Leonard Cohen Books

This is the second book of Cohen's poetry and it is filled with his unique brand of religion and sexuality, the sacred and the profane. One of the fascinating aspects of Leonard Cohen's poetry has been its elasticity and it's interesting to see how it has evolved over the years; you only have to look at the poems in THE SPICE BOX OF EARTH(1961) compared to the poems in THE ENERGY OF SLAVES(1972) to see the difference; the great thing is that they're all GOOD!(I even prefer his later, angrier, uglier "anti-poems" to those found here;THE ENERGY OF SLAVES is my favorite Cohen book.) It seems to me that Leonard Cohen has always been on a spiritual path--always changing, evolving, searching for the answers that we all look for. There are some breathtakingly lovely poems in this book. No one writes like Leonard Cohen, although I must confess that as 17 year old lad I wanted very much to write like him and tried, with less than wonderful results. All of his books are worth owning and I hope to see new editions of his earlier work re-published someday, as almost all of his early poetry books are now long out of print and selections from them can only be found in his later collected works,most notably STRANGER MUSIC.

That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. Fans of Cohen will recognize "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako, a near-contemporary of Leonard Cohen, has given us a remarkably candid and fascinating memoir -- notably well-written and a great read. The writing just flows.

I ordered this and The Favorite Game, taking advantage of Amazons buy two and get a deal policy.
I didn't like this book at all. It doesn't feel as natural as Favorite Game, it doesn't flow like FG and doesn't delieve like FG.
I don't know what Mister Cohen was trying to accomplish... James Joyce or Henry Miller lost generation of Montreal?
The only reason I gave this two stars instead of one is solely on my adoration of the author.

This book is a really long song. It's beautiful and flowing and drowning. It is the song of a siren luring you into the depths of rocks and flowers. Beautiful Losers is a great read whether in one day or a year. I recommend it and forcefully push it upon you as a must read.

"Beautiful Losers" merges the profane with the sacred to create an unforgettable, disturbing and wildly elated vision. Using masterful stream-of-consciousness, Leonard Cohen breaks the barriers: nothing is off-limits, nothing is too precious, nothing is too spiritual. Everything, including all forms of erotic acts, will be desecrated on these pages: but none of the writing is gratuitous. With every blasphemous thought and image, we are drawn into an ecstatic spiritual quest, such that in the midst of an insanely orgasmic scene, replete with blood, violence, debilitating pleasure, we find this treasure:

("O Father, Nameless and Free of Description, lead me from the Desert of the Possible. Too long I have dealt with Events. Too long I labored to become an Angel. I chased Miracles with a bag of Power to salt their wild Tails. I tried to dominate Insanity so I could steal its Information. I tried to program the Computers with Insanity. I tried to create Grace to prove that Grace e isted. ... We could not see Evidence stretched our Memories. Dear Father, accept this confession: we did not train ourselves to Receive because we believed there wasn't Anything to Receive and we could not endure with this Belief.")

At the center of the novel is the unforgettable "F", the great iconoclast, the sexualist searching for the divine experience, the man who betrays with joy, who gives and receives pain with bliss, who howls out his darkness in a search for light.

Readers who relate to "Beautiful Losers" may also be open to "Miss MacIntosh My Darling", "Art and Lies", and (of course) Satre's "No Exit." Still, to see such roaring poetry and prose bundled into a novel is rare, and "Beautiful Losers" is one-of-a-kind.

Having avoided Leonard Cohen for so long, lumping him with the "classic rock" I found annoying, I'm now in the midst of a serious Leonard Cohen Obsession by way of a Jeff Buckley cover and then this massively brilliant, inspired and dense, genuis, pornographic, and simply awesome novel. The language in this book is so alive, you would think it would grow flesh on the page. Any passage rivals Henry Miller, James Joyce, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you're looking for a plot-driven page turner, go elsewhere. This is the stuff of serious linguistic revelry, for people who like to read books that make you jealous that he wrote it, and you didn't.

