Genres Books

Anthony Trollope is a favorite author of mine, and this audio CD version of Framley Parsonage, read by Simon Vance, is well worth the investment. Deft use of language and a keen sense of human motivation, time, and place characterize all Trollope's writing, and those who enjoy period literature will be more than satisfied with this book. It starts slowly, as Trollope's stories often do, but once the background information is given, there are many interesting social, political, financial, and romantic plot developments to engage the reader and listener. Simon Vance's reading is superb, as always. The only caveat is that his rendering of the voice and character of young women is not as good as his pitch, tone, and inflection when narrating the voices of mature women and all men. His skill in rendering different dialects for different social classes and geographical regions is matchless. By all means, listen to this book.

In this novel we find one Mark Robarts, clergyman and parson of Framley. He is an ambitious young man desirous of rising in society. He is friends since childhood with Lord Lufton who makes an unfortunate introduction in the person of Sowerby who seduces poor Mark into signing his name to a debt which the parson cannot afford.

Mark Robarts's father passes away early on and his sister Lucy joins Mark and his wife at Framley Parsonage where Lord Lufton falls in love with her. Two more couples form and while I won't reveal how any of these relationships work out it wouldn't really matter if I did. Trollope's plots usually vary from bad to good but they are hardly ever of any importance anyway. What is important in a Trollope novel isn't what the plot is or how it concludes, it's how it works itself out and how Trollope paints his characters.

The characters in Framley Parsonage are a little whiter and blacker than those of the previous novels in the Barsetshire series. Sowerby is by far and away the blackest and Trollope was so effective in painting him black that towards the end he clumsily appeals directly to the reader and assures us Sowerby isn't really as bad a fellow as he seems.

Dr. Thorne and his niece Mary Gresham appear (from Doctor Thorne) as do the Grantlys and the Proudies (from Barchester Towers). Lucy Robarts is a fascinating woman even more headstrong here than Mary Gresham was in Doctor Thorne, but my favourite character in this novel is Lady Lufton. She opposes her son's desire to court and marry Lucy but does so politely and with consideration. At the same time, Lucy behaves in way Lady Lufton can only find irreproachable. So of course, not having anything with which to reproach Lucy, Lady Lufton has nothing with which to oppose her son's suit. And yet she does. How will this three-sided battle of wills, pitting Lord Lufton against his mother against Lucy against her suitor, resolve itself?

Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? Let's just say that Lady Lufton has painted herself into a corner and let us leave it at that.

All in all, another fine example of Trollope's mastery of moral calculus.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

Framley Parsonage is the fourth in Trollope's Barsetshire novels. Trollope (1815-1882) wrote the novel as a serial in the influential Cornhill magazine in 186-61, This novel along with the others in the series: The Warden; Dr. Thorne, The Small House at Allington, Barchester Towers and the Last Chronicle of Barset is a delightful return to mid-Victorian middle class society in a rural mythical county named Barsetshire.
In this long novel of over 600 pages there are several stories. The main character is the Rev. Mark Robarts, a
doctor's son, who at a young age becomes the vicar of Framley Parsonage. He has children and a kind wife Fanny. Mark has visions of grandeur in his head. He lends money to the unscrupulous Member of Parliament Mr. Sowerby. As a result of this fatuity Mark falls into debt. His friends rally to his aid.
Mark's sister Lucy Robarts is novel's heroine. She falls in love with the wealthy Lord Lufton who lives at Eustace Court with his formidable mother Lady Lufton. Lady Lufton wants her son Ludovic to wed Griselda Grantley the statuesque but dull as dishwater and cold as a cucumber daughter of Archdeacon Grantley. Lufton is torn between these two women. We see Lady Lufton overcome her prejudice against Lucy. Lucy is a kind girl who minister to the family of the poor clergyman Josiah Crawley. She wins over the heart of Lady Lufton and the reader.
Secondary plots concern the midlife romance of Miss Dunstable and good Doctor Thorne. Olivia Proudie daughter of the fussy busybody and scold Mrs. Proudie and the uxorious Bishop Proudie weds a clergyman Mr. Tickler who is a widower. Griselda Grantley is courted by the stupid Lord Dumbello who possesses a name and title to the Hartletop lands and fortune. Will she win Lord Lufton or choose Dumbello?
All's well that ends well in this classic Trollopian tale. Long before Jan Karon, Anthony Trollope wrote humorous, moving and plot driven tales of the lives of the clergy dealing with real life problems, romance and challenges. In my opinion, an Anthony Trollope novel is a good way to spend a quiet evening before the fireplace. Enjoy this wonderful author and the world he created.

The fourth of the Chronicles of Barsetshire, Framley Parsonage (1861) is a gentle novel filled with memorable characters, including many characters from The Warden, Barchester Towers, and Doctor Thorne (Barsetshire Novels). Mark Robarts, a young vicar with a devoted wife, has a comfortable situation at Framley Parsonage on the estate of the indomitable Lady Lufton. Her son, now Lord Lufton, had been a friend of Mark Robarts at school, and it was their friendship which resulted in Mark's position. Mark, though conscientious in his duties and grateful for his situation, is ambitious, however, anxious to expand his horizons beyond Framley.

Lady Lufton, who rules with an iron hand, is appalled when Mark decides to spend a weekend with a "fast" crowd, one which he believes can advance his career. Young and naïve, he becomes the dupe of an aristocratic "con-man," an MP named Nathaniel Sowerby, who persuades him to help him out of a financial jam by signing a note for five hundred pounds (more than half Robarts's yearly salary), allowing Sowerby to draw funds on Robarts's name. In the meantime, Robarts's sister Lucy arrives at Framley Parsonage upon the death of their father. Lucy, a sweet ingénue in mourning, soon comes to the attention of Lord Lufton, but Lady Lufton has many more "significant" matrimonial prospects in mind for her son. As Robarts's financial miseries become more pressing, and as Lucy's disappointment in love increases, the scene is set for a final showdown.

