Genres Books

Unlike many works that Alan Lomax had has hand in, this book is great reading, if nothing more. I am not known to be a fan of Alan Lomax and his father as my review of _The Land Where the Blues Began_ attests, but at least Lomax realized what a treasure Jelly Roll Morton was and interviewed him and also had Morton create hours and hours of singing and piano music.


This book offers a digest of hours and hours of interviews with Morton in the late 1930s when Morton was living in Washington. It is supplemented by some very useful interviews Lomax did with New Orleans musicians and their families in the late 1940s. The New Orleans interviews provide very useful direct source material about the social and culture and professional milieu that both Creole and Black musicians in New Orleans Sprang from. A recently written criticial review by a real scholar at the close of the book explains the great limitations of Lomax's selections and writngs here.


Lomax apparently knew little about the real history and processes of New Orleans jazz and life, so that a lot of questions that someone interest in Morton's impact on music are not asked, not just in what Lomax selected to put in this book, but in the larger transcripts of Lomax's interviews and in the monologues Morton dictated to a stenographer as part of this project. Lomax's tendency is to seek out non-musical issue his stereotypical images of Blues and Jazz musicians call forth. This is quite unfortunate because to the end of his life, Morton had a very sophsiticated and articulate understanding of music and was capable of serious discussion of jazz and blues in formal musical terminology. He was a person who seriously thought about music most of the time when he was not playing it.

Recently scholars with new information drawn from new discoveries of Morton's personal archives, correspondence, and musical library as well as the range of interviews with other musicians tend to verify much of what as thought of after these intervews as bragadoccio. Morton probably was the first person to produce written compositions that were Jazz as opposed to rag time. He was certainly playing and writing down blues compositions before Handy. Even the greatest of early Jazz Pianists like James P. Johnson affirmed that both in the days before WWI and in the 1920s Morton outplayed all the great Jazz Pianists.

The examination and performance of the music that Morton wrote in the late 1930s indicates that Morton had not only mastered composition and band arrangement in a style that would have surpassed the most surpassed swing of his day but had written orchestral pieces that prefigured the modal Jazz that Coltrane and others presented in the 1950s. These and other compositions indicate that whatever the fortunes of his public performances, Morton was a serious composer whose skills continued to advance even in his last years when his health collapsed.

Yet flagged by failing health, Morton was never able to organize an orchestra that could have played these pieces. He had been told that he could have lived ten or fifteen more years had he given up performing music, but he wanted to make his music more than he wanted to live.

Finally, Morton WAS cheated out of millions of dollars in royalties by the music industry, especially by the Melrose Brothers and by ASCAP. He was one of the first musicians to challange the way the Mafia-connected music publishers simply robbed musicians of their compositions or did not pay them. Unlike some musicians who suffered quietly or WC Handy who was one of the token Blacks ASCAP paraded around to hide its racism, Morton launched a public campaign in Downbeat and other Jazz magazines that exposed the crimes of ASCAP and music publishers like Melrose.

Until the mid 1940s, ASCAP which collected royalties for compositions from record producers, radio, night clubs, and other places where music was played had a racist setup. Few Black members were admitted although royalties were collected for their music. Morton carried out a public and legal campaign for years to be admitted to ASCAP even though it was collecting millions for the large number of his compositions that had become great hits in the swing era, like the King Porter Stomp that became a standard that any competent string band cut its teeth on.

Once inside ASCAP, he found ASCAP distributed its royalties not based on the money different songs brought royalties but on what a board of ASCAP leaders decided was the cultural worth of different kinds of music. Thus while Broadway and classical writers were getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalty payments, Morton received under 200 dollars each of the two years he was living and a member of ASCAP. Morton protested and exposed this publically in the last years of his life and attempted to gather other victims of this system in a law suit. While he was dying and unable to carry on this struggle, his protests and the information he gathered led to congressional investigations in the 1940s that forced an end to discrimination in ASCAP in regard to membership and forced it to distribute royalties based on the sales of the music, not on its "value."

