Composers Books

Wow! What an amazing book filled with the most beautiful pics ever! Also has a few inspiring quotes. All NKOTB fans should own this one.

This book is filled cover to cover with beautiful photographs of the fabulous five on stage, off stage, awake and asleep. This book is filled with seriousness and silliness. Lynn Goldsmith has managed to capture the very essence of these men. It's more than a documentary. She's managed to illustrate where they come from, where they're going and who they are. Even if you're not a NKOTB fan you can appreicate the beauty of these photographs.

This is one of the most exciting books ever published on the New kids! The pictures really share the most intament experiances the boys went threw! Pictures are the most wonderful part of the book!

A must have book for any New Kids Fan. This book contains some of the most incredible pictures I have ever seen. Lynn Goldsmith captures the guys in there own way. Their Real Selves!

A+

I am an adult and I am still and always will be an NKOTB fan! This book is great! The pictures are the best one's I have seen! This book is a must for any NKOTB fan new or old! Iam very proud to own this book!

I am reading this book for the third time. It is SO packed with incredible insights and usable thought processes I was folding most every page so I could go back for reference. It was very well received at our womens' health fair in clinic. Kalior is my new favorite author, I have read all 4 of her books. Some fantasy, all life enriching.

What a journey! A thrill ride to other worlds- your world? Our guide, Susan, fillets her true-self for all to feast as she allows us to experience her emotion, vulnerability, and STRENGTH. This book opened my mind, engaged my imagination, and gave me hope... What a gem!

This book is a most soulfully interwoven journey the dives deeply into the adventure of self-exploration. It reflects all of life's internal issues on multiple levels and is cram packed with plenty of real substance. A very courageous book to steps out of the norm and yet is delivered in the most delightful way. It's brilliant!


This writer Susan truly has an amazing gift!

Linda Post

This is an extremely amazing book. It takes you on a very deep journey of love and life. Very inspirational. Susan did a wonderful job on this. Thank you.

Susan Kalior has given us a wonderful story. She takes us on a journey through love and life, deep inside an unseen world within the mind. Imagine, if you would, a story in the tradition of Castaneda with the addition of unbridled emotion and feelings. Throughout the story I found myself pausing for a while to meditate on the insights that were expressed so well.

Thank you Susan for sharing your wisdom with us.

Very efficient with delievery and a book in excellent condition. I thank you .Our son reads alot and we were pleasently surprised in ALL areas of this transaction.

I am a new fan of the clash and just fell in love with them one day. Wanting to know more about this band, I bought this book and was blown away!! I honestly couldn't put the thing down. It really gives an insightful history of the band and really made me like them even more. If you love the clash this book is worth every cent. Buy it!!!

I just got it a week ago. I CANNOT put it down. Well written and a lot of great facts that I never knew about. For example: Did you know that Joe Strummer's first guitar was actually originally owned by Pete Townshend?

A great,detailed and thorough history of The greatest Punk band ever. This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in the origin of contemporary rock music. The author delves into the personal history of the band members from childhood on. Pat Gilbert obviously has a passion for The Clash as every band today should and probably does. This book is an amazing overview, easy to read and impossible to put down. I bought this for myself but my 14yr. old son "permanently borrowed" it from me, reading it like crazy(he's not fond of reading) and I couldn't be happier.
Thank you Pat Gilbert for writing this awesome book!!!!!

This review applies to the 2004 hardcover edition. I knew a reasonable amount about The Clash before reading this book but the author here opened my eyes to a number of things and helped to confirm some of my ideas and reject others.

This is an academic book in the sense that any university sociology or history department type would or should respect the high standard of scholarship here - painstaking research involving interviews with a large number of band friends, business associates and childhood and youth buddies - and objective and intelligent analysis throughout. Although the research is detailed and Gilbert takes the subject matter seriously, the writing is still lively and captivating.

The book first traces the childhoods, youth days and former bands of all members individually which is fascinating and well researched. A lot of this information would be new to even the diehard fans. It's fascinating to read about and see a picture of Mick Jones' gran's 18th floor council flat in South London overlooking the Westway - where Mick "practised daily in my room" according to the song Stay Free. We also get to learn about Mick's close friend, also written about in Stay Free, who in real life did serve time for a bank robbery offence.