Numerous peripheral characters, many of them known to readers of the series, add to the drama of the primary action. The implacable dowager Lady Lufton, wishing to maintain her family's social position, pushes Griselda Grantly, daughter of Archdeacon Grantly, as the Duke's suitor. The competition between the (Archdeacon) Grantlys and the (Bishop) Proudies for suitors for their daughters adds great comic relief to the story, and the internecine manipulations among the clergy provide gentle satire in a novel which seems to be remarkably domestic in its focus.

Trollope provides a full picture of Victorian life, representing many aspects of society, and though his view of the clergy has in earlier novels been a bit jaded, he is sympathetic to many of its representatives in this novel, seeing them as humans, rather than as types. A sweet novel, part love story and part social commentary, Framley Parsonage is charming, memorable for its characters and picture of Victorian England. Mary Whipple

The fourth of the Chronicles of Barsetshire, Framley Parsonage (1861) is a gentle novel filled with memorable characters, including many characters from The Warden, Barchester Towers, and Dr. Thorne. Mark Robarts, a young vicar with a devoted wife, has a comfortable situation at Framley Parsonage on the estate of the indomitable Lady Lufton. Her son, now Lord Lufton, had been a friend of Mark Robarts at school, and it was their friendship which resulted in Mark's position. Mark, though conscientious in his duties and grateful for his situation, is ambitious, however, anxious to expand his horizons beyond Framley.

Lady Lufton, who rules with an iron hand, is appalled when Mark decides to spend a weekend with a "fast" crowd, one which he believes can advance his career. Young and naïve, he becomes the dupe of an aristocratic "con-man," an MP named Nathaniel Sowerby, who persuades him to help him out of a financial jam by signing a note for five hundred pounds (more than half Robarts's yearly salary), allowing Sowerby to draw funds on Robarts's name. Though Sowerby swears he will resolve the problem within weeks, he needs an additional four hundred pounds when the note comes due.

In the meantime, Robarts's sister Lucy arrives at Framley Parsonage upon the death of their father. Lucy, a sweet ingénue in mourning, soon comes to the attention of Lord Lufton, who is fascinated by her naivete, a marked contrast with the women he has known to date. Though Lady Lufton has much more "significant" matrimonial prospects in mind for her son, the courtship begins, and though Lucy declines Lord Lufton's initial proposal, she remains in love with him. As Robarts's financial miseries become more pressing, and as Lucy's misery at having turned down Lord Lufton increases, the scene is set for a final showdown.

Numerous peripheral characters, many of them known to readers of the series, add to the drama of the primary action. The implacable dowager Lady Lufton, wishing to maintain her family's social position, staunchly opposes the Duke's relationship with Lucy Robarts, pushing Griselda Grantly, daughter of Archdeacon Grantly, as the Duke's suitor. The competition between the (Archdeacon) Grantlys and the (Bishop) Proudies for suitors for their daughters adds great comic relief to the story, and the internecine manipulations among the clergy provide gentle satire in a novel which seems to be remarkably domestic in its focus.

Trollope provides a full picture of Victorian life, representing many aspects of society, and though his view of the clergy has in earlier novels been a bit jaded, he is sympathetic to many of its representatives in this novel, seeing them as humans, rather than as types. A sweet novel, part love story and part social commentary, Framley Parsonage is charming, memorable for its characters and picture of Victorian England. n Mary Whipple

The Warden
Barchester Towers
Doctor Thorne (Barsetshire Novels)

the residents at macon street apartments have more than enough drama. there's peaches, the resident stripper, who's addicted to the glamorous life. she has to learn the hard way that everything that glitters isn't gold. after having three kids, jewel has let herself go. her man, romello, has clearly grown tired of her and has his sights on their sexy neighbor peaches. from the outside, one would think that alisha has the perfect life, but alisha and her husband, craig, have secrets of there own. lucky moves in and brings more commotion to their drama-filled lives. kudos to you ms. donavan, this is an excellent read.

Man, this book was sooo good..I don't even know where to start with my review! I ordered this book based on all the five star reviews and I'm glad I did. Every chance I got I read this book. I kept telling myself I'll just read one more chapter and put it down, but I'll tell you right now it's hard to put this book down!

The residents of Macon Street Apartments are:
Peaches..a stripper that is only concerned with how much money a man can give her, and if he doesn't give her the amount she think she deserves then she has no problem taking it out of his wallet when he's not looking.

Romello..a street hustler that has been living with his baby momma for nine years. They have three kids together, but since his baby momma has put on a few pounds he starting to get a little bored, and boredom is not the only thing Romello is dealing with he's also obsessed with Peaches.

Alisha..is married to Craig. She's beautiful, faithful, well taken caren of, but one day her 'perfect life and marriage' seems to start crumbling like a cookie after Peaches starts whispering in her ear telling her you can't trust a man.

LaDonna..is a homely resident of Macon Street, but it's nothing for her to spread rumors or eavesdrop on other residents conversations. She's suppose to be Alisha's best friend, but is she really?

And then there's Lucky...he's the new resident of the complex. He doesn't work, drives a Mercedes Benz, his apartment is laid out and all the ladies want him. After reading this book I see exactly where he gets his name from. LADIES WATCH OUT FOR THIS MAN! lol

I loved this book from the first page to the last! It was good, good, good!

Welcome to Macon Street Apartments where there is drama on top of drama. If you ever stayed in an apartment you can relate to this book. The author takes you into the lifes of characters that have you laughing one minute and mad the next. Enjoying this book is not the word for it, a breath of fresh air I should say.

Peaches is a stripper that has the residents folks up in arms about her life style. Especially when she comes out of her door with a little bit of nothing on. All the ladies has a problem with this because their mens are looking from head to toe.

Romello has Jewel whip so hard that the truth is in her face and she can't see it. Romello has what us women says "it must be made of Gold!"

Craig & Alisha is the happy couple until her bestfriend (Ladona) starts to take interest in Craig. All hell brakes lose when Peaches starts whispering into Alisha ear about men's are no good and you need to watch that Ladona.

