Television Books

This book is great with details and background of each character, and has the details from each hour, so is very helpful if you don't have two straight non sleeping days to catch up.

I am a huge fan of "24" and I collect 24 merchandise. This guide does a great job in breaking down each episode. It gives you all the major points you need to understand. When I ordered this book that's what I expected. However, I didn't expect all of the extra content. The first 28 pages are full of behind the scenes info about the shows conceptual design and how it was created. There are interviews with the shows producers and with Kiefer Sutherland himself. I highly recommend this to any fan of "24". It is a must-have.

This book is full of great photos and a real treat for 24 fans. The entire book is mostly photos and arranged by season. There are photos from the show and off set. I loved it and think that all 24 fans would enjoy it.

Two pages of information per episode: timeframe with the key events, research files, additionel intel and photo's. The book also contains the profiles of the main characters of the first two seasons. A must have for the real 24 fans!

Mike and I over at 2GuysTalking:24 have been waiting for a book like this to come out for years now. Our only complaint is why so long? This is a gorgeous book to have in your collection and is chalk full of all kinds of 24 data, background info, interesting tidbits and if that's not all, tons of great photographs to supplement.

The look and feel of the book is something you really want to get your hands on and keep. Its got more of a "Tab Newspaper" style feel to it then your ordinary book. The pages are laid out nicely and each page represents one day in the life of Jack Bauer! Each day has its own timeline of events similar to our own "24 in 60" segment we do in our podcast. A great reference guide if you need to go back to look something up.

Each day featured on a page layout also has a section where they link interesting pieces of information that you might not already know about 24. For example, the $200,000 Mason was accused of skimming in the first season is linked to his son in the second season. Pieces like that really present a whole new perspective to the show that you may not catch when watching it.

Mega Kudos goes to Tara DiLullo for writing such a great book. You definitely want to get this in your collection. Mike and I were so impressed with the book we decided to have Tara on the show to ask her more about what went on behind the scenes and what to expect in the future. Check it out at [...].

This is a coffee-table book, gloriously illustrated and full of the familiar faces--living and dead, heroes and villains. If you want a more technical book--akin to the Star Trek: Star Fleet Technical Manual--the get 24: The Counter Terrorist Unit Handbook.

I have wrought my simple plan
If I give one hour of joy
To the boy who's half a man,
Or the man who's half a boy.The Lost World (Dover Thrift Editions)

This is a great collectors item for any fan of the show. First, the book is written as if it is a non-fictional guide to CTU. There are lots of details about all major characters and info about characters who didn't last or live long. This guide features everything from long recaps of all 6 days to detailed information about weapons and vehicles used. There were many times when I would stop and say "I forgot that happened on that day" or "I forgot that girl from Rosanne was in this". Michael Goldman gives us a well written and informative companion to the show that reminds us of why we got hooked in the first place. Well worth the purchase.

terrific companion to the show - answers alot of questions and gives many interesting tidbits as well as pictures!

"24: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE" es un excelnete libro que te guia sin mayor esfuerzo, a traves de las laberinticas tramas de las primeras seis temporadas de la ultrafamosa serie "24". Lleno de datos interesantes y resumenes bien redactados, acompañados de muchisimas fotos y diagramas a full color, encontraras aqui los momentos claves de cada "dia", ademas de los profiles de los perosnajes principales; la infame galeria de villanos y "topos"; los caidos en accion de CTU; las armas, tácticas y locaciones usados en la serie. Imprescindible para todos los fans de la serie, pero un serio peligro para los no iniciados, pues este libro es un gran y maravilloso SPOLIER para ellos. Bravo!!

I have the season companion guide "24: The Ultimate Guide" by Michael Goldman, $24.99 US, Hardcover, coffee table size (12" x 10"), which covers all 6 Days/Seasons.

I wanted to take this opportunity to say to all 24 fans considering this book: I love it!

I leave it on my living room table, and people check it out and it always makes them interested and starts conversations that branch into all sorts of things.

The quality of the pages and pictures is outstanding. The visual appeal of the book could not be better - there are high quality glossy photos that are just amazing. There are inset synopses called a "Fact File" for the major characters, Day/Season synopses of course, and the volume includes a plethora of inset character faces, sets, and scenes large and small.

