W. S. Gilbert Books

Richard B Russell Democrat from Winder Georgia, was an extremely skilled parlimentarian and executive. However he was easy prey for Lyndon Johnson who gave him the shad treatment. In looking at this man's life he accomplished many things but in the end was lacking in 3 things. The courage to step up and lead the Senate and bend it to his will on agricultural and defense issues and an inability to see beyond his roots and their limiting factors he could of broken the mold and become President if he realized that geography and socioeconomic factors would inflict a defacto segragation on America and that once they were done with the Civil rights struggle the north would lose much of it's passion for social reform and change and the nation would be generally like it always was with blacks in the end vanishing into the mostly white Hispanic race. The third thing that I found him lacking in was honor he was but a Lyndon Johnson stepping stone and no Samuel T Rayburn.

Henry Clay. Daniel Webster. John C. Calhoun. James F. Byrnes. Robert A. Taft. Hubert Humphrey. Add Richard Russell to this list and what do you get? A collection of our nation's most accomplished and able Senators who never became President. All of these men were giants in their time, and Russell was no exception. The youngest Governor in Georgia history, Russell came to Washington as a Senator in 1933 and left in the early 70's, feet first. A legislator of uncommon ability, Russell was a master of the procedures, traditions, and customs of the Senate; of parliamentary tactics; and was constructive on all matters of domestic or foreign policy. His peers referred to him as a 'Senator's Senator', Presidents called him a 'President's Senator'. His hold over Georgia's political and business establishments enabled him to seek reelection every six years unopposed. Unfortunately, his refusal to change his political position or personal attitudes on the issue of civil rights doomed him to be a 'regional Senator' rather than a 'national' one. He sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1952, but won only the delegates from the states of the Confederacy. Despite the increasing liberalism of his party, Russell the conservative, voted the straight Democratic ticket in every election. Russell was perhaps truly the last great statesman of the Senate.

This is a very readable reprinting of the 50 Bab Ballads by W. S. Gilbert originally published by George Routledge and Sons in 1878. In lacks Gilbert's original drawings, but the 50 ballads of the 1878 edition are all present with very few typographical errors. Unfortunately some of the ballads refer to the drawings which are no longer there.

The book was pleasing from the moment I saw the front cover. Colourful yet no nonsense, it was clear that Ffinch intended to present the duo as a single mind. Not "Gilbert and Sullivan" but "GilbertSullivan" He alludes to them a number of times as the perfect match, each the best in his field and obviously blessed with the same sense of humour.
Very easy reading, fun to follow along his thinking process. Abandon all thought of Sullivan's music and Gilbert's libretto not ringing in your ears down to your soul. Veteran G&S fans, be prepared to sing along as he quotes long passages from those remarkable collaborations. This makes the reading all the more fun and so very enjoyable.
It is the first comprehensive work on Gilbert and Sullivan in more than 40 years says the jacket and it refreshing to read a 1993 acount of the lives of these two geniuses even though the collaboration may not always have been smooth sailing to say the least; but oh, such sweet music and funny, brilliant book and libretto.
Ffinch's easy style is absolutely winsome for both the novice G&S fan or the veteran.
By the time I had finished the book I felt as if I had them both for tea, learned about them intimately and, as I closed the book on completion, I wondered if they would ever return for a second cuppa.

Whils this book concentrates on Senator Hitchcock's role as de facto Democratic leader in the fight for the Versailles treaty, it does cover the whole life of its subject, who was the founder of the Omaha World-Herald, and a life-long Democrat--something today's readers of the World-Herald may be surprised by. Hitchcock won two terms in the U.S. Senate, and served from 1911 to 1923. Anyone who is interested in Senatorial biography, as I have always been, will enjoy this work. It gets only 4 stars because the editing is poor, with quite a few typos.

An excellent pocket-sized book for pedophthalmology residents and not only! The only drawback is the indexing of the diseases at the end is not very detailed! For sure you are not going to regret this buy!!!

I used this score in a production of Pirates at my university, and from the standpoint of a cast member it was excellent. It outlined each part and was easy to read. At any point where scores between production years differ, this handy volume recounts them all with notes as to which part belongs with which year. My only complaints are that it is not ring-bound (regular paperback binding, harder to hold on to/use) and some harmony parts are difficult to pick out because they divide on the page turn and appear at different parts of the page. Other than that, it is a wonderful score and I would recommend it to anyone interested in producing this enchanting operetta.

Most reviewers seem to think that this is the Piano/Vocal score, from Dover, and that's why I bought this from Amazon. Most reviewers here have used the Dover piano/vocal score before, but they didn't buy it from Amazon. The book they used is NOT THIS BOOK.

This book is ONLY THE LIBRETTO. It has DIALOGUE AND LYRICS, nothing else.

Do not buy this if you think it is the score. Amazon, PLEASE remove these misleading reviews.

Be aware that this book does not have a single musical note in it! I ordered 30 copies for a production I am directing and when the book came, it is only the dialogue and the lyrics to the music. You can download that much from the internet! I don't know why the other reviewers talk about it being a vocal score. It has no music in it. If you want to get a vocal score, this is not your ticket. Besides, this book is a copy of another book. Amazon says the book is 48 pages long, but the script is only 20 pages and the other pages are blank. I am sending this back and getting the Shirmer edition.

