Genres Books

My five stars are for the performance and the book. All opera recordings should come in this format. But the cd copies are bad and will be short-lived, they easily loose their coating.

I bought this as my first piece from the Black Dog Library in preparation for seeing the Vancouver BC Operas production in 2002. Black Dog Library is a must for everyone going to see an opera. Get this, listen to it, fall in love with the music and then see this opera live if you ever get the chance. This is opera at its best. After seeing the production live, I can't wait to see it again. And by listening to the cd's I can bring it right back to my mind and my heart.

Bravo Giuseppe, Bravo......

Wow!! Wow!! O my God! I just heard this album and my jaw dropped. Why it so many critic snub this recording ? It's the best Aida on record. I think it has to do with the fact it's very rare and more of a collector's piece as well overshadowed by more popular editions- i.e. Placido Domingo/Leontine Price, Jon Vickers..Pavoratti..Montserrat Caballe etc. But the cast in this album can not be more perfect. Birgit Nilsson was a grand lady of the opera- with a voice that cut through great orchestras, with dramatic integrity in her stage performances (she was as much as an actress as she was a singer and in this way she was like Maria Callas). It is true that she is far more recognized for her Wagner heroines- she is the best Isolde and Brunhilde, but her Wagnerian voice, so high, so powerful, is perfect for such diva roles as Aida. Verdi wrote the role for soprano di forzas which Birgit Nillson delivers with electrifying prowess. She was trained in Italian as well, which people seem to forget. Her Italian voice is rich, powerful, with a high top and generous bottom. She gets into characters with passionate intensity as well. Has anyone ever heard Turandot ? It's the best! So intense and powerful. And her Tosca is breathtaking. She also sang in Mozart's Don Giovanni starred opposite Leontine Price and the famous bass Cesare Siepi in that one. She can do the Italian roles as good as the rest of them!! There is also her powerful interpretation of Turandot and Tosca. So there you have it. Her Italian was as dynamic as her German. Franco Corelli is an awesome Radames, with hot-blooded, masculine energy and lyrical moments of love and grief. He can be a tough guy and a sensitive lover. "Celeste Aida" is superbly done, even if not sung as written. His Tomb Scene at the end is incredible. Grace Bumbry is the best Amneris, and she sang the role numerous times which made her an expert on it. She has a dignity of her own in the role and she is not as scary or bitchy as Rita Gorr's interpretation. Bumbry's perfect. You can also hear her as Amneris in the Leontine Price/Placido Domingo version conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. This is truly a great recording and will have you wanting to get other recordings of its amazing lead singers. Certainly Franco Corelli is a magnet of opera lovers with his excellent artistry. He sang with Birgit Nilsson in the greatest operas of their careers- Puccini's Turandot and Tosca which are also available at Amazon.com and I strongly urge you seek them out. Their Aida is mind-blowing.

The sound to this recording been digitally remastered from the old LP and sound fresh, powerful and moving. The Black Dog Opera Library series offers the best in opera to a beginner who takes interest in the world of opera or to fans who are already converted. It does more for the novice, however. My first of these "cd-books" was Verdi's La Traviata starring Beverly Sills and Nicolai Gedda. This was indeed a perfect performance. This was followed by Bizet's Carmen starring Jon Vickers and Grace Bumbry..another winner! Then came Mozart's Magic Flute starring Peter Schreir, Anneliese Rothenberger, Kurt Moll, Walter Berry and Edda Moser. This is the best Magic Flute out there. Indeed, all the recordings on this series are of the highest calibre. This book comes with the libretto, pictures of Aidas in the past, and bios on Corelli, Nilsson and Bumbry. Go out and get it today!!!

The historical account and the story help the person new to opera appreciate the opera. The sound is of high quality. I only wish Amazon carried the full series of The Black Dog Opera Library.

Brilliant voices of Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli with Orchestra e Coro Del Teatro dell' Opera di Roma under Zubin Mehta. A marvelous studio recording without audience noises. A number of stage photos of major performances and introduction of Verdi and the writing of AIDA. Two CD's with the complete opera with complete libretto in Italian and English. A great value. A must-have.

This is a great book if you are a huge American Idol fan and you want to know behind-the-scenes stuff. There's a lot of info. about each of the contestants as well, from their favorite color to their birthday. My favorite AI% was Jessica Sierra.

