original episode.

This book chronicles the first arrival of Spike, whom is now an important character. It also has "Halloween" which includes some funny stage directions from Joss Whedon.

If you haven't seen the beginning of the second season of Buffy or if you want in-depth information on the episodes' scripts, you should definately buy this book.

Great Buffy Script
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-04
I happen to like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and I love reading through the scripts when I'm bored with watching the same episodes over and over. Its just nice to be able to read.

Television
Cambodia: A Book for People Who Find Television Too Slow
Published in Hardcover by Grove Press (1988-11)
Author: Brian Fawcett
List price: $16.95
New price: $5.98
Used price: $0.98

Average review score:

Excellent
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-25
One of the most thought provoking books of our time. This book will awake the curiosity, not just about Cambodia, but the way we should live in this world. And, especially, how everything is connected, especially media to the way we live.

What happened in Cambodia, unfortunately, did not matter as much as it should have at the time. And this is the crux of what this book is about, for it mattered then, and it matters now, and will always matter. Books like this remind us.

Wow, still in print!!! A Masterpiece!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-11
I read this book when it first came out and have revisited it several times since. Each time, there is a special resonance between the ideas in the book and the events of the times in which I read it. This is an important, passionate book that is that rarest of rare finds: surgically precise intellectually without being pretentious or opaque.

The parallel construction of the two stories, the Cambodian genocide and the assault on communication and community by our homogenizing consumer culture and thought-deadening media is audacious and brilliant.

This book is a disturbing, inspiring and challenging. For those who would like to follow the workings of an eclectic passionate intellect grappling with the deepest roots of the disease eating away modern North American culture, this is the book for you.

Way ahead of his time and tuned into visions of the future that were intimated by the state of the world in the 1980's, Fawcett's vision anticipates the rise of George W. Bush, with his renditions, his suspension of habeus corpus, Guantanamo and the primary role of his maintream media to erase history in service of the fantasies of those who would seek to dehumanize all who deviate from the True Path.

Brian Fawcett warned us about it twenty years ago. This book is perhaps more relevant now than when it was written.

Universal chicken
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-19
I am an avid reader of books about Cambodia. This book, altough not a direct work on Cambodia, made me realize the inter-connectedness of our post-modern world. I had never hear of Brian Fawcett before buying this book. He rekindled my rebellious spirit against where-ever it is that we are headed! His insightfulness about the inter-connectedness of our modern times is witty and disheartening. I would recommend this book to all global thinkers.

The End Of Human Existence and Thought
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2000-11-25
Do you have a sense that national governments are just one level above the slave populations they are trying to delude. That there is a hierarchy to all pervasive control. Fawcett writes one of the most important books of our time as we enter into the next phase of on-line/media dominated mania. As humanity, freedom and sanity gradual slip away Fawcett chart the course of our demise.

a very important, very understandable, very brilliant book
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1999-03-11
If you're ever haunted by the countless examples of mans inhumanity to man, please read this book. It explores a writers struggles to become an artist in a worldful of atrocities. Fawcett explores the creative process, the global village, the mass man and Cambodia. He convincingly links the global village to Cambodia: the kamer Rough killed anyone with knowledge of the 20th century world just as the computer chip, albeit more subtley, erradicates the need for memory and ultimately for any kind of genuine human contact....well, anyways that's how I interpret Fawcetts message. His brilliant essay on Cambodia runs through the bottom half of the book, as subtext. I would recomend you read the essay first and then read the short stories which are on the top. This is such an important book it should be required reading at the universities...or at least be stocked in every library. Written in 1985,86, it's short term fate may be oblivion but in the long run it'll find an audience. Lastly, when Orwell wrote of a totalitarian regime in his book 1984 he made it appear too bleak...fawcett shows how that regime can exist at Disney World withn a happy face on it. Once more this book gets my highest praise.

Television
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? (Beginner Books(R))
Published in Hardcover by Random House Books for Young Readers (1997-06-24)
Author: Eleanor Hudson
List price: $11.99
New price: $0.01
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $20.00

Average review score:

perfect book for my 30-month old nephew
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-23
gave this book to my 30-month old nephew, and he had me read it to him at least 7 times the first day. he absolutely loves this book, and will not look at other books while this is in his view.

Elmo's Wonderful Trip Back to Sesame Street
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-09
If you are like me, you'll be humming the theme song of Sesame Street to yourself as you read this book. The book provides a remarkable set of images about finding Sesame Street that will be conjured up every time you hear the theme song. The story provides great support for the fun of books, and trusting to your purpose despite apparent hurdles to overcome. As such, it will be an important contribution to your library of beginning reader books. The book's fine illustrations help reinforce the words in the story, to make learning to read easier, and to make the story more fun to read.

The book opens with Elmo surrounded by books.

"Elmo likes books."

"Fat books. Funny books. Bat books. Bunny books. Bear-in-the-chair books. Kite-in-the-air books."

With this beginning, the story quickly takes Elmo on a wonderful kite adventure. I liked this approach very much because it shows how books can be the launching pad for many interesting thoughts and experiences. Further, you can use your imagination to build on what's in the books. The bulk of the story then involves what happens when Elmo's kite pulls him off the ground and into the air. How will he get back to Sesame Street?

