Oscar Books

This is the new space age way of teaching tennis. It already propelled Spain into the top rankings, as well as Srichaphan, Kuerten, Spadea, the Williams sisters, and now is being used by Russia, where this book was translated, for their star tennis development, with great success.
The success stories from this system of teaching are astounding.

I bought the two video tapes plus the book about 10 years ago. Gratefully my tennis has improved over the years. Not having watch the tapes for over eight years, it was such a refreshing experience to review the tapes recently. Now I am hitting my backhands and forehand groundstrokes with far more power and confidence.

Get the book plus the two videos, Master Strokes Volume 1 & 2

Highly recommended.

Oscar does a great job showing you how easy it is to hit like a pro. If you order the tapes then don't order the whole series. It's basically the same material presented in the first series just under a different title.

In my view, this is the most important book on stroke mechanics ever written. It breaks down the myths of traditional tennis instruction and details the techniques that good players have always used. It teaches a logical and efficient way to play that works with your body rather than fights it.

If you read this book, you'll find out why some of the things commonly taught on the tennis court simply don't feel right.

As an aside, a book written in 1962, called "Instant Tennis" was the earliest work I found that challenged traditional tennis teaching. It's flawed in my view, but worth a read if you're interested in the topic.

Excellent guide to the wildflowers in my region of Southwest Virginia. Good pictures and descriptions.

Nice guide targeted at our area. Each page is on a specific plant - there is a large photograph covering the first 2/3 of the page with a short description below. The photos are excellent - very useful for identification (or at least narrowing in on the id) if the plant happens to be in bloom at the time. The descriptions are quite short - only a few sentences but do tell if the plant is native or introduced, if they're common or not, where they're likely found, the family they're in, and some description of unique aspects of the plant. I've found this to be a very useful book as I walk around our yard which was once an old farmers field and is now grown up with trees and thickets and other plants that were deposited by birds or brought in by the wind. Having the photos made identification easier. Also being focused on just plants of our area takes a lot of guess-work out. I then can use other books or online resources for more details such as benefit to wildlife etc.

This book is an excellent summary of wildflowers you can expect to find in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. The full color pictures are beautiful and organized to make identification of flower names easy for the beginner.

This is a non-technical field guide, designed for people with all skill levels. Wildflowers are organized by blossum color and illustrated with color photographs. A very useful book when searching for that elusive flower name in the Shenandoah Valley or Blue Ridge Mountains. The authors have written a similar book on Trees and Shrubs in the Shenandoah Valley.

Allegro opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theater on October 10, 1947, running for only 315 performances. It starred John Battles as Joseph Taylor, Jr., Annamary Dickey as Majorie Taylor, William Ching as Dr. Joseph Taylor, Roberta Jonay as Jennie Brinker, Lisa Kirk as Emily West, and John Conte as Charlie Townsend. It was directed and choreographed by Agnes de Mille. The production received mixed reactions from critics, which is perhaps the reason that it, along with only three other R&H productions, was never performed on the big screen. Be that as it may, it did win three Donaldson Awards including Best Book, Lyrics and Score.

According to Stephen Sondheim (who was a production assistant for the original Broadway production), in his introductory remarks prior to the 1994 New York City Center Encores! concert reading of the show, Allegro may have suffered the most disastrous opening night in theatre history. In addition to a falling flat, during a dance number in Act One, one of the actors caught his tap shoe in a track on the stage, tearing every ligament in his leg, and had to be carried - screaming - from the stage. In Act Two, Lisa Kirk, who was making her professional stage debut, caught a heel in another track and fell headlong into the orchestra. Mr. Sondheim confesses his memory may be faulty, but he recalls that she was back up on the stage without missing a note.

Oscar Hammerstein often claimed that he wished he could go back and rewrite the second act of Allegro; he felt audiences didn't get the show properly, leaving the show thinking it was a simple story of an Everyman returning to his roots. Hammerstein claimed the show was his most autobiographical work, and that Joseph Taylor, Jr.'s life was a mirror of some of his own experiences.