But, I have one question: Where's the Season 5 book? :)

WHEN you read this book it will let you know what happend
behind the scencs of american idol! and you will also learn
more about the top 12.MY favorite idols are CARRIE UNDERWOOD
and LINDSEY CARDINLE they are fantastic singers.IF only
lindsey wasnt voted off so quickly! BUY THIS BOOK its AWESOME!

This book is pretty good. There are some bad things like since it was published and released before Carrie Underwood won, they don't show the winner like screaming, crying, being happy, blah, blah, blah. I watch the show every night and never missed an episode. The top 12 finalists are Lindsey Cardinale, Mikalah Gordon, Jessica Sierra, Nikko Smith, Nadia Turner, Anwar Robinson best!, Constantine Maroulis, Scott Savol, Anthony Federov, Vonzell Soloman, Bo Bice, and Carrie Underwood. They are in order in which they were eliminated from AI. The best is Anwar Robinson because he just sings great, looks great, never nervous, and so on. I think he should have been voted off near the end. Overall this book is awesome.

This book is a great book to get to know the Top 12 a little better. It has quick facts, pictures, and a bio of each of them. Plus some behind the scences stuff, never- before seen pics, and them shopping, etc. When I met the Top Ten (but not Bo), I had them sign their page, and it worked out great. I love it!

I thought it was a good book, had lots of good quality pictures in there. The only complaint I have with it is it came out too early. It should have come out after the season was done so they could have the last final weeks in there and the winner showing her happiness. That's the only complaint I have is it should have been published after the season was over with. Otherwise it was a good book.

As someone new to the singing scene, I find this volume to be my "go to" resource for my voice lessons. Purchased on the recommendation of my voice teacher, it has all the tenor arias you need--wherever you are on the singer's journey...The major repetoire is represented; all the major langugages. From "Amor ti Vieta" to the more recognizable arias, I expect this volume to be with me for years to come.

The book is a great collection. The book was in excellent condition, priced aptly, and delivered promptly. I can trust Amazon.com...

I use this book constantly in my teaching. I love it.

"Arias for Tenor", a G. Schirmer Antholgy(opera), is a plended collection of originally keyed scores of tenor arias from some of the most famous works of all time. Layouts of "Don Giovanni" and "Rigoletto" are just a couple of classics sung by the greats of opera that are obtained by purchasing this book. Whether you are a professional vocalist or an aspiring opera singer, this is definitly a valuable and sound investment.

Sylvester Allen
Greensboro College, NC

As far as i am concerned it's the best book that is just made-written for tenors and people who are students at the conservatories-music schools as me ,should truly benefit from it,

This fun to read and well researched book explores the rise of Bachata from its obscure beginning as a musical style of the rural and urban poor in the Dominican Republic to its eventual international popularity. It is the only book of its kind in english and a must read for anyone interested in bachata's roots.

Hernandez delves particularly into social conditions and class issues which impacted bachata's formative years. The book traces back the Dominican Republic's musical and social climate beginning from the period of the repressive Trujillo Dictatorship (1930s-1961), and through bachata's humble beginnings in the 1960s to its attainment of international popularity by the early 1990s.

While the subject matter is complex, the book flows easily and is actually difficult to put down. Interviews with musicians, colorful anecdotes and plentiful song lyrics all help to bring to life the humor, candor, and also the pains, of the people who created bachata.

An excellent companion to this book is the classic bachata compilation CD Bachata Roja: Acoustic Bachata From the Cabaret Era - the accompanying booklet features an introduction by Hernandez along with many of the photos she took while researching.

I'm glad to have gotten this book, but the cover photo of Raulin Rodriguez is somewhat misleading. I'm a huge fan of Raulin and I was hoping to read more about his impact on the popularity of the Bachata in the DR. There is still a lot of stigma attached to the Bachata as music suited for bothels and shantytowns and the emergence of Raulin and Antony Santos has done much to make this form of music legit in the public view. The bachata of today is very different than the political songs described in the book. It also seems to me that most of the research took place in the Santo Domingo area rather than on the north coast where the Bachata is far more popular. Just as you wouldn't research country music in NYC, it seems odd to research the Bachata in the DR's largest city. A full follow-up book on the Bachata of today would be great that includes the Americanization of the form by such groups as Aventura and the current complexity of the music's guitar form.

