Reviews Books

Mr. Tesser has written a guide that is useful as well asinformative. The history of jazz along with his recommendations in aneasy to read format makes this an essential book for anyone from the jazz novice to the fanatic.

The author has done a wonderful job of writing a very user-friendly guide to the history of jazz and many of its memorable recordings.

Mr. Tesser eschews the usual encyclopedic format used by many music guides by dividing his book into sections that cover each jazz "era" in chronological order beginning with the 1920s to the present. He presents historical data concerning the trends and major players of an era, and then follows up with recordings he deems essential.

The tone of the book is very appealing. You never feel as though you are being lectured on "America's Classical Music". Instead, Tesser presents his information with clear, easy to understand language and much enthusiasm which makes this book an enjoyable read.

Finally, he makes use of a "hook" called the "Useful Lie" throughout the book that discusses some of the near truths of jazz history. Readers like myself who are somewhat familiar with jazz history but aren't scholars should find this enjoyable.

This is not an all-inclusive history of jazz in that some readers' favorite musicians or recordings may not be discussed. A project like that would obviously take more than one volume. But in under 300 pages, Mr. Tesser has produced a book that is an excellent starting point for the investigation of jazz history and its recordings.

Highly recommended.

Those who peruse the music shelves at bookstores are faced with basically two choices: either (1) extensive (or long-winded) histories, biographies and theoretical tomes or (2) various "guides to" record selection, printed in tiny type, which are more catalogs than books, and where the realities of building a record collection take a back seat to the compilation of all-encompassing lists of extant recordings.

Tesser's book sythesizes the best of both types. At once history AND a guide to building a record collection, The Playboy Guide is the perfect book for someone like my incipient-collector brother in-law (a real Ella Fitzgeral fan), who needs some guidance in getting his collection more complete and well rounded. At the same time, Tesser places key jazz figures and their recordings in a proper historical context, so you know the when and the how, as well as the why. All in less than 300 pages.

I'm sure that some jazz scholars will grimace at the survey nature of the book (though Tesser's intelligent perspectives, extensive knowledge of the genre, and clear writing may teach them a thing or two). And it's likely obsessive collectors will frown on its inevitable selectivity.

But if you want some expert guidance on what to buy, why you should buy it, and what it means in the historical continuum of jazz, get this book.

Don't let the title of the review fool you; the reviews on the back of the book assure me that it's a thrill to read for the master media critic, as well, but since I know next to nothing about contemporary media criticism, I can only view it through the novice lens. Let me finish my preface by saying that I'm reading this book because I'm in the author's course on "Money, Media, and Power"

McChesney classifies himself as a Political Economist of Media: a member of the class of media critics who aren't afraid to scrutinize the structure of the media, economy, and political system being analyzed. By viewing the most pressing issues in communications today without being afraid to examine the role of the institutions the issues are situated in, Political Economists of Media in general and McChesney in particular are able to gain a perspective that is both unusually broad and long.

The result is that the book raises profoundly under-asked questions that address core issues facing every member of American society, and the book hints at solutions that might rely on incredibly radical reforms. However, if you read the book objectively, you'll be more convinced than ever that our system is fatally flawed and the only types of reforms that will work will be very radical indeed.

McChesney's book has the power to ignite a strong movement against the corporate control of mass media institutions. It is one of the most pressing and relevant issues faced by the world that demands immediate action and active campaigning.

Robert W. McChesney (Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) presents The Political Economy of the Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas, a sharply worded critique of how journalism has decayed in today's modern, overly commercialized culture. On the bright side, an emerging media reform movement has arrived in response to the degraded ability of the modern media to be a watchdog for democracy and consumers. An in-depth social treatise concerning the crucial role the media plays in human society worldwide, The Political Economy of the Media is highly recommended especially for college library collections, as well as political science and media studies scholars.

It is a great book, every thing I wanted. It was in excellent condition. Now I can look up the authors and year my favorite songs were produced. I love it!

Joel Whitburn has been America's chart chronicler for thirty years now-The new edition of "Pop Annual" is great-Not only does it list every single that charted in Billboard magazine's "Hot 100" from 1955-1999,but Whitburn has a year by year Time Capsule,which gives the reader an overview of world & national events,sports,& entertainment-If you're a radio personality or just a music geek,like myself,this book deserves a worthy place in your bookcase.