The art-school beginnings and the "squatting days" in early 1970s London (living in vacated houses under the Westway without paying rent) and the members' pre-Clash bands are well documented. Overall, Gilbert does an excellent job in helping the reader recreate in his/her mind the world of 1970s South London where the Clash story was played out. That is one of the book's great strengths in my opinion.

The book demolishes some punk myths, but keeps others alive. Firstly, the book demolishes the cherished idea that The Pistols and The Clash were working-class lads who met up, decided to form a band, and sing about social and political topics. There is some element of truth in that idealised view. However, the bands' respective managers, Malcolm McLaren of The Pistols and Bernie Rhodes of The Clash, clearly manufactured the bands to a certain extent based on their personal visions of what they wanted to achieve. Joe clearly understood this and was willing to co-operate with Rhodes to achieve common goals - but Mick was less supportive, being more of a traditional old-time rocker.

Gilbert clearly describes the social changes affecting Britain in the late 70s - the rise to power of the Thatcher right-wing government and the first wave of West Indian immigrants into London (and especially Brixton). We see how all band members had a genuine and sincere desire for racial harmony - they were fascinated by Jamaican reggae music and later New York hip hop. The bands' involvement in anti-racism gigs and sharing the stage with acts such as Bo Diddley and Micky Dread were extremely influential in contributing to the unity of the streets.

Another Clash myth that the book does not debunk but strengthens is their closeness to the fans and genuine warmth they felt towards the fans and vice-versa. However, the bitter infighting and bad vibes involving Joe, Mick and Paul often seemed to take the joy out of their lives and the book exposes this fully. It ultimately led to Mick's sacking at the hands of Joe, Paul and Bernie.

Other highlights are detailed descriptions of the recording sessions that led to each album and brief song-by-song descriptions (however, the focus on the actual music is fairly brief - the book is more a study of people and society).

Producer Guy Stevens' drunken chair-smashing antics during the London Calling sessions are hilariously recounted. His crazy energy probably contributed to the eclectic joy that London Calling produced. The details of the football games during the London Calling sessions are also interesting. The orange mohawked Japanese guys they met playing football in the London park - who knew every note of every Clash song (and Joe's cynical reaction to them, in contrast to the other band members) - also is humorous in my opinion.

Lastly, we are also are given a rare insight into The Clash Mark II. The three young band members who replaced Mick and Topper are all interviewed. Naturally they were dissapointed with certain aspects of the Mark II experience - but they don't seem bitter and it doesn't seem that they were treated totally badly (at least not by the band - by Bernie Rhodes maybe). In my opinion "This is England" (from 1985) ranks in The Top 3 Clash songs of all time. Good to get an insight into this less-publicised and once-denied stage of the band's existence. It almost makes me want to go out and buy Cut the [...]!!

I enjoyed my trip to the world of South London that Gilbert offered and South London became a better place I'm sure due to the huge influence of Joe, Mick, Topper and Paul. Stay free...

See also my soon to be published paper:
James, K. (forthcoming). "'This is England': Punk Rock's Realist/ Idealist Dialectic and its Implication for Critical Accounting Education", Accounting Forum, doi:10.1016/j.accfor.2008.01.002 (available at www.sciencedirect.com or by contacting me at kieran_james@yahoo.com (Kieran James)).

This is one of the most honest portraits of a human being you will ever find.. I would recommend this along with Charles Mingus' 'Beneath the underdog' for a taste of the 'jazz life'. It is amazing what these guys lived through - and still created such beautiful music!

This was the first jazz biography I have read. Hawes does a great job of portraying the terrible effects of heroin addiction. I knew some jazz musicians were busted for heroin use in his time. But I didn't understand how rampant heroin use was in the industry. This book gives great insight into the life of a wonderfully talented jazz pianist. But more importantly, it gives insight into the tumultuous life of a drug addict. Initially, the piano seems to be Hawes' only love. But then there is the realization that heroin is his real love. It is his only motivation to even play the piano.

This book is all of these things and more. This is the story of an essentially decent person fighting his own demons. A beautifully crafted book written in the subjects own idiom. A must have for anybody wanting to get inside jazz during the be bop era.