Looking at and playing with this score today, one realizes that despite the bad opening night (and Sondheim has had some fairly bad openings himself since then) the material for this show is sparkling. This show is a musical and book achievement that would do well today in our world of Indies and art pieces. As a full scale Broadway musical, even with the likes of Lisa Kirk (who would become a legend)America wasn't interested in having a theatre piece hold a mirror into their faces and say, "Look: this is us. This is America." Every great theatre collaborator has attempted this, at times relentlessly. Again, look at Sondheim. But then Sondheim studied under Oscar Hammerstein, so it should surprise no one that "allegro" is of such high quality. The difference between "Allegro" and "Oklahoma" is that "allegro" withstands time and "Oklahoma" is a delicate piece of history to be placed on a curio shelf and kept well dusted. Take a look at Allegro-full of musical riches, buy the libretto for this and consider this show the next time you want a huge old fashioned musical that everyone isn't sick of seeing over and over.

This book is a wonderful substitute if you don't need the entire vocal score...it's a great option for those of us who love this musical, but only want the "big" songs out of the show!

This Vocal Score has all of the music from the show...from scene change music to bows and exit music. The ALLEGRO Vocal Score is very thick as well...an impressive 245 pages (I'm looking at the book now). If you plan to do the show, want the music, or for any reason: GET THIS VOCAL SCORE! Allegro is a great show (I love R&H no matter what) and I'm 100% satisfied. (I bought the book-new and never before used-in a zShop with Amazon for cheap!) I now have all of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Vocal Scores- and I'm so excited to add this one to my collection!

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This is a wonderful guide to the Bible for Catholics! It is very orthodox in its content, and it really helped to open up the Sacred Scriptures for me!

Finding yourself wanting to read The Bible, but it's just too difficult to understand? I, too, had difficulties, but no longer. Father Luke's, "A Catholic Guide To The Bible" takes you on a prayerful journey from Genesis to Revelation with ease! A word of warning however ; do not think you'll sail right through The Bible in a few days. It will take time and understanding, but believe me, there is no other Guide to The Bible i've found to be so easy to understand, and so Catholic! Discover The Bible today! Order now!

Don't let "study guide" sway you. This Bible guide is not dry! Fr. Lukefahr does an amazing job bringing the Bible alive in an easy to follow format.

about ALL THE POLITICIANS IN THE WORLD !

porque las burradas de los políticos se repiten, igual que la historia del mundo...Y hay veces que, por no llorar con sus consecuencias que sólo nosotros pagamos, PREFIERO REÍRME CON ESTE LIBRITO !
Si los oyes decir barbaridades, POR LO MENOS, RIETE DE ELLOS !
Es una DULCE Y ALEGRE VENGANZA !

manejan ( y perjudican ) nuestra vida económica y social, ES MUY SABROSO REÍRSE DE ELLOS...
Y estos chistes son EXCELENTES !

I have been waiting for a book about F-Series tractors since I have started restoring these machines. This book has exceeded all my expectations. The authors extensive research is represented in this organized book of factual, well written information backed up by many discriptive quality photographs.

Chris Allen

Top notch. Excellent pictures, informative text. If you have an F series Farmall, you need this book.

well written and researched. accurate details. a must for the restorer wanting an acurate restoration or a collector looking to buy an original.

If you think about economics, you need this Economist/Bloomberg Press publication or one very much like it.

For clarity on all matters of the public record--not just economics--nobody beat the ECONOMIST newspaper, a British 'news magazine' whose largest national readership is now in the USA.

When the style and content gurus at the ECONOMIST get around to publish a dictionary on the terms and nomenclature of the core competence, well, let's just say it's a little bit like watching the World Cup, the Super Bowl, or the World Series (apologies, cricket fans).

It doesn't get any better than this. I think you'd better buy one.

Buy it, thats the best advice I can give. This book can help anyone to better understand the field of economics and comprehend economics texts more easily.