You have this mystery guy move in name Lucky that all the women is checking out. All the guys is up in arms about him because the rumor is that he has lucked up and have a women taking care of him. So he don't have a care in world but to get lucky so more.

Let me tell you that this book is not a fairy tale with a happy ending. I didn't see any of this coming for me. One time I throw this book across the room and left there. I was so made at characters I had to laugh at myself.

This book is very well written with the characters that is developed just right. I could see this book in a sitcom on television while I was reading it. There is so much that the author brings out and leave you wanting more after each chapter. This is a must read and I highly recommend this book to all.

This book kept me wanting more...and more...and more....Please go buy this book. I only have one question...How could Lucky be in 2 places at one time? I don't want to give the book away but how can he be in Utah and at the complex with Alisha???

I loved the book and I can't wait to read the sequel. I emailed the author, she even wrote me back and asked my view on the characters. It's a great read.

I grew up learning to sightread classical music; a pretty standard set of piano lessons. Unfortunately, those lessons were weak on the theory of how music is created. This is a great book for someone like me who now wants to understand how to start in a key and figure out how to combine chords and rhythm and the right notes to make music. The book has things like how the blues scale works, how to pound out a barrelhouse left hand while improvising with the right hand, turnarounds and endings, and much more. There are some tunes in here to learn (Blueberry Hill, Pine Top's Boogie Woogie, etc.), but that's not really the point--Tim Richards goes on to explain how those tunes were created, and how to change and improvise over them. The CD lets you hear the exercises, and is quite helpful. I looked around a lot, and bought some definitely inferior books, before finding this one. The author also wrote Exploring Jazz Piano, volumes 1 and 2, which basically build on this book. I recommend buying all three. No book is going to substitute for practice, but if you practice what's in these books you're going to love what you learn to do.

Why is this book so good? Unlike most books, Richards takes the time to explain why each of the example pieces are important, and what you should pay extra attention to. He also really holds your hand in the improvisation practices by suggesting notes (and explaining why the suggested notes were suggested). Also very good is the use of different keys in the pieces. Some blues books tend to stick to C or G, but in this book the keys are varied (and Richards suggests going back through the pieces in other keys, which is a very good idea).

My only wish is that Richards makes a sequel to this book. This does not mean that this book isn't completely jammed with material, or is too easy: no on both accounts. I found myself wanting to learn more of the advanced "cliche's" which make Blues sound like the Blues. Nonetheless, this book is the best there is on the market for blues or improvisation instruction.

I'm an aspiring jazz pianist in Canada (I'm 32). I'm another one of the victims of the classical music education system that was taught to read the page and nothing else. I always thought that people who were good at jazz and could play by ear were born that way.

When I was in high school I wanted to play jazz piano. Someone recommended the Mark Levine book to me. I tried going through it but gave up because I couldn't even figure out what a II-V was from his explanation. I figured jazz was this impenetrable language. I was sick of classical lessons by that time and gave up the piano.

Fast forward ten years when I decided I didn't want all those hours of practicing (before school, even) to go to waste. I headed to a local music store and literally went through every piano book before I found IBP. It's pretty much been a revelation, from discussions of notations to chord types to ideas. I still suck at improvising, but before this book I wouldn't have even tried.

I've got Tim's other two books on my shelf, patiently waiting for me to get to them. Seriously, his books are phenomenal. If I had found IBP back in high school instead of Mark Levine's brick wall of jazz accessibility, I might be ten years ahead. I can't recommend it highly enough. Rumour has it he's working on a fourth book about Latin piano, too.

There realy are not many great methods for the blues out there, but Tim Richards is thorough and goes into the required detail to show you how each blues style works.

The examples are very playable, suiting more or less an intermediate level pianist. Richards is one of the few take-away instruction teachers to be concerned about fingerings, and takes the trouble to suggest good ones. His playing instructions work very well and add a dimension that you don't often get in these method books - he has a great insight into the chords, and the notes and the way they fit the music. The breakdown of theory is very well explained, if sometimes overdone. But he never floods you with scales without showing you how to apply them - that in itself is a good thing!

Richards' choice of music is impeccable, and calssic blues standards of af all styles are presented from boogie, to funk, slow blues, and some jazzy numbers. And he shows you music in a number of keys so you aren't stuck to one or two and get a work out in the other keys. I found the music very playable, and well sounding, although I didn't always find the improvising instructions that intuitive.

The historical background he gives is accurate and informative and the pictures of blues and jazz legends really make this book interesting.

My criticism of the book is that it should have stretched up to the more advanced techniques of the blues - where the top players are, like Oscar Peterson, for example. That is its dissapointment - a teacher as good as this who dedicated the time to work a out a progressive and different course in blues shouldn't have stopped at the middle level. He surely should have stretched us, his interested audience up to the highest level.

But this should not stop you from using this very useful and inspiring book - I Thank you sincerely Tim.

Now and then you run across a method book that makes you a better player and is great fun to work through. "Improvising Blues Piano" is one such book. It starts out very simply and steadily progresses to a pretty sophisticated level. The accompanying disk is well recorded and the author's playing, particularly his timing, is quite musical. On most examples, if you can make your playing sound like Tim Richards, you'll really swing.

Starting in "C" and moving on to other familiar blues keys, the author mixes theory and practice in a logical progression of "bite sized" lessons that are very complete and doesn't assume anything about the student. At first, the experienced player may find the pace a bit slow but each section builds smoothly upon the foundation of the preceding material and I think it's worth while to patiently work on your weaknesses. When you can make those first simple exercises sound really musical, you've learned something valuable.

The volume is accessible to beginners (this will take you a long way) while remaining useful for the more advanced because there is so much good content. I particularly like that he weaves in biographical information of known blues players along with examples of their style. The history of blues unfolds along with the student's expanding ability to play.

If you are interested in the blues, I can't think of a better learning tool.

