Television Books

While I'm by no means into the industry yet, this book was an easy read and it contains invaluable information for the hollywood neophyte

Trouble is, Tony Martinez is no devil. He comes across, in fact, as the ultimate boy scout in a shark-infested business. Part instructional, part ever-so-careful not to offend anyone, Martinez writes in a conversational, run-of-the-milll average-guy style that allows you to skim to the sections that may mean more to you. On the one hand, it's banal and boring and on the other, there are nut n' bolts insights that should be helpful for a rank beginner.
As someone involved in the business for many years, looking for some hidden insights or juicy info, I was disappointed. But I DID learn a little more about the way pilot season works and for that reason alone, I found this very brief tome to have some worth.

This book is a must-read for any aspiring actor or aspiring agent and an entertaining book for anyone working in the entertainment industry. It's humorous, well-informed and succinct. It's not a surprise that this quick-witted and to-the-point agent provided the entertainment community with such a well-written book. His personal stories and antedotes complete this book. Do yourself a favor, and buy it.

An Agent Tells All by Tony Martinez is an excellent book that is very easy to read and hard to put down as it flows on very well.
Specific Contents that go straight to the point and excellent for the novice to clearly gain an understanding of the industry from agents point of view. Also Highly rate the Pilot Season Chapter!
Great Read.

I did a monologue in front of Tony Martinez at TVI Actors Studio, and he was generous enough to tell me what did and didn't work. His book just as helpful, only laced with his terrific sense of humor. I would say this is a must have for any actor and would probably be helpful for managers and workers in corporate America.

Having read most of the other books about Audrey Hepburn, a woman whom I respect and admired since my youth, I chose this particular one by Mr.Paris as the most engaging (besides the book by Sean Ferrer which I thought was essential). I could never tire of anything A.H., with that being said it was important to me that I had a sense of how she lived. This book was hard to put down and wasn't full of colorful writing like some of the other so-called biographies done on her. For me, it brought me closer to this person as if she were someone I knew personally and combined with her son's book provided me with an insight into the world that was Audrey. She was and still remains a huge inspiration for me, and this book should be read by every young 'actor' out there today. Kudos to Mr.Paris!

Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) was born in Brussels the daughter of a Dutch woman and an English father. She was raised in Arnhem Holland suffering through the Nazi occupation. Audrey was a thin, sensitive child who excelled at ballet.
As a young woman she migrated to London appearing in British films until she was exploded into fame with her first US film
Roman Holiday (for which she won as Oscar as Best Actress)
Hepburn appeared in such films as "Charade"; "My Fair Lady"
(her singing voice being dubbed by Marni Nixon"; "Two for the
Road"; "Breakfast at Tiffanys"; "Sabrina: "Robin and Marion" :
"Wait Until Dark" and several other films.
Her gamin pixish face and figure was a revelation in the 50s era of Monroe, Ava Gardner; Sophia Loren and other well endowed film goddesses.
Audrey had a long but troubled marriage with stolid Mel Ferrer and had other husbands and a few affairs along the way most notably with film star Albert Finney.
She worked with such noted directors as Willie Wyler, George
Cukor and Stanley Donet. She lived in Switzerland in an isolated
village where she raised children and loved animals.
There is little dirt to plow in these pages1 Audrey was an
adorable and kind person! Her work with starving children on behalf of the UN is heartwarming.
Barry Paris (previous biographer of Louise Brooks and Greta
Garbo) does a fine job in this well documented biography.
The most exciting chapter deals with life in Holland during
the horrible Nazi occupation,
This is a good biography of the film star.

A book so well researched and written that it flows like a meandering river. The prose is wonderful. Very difficult to stop reading the book until the reading is completed.

May Audrey Hepburn be in the Kingdom of God as I surely want to meet her and talk with her.

A biographer shouldn't lower your opinion of the person they're writing about (as if you could ever
have a low opinion of Audrey Hepburn!) and Barry Paris certainly does a brilliant job of depicting
Audrey's life from age 15 until her death (age 64). The author blends his words so you don't loose
interest even once. The book has lots of quotes, from and about Audrey, and several pictures of
her throughout her life. There isn't a down side to this book, except for a few subjects where the author
should have elaborated on a bit more than he did. You can clearly see that Audrey was a truly
wonderful person, a real lady. After you read about what a hard childhood she had, in the middle
of WW2 and the miscarriages she suffered and basically being deprived of love from her parents,
it is amazing that she was still such a beautiful person, a beautiful soul. She traveled to countries to
help dying people and did things that few other people would do...she seems to have been an
angel, and certainly was to several people. This is a book that you don't need to read before buying, it's wonderful.