By suggesting that this could be a pretend adventure, it also takes the potential fright out of the story for many children. If your child is easily upset by danger, you may want to wait until she or he can be more objective before introducing this story.

In the course of the adventure, many strange and unexpected things occur. But Elmo is always flexible and imaginative. As a result, the results of challenges turn out well. You can use this story as a metaphor for how life tends to be in talking with your child. We all have to realize that the unexpected is usually just around the corner.

After you have read the book several times, encourage your child to read the repeated words like "books" aloud when they appear. This will help with decoding words and letters. Like many excellent beginning readers, this book features lots of that valuable repetition. There are a number of situations where only one letter is different (as in "there" and "where"). When your child is ready, help him or her to differentiate between them and to then read the two aloud to you when they appear in the story.

Build reading skill through repetition within the context of an interesting and entertaining story like this one!

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-12
My son (30 months old) falls in love with this book. He loves to know about the adventures of Elmo, pretend the animals in the book, such as duck, frog, elephant to tell Elmo how to get to Seseame Street. This book captures the imagination of the my little boy.

Fun for all ages
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-02
Both my two year old and 4 year old love this book. Elmo's kite adventure keeps little ones turning the pages. My kids just love Elmo and loved this simple fun and easy to read book.

Elmo and the Kite!
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-16

This adorable learning book opens with Elmo surrounded by many books and we read one statement on the first page.
"Elmo likes books."
He then goes on to tell us what kind of books he likes,
"Fat books. Funny books. Bat books. Bunny books. Bear-in-the-chair books. Kite-in-the-air books."
This is great, as it shows children books are wonderful and since Elmo likes books, just maybe they should like them as well. Good beginning.

Elmo decides to go fly a kite, but when the kite takes him up in the air, the adventure begins. How will he get back to Sesame Street? Elmo looks up and down and what does he see? Finally Elmo lands in the back of the truck and meets many wonderful characters, and shows his imagination in the events that follow on his journey back to Sesame Street.
Great illustrations and an adventerous read.One your children will enjoy over and over again.

Television
Case of the Missing Gold : A Time Travel Adventure
Published in Paperback by Simon Spotlight (2000-08-01)
Author: David Lewman
List price: $3.99
New price: $0.01
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

We're Hunting for Gold!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-12
Tommy-a brave born leader., Chuckie- a causios scardy-cat., Sussie-akind and smart helper., Angelica-a bossy spoiled brat., Phil-a disgusting baby who eats worms and dirt., Lil-a disgusting baby who eats worms and dirt., Dil-anoying,yet playful young baby. Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Sussie, Angelica, and Dil are hunting for gold! They started off in Tommy and Dil's backyard but when they crawl through some bushes and suddenly appear in California where there is a huge gold rush. They meat new friends and work together to try and find the gold to buy Reptar Bars they want. Do you think they can find the gold? Read this book and find out! I give this book a five star rating because it has really funny parts including one where Angelica say she hates bossy people.

We're Hunting for Gold!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-12
Tommy-a brave born leader., Chuckie- a causios scardy-cat., Sussie-akind and smart helper., Angelica-a bossy spoiled brat., Phil-a disgusting baby who eats worms and dirt., Lil-a disgusting baby who eats worms and dirt., Dil-anoying,yet playful young baby. Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Sussie, Angelica, and Dil are hunting for gold! They started off in Tommy and Dil's backyard but when they crawl through some bushes and suddenly appear in California where there is a huge gold rush. They meat new friends and work together to try and find the gold to buy Reptar Bars they want. Do you think they can find the gold? Read this book and find out! I give this book a five star rating because it has really funny parts including one where Angelica say she hates bossy people.

We're Hunting for Gold!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-13
Tommy-a brave born leader., Chuckie-a causios scardy-cat., Sussie-a kind and smart helper., Angelica-a bossy spoiled brat., Phil-a disgusting baby who eats worms and dirt., Lil-a disgusting baby who eats worms and dirt., Dil-an anoying, yet playful young baby. If you like a book that has a lot of adventures this is the book for you. In this book Tommy and his gang are hunting for gold. They start off in Tommy and Dil's backyard, but when they crawl through some bushes they find themselves in California where there is a huge gold rush. The gang ends up getting half of a map after Angelica sings a song very badly. Then they find some people who have the other half of the map. Do you think they can work together to find the gold? Read this book and find out. I give this book a five star rating because it has funny parts including one where Angelica says she hates bossy people.

An adorable and funny book for Rugrats fans.
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-26
Tommy and Dil, their cousin Angelica, and their friends Susie, Phil, Lil, and Chuckie all listen to Grandpa Lou tell a story about prospecting for gold. The kids decide to search for gold, Angelica so she can buy Cynthia play sets, and the others so they can buy lots of Reptar Bars. Before they know it, they travel back in time to 1849, during the days of the real California Gold Rush. The babies team up with some locals to follow a map to a lost gold mine. Along the way they face steep hills, dangerous beasts, raging rivers, and terrible rain storms. But they are determined to continue on to find the gold. This was a cute and funny book that I reccomend to all Rugrats fans, young and old.