Like: Days without work. Why did that list depress me? I should never have made the list. I've done something bad to your belly, Edith. I tried to use it. I tried to use your belly against the Plague. I tried to be a man in a padded locker room telling a beautiful smutty story to eternity. I tried to be an emcee in a tuxedo arousing a lodge of honeymooners, my bed full of golf windows. I forgot that I was desperate. I forgot that I began this research in desperation. My briefcase fooled me. My tidy notes led me astray. I thought I was doing a job.

Or: Oh God, Your Morning Is Perfect. People Are Alive In Your World. I Can Hear The Little Children In The Elevator. The Airplane Is Flying Through The Original Blue. Mouths Are Eating Breakfast. The Radio Is Filled With Electricity. The Trees Are Excellent.

[It goes on for two pages like this, beautiful, perfect.]

So, I would have to say that I give this an effusive six out of five stars.

And, I should add, Leonard Cohen is NOT dead! He is a Zen monk. Where are the novels that he was supposed to write for us? He was cheated out of his retirement fund by an ex-wife/manager. You should buy this book so he can retire comfortably, as he should, one of the great genuises of the English language that has been overshadowed by the filthy stupidity of the rock industry of America.

The end !

by Leonard Cohen, is well worth the read: That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. Fans of Cohen will recognize "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako, a near-contemporary of Leonard Cohen, has given us a remarkably candid and fascinating memoir -- notably well-written and a great read. The writing just flows.

Leonard Cohen's Book of Longing

Aside from being a creative genius in a multitude of artistic disciplines, Leonard Cohen is an old man. And with age comes wisdom. Take for example, this stanza from "Better."

better than art
is repulsive art
which demonstrates
better than scripture
the tiny measure
of your improvement

No dummy, this guy. But then, you knew that already.

Twenty years in the making, Book of Longing [Ecco/HarperCollins]was written on southern California's Mount Baldy and in Los Angeles, Montreal and Mumbai. The author of twelve books and seventeen albums of music, this collection of poems follows his highly acclaimed 1984 publication, Book of Mercy. Containing his own wonderful, playful and provocative line drawings, Book of Longing is a celebration of one of contemporary times' best and truest flesh-and-blood examples of unlimited artistic expression.

Leonard Cohen's poetry is loaded with Bukowski's truth and simple statements, but without the ugliness. There are tons of love poems, reflections on drinking and God (oops, I mean "G-d"--he's Jewish, you know), loneliness, philosophy, aging, friendships, food, sober highs, celebrations of the body and sex, sex, sex. But it's all done with manners--a classiness Bukowski never knew-- a masculine sensitivity that's never maudlin, and a ripe, heavy, juice-laden life that few words in print have ever had the strength to carry.

There are some moments when Cohen veers into classical meter and rhyme, but he pulls it off with the smart currency of the lyric, and yet somehow, even in the hipness, he can still manage to make the reader tear up:

And fragrant is the thought of you
The file on you complete
Except what we forgot to do
A thousand kisses deep

There is unresolved anger and hurt:

I could not kill
the way you kill
I could not hate
I tried, I failed

and

Fare thee well my nightingale
I lived but to be near you
Though you are singing somewhere still
I can no longer hear you

But mostly, in all its spiritual, physical and emotional forms, there is truth:

This is it
I'm not coming after you
I'm going to lie down for half an hour
This is it
I'm not going down
on your memory
I'm not rubbing my face in it anymore
I'm going to yawn
I'm going to stretch
I'm going to put a knitting needle
up my nose
and poke out my brain
I don't want to love you
for the rest of my life
I want your skin
to fall off my skin
I want my clamp
to release your clamp
I don't want to live
with this tongue hanging out
and another filthy song
in the place
of my baseball bat
This is it
I'm going to sleep now darling
Don't try to stop me
I'm going to sleep
I'll have a smooth face
and I'm going to drool
I'll be asleep
whether you love me or not
This is it
The New World Order
of wrinkles and bad breath
It's not going to be
like it was before
eating you
with my eyes closed
hoping you won't get up
and go away
It's going to be something else
Something worse
Something sillier
Something like this
only shorter


And when the reader gets to the last page, they know it can never be it. There is no choice but to turn back to the first page and start again.



