Composers Books

What a fine accomplishment! According to the introduction, this book contains about 2/3 of Mozart's surviving correspondence. It has letters from and to Mozart and the translations are very lively and bring the personality of the composer to life. In older translations it seems that care was taken to make him sound like the monumental cultural force that he has become. But in this book, Mozart is a boy, a young man, a young husband, a fiery genius, and at times lost, grieving, and even confused.

The book is organized chronologically and provides biographical information that gives each letter some context. There are many useful footnotes as well as a couple of maps and list of Mozart's travels. The author has even included some notes about the various currencies in order to help the reader understand the discussions of money in the letters.

I can't emphasize enough what a lively read this book is. I found that I simply didn't get bogged down and enjoyed reading it. Yes, there are some portions of some letters I skipped, but that is one of the beauties of the book. You don't get lost simply because you skipped some mundane portions of one letter or another.

Mr. Spaethling is to be congratulated on this fine achievement. If you are interested in Mozart in any way, this book will deepen your appreciation of the living breathing person who wrote all that music. It didn't come from some alien dimension. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this wonderful and complex human being did it all and we are much richer for it.

If you are interested in everyday lives and struggles of geniuses, this is a book for you. Most of us know Mozart as a great composer, but he also wrote passionate letters to his friends and loved ones. His writing style and personality allow us to understand his times more and to have a closer look at the person that he was.

Mozart's full and final dedication to his work was exemplary; no doubt, his music spoke for the conscience of the world and his audience felt an almost religious faith in it. But the young man had frivolous and fun-loving personality, and his closeness to infantile notions was apparent with friends, relatives and pupils.
Mozart was possessor of the least inhibited tongue even in his contacts with serious foundations like Archbishopric or Freemasonry that mismatched the depth of notes he wrote.
This composer genius was filled with spontaneous strong-willed passion for music if weak-witted for romance and throughout the wide spectrum of his works involving every conceivable style of symphonies, operas, and orchestral pieces - some of the finest ever written - Mozart produced something truer than love.

This book enabled Mozart come to life for me. The translation was very good. It showed, (in english), how Mozart worked on his grammar and spelling as he got older. Since he was "home educated", he had to work at this.

I could not put this book down, reading a few letters every day, I saw how Mozart grew from a boy into a man with a family. He was a really good guy, it's a shame he had to die so young.

I would say, to anyone who wants to know more about Mozart, buy this book. You can form your own opinion of him, then you can buy the "expert's" books.

After having read this book, I would like to know more about Constanze!

Those of us who know a little about Mozart believe that he was perfection incarnate, part angel, fluttering down to endow the world with heavenly music. (There probably is some truth to that.) This book, however, reveals a whole new side of Mozart, a very human side. As beautiful as Mozart's music is, the more beautiful it becomes after reading this book. Understanding his big heart, hard work and, yes, even imperfections, increases one's appreciation of his music.

I don't have this book yet but I've read the excerpts...

I truly love Barry and Barbara also. I've always loved Barbara, ever since I was a little girl, I wanted her to be my sister. I've always thought that she's just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. It truly shows...

Heh heh, and Barry could be my brother. I love Barry's writing. It's personal and friendly, the feeling I get from it is that he's a very nice man. I love his voice also, as well as his acting. He is multi-talented...

Barbara definitely is BELOVED (and Barry too)...

I'm a fan, always have been. And hey! People may find it hard to believe, but I don't even have a single one of Barbara's movies or albums!

I was very poor and never could afford to buy much of anything (except for food, well actually, I always have bought lots of books). Recently though, my financial situation has changed (I'm very happy to say) and I plan on rectifying my dismal lack of a collection, having recently also purchased an absolutely awesome stereo system (finally)...

And I plan on buying Barry's book too!

P.S. I just can't finish this without adding that Barry was the best Pilate that there ever was...