I love this book. Remember, back then when you played this music, it wasn't exactly a sweet world for the musicians (Black ones). I'm glad he let everyone know how hard it was out there. Drugs took this Bad Boy out the game and the world passed him by. Musicians like Brother Hawes, will never be acknowledged for their great playing in the U.S.A.

If there was a dumb remark in this book, I didn't see it. Again, think back to the times he was living in. He talked about Jimmy Rushing and the way he thought about things. Jimmy Rushing came out of a different era, yet Some of his thoughts were not far behind. When he described Black people, some were light skninned, some were black... The book is not dated, it's just good.

I enjoyed reading this book very much.

It is first of all Hampton Hawes biography of his life as a jazz musician. It tellls us of his way from being a little boy attending his father's church on Sundays to a highly acclaimed jazz pianist, his downfall because of his heroin addiction, his 10-year jail sentence (which was reduced to six after Hawes had written to John Kennedy!), his way back up on the European market, his love relationship with Jackie, and his new found love after separating from Jackie after almost two decades. The very last sentence of the book speaks about his ex-wife Jackie - and it is very touching and shows that Hawes indeed must have been a nice man.

There is only one really dumb remark in the book that I felt was disgusting. (Find it for yourself... ;-))

Hawes repeatedly talks about Black issues. I personally feel that those statements are very intelligent, and can therefore recommend this book not only to those of you interested in jazz, but also to anyone into Black issues.

This unique book follows the Stones from their earliest years as a struggling band through their early fame, as recorded by photojournalist and Stones friend Bent Rej. Many of the photos are more intimate than the typical stuff shot of the band, because Rej knew the members. The book is chronologically arranged, with sections on each individual original member as well. The text is informative and serves as a good backdrop for the photos.

What amazes me is that this fifty dollar book is available on Amazon for under five bucks. What is everyone waiting for!? Jump all over this one.

fantastic book. Awesome pix of the Greatest Rock band ever!!! not enough WOW words to describe this book. Especially love the photos of my favortie musician ever Brian Jones!!

Thanks author and Bill Wyman for their work. Happy to see people from 1960-s. Think, that new volume about Brian Jones' Rolling Stones is great addition to the histiry of the Great Rock'n'roll band and to the history of the our papas and grandfathers' generation. Photos are fine. We can see them only in magazines and fanzines from early 1960s. But quality of prints is better here, in the "RS in the Beginning"

Great pictures, many never seen anywhere else. Essential for a Stones fan.

Bent certainly captured the uniqueness of Brian Jones and his Stones in this collection. Much humor was filmed that many can say is absolutely priceless! Especially Mr. Jones camping in his undergarments. Those were the days!

Although it is almost 26 years ago that the oracle of Toronto met his untimely end, the market for his recordings and new biographies remains alive and kicking. After having read myself through many of the earlier biographies devoted to history's greatest recording artist, I was not entirely sure that there was a need for yet another book. Yet upon reading "A Romance on Three Legs" I would rate it only second after Bazzana's on my list of best Gould biographies.

As discussed by my fellow reviewers, this short and pleasant read focuses not only on Gould, but also on his tuner Verne Edquist and the Steinway piano. With all the Gould biographies that have accumulated on the shelf over the last 25 years, it should not come as a surprise that only a few new details are presented.

Surprisingly, if you consider the "piano subject", there is unprecedented detail on the 12 year affair between Gould and the married Mrs. Foss. While Gould recording engineer Andrew Kazdin was savagely attacked for mentioning the conductor-composer's wife name in his caustic "Creative Lying", we apparently live in such "Enquirer Days" that even conscientious biographers don't have to feel bad about exposing the dirty laundry of the most private of persons. Sic transit...

But back to the good news.
Even GG himself would likely have enjoyed the counterpoint in this book. Starting with the first theme of the comet-like rise of the well off golden boy, and then adding a starkly different second voice with Edquist's early years of extreme hardship, in turn followed by the rise (and fall?) of the Steinway factory, the book offers a well paced triple fugue. As with all well written counterpoint the total by far exceeds the sum of the individual parts.