O my love
don't you know that we have been killed
and that we died together

I love this book, I sent it to a friend and she loved it too. Much of it is peppered with little Zen-like Buddhist concepts, if you're into eastern schools of thought, you will get a lot out of this book. Nothing like a lovesick Buddhist, right?

The Magnificent Talent of Leonard Cohen!
This Book is Beautiful & Magnificent in every Aspect!
One is in Awe with every page.

Leonard Cohen heads an elite class of poets/singer-songwriters. I don't like everything Leonard Cohen writes, but almost everything. When he's on, nobody does it any better. Nobody. And he may be getting older (aren't we all) but he still has all the melancholy and pent up feelings you can handle. His "Thousand Kisses Deep" is truly fantastic. Such imagery. Such passion. His poems explore religion, isolation, sexuality. His five years in seclusion as a Zen buddhist monk just helped Leonard focus his raw talent to better effect. This collection will delight the poetic heart.

worth the read: That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. Rako, a near-contemporary of Leonard Cohen, has given us a remarkably candid, fascinating, and wonderfully well-written memoir. The writing just flows.

Anyone who knows anything about Leonard Cohen, knows that he started out as a popular Canadian poet before he became a world-famous singer/songwriter. Once he began his career as a songwriter, this genre became his main focus,and he largely abandoned his poetry. Judging by this book of poems and song lyrics, he made a wise choice.

Many of his songs are now considered masterpieces of the singer/songwriter genre, among them, "Suzanne," The Chelsea Hotel," and "I'm Your Man." His poetry, on the other hand, is not so highly esteemed. Although his poetry is undoubtedly better than most songwriters' poetry, it still doesn't hold up very well.

This book's mix of Cohen's poems and song lyrics might serve fans of his albums well if they're looking for an entry into the world of poetry, but I don't believe the book adequately shows off Cohen's talents.

His greatest successes were not in his poetry or prose but in his songs, and to get the greatest sense of his skills as a writer, I would recommend listening to a compilation of his songs. A good place to start is probably "The Best of Leonard Cohen" or "The Essential Leonard Cohen."

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One of my top gift items: Turn people on to this book. It is a terrific, full anthology that includes much out-of-print material. The poetry is stylistically wide in scope (from how-did-he-do that perfect to sparse, intense, free-verse); it has unique, emotionally-driven language choices, rhythm and content. Its tenor is lugubrious, and its subject matter tends toward sex and religion.

This, as opposed to his individual books of poetry: The individual books are typically short and some are wonderful -- each is very different, thus liked by different tastes. If you don't own any Cohen books, buy this first -- it's got great poems (plus clips of prose, as from "Beautiful Losers"). The chapters are laid out by book and album title (lyrics are here, too); therefore, if/when you want another book after, you will know which one. One thing I don't like about it is the change in poem titles from their originals.

This books ends when Cohen is in his 50's, at least in the previously unpublished poems at the end -- so, before the monastery part of his life, though religion is well part of him (he is Orthodox Jewish and views his Buddhism as compatible with his Judaism). I'm not much a fan of his post-monastery work, and if I have one regret it's that I discovered Leonard Cohen within the past ten years, and never got to see him live.

Know, too, that Cohen was a published poet--well-known in Canada--before he recorded music. He began to play guitar while reading poetry -- it went over well!

More than once I've read poetry by favorite musicians and though, "Oh. Without music, this isn't very good." But Cohen was a writer first--the strength of his songs has always been the lyrics. This book is a collection of both poetry and lyrics (and a little poetic prose). It's vintage Cohen--dark and passionate and violent and melodramatic. It's about torrid love affairs and failed marriages and betrayal and war. If you like Cohen's lyrics, you'll like these poems, though you won't find any departures here.