Very adventurous and funny!
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-26
Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica, Susie, and Dil (along with Spike) are off on one of their biggest adventures yet. They're travelling back in time to 1849, the time when everyone was talking about going to California to hunt for gold. And when Tommy and the rest of the crew get a hold of half a map to the "mother lode" (the largest amount of gold all in one place, up in the mountains where all the gold in the rivers come from), they know that they have to find the other half if they're ever going to be able to buy tons of Reptar Bars (or in Angelica's case, the Cynthia Skiing Set, the Cynthia Supermall, the Cynthia Jet, the Cynthia....you get the picture). When their map is stolen and it leads them to the other half of the map, they make new friends who will help them find their treasure. But with mountain lions,grizzly bears, rapids, and theives, the question is not only "Will the get the gold?". It's "Will they get the gold...and survive?" Join your favorite cartoon characters in this hilarious and adventurous book! I recommend it for fans of the Rugrats cartoon, no matter what age they are.

Television
Castaway, Second Edition
Published in Paperback by Fortitude Press, Inc. (2002-12)
Authors: Blayne Cooper and Ryan Daly
List price: $13.99
Used price: $15.80

Average review score:

Reality TV satire
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-03-27
Take the connived "reality" of Survivor to the traschan and instead allow your imagination, not to mention your funnybone, enjoy the utterly hilarious antics of these "Castaways". A truer group of fruitloops, nuts and flakes couldn't be found. This book is a delightful satire that makes Gilligan's Island look childish and Richard Hatch look like a wuss.

Arch paranoid survivalist Ryan is bound and determined with the help of her trusty sidekick "Tiffany the knife" to win enough moola to outfit her backwoods retreat with the finest security a government-suspecting person could buy. Her only threat comes in the very delectable shape of Shannon,the former assistant to the network's president of programming and now network mole. Seems Shannon has hot-wired Ryan's brain to lust mode. Throw in a bitchy producer, a Latin haridresser queen, macho builder, veterinarian, buff boy, professor, minister, farm girl, fashion model and several other stereotypes, you have the makings for one tearfully funny nightmare contest.

No stereotype is left unskewered and every hyberbole is used to its fullest. This is one heckuva romp through the worst case scenario of a show gone awry. Absolutely a re-read favorite of mine and great pick-me-up on a rainy day.

Wickedly Funny!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-01
I thought this book was crazy! It was a psychotic version of Survivor with a touch of hot Monkey sex! Catsaway is a fun book that anyone who has ever watched reality TV will be sure to enjoy. I love Survivor and I loved this book for making fun of it! This book points out where we have come as far as TV expectations...which is pretty sad at times. This book is for entertainment purposes only and that is exactly what Blayne Cooper and Ryan Daly deliver. Castaway is wickedly funny and you will love the characters. The only question is will the girl get her girl and walk away with the million dollar prize? You'll have to read the book to find out! Castaway is a book that will take you away from your crazy life if only for a little while. Please read this book for what it is...a comedy and don't take it seriously. You won't be disappointed! Castaway will stay in my collection to read when I need a good laugh at life!

extreme hilarity
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-03
I've only seen bits of episodes of survivor but this was still incredibly funny. The characters are all caricatures, but still somehow real (too real!) I think the authors manage to insult every stereotype (earth momma, michigan militia, corp exec. etc. etc.) but keep you reading. Oddly enough, most of this romp could be believable, given what goes on T.V. and that just makes it all funnier. Touch of romance and tenderness and hot monkey sex adds, well, maybe not balance, but perhaps variety.Read it and prepare to laugh!

Hilarious!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-05
Castaway is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time! An absolute enthralling cast of characters who had me just about literally rolling around on the floor laughing. If only the real Survivor could be this way I might be tempted to watch it again. Two thumbs up!

Hysterical parody of the Survivor series
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-08
Very funny and very clever parody of the Survivor tv series. Reality TV never had characters as wild as these! Smart, sexy and loads of fun. This one kept me laughing from start to finish.

Television
Charles Ives: A Life With Music
Published in Paperback by W. W. Norton & Company (1998-01)
Author: Jan Swafford
List price: $18.95
New price: $11.31
Used price: $6.99

Average review score:

Ives, the Bucky Fuller of American music!
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-17
Charlie Ives was a visionary, an idealist, and apparently a manic-depressive. Swafford tells his story in a compulsively readable fashion, and wins you over to the side of the irascible composer. Ives never made any money from his music, in fact he subsidized it with the fortune he made in the insurance industry. But he was generous in supporting the work of other sympathetic composers as well, including Henry Cowell. Ives was rare in that he was a genius not only in music, but in business. Ives made a fortune in developing the modern, mass-market life insurance industry. He wrote a tremendously influential pamphlet in 1910, "The Amount to Carry," which pioneered estate planning. Ives was an idealist and an altruist even as he became wealthy -- he convinced himself that insurance was socially progressive, and motivated his sales staff with his lofty vision of cooperation. Later in life, he developed this into a plan for a People's World Union!