More importantly -and maybe it took a woman's touch to get it right- this is probably the most accurate psychological portrait of Gould. Neither a result of the standard Friedrich hagiography or Kazdin attack approaches, Hafner's Gould is neither saint nor sinner. Driven, neurotic, manipulative, living in barely organized chaos striving for unsurpassed perfection, an improbable mix of equal parts pragmatic rationality and mystical madness. Moreover, Haffner really did a great job to describe the workings of the Gould team (GG, Edquist, Kazdin, Tulk) and shows how an almost guild like group of craftsmen put together some of music history's most memorable recordings.

While GG knew a lot about the recording process and did an awful lot of things supperbly -Gould's recording is still the only one that got the deepest octaves in the Brahms Ballades right- most of them in no way represented the then current state of the art. They're noisy, there's humming and chair noise and, as Hafner discusses, there was a period best illustrated in the Bach Inventions/Symfonia recording when Gould's endless need for tactile control resulted in disastrous side effects.

Gould developed a highly individual approach to piano sound way before CD318 became his instrument of choice. CD318 was crisp, clear and clean and became the ultimate tool to achieve the distinctive Gould sound in his (pre)baroque recordings. Yet to me, Gould the pianist never sounded better than in his first recording of Haydn's 49th piano sonata on an unidentified instrument.

Although some may complain of Gould's lack of traditional pianism -say compared to Pogorelich or Pollini- I consider the absence of the Hollywood Steinway sound highly appropriate for Bach and the likes. Yet, Hafner's choice of putting this instrument on a pedestal and dismissing the modern Steinways strikes me as a little strange. Sure, compared to the disastrously badly sounding Yamaha that Gould used to record his eternal second Goldbergs on, it could be qualified as a miracle, yet when I compare it to the modern Steinways that I have heard the likes of Cherkassky, Gelber, Pogorelich and Pollini on I see little reason for a CD318 Hallelujah Choir.

Yet, to finish on a more appropriate positive note this is a really outstanding biography that every Gould aficionado should read. It is the equivalent of a fair Lucian Freud style portrait of a highly improbable subject. Compared to a previous biography by psychiatrist Ostwald it paints a much better psychological portrait and entirely leaves it to the reader to figure out how Glenn Gould was able to make such a lasting impression on the world of serious music.

"A Romance on Three Legs" falls into the category of "Who knew?" books. As in, "Who knew that a story about pianos and piano tuning, of all things, could be so engrossing?" But Katie Hafner has done what writers like John McPhee do -- taken what might at first glance seem to be a mundane subject and given it great vibrancy and life. Of course, "A Romance on Three Legs" turns out to be not really about pianos and piano tuning, but about people -- about Glenn Gould and his strange obsessiveness, and about Gould's longtime technician, Verne Edquist, and his dogged efforts to satisfy his boss. Along the way you do learn a lot about pianos and what makes them tick, thanks to Hafner's clear and engaging writing. But it's the stories of Gould, Edquist and others that elevate this book far above the ordinary -- stories that Hafner has told exceedingly well.

This book has inspired me to leave my first-ever Amazon review. Katie Hafner's masterful storytelling captivated me from page one and didn't lose me even once in 232 pages. She weaves the stories of the tortured Gould, his treasured concert grand and his surpassing tuner into a yarn so rich in carefully researched detail that you feel you're alongside Gould for every fateful turn in his "obsessive quest for the perfect piano." The deeply human drama includes artful explanations of the technology of piano-making and tuning in the early chapters --just enough to usher any non-musician into the rarefied orbit in which the piano known as CD 318 becomes an irresistible love object, not only for Gould but also for the reader. The writing is beautiful and economical, making for a quick read that is also intellectually rewarding. Besides all that, it's a fascinating--alternately hilarious, uplifting and heartbreaking-- exposition on the creative soul.

If someone would have told me that I would be up reading this book at 2:00 am learning how someone voices a Steinway Piano, I would have said that they were nuts. But, it was true. Once I entered this Romance on Three Legs, I needed to hear how massaging of the felt, lacquering the soundboard and needling the hammers made each piano a unique sound and of unique personality.

Katie Hafner has taken this true story and created this wonderful voyage through intertwined stories of love and compassion. The feature story is about this eccentric, gifted pianist [Glenn Gould] and his search for his 88 key, life partner. But via Hafner's weaving of extraordinary detail, I found myself feeling close to this unloved, unappreciated, abandoned World War orphan piano [Steinway unit number CD318] and its quest for a caring home. Eventually the two find each other.