The book relates some details that cannot be derived or inferred from the DVDs, such as details of field gear and other technologies, history trivia, and of course the Fact Files on many of the characters.

There is a brief enthusiastic "Welcome" to the book from Joel Surnow on page 6.

This book is a very appealing and satisfying presentation of the whole 24 experience, and well worth the money paid. I would recommend it just for the pictures, even if there was no text!

I have read this book over and over. Astrid Varnay has so much to offer readers who love opera. It is a great book to read through, but there are parts that take a couple of readings for a trained musician to understand. Her intelligence is evident in every word and so is her humanity. She is most knowledgeable about the works of Wagner and Strauss, so those interested in lighter opera may not be as well served, but her concepts are important for all opera singers. This book is quite honest and those who want some "dirt" on old singers, conductors and impressarios will be well-served. Go for it.

In the pantheon of twentieth-century Wagnerian sopranos, Astrid Varnay ranks very high, though she is woefully underrepresented on available recordings today. Through the efforts of friends and supporters, detailed in the preface, her autobiography has been made available in English, and music and opera fans everywhere should be grateful.

Varnay's story, told calmly but with frequent flashes of wit, begins with the tale of how her parents, both opera singers, met, married, and made their careers in Europe before coming to the U.S. and settling in New York. Young Violet Varnay, as she was dubbed by a teacher who could not cope with her Hungarian name Ibolyka (little violet), worked as a secretary, waited in the Met standing room line and quietly prepared herself for an operatic career. She prepared so well with her coach and eventual husband, Hermann Weigert, in fact, that her resume was met with astonished laughter at her eventual Met audition. The powers that be were quickly won over upon actually hearing her, and her stage career began at the Met in 1941 as a last-minute replacement for Lotte Lehmann in Die Walkure. Before retiring in the late 90s, after a career spanning more than five decades, her voice and dramatic presence would take her to Bayreuth and all of the great opera houses of the world.

It is of course difficult to say how much of the structure of the book stems from the singer herself, and how much from her co-author, Donald Arthur; but one of the attractions of this memoir is the skillful mix of narrative, anecdote and self-analysis of Varnay's numerous roles. She draws portraits of her husband, family and colleagues that leap vividly from the page, without ever descending to mere bitchiness, though she does allow herself some jabs at Herbert von Karajan and Rudolf Bing. The ultimate impression is of a strong, self-aware but not overweeningly arrogant personality--someone one would like to meet and talk to in person. One is touched by her inexhaustible eagerness to perform, and her capacity for discovering insights into roles usually dismissed as worthy only of comprimaria singers. She is also not above laughing at herself, and includes some amusingly informal photographs. Highly recommended.

Astrid Varnay, who died in 2006, just months after her very close friend and colleague Birgit Nillson, is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance, with the release of the Testament early stereo recordings of the Ring from Bayreuth in 1955. From her Met debut at the age of 23 as a last-minute replacement for an ill Lotte Lehmann as Siegelinde in Die Walkure, on the day BEFORE Pearl Harbor, through her primary career as the premier Wagnerian dramatic soprano of the 1950s, to her second career as a mezzo-soprano singing character roles into the 1990s, Astrid Varnay is one of the great opera artists of the 20th century.
Born in Stockholm to Hungarian parents, raised in New York City, and moving to Munich after being widowed in her late 30s, Varnay had an absolutely fascinating career that she relates with humor and verve. Indeed, many stories are just hysterical, such as a Dallas Tristan und Isolde, where Varnay, tenor Max Lorenz (as Tristan), and mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom (as Bragaine), took turns holding up a collapsing fake tree! Although never mean-spirited, Varnay paints amusing and sometimes sharp pictures of many of opera's greatest names. (She, along with many in the opera world, saves some of her sharpest points for Met manager Rudolf Bing.)
This should be in any opera fan's collection of opera books.

