Genres Books

wonderful! writing styles, details, photos, insights all
excellent. It is like reading a national geograohic article
(so many pictures to go with the stories). The depth he went
into to talk about his ideas and thoughts is really
a treat.

This book is a fascinating account of the life of Ravi Shankar. I was a little reluctant to pick up this book at first- -I thought to myself, "Ravi Shankar- pop star, a musician who lives on hype - who wants to read a fan book? If George Harrison hadn't stumbled across him, he would have been just another sitar player." But after reading this book, I have a much greater understanding and respect for Shankar and all that he has accomplished.

Shankar's early life was simply amazing. His first tour of the US was in 1932, when he was all of 12 years old. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense for Shankar to be the leader in bringing Indian classical music to the West, since he spent so many of his formative years in Paris and on tour throughout Europe and the US. During this time, he became familiar with Western audiences and their expectations, as well as with Western music traditions. It is this familiarity that has enabled him to be so successful at explaining Indian music to Westerners. But as this book details, Shankar was not only popular in the West, but long before George Harrison met him, he had built a very successful career in India. For example, he was the one who did the music for film director Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, among so many other projects.

Shankar's influences on music in both India and the West are enormous and far-reaching. He was one of the first musicians to gain a following in world music, and he fought strongly against the marginalization of world music as a field only fit for ethnomusicologists. As described in this book, in India, he helped change attitudes towards musical performance and performers by demanding full attention from audiences and formal venues, much like classical performers in the West expect.

Interspersed throughout Shankar's text are short interludes from friends such as Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. The book includes hundreds of pictures that span Shankar's entire career, including the pre-World War II tours with his brother Uday. There is also a very informative glossary at the end, as well as a chronology and index.

Raga Mala is destined to be a classic of literature.
It is a biography, history, diary, and a basic primer
of Hindustani (North Indian) music.
As a beginning Sitar student under a Guru myself.
I appreciate Raviji's journey from student to master.
The life covers so many memorable moments of history.
His triumphs and pain are an inspiration to all who
are open enough to see it. There is not enough that
can be said to fully explain the depth of this book.
It is fair to say that most will not fully understand
it in one reading.
In closing, Raga Mala will be the textbook to be used
by all interested in Pandit Ravi Shankar, Indian music,
and how it has gained popularity in America since the
1960's. I recommend this book as in the top 5 of my
all time favorite books.

Regardless of how you come into this book, as a Beatles fan, as an admirer of Indian classical music, or someone who studies the Indian culture, you will come out of it thinking of Ravi Shankar as someone very special, but who shares the same passion for life as many of us. "Raga Mala" is his story through his words, from his days as a dancer to traveling out of India for the first time, and eventually setting a goal to spread his music and culture around the world. With celebrity comes fame, and with fame comes admiration, and there were many women who admired him, only for he to admire them back. His love of women is at times overshadowed by his love of food, which is something I never knew before this.

But he talks about his music as his core (at point during the book he compared the sitar to his wife), and gets in-depth about his mission to enlighten people with his music. He loved the hippies but hated their lifestyle, and felt that he could make them high, and higher, with his music.

"Raga Mala" shows a well-traveled and cultured man with the utmost respect for his culture, his people, his music, and life in general. At 81 years old, he knows his "old junk of a body" can't do the things it did when he was 15, but he refuses to slow down for anyone, including himself.

Raga Mala is the autobiography of pandit Ravi Shankar,told in story,profusely illustrated{some in color}], beautifully bound {with luxurious endpapers], on high quality, beautiful papers. It tells his story{introduced by George Harrison} from his early childhood, stage[as a dancer in his brothers famous troupe] to his study of sitar and Hindustani music with a master{Khan},to his gradual emergence in the west. I had no idea, that he had performed at Carnegie hall in the 1930's, that John Coltrane's son ravi was named after him, ot that he was well known BEFORE the Monterey pop or woodstock concerts[he called woodstock"terrifying'}. This is a wonderful book, it tells the ENTIRE ARC of the life of pandit Ravi Shankar{including his apparent heir and pupil, his daughter Anoushka}, and does so with such a well put together volume. The papers, the binding, the photographic reproductions are exquisite. The publisher has done a remarkable job. A classic book, both in form and content.

A must have book for all Versace fans.

Fantastic photography in another large book from Versace. This book captures the 'rock chic' glamourama which the late Versace excelled at creating. The association between 'Rock and Roll', and art is full indulged here creating a empirical illusion to the Versace dynasty. The glossy presentation of the images also adds to an overall feeling of luxury. The only reason I have not given this book the top rating is for its inclusion of Elton John - who makes me sick. So what if its expensive, luxuries like this don't come cheap. ciao,

Maureen Farquhar (maureenfarquhar@yahoo.com)

This book gives a look into the classic, Calabrian influenced, luxury of Versace. This volume serves as a record of the pure decadant genius of this mega Italian talent.

