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.

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 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 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 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.

Rapid Review for Physiology Online helps me grasp the material. I'm excited to say that I finally understand physio, and I know I will be successful.

Understandable, affordable, and memorable - this product is essential material for the boards. Physiology is the foundation for superior scores on Step 1 and is what second year pathology is based on. With so much resting on understanding this subject, you can't leave it to researchers, irritated they are away from their lab, to teach it to you.

This is awesome - I just wish I it had come out sooner.

What a great program! The video's are so easy to understand.

Finally, I get physio.

This book was extremely helpful for preparing for the NBME gross anatomy shelf exam. It has standard outlines of stuff you need to know and lots of pertinent clinical situations too.

I also have a recent past edition of BRS gross, and this book was far better. There are two practice exams at the end of the book with organized, detailed explanations, and the questions were very similar to those on the shelf exam. This book also uses pink ink to enhance the text, which is written in black. I would definitely recommend this book as a comprehensive review source.

In preparing for the gross NBME shelf exam I used this text and went all the way through it in 3 days. The NBME mainly tests the important concepts with emphasis on the clinical correlations, which this book emphasizes. I was surprised that there were very few questions on the exam that I thought were outside the realm of what I prepared for (something I can't say for the previous NBME's I've taken: phys/histology/biochem).

My approach that worked well: Pick a region (i.e. thorax) go page by page through an atlas and refresh your memory on the relationships. Then read the chapter in your review book. I also read through all the netter clinical pearls in the hours before the exam.

I have looked at both BRS Gross Anatomy (Board Review Series) and this book, and I believe that this book, despite being about 200 pages shorter, is the perfect review book to accompany Netter while taking Gross Anatomy as an M1. A lot of people get BRS because it's longer, and they think that this makes it a better companion while you are actually in the class. It is a good book, and you would be fine if you got it, but I decided on this book because:
1) It's written better and more concisely yet still covers nearly all questions on MY exams.
2) It uses few diagrams and uses them only to make essential points clear. And the illustrations are "crammable." My beef with BRS is that it doesn't have that much more information than this book (and what it does have extra is lower yield anyway), but it is filled with muscle tables and crappy illustrations as if it is trying to replace Netter (or any other real atlas) but ends up clouding an otherwise fine review book. (I know Netter doesn't have muscle tables in the book, but it does have them on www.netteranatomy.com )

I have my anatomy text and use it, but to be honest one could probably get by with using only this book, Netter, and lecture and lab.

An interesting collection of reviews of books you wish you could have read. I've always been interested in old books, and now, thanks to this book, I've got a couple I'm definitely keeping my eye out for

I discovered this book when I was 14, and have reread it almost annually. Many of the books Perrin recommended have become favorites of mine also, and even when they haven't, this book is still worth it for Perrin's great writing and his deep affection and understanding of what the printed word can do. It's honest, refreshingly unpretentious, and compulsively readable. This book makes you happy to be alive and glad to be an inveterate reader. I highly, highly recommend it!

Even though I worked in a library for years and read dozens of books a month, I am ashamed to admit that I hadn't read any of Noel Perrin's recommendations outlined in "A Reader's Delight". I have now, though.

In essay after wonderful essay, Perrin uncovers gem after glorious gem. From Russian Sci-Fi ("Far Rainbow") to World War II memoirs ("When the Snow Comes, They Will Take You") , from lyrical fiction ("The Bottom of the Harbor") to the next-best-thing to Jane Austen ("The Semi-Attached Couple"), many of these books are out-of-print, some truly obscure, and all of them terrific.

Startling eclectic, Perrin discuses books from virtually every genre and he does so with grace and wit. There's tales of ancient China, old journals, satires, children's books and even a poem. This is guy who not only knows good books, but adores them, and he doesn't care where he finds them. In the introduction, Perrin tells about a professor he knew who cited the "Little House on the Prairie" books among his all time favorites, and Perrin makes it clear that true book-lovers know no snobbishness.

Some of these books will be a bit hard to track down, but most can be had by simply utilizing your local interlibrary loan program. In any case, "A Reader's Delight" is a must have for those who love a good read, not only for the recommendations but for Perrin's own stylish writing.

GRADE: B+

Ande writes with the close confessional voice of Sharon Olds, the ecstatic vision of Blake and the scientific pinpoint accuracy of Pattiann Rogers. Weaving through almost every poem is her quiet yet almost slap-stick sense of humor, if there is such a thing as spiritual slap-stick. Hopeful and wise, these poems are welcome in these troubled, self-absorbed times.

Jan Lee Ande's second full-length book of poems "Reliquary," solidly enriches what the reader encountered in the poet's first offering "Instructions for Walking on Water." Reliquary, defined as a receptacle, such as a coffer or shrine, for keeping or displaying relics is such an apt title because in "Reliquary" the poet invites the reader into a showroom where they find moments of consciousness where words push up against themselves and reveal new meaning. Words are given the sacred task to speak to worlds beyond and sometimes below. I was surprised as I engaged in the depth of the journey. If we think of books as sacred objects the poems of "Reliquary" must be thought of as sacred glimpses. Each poem opens a door. The poet provides the key. I have been involved in the medical field for twenty years so it isn't surprising that I was drawn to the poem "Learning Anatomy." Here a mother, as "study partner," is stationed next to her son and a human skeleton where they take on the task of learning the bones of the body and what each one means on many levels. What is surprising is what the poet finds in her dialogue with these bones and their articulations. The poem concludes, "After the soul has fled the body, after the organs / crumble into dust, bones pass time in the urn of the earth." This is what you'll find in reading Jan Lee Ande. Surprise! Regardless of background I'm convinced a door can open for anyone who is moved to read her. She pushes the reader beyond the ordinary and into realms where the familiar is new and fresh.

Ande's Reliquary is a superbly crafted collection of poetry that cracks through surfaces and reveals the sacredness and connected nature of underlying things: the celestial mix of physical and mystical that permeates rocks, trees, hearts, thoughts and which drives science, religion, and wonder.

Ande invites us:

If you are lost in this world, bewildered
in the middle ground
between heaven and earth, stand here.

And so begins the delicious ascent into the incredible world of Ande's language and imagery, for the very first thing one notices, before one even considers poetic form, is the sheer beauty of the language and the freshness of the imagery. In her poetry, words exceed their representational function - they sparkle, they shoot like stars through the soul - and, as one rereads each piece, the words emerge and reemerge in a metamorphosis that, for all its metaphysical qualities, is at the same time as grounded in realism as the texture of the page upon which the images are so craftfully arranged.

The title poem, "Reliquary," epitomizes the book's theme of sacredness-in-the-ordinary. Ande writes:

I do not have a theca issued by the pope
- the red wax seal and a length of thread -
to prove these relics are authentic.

My theca is the pollen sac of an anther,
spore case of a greeny moss,
outer layer of the pupa of the rose weevil.

However, it is the intangible collection of reliquaries that gives the poem a deeper import: questions (Do you believe in nature spirits, / can oak trees talk, have you walked on water?) and embellished remembrances (My sky blue traveling case. Sarcophagus / of the holy bones of my black dog who could fly.) remind the reader that relics are more than carefully preserved items - they are magical, they house our dreams, they hold incredible secrets.

Ande's gift for blending concrete and metaphysical images infuses her work. Yet, there is a fine balance between Ande's poetic gifts and the poems' forms, as well. Usually filling just one page, and usually written in couplets or triplets, the poems are easy on the eye; as a result, their framework provides just the right space for the reader to perfectly engage with the spirit of the poem.