The issue of braggadocio also comes here from the fact that Lomax supplied Morton with a bottle of whiskey for each Interview. Morton was not an alcholic, but those who have studied the transcripts have noted that Morton grew more inaccurate, abrasive, and unreliable longer into the interviews as the booze took effect.

This fits into Alan Lomax's consistent pattern of trying to make sources, particularly Black sources fit into the stereotypes he had about them. Lomax who took many photographs of his folk sources, for example, would force people who preferred being photographed in the Sunday Best, to appear in old work clothes. While Leadbelly actually favored the finest suits and imposed a dress code on Sonny Terry and Brownie MCGhee when they roomed at his New York Home (suits and ties as musicians are professionals and get a case, not a sack for the instrument) Lomax forced him to perform in prison garb or overalls. Lomax also created the fiction that singing and the intercession of his father John Lomax had some relationship with Leadbelly being released fromthe Louisiana penitentary when Leadbelly was released as part of program that automatically reduced prison sentences due to depression-caused cutbacks.

Lomax wanted precisely to convey a picture of Morton filled with whiskey, smokey rooms, and so forth, when Morton was one of the biggest stars of music between 1917 and 1930, performing in some of the most sophisticated venues and a particular favorite with Hollywood film stars of the period.

Despite these criticisms, I urge anyone interested in finding out not only about Jelly Roll Morton, but about the origins of Jazz in New Orleans and the entertainment industry in the earkly 20th Century to read this book. A good supplement, or perhaps a better place to start would be _Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton_ by Howard Reich. This can be followed by _Dead Man Blues: Jelly Roll Morton Way Out West by Phil Pastras_.

In spite of Jelly's bragadocio and the author's lack of Jazz background (Lomax was a folklorist) it's a very interesting book. Jelly must have felt injusticed when, in the late thirties, Benny Goodman was earning lots of money with "King Porter's Stomp". But the truth is that, exactly like King Oliver, he was outpaced by the revolution started by Satchmo.

I have always been a fan of Jelly Roll Morton, and I've always looked for books about him. This is by far the best. I loved it. I wish they would re-issue it

Alan Lomax interviewed Jelly Roll while doing an extensive set of recordings shortly before Morton's death. He followed up with a number of interviews with people who knew Jelly Roll. Lomax did a fabulous job of keeping himself out of the way while letting the often colorful information from the interviews tell the story of Jelly's part in the birth of jazz, a story with triumphs, massive ego and ultimate decline. I read a library copy and am buying a copy for a present.

This is one of the rare books for it can be enjoyed by just about anyone who picks it up. Its the amazing account of the life of Jelly Roll Morton, one of the best jazz pianists of all time. Though a braggart and troubled man, he created some of the very best pieces of jazz. The book goes into his life from his childhood and his time working at Storyville to the very troubled end in the early forties. You learn about his family, his troubled relationships with Anita and Mabel and how he went from being wildly successful to dying virtually forgotten. Voodoo, New Orleans, jazz and Creole culture, its all here.

Written with flair and never boring, Mr. Jelly Roll is a book that you will read more than once. Its a look at a legend and a glimpse into a world we can only know of through books and music. Get this if you want a good read and a look at Mr. Morton's life. A true classic.

This book is stuffed with detailed information on the Mod culture of the early 60's. The author goes on and on telling whatever he can on what was going on, how they dressed, what they liked, the drugs, the scooters...everything! That's not all of it. That book contians thousands of black and white photographs of the scene (images of the kids danceing, riding and strutin' themselves across the beaches). This book tells the history of mod from it's humble begings to it's sad end in the mid-sixties. I would recomend this book to anyone who is interested in Mod. I would also suggest viewing the movie "Quadrophenia" for more of an idea of what Mod was.