Ives' great successes all came together, early in life, following his marriage. He composed on the side as he built his company, burning the candle at both ends. Swafford speculates that Ives was literally manic during those heroic years of the Teens, and that he subsequently crashed, enduring more depression than mania for the rest of his life. Interestingly, the Great War was such a blow to his idealism, he reacted physically, compounding his collapse. Ives retired very young, but rather than turn to composing, he found that he was unable. The rest of his life was devoted to trying to find an audience for the works of his glory years. I found the book most interesting here, in situating Ives in relation to the more well-known Modernists of his time -- Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Varese and the others. The irony is that while Ives' music came about independently, it was "popularized," only through association with the European revolutionaries, and so he was widely perceived as an imitator. The world was only ready for Charlie's music after the ground had been broken! The story of Cowell, Slonimsky, Carter, Gilman and Bernstein, who championed Ives over many years until he was finally recognized, is fascinating.

This is supremely enjoyable reading. Jan Swafford clearly loves Ives, and I found his account irresistable.

A Great American Composer Brought to Life
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-12
Charles Ives (1874-1954)was the first, and still probably the greatest, composer of a distinctly American art ("classical") music. His relationship to American music seems to me roughly parallel to Walt Whitman's relationship to American poetry and to Charles Peirce's relationship to American philosophy. Like Peirce, Ives was little-known during his lifetime. Furthermore, while many people may be aware of Peirce and of Ives, a much smaller number have much acquaintance with their works.

Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut and remained throughout his life attached to his vision of the post-Civil War small-town New England of his childhood. His father, George Ives, was a bandmaster and the greatest influence on Ives's life. Ives was a musical prodigy who began composing at an early age, quickly picking up experimental styles. He showed great proficiency at the piano and organ. (Through young manhood, we worked Sundays as a church organist.) He studied music at Yale where his teacher was Horatio Parker, a then famous American who was trained in the music of German Romanticism. As a college student, Ives wrote music played for the inaugaration of President William McKinley.

After graduation from Yale, Ives became a millionare in the insurance industry where he pioneered many marketing techniques. He also became increasingly Progessive and politically active and actually proposed a constitutional amendment which would increase the power of the democracy in government decision-making. At the age of 32, he married Harmony Twitchell who, after his father, was the greatest influence on his life.

Ives wrote music in the midst of an extraordinarily busy life. Most people think of Ives as a trailblazer and iconoclast. He was indeed, but may of his earlier works, such as the Second and the Third Symphonies are easily accessible and have a feel of America about them similar to the feelings Aaron Copland evoked some three decades later.

Jan Swafford's biography movingly and eloquently describes the life of Charles Ives. This is a reflective, thoughtful discussion of Ives, his America, his music, and its reception. In addition to a thorough treatment of Ives' life and works, Swafford has three chapters which he titles "Entra'acets" which consist of broad-based reflections on Ives's music and its significance. Swafford's entire book is full of ideas which are intriguing in themselves. Of Ives's work, Swafford gives his most extended treatment to the Fourth Symphony (he sees Ives as essentially a symphonist) and to the Concord piano Sonata. But many works are discussed in detail which will be accessible to the non-musician. The book has copious and highly substantive footnotes and an extensive bibliography.

Ives's Americanness, humor, romanticism, modernism, optimism, and generosity ( Ives gave large amounts of money to his family and to musicians and music publications. He also paid for the publication of several of his important works when commercial publishers showed no interest in them.) come through well. Swafford sees Ives as the last American transcendentalist in the tradition of Emerson. At the conclusion of his book, Swafford writes of Ives (p. 434)

" [I]n his music and his life he embodied a genuine pluralism, a wholeness beneath diversity, that in itself is a beacon for democracy and its art. Aesthetically he is an alternative to Modernism, an exploratory road without the darkness and despair of the twentieth century. In spirit he handed us a baton and calls on us to carry it further. He suggests a way out of despair, but leaves it to us to find the route for ourselves. If we are alone with ourselves today, Ives speaks incomparably to that condition."

This book made me want to learn more about and to hear the music of Charles Ives. In its own right, it is a joy and an inspiration to read.

A high-water mark in musical biographies.
Helpful Votes: 21 out of 22 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-16
Quite recently, I had the privilege of reading a copy of this book that was the personal copy of a musician who had been involved, in a rather unique way, in the centennial observation of Charlie Ives's birthday back in 1974. For reasons of geography, then musical interest, he "got to know" Charlie quite well, even if only 20 years after Charlie's death. I immediately ordered my own copy, while continuing to read the heavily-annotated copy of my musician friend. (It was rather vicarious pleasure, "looking over the shoulder" of this musician, to see what it was about the music, life and times of Charlie that fascinated him.)

In his early years, Ives was a one-man dynamo. Learning much of his music theory and practice from his father George Ives, who had been a very young (perhaps the youngest) Civil War band leader, and then from Horatio Parker at Yale University, he had more than a "thorough grounding" in the basics. However, unlike most American composers, particularly those of his and the following generation, he did not go to Europe for a post-grad internship with any known European composer, but simply set out on his own after matriculating from Yale. He went to New York City, employed as an insurance clerk for one full-time job, wrote music constantly for another full-time job, and had yet another career, had he wanted it, as organist and choir director for the Central Presbyterian Church in New York. During this period - leading up to his marriage in 1908 - he literally burned the candle at both ends. (Swafford goes on, later in the book, to posit why Charlie had this incredible burst of energy for the first 15 or 20 years of his adult life, but it's best that his reasons for this - and for Ives's shortened composing career - be left to you, the potential reader.)