This, the Fourth Edition of The Economist's handy publication, is not a dictionary in the ordinary sense of the term. There is no pronunciation guide and most of the entries are phrases, not single words, e.g., "circular flow of money," "durable goods," "Gibrat's law," "marginal utility," "theory of games," etc. The "definitions" are more like explanations, some of them quite elaborate. Nobel laureate economists are included as well as distinguished economists from the past. Distinguished contemporary economists who have not won the Nobel Prize in economics are not included. Thus Adam Smith makes it; Julian Simon does not, while Herbert Simon, who did win the prize, does.

Bayes' theorem is explained in some detail and such terms as "saddle point" and the "Lagrange multiplier," e.g., merit graphs and equations in their definitions, but other terms like the "Black Scholes formula" for derivatives is mentioned but not explained in detail. Obviously the editors Graham Bannock, Ron Baxter and Evan Davis, have their reasons for their hierarchies of ink expenditure. They call their approach "a micro-encyclopedic treatment with extensive cross referencing." The cross references are indicated with two types of grey arrows, one for "see" and another for "see also." Clearly one of their goals is to be as encyclopedic as reasonable without making the volume too large to fit into a briefcase or to be read in bed.

Although The Economist is British this publication is aimed at the entire English-speaking world, especially the large market in the United States where this book is published by the Bloomberg Press. Most of the entries betray no national bias, although there are some exceptions. For example in the entry for "balanced budget" it is mentioned that the "UK budget is often in deficit." The same could be said about the US budget, but the US budget is not mentioned. For the entry on "balance of payments" a table is presented with both the UK and the US balance of payments for the year 2001.

This book works well for students of economics (and might make a nice gift for someone who is majoring in economics) but why would the general reader want to own such a publication? The answer is that the "dismal science," as economics has been dubbed, is actually an arcane and technical social science, and so an encyclopedic dictionary is most helpful for anyone who follows the financial news. Incidentally the phrase "dismal science" (not an entry in this book!) comes from Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) who was referring to political economists whom he called, "Respectable Professors of the Dismal Science."

Dismal or otherwise, some knowledge of economics is essential for commerce in today's world of business. This book can serve as a reference, or, if you're like me, you can read it as an extension of the Econ 101 course you took in college.

For the love of a mermaid, a young fisherman sends his soul away, after enlisting the aid of a young witch.

The soul travels the world to many exotic locations, using extraordinary powers to gather treasures together. But because the soul was sent away without a heart it became cruel and twisted, and when it re-entered the fisherman, it makes him do evil things.

Written in a rich poetic style reminiscent of Coleridge's Kubla Kahn, it is part of Oscar Wilde's anthology of fairy tales called " A House of Pomegranates". Could Tolkien and CS Lewis have been influenced by this phenomenal work?

Perhaps the message of this tale is that the soul must never be separated from the heart.

I thought this story was a very interesting one. The story is very desciptive, and it makes you think. From the moment he captures his "love" to the part to part where the priest finally blesses the sea. The only thing that me wonder was about the author maybe he doubted needing a soul, or maybe he really thought that love wasn't worth giving up everything for. Once you read the story it'll be up to decide.

I think the most attrative parts of this story is the descriptive paragraphs.

I first read this book many years ago, along with some of the author's other works, and decided to take read it again. Time certainly has not diminished the power of the author, winner of the 1967 National Book Award for his book, "La Vida", to take the reader into the lives of others. This is an anthropological work that reads as if it were a riveting novel, so fascinating is its subject matter.

The author takes the reader into the lives of five different Mexican families for one entire day, so that the reader can see how it is that they live their lives. The families are both rural and urban and represent a cross-section of Mexico at the time that this book was written. All but one of the families portrayed are poor, yet they all share some similar characteristics.

Written during the nineteen fifties, this book is, for the most part, a look at a culture of poverty. It is also a look at a culture that is in transition, shifting from rural to urban with its often resulting poverty and pathology. Yet, it is also a culture into which, North American material comforts and influence were making inroads. That then nascent influence is often reflected in even the poorest of the families laid bare here.

The author basically gives the reader a typical day in the lives of each of these families. It is an intimate, objective look that creates a fascinating family portrait. It is a totally engrossing work of not only anthropological import but of historical value, as well. The author has managed to freeze in time a segment of Mexican life during the nineteen fifties. Who would have thought that reading about people shopping, preparing meals, and talking about their relationships would prove to be so fascinating?