Well, I used to get mad trying to look cute like them, me and my mates spent hours reading it! I translated it into Italian and photocopied my translation handing it out at the mod meetings held in Rimini each easter. Now I'm past those days but sweet memories still keep coming back.
A reportage from the past with fresh and amazing photos, but you'll find that style is not a fashion!
Five stars is my rating, but is not an impartial one!

Richard Barnes has written a fine book about the Mod sub culture of the early 1960's. This book tells all about the different fashions, types of music, scooters, dances and even amphetamines. It is the defifnative book on Mods and every 'face' ought to have it

This book has become the acknowledged starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about the 1960's Mod youth movement. The book is filled with photographs and articles from the time. Thoroughly recommended for Mods or anyone wishing to find out about this most important of subcultures.

An in-depth look at the destinctively British sub-culture commonly known as "Mod". This book takes you there in black and white with remarkable photos and descriptive text. Take a trip back in time; back to the summer of '64 on the beaches of Brighton. See original mods dressed to kill- literally! Mods, in their uniforms of three-button tonik suits and military parkas, fighting Rockers, marching into beachside towns to terrorize small businesses and vacationers, throwing deck chairs, and chanting, "We are the Mods!, We are the Mods!, We are, We are, We are the Mods!" Afterwards, it's off with the mods on their Vespas and Lambrettas, adorned with chrome mirrors and lights to the local night club to pop a few leapers and dance till dawn with that special bird.

This is an excellent book for those of us who grew up with Motown! Now I can sing along and even sing the correct lyrics.

If you're a Motown music fan you must have MOTOWN IN LOVE: it packs in under one cover all the words to all the love songs of Motown's 'golden era', from 'My Girl' and 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' to 'Bernadette' and 'Let's Get It Own'. Perfect for sing-alongs, MOTOWN IN LOVE gathers classics under one cover and makes it easy for singers to gather a group of like-minded music together. Any popular music library and many a public library will find it popular.

I am hearing impaired and need to see the lyrics. This book has them all and I love it.

First of I'm not in the habit of buying books that have no plot or can't teach me anything or at least be entertaining in some way.But now I must admit I'm glad I got this book.This book is all about the lyrics I grew up listening to.On some of these songs I never fully understood the words or I didn't remenber them until I found this book.This book contains some of the best songs that came out of the Motown era.While under the leadership of Berry Gordy Motown put together a group of talented singers,arrangers,producers and songwriters.The lyrics that people like Marvin Gaye,Smokey Robinson,Stevie Wonder and Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote beautiful pomes that go straight to the heart.As you read the lyrics you can hear the music that goes with the song in your head.Taking you back to the sixes.In conclusion as I was reading this book I must admit I was wrong.This book does have a plot in a strange way.The plot of this book is to take us back to an era when songs were true pomes of love.Lyrics that taught us how to express our feelings toward those we love.And those songs found a way to somehow entertain us along the way.

everyone i shared this book with loved it and everyone wants a copy

I agree with everyone who loves this book, which combines the historical scholarship of Fernando Ortiz with careful transcriptions of New York-based bata drummers, including Jesus Perez, Julio Collazo, and Puntilla.

This book is all rhythms, marvelous if you are a drummer or other musician, do not get this if you are looking for a history of santeria.

This book DOES include the CD, which is indispensable for learning the rhythms. There is only one ISBN for the BOOK/CD set, which is 0-941677-70-2. If your copy doesn't contain the CD, return it for one that does, and do NOT buy the CD from dealers who try to sell it separately for as much as $200 on Amazon marketplace and elsewhere.

Happy drumming!

This is a great book for learning about the music of santeria, but it has some short comings as far as TEACHING how to play the bata drums. This book covers historical background, musical structure and provides notations for many traditional bata songs. I would not consider it to be an instructional book.

My book came with a CD, which is perhaps the best recording I have been able to find of traditional bata drumming (most discs have vocals with the drumming that make it difficult to specifically concentrate on the drums). This disc consists of recordings of specific songs being performed on bata drums.