I'm not sure what an earlier reviewer is saying about this score not having the solo stuff. This book has the complete score and dialoge. I've used it for two productions of POP and it is missing nothing.
Unless this is a different edition than the one I have..but it has the exact same cover and credits so I doubt it.

We're staging a production of "Pirates" in April 2002, and we have two editions of this score by G. Schirmer. The cheaper one is for the chorus, and has just the choral passages. The more expensive one (listed here) has the complete vocal music and dialogue.

I have seen both, and would rate them at five stars except that the original page plates are a little dirty, introducing some confusing dots and spots.

It was an easy read and very helpful in understanding what a copy editor has to go through on a daily basis. It may not be the most glamorous job, but we gotta start somewhere. This book will help you understand the AP style better and a good reference when you're stuck on how to write something.

The good thing about this. I was informed that I would receive my book within two weeks from the date I ordered it, but it came three days later. So, that made me really happy. I received a brand new book. Customer service was really polite and worked with me. Amazon with Borders performed good service to me. The only problem I had was that my textbook didn't come with the workbook. Other than that, Amazon is on top of things.

I used the first edition of this text in college back in 1972, and still have my copy. Now as an instructor I am using the 6th edition and am looking for a change. This book lacks three things; internet, internet, internet, and until it is brought up-to-date, it is not worth the price. It galls me that a book like this can seem to live forever while gouging undergraduates with poor revisions, and "new" editions designed solely to sell more books. Right now there are better books at half the price. I'm moving on.
{This review refers to the 1996 edition.}

For a book that cost me $93.00, I was expecting something wonderful. Instead I found three blatant editing errors (one of which would have easily been corrected had someone hit "spell check" before sending it to the printers) within the first couple of chapters, and more as I went on. The book was boring, badly edited, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

This is a book with limited appeal--it should appeal to Gilbert & Sullivan fans and theatre historians. If you fall into either of these categories, this comprehensive, well-researched book satisfies on many levels. There are the dry statistics, with lists of every performance and every performer for the past 25 years, but there are also charming stories of how one starts in a garage and works into a well-respected big city theatrical institution. Written with much love and great attention to detail.

A very interesting look at a musical theater company. Would that more cities had groups like the Lamplighters.

This book is okay if you're into community theatre, but I found that it consists mostly of cutsie little stories about their most cherished performers, who have long since left the stage. This group would do better to publish a book that summarizes their G&S style rather than focus on their "accomplishments" and nothing else.

This is a marvelous book. This is a charming account of the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan (both individually and as collaborators) with London. The author Andrew Goodman (who really knows his stuff) organized this enormous treasure-trove of information by neighborhood. The book gets off to a strong start by reviewing how London developed-it impressed me how much London is a Victorian city, with many famous neighborhoods were all but farmland in the early 19th century. This book is meant not only for lovers of G&S but lovers of London and good travel writing as well.

Well researched, the book would make an excellent companion on a walking tour of London. The author knows what buildings are still standing from Gilbert and Sullivan's world, which have been demolished, and which have changed. Gives great descriptions of the theaters, including the Savoy, where the productions were staged, and so forth.

If I have a criticism of the book, it is laid out geographically -- so you might be discussing Gilbert in 1876 at one minute and Arthur Sullivan in 1885 at another, because that is where the next building on the street leads you. The continuity suffers a little because of this.

But if you know a Gilbert and Sullivan fan who is making a pilgrimage to London, this is the perfect book for them.

If you know nothing about G&S before you purchase this book, this book is a good introduction. It will take you about 30 minutes to complete. The graphics and photos are well done. However, if you are a musician and want more than merely an introduction, this is not the book for you.

With all respect to Mr. Rufino, I think he was over-harsh in down-rating this book because it is not an entirely different book, something that it was never intended to be.

This book is clearly aimed at young readers who want more information on the famous team of Gilbert and Sullivan than is to be found in a typical theater program but who are not ready to tackle such magisterial tomes as Leslie Baily's "The Gilbert and Sullivan Book." On the whole, I think that the 40-odd pages that Mr. Whiting devotes to his main task successfully accomplish the task set out for them.

I am knocking one star off my rating for the very thing that Mr. Rufino praised: the graphics and photos. One of the graphics is an entire page devoted to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (for some largely incomprehensible reason.) There is, admittedly, some tenuous relationship between Doyle and Gilbert. The two were rough contemporaries. Both started out in the professions, Gilbert in law and Doyle in medicine. Neither found much financial reward or personal satisfaction in them. Each turned to writing and found himself in the end ranked among the most famous men of their times. If Whiting had stopped there, I would have no significant objection. However, he had to go on and point out that Doyle's most famous character often says, "Elementary, my dear Watson." Now, as every American Sherlockian and every English Holmesian will heatedly point out, Holmes NEVER said those words! Such a howling clunker dropped so gratuitously forces me wonder just how much understanding the author has of his materials. Then there is the photograph of Sullivan in which he is specifically described as youthful. One has only to glance at it to see that he had arrived at prosperous middle age. He would not live to reach his 59th birthday.

A TRIFLING ADDITIONAL NOTE: Like most people writing about G&S, Mr. Whiting omits one of their collaborations. In addition to the comic operas, they also created a dignified oratorio, "The Martyr of Antioch." Posterity may well have forgotten that piece of high-minded Victoriana but the contemporaries of G&S took it very seriously indeed. Sullivan would certainly have regarded it as a major landmark in his career as a musician.