Un curioso estudio, un libro de bachata. La primera vez que lo vi no me anime a leerlo. Pensé como todo mal dominicano con el complejo de gazcue que un libro sobre una música que no me gusta no merecía que le dedicara tiempo. Tuvo que pasar un año y un despertar de mi entendimiento para saber que no importa que la música no me guste o que sea de clase baja o que sea vulgar y yo solo escuche música clásica o rock; lo importante es que es nuestra música, nuestra identidad nos guste o no. El libro como una disección cuidadosamente hecha por una antropóloga trata el tema no con la frialdad de un descubrimiento arqueológico sino con la calidez de un tema humano, bueno con toda la calidez que puede hacerlo una norteamericana. Ella trata el tema de la bachata desde la historia de la etimología de la palabra. No sabia y ahora sé que la palabra bachata significa jolgorio, reunión en que las personas tocan música con guitarras. Las influencias de la bachata según la autora provienen de cuba.

El método de investigación de la autora consistió en residir en Republica Dominicana por un tiempo, mientras entrevistaba a los bachateros de radio guarachita, a artistas famosos, a historiadores y sociólogos. El libro escrito en ingles, también posee unas cuantas letras de bachatas famosas con su respectiva traducción, una galería de fotos de bachateros y merengueros y muestra el avance de la música y su aceptación final al llegar bachata rosa de Juan Luis Guerra al escenario y darle un impulso internacional a la bachata. La autora después de este acontecimiento tuvo que cambiar su foco narrativo, porque esta música lentamente se empieza a aceptar en la radio y ha dejado de ser marginada. Me agrada mucho ver que de todas estas cosas salen estudios, libros, análisis y que mi país esta bien representado. Ojala que autores dominicanos se enfrenten a la labor de exaltar lo nuestro y dejemos nuestro complejo gazcuense, nuestra exaltación de lo extranjero sobre lo nacional y nos pongamos a escribir sobre mas cosas de nuestro país.

Luis Méndez.

Deborah Pacini Hernandez offers an excellently researched, intelligently written, and amazingly detailed history of the Dominican Republic's Bachata music. Be forewarned ... this is not an easy book to read; this is not a glib magazine article with a superficial history of Bachata. On the contrary, Ms. Hernandez analyzes the growth of Bachata from a socio-economic / political and cultural point of view and her discussions and overall presentation often read like a doctoral dissertation.

Despite the book's academic tone, it is a wonderfully rich, engrossing study of Bachata and I highly recommend it. The book covers the birth of Bachata (circa the early 1960's) and traces its growth up until the early 1990's. I would like Ms. Hernandez to write another book that covers the explosive growth and popularity of Bachata from the mid 1990's up to the present. Ms. Hernandez is to be commended on her extraordinary research and intelligent presentation. I rate this book: A+.

This is a great book, one that challenges white male assumptions about class and its relation to music. A valuable book for anyone interested in combatting stereotypes, and patriarchal and racist interpretations of 'popular' music. I was reading a somewhat pompous academic's book about hiphop musical culture by someone named Russell Potter, and it almost made me swear off academic books about music. But Deborah Pacini Hernandez is unusual in that she understands, appreciates, and identifies with the best of Dominican popular music. What a great book!

I had this book when I was a kid and I loved it. I had it when I moved and then one day is was just gone. So I got it again. I love the pictures and it is a great supplement to a class.

"Basic Ballet" by Joyce MaaKie is a great (no-nonsense) reference book for the ballet enthusiast, regardless of age. It explains the positions throughly and with lots of photos. The only thing that would make it better would be to increase the size of the pictures and make it a wire-bound book so it stays open when performing the techniques.

I have many technique books that are on the market,and this book tops them all! Most ballet teaching books relate to little kids only, well, this book grows with the student. What I mean is its not sugar coated with pictures of little kids dressed in pink tutus. It shows a real ballerina deminstraiting technique.
I like this book,and recomend it to you as well as my students.
Kim's school of dance.

This book, which has 66 black and white photographs as illustrations, usually two, three or four on a page and a different number of them, occasionally including one only, on the opposite page, facing, should be helpful to all those who are interested in the ballet, whether children, young people, or adults, whether because they might like to study it, are studying it, or are just interested in learning more about it to increase their own knowledge and enjoyment of it as interested parties at live performances, etc. , for example. It is a nice place to start, and the photographs are very helpful. Basic Ballet would also make a very nice present for a young person who is interested.