I had been introduced to Leonard Cohen in the late '80's through a high school boyfriend, and my roommate in college used to read his poetry when we had gatherings - when she read "Suzanne" aloud I realized for the first time how beautiful the lyrics were and, despite loving Cohen's music, I wanted to see more of his lyrics stripped bare so I could enjoy them on their own. I was in Austin on my birthday in th early 90's and was window-shopping the Tower Records on Guadelupe. Lo and behold, "Stanger Music" was on display. I remember it being expensive ( I was in college, $20.00 was a lot of money!) but heck, it was my birthday so I splurged. It's still one of my favorite gifts to myself and my all-time favorite book of poetry.
Cohen's writing reveals a lot of tenderness and soul while being very masculine. He writes about mundane things and makes them beautiful with his words, he observes everything with appreciation and is able to fully immerse himself in a moment - probably a quality honed during his monastic years. His poetry is very honest and unashamed, there is no fear of vulnerability. Some of it is deeply romantic and some is just downright sexy (but always tastefully so.) "My Room" is the most provocative two lines of poetry I've ever read. Truly amazing stuff, highly recommended.

comes from "Anthem" by Leonard Cohen, is well worth the read: That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. Fans of Cohen will recognize "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako, a near-contemporary of Leonard Cohen, has given us a remarkably candid and fascinating memoir -- notably well-written and a great read. The writing just flows.

Dance Me to the End of Love (Art & Poetry)

this is a beautiful book which joins Leonard Cohen's poem/song with Henri Matisse's paintings - a fabulous gift for someone you love, whether or not they are a Leonard Cohen fan

This edition of Leonard Cohen's song/poem with the artwork of Matisse is beautiful and the perfect gift for any engaged couple. If a man were to give this to me, I would have to melt before him. It could only be improved if a CD of L. Cohen was included with his deep, rich, smoky and phenomenally sexy voice bringing to life the dance.

It's hard to believe Matisse did not collaborate on this book. The perfect symbiosis of the poetry and illustrations truly dance you through to the end. I bought this book as a gift. I'm keeping it.

Dance Me to the End of Love is a supremely great song, but the sketchy Matisse paintings that promiscuously drape this book do nothing to enhance it.

It is not really review of book (how can I actually review book written by man who is lights of years talented than me?). I just wanted to say - this is book of music notes for Leonard Cohen songs. Yesterday I received it and I was surprised. Have friend of mine who is musician - book will become a gift for him.

This Leonard Cohen Anthology is a wonderful collection of the great poet's work. Not all of his work, but much of it. The songs, to me, are wonderful and hypnotic. The price for the book is more than worth spending.

The 43 songs in this book cover Leonard Cohen's work up through 1988, with his I'm Your Man album being the last one represented. While the 1969 book Songs of Leonard Cohen contained an essay and many photographs with vocal lines and guitar tablature from his first two albums, there are no photographs or extras in this collection.

This book presents vocal lines, guitar chords, and a grand staff for piano arrangements. The typography and layout are excellent, though the piano arrangements cause a number of songs to be run out for six, eight or ten pages. The 43 songs included represent a good cross-section of Cohen's most prolific period of songwriting.

As I have always been attracted to Leonard Cohen's mysterious poem and song writing; now I can and you too, experience the thrill of playing guitar or piano to Leonard's classic songs such as, Sister's of Mercy, Suzanne, Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye, etc. We can do justice to these compositions since chord charts are provided making each page in this anthology easy to read with melodies - accurately -chord matched. In other words, it's not a fake book. Lyrics, though not text underlayed, can be manipulated under first verses, especially if you are a guitar player and are not in need of the piano treble and bass systems. Regardless, you won't be let down. Make this Anthology of Mr. Cohen's life's work masterpieces part of your creative library. Ok, I've gotta go now, Bird on A Wire is hovering over my guitar.

This book is very good and does contain many sons which are difficult to come by, however it does not contain any guitar tablature as the description states.