What is the true test of a biographer's skill? Creating a riviting, insightful book about a subject who had no scandal in her life and who seems to have be beloved by everyone. Material that, in lesser hands, could have been saccherine or written with the usual "movie star bio" template is instead moving, wise, very informative, and beautifully written. Check out Mr. Paris' other biographies of Garbo and especially Louise Brooks for more great writing.

this book is great.You know My auntie just sent me this book and just handled it.You know i can't buy books about backstreetboys,(but maybe i do,but it's hard for me to find one because i'm from the philippines) but luckily i've had a nice auntie in the U.S. who've sent me this book.But you know i'm really worried 'coz my auntie sent it through mail,so i'm afraid it won't come because some BAD people(philippines) just get it if they found it beutiful for them,so i kept on praying and hoping that the book will be sent to me,and luckily i did. I really recommend this G-R-E-A-T B-O-O-K

this book is the best book on the Backstreet Boys that i have ever read. there is a bio on each of the guys, LOTS of hott pics-including younger pics and shirtless pics- and behind the scenes stuff. there are also stories of the pranks that they play on each other and of accidents and funny stuff that happened onstage. every BSB fan should have this book. it is worth every cent and worth getting! i love Brian soo much, he is soo hott and soo sweet! keep the Backstreet pride alive ya'll!

This book is the best!!! I'm a AJ fan and all of the pictures of him are great!!! A must have for any BSB fan!!!!!!!!

i love this book as i said, i realy love the pic's on nick they are soooo beautiful and i love the info, and the pic's on the others of coures but nick most, you must get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the best book i have ever read.It tells you everything you need to know about Backstreet. It also gives you their biography,and some of their secerts.So if you haven't read it you better get it=)

Blade was .... completely different from the movie. The movie had more fighting and you didn't get to see the true meaning of the novel. The movie described Blade as a cold blooded slayer with no mercy. The novel describes Blade as someone who risks his life everyday to save the human race in spite of the fact that the human race thinks he's a murderer and wants him dead. He uses his powers to serve and protect the very species that depises and fears him-our own. He has the power of an immortal, the soul of a human, and the heart of a hero.

Another ride on the good ol' roller-coaster of adrenalin! Who says books can't raise your blood pressure? For those who think so: Read Blade! Awesome action, packed with vampire-slaying excitement, and intense fun! I haven't even seen the movie, though I'm about to. If all movie-novels were like Blade, Carmike Cinemas will be seeing me more often.

Blade is the tightest book you'll ever want to read!!! The movie and the book are amazing. I've been watching the movie a hella-lot of times and you'll also like the book. Buffy v. Blade??? Blade all the way! cause he's the #1 slayer!

Blade was a kick ass book, completely different from the movie. The movie had more fighting and you didn't get to see the true meaning of the novel. The movie described Blade as a cold blooded slayer with no mercy. The novel describes Blade as someone who risks his life everyday to save the human race in spite of the fact that the human race thinks he's a murderer and wants him dead. He uses his powers to serve and protect the very species that depises and fears him-our own. He has the power of an immortal, the soul of a human, and the heart of a hero.

I loved both the book and the movie. I was really surprised at how the book captured the manic energy of the movie and the complexity of the characters. The book really delves into the deeper areas of the characters and captures the feeling that it's hard not to admire Frost while you're hating him, he's an awesome villain. Even if you haven't seen the movie, read the book, it's an absolute must for anyone who's a fan of Anne Rice or vampires in general, as well as anyone who wants to read a well-crafted piece of literature.

Well written story of family stubbornness and the needs of self-contemplation, forgiveness and coming to grips with tragic loss. The author smoothly glides from present day to 35 yrs prior. His characters are believable, not cartoonish. Reminded me a bit of Anne Tyler's work. I felt real sympathy for Wilbur, the defrocked weatherman and accidental felon, as well as for his son and every other character here. This story on the whole was touching with a good sprinkling of levity thoughout.

This was a well written, funny, witty book about Will the Weatherman. Will is the TV weatherman for a popular TV station in Raleigh. When he loses his job and gets arrested for running a red light, his whole life changes. He takes stock of his life and decides to go about making changes. He doesn't realize the real mess he is in regarding his personal life, until it's almost too late. I loved the transformation the author takes this character through. This is a heart warming story with many lessons learned through out the book. The humor just adds to the beauty of this story. I would definitely like to read other books by this author.