For all of you who loves Gianni Versace clothes and really admire what he had done to the world of fashion I recommend you to have this incredible book.

Gianni Versace was a designer who loved to push the envelope. His clothes were a mixture of extremes: sexy, sleazy, colorful, tacky, and elegant. One adjective you'd never find in a sentence with the word Versace is "boring." His clothes commanded--and often got--attention, which is why he was such a favorite among celebrities such as Madonna, Elton John, Liz Hurley, Courtney Love, Prince, Jon Bon Jovi and even Princess Diana. This book is a fabulous, eye-opening collection of vivid photographs of models and rock stars in Versace: from Prince to the members of British boy band Take That. Some outfits are more releaving than others, but they're all unmistakably Versace. Diana herself is also included in the book, along with a few words of praise for the designer. Tragically, Versace was murdered in the summer of 1997, but his spirit and influence live on. This book comes highly recommended. Drop it on your coffeetable, and your guests won't want to put it down.

The best thing about the Rock On books is that they don't *just* cover the hits, like the BillBoard books --- which cost ridiculous amounts of money and don't properly represent alternative music influences in most of the '80s, '90s, and beyond. Only problem..... the data ends in '92 in the second edition and '89 in the first.

NORM, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN WE NEED YOU??????????????????

Norm N. Nite who is or was an employee at New York's FM radio station,WCBS,compiled so much useful information regarding the rock 'n roll era,which continues today. For instance,in July 1940,Billboard magazine began charting popular songs,and back in the era of swing! The first 33 1/3 long play album(microgroove) debuted in 1948,but then there was no stereo. Ten years later,the first stereophonic album debuted. Longtime pop music mogul Dick Clark also contributed to this book. The book begins its listings of hits debuting each month starting with January 1954(earlier years don't list months). This continues through May 1989(this book went to press immediately afterward). There are also lists of musical artists with their debut years and singles. However,some of the photos were taken long after some of the artists' debuts. For instance,the Bee Gees debuted in 1967 in the US,and the photo of the band was taken years later(late 70's or early 80's). This book was updated only once,containing monthly listings from June 1989 to July 1992. There are also lists of the top albums,hits,movies and television shows every year. Music and news highlights also.

An absolutely indispensible reference for anyone trying to build a collection of oldies or just settle trivia questions. My only regret is that the book was published in 1989, so no information on later songs and artists is available. Maybe someone will update it. Meanwhile, this book is a great asset to our library.

This an outstanding reference if you are a fan of rock and roll music. I frequently use it to orient me to popular culture for the period of the sixties and seventies as I do research for a book. It addresses not only music but other areas, such as movies, as well. If you can find a used copy, it is well worth your trouble.

The best reference book on the subject of Rock and Roll Music. The reader or researcher is informed about members of groups, time lines, and record labels without being served up up too much un-necessary knowledge.

This book feels like it would be useful for someone starting out in making recordings. It maintains a pretty uniform level over a broad range of topics. It does not deal in detail with any; good for what it tries to do, but it is certainly not encyclopaedic.

If a picture tells a thousand words, a recording clip tells even more when you are dealing with sound.If you want to hear what changing Eq settings, filters, compression, mics and room setups does, get this book; the accompanying CD is mind opening. The descriptions and narratives in the book are excellent. I've read a lot of recording books through the years. This one is a must.

You can tell that this book series is presented by someone who has many years of experience. Anyone could learn from this Smart Guide series very well done.

Duane Gibson
Sally Studios
Memphis, Tn

Let me start out by saying this book and the entire series deserves 6 stars, but the Amazon rating box only went up to 5. Whether you've been doing sound,music,engineering for a week or 20 years these books have something for everyone.The full color artwork is the best i've ever seen in any instructional book period.The companion dvd is fantastic, worth the price alone.Bill gibson does a great job with the subject matter and text,he covers the material thoroughly while making it easily understood. Highly recommend.

If you've taken (or are thinking of taking) the plunge into home recording, this should be the first book you look at. I own a lot of books on recording and therefore have a lot of advanced information beyond the scope of home recording. I've had to filter out what was pertinent for my own needs. I can truly tell you this book will spare you that path. And of course, you can always get the advanced stuff later, but this book will get you up and running very quickly. It has very good explanations, diagrams and examples of pretty much all the audio techniques you'll need to get good recordings at home. Highly recommended.