I wish that the CD would have broken up the parts for the indivdual drums to make that easier to hear. I would also have liked to have some instructional demonstrations on the disc to hear various techniques of playing the bata drums. The text is also weak on instructional techniques for the drums with only 9 photographs and 1 page of text dedicated to teaching technique. There is no discussion or demonstration for the use of bata drums with contemporary music. I realize that this is not the intention of this book, and apparently teaching technique is not either. (I sure would like to find a book dealing with these issues!)

Having been a student of Amira's, and having travelled to Cuba several times, I know a little about what this book means for people who study Afro-Cuban sacred rhythms. Cornelius is also a drummer and ethnomusicologist.
This book is accurate, interesting, and extremely informative. But it is a shame that Amazon doesn't carry the CD that goes with this book--it is a clearly laid out study of the most important rhythms. I have known some drummers who grew up playing in Havana to get excited when they heard this recording, and ask to play specific sections over again to study them in detail.
This book is satisfying to all levels--from the beginner who wants to start learning a little about the rhythms, to the advanced scholar who is ready to dive into the details. The authors are completely trustworthy sources of information and this is a work of devotion and years of study.

The book did what I was looking for to do in regard to the bata drumming styles and rhythms. This is the real timimg of the Yoruba-Nigerian and Cuban expressions of the bata drums. I hope it would had the same effect on you as it did to me. Even if you are not a musician or just love community drumming the bata rhythms are the original trive toques(Spanish)of the Afro-Caribean Cuban Santeros and the Latinos Musicians that used them in Salsa Music of today.

This book is great!!!! This book provides the only transcription of sacred rhythms of Santeria I have been able to find. The transcriptions are accurate. The authors are also very respectful of the religious nature of the music. This book is useful for both musicians and non-musicians.

The best Musical Movie Poster book available today! This book has it all. Beautifully photographed and reproduced in great color this book reveals the outstanding artists, designers and photographers that created movie poster "Works of Art" from the early days of movie musicals to the current. A"must have" for the movie memorabilia collector and movie musical fan. Superb!

Want to add an excellent reference to your collection of books dealing with the Hollywood Musicals? Then this book is it. Just like those musicals from the golden age of Hollywood, this book has it all. Beautiful photographed images, lots of (techni) colours, stars in their greatest moments. Truly an Oscar winning performance! The book is printed in good quality paper and images are very clear and of good size on each page. Of course it's impossible to include a poster from every musicals in any given year, but the selections Bruce Hershenson made are excellent. A page may contain an average of 5 images while some are giving the full page treatment (e.g. Grease, Singin' In the Rain). Definitely an excellent addition to your library of movie books.

Eye-catching poster art reflects changing styles throughout the history of movie musicals. This gorgeous collection is another highlight in Bruce Hershenson's delightful collection of poster books, every one of which is a great value and a treasure to own.