Will Baggett, fictional TV weatherman from Raleigh, North Carolina is the toast of the town. He is the most recognized media figure in the market; widely successful, universally adored by young and old alike. Will has it all; a gorgeous wife who rakes in the big bucks as one of Raleigh's top realtors, a son in medical school. Baggett's world is compulsively tidy, taut, and orderly. The trains of his life run on time.

One day his well-ordered world comes spins wildly out of its orbit when a mega-media conglomorate buys his station and he is replaced by a younger man. For once in his life, Will is yesterday's news, and the transition is anyting but a smooth one. A waky set of circumstances takes will on a journey back home to his past and some R/R time with cousin Wingfoot Baggett. There Will learns the painful truth about his family, his childhood, and it is in this rediscovery of self where the seeds of reconciliation with his son are sown.

Before his journey is over Will will take the rap for a narcotics posessions charge and do time. He literally has to lose evertything before he begins to get it back again.

Robert Inman tells this touching story with grace and sensitivity as well as keen insight into the human condition. Falling from grace is all too common to the human condition, and this tale fits the template of loss, journey, and renewal that can be found in philosophy, religon, works of history and biography.

Captain Saturday is a GREAT read! I thouroughly enjoyed the book. I will be reading more from Robert Inman soon. I have also read Dairy Queen Days...and was equally pleased with that book.
I cannot wait until Mr. Inman has a new book!

I have to admit that I picked up this book on a whim, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Although it took me several chapters to get into this book, once I settled in, it was thoroughly enjoyable.

The novel tells the story of Will Baggett, a North Carolina weatherman who has been on the job 20+ years and is loved throughout the community. When his station changes ownership, the main character is fired. The firing sets into play a stage of events that leave Will questioning the choices he has made in life and re-examining the events of his past that have led him into his choice of journalism. Will emerges from the chain of events following his firing as a better man, and it was fun to watch him grow and change during his ordeal.

The author does a great job depicting the life of a small-town TV personality and the sacrifices he is forced to make. I was cheering for Will along the way, and think you will too. As a North Carolina native, I can tell you that the author gets his geography and local flavor 100% correct. I would definitely recommend this book -- don't be discouraged by the slow start.

This book tells it all, breaking everything down about the show, you name it, this book tells it.
A wonderful way to celebrate an anniversary!

A pure celebration of Star Trek The Next Generation! A tenth anniversary tribute that does justice to the show and to all three movies through it's date of publication. It give some very good details on all the shows, some insights from a lot of the people that made The Next Generation. The pictures and drawings are stunning to say the least. If you're a fan of Star Trek, this is definitely essential to your collection.

This book is something special in that it combines the usual prose of a "Making of..." with a wealth of large-size images and illustrations as well as a detailed guide to the seven seasons of TNG. Included are sections on "Generations", "First Contact" and, in the newest edition, "Insurrection". Although some of the images are already known from The Art of Star Trek, this is another great look behind the scenes. More than the rather loosely arranged images in the The Art of Star Trek, this book really tells the story of a series that is developed through seven seasons.

The Continuing Mission is probably the best book about TNG with all of its aspects. It was obviously written to be entertaining in the first place, so it never gets too profound. Nevertheless, we learn a great deal, for instance, where Guinan's name comes from, how many writers mingled together the script for "Yesterday's Enterprise", or how a shuttle may become a big starship. The only slight criticism I have about it is that the text is mostly separate from the images. Although there are captions, I would have liked to know more about several of the images.

The sub-title of the book is "A Tenth Anniversary Tribute", and it is a worthy tribute in any respect.

First of all, this book is huge. Really. It is tall and wide as well as being hefty. It does the amazing task of covering 7+ years of television history regarding the show responsible for renewed interest in science-fiction.

The history is indeed an interesting one. Many tidbits are revealed, and if you are a trivia junkie, it will fill the endless void nicely.

The pictures are great, as well as commentary and brief interviews of folks. The only thing I felt that could have been done better were episode summaries. They fell by the wayside a bit; but the sheer volume of information contained in the book makes up for it.

It is well-constructed, and has lasted repeated flipping and reading. That and its size make it an excellent coffee table book. People who have no interest in Trek pick it up and are fascinated by the information. It makes a great gift, for yourself or the TNG fan in your life. Or even, the television trivia buff as well.