Most anyone who knows anything about Ives knows that he became comfortably wealthy in the insurance industry, that during his active composing days little of his music was played by anyone, and that he was - literally and figuratively - burned out by the time he was only 40. For the remaining half of his life, much of it was spent editing, publishing and promoting his music and the music of others, including many friends, using the proceeds from his insurance success to underwrite projects for many composers who would have gone unnoted had it not been for him. Musical success - unlike business success - came too late in life for him to truly enjoy at least its artistic, if not financial, rewards. He was in his last years when Leonard Bernstein premiered his Second Symphony, and never lived to hear his masterpiece - his Fourth Symphony - premiered by Leopold Stokowski in 1965. Despite this, he was far from an unhappy man in his later years; philosophically resigned yet optimistic that his day might yet come would be the more accurate description.

Swafford's writing is simply wonderful. It tells the story of a true American iconoclast; an "original." The narrative flows beautifully without omitting anything of significance in Ives's life or about his music. (The book contains nearly 80 pages of endnotes, in which the musical marginalia are explained in exhaustive, but emminently readable, detail, to preserve the flow of the main narrative.) In parts, it is incredibly moving. I particularly enjoyed the extended "mating dance" of his courting of Harmony Twichell, who was to become his life-long helpmate (and who did live long enough to attend the Stokowski premiere of his masterpiece, as the guest of honor). Ives, ever the Victorian man if something else as a composer, would always refer to her, to third parties, as "Mrs. Ives." Yet their fifty years together could be a model for today's dysfunctional families. A beautiful chapter; one of the best in the book.

There's a curiously cryptic endnote that suggests a "what might have been." It is a fact that very little of Ives's music saw public performance before the early 30's, when Nicholas Slonimsky championed Ives and other "moderns." Yet another two decades were to pass until Bernstein premiered the Second Symphony. Yet, in 1910, while shopping in a music store in preparation for his final return to Vienna, where he would die in less than a year's time, Gustav Mahler purchased a fair copy - one of only two or three in existence - of Ives's Third Symphony. Swafford doesn't make that big a deal about this, but I do. I've always thought that Ives and Mahler, aside from being near-contemporaries, had more in common than they did in opposition. It is just conjecture - but truly fascinating conjecture - to think what might have happened had Mahler premiered Ives's Third Symphony at a time in the life of Ives when it really might have made a difference.

Just what was Ives, as a composer? Bernstein did him no favors by calling him "a primitive; a Grandma Moses of music" while at the same time championing his music. Back in those days, there were no labels like "atonalist," "serialist," "avant-gardist," "post-modernist," what-have-you, that we tend to use today to compartmentalize a composer. To me, Ives was, well... an iconoclast, an "original," and, if a label must be applied, our first "pre-post-modern." He was never imitated, at least not successfully, not only because he didn't have his own students as did other composers, but because by the time his music enjoyed sufficient - if not plentiful - performances, composers' agendas were different.

Fortunately audiences think differently, and do enjoy Charlie's music. And you will enjoy this book.

Bob Zeidler

Accessible tale of a musical maverick with a business head
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1998-07-09
Well written and accessible, the book describes the life of America's preeminent composer in the European tradition. A man who successfully forged a truly personal musical vocabulary on strong and deep American musical rootstock. Yet his only commercial success came through his equally great (though far less consequential) business talents. A continuing cautionary parable about the creative arts in the United States. I wish there were more score excerpts included.

Great combination of erudition and accessibility
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1996-11-15
Not being a music professional, I was pleasantly surprised to find this book not only made Ives come to life but explained the music in a way that neither addressed the lowest common denominator nor spoke exclusively to the ivory tower crowd. The love letters between Ives and his wife Harmony (yes, that really is her name) are incredibly moving for an insurance exec. Saw a good review in Newsweek; agree with its assessment: "one of the best biographies in recent years."

Television
Chefs A' Field
Published in Spiral-bound by KCTS Television (2003-05-01)
Authors: Cory Schreiber, Patrick O'Connell, Traci Des Jardins, Frank Stitt III, Tom Douglas, Nora Pouillon, Peter Hoffman, Anne Quatrano, Stan Frankenthaler, Johnathan Sundstrom, Odessa Piper, and Rick Moonen
List price: $15.95
New price: $14.49
Used price: $3.10

Average review score:

AVID COOKBOOK READER
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-11
I am an avid cookbook reader and no book in my memory can match this book for content. It quickly has become the most used book on my shelf - for cooking and for reading. I sought out the book after watching the PBS series of the same name. It is a truly OUTSTANDING program that does so much more than teach you how to cook! The book and the TV series feature the biggest names in the culinary world - but the real heroes of the book/TV series are the farmers. The recipes are exquisite - but surprisingly simple. Even the novice chef could tackle these recipes with ease (although be warned - your friends may not believe you could create Patrick O'Connel's Flaming Apple Tart or the Garlic Custard of a famed NYC chef). This book is part travel, part cooking, part gardening, and part environmental action. The content is perfect for gift-giving or just for a special treat for yourself --- worth threes times the measly $15.95 I paid for it!

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-02
This book is the best cookbook I've seen in 2003. I have about 100 cookbooks and this rates up there with Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen. It only has about 50 recipes, but makes up for it in editorial content. It offers great tips on supporting local farmers, shopping, food & the environment, etc.