Then another compelling love story emerges. This one is about a once great manufacturer and its courtship of customers. Hafner takes us into the foundation and history of a last century institution called Steinway Piano. Like our `Breakfast of Champions' [Wheaties], we learn how Steinway goes to extraordinary measures to become known as the "Instrument of the Immortals".

For a while you feel that both romances are on safe footing. Then disaster strikes both.

Don't think of this book as a story written for students of music. This is a rich and enjoyable voyage about people, companies and their obsessive quest for perfection.

This book deserves a spot on the bookshelf of any Gould enthusiast. Honestly, I can't imagine it being very interesting for anyone not already familiar with the pianist and his eccentricities, although other reviewers may disagree. As far as the story goes--it's fascinating. Filled with priceless details about Steinway, piano tuning and the characters involved in CD318's adventure. Of course, the precious anecdotes about Gould are always a welcome treat.
In terms of literary achievement, I'm on the border with this book. It reads as if it was written quickly, and Hafner occasionally drifts into giddy cliches that made me cringe. However, this fault had the benefit of revealing her obvious passion for the topic. Also, I found the second half much more interesting than the first, as it focuses more on the piano and Gould's relationship with it.
Overall, a very pleasant and interesting story that is a must-read for anyone interested in Glenn Gould.

It's a long title, to be sure, it is so terribly important that more people know who the great Hecky Krasnow is, and what he has made possible, that even those who read the title can get the idea.

He should be a household name, considering that, if not for him, we would never have heard the songs "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," Frosty the Snowman," "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" or one of my favorites, "Suzy Snowflake." He believed in these songs when others did not. He bucked the Columbia brass when they and every other label had no use for Johnny Marks' "Rudolph" song. Even Gene Autry was reluctant. The song made added millions to Autry's bank account, as well as those at Columbia who first rejected it. The only one who did not become rich was Krasnow, who was, like many of us, a corporate worker bee with a wife and children to support.

But as this book makes abundantly clear, Hecky Krasnow was rich in the ways that really count. In an exhaustively detailed account of growing up in a suburban household where Dad often took the kids to work, where the likes of Gene Kelly, Rosemary Clooney, Art Carney, Bob Keeshan, Paul Tripp or Jackie Robinson was doing a children's recording, Judy Gail Krasnow deftly shares her storytelling gifts by providing as many sensory details as possible. You really feel like you're having dinner at the Krasnow's, right down to the tasty roast beef with pan drippings.

The anecdotes run the gamut to the absurdly funny (a party at "Tubby the Tuba" composer George Kleinsinger's Manhattan penthouse, which is a living jungle of wild animals, bugs and shrubberies) to the frightening (personal accounts of racism and a kid's-eye-view of McCarthyism). Either Judy has one astonishing memory or she kept a very copious diary.

When rock & roll and the youth market began to change the face of mass entertainment, the "golden age" of children's records as Krasnow experienced it (with kid discs like "Little Red Monkey" hitting the charts and crossing over into mainstream pop) were fading. (And yes, the success of Disney's venture into recording also crowded out most of the competition -- what can I say?)

Fortunately, Judy Gail Krasnow has created this loving tribute to her father so we can all appreciate his contributions to our lives. It's also reassuring to learn that this man was such a kind and decent human being. It would have been so disillusioning to find out that the person behind these records really cared about what he was doing and who was listening.

His work may not have made him rich, but we are all the richer for it.

This book was a wonderfully written biography of a father, extremely talented, and a period of time - the 40's and 50's - and its music - how it came to be acknowledged and published. Hecky Krasnow, father, husband and friend was a remarkably talented man. I am so glad to have been able to share in his life and the music business at that time, through the excellent storytelling of his daughter Judy. It was a joy to read!!!