Astrid Varney was born in Stockholm to two Hungarian opera singers. As a child she lived in South America prior to the family's immigration to New York.
Varney was trained as a singer by her talented mother and an older teacher whom she later married. Varney premiered with the Metropolitan Opera on Dec. 6, 1941 as Sieglinde in Wagner's
monumental "Walkure.' Since thay day Miss Varnay has traveled the world singing in great opera palaces and in regional companies.
Her comments on the life of a classical singer; various colleagues in the field and the various locales her craft has taken her to make for fascinating backstage reading for all of us who are opera buffs.
This biography is well written laced with humor and honesty.
I knew little about Varney prior to reading this book but am glad I made her acqaintance.
Bravissimo to this down to earth diva dedicated to her art!

I'm not especially interested in biographies of performers. Especially not autobiographies - these tend to be long lists of how wonderful the subject/author is/was and a bit of score settling to liven things up.
Varnay is not above score settling (in her genteel way, she eviscerates Rudolf Bing and she details her feud and glorious reconciliation with Karajan - a Salzburg Elektra that everyone should hear), but her narrative is quite gracious and restrained overall.
It's also engrossing to read. Although Varnay spends a little more time than perhaps she needed telling us what a hard worker and consummate professional she was and is, her actual thinking about the operas and characters she was involved in is fascinating stuff and a valuable guide for singers and perhaps actors as well.
Following her around the world to different opera houses and watching how things work (or, all too often, don't work) is engrossing and her comments on professional colleagues - always judicious - are usually quite on the mark.
There are only a few videos available showing Varnay's art (which is too bad) and not many more sound-only recordings (which is even worse). If you look, you can find her as Brunnhilde in Act III of Die Walkure (EMI with Karajan - they were getting along then) and a complete Gotterdammerung (Testament with Knappertsbusch)both from the 1951 Bayreuth festival; a couple of Ortruds from Bayreuth Lohengrins; a Senta from Bayreuth conducted by Knappertsbusch (Music & Arts); and the Salzburg Elektra with Karajan (Orfeo). There are also a couple of complete Rings available on private or semi-private labels and, allegedly, the 1955 Keilberth Ring due out on Testament. No Italian repertoire, alas, no Kundry, double alas, and no complete Tristan that I know of, triple alas.
My only complaint about this book, aside from that it wasn't twice as long, is that Varnay is and was so much a person of the theatre that it's hard to find the real person underneath. This is very much a narrative of the role of Astrid Varnay, great and hard-working opera star. Astrid Varnay the person is waiting backstage for the performance to be over, which is probably where she was for most of her life.
Still, it's a great treat to spend a couple of hours with a charming, intelligent, literate, kind, and witty companion who has so much good stuff to tell you. It's only afterward that you wonder whether there was a person behind all that dazzle who was sometimes frightened, lonely, introspective, or grateful and happy over little human things. I hope that person writes a companion volume someday. I bet she'd be wonderful to get to know as well...

Al Tompkins scores with a practical guide to make pictures and words compelling, even for a novice TV reporter.

Al Tompkins just gave a great presentation at RTNDA on how to find information on the internet. The seminar was filled with humor, insight, and just plain useful information. This book has a similar feel, like advice from someone who wants you to succeed. If a lot of young people read this book (along with some older journalists), perhaps journalism won't be in quite the spot it finds itself in.

I've worked as a tv reporter for nearly 21 years...16 years in Portland, Oregon. This is by far one of the very best books I've read on the art of writing for tv news. I found it useful after reading the very first page. Tompkins uses clear, concrete examples to illustrate his points which instantly made me a better writer. Its refreshing to think about our craft with new insight on the purpose and focus of each story. I've urged all the producers and reporters in our newsroom to get and read this!

I purchased this book to help teach high school students how to write for broadcast, and the lessons Tompkins gives are valuable for students and professionals. Tompkins shows the process behind the writing and the factors a reporter should consider, such as when less writing is more. The book is funny, entertaining, and touching at the same time. He gives many specific examples, including exerpts from scripts, that show the detail and the planning behind the writing. It changes the viewer's perspective on the television news, and it certainly could help professionals refine their writing for broadcast.

Mr. Tompkins' book was the reason I got my first job coming out of college. The first two stories I put on my resume tape were heavily influenced by the things I read in 'Write for the ear, shoot for the eye, aim for the heart.'

Al explains things so that you not only understand how to do the things we do, but also why we do the things we do. I still keep the book on my desk, and whenever my reporting gets into a rut, I haul out Al's book and re-read it. My next few stories are always better than my last few stories.