Delicious!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-16
What a delightful companion to the splendid PBS television series of the same name. The TV show introduces us to passsionate farmers and world-class chefs who share their thoughts on fine food. It's one of the few intelligent programs on television and also a feast for the eyes. The stunning, elegantly composed hi-definition images of food, farmers and fields excite the senses. At the end of each episode I want to race to the kitchen and cook! With this handsome volume, we now have the resource to create the fabulous meals America's best chefs share during the show. But this isn't just a cookbook. Its lavishly illustrated pages feature important commentary on organic farming and sustainable agriculture. It's nice to know that there are still a few people in our fast-food world who know the meaning of the words "fine dining." With this book, now you can too.

Chefs Afield cookbook & TV series spectaular
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-01
As an avid fan of this PBS televison series I was skeptical that they could pull it off in book form...but they did! This book has fabulous recipes that are easy to make and delicious! Better yet, its editorial content on where our food comes from and advice on shopping with an environmental mind is extremely helpful and interesting. The chefs featured in this book are some of the best in the U.S. - they are "real" chefs running "real" restaurants, not like those found on The Food Network or in that never ending stream of glossy cookbooks. This book is worth twice the price.

Great Philosphies, Decent Dishes
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-19
The Chefs A'Field series has been important in helping to explain the importance of fresh, local, organically grown, peak of the season produce. It doesn't shy away from discussing sustainable ranching and fishing either. The recipes and dishes are important not necessarily because of their flavor pairings or because they push the envelope, but because they use product at the moment of its perfection. Simple technique is applied to insanely good ingredients.

The idea is awesome in its purpose, design, and goal, but I think it falls somewhat short in execution. I think that's true both for the show and the book. Some of the dishes just aren't that great. Certainly not groundbreaking. The chefs are good, but not outstanding. There are, however, a few stand-out highlights. Anne Quatrano and Rick Moonen are a couple of my favorites, but overall, I'd love to see other chefs that have adopted this important philosophy. It seems Keller and Waters would have fit this bill perfectly, though maybe they're too big for the series.

In all it is a nice cookbook with an important message, but as a collection of recipes, there is a mountain of better choices out there including the entire library of Chez Panisse books which all embrace the culinary values from the Chefs A'Field series.

Television
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow
Published in Hardcover by Pendragon Pr (2006-06-30)
Author: Gabriel Banat
List price: $56.00
New price: $56.00
Used price: $97.01

Average review score:

Banat and Saint-Georges
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-17
I am in total agreement with those who have praised this book. It is a model for all scholars and merits a major book award. Avoid any other publication that presents itself as accurate.

An in-depth study of a singularly remarkable musician, politician, and fighter
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-09
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow is the biography of Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), the illegitimate son of a French planter and a young African slave. Educated in France, his skill in fencing and amazing talent as a violin virtuoso earned him a distinguished place in French high society and the court of Versailles; yet he was not content to simply bask in court life, choosing to support the abolitionist movement, take part in the Haitian slave revolt, and join the French Revolution in the hope of ending slavery. Considered the first classical composer of African descent, his music is best understood in the context of his vivid life. Black-and-white photographs, illustrations, and sample scores, and reproductions of primary source documents round out this in-depth study of a singularly remarkable musician, politician, and fighter.

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-27
One of the problems in researching Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges is separating fact from fiction, due to the popular myths propagated beginning with Roger de Beauvoir, and continuing with Alexandre Dumas (fils). These and other semi-factual accounts of Le Chevalier's life led many to believe that it served as the basis for the character D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers. In contrast to these myths, surviving well into the twentieth century, Mr. Banat's thoroughly researched study is factual.

Banat, a retired violinist from the New York Philharmonic and a specialist on the violin works of Mozart, is ideally positioned to understand the significance of this historical figure. It turns out that Le Chevalier was a major contributor to the symphony concertante genre, until recently thought to be Mozart's creation. As a musician, Le Chevalier was a violinist and composer, mastering the classical style and creating multiple compositions for orchestra and violin that remain underrepresented in the academic and performance Canon today.

Not only a prominent musician and athlete of his day, Le Chevalier was one of several African descendants who made important contributions to European elite culture. Born in Guadeloupe to a French plantation owner and his enslaved mother, Le Chevalier was educated in France, with substantial periods in England, where he was a champion fencer. In the latter part of his life, Le Chevalier became highly involved in the Haitian Revolution.

Mr. Banat began his study on Le Chevalier with an original article from the 1980s. Twenty years later, Banat's recent book reflects his dedication and enthusiasm toward his subject matter. The extensive documentation he provides for his assertions makes him the authority on Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

The Chevalier shines again--
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-02
The second half of the 18th century from St. Petersburg to St. Louis was a socio-political mess as men and women of faith and courage strove to overthrow the imperial tyrannies oppressing their lives and stultifying their cultures. Supported by his white planter father and adored by his black slave mother, Joseph Bologne, born on Guadeloupe, captivated the Court and Parisian society by his extraordinary fencing ability and musical genius. Nor did it hurt that he was both handsome and intelligent. His violin playing, his original compositions, and his orchestral conducting assure him a place among the handful of outstanding musicians between Bach and Mozart. His military acumen and his political idealism on behalf of the downtrodden not only in France but also in Haiti made him a distinguished brigade commander in the Revolutionary army and led him, at the pain of a long imprisonment, to help stop The Terror. At the end of his life, the world he had bedazzled was gone and the world he had hoped to establish was falling to Napoleonic power.
The sad, powerful tale of this romantic hero's life and genius is all movingly here in Banat's scrupulous research and genuine affection--just waiting for an intrepid director and a first-rate actor to make a brilliant film that would really speak to our time.