This very complete volume is a lovely gift book as well as a useful reference book. The only weakness is the lack of emphasis on arm positions when doing the steps although they are illustrated in the photographs. I believe dancers who have experienced the following will find it useful too: When I was a student of ballet, I was frustrated by the subtle differences in the standards of different teachers. Sometimes I wondered, "So how EXACTLY am I supposed to do this?" I did not enjoy being corrected for what a prior instructor had taught me and pronounced well-executed. This book would have clarified things for me at the time. Now that I practice alone, I find this book invaluable. Also, I support Christine's review dated May 4, 2001.

Electrifying images with intense feeling. Fine photography by Raeburn Flerlage and superb editing by Lisa Day. What a moving adventure to turn each page. I felt like I was in the audience and part of each photograph.

The blues are not just notes and lyrics, instruments and people, but, more a frame, a view of the world, and of life, from inside and under.

Raeburn Flerage's evocative photographs and commentary, partnered with Lisa Day's luminous editing, have given us all a rare opportunity - a chance to take that view through Flerage's camera lens and rembrances.

Black and white - could the pictures be anything but black and white and all the muted tones of grey inbetween? And could the comments be more laconic and straight to the heart of the Blues?

I do not think so. I cannot reproduce the sensation in this review, but Flerlage's description of a 1964 performance of Sam House, tells the tale and paints the picture: "After a brief ingratiating smile, his face change dramatically, first slowly but then swiflty as the lyrics changed he projected those terrible moments that haunted his memory. When he sang "Death Letter Blues," he saw his dead girlfriend, "lying on the cooling board" and it made your own blood run cold. The scene was reflected in his face, sounded in the violent guitar strokes and his painfully forced voice. Unforgetable!" Unforgetable indeed when those lines are coupled to the stark photos of that performance by Lisa Day's skillful use of words and pictures, white and black and grey.

We weren't there. We can't really know the feelings. Like Sam House's comments on hearing his lyrics sung by an up-and-coming, young White blues pretender - "Those are my words all right, but it sure ain't my music." - we can't know it unless we are inside, down and under. "Chicago Blues: as Seen from the Inside" takes us about as close as we can get visually. Turn the pages with real blues in the background - "Unforgetable!"

This is the best photo documentary of a music culture I have ever seen, the photos are so alive you feel you are there, you remember when you were there, even if you never were. The text is as beautiful and intimate and truthful as the photos. The scope is big and very complete. I spend hours, looking and looking again, reading and re-reading. I close the book and the music stops.

I met Flerlage a few years ago in Chicago when I was doing some research for a now-forgotten project and I went through his collection of fantastic photos with him in his apartment and loved every second of it. The composition and lighting in these pictures is beautiful, and he catches something of the energy of the performances that is pretty amazing. Flerlage isn't one of these precious blues prigs (e.g., Steve Calt) who spends all of his time trying to protect some pet thesis and trashing everyone else's work relentlessly, but is a real dude who lived jazz and blues on the South Side in a way that few other writers or photographers have. The result is what you see -- great photographs, on the ground, in the clubs with the people who made the scene as wild and energetic as it was. If you want to see pictures that give you a real taste of the power of jazz and blues in teh 50s and 60s, get this book and linger over these fantastic photographs. You won't regret it.

Someone sent me a copy of this book...what a find. Whether you're into Blues greats of the 50's and 60's, or just into good photography, this is worthwhile. Some of the greatest black and white photographs I have seen. Puts your right in the smokey clubs of South Chicago, and in the artists' face. Sensitively accomplished and carefully assembled after 40 years. Photographer Raeburn Flerlage had a remarkable feel for the soul of the music, and a love of these peformers, and was granted unusual access to their lives. It shows in the photos, both candid and peformance, if there is a difference here. A lovingly crafted collection, and a time capsule of a age fled, a city now changed, that gave us an American art form. Done by a photographer with the soul of a poet. Excellent notes by Flerlage, now in his eighties. For music lovers, a must have. Ditto fans of Chicago.

All three of my children have listened to this every night as they went to sleep when they were little. It is by far the best lullabye music I have ever found.

I have frequently ordered the CD "A Child's Gift of Lullabyes" as a gift for new parents. It seems to be very well-received and is of the quality parents appreciate and children seem to like hearing often. It is one of several similar CD's well-worth exploring.

We bought this on tape when our first son was a baby. Now he's 19, and we still listen to it. It is so unusual in its simplicity. Everyone who has heard it loves it. I've used it to accompany a slide show presentation of our kids growing up. Brought tears to people's eyes. I've given it as a baby gift, and am still being thanked. Thank you J Aaron Brown.