I have read all the deryni series and this one is a good one. There is a really good twist in this book that will affect the events in all the other books in the series. It is also action pact with a hint of mystery, magic, and suspence. A good read, should be the 2nd one read in the whole series. Enjoy!

This is a very fast moving, action packed, enjoyable book! A great compliment to the previous Deryni novels. A must read and a gauranteed favorite of all ages.

Suspence, intrigue, mystery, and humor, all packed into one book. This book goes into the Protocol of Orin, a guide to many ancient, complicated Deryni practices. The plot is excellent and this book is guarenteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I continue to enjoy this book, just watching Camber getting himself into more trouble.

Camber, the elderly Deryni lord who led a human revolt against his own magic-wielding kind in the land of Gwynedd, begins to cope with the aftermath of the successful coup.

King Cinhil, once a monk, blames Camber for the loss of his vocation and the infinite difficulties of his new life and is not coping with them (or his ertswhile magic-wielding allies) well at all.

If Camber's priestly son Joram knows his father, Camber will do whatever it takes to make sure Cinhil--and Gwynedd--come out right. Even risking death...or worse, his soul!

Camber, in this book and it's sequel (Camber the Heretic), is at his strong-willed, best-intentioned, and soul-searching best. His dilemmas and solutions to them, bad and good, make an impression on the reader as well as the kingdom he serves.

This review is actually directed at all Deryni novels. I havent read them for a few years and have moved several times and only have 5 or 6 of the total deryni series but am going to buy all of them again. They are among the best books I have ever read and I have a large collection of about 150 books. If you are a fan of SciFi/Fantasy you will love this book. Without giving away too much this is one of the most pivotal of all the books by giving away some of the intrigue and a double person?

I have many books about Sinatra and this is one of the best. Richard Havers put together a wonderful read. The book combines his music and life very well in a chronological format. There are some great pictures and sidebars about other events music and otherwise associated with the time frame you are currently reading.The research put into this gem is amazing.If you are a fan of Sinatra get this book. You won t be able to put it down!

To me, as someone who lived thru this era and read many books on Sinatra,
none has captured the essence of the man and the times he lived in as
Richard Havers has done. All aspects of Sinatra's life are discussed; the music,
the movies, the concerts and shows, his friends and his loves, good and bad,
in a fair, unbiased, nonjudgmental manner

This is a big book that contains a lot of information and pictures that you
will not find anywhere else. It can be read by casually leafing through the
pages and enjoying the sidebars and photos, or it can be read carefully from
beginning to end to reveal the real Sinatra. If you take the latter approach
you will not only better understand what made Sinatra tick, you will also
better understand the times he lived in.

This book was a delight from beginning to end, packed with useful biographical information. It also contains dozens of sidebars on every one of Frank's albums as well as supplementary sidebars giving historical context to Sinatra's life and work in the form of other artists, historical events, and his various arrangers and labels. The book is packed with photos, memorabilia, track lists--in fact, everything you need to know about the life and work of Sinatra. I think that this book, combined with Will Friedwald's 'The Song is You' are the two best books on Sinatra, and as a dedicated Frankophile, I've read many. Also evident in the book is the author's love of Sinatra and his music. The book is like a virtual Sinatra museum, one you can open and enjoy over and over at your convenience.
Five stars.

This is an amazing book that lets you see Mr. Sinatra through the early days of his childhood, to what would become the ultimate legend...I was never into this kind of music but after listening to the wonderfully composed scores of music and lyrics, you cant help but become an avid fan of his. Through the good and the bad you see something everyone should strive for, the high expectation for ones self in whatever they do as he did and beautifully executed with class....I've discovered Frank Sinatra and I am definately Flying to the moon!!

His voice, his style, a trip into the past. Ole Blue Eyes we will never forget him. For all old and new fans this book is a treasure indeed.

I ordered this for my son for a Christmas gift, and it was here in three days and in perfect condition.

I have recently been coaching young, Australian singers in Czech diction and pronounciation for famous Czech arias and songs. Though I am a 'native' Czech speaker,I have found this book invaluable in explaining simply and efficiently correct Czech singing diction. This book may well dispel many fears of singing in the Czech language and make some of the wonderful repertoire much more accesssible.

I am currently writing my Master's thesis on teaching Czech diction to singers, Timothy Cheek's book has been my number one resource. I am also singing Dvorak's "Gypsy songs" for my recital and again, this book was most helpful. I recommend it for anyone who wants to be able to sing in Czech.