Chevalier extraordinaire
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-16
This book is far more than a biography of the 18th-century fabled composer/violinist/swordsman Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, born in 1745 in Guadaloupe, son of a plantation owner and one of his slaves. Based on rigorous scholarly research, the author presents a vivid picture of the social and historical background of the period in France, and the picaresque life of an extraordinarily gifted individual. The book is informative as well as an exciting read. It is enhanced by numerous illustrations, reproductions of original documents, and musical examples.

Television
Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie
Published in Paperback by Lake Claremont Press (2007-10-26)
Authors: Ted Okuda and Mark Yurkiw
List price: $17.95
New price: $11.08
Used price: $11.43
Collectible price: $18.00

Average review score:

Oh, How I wish Sven was Syndicated in St. Louis!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-24
Growing up in Chicago in the late 70's I missed Bishop's Sven. I started out with the Ghoul and was hooked forever when Rich Koz opened his coffin on Ch 32. Since that time I've lost precious brain cells to the permanent memories of those classic parodies and skits. Mr. Robbers, 50 Ways to Blow Your Cover, and more.

So, I had to get this book. It is a quick read (nearly half is just a list of b-grade movies) and tells the tale of how Svengoolie came to be and where the whole thing started. If you are a fan of Svengoolie you owe it to yourself to take this fun trip down memory lane, or elm street...whichever.

A gift for my Svengoolie lovin boyfriend
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-25
I bought this book on a whim for my boyfriend who grew up watching Svengoolie on Saturday nights. He absolutely loved learning more about the show he adored as a child.

Well researched and fun to read
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-24
I grew up in Detroit, so I missed out on most of the programs covered here, except for the maniacal Ghoul (Ron Sweed, a Motor City favorite) and the wacky and still active Svengoolie, played by the talented Rich Koz. In spite of this, however, I loved reading this book because it captures the fun and the essence of what every monster movie fan of my generation experienced, from the happily demented horror hosts to staying up late to watch those glorious (sometimes gloriously awful) films we cherished so much. Remember, this was mostly before home video came along. The book is loaded with nostalgic advertisements for these movies, the kind of ads that made you drool in anticipation.

Some folks might question why there's an entire appendix devoted to a "100 Monster Movies" rating guide, but to me it's one of the most enjoyable sections of the book because it goes hand-in-hand with the overall history of this subject. How can you discuss monster movie programming without discussing the monster movies themselves? If anything, I wish they'd gone a step further and covered even MORE titles. A few of my favorite films were overlooked. Am I the only one who has fond memories of CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS? (Maybe I am.)

The book is well researched, fun to read, and has lots of wonderful photos and graphics. It makes me sorry that I missed out on all the fun. But then again, I didn't. No matter where you grew up, watching monster movies on television was a universal experience. This book captures that experience beautifully.

A necessary volume for Chicago TV history, horror and Svengoolie buffs
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-22
Let me start by saying I am from Chicago and I am a Chicago History buff.

As a child and into my teens watching Creature Features on Channel Nine (the opening as a six year old terrified me), and then the Son of Svengoolie on WFLD, I loved local tv. Why do I say this? Simply put - I had high expectations for this book. The good news is that Ted Okuda and Mark Yurkiw exceeded them.

Looking for Elvira - you won't find her - but "Dear" clearly was a feast for the eyes. Now I finally know what my dad was talking about.

"From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie" is a needed part of the history of Chicago TV and Lake Claremont Press respectfully published a book others might take a pass on and remains a respected leader in local publishing of Chicago history. Well edited, designed and expanded in part by a solid and varied reference section which includes a solid list of films shown (and reviews), a heartfelt "Collector's Corner" with additional reviews, and a resource guide on where to find your horror needs - that alone would stand to qualify the book as a great resource; but yes - there's more.

The book is factual and warm about the subjects themselves - with wonderful chapters on characters such as Marvin and the curvacious and faceless "Dear" of Shock Theatre to Jerry Bishops "Svengoolie" concluding with the story of how Rich Koz's "Son of Svengoolie" became "Svengoolie" in his own right.

The book doesnt mince words. The Ghoul from Cleveland gets a chapter - and in that chapters lies the great story of the loyality of Chicago to it's city and to its broadcasters. That chapter alone made me smile - unfortuantely at an outsiders expense.

The book covers some obscure local attempts to compete against established programs as well - which goes to the detail the authors provided.

And then there was Sven.

While you can watch Jerry Bishop and Rich Koz on YouTube as Sven as a resource; the chapters on Svengoolie are detailed and worth the read.

I grew up and continue to watch Rich Koz as Svengoolie now in Chicago - and through this book you realize Sven's program not only entertains through horror but is also the last of the real local efforts to fight to keep local television creative, relevant and accessible. Koz is an important throwback to Garaway and other early Chicago broadcasters and deserves the praise and critical rsearch the book compiled.