I'm the owner of an Entertainment Publicity firm in Las Vegas. While on a trip to Los Angeles last week, I wandered into a memorabilia shop and purchased what appears to be the original, unedited manuscript to this book. I've been reading it for the past two days and am absolutely enthralled with Mr. Cossette's story. Starting with his first break into the Entertainment Industry and proceeding through decades, I've been even more humbled upon realizing that I have worked with some of the people and organizations that he makes reference to in his earlier days in the business. For an Entertainment Industry member to a fan of all things Hollywood, this is an absolute must-read!

Pierre Cossette is a true legend in Show Business. I recommend this book for anyone serious about a career in show business. He has helped so many new artist and their careers. An excellent book.

Behind the scenes peeks into the inner-workings of show business are often self-congratulatory, full of tired insights and recycled anecdotes, and little more than glorified puff pieces. The arrival of Pierre Cossette's "Another Day in Showbiz" is all the more a truly welcome addition to the biography canon in that it both offers a plethora of quotable stories and a real attempt by its author to explain how an insider rose from being an outsider to becoming the proverbial insider without losing humility or a wicked sense of humor.

Particularly striking is Cossette's willingness to reveal his failures in addition to his many successes. A man whose winning track record includes celebrated productions in Las Vegas, on television, on Broadway and throughout the music world could easily have omitted his duds, but his candidness helps make the book resonate all the more as an instructional primer on the entertainment industry. The clear lesson here -- that it is persistency that can and does succeed -- is hardly unique to Cossette, but his cheerful yet no hold's barred spin on it gives the reader a glimpse that they could never have been privy to prior.

Getting rejected by Angie Dickinson with a romantic overture might not be something most would boost of, but the author's ability to see it as a reality check and to move forward is a perfect example of his self-deprecating style. Then again, his success with woman has obviously been quite good as witnessed by his glowing words for his current wife. In fact, his clear love for her, as well as for the other key woman in his life, is one of the book's strongest suits. Despite, or perhaps because of, his tremendous success, the obvious tenderness of the man serves as a winning example of a "nice guy finishing first."

To call him a true renaissance man may sound like a cliché, but it is perfectly apt. He knew everybody before they were anybody. Among the many highlights of "Another Day in Showbiz" are lengthy sections on his career in Las Vegas (where he not only began the tradition of the lounge singer, but booked Ronald Reagan and nearly every star of the era), an odd but telling encounter with Howard Hughes, his dealings with superstars ranging from Andy Williams to Celine Dion, his Broadway success with "The Will Rogers Follies" (including some interesting Marla Maples' anecdotes), the founding of his Dunhill Records label, and of course the book's main highlight -- his producing the Grammy Awards telecast for 35 years.

The manner in which he was able to convince a reluctant television network to air the Grammys live for the first time nearly 35 years ago is a perfect example of juggling, risking and trusting your guts. Incredible as it may seem today, there was no real interest from the network brass in such a telecast. Again though, Cossette's persistency and obvious smarts paid off. Cossette has been rightly referred to as "The Godfather of the Grammys," and anyone who reads this book will probably want to kiss his ring -- and want to go into "Showbiz."

Behind the scenes peeks into the inner-workings of show business are often self-congratulatory, full of tired insights and recycled anecdotes, and little more than glorified puff pieces. The arrival of Pierre Cossette's "Another Day in Showbiz" is all the more a truly welcome addition to the biography canon in that it both offers a plethora of quotable stories and a real attempt by its author to explain how an insider rose from being an outsider to becoming the proverbial insider without losing humility or a wicked sense of humor.

Particularly striking is Cossette's willingness to reveal his failures in addition to his many successes. A man whose winning track record includes celebrated productions in Las Vegas, on television, on Broadway and throughout the music world could easily have omitted his duds, but his candidness helps make the book resonate all the more as an instructional primer on the entertainment industry. The clear lesson here -- that it is persistency that can and does succeed -- is hardly unique to Cossette, but his cheerful yet no hold's barred spin on it gives the reader a glimpse that they could never have been privy to prior.

