Companies Books

When it comes to the saxophone, this book covers it all. Embouchure, posture, the parts of the horn, the history of the horn, reeds, fingering, you name it and it's in this book. It's surprisingly in depth on every front, even having a section on the altissimo register. This really is among the must haves of any saxophone player's library.

Having said that, this is in no way the ONLY book you should have. While it contains warm up exercises, actually buying a decent scale/chord study book should be a high priority. Also, if you're serious about learning the 3rd and 4th octaves, you need to buy a good high register book.

Ultimately, for me at least, this book comes down to more of an encyclopedia as opposed to a bible. It can take you really far, but you're eventually going to need to buckle down with specialty resources.

This book is considered by many to be the "Saxophonist's Bible." A great book with many illustrations and practical advice for playing the saxophone.

I have recently started learning the basics of saxophone playing. My knowledge of playing the Saxophone, and indeed any musical instrument, and also music theory is limited. However I found that the information in "The Art of Saxophone Playing" was very informative and the way it is set out has certainly been of great help.
I think that the more advanced player will profit more from the information given in the later chapters. I'm hoping that as I improve I will better understand these chapters.

Great book!
I just started learning to play the sax, and this book has given me
an invaluable insight into the instrument and how to play it.
I recommend it to anyone starting to play the saxophone, but the information is valuable even for established and professional players.

This book is a staple among saxophonists of all veins (jazz, classical, and anything else). It is a must-have, and for good reason. It gives insight in to every aspect of being a saxophonist, including some brief but helpful information on doubling. Some chapters are very in depth, though others are less so. A great find and worth every penny.

This book was an awsome book.I might be a guy but all these stories just fills your heart with good things. This book has fantastic real life stories that mean alot of things. It was so good that i read this book in 4 days. This book is great for any chicken soup lovers or people who likes touching stories.

I read this book in 2 days flat!! I love it. Brought back some memories of times in my life... made me cry mostly. Who doesn't love a good cry? I'm on track to improving my personal development and have since changed my reading material to awe-inspiring stuff. I encourage all women ages 21-100+ to read this book.

I have grown up with Chicken Soup For The Soul Collections. I can remember buying my first book at a book sale while I was in elementary school. I than moved on to Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul. I recently took a box of books to a book exchange shop and that's where I saw Chicken Soup For The Woman's Soul. I than remembered how much I had loved these heart warming short stories and since I had just turned 20 years old, it was about time I exchange my teenage collection in for the woman's collection. I am 20 years old, married and in college so sometimes I find myself stressed out and emotional so I like to sit down and enjoy a few of these stories. These are great books to own and there is a large variety so that anyone can find one that fits them. My husband and I like to read Chicken Soup For The Couples Soul together and I am looking forward to the day when I can read Chicken Soup For The Mothers Soul.

There are so many Inspiring and touching tales that fills our hearts with emotion. One wonders 'why' things happen as they shouldn't or 'How' do miracles change the course of our lives. There are moments in everybody's life where at a point you encounter obstacles, where your self esteem gets low, attitude differences opine or whatever be, awe-inspiring stories of this book glues you to stir your heart to be more wiser. It rekindles the spirits undoubtedly when we read the emotional narrations of others and wonder - We too come across lot of experiences in life. Should we not pen it down? Easy it may seem, needs inspirations like these stories to share alike tales. This book sure is a great 'light up spirits' book for woman, self inspirations you can say. Topics on Love, Attitude & self esteem, Special moments, Dreams, Truth & wisdom n more are widely covered which makes it a special read. I cherish this book and read n re-read at times. Good pick

I read this book in 2 days flat!! I love it. Brought back some memories of times in my life... made me cry mostly. Who doesn't love a good cry? I'm on track to improving my personal development and have since changed my reading material to awe-inspiring stuff. I encourage all women ages 21-100+ to read this book.

I absolutely LOVE this book! It's one of my childhood favorites, and I was excited to be able to replace it! The pictures are dream-like, and the book is great for introducing color concepts/words to young children. The book is so much fun; they'll read it over and over! I know I did! : D

Unfortunately, this isn't the full-sized book I remember from my childhood (it's a rather cheap imitation that probably won't hold up to multiple readings). But the pictures and story are still the wonderful ones I remember.