In this book you can see why Koz is important as a local celebrity - and is up there with dare I say Studs Terkel and Oprah as important local personalities - even though Koz would likely deny this endorsement. WCIU should be credited for keeping a great program such as Sven on the air when others might just put an episode of "Night Court" on instead...yeech.

I particularly enjoyed the attention to detail; with photos of the old newspaper and TV Guide advertisements of the programs. If you loved those programs as a child - before there were so many options on cable; those ads were critical in promoting the programs and the movies we grew to love.

The book is lavishly illustrated and well written and referenced, footnoted and resourced. Time, effort and true affection for the material went into this tome.

In a book like this - there is room to be melancholy - and the authors avoid that trap. Lamenting on the fact local television is in most cases just the news; and all of TV's creativity is left to the networks would be an easy place to go - but the book is upbeat and most importantly a joy to read.

You want Creature Features? The book has it. Marvin and Dear - yep; its here too. Screaming Yellow Theatre and all of Sven? Yep - that too.

Clearly highly recommended.

I would write more - but my family is ready, the popcorn is popped and Svengoolie awaits .....

A must for any REAL horror fan
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-20
I bought this book at a book signing at "Horrorbles". The authors are really nice guys. The book is a must for anyone even remotely interested in horror, it discusses in detail the various TV horror hosts broadcast from the Chicago area. Its covers the inception of TV horror hosts to the present. It also does a good job of showing the evolution of the TV horror show. The book is well written and offers so much insight, there is a not only a wealth of information but resources for any fan of horror. There are plenty of photos that will surely evoke pleasant memories of sitting in the dark watching "scary movies". Makes a good gift.

Television
Child in Time
Published in Hardcover by Smith Gryphon (1993-07-31)
Author: Ian Gillan
List price:
Used price: $50.47

Average review score:

What an outrageous life!
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 1999-11-03
Child In Time is the autobiography of Ian Gillan, best known as the singer behind Deep Purple's legendary Mark 2 lineup (responsible for such hard rock classics as "Smoke on the Water," "Highway Star," "Woman From Tokyo," and yes, "Child In Time.") But he's also fronted his own band, Gillan, and Black Sabbath (on one album), not to mention sung the role of Jesus for the original Jesus Christ Superstar. All the while he has lived an interesting life, from his humble beginnings as the child of a divorced marriage, through his early singing days (inspired because he wanted to get into the movies like Elvis), through becoming DP's hard-drinking but always affable singer--and developing a love/hate (some would say hate/hate) relationship with the guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore. In fact the main reason I got this book was to try to get the "dirt" on their relationship. There are some juicy tidbits here, including the time Ritchie smashed a plate of spaghetti in Ian's face because he thought that the singer had put ketchup in the pasta. "Come on!" Ritchie taunted, but Ian just walked out of the room, almost in tears. Eat your heart out, MTV's Real World! But seriously, Ian acknowledges that they're like apples and oranges even if some of their musical collaborations have been magical. Elsewhere, Ian documents his views on drugs, sex, business dealings, and how to deal with traveling in unfamiliar countries. Not to be missed is the hilarious section on his year-long stint with Black Sabbath--pure Spinal Tap if it's to be believed. While there are some egregious mistakes in the book (concerning certain dates), I believe a recent edition has corrected them. Also, some feminists might not cotton to some of his views regarding male/female relationships, even if he seems happily married. Check out Child In Time and learn more about Ian Gillan (and Deep Purple!) than you'll ever see in one single book again (unless the 1983 Deep Purple Illustrated Biography is ever updated and re-released, that is).

SImply superb
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-21
If you are a great fan of deep purple or Ian gillan this book is a must have

A must for any real hard-rock fan !
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1998-06-25
It tells in details the life of this marvellous singer, known by many people as The silver voice ! Ian Gillan is well known as the character of Jesus Christ Superstar in the record of the opera in the early seventies. Ian tells his career in full details, his family, his passion for music and drink !! Deep Purple is part of his life (most of it) and you can see it well detailed over here. A magnificent job by Ian. A complete biography of one of our most loved singers of all time: Mr. Gillan from Deep Purple. Hope you can enjoy it as I did.

A must for fans of Deep Purple, and all of Gillan's work.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1997-07-11

Regarded by many as one of the greatest rock singers of all time -- this book details the life and times of Ian Gillan, best known as the lead singer for Deep Purple. Many will also remember him as the voice of Jesus on the original recording of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar".

The book is a biography, written by David Cohen, with facts obtained from Ian himself. It gives insight into the clashes within the Deep Purple clan, and how Gillan went on to a successful solo career (only to return to the Purple camp he loved so well).

It's the world of rock and roll as seen through the eyes of one of its most witty and talented players.

An excellent bio of Deep Purple's outrageous lead singer
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1997-12-16

The incredible story of Ian Gillan, one of hard rock's greatest and most influential vocalists. Ian offers up many an outrageous tale of the life of a rock star, beginning with his childhood to the start of his third stint with Deep Purple in 1993.

The writing is witty and quick-paced and seemingly quite honest, as Ian relates freely both his triumphs and failures as a solo artist and as a member of such classic hard rock outfits as Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.

I highly recommend this for any fan of Ian, Deep Purple, or of hard rock/heavy metal in general.


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