The second essential Billboard reference book after the Joel Whitburn's Top 40 book is one mentioned to me by Eric Andrews, my first real Amazon Friend. Again, owning this pricey book indicates one is a pop culture buff. So why have this book in addition to the Top 40 book? Well, ever think about any single that didn't make the Top 40? Or what were the Top Ten singles for each year? This is where Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual comes in. Where the Top 40 book was indexed by artist/group, the Pop Annual is indexed by year, then listing all the singles by position, the #1's, the #2's, #3's, all the way to the songs that sadly peaked at No. 100 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts. Within the songs that reached the same position, what determines its ranking is how long it stayed at #1, weeks in the Top Ten, weeks in the Top 40, and finally weeks in the entire Hot 100. Hence, Bad English's "When I See You Smile" may have spent more weeks in the Hot 100 and Top 40 than Phil Collins' "Two Hearts," despite both spending two weeks at #1, but "Two Hearts" spent a week longer in the Top Ten, so it is ranked above "When I See You Smile."

Each year begins with a time capsule of the top international and national headlines, fads and fashions, sports, and the top movies and TV programs that year. There then follows a list of the Top 20 artists, their score determined by a point system, a 100 points for each week spent at #1, 10 points for each additional week, 90 points plus 5 additional for each #2 single, 80 points plus 3 points for each #3 single, 70 points for each #4-#5 single, 60 points for each #6-#10 single, and on down to 10 points for each #91-100 single. There's more involving airplay, but I'll not dwell on that.

Then there are top songwriters and artist debuts for the year. For the year I graduated high school, the Top debut artist was the Bangles (yay!) the top songwriters were ex-Time members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of Janet Jackson fame, and surprisingly it wasn't Madonna or the Bangles who was the top artist that year based on points but Billy Ocean!

Now, for the Top Five singles, there is included its chart positions history, from debut to its last week in the Hot 100. Looking at the #1 list enables on to see who and how many #1 hits they had or indeed how many songs made it to the top spot. For my favourite group, 1964 was a banner year, as they were the #1 artist, #1 artist debut, top songwriters, and had six #1 hits. It wouldn't take a PhD to figure out who I am referring to.

Of additional notes, there is a debut column, a 1 indicating an artist/group's debut on the Hot 100, or a diamond, indicating an artist/group's only Hot 100 charting entry, which may consist of one time duets between lead singers of varied groups, e.g. Ann Wilson and Mike Reno in "Almost Paradise," one-time gatherings like USA For Africa, or novelty acts like Rick Dees or Buckner and Garcia.

Finally, like its companion book, the Top 40, there is an index in the back alphabetized by song, which contains the artist name, its peak position, and year. Some, including me, may think why not have a separate artist index, which would help, but that would probably double the price of this already expensive tome.

Having this book takes me back to Memory Lane, i.e. my musical heyday, the 80's, but also a curious look at the 50's through 70's. Me, I rarely look at anything beyond 1994 due to the type of music that began dominating the charts and still does today-some may call it music. This tome goes from 1955 to 1999, and perfectly encapsulates the Billboard charts for the 20th century.

I liked this book; the reviews were what viewers actually thought, rather than being more like the "high brow" material you get in some program guides.

This is a fun Doctor Who review book. No, there are no long lists of cast and crew members names (although they are occasionally referenced in the reviews), but it is quite fun to read the numerous comments of the various people involved in making this book. The 10 star rating system is nice; you can watch an episode and see if you agree with the editor (or see if anyone else in the book agrees with him). Easy to read. Worth owning!

"Portal to Infinity," edited by Keith C. Bradbury, is one of a number of books to evaluate "Doctor Who," the British science-fiction television show, from the fan's perspective. The book is an easy read, moving from Bradbury's own opinions about the merits of each episode to comments from his own selected "panel" of fans. While some fans appear to have had inside access to the reviews and voice an opinion a bit more frequently than others, Bradbury strives to present as balanced a view to each story as possible. Readers are free to make up their minds about whom to believe with each story. The cover is attractive; though the artwork is not the strongest selling point of the book, it supports the theme admirably. Most valuable are the useful fan reviews and the noteworthy scoring system for each show. The book covers all seven television actors, the Paul McGann made-for-TV movie, and various independent, non-canonical, or spin-off productions. Overall, a strong book, worthy of other publications about the famous BBC drama. Highly recommended.

Genet allows you to feel the immediacy of the Palestinian situation with particles from lives,from ill-defined fragments of lives disrupted with no future,he stayed with a family in 1980 a half-day and a whole night where the young son,Hamza a fedayee went off at night to fight. Genet hearing gun fire in the distance inhabited his bed and was brought Turkish coffee and water in the night as a replacement for the young man,by his mother. Genet is a writer/poet,a political thinker,but never a man of politics, a deeply sensitive man,a virtuoso of the sensual image, as the starry-night reflected against the curtain in his room with the small blue table. "Of course it's understood that the words,nights,forests,septet,jubilation desertion and despair are the same words that I have to use to describe the goings on at dawn in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris when the drag queens depart after celebrating their mystery,doing their accounts and smoothing banknotes out of the dew."