Getting rejected by Angie Dickinson with a romantic overture might not be something most would boost of, but the author's ability to see it as a reality check and to move forward is a perfect example of his self-deprecating style. Then again, his success with woman has obviously been quite good as witnessed by his glowing words for his current wife. In fact, his clear love for her, as well as for the other key woman in his life, is one of the book's strongest suits. Despite, or perhaps because of, his tremendous success, the obvious tenderness of the man serves as a winning example of a "nice guy finishing first."

To call him a true renaissance man may sound like a cliché, but it is perfectly apt. He knew everybody before they were anybody. Among the many highlights of "Another Day in Showbiz" are lengthy sections on his career in Las Vegas (where he not only began the tradition of the lounge singer, but booked Ronald Reagan and nearly every star of the era), an odd but telling encounter with Howard Hughes, his dealings with superstars ranging from Andy Williams to Celine Dion, his Broadway success with "The Will Rogers Follies" (including some interesting Marla Maples' anecdotes), the founding of his Dunhill Records label, and of course the book's main highlight -- his producing the Grammy Awards telecast for 35 years.

The manner in which he was able to convince a reluctant television network to air the Grammys live for the first time nearly 35 years ago is a perfect example of juggling, risking and trusting your guts. Incredible as it may seem today, there was no real interest from the network brass in such a telecast. Again though, Cossette's persistency and obvious smarts paid off. Cossette has been rightly referred to as "The Godfather of the Grammys," and anyone who reads this book will probably want to kiss his ring -- and want to go into "Showbiz."

Funny, interesting, juicy. One of the best books on the music industry I've ever read.

Robert Craft was on the money in his description of this monograph as "one of the most brilliant ever to be published on any composer, let alone the most difficult master of the present age." Stripping away any unnecessary biographical details, Mr. Rosen gives a surprisingly deep and insightful chronicle (for so short a book) of both the music of Schoenberg and that of his contemporaries. Whatever path serialism was to follow after Schoenberg, his own personal reasons for creating it are elucidated here more clearly and with greater historical insight than anywhere else that I am aware of. It has been popular of late to denigrate Serialism, implicating Schoenberg in some of the excesses of his followers. This has always seemed to stem from some fundamental misunderstandings about just what it was Schoenberg was setting out to do when he created his twelve-tone system. This work should be mandatory reading for those revanchist musicians and neo-tonalists who practice a sort of musical revisionism in their assessments of Schoenberg's work--indeed, for anyone who is interested in gaining insight into a composer of unquestionable genius.

Sometimes it's the simplest of observations which make the most long lasting impression.I've always been struck by Rosen's assertion that in 'pierrot lunaire' (or any number of his pieces)it wouldn't make make a huge amount of difference if the instrumental parts were transposed in such a way that the vertical relationships would be altered.Rosen notes that it would be more detrimental if the dynamic markings were altered, affecting the delicate interplay of textures.

Every book I've ever read by Charles Rosen and has deeply affected my view of the topic, and this little book is no exception. There isn't much biography in this book, it is strictly music criticism, focusing on the 'victory' of Schoenberg as well as his two students Webern and Berg.
This book went a long way in helping me to understand the aesthetics of serialism. I don't think a nonmusician would find much use in it, but I think anyone who is a musician at all and has experienced Schoenberg's music will be able to get a lot out of it.

Robert Craft was on the money in his description of this monograph as "one of the most brilliant ever to be published on any composer, let alone the most difficult master of the present age." Stripping away any unnecessary biographical details, Mr. Rosen gives a surprisingly deep and insightful chronicle (for so short a book) of both the music of Schoenberg and that of his contemporaries. Whatever path serialism was to follow after Schoenberg, his own personal reasons for creating it are elucidated here more clearly and with greater historical insight than anywhere else that I am aware of. It has been popular of late to denigrate Serialism, implicating Schoenberg in some of the excesses of his followers. This has always seemed to stem from some fundamental misunderstandings about just what it was Schoenberg was setting out to do when he created his twelve-tone system. This work should be mandatory reading for those revanchist musicians and neo-tonalists who practice a sort of musical revisionism in their assessments of Schoenberg's work--indeed, for anyone who is interested in gaining insight into a composer of unquestionable genius.