"I recommend Timothy Cheek's book 'Singing in Czech' to anyone interested in singing the works of Smetana, Dvorak, Janacek, and a host of other Czech composers in the original language. After very thorough descriptions of every sound found in the Czech language, Mr. Cheek analyses and gives phonetic representations of the correct sounds in Czech of many famous works, including 'Rusalka,' 'The Bartered Bride,' 'The Diary of One Who Vanished,' and many others. I hope the book will be sutdied by every singer and repetiteur who cares about language and who regards Czech, with its rich musical repertoire, as important as Italian, German, French, or Russian." Sir Charles Mackerras, renowned conductor and writer of the foreword

From Catherine Malfitano, soprano; international interpreter of Janacek roles: "At a time when the great Czech masterpieces are moving more and more into mianstream life, along comes an invaluable guide to singing authentically and expressively in this unfamiliar language. Timothy Cheek seems to have tapped into the singer's deepest needs and fears when first faced with these daunting sounds. He demystifies the difficulties and clearly shows the way to linking what we already know, from other more familiar languages, to what we can hope to achieve by assimilating the unique colors of this highly expressive language. I am grateful for his usage of the International Phonetic Alphabet to demonstrate many of these sounds. The recorded examples by the two Czech singers are also very welcome. This book will make the learning of sung Czech much more accessible and enjoyable to all singers."

This is a great book for SP rookie fans. Loaded with info. Become a bigger fan than me. :) (the cd is great too.)

This book Rocked ! This book answered all of my misterious questions of the band. This book was really worth the money. I respect the pumpkins way more than what I did before. They are my favorite band.( beacuse of the book !) If You're a pumpkins fan, and you didn't read this book. YOU SHOULD, YOU WILL LOVE THEM, ALSO YOU WILL RESPECT THEM AS WELL AS i DO ! ROCK ON MY FELLOW PUMPKIN FANS - - - -

I loved this book it told in detail everything to the lives of the samshing pumpkins provign they are a very well organized band and work very hard

I think this is a great interview with the Pumpkins (well, only half of them) and the book is pretty rocking, too. Two thumbs up.. :)~

great Cd and book! It covers all the things that you want to know about the smashing pumpkins. listen up, want to know more about the smashing pumpkins? buy this cd/book. ;-)

I couldn't put this book down. Williams touched on a few issues that the black community have a hard time dealing with. Celia is a strong woman who depended on her faith to get her through her storm. The emotions were so real. This is one book that I strongly recommend everyone to read.

This book was excellent. I was hooked from the first couple of pages and I couldn't put it down. This is the first time I've seen a book on this subject, and it was dealt with very well. I won't give away any of the story, but I definitely recommend it. The only downside is that there are a large number of typos and wrong grammar usage (i.e., "to" instead of "too", or "loose" instead of "lose"), but it does not affect my rating because the story is so well written.

Celia Alexander has it all: a rewarding career, a loving husband with a six-figure income, and two wonderful children. Lacking nothing, she and her husband, Khalil, are solid Christians. From the mini-mansion to the luxury vehicle, the Alexanders appear to have the perfect life.

Celia's perfect world comes crashing down, when upon returning home earlier than expected from a business trip, she discovers the man she has spent the past fifteen years loving, doing the unthinkable. In a matter of minutes, everything she believes in and thought to be important is challenged.

Something on the Inside is labeled as Christian fiction, yet, it is the horrific reality of thousands. Ms. Williams boldly pulls the immoral band-aid off wounds that have been concealed for far too long and forces us to deal with the issue of sexual abuse in the family. As Christians, no longer can we stick our heads in the sand. The saying, "what doesn't kill you will make you stronger", is no longer an excuse for silence.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone facing the devastation of sexual abuse.

Wanda B. Campbell
for The Culture Clique Book Club

Celia and Khalil Alexander had the ideal marriage and two beautiful children named Kaleia and Caleb to show for it. Little did Celia know that Khalil had a little dark secret that he's hidden from her for over fifteen years. After a business trip cut short, Khalil's dark secret was revealed. Even though Khalil tried to deny it on so many different occasions, God made sure that Celia's eyes would see Khalil for who he was...dark and twisted. Celia is determined to make sure Khalil pays for his crimes, but Khalil goes through great lengths to keep her silent. Celia tries to gain strength through God to get over the obstacles that have been placed before her. Celia will soon find out that with God, all things are possible.

T.N. Williams has done an outstanding job with this story of betrayal and what it really means to put all of your faith in the Lord. In Something On The Inside, it seems like you can feel every emotion that Celia goes through. You will see the heartache that Khalil puts her through, and the revenge she sets out to get once she realizes what demonic acts Khalil has committed. With each character, the author did a good job explaining how each person was affected by the betrayal and the separation that happened.