Genet was allowed with special permission to visit the massacre site at the camps at Sabra and Chantila,smelling the rotting flesh, "They happened I was affected by them. I talked about them. But while the act of writing came later, after a period of incubation,nevertheless in a moment like that or those when a single cell departs from its usual metabolism and the original link is created of a future,unsuspected cancer,or a piece of lace, so I decided to write this book."

Genet has an intense need for passion of any dimension,scouring the vigours of whatever parts of fragments of the lifeworld's complexity presents itself to him. I once thought of this book as a romantic means of portrayel a betrayel of a political situation,one, the only one that excited Genet.It means something that only encounterings lives in struggle,bent into a repressive state that Genet finds the only life worth encountering,sensing and feeling about. This book was completed in 1986 after suffering from throat cancer, he died on the night of 14-15th of April,1986,while correcting proofs.

This book is absolutely essential to any understanding of the Palestinian situation. It is also the mostimportant work of Genet's entire career.

If the reader is looking for easy explanations to the Palestinian refugees' war with the nation of Israel, Jean Genet's book is not the place to seek them. And I don't advise readers to pick through the text looking for the succinct sentences in which Genet clearly states why he's on the side of the Palestinians, or if he's anti-Israel, or anti-American. There is no proof of reviewer Tim Keane's conclusion that Genet "seethes with hatred of Israel"; there are no such violent emotions in Prisoner of Love. At 430 pages, be prepared to find subtleties of experience shaded by conflicting responses--nuances completely unavailable via print journalism or network news, CNN, or Al Jazeera. But the very fact that Genet wanted to observe life in the refugee camps shows that he had to make a choice. Nearly all the protagonists of his memoir, this textual "souvenirs," are Palestinians and generally Muslim. Indeed, the compelling force which drives the relatively plotless Prisoner of Love are the individuals to whom Jean attachments himself: the dynamic Lieutenant Mubarak, Dr. Mahjoub and the charismatic female doctor, Dr. Nabila, Khaled Abu Khaled and Abu Omar, and an accomplished woman friend, a blond Lebanese guide and translator, Nidal, and dozens of other people. Genet was particularly attached to Hamza and his mother, who he attempts to find again after his absence from Palestine for nearly 14 years. We cannot forget the common fedayee rebel, the fedayeen as a whole who fought to make the Palestinian plight known.

When evaluating Prisoner of Love, it's important to remember that Genet is a writer. Throughout his work, Genet tells us how difficult it is to recount his experiences since he's not sure at times what he's seeing, and he must make his writing conform to the necessities of craft. And whatever writing craft decisions Jean made it is clear that the Palestinians "wrote" him as well; Jean was seldom in control of his experience. As I read, I realized that Genet is the ultimate refugee; he seeks to be with people who are like him. My conclusion is this: Palestine chose him.

Only Genet could have written this book. He is a bruised romantic searching for a resting place that will caress both his homeless intellect and his orphaned body: "A little while ago I wrote that though I shall die, nothing else will. And I must make my meaning clear. Wonder at the sight of a corn-flower, at a rock, at the touch of a rough hand--all the millions of emotions of which I'm made--they won't disappear even though I shall. Other men will experience them, and they'll still be there because of them. More and more I believe I exist in order to be the terrain and proof which show other men that life consists in the uninterrupted emotions flowing through all creation" (361). As an orphan with prison experience, and disaffected from France, Genet was willing to try on other peoples' lives; I suspect that without the structure dictated by the craft of writing, and his talent coming to the attention of well-known writers, Genet would have disappeared into the French prison system.

Another conclusion I came to: Genet shows us the difference between terrorism and Arab nationalism. Is there any hope that the U.S., of which I am a native-born citizen, will ever figure out this difference?

Overwhelmingly, the single image I have of Prisoner of Love is that to read it is to travel the land that dwelled *in* Jean Genet, this traveler who was intelligent enough to let his emotions guide him. And only by reading can I share in living a life which speaks so eloquently of rebellion and blood, of life and death.

great book in preparation for the CCS-P exam, very thorough material, would recommend it highly to anyone who is going to attempt to take the exam.. this a great reference tool!!!

I want to be clear that I haven't seen the 2007 Edition yet - however think it's worth posting my review of the 2006 one here - as this is where people will be looking past May.

I spent a few weeks preparing for my CCS-P, using mainly this book's 2006 edition.