seeing that this is such a small book (barely 100 pages of text), i was surprised at the depth of this book. as one reviewer wrote, it does not get into specifics about his life ('journeys' by allen shawn is good for that), but it gets into enough. i was especially pleased with the musical analysis of schoenberg's music that was presented here, which those who understand music can appreciate; such is left out of many musical biographies that i have read, and that is why i appreciate it here. it does lend a tremendous assistance in understanding his music, and his working philosophy. (that said, though, it might mean that this isnt the book for you if you dont want to get into theory; again, shawn's book is an excellent alternative then.)in fact, after reading this, i started to read schoenberg's writings on music theory, which ifound enlightening.

I bought this book because it was a textbook for a sportscasting class that I am currently taking. The insights and working wisdom in this book are phenomenal! I can see why the professor, an ESPN alum, chose to use this as his textbook. The interviews are well written and explain not only the subtleties of sportscasting, but also hammer home the basic fundamentals of good sports broadcasting. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to broadcast, from little leagues to the pros.

Probably the best primer on breaking in. I use this text in a course I teach. Well recommended by other collegues.

Len Clark station manager of WUEV-FM, A Practical Guide for Success for Beginners and Professionals Aspiring to the Next level Tom Hedrick and Diamond Communications have published the ultimate text for students interested in pursuing a career in sports broadcasting, and for practing broadcast professionals. This step by step guide offers insight and advice to help individuals each and every step of the way.

This book gave me more info than any other book of its kind. I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you weren't already interested in sportscasting before reading this book--you will be by the time you finish!

If you are just starting out in the business , this is the book for you , due to its insight on not just the game itself , but the before (preparation) , during (working with others) , and after (reviewing your work) aspects of the job. For those who have been in the business , but are looking to take that next step , this is the book for you. My first time out after reading this book , my interviews were crisper , my work with others was more professional , and the end result was a more solid product. If you are serious about sportscasting as a career , this book will give you the insight to help make it happen!

I am amazed with the art department for Superman Returns. The designs for The Daily Planet and Lex Luthor's yacht are simply beautiful. Absolutely pick this up and see just how much went into the design of Superman Returns. It's super!

Fans of the film SUPERMAN RETURNS must have this film book: it covers all the concepts and developmental art which served as the movie's foundation, pairing over two hundred works of art - costumes, locations, sets - with interviews with the director, screenwriters, artists and costume designers involved. Sketches and color stills accompany reviews of the plot's progression and choices in production. THE ART OF SUPERMAN RETURNS packs in the color and the depth and is the perfect accompaniment to the movie.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I really liked this book because it gave you a behind the scenes look into the film through Pre-Production artwork. I especially enjoyed all the artwork where Superman gets into a spaceship on krypton, this scene was cut out of the movie. Over all the Artists did a good job in recreating the Superman Univerise, the book supports there efforts! A must have for your (art of) Collection:)

Matt

This is a magnificent book. If you were swept away by the artistry of the movie "Superman Returns" like I was, this book is a MUST. Big photographs from the film, sketches, paintings, and storyboards galore abound in this excellent coffeetable edition.

Among my favorites are:
*A full page painting of Superman lying unconscious in a crater in Metropolis Park after falling from space
**An almost 2-page painting of Superman lifting New Krypton out of the ocean, complete with tidal waves and green Kryptonite-laced lightening
***Photos and details about the new Superman uniform - like that it is actually fit for a 9-year old boy, then stretches onto a 6-foot-three Brandon Routh so that there will be absolutely no wrinkles
****Great explanation about Superman's story-opening trip to Krypton and his starship, complete with awesome paintings and photos from deleted scenes
*****Insight about the art deco design of Metropolis - why we just can't take our eyes off of that COOL Daily Planet Building

Superman fans will be happily consumed by the book's artwork and text that will broaden their knowledge and scope of the film. It is a nice size, probably worth more than you'll pay for it, and will definitely become a collector's item! To be re-read often!

One of the best cross-promotional items I've seen based on the new Superman Returns film is "The Art of superman Returns" from Chronicle Books. This 160 page, hardcover book with dust jacket is simply breathtaking as it takes readers behind the cameras of the recent blockbuster film with hundreds of pieces of concept art, storyboards, models and miniatures, paintings, sketches, costumes and photography. It serves to show in vivid depth the amount of detail and planning that goes into making a big budget film like Superman Returns.