The Color Kittens (Little Golden Book) I am so excited!!! This was my favorite book my mother read to me in the late sixties. I have searched garage sales, etc hoping to someday find a copy. I searched for it on amazon.com and sure enough I found it. I felt like a little girl again when I opened the package containing this book! The cover is the same as I remember. I quickly read it to my little girl. It has it's own special spot in my china cabinet amongst many antique and childhood favs.

I was positively excited to get this book for my friend's Christmas present. When the seller said excellent condition, they should have said absolutely perfect! She will be thrilled! Thank You!

I have my original book from the 50s and another copy I found maybe about 10 years ago. You will never forget it. I am buying this one for my niece. It is my favorite book to this day. The best childrens' book I have ever seen.

I've got to admit that the writing is so deep that sometimes I have to only read a couple of pages and then take a break. But don't let that deter you. Within 1 or 2 chapters I was feeling happier than I think I ever have. And this from a mildly chronically depressed person.

It does rely heavily on Buddhism but it IS a Buddhist writing it )). For the ultra religious, don't worry. He does not shove his beliefs down your throat. It is just his examples are from his life so that are flavored that way.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested i attaining happiness.

Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

This is the best book I have ever read on the subject of happiness. A real treasure.
Happiness is not a mystery but a possible goal for anyone who seriously wants to become a happier and better person. If you love science, literature and culture, Matthieu Ricard is the right guru for you.
A must read for everyone who loved his book "The Monk and the Philosopher".
A book you won't ever part with for you'll want to read in it again and again.

Inge Hohndorf

This book has been written by the world's happiest person. Neuroscientists have conducted various tests on thousands of people including the author and have come to the conclusion based on scientific proof. It is therefore necessary to keep that piece of information at the back of your mind when you read the book.

Every word in the book comes out loud and clear as having been created by a truly happy and contented person.

Simply by reading the book and following some of the exercises that the author suggests, you can transform yourself from a tense and neurotic being into a joyful, stress free person.

Though the author is a Buddhist monk, this book is not about Buddhism nor does it attempt to convert one to that religion. This is a practical, down to earth method to learn to be happy.

This is just a footnote to the other reviews, especially the one that wants more of the "how" to implement the author's suggestions.
Ricard is one of the finest students of one of the finest teachers of the Tibetan tradition as is, for example, the very popular author Pema Chödrön.
Chödrön's books and "Happiness" by Ricard share the same characteristic: they make great inspirational reading BUT in the absence of a regular meditative discipline they remain only that.
There is a great abundance of excellent books (which by the way are not enough on their own), and there are even quite a lot of excellent teachers, who can guide one with regard to that regular practice.
Of course what "practice" is is something that must be investigated by you yourself. The many exercises found throughout Ricard's book, if assiduously undertaken, are material enough for a thorough familiarization with practice as I understand it.
I wish you the very best in your quest,
Richard Wrigley.

I think a lot of the other reviews clearly explain why this is a wonderful book. It definitely has added a lot of perspective to my outlook on things. I believe as Ricard explains, that tweaks to the way we think and our attitude will definitely foster happier thoughts in our minds. There are some very memorable thoughts from this book - the one I liked most was the fact that happiness can never be based on external circumstances for they are fleeting. A loss of a loved one or a job can plunge a man from happiness to despair and darkness in an instant. If like Ricard, you believe that happiness can be a permanent state of mind, it has to be on the inside and all ephemeral, external circumstances will flutter the mind like lines written on water.

But there are limitations and not-so-great things about the book which could have been improved.

- Too much quoting philosophers and famous people
Almost every chapter is filled with various philosopher's take on things like happiness, emotions etc. I was more interested in Ricard's own experience and his Gurus' opinions (which were also there at places) rather than a big collection of differing thoughts of other philosophers.

- Lack of explanation on 'how to do'
There is a clear lack of explanation of how to deal practically with the issues Ricard brings up. His theory that negative thoughts like hatred need antidotes like patience is great, but there is not much detail on how to cultivate them. Ricard says the solution is meditation, but how and what to exactly meditate on is short in content.
A recurring theme is that when say, you are very angry, look at the anger itself without attaching it to the target of the anger and meditate, and it will melt away. Look at the emotion itself without the object it is related to and it will melt away like 'snow under the sun'.
It sounds good to read but I find it tough to implement. While one is meditating, how is it possible to 'look' at something without giving it an image or a mental picture? How to 'look' at an abstract entity is mentioned nowhere in the book. Maybe it comes naturally to advanced spiritual practitioners, but for a layman like me, I need more explanation on how to do these things than just a vague paragraph and impressive metaphors.