Those who are interested in other cultures, as well as the way people live their lives, will really enjoy this book. The author provides a fascinating, freeze-frame glimpse into the lives of others. I simply loved this book. Bravo!

I just read this book, as I have read his other works. Oscar Lewis gives an extensive complete examination into the lives of extreme poverty. He gives exacting detail of the homes, lifestyles, and characteristics of the poor in Mexico. The last chapter delves with the poor who have accomplished "some wealth" and their upbringing still manages to evolve the same as if they were still poor. Wonderful thorough book!

I first read Five Families when I was a 23yo public health nurse from the Midwest, working in a Mexican-American barrio in East Los Angeles. A co-worker advised me to read this book in order to better understand the families I found myself working with.
I devoured it.
Then I came to realize that it's a seminal work in modern cultural anthropology, a book that will surely stand the test of time, a 'study' written in a style that makes it accessible to all readers.
Five Families is a dramatic and forceful account five poor Mexican families. It's a book that will leave you changed.

It's beautiful and well researched. The photos are fantastic. Personally, I prefer a dichotomous key, but this will be very helpful for academic and lay users both, equally. This book will likely be useful to anyone interested in plants in southern California, because it covers most of the species that are typical of the entire region. The Santa Ana runs through most all of the primary biozones of the region, so the book ends up covering most all of the typical plants of the area.

It's just a little too big for the pocket, but it's small enough for the daypack. Owning most all of the lay and academic texts on plants of the region, I think this is one of the most useful, appealing, and accessible. It is easy to use without sacrificing or fudging the botanical information. I highly recommend it for most users interested in Western Riverside and Orange counties, as well as Los Angeles and western San Diego county. It will be less useful for desert region identification.

If you are are looking for a portable dichotomous key, try the flora of San Diego county. Even if you are outside San Diego county, it will only be missing a few species. Then again, if you are a botanist seeking a technical manual, you probably know this already.

If you are just interested in plants, this one is excellent, and it has enough technical information in it that it will still be useful as your knowledge grows.

This is, by far, the best book I've ever seen on botany with incredible pictures, phenominal keys, and a useful description of the plants that puts them in a perspective that helps the reader to understand how these plants fit into the rest of the planet's botany.

The authors' understanding of botany is exceptional.

The title of the book might limit its audience but botanical professionals and novices alike will find this book extremely useful and engaging.

Oscar Clarke's book on the Santa Ana River has a very special meaning for Southern California. It illustrates the surprising and beautiful results from imported water. The most dramatic demonstration is in the Santa Ana River. Superficially the Santa Ana doesn't appear to be such a great river. But that is because most of the flow is underground. And much of that water was imported. Users along the course pass the used water to the soil beneath them, and it joins the flow.

The result is a springtime display (and year-round too) of water-loving plants, and drier species on the slopes above. The magic of imported water brings back the floristic beauty that we might have supposed was lost with the "development" of Southern California. Of course we also get species that were considered alien, but many of them are beautiful too.

Oscar's easy and natural approach to evolution-based systematics is described on Page 5. He tells how to remember the series: kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, species. For the huge Sunflower family, this series is not sufficient to bring order, and the family is divided into 14 tribes (as listed on Page 355) before dividing further into genus and species.

Oscar's description of tribes in the Sunflower family appears to be a traditional listing, similar to that in Munz, P.A. "A Manual of Southern California Botany" (1935), referenced by Oscar. But there has been some moving of particular genera to different tribes, some merging of tribes, some name updates, and the addition of two tribes from Africa, including that of the Freeway Daisy.

Getting technical for a moment, I can remark that the division into tribes is imperfect, with overlaps and uncertainties due to the contrary effects of speciation and evolutionary convergence. More recent floras such as the encyclopedic and authoritative 1993 Jepson Manual attempt to improve upon the tribes with newly constructed "groups", but I think the imperfection remains.

The book is an easy introduction to flower hunting for beginners. But those who have lists of flowers from past jaunts, and would like to recall pleasant memories, can also use it. There can be confidence that nearly every species along the Santa Ana River is included.