In this day and age, we as a community frown upon seeking professional help with matters that occur with our families. T.N. Williams went into great detail on how we need to embrace going to God for help, but seeking professional help is not such a bad idea either. I commend the author on this book. With reading Something On The Inside, you will soon learn how certain topics are not mentioned in our community, church, or even in our families. This was a great read, and I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Reviewed by Jackie
for Urban Reviews

Something on the Inside is a triumph. Author TN WIlliams has penned a believable tale of the ultimate betrayal and what it means to truly depend on God's grace. You felt each heart wrenching emotion and carnal urge of revenge that main character, Celia had to endure. Antagonist, Khalil Alexander demonstrated how deep mental illness and addiction can run and how hard it is to admit the problem and seek help.The events were brillantly paced making this book a real page turner. I found it impossible to put the book down until it was done. The couples two children, Kalea and Caleb, Celia's Twin sister, Alicia, and their parents round out the cast of charcters and show the true effects of betrayal and separation on the family. The author did a good job interweaving the specific details of this type of abuse, as well as,seeking counseling that has long since been frowned on in our community. In the end the author uses the right topic to show the extent of God's love and deliverance. It leaves you wondering what you would have done in the same situation and questioning the strength of your faith. In the times we are living in its good to check your relationship with God every once in awhile.

I'm getting older, so I need to use glasses when reading music now. This score isn't the same as having the score in sheet music on your stand, where the typeface is larger. So using it to play would be difficult, in my opinion. You'd want the sheet music if you were performing it. However, as other reviewers so well noted, this score is excellent for those who know how to read music but haven't performed this piece (unfortunately, including me too). It's amazing when listening to Mahler's 8th how much is going on that you don't hear in a recording. Even if you've had the priveledge of hearing it performed live (a rarity since it requires massive orchestral and choral forces, not to mention other instruments, and that cost $$$), you still cannot take in every musical nuance that is going on. Having the score in front of you while listening brings this out. For me, I can't even imagine how Mahler conceived and wrote this piece; it is so complex and moving. And to know that he received such incredible praise at its debut, the orchestra applauding and the children's choir singing his name at fff as he passed them, when he didn't have much praise as a composer warms the heart. I would have given anything to have been in the audience at the debut performance, with artist luminaries, dignataries and royalty present. I guess it was destined that he died within a year of writing it.

As some reviewers said earlier, this score is indespensible for starving college students and musicians.

This is the complete unabridged score for full orchestra, choirs and soloists. Presented in 256 pages with accompanying text and translation, glossary, and instruments and voices, this would be the conductor's copy.

The opening organ chord fills the air with such tremendous expectancy that one senses that this is a piece of music quite unlike any other. As the music unfolds and the choir make their entrance into the foray, I am suddenly conscious in a way I have never noticed before, as if I'm about to embark on a journey into unknown and unfamiliar regions of my mind. The first movement appears to describe death of the glorious kind, and for those twenty six minutes I am transported to a world that would embrace the very nature of Heavenly arrival.

Following the score while listening to the actual sound, and one is liable to get lost in the technicalities, especially since the choirs are not always singing the same thing at the same time. Sometimes they sing words and phrases that are unexpected. Best to forget the manuscript and just listen to the music. It is, after all, what Mahler would have wanted.

As a music student, this score was a great score to own: the large print make it very easy to read the numerous lines of instrumentation; the low cost is a must for a starving college student.

This is an EXTREMELY difficult work to study, even if there is a recording. The work is so immense and at the same time complex. Just looking at the first page is tiring.

I reccommend this score highly for music students and music lovers alike so that they may enjoy Mahler's monumental Symphony of a Thousand.

This symphony is so big, that if one has any chance to read the score while listening to it, do it! The score has revealed so many details about this great work that my opinion about it has changed totally! At first when I heard this, all I could hear was the song, and it didn't tell me anything, but now with the score in hand, I can see the different melodies used with the cross-references all over, and I can follow the progress of the sonata form in the first movement, which is so ingeniously developed that one can barely trace it, but it still follows a very logical consistency. All this I could only see when I read the score! Now this is one of my very favourite works of music!

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Mahler's 8th is the best symphony ever written. This score while in small type, shows you how Mahler put it all together and does it very clearly. The text translations are given but not much else. There isn't any sort of analysis or in depth commentary, just the music. This is an excellent deal for such an amazing piece. Great for theory students and college musicians wanting to learn a thing or two about composition.