In spite of these limitations, I found it an enlightening book to read.

I initially bought this cookbook to learn more about Sichuan cuisine, but quickly realized the recipies are extremely practical and easy to follow. They do not require much specialized equipement (unless you consider a wok specialized) and the ingredients can be found at a local Asian market or online. I prepared several bean curd recipes this week. Once I had the ingredients prepped, the actual cook time was only 3 minutes or so (at a very high heat).

In addition to being simple, economical, and fast to prepare, most of the recipes seem fairly healthful (Deep fried foods or pork belly would be obvious exceptions).

If you have never tasted Sichuan pepper, it is definitely worth experiencing. It is not spicy, but it does have a have a fairly big impact on your mouth. That said, even my children (who do not like spicy foods) were able to eat and enjoy the recipies with the Sichuan pepper. Some recipes do have more heat for those who like very spicy food.

I highly recommend this cookbook both for the cultural/historical information and for the recipes.

I am very impressed by the depth of knowledge the author acquired to write this book and how she carefully shares it with her readers. It is not just a book of recipes. The author did her homework understanding the hows and the whys. I love how she explains the many cooking and cutting methods very clearly, AND she includes the Chinese calligraphy (beautifully done) for each, as well as the Chinese pronunciation. This truly helps 'connect the dots' because English translated menus in Chinese restaurants do not always use the same words so it's very helpful to see it in Chinese and know how to pronounce it too. She goes into details explaining the use of Chinese cooking utensils, how to prepare/oil your wok properly, etc... seriously goes beyond the usual cookbook! THANK YOU!

And of course, from her descriptions of the dishes, I could practically smell the spices and want to sink my teeth into the dishes so badly... This was my first Dunlop book and I am a fan now.

I have to say that as much I've cooked from this book, I've appreciate much more my neighborhood Sichuan place.

The author has done a great job. I do think there are some small areas where the technique isn't too obvious.

I would recommend reading the introduction and the basics before proceeding to the recipes - offers a good grounding into Sichuan foods and techniques.

The Good:
- Authentic recipes (lots of them). Most of the dishes taste pretty good. The first dish I made was Gong Bao Ji Ding and it was delicious.
- Very nicely written. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. Lots of great info and details about the ingredients and cooking method. The author also provides an interesting background for each dish. You can tell Dunlop is passionate about Sichuanese food.
- Great organization (separated by Noodles, Appetizers, Meat, Fish, etc.)
- No MSG

The Bad:
- Lacks pictures. The pictures were great but I wish there were more. I had to use google to compare my results.

Conclusion:
Overall a great book and easily recommended. Despite the lack of pictures, I still have to rate it 5 stars because of the delicious recipes.

Wonderful cookbook, my husband & I have become exteremly interested in Sichuan Cooking over the past few months and we were very excited to find a cookbook representing the Sichuan style of cooking. We love cooking with Sichuan Peppercorns and the "Hot & Numbing" style of cooking. The first recipe we tried was the Dry Cooked Beef, the recipe was very well written, easy to understand and the end product was yummy. I would recommend this book to any one who is interested in a wonderful and very interesting style of Asian cooking.

This monster book is fun, not scary at all. It tells about all the loving things Mama Monster does for her Monster children. When I was an elementary school librarian I used it for Story Time. And now my grandchildren--ages 2 and 4, love this book too!

My kids (ages 3-7) all love this book. It has a great rhythm and after reading it regularly for five years, they still giggle through the entire book. Because of that, we have given this book to many friends who have loved it as much as us.

I bought this because my son has been waking up scared of "things" in his room at night. He has been waking up a lot less lately, since we started reading this and another book. I really think this among other things has helped. It insinuates that monsters are scared of little boys and girls which is just what he needed to hear!! It is also very cute and makes monsters seem just like people!

My little boy is 19 months old and this is one of his favorite bedtime stories. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the story makes us laugh every time we read it!

I loved this book and read it to my precious grandson, Connor. The book is written in rhyme and it is very sweet and interesting to kids.

