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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.

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.

If you like vintage guitars or Chet Atkins' playing I can't recommend this book strongly enough. It is full of beautiful color pictures and behind-the-scenes descriptions of the development of some very interesting and historic instruments. Chet's stories of the people he played with, the guitars he played and the music he made are wonderful and totally engrossing. Buy this book today!!

A lighthearted introduction written by Mel Gibson (who is the voice for Rocky in the movie) sets the overall tone for the book. In this overview there is a brief history of the animation process with some really slick photos of the British Aardman Studios that both Nick Parks and Peter Lord, the directors of "Chicken Run," help to put on the map with several Academy Award nominations for their past films.

Animation and story development is not just fun and games as one might think but envelops serious thinking and work. The book is sprinkled throughout with wonderful idea sketches, watercolor paintings, storyboards and outlines showing how script and plot ideas for "Chicken Run" were developed.

A wonderful chapter on the actual making of the physical characters gives an inside look into the art studio itself where molds, paint, and artists bring these figures made of a clay-like substance called plasticine into existence. In a chapter called "Making the Right Moves" Sibley details the various problems that animators had during production. Trying to give the human characteristics of anger, hate, love, fear, and happiness in front of the camera is a major feat in itself. The difficult task of lighting a scene along with making the miniscule movement of each figure to create the animated move almost sounds like torture. And when one realizes that the largest film shoot in one work way was a mere 26 seconds you wonder if it is. The animators say their work normally floats along on inspiration but at other times when they are tired, getting the job done becomes a matter of will. They are so involved with their work that it is only when the camera isn't running that they realize that they are only working with a lump of plasticine.

This book is definitely written for the connoisseur of animated films and filmmaking but children could also enjoy the "fun" illustrations from the movie, which are a large part of this publication.

The seriousness of this studio's filmmaking makes for some very interesting reading. A quote by one of the directors, Peter Lord, not only sums up the animation process but could be the kernel theme of this book. "We make films and by the way, they happen to be animated."

Ron Harmon rohar@msn.com

How did they do that?

"Chicken Run: Hatching the Movie" provides an engaging, behind the scenes examination of the workings at Aardman Studios, offering insight into the personalities and technologies that brought us Wallace and Grommit, as they work towards the completion of their first feature-length animated film.

There are plenty of photos from the final movie, but more importantly, the book is stuffed with the artifacts of the animation process- the sketches and drawings, storyboards and photographs that record the way the film was developed from idea to story to finished storyboard and characters.

The book stops short of offering specific timelines, technical details or recipes for plasticine, but the aspiring animator is given ample opportunity to read between the lines. There is a wealth of information and inspiration to be had; something to learn on every page.

Sibley's narrative follows Nick Park, Peter Lord and others as they discuss, revise, and rethink their ideas, meet with Hollywood moguls for the first time, hire and then change writers, and work their way through the transition from commercials and short films to producing a two-hour, animated movie.

The writing is open and lively, describing the time involved and the twists and turns in production as the storyline is developed and revised, characters and ideas introduced and then axed. This frank discussion of the creative process at work is perhaps the book's most valuable asset.

"Chicken Run - Hatching the Movie" is an ideal companion to Aardman's earlier book "Creating 3-D Animation".

One book gives a superb, do-it-yourself introduction the techniques and process of model animation, while the other provides an in depth study of the creative process in action during the production of a single feature.

Together, these books provide the most useful resources on claymation and model animation to date.

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.

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.