With the notable exceptions of Oliver! (1968), Cabaret (1972), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Tommy (1975) and Evita (1996), Hollywood has essentially turned its back on a genre that this book re-captures in all its glory. The images are superb, the color and quality are sublime. Though the book is straightforward, a thread of sadness runs subconsciously from its first to its last pages, as one ruminates about what this genre was all about, what it could have been and why it is, for all intents and purposes, dead except on the New York, London and Toronto stages. From Astaire and Rogers to Gene Kelly, Streisand and even the Beatles, it's all covered here. Though it seems awkward to most of today's audiences to see a person in the middle of a scene break out into a song with no band playing behind him on screen, this was the accepted norm and was often the the portion of a film that had an audience soaring in their seats. That such a feeling has all but disappeared makes this book all the more precious, preventing this genre from fading into the wisps of memory. The beautiful thing about this book is the unexpected. Rather than delve into the expected great musicals with the standard American images (which are included in great detail nevertheless), this book includes artwork from other countries, art that is more "in your face" and thought provoking. Who can forget the image used for the Polish version of the 1972 release of "Cabaret?" (Joel Grey's face in the center of four stocking legs bent into the shape of a swastika?) This is the kind of thing that you would never have seen printed or distributed in the U.S., works of art that can only be bought for thousands of dollars today at many of America's biggest auction houses. If you are the least bit interested in the jaw-dropping beauty of what has become a lost art -- the exercise of drawing images associated with the advertising of a Hollywood film -- this is the book to have. This book is part of movie poster maven Bruce Hershenson's exhaustive multi-volume series of books highlighting the history and beauty of what much of mainstream America has only in the last ten years begun to recognize. And that is movie posters are a "popular art" form that can stand proudly next to all other styles of art from gothic to modern, from expressionist to impressionist. Great film art borrows from all of these styles and this volume, which focuses only on posters associated with musicals, illustrates innumerable examples whereby despite the restrictive nature of the genre (musicals), not all posters went in the same direction in terms of style and presentation. From Shall We Dance to A Star is Born, from 42nd Street to Yellow Submarine, Hershenson and Allen have built an incredible archive (and legacy) of images in all of their books, capturing a period (when all posters were drawn by hand and then printed, as opposed to today's method of using photographic stock and manipulating them digitally and printing them by the thousands) that would otherwise be lost forever. A fine book for any collector (get the hardcover edition if you can, it's harder to find; if Amazon doesn't have it, it's available from Mr. Hershenson directly at mail@brucehershenson.com).

For lovers of film, film history, and specifically, poster art, Bruce Hershenson's series of full-color books is the cream of the crop! And, the quality of printing and photography is superb, with razor sharp images and vibrant colors.

i bought this for my husband, a green day fan and guitarist/lead singer in his own band, for christmas and he LOVED this book. neither he or his friends knew it existed and are taking turns reading it.

For years I have enjoyed Green Day's lyrics, punk rock mentality, and original sound they carry from 1000 hours through to American Idiot. Upon the release of American Idiot and their worldwide tour, I wanted to know everything I could about their development and psychology that goes into their particular brand of madness. This book had everything I could have possibly wanted to know and more. I feel like I'll always appreciate their contribution to human society as a whole. Thanks to Marc for writing this book.

While the career of Green Day is not lengthy compared to many rock lengends, I found "Nobody Likes You" to be a cohesive and thorough account of their lives and careers to date. Marc Spitz has again successfully delved into the economic background and times that shaped these young men into one of the best punk rock bands of modern times.

my love for green day is inconsistant, and i know all there is to know about everything concerning green day. when i heard about this new novel about green day, i snatched it up the moment it came out in stores. i spent my evening reading this engrossing novel, and was shocked to find many candid interviews that made me cry with joy! some of the things i already knew, but that is only because i am a hardcore fan. Those who like green day, and would like to take a peek into their lives, fame, and stress, will absolutely without a doubt eat this novel up. it is that good. it isnt boring, and very insightful. i recommend it greatly.

Just to highlight something another reviewer put in their brief review of this title, it is not a 'novel'. Novels are works of fiction. This is the polar opposite.

I am holding the book here in my hand preparing to analyze it for my job at a national book supplier, and will likely end up purchasing a copy for my son.

It appears to be a concise, well-written history of the group. Check out the Booklist review.

Simply a classic! There is no other book written on jazz that even comes close. A.T.'s questions were intelligent, pointed and insightful. I loved the interview format. It gave the musicians an even wider canvas to paint on. The no-holds-barred and candid portrait of Black life should be a book to cherish for ages to come.