I love the new "Classics" section -- how could so many famous and loved songs not be Top 100 hits? Separating the "featured artist" from the artist's main body of work was also a good idea. And the information on which greatest hits compilation has the most hit songs on it has already helped me get the most for my money. If you love music, this will help you put it in order so you can find what you have and find out what you don't have yet.

I really love this book! Its so comprehensive, it helps me find songs I've been looking for over many years! I also like the categories it broken down into. Like top sellers, top average sellers and with the more popular groups tells you how a total of weeks they've been on the charts. Its also current which makes it even better. I love reading about groups and their songs, also finding out what the number one songs were for each year.

If you are looking for something that is comprehensive in covering the music top 100, this is it!

Since I also purchased Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs (1944 to 2005),I was able to compare Top Pop Singles (1955-2006) to it. One thing I liked in the former that was absent in the latter is the listing of the songwriters for each title. Instead the B-sides are given. Could room have been made to include the songwriters for each entry? Nevertheless, I enjoy making frequent reference to Top Pop Singles 1955-2006.

O.K. I made a mistake with this book.It is not for any one in England who is trying to compile a list of no1 hit singles or any kind of reference to the British Pop scene.Never the less i had to give 5stars just for the sheer amount of work thats gone into it.It is still very useful for cross reference and very interesting for finding out what American singers never made no1 in their own Country but made no1 in Britain, Eddie Cochran being just one example with Three Steps Two Heaven.It was interesting for me to note that Cliff Richard has never had a no1 in the U.S.A., the most he has ever been is no6 with Devil Woman.I have noticed one mistake and that is to do with the birthdate of one artist.His name Sonny Boy Williamson aka Rice Miller,according to the book his date is 1899 according to Sonny Boy himself its 1897.This date is taken from his LP track The Story of Sonny Boy Williamson which i bought in 1962/3.O.K. i said i made a mistake buying it because BillBoard is American & i am starting to compile my own life in music which is mostly from British charts,but i have no regrets & although i state its not for british chart reference i would still recomend it to anyone who wants to put their life into music compilations of their own,for that its invaluable.

I am a chart fanatic, yet I have no need for a 12 step program to get over it because I have this book, it is fantastic for folks like me. I grew up listening to Casey Kasem and compiling my own charts on notebook paper to have my own record. Having easily referable access to this reference book is a dream for me. I have this one and the one for albums, so yes I am addicted. If you have any fascination with rankings and charts--GET THIS BOOK--and this updated edition even has new things like airplay only singles, classic non Hot 100 songs, which is basically popular album cuts, and more. It's a great addition to any music fans library.

Biographical reviews tend to have a standardized format: several chapters on the linage of the subject, tales of early childhood, struggle and (usually)success.

Haberstadt's biography is much the same, except the author does a nice job of leading the reader thru the parts we have to endure by building a strong sense of the frustration and difficulties Doc Pomus faced throughout his life. The book isn't overbearing, and he paints an interesting enough picture of the determination this polio-stricken hall of famer had.

If there is a weakness, it's that you never get a real strong sense of what exactly it was that Doc did. I mean, I still haven't figured out if his contributions to some of the greatest songs were his lyrics, his sense of rhythm, his music, or a combination of all three. Certainly it is poignant to think that "Save the last dance for me" was written as he watched his new wife dance at her wedding, but there was too little addressing the mechanics of Doc's writing for my taste.

I thought it was a most interesting and useful book to have on one of the great contributors to rock and roll.... and long overdue.

During rock 'n' roll's early years Doc Pomus wrote some of the biggest hits from his Lonely Avenue to Save the Last Dance for Me and Hushabye. His works were picked up by Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Bob Dylan and more - and LONELY AVENUE documents his life, inspiration, achievement, and times in an outstanding blend of quotes from his journals and biographical examination. Music libraries will find it an excellent addition.

Great book. I got choked up reading about Doc writing Save the Last Dance for Me.

What a great book. You never think about songwriters when you listen to a song but after reading this book you will. It's the story about the man behind some of the biggest hits of the 50' and 60's but it's so much more. Doc's story is more then his music, it's the life that he led and the trials he overcame to get there. If you're into music or not this is one book that will make you laugh, cry and just revel in one man's life and times.

The writer did his homework, and I'd recomend this book to anyone, also visit the Brill Building, There's Always Magic In The Air.

Great reading!

Maxine Brown has created a masterpiece about the history, and characters involved in the making of Country Music. Her story is honest and heartbreaking at times. She has bumped into just about everyone who has had anything to do with the industry. She's smart, funny, honest and in some cases, unforgiving of those that have crossed her in the business. And, rightly so. Just the insight into the beginning career of Elvis Presley is worth the read. She toured with this shy kid who would become king. She gave us a glimpse into what it was like to know him before all the fame. This woman had guts to stick it out in a business that could be very unkind to women in the early days. Her determination to carve herself out a place in the business of country music is witness to her drive. The Browns hold a very important place in the history of Country Music. They influenced an entire generation, and let us not forget, were one of the first crossover sensations. Not only did they create a fire here in the States, they took on Europe with huge success as well. They lived through the rough and tumble days in Nashville when a chosen few could make or break a career. There were also good guys, like Chet Atkins who believed in the Browns, and stood up to the big studio execs to ensure that their records were made with integridy. Maxine was there to see it all, and tell it through her amazing recall. This book is an important piece of history, and should be read by anyone who calls themselves a fan of country music.

I've been a fan of the Browns ever since I was a young child in the early 1960's and my mom bought a Browns album. In recent years, I continue to enjoy the sweet harmonies brought by this incredible brother/sisters singing team.

Maxine Brown writes a riveting story of what country music was like in the 1950's, when they got started. It was a brutal, unforgiving business at the time and the Browns had their share of unscrupulous businessmen. She also writes about the relationship the Browns had with other country music singers of the day, some who have become major legends.

Very honest & open by the Author/Singer Maxine Brown. Very interesting & revealing, especially about Elvis Presley & Jim Reeves. Very good book.