This book is essential reading for any Star Trek fan. Even if you may not be a big fan of TNG (I myself prefer DS9), this beautiful tribute will surely improve your understanding of the days before, during, and after the creation of TNG series.

The text is written in a very amiable, intimate and lively manner, obviously showing the authors' love and dedication to the TNG world. Content-wise, the book is utterly fascinating: there is everything from the stories behind the casting ("But he's bald!"), to the creation and incarnations of the spacecraft of the show, to interesting anecdotes both clever and funny, highlighting special episodes, audience reaction, notes on production; even clear and non-technical explanations of various financial aspects of producing TNG and the movies. Absolutely nothing comes across as overly technical.

The book is divided into chapters tracing each season and movie involving TNG cast; each "season" also includes episode-by-episode synopses by the side - very helpful not just as an episode guide, but as a way of guiding the reader throughout the TNG journey. In fact, one of the best things about this book is its strong sense of chronological unity - reading the book from front to back, you are surely and rapturously guided through the entire TNG history - it feels like getting to know an old friend anew.

The book is made even better by the tons of colour photos throughout - ranging from pictures of props to sets, to ships, production designs, cast, scenes, costumes, production... it's just fantastic.

A lot of intelligence and dedication has gone into producing this book. I really can't praise it enough except to say: now I admire Star Trek: The Next Generation even more.

Very accesible book & good introduction not only to Duke Ellington but the world of Jazz. I suppose an author is limited by the number of pages how in depth one can get but still I expected a more critical examination of the contradiction of Ellington's public persona w/ his spirituality and how he reconciled these contradictions. That said, I still found Steed's argument convincing, especially his leading up to his sacred music. This is especially a good book for the new initiate to Duke Ellington.

The author's knowledge of Duke Ellington, and descriptions of his compositions is impressive. After studying Ellington's life and compositions through this book more closely, in his music, even when it is not overtly religious, one can quickly see that Ellington did indeed work out his spirituality through his music, as this author so convincingly argues. Of especial interest is the author's conception of spirituality and her deep artistry of both genuinely recognizing Ellington's and making that connection with his music, and how both shaped and influenced his life. This is not a scholarly tome, but rather a wonderfully quick, short read. As one of many old Ellington fans, my guess is that Duke Ellington would have smiled brightly and given his big stamp of approval to this book.

I just got finished listening to the new CDs of Duke Ellington's Sacred Music, picked up at Borders. Wow! While I was listening to this great stuff I was reading this book. And Wow! again. If you want the nitty, gritty, the lowdown, or dope so to speak, on the Duke you'll have to go somewhere else. Miss Steed does give you the whole story but her emphasis is on his work, his artistry, and his legend--what the Good Man left us with--and his Sacred Music, which he said, was not his best work, but his most important work. And it was real, man, this is what I was looking for, someone who really had something new to say about The Man, and knew what they were talking about! Buy this book and get to know the Duke and the man behind the legend.

I just recently joined a book discussion group and last night, during my first meeting we were discussing Janna Tull Steed's new book "Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography." In just 192 pages Steed traces Ellington's development from a piano player to bandleader to composer and his truly thrilling and sublime sacred concerts in the last decade of his life. Steed also discusses in depth Ellington's ability to write for the individual voice, or band member, which seems to be, at least partly, what made and marks him as such an extraordinary and perhaps greatest American composer--that and his overwelming dedication to his music and a relentless ability to constantly break new ground.

Steed's grasp of Ellington and his music, particularly Ellington as a composer is tops. She draws on the enormous archives at the Smithsonian Institution but also on extensive firsthand interviews with scores of people who were intimately familiar with Duke Ellington and his music, and especially his development of his sacred music and concerts. It is in the area of the sacred concerts that Steed breaks new ground but also her focus of Ellinton as composer, as well as his oft forgotten important work in Hollywood. Her outstanding achievment is that she accomplished this in 192 pages. Steed covers the entire scope of Ellington's remarkable life and career and her insights are very welcome and as engaging as they are informative.

I picked this book up after reading Joan of Arc in this Lives and Legacies Series. This new book delivers everything it promises. I'm a real biography nut with an interest in a very broad range of subjects (and that's just what this series delivers) but have little time to immerse myself in a 500 or 700 page reading. So it's great to be able to pick up these short biographies, get a great read, and then decide if I want to explore a subject in further depth. But I can tell you with both these books, short as they are (192 pages), they are still very in-depth, scholarly and but still accessible to the popular audience. Duke Ellington was a particular pleasure as I knew nothing about his Sacred music and Concerts, nor have I run across anything that examines so fully the films that him and his orchestra were featured in, and which by the way Ellington had a significant role in developing. Author Janna Steed offers up a terrific little gem with this new book on Duke Ellington.