I received this as a shower gift for my first son. For his first year we sang along and rocked each other to sleep to the music. I wore out the first one, now I am getting it again. He is 4, and still loves the gentle melodies.

I received this tape as a gift from a mother who said everyone she knows can't live without it. She was right. The lyrics and music are beautiful. One side of the tape has a vocalist the other side just music so you can sing to your baby. It includes a book of lyrics. I love the fact that my baby can listen to my voice singing to her.

Absolutely beautiful color photos taken all over the world and used as cover art for the popular CTI jazz label in the 70's. Landscapes, nature, travel shots, creative concoctions and the occasional portrait, all manipulated with color, create a stunning photo album and art book.

This is a great book. A big book with clear pictures. I love the way Pete reviews his photos. He's a great artist!

For me just one minor point. Some pictures are printed over two pages. This brakes the picture in two and is a little distraction because the book doesn't fold open all the way.

But certainly value for the money, a recommendation!

I'm a professional jazz pianist, and a former pro photographer, and this book is just terrific. If you are a jazz fan, you already own some of these covers, and if you're interested in photography, you've probably been influenced by Turner's incredible color sense. This big collection, with his notes on the pictures and beautiful printing, is just a "must buy." I'm going to a dinner next week with a bunch of musicians, and I'm taking this book along to share. It will probably be more popular than the food.....

It's fascinating to me how the energy and freedom of jazz is reflected in Turner's approach to photography. Intensity, unusual color, surprising juxtapositions.....an inspiring blend. And he photographed the top players, the masters of jazz (with some pop in the mix, too).

This is great: all of the best Pete Turner jazz record covers in one place. Many of these covers I saw for the first time as new releases in record stores by some of the best jazz musicians around; Milt Jackson, Paul Desmond, Freddy Hubbard, Wes Montgomery and so many others. To have a compendium of them in one beautifully designed and superbly printed book is an event worth celebrating.

The covers, by the confirmed master of color photography, Pete Turner, were always certain to grab my eye - and not let go. I don't know what I enjoyed more: looking at the covers or listening to the records. Fortunately it wasn't a mutually exclusive choice.

It is these photographs that inspired me to choose a career as a photographer, the best career in existence. I have Pete Turner to thank for that.

For some, the visual appeal of an album cover exceeds - even outlasts - the allure of the music within. At least as far back as the advent of the 12-inch long-playing record in the mid 1950s, record companies have attempted to draw us to music by relying on the fact that, indeed, we will judge an album by its cover. By the 1960s album covers were increasingly an art form itself.

If the art form wasn't created by Pete Turner - a distinction which may belong to Josef Albers, whose work graces a scant few Enoch Light albums - it was certainly enhanced by it. Pete Turner's photography has graced some of the best and most important jazz album covers made over the last half-century.

His work stands apart from the music as great art itself. It's not uncommon to hear albums described solely by Turner's iconic photography: "The Giraffe" album (Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave"), "The Icicles" album (Paul Desmond's "Summertime"), "The Cannonball" album (Hubert Laws's "Afro-Classic") or "The Cheetah" album (Hubert Law's "The Right Of Spring"). Each is striking. Each is important to the visual history of recorded sound.

"The Color Of Jazz" collects many of these album covers and shows why a Pete Turner album always stood out in any record store and, more importantly, as part of any record collection. The colors just jump off the page - a tribute to Will Hopkins and Mary K. Baumann's outstanding design.

There's a visual poetry in these images, expertly framed as they were on the original albums by Sam Antupit and Bob Ciano. It's a music you can see and, like jazz, there's a creativity, originality and improvisation that you can feel.

It's not merely a book of photography and it's much more than an album cover book. It's a celebration of the way art affects all the senses. Pete Turner knows how to use a camera to tap the soul. Just like jazz. "The Color Of Jazz" is a beautiful book that makes music from the page.

I like this book. This book helps the aspiring jazz musician to be well on their way to creating good music on their instrument. Mr. Ligon uses three types of linear harmonic outlines that creates and can develop a jazz solo. I think this book is good for a beginner just starting out in learning how to improvise. It is very sound in its knowledge and presentation of it. Mr. Ligon cites many excerpts from improvised solos of very great jazz musicians to support his outlines. And there are exercises to go with it. This is important stuff for all jazz musicians to know and, I believe, it is a book that should be in any college or university teaching jazz music.
Books like this and many others prove that jazz music is NOT a mystery. Jazz is music that anyone can enjoy!