When I started out reading this book, I was very skeptical, and I did not want to read something, that was set in the 1800's. I was pleasantly surprised though, because of what I learned about those times. I loved the characters and thought that they just fit together, especially Lorna and Jens. The book was romantic, but definitely had tragic and horrible moments, as well. This was a great novel, with an expected ending, but I really did enjoy this book a lot.

and this book proves she is at the top! I enjoyed this book even though it was a tear jerker.

Levyrle Spencer can just make you feel what her characters are feeling so effortlessly that you laugh and cry with them and almost forget that they are not real.
Lorna and Jens are one of her most real characters and their situation is also so real. The way they are helpless against their attraction to each other even after knowing it would be disastrous was so beautifully written that you could feel the sexual tension yourself whenever they were together.
Lorna was a rich girl but not spoilt at all. And Jens was poor but too ambitious and proud to become one of the servents in house for Lorna. Their attraction, like it always happens in Levyrle Spencer's romances, grew with each of their meetings to an extent that it was almost unbearable for me(and i suppose all the readers). It became something too strong and inevitable to ignore anymore. I especially liked the scene when Lorna asked Jens if he was ever going to kiss her, "I have considered ordering you to, but it didn't work before." How sweet!
People like Lorna's parents could make something so beautiful and rare into something cheap and dirty. Her mother was so convincing that she made Lorna question her own feelings. Her mother used her shame and guilt as a weapon against her love for Jens and made her give up hope. Jens was angry with her for giving up and i don't blame him.
The ending was Great! It warmed my heart to see Lorna stand up for her love and her child without any shame or guilt.
This is one of those books that you have got to read again and i definately will.

I LOVED this book!!! It is the love story of Lorna, a rich girl (though not spoiled at all), living in the high society of Minnesota in the late 1800s, and Jens, the kitchen handyman, hired by her father to build him the fastest boat possible. The characters come to life in this book - LaVyrle Spencer at her best, so very well written that you can feel their pain, etc. Heartwrenching and very romantic. Reminds me of "Titanic" with the whole upper class/lower class theme. I can't say enough about this book. I just couldn't put it down, it is really that good!!! It is definitely one of my favorites and I recommend it to everyone!!!

The setting of November of the Heart is Minnesota, 1895. Lorna Barnett, the central figure, is the beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter of Commodore Gideon Barnett, a proud man who's a member of the White Bear Yacht Club. The Barnetts are high on the social ladder, and the Barnetts expect Lorna to marry the handsome, well-off Taylor DuVal. However, one summer at their lake house, Lorna unexpectedly falls in love with the kitchenhand, twenty-five-year-old Jens Harkens, the Norweigan, and they begin a passionate, risky relationship. They both know that if they are discovered, Jens will be banished from the lakehouse. Gideon Barnett is passionate about racing boats, and after bitterly losing a race, Jens suggests that he knows how to build a better boat (after all, he is a Norweigan), so he is commissioned to build a boat for the next race. However, his tenure is cut short as his and Lorna's relationship is exposed, and Lorna's life is almost ruined with scandal.

A poignant, passionate read that deals with love at its cruelest and at its heartwarming best, but a lot of times, I felt like the plot was too stagnant and uninteresting. There are not a lot of driving moments/action that make the plot move forward, and the ending is resolved a little too neatly. However, if one does not mind the verbiage and the intense sexual scenes (if one is not comfortable with these kinds of things), then one can enjoy this cute "coming of age" novel for Lorna Barnett and her undying love for her Norweigan.

Gosh we love Sandra Boynton around here. Boy does she write great books.

This is a quick book of rhymes which *mostly* show opposites (dinosaur weak, dinosaur strong, dinosaurs singing a dinosaur song!) Very fast to read, and cute, engaging pictures for little ones.

Ultimately we love Sandra Boynton. She has a great writing style for little kids.

All of Sandra Boynton's books are a hit at our house, but Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! is the favorite. The catchy rhymes and funny pictures are a great way to introduce the concept of opposites, counting and colors to small children.

This is one of our favorite books! My son loves seeing the dinosaurs and I really like reading it. It is the best opposites book I've seen, most are boring, but this one is really fun. He loves saying "bye bye" at the end to the dinosaurs too, it's just too cute!

This is probably the most clever and entertaining opposites book I've come across so far.