Maxine Brown was part of a family country band with her brother, Jim Ed and sister, Bonnie. Their most famous recording is that of Edith Piaf's `The Three Bells'.

She writes about her early family life growing up in rural south Arkansas during the Depression. Her journey in country music and the people with whom she traveled and the songs she wrote. The people she met and performed with such as Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Chet Atkins. Performing on the Louisiana Hayride, at The Grand Old Opry and touring Europe. Particularly touching was the story about Jim Reeves' tragic death. It bought a new reality to his life for me.

I particularly enjoyed her stories of their encounters with Elvis Presley and how he fell in love with Bonnie and asked her to marry him. She turned him down. One particular incident was at the time of his discharge from the army when he called a press conference and invited the Browns to attend. He asked Bonnie did she wait for him and she told him `no', she was married and expecting a baby. She must have known what would have been ahead.

I absolutely loved reading this book and did it in 3 days. I love country music and it is also takes a look at the background of some of the great American country performers and the people involved with their careers.

Here in Australia we only see the end result of some the greats and have no idea what life was like for budding country singers in America.

I found this book while listening to WSM America's Country Music Station broadcast live from The Grand Old Opry. There was a live interview with Maxine promoting the book.

Thank you Maxine, for the experience.

Kudos to Maxine Brown for her fascinating no-holds-barred look at the country music industry of the 1950's and 1960's. Maxine, along with sister Bonnie and brother Jim Ed, were legendary country group The Browns, who chalked a number of hits for fifteen years, notably THE THREE BELLS, one of the biggest hits in country music history and as well as a number one pop hit for them. The Browns were all but ready to throw in the towel when they scored that monster hit. Their RCA recordings were not producing major hits. The group earlier came to success on the small Fabor Records label founded by one Fabor Robinson. Like many vocalists on small labels during the era, according to Maxine, the Browns "never made a dime" on their hit LOOKING BACK TO SEE, needless to say she has harsh feelings for Robinson "probably the sorriest b****rd then infesting the industry." She recalls a string of horrors the Browns had to put up with due to the association, so much so Robert Cochran, in the book's introduction feels to need to note country musican historian Colin Escott found similar stories from other Robinson associates in his research. Maxine titles one of her chapters "We Get Screwed" and her tales of blackmail attempts to harassment are truly astonishing.

There's lots of good times too, from dozens of close friends in the industry from Elvis Presley to George Jones and their years as the leading country vocal group. The Browns were especially close to Jim Reeves, and like Reeves they suffered from some backlash in some country circles because of their pop hits. Maxine recalls a run-in she had with Little Jimmy Dickens at a country music function during the peak of the Browns' crossover success when Dickens strolled up to them and said "What are you doing here? You Ain't country." As you might have guessed Maxine is not the type to just stand there and take that, calling him a "sawed-off son of a b***ch" which broke into a cuss fest that led to Maxine and Dickens not being on speaking terms for years although she happily notes they have since made amends.

After the Browns disband in the late 1960's and brother Jim Ed becomes a popular male star, Maxine found it difficult to launch a solo career (I personally love her only solo album SUGAR CANE COUNTY) and is surprised how quickly the industry seems to have forgotten she was one third of the hottest group in country music. Happily, the Browns have frequently reunited for concerts since the late 1980's and still perform today.

LOOKING BACK TO SEE is a great read, loaded with rare photos. Maxine writes in a friendly, talkative style and as you might guess, is as blunt as someone having an intimate conversation. This is a fairly large book - 348 pages - for a country star autobiography. The University of Arkansas (Maxine's home state and where she still lives) published this book and did a fine job with it. It's clear a local press is the way to go for country music star's of the past who might not be able to attract New York publishers. This book is a must for anyone who loves country music during it's classic "Nashville Sound" era.

This book makes fascinating reading. It helped me to appreciate more the musicians I was already familiar with, such as Jack Teagarden, and opened my eyes to a lot of people I knew little or nothing about. Be sure to pick up the companion CD, too.

This is the finest book about jazz that I have ever read. I own many of the records that the author dissects, as well as having seen several of these great jazz artists perform, and I find his judgment perceptive and unerring. But this is far more than just a book about jazz music. What makes these musicians tick, how did they happen to assemble together for a recording session, how did the record business impact their selection of pieces to perform? The author draws on a variety of academic disciplinces, including art, psychology, economics, and social history, to put his subjects in perspective. Most important, he is a fine storyteller who empathizes with the people he writes about. While many reviews focus on his overall thesis about race in jazz, this is but one theme he articulates, and it serves more as an organizing structure for the book than as its sole message.

First of all, Dick Sudhalter is a gifted writer. He crafts his narratives like a well constructed solo or composition. Second, this book tells us about early white jazz musicians and correctly describes the interplay between vital African American innovations and the contributions of Caucasian jazzmen. Sudhalter in no way diminishes the seminal contributions of African American jazzmen. He simply talks about the contributions of other artists, and does a masterful job of helping us to see the interplay between musicians who have given us this wonderfully entertaining music. I thought I knew a fair amount about the history of jazz. After reading this book, I know more. Nothing is more American than Jazz music (just my opinion), and the more you understand it, the more you know about the USA in the 20's and 30's. I keep re-reading parts of this book because there's so much here.

While a brilliant documentary, Burns' "Jazz" also reinforced the notion that jazz is exclusively an African-American artform. Fortunately, "Lost Chords" does much to blow away that misperception. While never belittling or downplaying the role of those African-American giants in jazz, this book does an outstanding job of profiling all of the individuals and bands who received short shrift from Burns: Steve Brown, who pretty much invented jazz bass playing; the Jean Goldkette Orchestra; Miff Mole; Frank Trumbauer; and may more. And he does so in a way that is both interesting to the casual fan (with anecdotes and such) and the hardened muso (excerpts of scores abound). A scholarly tome, this is a worthy addition for any jazz fan's library. I look forward to Volume II.