At one stage known as Canada's poet laureate of existential despair, Cohen published a number of poetry books and the classic novel Beautiful Losers during the 1960s and early 1970s. First published in 1972, this book contains 117 of his poems.

I always look for imagery and phrases from his lyrics, of which there are plenty here: The germ of his song I Left A Woman Waiting from the album Death of a Ladies' Man appears on p.5 and a line from Listening To Her Song on p.41. "There's a lot of music/on Clinton street") connects with the lyric of Famous Blue Raincoat, while the lines that appear on the cover of the album Songs of Love and Hate are here too: "They locked up a man/Who wanted to rule the world/The fools/They locked up the wrong man."

Dance on The Money is a poem about Greece and his Beat contemporaries are acknowledged in a poem about Irving Layton and Allen Ginsberg, plus there's a poem to Norma Mailer (Dear Mailer) whilst from Songs of Leonard Cohen, Suzanne of the famous lyric features in The Form of Poetry: "The whole world told me/To shut up and go home/And Suzanne took me down/To her place by the river."

I am not a literary critic, but Cohen's poetics reminds me of that of the Beats and to a lesser extent, of that of the 1960s Confessional school like Robert Lowell and Anne Sexton. I personally enjoy his written work, but not quite as much as his music. This book however, is a must for all true fans of the man and his exquisite music. My only criticism: there is no index of first lines.

Flowers for Hitler

The Energy of Slaves

Songs of Leonard Cohen, Herewith: Music, Words, and Photographs

At one stage known as Canadas poet laureate of existential despair, Cohen published a number of poetry books and the classic novel Beautiful Losers during the 1960s and early 1970s. First published in 1972, this book contains 117 of his poems. I always look for imagery and phrases from his lyrics, of which there are plenty here: The germ of his song I Left A Woman Waiting appears on p.5 and a line from Listening To Her Song on p.41 (Theres a lot of music/on Clinton street) connects with the lyric of Famous Blue Raincoat, while the lines that appear on the cover of the album Songs of Love and Hate are here too: They locked up a man/Who wanted to rule the world/The fools/They locked up the wrong man. Dance on The Money is a poem about Greece and his Beat contemporaries are acknowledged in a poem about Irving Layton and Allen Ginsberg, plus there's a poem to Norma Mailer (Dear Mailer) while Suzanne of the famous lyric features in The Form of Poetry: The whole world told me/To shut up and go home/And Suzanne took me down/To her place by the river. I am not a literary critic, but Cohens poetics reminds me of that of the Beats and to a lesser extent, of that of the Confessional school like Robert Lowell and Anne Sexton. I personally enjoy his written work, but not quite as much as his music. This book however, is a must for all true fans of the man and his exquisite music.

This trodding book of self centered, pseudo romantic poetry is a Cohen origional. The creation of Leonard Cohen's soul and demeanor could have easily come from this exquisite book. A wonderful purchase for anyone remotely interested in modern day romanticism, or just infatuated love. Cohen plays the page as he does his music, sculpting it into a genre all his own, personalizing the paper itself, and then nonchalantly putting his mind and emotions into your awaiting hands and eyes, a true expression of feeling and soul

This 1969 publication opens with an article on Cohen by William Kloman from a 1968 New York Times. It is part biography and part interview with quotes from his novel Beautiful Losers and the song Stories Of The Street. This insightful essay reveals profound wisdom in the artist's view of the world of that time, the late 1960s. This is followed by black and white photographs of his life in Greece, and in the next chaper, his life in America. The first contains pics of Marianne, Axel, their house on the island Hydra and scenes of socializing in Greek cafes. The next one has pics of, amongst others, John Hammond and Judy Collins. In addition, the page preceding the Contents has a lovely pic of The Buckskin Boys, the artist's first group from his teenage years.