The Foreward by director Bryan Singer brings this home right off the bat as Singer is shown standing in the midst of a miniature version of Metropolis, surrounded by buildings taller than he as train tracks and weave all around him. It's a fascinating photo. Full color paintings show Superman's rescue of the stricken jet. Storyboards bring the rooftop standoff sequence to near life as the machine gun pours bullets at the Man of Steel to no avail.

Moving to Smallville, we see the Kent farm recreated in perfect miniature and you can't help but marvel at the skill of the model and miniature artists as no detail is too small for them to include in their work. Once painted, you'd be hard pressed to guess that you were looking at a model, and not a real farmhouse and barn.

One of my favorite parts of the book was a look at Krypton. The Krypton of this film, while similar to the earlier Superman films, is a bit darker and edgier. Superman's Fortress of Solitude gleams compared to earlier films where it was sort of a dull white.

Throughout the book, author Daniel Wallace provides even more detail about the creative process behind the various creations of settings, scenes, and costumes. Metropolis, with all its art-deco accents is truly a sight to behold. Wallace is aided by comments from the film's screenwriters, production and costume designers, not to mention Bryan Singer himself. This is one of those books designed for the avid fan or collector, or even those who might be interested in getting into film work themselves.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This book is a well-written, exhaustively researched biography of a musical legend. It takes 586 pages to do justice to the 101-year-old icon, and will take a while to finish, however, AS THOUSANDS CHEER gives an honest, objective history of arguably the greatest American songwriter ever.

Have you ever wondered why "White Christmas", one of the best selling songs of all time was written by a Jewish man? "Easter Parade" was also written by the same man. He came to be known as the king of ragtime because of his first published song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band". Musically the songs could not have been different which makes Irving Berlin's career so impressive.
This book not only talks about Berlin's seemingly unending catalogue but also talks about the man. His contemporaries included George M. Cohan, Florence Zeigfield and George Gershwin. Berlin was not only the most prolific of all time but was a true gentleman. Even though he was never accepted by his father-in-law, he ended up supporting him in his final days.
At the end of this book I was more in love with his music and completely impressed with the man. This is a important look at a true American treasure.

I enjoyed Bergreen's book about Irving Berlin as I did his book on Al Capone. To think that all these great songs came from one man simply boggles the mind.

LAURENCE BERGREEN has done a terrific job in all departments. When you finish the book, you have a good idea of who IRVING BERLIN was, and what a life he had from singing waiter to AMERICAN's first great composer with JEROME KERN. Anyone interested in the story of AMERICAN music should read that book.

This is a terrific show-biz bio that focuses on Berlin's career and tells enough about his personal life to satisfy those of us who remember how complex he was. There are many details of his projects on Broadway and in Hollywood, his publishing company, his early career as a singing waiter, and his tormented retirement. Anyone who likes the kind of anecdotes Moss Hart recounts in "Act One," anyone who is interested in the process of putting on shows and developing movies, will be fascinated by this. The book overflows with the larger-than-life personalities you expect from show business, and there are choice revelations (to me, at least), like his first encounter with George Gershwin, who as a very young man wanted to be Berlin's musical secretary but was rejected for being too talented (i.e., threatening).

The psychology (or psychosis?) of Berlin's genius is presented in a straightforward, non-babbling way. His complexity comes through in his ambivalence towards colleagues, with examples of generosity (an anecdote about the young Burton Lane), avuncularity (Harold Arlen), and rivalry (Richard Rodgers), all contrasted with the almost comical hostility he showed towards some "civilians," especially the scholarly types ("f***ing longhairs") who wanted to dissect him late in his career. His most famous paradox -- the fact that without being able to read music or play an instrument well or even sing decently, he was able to create works of matchless intricacy and depth -- is discussed thoroughly, although it will forever remain mysterious.