Not a mere antidote to political correctness in jazz criticism; Lost Chords is a prewar cultural history, a lesson in music structure, a history of woodwind instruments, a guide to innovations in guitar tuning, AND MORE. It shows the musicians as human beings with all their failings, humor, drives, hard work, and talent. I especially loved the account of the bass sax --- an instrument that looks like it could double as a moonshine still --- and its usefulness in the early days of sound recording. Sudhalter admonishes us to listen to the music and to make up your own mind. Exactly right. A good place to start is Robert Parker's Bix Beiderbecke Great Original Performances 1924-1930 (available on Amazon) If you have ever heard an early 78 rpm record, you will be astonished at Parker's sound restoration.

I finished reading this book to my older children (12 and 14) today. We all loved it. The book operates on many levels. It's the Chronicles of the life of an adolescent boy around 1910. It's also the story of a family's struggles and will to not only survive, but to thrive and to stand up for their beliefs. This book has encouraged my children to contribute more in our family, and to set up their own families with good principles. I would give this book 10 stars if there were 10 to give, and I can't recommend it highly enough as a great family read!

Wow these books are great! And you know the later the books the thicker they are. I think its because he remembers more about like his teen years than in his childhood. Well over all I would highly recommend this book. Yet like in a prior review these books do have some language but it shrinks in the text more and more. Buy this book and you wont be disappointed!

Highly recommended series. I recommend as an alternative to the Little House series for boys. Well written.

A reviewer asked for help regarding the names and volumes in this series. Here it is...

1. Little Britches
2. Man of the Family
3. The Home Ranch
4. Mary Emma & Company
5. The Fields of Home
6. Shaking the Nickel
7. The Dry Divide
8. Horse of a Different Color

Mr. Moody shares adventures of his life in this series. It's wonderful, but there is some foul language. Therefore, I would recommend reading the books aloud with older children (not for the preschool/early elementary crowd).

When Ralph Moody's father dies in the early spring of 1910, he's eleven years old, the senior boy in a family of five, and determined to support his mother and siblings. It's a rocky road, for his mother, even though she declares she'll "depend on" him as "her man," is equally determined that he must stay in school--which means he's restricted to nickel-an-hour boy-jobs for most of the year. And so, despite the title, this book is less about Ralph's helming the family than about the family's pulling together to support itself. They start a "cookery route," selling Mrs. Moody's New England food to neighbors; the children pick fruit, and Ralph rides in match races, breeds rabbits, and hires schoolmates with horses to keep the cattle from the incoming trail herds out of the residential lanes, as well as discovering that it's possible to supply the family's entire need for coal simply by picking up what has fallen off the tenders of passing trains. Like his father before him, he proves to be a shrewd trader and a clever inventor who comes up with a device on which to dry and repair the lace curtains from Denver's Brown Palace Hotel when his mother gets the idea of offering her services as a contract launderer. And he and his brothers and sisters get a surprise when, six months after their father's death, their mother has a sixth baby.

Besides Mary Emma Moody, who stands solidly in the midst of her young family and exemplifies the best type of "widder woman," the two most unforgettable characters in the book are Sheriff McGrath, a widower who tries awkwardly to court Ralph's mother, and Jerry McEnerney, the Irish section boss who, for all his early bluster, soon becomes the boy's friend and quietly arranges for him to obtain over 100 used railroad ties to haul away and sell. And though there are setbacks and mishaps, such as the vividly described spillage of an entire wagonload of cookery, the Moodys soldier on, until it begins to look as if they will be able to stay indefinitely in Ralph's beloved Colorado. But then Mary Emma incautiously shares a secret with a neighbor, and is subpoenaed to testify before the Grand Jury. Fearing that she will end by sending an innocent man to the gallows, she decides there is only one thing to do: take her children and secretly flee out of state to live with her brother in New England. And so one phase of Ralph's life ends and another begins, to be told in subsequent books. But the West will call him back, and he will never be fully free of its spell.

This is a funny, warmhearted, inspiring tale of a family determined to make its way without seeking charity, of its friends and neighbors, and of the beautiful land it loves. It would make a splendid family readaloud, or a good book to curl up with alone if you love stories of the West and of people who don't give up.

I read this book from cover to cover and only set it down when I got tired. Each night I would set aside some time to join adam on his adventures growing up playing the harmonica. He talks about love gained and lost and how he first became a harp player, including some of his influences. He has a captivating writing style and brings alot of imagery to his writing. I really felt he poured his soul out onto the page and you really kind of get to know who Adam and Satan are. Not the Prince of Darkness but Sterling "Satan" Magee. The overall story really is about the awkward white boy putting himself out there to play a soulful style of music and how he went through pain and heartache to pay his dues with with his friend and bluesmate, Mr. Satan. I would highly recommend this piece of work by Adam. You should also check out their 3 albums: Harlem Blues, Mother Mojo, and Living on the River.

I could hardly put this book down to perform activities of daily living, let alone going to work. "Mr Adam" has created a masterpiece of American musical literature. Being a blues lover of many years, I was bored to death by the almost clinical approach of most writers on the subject. Not so, Mr. Gussow! He delivers a passionately honest and heart felt memoir filled with wonderfully alive and vibrant individuals, sharing with us the one true American music, the blues.

It is an amazing thing when an artist (in this case, Gussow, a writer/blues harp player) can somehow manage to make their mark despite all the confusion and hard knocks life throws at them- and they sometimes throw at themselves. This is a moving story about a burgeoning blues musician captured with excellent dialogue... Gussow has made his characters come alive and jump off the page the way writers are supposed to.

Not only is it Gussow's personal memoirs of his early years in music, but a riveting biography of one of the most unique and original blues acts in recent years- Satan & Adam. Gussow's accounts of his early music/life mentors (such as the underexposed harpist Nat Riddles) with sincerity and genuine emotion is fascinating. The telling of Mister Satan's story is a valuable contribution to blues history that could well have been lost in obscurity.