There is a legend explaining the musical notation: the guitar accompaniment for the compositions is illustrated in easily readable tablature. All the lyrics are provided. The songs are: A Bunch Of Lonesome Heroes, Bird On The Wire, The Butcher, Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye, Lady Midnight, Master Song, The Old Revolution, One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Priests, Seems So Long Ago Nancy, Sisters Of Mercy, So Long Marianne, Stories Of The Street, The Story of Isaac, The Stranger Song, Suzanne, Teachers, Tonight Will Be Fine, Winter Lady and You Know Who I Am.

The black and white photograps are by John Berg, David Gahr, Julie Snow, Roz Kelly, Michael A Vaccaro and James Wigler. The combination of photographs, article and these timeless songs from the early days provides a nostalgic look at the legendary singer, songwriter and author. All devoted fans will appreciate it as a unique historical document of a master artist at the outset of his long career.

I have had this book since 1975, and I have used it to pieces. This book taught me to fingerpick. The six-bar TAB notation is much easier for a guitarist to learn than standard five-bar music notation. The book contains every guitar note that Cohen plays on the album.

Two great things about Leonard Cohen - nobody writes better lyrics, and almost all of us think we can sing and play better than he can (even if our friends disagree!)

One discordant note on "Butcher's Song": a tried again and again to learn this song from the book, but I could never make it sound good. Months later, I finally heard it on an album and I was overjoyed. I had it perfect! It's just a bad song!

This book contains the music, written out for guitar and vocals, of the following songs: A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes; Bird on the Wire; The Butcher; Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye; Lady Midnight; Master Song; The Old Revolution; One of Us Can Not Be Wrong; Priests; Seems So Long Ago; Nancy; Sisters of Mercy; So Long, Marianne; Stories of the Street; Story of Isaac; The Stranger Song; Suzanne; Teachers; Tonight Will Be Fine; Winter Lady; You Know Who I Am

There are also a good number of pictures and an article written about Cohen in 1968, pulled from the New York Times.

I gave it 3 stars only because I haven't any clue as how the well tablatures are transcribed, coz I don't play the guitar.

I love listening to Leonard Cohen's music (even sung by others)and his poetry is an intriguing synthesis of the accessible and the cryptic. This novel, however, within which there are genuine flashes of insight and poignancy, ultimately falls flat. The central protagonist doesn't change much -- which I suspect is Leonard's point. But, this we get right away. Also scenes with the protagonist's Jewish mother are way over the top -- but they do anticipate Philip Roth's Sophie Portnoy.

This is one of the best books I ever read, I prefered it to his beautiful losers although that was lovely too. I am a big Cohenite and definately recomend practically anything he has ever done, this book for example is glorious.

I was forced to read this book in my English 101 in college. Having only known Leonard Cohen by reputation, I was reticent of reading it but I did because I had to. At the end, though, I learned to appreciate this book because everything made sense and I started relating to his character. It's quite touching. Having seen Ghost World about a year after, it reminded me of this book, same basic, same principal of being disappointed by the poeple you care about and not being able to accept those changes. I suggest you read this book, it's a good read and a good intrusion into the mind of a little boy growing up.

This is quite possibly my favorite book.
As a fan of Mister Cohen and the city of Montreal, I loved this book. Mind you this was written before his musical career. You can actually see some of the songs forming way before they were committed to tape.

That being said, I love Cohen's Montreal, the late night drives, the small little dives and parks.

Also this is Cohen's best expample of wrestling with his Jewishness.

Simply an amazing book and an amazing read.

If you like Salinger, Cohen's music or the city of Montreal itself, you need to read this.

The Favorite Game is the book I should have picked up before reading Beautiful Losers. It is as if the stylistic experiments Cohen attempted in his second novel make far more sense now. However, having said this I must add that this is the more entertaining and enjoyable work.

This book is about romance. It is always entertaining to hear people talk about love, affection, adoration even fixation as being something only people can have for one another. Lawrence Breavman (the protagonist) feels this way about his life and the many persons and places that populate it. Lisa, Tamara, Shell and the city of Montreal, all are adored by this young man. He loves his best friend Krantz with whom he begins an empassioned dialogue unveiling the many layers of Montreal and Quebecois life oscillating around him in both the city and out in the Laurentian highlands. Breavman truly treats the world as "other." It is beautiful to witness.