There are two dimensions I would like to have seen more fully explored. First, his relations with his original family are almost non-existent after his childhood. While this must be a reflection of reality, I was left curious about what went on between him and his sisters, nephews, and nieces. It's obvious that a major part of his assimilation was to reject all vestiges of his childhood, but it would have been nice to have more detail about encounters with those inconvenient relations. One of the few stories Bergreen includes -- about a sister dying of cancer -- is so painful that maybe he couldn't bring himself to pile on more.

Another aspect that could have been more developed was Berlin's technique. Although no one will ever be able to explain exactly why he's the greatest American songwriter, I would have liked more analysis about how he was able to achieve his unique combination of simplicity and sophistication. There is a total absence of musical examples, which might have two reasons: that publishers of musical bios tell their authors to leave notation out the same way authors of popular science books are prohibited from using equations, or that Berlin's estate forbids the quoting of even the smallest snippets of his songs. Or maybe the author isn't as much of a "longhair" as he seems to be from the precision and insight of his observations.

But even though I would have enjoyed reading more of the above, the book is totally splendid as is. The best compliment I can think of is that it does justice to one of the great artists of the 20th century.

This book is an amazing account of a man who has gone through a very distinct childhood which has shaped his current status as arguably the world's most influential latino reporter. This is a must read for everyone, whether you read it in spanish or its english version "No boarders," everyone will get something out of this book.

Parece que este libro no ha llamado la atencion de los estadounidenses, aparte de los latinos que vean las noticias en espanol. Eso representa una falta de interes total, francamente, porque el libro fue traducido en ingles. Han dicho ultimamente que pasamos los afroamericanos como la menoria mas grande de los EEUU. Creo que ya es la hora para establecer un dialogo entre la mayoria (o sea, los anglos) y nosotros, porque llegara el dia en que seremos la mayoria en muchos estados.

Jorge demuestra una sensabilidad enorme aqui. A traves de sus cuentos, podemos compartir la tristeza de un joven "exile" que no se comprometiera para nada, un esposo que lucha para balancear la matrimonia con su individualismo, un padre melancolico que duda del futuro de sus hijos, etc. Hay momentos en que podemos sentir la nostalgia que provoca en ciertos momentos, como cuando habla de las canciones que representan los momentos importantes de su vida. Siempre recordare "Africa" y los ochenta. Y creo que el momento en que escucho "Music" despues de 9/11 fue un momento poetico.

Hay mucho que admirar en este libro. La unica critica que tengo es que como periodista cuenta las cosas de una manera muy chronologica a veces.

Gracias, Jorge Ramos, por ser una persona tan honesta con si mismo. Eres una inspiracion.

El libro habla de una dicotomia de las personas que aunque son de un lugar las circunstancias y la vida misma las ha llevado a estar en otro lugar como en el caso del autor. Es bien grafico en sus comentarios y a las personas como Yo, latinos que vivimos en el mismo lugar que nacimos nos da una perspectivas de las vicisitudes que pueden enfrentar en muchas areas de sus vidas nuestros hermanos residentes en los Estados Unidos continentales. Lo recomiendo especialmente a los puertorriquenos como Yo para que se identifiquen con los problemas de nuestros hermanos latinos.

Hopefully anyone who speaks spanish has a chance to read this book, it allows you to share into some of his extraordinary experiences, it also allows you to see a glimpse of what it's like to be one of many latinos that hopefully will create a certain level of tolerance on anyone who reads it.

Yo recomiendo este libro a cualquiera que este buscando un buen libro que hace mas que entretener.

Leer a Ramos es ameno, un libro lleno de anectodas y vivencias que solo un inmigrante lo puede entender a cabalidad, empezar desde cero como lo hizo el y como lo hacen a diario los miles de inmigrantes en el mundo es sin duda un paso muy importante de cualqier ciudadano que emigra. Algo muy interesante de este libro es la claridad de sentimiento descrito en sus paginas, es muy facil identificarse con el, precisamente por que dice lo que siente. Ya entrando en detalles sobre el libro, te ensena sin presion lo que un periodista es capaz de construir con su profesion y personalidad y mas que todo sus principios inquebrantables. Es un excelente libro que delinea el futuro de la minoria mas importante de los EEUU y de la creciente influencia de la misma en todos sus aspectos. Muy bueno por nosotros, muy bueno por Jorge.
Comprar este libro es una excelente eleccion