Notes and Tones is distinct in its highly synergistic dialogue. The fact that Arthur Taylor was a serious [Black] jazz drummer, with a familiar professional and personal relationship with many of the interviewees, resulted in wide ranging discussions marked by unguarded sincerity. Certain themes are touched upon numerous times [the Black Power movement & the need for jazz musicians to unite and practice cooperative economics], which while perhaps dating the book, nevertheless provide a telling contrast to the current state of affairs in the music world in general, and the social concerns of the U.S. Black community specifically. This clearly was a labor of love, and the insights shared by these iconic figures consistently inspire me to make the most of my time and efforts in whatever I'm pursuing, every time I read from the book.

Arthur Taylor, a most creative source of a force in the drumming world, has created a moving, startling, and lovely group of interviews of some of the most influential artists in jazz (Black Classical) music. Giants like; Thelonious Monk, Erroll Garner, Elvin Jones, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and so many others paint images of pointedness, beauty, intellect and feeling. The reader really gets an insight into the personalities and lives of these wonderful people that are the lineage of the only true American art form. I really recomend the book to anyone, from the person who has had one passing thought about jazz artists to those who dedicate their life to the art form, or any artform. This is, as they say, the real deal. I am humbled by Mr. Taylor's wonderful work and, in my own way, feel love for each of the unique artists that he interviews. Thank You Arthur!

A genuinely fascinating collection of interviews with some of the most important jazz figures of the 1950s-60s. (It's worth the purchase price just for the goofy, entertaining exchange with Dexter Gordon which opens the book.) Not only do you get an unusually intimate sense of what some of these brilliant musicians were/are actually like in "real life," but the book is particularly interesting--and frank--about the subject of race, in the jazz world and beyond. If you love jazz, don't miss this book.

Arthur Taylor, a most creative source of a force in the drumming world, has created a moving, startling, and lovely group of interviews of some of the most influential artists in jazz (Black Classical) music. Giants like; Thelonious Monk, Erroll Garner, Elvin Jones, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and so many others paint images of pointedness, beauty, intellect and feeling. The reader really gets an insight into the personalities and lives of these wonderful people that are the lineage of the only true American art form. I really recomend the book to anyone, from the person who has had one passing thought about jazz artists to those who dedicate their life to the art form, or any artform. This is, as they say, the real deal. I am humbled by Mr. Taylor's wonderful work and, in my own way, feel love for each of the unique artists that he interviews. Thank You Arthur!

Years ago, I purchased the Nutcracker Suite in full score, only to discover that it was only a few famous selections from the full ballet. This was my own mistake because I failed to realize that it was, in fact, merely the suite in full score. But now, after waiting for years after, Dover has presented us with a wonderful full score of the whole ballet that we all know as the most famous ballet ever written. If you are a great admirer of this magnificent work by Tchaikovsky, I highly suggest purchasing this well-priced score.

Despite the remarks of a couple of previous reviewers, this Dover score is very much a faithful reprint of the score first issued in September 1892 by P. Jurgenson, Moscow. The original price was 150 rubles, which was roughly the equivalent of $75 in 1892 dollars - or $1500 in 2005 dollars!! It's therefore safe to say that this Dover reprint is a terrific bargain.

I can understand the previous reviewers' excitement, though. Having the complete ballet available - with page after page of such glorious music - is a pure delight for music lovers. The quality of Dover's printing and binding is excellent even by their usual high standards. They absolutely deserve each and every one of the five stars I'm giving them in this review.

I finally broke down and bought this excellent reprint of the full score. It completes my circle of "Nutcracker" appreciation: first as music (as a kid - two recordings and the piano pieces that drove my parents crazy), then as ballet (as a teen, the first ballet I ever saw), then as orchestration (as the celesta player - "I AM Sugar-Plum!"), and now I can look at the score with full appreciation, with more than one exclamation of "So THAT'S how he did it!" Everything from the translated Russian to the French stage directions adds to the value of this highly affordable publication. A real joy.

at last a cheap, clear score of the nutcracker ballet. it seems to be a new engraving, not just a reprint of a 19th century edition. the orchestration is as fresh as ever and the score lets you into the nitty gritty of tchaikovsky's inspiration for this his last ballet. I hope we don't wait too long for similar editions of sleeping beauty and swan lake. have fun and enjoy.