There are issues explored in this book that have rarely been expounded upon with any meaningful insight in any musician interview or book I can remember. The passages in the book where Gussow is in the middle of Harlem grappling with the rift and misunderstanding between black and white is especially poignant, particularly from his perspective as a young, white, Princeton educated "bluesman".

Although this book isn't an instructional course on technique or musicianship- for those who aren't aware- Adam Gussow is considered by many blues afficionados to be one of the best harmonica players alive today. So he's paid some dues and he knows what he's talking about.

Adam Gussow had the good fortune, the talent, street smarts and the heartfelt focus to get out there and live it- become an apprentice to a bluesmaster- just like most traditional art is passed down from accomplished teacher to eager student. I admire him for it. Mister Satan's Apprentice is a must read for any struggling musician or blues fan- it just might get you thinking about your own life's journey.

Recently it was my privilege to see author and harmonica player Adam Gussow at my local huge independent bookstore here in the Eastern US. I rarely do commercials, but if you can't catch Adam, you can check out his new novel "Mr. Satan's Apprentice". Adam calls it "a blues memoir", and so it is. The guy is a no-shit, kick-butt, street-smart harp player! FYI, I have fairly high standards in this realm. If you've seen or heard the New York duo "Satan and Adam", you'll know what I mean. The guy is ALSO a juicy and creative, energetic, sexy writer - something I'm also picky about. Princeton Ph.D. candidate - English.

Adam's book describes a journey that a few of us know, but most do not. The musician in you will relate to the tale of the emergence of deep and powerful music from the little instrument - and the romantic in you will throb with the ways the emerging harmonica player and boundary-crosser discovers the things he needs to grow musically and personally - and then sometimes fearlessly, sometimes not, sets out to acquire them. You'll meet his teachers and mentors, and like it or not, you'll see life through the eyes of this seeker of musical and personal connection. You'll go with Adam on the romantic roller coaster as loves come and go - and you'll travel with him to Paris to play in the Metro and on the street; to the American South, and to other places exotic and otherwise - including a hitch with the road company of Broadway show based on Mark Twain's Sawyer and Finn. Later we get into the recording studio with Mr. Gussow and Mr. Satan - the Harlem street mystic and one-man band who becomes Adam's main-man mentor and muse, the Mr. Satan of the book's title. Throughout the book you'll find Adam the street intellectual examining his position as a white man among black men (and black women) in this blues-filled world - an examination in which Mr. Satan plays a key role.

A book for players and lovers - of the spirit of the music, of the street; of the endless forms of beauty and love, as they are found ALL over the place. The author is one who knows, and magically, describes, many of the gut experiences we players know; to my knowledge no one's ever written quite this way about these things before. Like the performing moments, the pulling out of all the everything you've got and then some, when the audience is on it's very EDGE, right there with you; when you are truly and purely the great IT! Blowing and drawing deep, and deeper, and then high and higher; and the room is all whoops and smiles, and all there in your hand. A good player knows these things, and believe me, in a blues band, nobody gets that kind of juice but the harp player.

OK, so maybe you don't know the peak of performance grace and light - but you know your peaks, and Adam's telling can stir it back into view...

Adam Gussow writes of music, romance, conflict, and awakening in an intimately physical and heart- connected way. As a player, I'm rocked. -"Harmonica Jack" Merrylees (JMerrylees@aol.com)

In "Mister Satan's Apprentice," street musician extraordinaire Adam Gussow has left in just about everything, and it's about 40 percent too much; the book would have read far better at a sleek 250 pages. But the good stuff is really good, and the book is well worth reading despite its distractions and digressions. In his early 40s, Gussow is currently a doctoral candidate in Princeton's English department. But thousands know him as the harmonica-wielding half of the "progressive gutbucket blues" duo Satan and Adam -- three-CD recording artists, photogenic subject of any number of newspaper and magazine features, and cameo stars of the U2 movie "Rattle and Hum."

In his autobiography, Gussow gets deep inside blues, and his relationship to it, and manages to successfully translate the music into language. "Blues harmonica played well was a miniature tongued slalom, a tornado swallowed and contained," he tells us, and his words capture every bit of excitement that the grooves and notes have to offer. "Mister Satan's Apprentice" is about much more than the blues, though -- it's a provocative meditation on race from a white man immersed in a traditionally black genre, neighborhood and world. Playing around with his first harmonica, in 1974, Gussow contemplates the subtleties of playing blues. "It had something to do with being a black guy," he muses.

As the protagonist in his narrative, Gussow pales (no pun intended) next to two marvelous characters: his two mentors, Nat Riddles and Sterling "Mister Satan" Magee. Twenty-two years older than his protégé, Mister Satan is as colorful as they come. He's a visual artist and apocalyptic numerologist with a murky music-industry background, and a font of, if not wisdom, then brilliantly idiosyncratic aphorisms and soliloquies. A Harlem fixture when Gussow approaches the guitarist to jam along, he shouts and hollers, runs hot and cold, towers over other men. Mister Satan looms larger than life, but harmonica player Nat Riddles is entirely real, an odd-job taxi driver with a dazzling smile and soulful tone. "He was perpetually on the verge of becoming the blues world's Next Big Thing," Gussow writes. "A young black harp-player with the Sound." Riddles flits in and out of fortune, showing up unexpectedly to astound a New York club, phoning from somewhere in the South, destitute and desperate, surviving gunshot wounds only to eventually succumb to a cruel wasting disease.