This book is excellent on several levels. It is an extremely useful way to approach sitcom scene analysis through eight archetypal characters, and it has the added bonus of being both funny and fun. I mean, how often does a book help you to become a better bastard? Great for writers and actors - this book is an important resource if you are passionate about sit coms.

The book provides an excellent resource for anyone writing comedic material, whether sitcom based or not. These characters are timeless.

I was so impressed with this book. It is written mostly for actors, but is a gem for writers as well! This guy breaks down comedy like nothing I've ever seen.

Buy the book. It really is worth every dime - and no, I don't know the guy.

As an actress and a writer, I was thrilled that this book helped me out in both fields. You get great ideas and inspiration for characters to write, as well as great tips and tricks for acting out very specific characters. It's also fantastic how the author talks about "types" of actors and characters and knowing yourself well enough to know who you will pull off well. Which I think applies to more actors than we actors would like to admit... I found myself discovering things about myself, not only as an actress, but as a person, which can only help in my portrayal of certain characters! Great read!

The "Eight Characters of Comedy" by Scott Sedita was absolutely fantastic! The book was incredibly informative to a writer and an actor, but also gives the audience/reader such an insight to how tv shows and film are created. It's a wonderful book. I recommend it to all!

For me this was an amazing discovery. I read a review of it in a literary magazine in the waiting room of my optician and when I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon.
What caught my eye in the review were the names of the inhabitants of the February House - Auden, Britten,McCullers... in that amazing year. I knew of their work individually but to read of them living under the same roof was a revelation.What a cauldron of creativity! All against the background of the war in Europe and the period leading up to Pearl Harbour.As I read the book I felt as though I were there. I hope that someone will make a documentary about it or better still a dramatised reconstruction. The two Truman Capote films have blazed the trail.

A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!

Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.

Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.

Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.

Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).

Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.

Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.

One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.

Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.

The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.

In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.

George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."

There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.

Wonderful is too weak a superlative to describe this book. Written in a factual style and incorporating historical events such as Peary's trek to the North Pole, it is one of the most delightful stories about Christmas ever written. There is also a detailed account of the land expedition by Will Steger, the only man to actually see Santa's village at the North Pole.
The chapters are:

*) The reindeer by the river: It was a wondrous thing. In which the author tells of his search for the true Santa Claus.
*) The echo of hooves: Searching for yesteryear's reindeer. In which Santa's history is detailed, past adventures are recounted.
*) The North Pole today: On the roof of the world. In which the kingdom is visited, the elfin life is described.
*) The miracle of reindeer flight: Mysteries explained, science revealed. In which the way he does things he does is discussed.
*) Eight tiny reindeer (Plus one): Santa's starting team and his helpers. In which a host of heroic animals and people are met.
*) Like down on a thistle, evermore: Work that never ends. In which the future of Santa Claus and his mission is pondered.

The spirit of Santa Claus within the concept of Christmas is a powerful one, in this book you can capture some of that spirit and appreciate the strength of the man and his mission.

I have this book, with some handwritten annotations. The author got a couple facts wrong, but then I used to be in the Air Force, worked in many. many different command posts and operational centers, and well somethings are still classified. Some good guessing and all!

Cute book, I love it, my husband, a "Santa Helper" loves it, our teens liked it (really!) and the few copies I have given as gifts were very well received.

If you have older kids this is a great book.

I have the movie with Bridges and Thomas and I love it. It is called "The Christmas Secret" it is suppose to be taken from part of the book "Flight of the Reindeer" I don't know if that is true or not. Because I did not buy the book yet.

There is a Santa Claus! This is an amazing book, written in documentary style about the existence of Santa and his reindeer. It is a delightful addition to anybody's coffee table at Christmas time or any time. I really love his description of how he found Rudolph, and how he guided the team that one year, a small reindeer with a big heart. The description of the reindeer's year is fascinating!

This book will warm the hearts of Virginias everywhere. Yes, there is a Santa Claus!

I found this a long time ago in a bargain bin for $2. I *love* this book--it's one of my all-time favorite books. Although I haven't put up a tree in years, it's now a tradition to read this book every year. It puts me in the Christmas spirit--and adds realism, proof and perspective to the Christmas mission.

Buy it and make your own family tradition.