There is mysticism in this work. The way Breavman notices the angles of sunlight on his beloved mountain, the colors of the surface of the Saint Lawrence and then the Hudson. The park that he walks through each night and protects. The color of the snow under the moonlight and the sound it gives off when he and a young Lisa are walking home from Hebrew School. Each of these things is as vivid as the young man's search for a partner, for sexual fulfillment. As in Cohen's later work, beauty and grotesqueness and filth coexist and are both the possession of his protagonist's soul. Breavman wanders endlessly through his city (Montreal) taking in every detail he can. His friend Krantz acknowledges -one summer night- that they would walk endlessly and never sleep if they were to follow Breavman's whims, his aesthetic eye, the contours of his persistent and ever unfolding dialogue.

This is a beautiful story. Like James Joyce, Cohen has taken up the development of the young artist's personal aesthetic sense (and appetite). Joyce made the distinction between "fetishism" and admiration for beauty in The Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man. Stephen Daedalus didn't want to possess beauty, he wanted to really learn how to admire it, appreciate it, recreate it if he could. Lawrence Breavman wants to appreciate beauty as well and he moves beyond merely desiring to possess what he sees. He may pause and admire the infinite little details of being in the world, but he learns to never possess but to engage. His dialogue is an engagement with beauty that, interestingly, supersedes his literary career. The young man, like Stephen Daedalus, is an emerging artist. But his dialogue is what Cohen cares about and his peregrinations, his questions and escapades are all the real art. Stephen Daedalus learned that he could recreate the world in his imagination and then place this on paper and by doing so, would have done his aesthetic duty, would have engaged the world. In Cohen's account, we see the artist as wanderer, as more than reticent observer. But he is no fetishist, he does not need to drown in sensual pleasures. Life is sensual for him. Life is enduring and eternal and he needs no false Gods to redeem him from a fallen state or from desolation.

Five stars. At times this work is breathtaking.

Some people give it 5 stars, some think it's a bad book. I think it may depend on your skill to some degree. If you are a proficient piano player with already some skill on piano, you probably won't learn much from this book. For me, being an early intermediate player, I did get some info from this book which I can directly apply to my playing. A couple of bad points about this book is that there are no fingerings!! I mean really, a piano book without piano fingerings? That is just a pet peeve of mine, so that is minus 1 star right off the bat. Also keep in mind that there are only 17 pages to this book. So there isn't a whole heck of a lot of info in it. You really have to look at every measure and decide what you like and what you don't like and try to incorporate those into your playing. All in all this book could have been a lot better. For one, incorporate fingerings and two, possibly he could have combined book one and two together to form one book. It does come with a CD though which is a good feature. If you can find this book for really cheap it may be worth picking up. A better book is Tricia Woods "Beginning Blues Keyboard", which I highly recommend.

Like most other reviewers, I had been looking for a way to learn to play the blues and was very frustrated. David Cohen is the answer to my wish! If one is willing to do the work and practice, following the music both written and on the CD, you will be playing the blues.

You must be able to read music and have an understanding of music theory for his explanations to make sense, but you don't have to be anything more than proficient.

I played one of his solos for my son last week and he could not believe how good it sounded!

This instructional doesn't waste any time. I was amazed at how soon I began to improvise, and would often times find myself having already improvised the next lesson.

this cat has been around block.he knows his stuff.only warning is if your comfortable with alot of theory you might be left wanting. that said,i recommend highly.

A good piano teacher knows that a student needs continuing motivation and fullfillment in order for the student to progress. This is a challenging job for a music teacher, while working only through a book and an accompanying CD. Cohen's volumes 1 and 2 show only keyboard exercises with absolutely no written guidance for the student. For a more fullfilling learning experience with blues piano, see my review of Alan Swain's "Improvise, a Step-by-Step Approach."