Like most of Boynton's work, this book is filled with cute illustrations in her classic fun style. The rhymes are great and have that fun-to-recite quality found in most of her books.

If you're drawn to this book because your young child loves dinosaurs, don't pass it up! This is a great story for bedtime, or any time.

This is the best book I've read on planning strength training programs. If you exercise for strength, you need to have this book.

However, while I thought this was a great book by the standards of the field, the lack of references really irked me. What's fact and what's opinion? It's hard to tell. Rippetoe often implies things are scientifically supported (and from other reading I have a pretty good idea about which of his points are supported), but he doesn't give you the references you would need to be able to tell. He doesn't tell you where his knowledge stops and his speculation begins. This book really is closer to best-practices than anything else out there, but you can't tell that by casually reading it.

Myth-based training and unsupported theories run amok in weight training. Scientific-ish people like Rippetoe could combat that. In that narrow sense, this book is a missed opportunity. There are readers who will get through the book and put it on the shelf next to McRobert, Mentzer and Schwarzenegger and not be able to tell the difference.

Quibbles: The Intermediates chapter, which ought to be the most useful for the target audience, is hard to follow. I was particularly disappointed in the description of the Texas Method. There's also basically nothing on mixing weight training with other sports, which is a common need.

Overall, it's a very good book, but it could have been a great one.

This book gets 5 stars because it focuses precisely on Programming. You can see by the other user reviews that this is an excellent book.

You want to make the most of your training? Tried of making no gains? Get this book, read it, shut the hell up and implement what is in this book!

This book is essential to your training library. It, with Starting Strenth should provide all the information that anyone would ever need in regard to weight training. It does not have a bunch of references, but that does not mean this book is not reputable. This book simply does not need many outside references because Rippetoe and Kilgore ARE those references. Their credentials are impeccable and it would "behoove" anyone who wants to weight train CORRECTLY to take their advice.

As with most of the books that I have read on advanced weightlifting programs, the book is heavy on theory and low on examples. The author gives some general and somewhat confusing parameters on how to design a program and then fails to give a full body workout. The book even states that working the body as one unit is the way to go, but then only gives examples on specific exercises like the push press or squat. Its well written and one can tell the author is extrememly knowledgeable. I just dont understand why he didnt give a full body workout example for beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifters.

This book was more than what I expected...a very attractive appearance, without breaking the bank. It was purchased as a gift, and he is ecstatic about it!!

They don't make books like they used to - or, so i thought, until i bought this elegant edition of The Arabian nights. Beautifully bound, printed on high-quality paper, with an erudite introduction, and clear, but stylish font, I thought how appropriate for the publisher to release a classic such as The Arabian nights in such a 'classic' style, hearkening back to a time when great care was put into published books.
Congratulations on a great edition.

Excellent translation, from the oldest known manuscript of the tales. True to the original, it captures not just the letter, but the spirit of the text. Clearly, Haddawy is a talented writer on his own accord.

A very good place to discover Arab culture as well.

I have been reading this to my 8 yr old and changing or leaving out the inappropriate parts. She loves to hear it, and with the cliff hangers she is always asking for another chapter.

As I took a trip to Egypt over the new year, I thought it fitting that I should read books pertaining to the culture there. So I picked up this authoritative copy of Arabian Nights from the library and took it with me for some reading.

This edition is followed by a second edition that includes the better-known stories (including Aladdin and Sinbad). I didn't recognize any of the stories in this edition. Granted, I didn't read every story.

I think the trouble with getting together an "authoritative text" on the Arabian Nights is that the stories were never meant to be compiled into a book and read straight through. The stories were part of a rich oral culture that involved sitting around a fire with fine musical instruments, good food, great company and a storyteller who could draw in extra details and add in any embellishments that he thought the crowd would appreciate. Meaning- you never really heard the same story twice.

All of this is lost in a print copy. The stories begin to seem repetitive (which they wouldn't, if they were told over the course of a few years by a traveling storyteller) and the language becomes onerous- every section begins and ends with the same two phrases over and over, again and again.

However, the stories are a lot of fun :-) If you're interested in the Arabian Nights, I would certainly recommend this edition- Haddawy does well in his translation. But I'd also only read a story or two here and there, so that you don't become tired of the book. That way, the magic will still hit you. Or maybe, you can become the storyteller and read it aloud to someone else- it would probably be excellent in that form as well!