I have long awaited this publication. Shortly after I purchased the Nutcracker Suite from Dover 6 years ago, I wrote them multiple times asking them to consider publishing the complete work, but I was disappointed until now.

A reprint of an "Authoritative Early [Russian?] Edition," the score is very pleasingly engraved, close-spaced but not overly crowded. In the front, there is a translation of all the Russian notes that occur in the text, and all of the French stage directions are translated in footnotes at the bottom of the pages. Though it is over 500 pages, Dover has used paper thinner than their norm (yet with virtually no bleed-through), so the book is not too thick. It is, however, a little floppier than most of my other Dover scores. That, though, is a very small price to pay finally to own a full score of this most-popular ballet!

Finally, I can study the orchestration in some of the gems not found in the suite, such as the Waltz of the Snowflakes, Chocolate (Spanish Dance), and others--in an edition that is both affordable and well-made. I had been able to borrow a copy of the 2-volume paperback Kalmus edition (atrociously expensive for a student's budget) from my college library, and I was shocked at how poorly it was bound. The spine cracked after one or two GENTLE usings and pages were about to fall out. Such will not be the case with this Dover edition. I look forward to many years of pleasant study and enjoyment with this volume.

I have just recently become interested in the whole horror film genre and a friend recommended that I read Mr. Soister's book. I'm glad I did. I learned lots of interesting stuff about the whole Universal horror film business and had an easy time pouring through the chapters. It was fun reading and Mr. Soister's keen insights and humorous style kept me wanting more. I hope he has another book waiting in the wings! Congratulations on delivering a winner.

John Soister has been a contributor to various horror books in the past. His ability to capture the details of the horror films of the 20's & 30's truly entertaining. He expresses his opinions with humor yet based on fact.

Mr. Soister has done a remarkable job here! Not only has he covered some of Universal's greatest horror films, he has given them a new, fresh perspective. All the greats are covered here, FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, THE MUMMY, etc., but he has also written about much lesser known and borderline horror films that I've NEVER seen written about, like the entire Crime Club series of the late 1930's. His book covers in great detail Universal's horror and mystery output from the 1930's, and wonderfully so! Here's hoping he does another volume for the 1940's films. Can't wait to see what he writes about JUNGLE WOMAN!! A 'must have' for any horror film fan!

Wonderfully written, full of intelligent, objective opinions, Soister's book is a breath of fresh air on a subject that I suspect most fans feel they already know thoroughly. "Of Gods and Monsters" opened my eyes to the many dozens of "forgotten" Universal films made in the 1930s, particularly their oddball mysteries (like the fascinating "Inner Sanctum" series). Sadly, few of these films are available on home video... yet. One hopes that perhaps NBC-Universal's execs will read this book and learn about their past history, and open up the vaults so that fans can enjoy these classics again, instead of having them gather dust.

If you have Soister's book, along with the Brunas/Brunas/Weaver "Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films" (also from McFarland), you've got a fairly well-rounded coverage of Hollywood's great horror classics. I only wish that the publishers would consider allowing the author to do a second volume covering the rest of Universal's classic mystery/SF/horror films from 1940-1959. That would tell the rest of the story, particularly for the 1940s, which was a very rich period for the studio.

Usually I skip long, detailed plot synopses in movie books, but with Soister I look forward to them. Like most critics, Soister is even more entertaining when discussing a bad film -- I laughed out loud through his description of several stinkers in this entertaining book -- but this teacher from Pensylvania is never less than authoritative. Soister covers all the Universal horror, sci-fi, and related films 1929-1939 in this handsome volume, which no fan of the genres should be without. It doesn't matter that "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" have been discussed at length in previous works -- do yourself a favor and "see" them once more through the eyes of John Soister!