I have just finished reading "Rudolph, Frosty, and Captain Kangaroo", Judy Krasnow's loving memoir of her father, Hecky Krasnow. His career in the children's music recording industry of the 1940s and 50s as a writer, producer, and all-around cheer-leader is described in such colorful and interesting detail, that I came away from the book wishing that I could have been Judy's best friend, or even better, a brother or cousin, growing up with her and sharing all of the wonderful adventures that she had being involved with her Dad as a pre-teen in the recording sessions, parties, etc. This book brought to life the very large collection of vintage kiddie records which I own, including just about all of the records produced by Hecky. Prior to reading this superb book, the records on my shelves had an inanimate quality to them. That reality has been radically altered as a result of Judy's sharing of her personal account of the stories behind the records that Hecky produced for Columbia records. But the book goes way beyond just the discussions of the records themselves. It is a great look into an era of "innocence" in our nation's history as seen through the eyes of a kid growing up after World War II in the New York City area. It has been my distinct pleasure to know you, Judy. Thanks!

I met Judy Gail Krasnow as a fellow author in the South Florida Writer's Association. When she began to describe the book she was planning to write about her father, I knew the story would speak to me and I couldn't wait for her to complete the project. This book was worth waiting for. As others have noted, it brings back an era in vivid detail. I found that I was enjoying the book so much that I forestalled finishing it as long as I could because I didn't want it to end. The book gives us an inside peak at a very important time in children's music and it also permits us to appreciate the stories behind the stories of Hecky Krasnow's personal and public worlds and Judy's experiences being a part of it all. Judy is, of course, a master storyteller and she brings us into her story most magnificently. I told my seven year old grandson that I knew the daughter of the man who discovered Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. His eyes widened in awe and the two of us strode up Broadway singing the song. You will sing when you read this book. At times you will laugh out loud; at others you will cry. It is a terrific read. I bought it for everyone on my holiday list.

Here is a unique contribution to the bookshelf of behind-the-scenes memoirs
about the recording industry. Though millions of children grew up listening
to "kidisks" in the decade following World War II, Judy Krasnow is one of
the few kids who actually witnessed them being recorded, and the only one to
write about it. Her narrative is told with childlike enthusiasm, and her
memories are enhanced by several scrapbooks-worth of primary documents.

Judy relates many anecdotes of growing up in the recording studio alongside
her father Hecky Krasnow, a Juilliard-trained musician who headed the
children's record division of Columbia Records from 1949 to 1956, and whose
biggest claim to fame is having produced Gene Autry's megahit recording of
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." He was also the music man behind Captain
Kangaroo, and dozens of popular children's records in between.

There is something in these pages to satisfy almost anyone with an interest
in American popular culture. In addition to the great singing cowboy, we get
a few famous crooners, a very important baseball player, the haunting
specter of McCarthyism, a psychologist and his healing machine, a gig on a
really really big TV variety show, bookburning, payola, Chef Ed Norton, a
totally bizarre party at a composer's penthouse atop the Chelsea Hotel, a
guitar lesson from a Frosty folksinger, and quite a lot more.

We come away with a loving portrait of a very decent, talented man, who,
unlike many of his peers in the record biz, didn't get filthy rich. He did
better than that.

I had the Runnin' Down A Dream DVD so when I purchased the book I was concerned that they would both have the same information. The book has different information and is not the same as the DVD at all. For all of you Tom Petty fans out there this is a must buy!

Book is great(I knew it would be), What amazed me was how quickly I got it!!!

Runnin' down a dream, 30 career years of one of the rock stars that have changed the american rock business compiled in a complete book full of photographs, history and many many personal tales. A must-have for any rock fan.

i really enjoyed this book. it's a great companion to the dvd set. i think it's a must have for any Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fan. well worth it.

If you want to know more about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, buy this book. Great pictures and JUST GREAT STUFF ABOUT HIM.

Judy Collins somehow made it through the worst time of her life and she shares it with us, plus a CD included to boot. Who can ask for anything more?