It walked me through reviewing coding areas that I needed refreshing on, pointing out to me that, for example, I wasn't as clear as I should be on how to code certain cardiac procedures and needed to spend some time on OB coding.

It gave me all I needed - the sample test questions and cases were right on for the exam. The CD was a bonus - simple interface that walks you through multiple questions. Nice.

So, I passed. Very nicely. In fact, you could say I met and exceeded all the key components for passing (a little bit of coder humor there!).

Thanks, Patricia et al. This really helped me prepare effectively with limited study time. It looks like a huge bit of work to put together - well done.

Alec McLure, RHIA, CCS-P

I loved the fact that the quizzes and test were on the CD disk. You have the option when you are taking the test for it to show you the answers. It explained why you would arrive at those answers. The disk is very helpful for those people that do not like to read a lot of study material when you can actually learn it as you proceed on the disk. All of the material in the book was very informative but I especially liked the Reimbursement section as it shows you how to calculate medicare patients payments and par physicians and non par physicians payments.
Sincerely-Julie

I am in the midst of studying for my GRE's. I thought having a book of key terms and subjects would be a great idea. I'm thankful for this book! Terms are clear, well defined and it gives you all the important topics in 14 different areas of psychology, including sensation and perception, abnormal psychology and developmental psychology. Great for any student enrolled in a Psychology course, and a great study aid for GRE's, it certainly beats reading 700pages in a text book.

Though a somewhat shallow study (a characteristic shared by every other general survey crammer) it is representative of the better offerings in its class. A comprehensive treatment of the field. Covers all the bases in just about the right proportions. It was enough to deliver me the competencies necessary to score an "A" pass in the CLEP Introductory Psychology exam (letter grade awarded by USNY, now Excelsior College, not CLEP).

In the years since then it has been a permanent and popular feature in the BA in 4 Weeks recommended book lists (bain4weeks.com). Many have used it in the course of their degree program with undeniable success.

If you buy it, keep it handy for later use in preparing for the CLEP Educational Psychology exam, it has application there - also useful in a number of HR/OB exams.
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An excellent book for students interested in the field of psychology. Gives important details on the history and theories that make up the personality. I would reccommend this to anyone taking the course.

I was very happy with the information regarding the shipment and the prompt delivery of the item. On arrival the book was in excellent condition.

Very good book was shipped in the time stated at buying and was in stock when said.

The study guide with CD ROM gives a very organized approach to study information for the PTA Student preparing for the National Exam. It includes a CD ROM with 4 practice exams in the same format as the National Exam and explanation for each answer.

I used this book in my SPAN 252 class. It was well organized in terms of grammer, vocabulary and cultural learning. The online QUIA portion also helped me improve my spanish skills. Punto y Aparte is one of the best Spanish books I've used in my studies.

Without a doubt this probably is the best intermediate text & CD ROM available for anyone who wants to move from "advanced beginner" to a more conversational "advanced intermediate" speaker of Spanish. It will also help the "listening" component of improving communication skills in Spanish. The text is very uniquely organized and excellently done. Although relatively short, it is packed with useful information. The CD ROM is essential to maximize the total potential learning experience. The speech, dialogues, accents, and interactions are quite "real" and very understandable. There is even an concise grammar review section, and an essential spanish-english dictionary so that one could take the book and study even without immediate access to a dictionary for most unfamiliar words. (The three-page explanation of using the Imperfect versus the Preterite uniquely clarifies an often muddy concept.) The use of the five distinct Spanish speaking characters interacting through the stories in each chapter draws the student into their characters and is a great tool for experiencing the "flavor" of different hispanohablantes. These authors have really produced a program that goes beyond what any other texts out there offer. I wish I had found this several years ago. Both the text and CD are worth the price.

I am a Spanish heritage speaker and have studied Spanish at several renowned instuitions in the United States including Middlebury College in Vermont. This is the book of choice for the intermediate level and I can't agree more. The book is clear, concise, and has exercises for the seven different concepts emphasized throughout the text. The text is not only about grammar but adds an element of culture that is necessary to truly appreciate the language. I haven't seen a book better than this one!

This is the finest tool for registry reveiw. So simple to put a handful of cards in your pocket for easy study at work or clinicals. So glad I got them!

I received my order very quickly. Product was just what I was looking for and met all of my expectations.

I purchased this at the beginning of my radiography program. I'm getting ready to graduate in 7 months and have been using them for tests in positioning as well as patient care. These cards have multiple questions on one card and are color-coded for each section covered by the ARRT registry. I also recommend Lange Q&A by D.A.Saia for registry review.Lange Q&A - Radiography Examination (Lange Q&A Series (formerly Appleton and Lange's Review Series)