This isn't going to sound like a very intelligent and well thought out review, but if you're a professional musician and have had this experience you'll appreciate it: I don't remember too much about this book, other than that after I worked through most of it I went from not really being able to solo to being able to solo...
The specific text from the book is gone from my mind... but the concepts became part of my playing.

Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony is a great study of how to create coherent solos and well structured melodies by playing the changes and connecting the tones. As a swing based player who had to deal with being overdosed with modal theory this was the first book I ever read that really helped me play in the swing/bop/hard bop based tradition that I love.

As mentioned, the book hass become part of my playing, but I left my copy back in the States ages ago... however, the all I rememember is that I found every page to be practical and enlightening and it opened up a world of ideas. Along with Amadea's Harmonic Foundations for Jazz and Pop, I'd definitely rank it as one of the most important Jazz improv texts I've ever got (and one of the few useful ones.) - - Thank heaven its FINALLY up on Amazon - - I'm definitely getting it AGAIN !

The first two chapters cover Linear Harmony and Embellishing Devices. Armed with these you are now well equipped to explore `Outlines'. These are three basic melodic structures that turn up over and over again in jazz improvisation. The rest of the book is devoted to exploring how great players use these in practice in real solos. There are hundreds of examples of their creative use.

In my view, if you only improvise using these structures you will be an outstanding player! They are extremely powerful tools.

Connecting Chords With Linear Harmony is a must buy: it is a fresh approach to the skill of jazz improvisation.

The other reviews for this book convinced me to purchase it and they were right. Great book to understanding harmony and chords. Jackie McLean the great alto sax player said you could only do so much playing by ear. You had to learn the structure of music to really be great and this book has all the information to help move you in this direction.

I've spent the last several months building up my jazz chops for a new gig. After getting through the song list fluidly, I set about supplying missing ingredients in my playing. Neil Olmstead's Solo Piano book supplies some. Mark Levine's Jazz Piano and Jazz Encyclopedia books supply many. This book goes where those books do not: it shows how to create ii-v-i runs that do not sound like scales and arpeggios stitched together like a crude Frankenstein's monster. It describes three very simple outlines, spends a short chapter discussing embellishments, and then takes the reader through more and more complex examples of where these outlines appear in the work of giants. My ii-v-i runs are improving as I integrate these outlines into my playing. My active listening is also improving as I learn to identify the outlines and embellishments in recordings, and practice transcribing them. You can learn this stuff the hard way, or you can use this book and start using this important secret ingredient almost immediately.

...and quite possibly the best collection of quotes from the broadest range of leaders in the field that I have ever devoured. I started reading it with a highlighter to cover the best advice. Excluding the front and back covers and the title page, the book is now entirely yellow. From veterans to fresh meat on the hook, this is the bloody book to read if you want to take your craft seriously. What more can I say to rave about this? Buy it. Read it. Then read it again. Keep it within reach of your desk for inspiration when the words just don't seem to flow. It's like a horror convention in your brain!

This book is so inspirational it amazes me. It is quote after quote by famous authors on different topics that apply to horror writing. I think this is one of the most inspirational books on horror writing. I love this book!

Do you wonder what scares your favorite horror writers? Would you like to know who influenced them, or where they get their ideas? Wonder no longer--the answers to these and other intriguing questions can be found in Dark Thoughts On Writing. Editor Wiater, drawing on interviews he's conducted with fifty writers of horror and suspense, presents their responses to these questions and their opinions on censorship, the affect of fame and fortune, and why they choose to write in the genre. The result is a plethora of colorful opinions, surprising anecdotes, and useful advice from a wide selection of horror writers, including Stephen King, Anne Rice, Jack Ketchum, Ira Levin, Clive Barker, Matthew Costello, Charles L. Grant, Nancy A. Collins, F. Paul Wilson and Richard Matheson. Must reading for horror fans and aspiring writers in all genres.

This is a book that will be of interest to the struggling writer and the devoted fan alike: the author culls thought-provoking, helpful, and at times highly amusing quotes from his series of interviews with the giants of dark fiction and distills them into one handy volume.

As a writer, one topic I found particularly interesting was the matter of influences: discovering who inspired the authors and artists who inspire me was fascinating.

As an aspiring writer, I was especially interested in these writers' basic influences, fears, and drives. After the first chapter, I was glued to this book, absorbing the thoughts of writers such as Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Anne Rice, and many others. This is a great gift for a horror fan.