Judy Collins shares her life lessons, pain, and joy with her millions of faithful fans. This book is very emotional, spiritual and inspiring. The CD songs are just beautiful! Buy it now for the CD insert is only for a limited time only. :)

While listening to the current recordings of this remarkable performer, humanitarian, and personality, one is immediately struck by the warmth of her voice and its enduring stamina and honesty, the same can be said about, "Singing Lessons, A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope, and Healing. If anyone wonders if it is possible to survive unbearable tragedy, and thrive, they only have to read this book. If anyone wonders about physical, spiritual, and emmotional vibrancy, beyond the age of 40, they have only to read this book! It has been said that to survive any great tragedy, you have to go through it and experience it honestly. For those of us who have gone through far less than the loss of an only child, this book is a triumphant road-map on how to grow and survive any of lifes unfathomable, unexpected, and unreal experiences. Judy Collins is a shinning example, not only for those trying to cope with an enormous tragedy, but many of the new comers in todays music and entertainment industry who could well learn a "lesson" from her tremendous example on how to be a "good" star, someone who is truly grateful for the position they have achieved, and seeks to give back to the world, a true sense of caring, a steady sense of responsibility, and most of all, an enduring sense of the "real" kind of love, that makes this book "sing," and the journey possible and worth the effort to continue.

Read SINGING LESSONS by Judy Collins . . . this is a very
touching memoir of her life, her son's suicide and companion's
serious illness, and how she managed to survive these
events.

Judy Collins has always been one of my favorite performers . . . I also enjoyed reading about how her career evolved, as well as how she played with such other favorites of mine as Tom Paxton, Leonard Cohen, Joni, Mitchell, and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Best of all, the book came with a four-song CD (much to my
surprise) . . . what a treat to be reading her words at the
same time I was listening to her sing!

There were many memorable passages; ...P>[Andrew Weil confirms what I have learned through trial and
error about depression.] "The best single treatment (for
depression) is vigorous, regular aerobic exercise, at least
thirty minutes a day, five days a week." Most of the time, after I spend a half hour or more exercising, any cloud of depression lifts so completely that I feel a small miracle has been accomplished.

The writting style is stunnigly beautiful and impressive,just as authour's music always had a certain healing power.Many singers/actors are not capable to remember anything more than their LP's and awards - celebrities memoirs are too often simply boasting about their career - but Collins have a perfect ballanced view on her past and she writtes about her inner life much more than her career,which is mentioned basically briefly. Portraits of her father and mentor Anthonia are described with affection and of course the book never stops reflecting on her son.This is a clear picture of Judy Collins life from her point of view - no celebrity gossip,no recording dates,what really matters here are feelings and precious memories she shares with reader.At times I thought her story about son sounds a bit obsessive - until it made me realise that I think about my mother every day and she died 12 years ago,so I guess we never really let go.Not only that second half of the book brings very helpful observations how to cope with depression,Collins also have sharp witt and she saved certain original sense of humour which must be life-saving quality (on her knees in the bathroom of the White House,she laughs at herself),the whole book is a warm,affectionate celebration of spirit still shining bright after tragedy and life downfalls.

Stairway to Heaven is an interesting, informative book about the final resting places of some of rock music's legends. Many of the graves of famous stars are photographed and accompany the text. It's a book you pick up to read and can't then put down. Excellent to return to again and again.

I have 2 main interests. Rock and ghosts.Not just ghost but i think graveyards are cool. So this book was perfect for me. This book taught me so much and i love reading it. It's awesome for anyone who is interested in music!!!!1

This made an excellant gift for a rock fan and someone that is somewhat of a historian and likes things like this...

interesting and fascinating all at the same time. The photos were
wonderful and the text was clear. Highly recommend for both the browser and the reader

Have you ever gone to see your favorite artist in concert only to go home somewhat upset because they didn't play this song or that song? Well,I thought I would be thinking that way when I purchased this book,thinking that it would not have the gravesite(s) of this artist or that artist or so on. WAS I WRONG!!! This is like a who's who of dead people of the music world. The book in no way caters to just one genre of music. It practically contains every dead artist from all genres of music. From country (Johnny Cash,Hank Williams) to rap (Jam master Jay,Eazy E) to classic rock (Brian Jones,Jimi Hendrix) to blues (Muddy Waters,John Lee Hooker) to punk (Sid Vicious,Johnny Thunders) to even Tejano (Selena),this book has it all. From members of the beatles to members of MC5 and from members of Lynyrd Skynyrd to members of The Ramones and The New York Dolls,no band is left out. There are roughly 100 artists in this 160 page book which includes artist and gravesite photos as well as the stories behind their deaths. No music fan is left out. It is a masterpiece worth buying. Although it contains no directions to getting to the sites,it still can also be used as the perfect travel guide for the rock n roll historian. Rock on!!!!!