It's the music, finally, that counts most -- Gussow gives his story its own soundtrack, one of restlessness and yearning, of his struggle to capture the Sound: "The Sound was Southern-bound, it was cocky, playful, manic, chucking, resentful, edgy, comforting, relentless. It took incredible lip strength and finesse to produce. It was sexual. It was the haunted, restless feeling of a guy's apartment late at night after the woman who used to live there had moved out. It was whatever nasty things she was doing with the other guy-a virile sensitive soulmate-this very minute. It was the best way of beating those visions back into the ghoulish cave they had crawled out of. Working hard at the Sound was a socially acceptable way of sobbing, raging, and primal-screaming from a hot heart while pretending merely to be practicing." A little of this kind of writing goes a long way, and there's an awful lot of it here. Granted, it's a real challenge to maintain a level of excitement in writing about music page after page, particularly about blues, a genre built on the same few chords locked in a repetitious groove. So it's forgivable that Gussow often leans out a little far: "The sidewalk scene dissolved; I was wandering in a garden of earthly delights, hands cupped against the sweet cold fluid air. Every bent note was a pitch-perfect arrow puncturing the gray dusk. You only live now. Blue notes danced and spun, lines endlessly unfolding like so many wrapped gifts laid bare." You have to remind yourself that he's talking about a harmonica, one of the more prosaic of instruments.

For all Gussow's breathless adjectives and action verbs, he's frustratingly vague about the technical aspects of the duo's "huge raw perfect sound." The book's photos show Gussow with effects pedals at his feet, but he makes no mention of them; he doesn't mention the basic information that he plays in "cross harp" style until page 386; Mister Satan's "phase-shifted guitar wash and deafening clatter" is described pretty much only in metaphorical terms, as, for instance, "an endlessly unrolling Persian carpet with gristle and clanks added." Gussow is so good at getting inside his playing that the narrative sags whenever it moves to other topics. A hefty amount of the bloat deals with his failed relationships. We meet mercurial crackhead Robyn and inconstant ex-fat girl Gail, but mostly there's erratic, irritable hyperfeminist Helen. Gussow tells us on page 30 that Helen left him back in 1984, so we're predisposed to dislike her, and we indeed do. "Most men had a girlfriend," he writes. "I had Aphrodite crossed with Kali the Destroyer, She of infinite ravenous limbs." Worse, the book's artfully jumbled narrative, with short sections ordered sort of sequentially on several tracks, dooms us to read about Helen over the entire course of the book. We think we're finally through with her, and then: "1983. Things with Helen had turned out surprisingly well . . ." Enough already!

In the late '80s and early '90s, a period when racial violence kept flaring up in the outer boroughs of New York City, Satan and Adam's young-old, white-black novelty made a splash, but momentum slipped away. "Minor celebrity beckoned, then faded," Gussow writes. And despite the book's vibrant cover photo of the pair, they no longer perform, according to an e-mail Gussow sent me. "[I]t's impossible to keep the act together," he wrote, noting that Mister Satan now lives in south-central Virginia and has no telephone. That's a real shame.

the seller did a great job in getting this book to me quickly. Great job

One of the best books ever written on the subject. If the topic is confusing, she makes it less confusing. She is one of the great spiritual thinkers of the early twentieth century.

What else can be said about this work Mysticism that hasn't been said over the years. Some say, in this modern period we now live in that some of her phrases etc. are out moded. Perhaps this is true! But if you are a person who has had experiences with God or Inner revelations, you feel this great Love within you, but you are not sure what it is, this book may give you the answers. When I first tried to read St. John of the Cross when I was 25, I felt the beauty and the love from his writings, but all the suffering he kept talking about was too much for me. Meaning of course I wasn't actually ready to read it until years later. After I had developed a little more spiritually. The same with this book it's a great history of mysticism and love; but you will not understand it fully
unless you are on this Path of Transformation. It can be read, but it will only be guessed at, until you experience it within your self. Yes, this is a great book; and remember: "You are the Love, You Search for In Others.

Underhill's book is a superbly authoritative look at the facts and processes of the mystical experience. This work offers much in the way of assurance and guidance to those whose inner eyes are beginning to open, as well as those who are already well acquainted with the deeper layers of their own spiritual reality. She is keen on detail and shares a wealth of examples from the lives of well known and not so well known mystics from all times and places.

While one may get the feeling from Underhill's works that self deprivation is a key to enlightenment, it should be remembered when reading such potent material that spiritual development is an evolution of values, that we move into each new phase when we are clear that our current values no longer serve our forward movement.

I particularly appreciate Underhill's superb command of the English language in choosing words that convey abstractions that could easily be defined merely as inexplicable feelings. She is one of those rare and gifted writers that I wish were still alive. I would love to be able to thank her personally for her monumental contribution to the world's great spiritual writings.

J Douglas Bottorff, author of The Whisper of Pialigos.

The author states at one point that only a mystic can write about mysticism, or rather about the true mystic experience. Conventional language, mere words, are poor tools for expressing transcendent reality. In spite of this I found myself exclaiming again and again during my reading that I knew exactly what was being described.

The core here is that only Being can know Being, we behold that which we are, and we are that which we behold. There is a spark in man's soul which is Real and by its cultivation that we may know Reality. You can only behold that which you are. Only the Real can know Reality. If this resonates to you, if it sounds strangely familiar, then perhaps this work is for you.

The mystic is drawn to the path by the force of love- the overriding desire for union with the Absolute. It is by this power that he or she is drawn to transcendent reality. This love leads to the state of contemplation which is the subtle state of consciousness that allows access to another plane. It is a form of consciousness recognized by Plato and Plotinus as well as Augustine and Aquinas. It is that form of consciousness beyond the emotional, intellectual, and volitional striving of ordinary men- a different way of knowing.

The second half of the book is structured according to the pattern of awakening, purification, illumination, ecstacy and rapture, the dark night of the soul, and the unitive life. In no sense is it a "how-to" guide, but it is a most valuable validation for those who have travelled any way at all on the path. It has also been traveled by others.

I find it significant that the author ends her appendix of biographical sketches with William Blake's death in 1827. There have of course been genuine, accomplished mystics since then, but the materialist and rationalistic world is more hostile to the testimony of the true mystic than the "dark ages" ever were.

And yet Mystic Union is no less a reality- and no less obtainable by the boon of grace.

After all, it is to know God that is our ultimate and highest purpose- all else is secondary if not ultimately trivial.