Being a Barbra Streisand fan, I loved how the book gave you a glimpse into her past, from an insider, it felt like I was really there experiencing it all with her! The best book I've ever read is "My Life with Barbra"

There have been many Streisand biographies. She's accomplished so much in her life. Barry Dennen's sweet book MY LIFE WITH BARBRA is a slice of Streisand's life. It's also a snap shot of Mr. Dennen's life and contains many personal details about him. Dennen tells a good story and has an ear for dialogue. Of course, there is no way Dennen could remember the conversations he quotes verbatim - but I don't think he claims to. Rather, his book is a sort of "misty, water-colored" memory of the days in Manhattan with Barbra Streisand. He catches Streisand's cadences very well, though.

It's nice to hear about Streisand from someone who knew her personally. Everything I've always suspected was true - at least in her early career. Barbra was sweet and tough, ignorant and brilliant, self-absorbed and giving. She was very taken with her "look" and it's interesting to read about how she concentrated on her makeup and clothes so much.

The most fascinating part of the book is Dennen's recollections of some phone calls from the "adult" Barbra in 1992 and 1997. We see Barbra as we suspect she is: a little burdened with stardom; obsessed with the truth and trying to control how others tell it.

This book is great! At the end, I was most impressed that, despite the years that lapsed between Dennen and Streisand's love affair and friendship, Streisand still kept in touch. I suspect she is a loyal friend, despite her eccentricities.

I found this book to be very enjoyable. I have long been a Streisand fan and have read many of her biographies, but this one, I would have to say is one of the best. Dennen takes us thru Barbra's early years, when she was just starting out as an actress, and describes his part in pushing her toward being the greatest singer of our times. This book is very sweet and I definately recomend it to any Barbra fan.

My Life with Barbra is an absolute must for anyone interested. No other book written about her can boast of such an intimate perspective. Mr. Dennen was there from the very beginning, even before she attempted to sing in public for the first time. If you're considering a Barbra book, make this the one.

coward's longtime companion graham payn probably comes as close to coward as anyone ever will. he manages to artfully weave the details of his own life with a plethora of new anecdotes -- and old -- about sir noel. the added bonus is the appendices containing previously unpublished coward works, including a tenth play [!] written for "tonight at 8:30".

well worth your time...

Over the course of forty years, South-African-born actor Graham Payn shared the life, love, companionship, and generous wit of that "playboy of the West End world," Noel Coward. This book is a loving and often frank tribute to this great man, who made so many people laugh for so many years, and who, in life as well as on stage, was the very epitome of the word "style". Payn begins with his first audition for Noel and the play Words and Music in the thirties, takes us through the war years, to the decidedly unforgiving (to Noel) fifties, when the critics turned against him en masse, to the triumphant sixties and "Dad's Renaissance" to an adoring public, through Noel's death and the demise of Noel's personal assistant (and fellow biographer) Cole Lesley, up to the present (1993) and the unveiling of a special tribute stone for Coward in Westminster Abbey by no less a person than the Queen Mother. If this book ended after Graham's 250-page-or-so lovely memoir, it would still be worth five stars, but there is more. Much more. In the roughly hundred pages that follow, Payn provides us with the complete Coward writings on theatre, many of which first appeared in the Sunday Times (and which, for my money, prove conclusively that Noel Coward knew more about theatre than any other person who lived in the Twentieth Century). There are also interviews with actresses Judy Garland and Judith Campbell, brief but penetrating portraits on some of the many important figures in Coward's life (including Rex Harrison, the Lunts, and Sir Winston Churchill), and much more. My one caveat that goes with my otherwise-unqualified recommendation is this: please read The Noel Coward Diaries first, so that you get a clear understanding not only of how Noel saw himself, but how he viewed many of the key figures in this book. (Author Payn plays, not surprisingly, a significant part in the diaries.) With these two books by your bedside, you'll have the best and most delicious kind of reading entertainment for many nights to come, and you'll say of Graham Payn's life with Noel Coward: "What a life, indeed!!!"

I read and reviewed this book for my on-line theater magazine -- The new off-Broadway musical about Coward's friendship with Gertrude Lawrence draws much material from this book as well so I found myself referring back to it for my write-up of that show -- both show and book are particularly timely as the Coward centennial celebrations get into full swing.

"An engrossing portrait of this world famous and immensely gifted man,chronicled so frankly by his closest friend...A most vivid account of his career after the Second World war" - JOHN GIELGUD"I greatly doubt if anything written about the Master will ever be as fascinating,as perceptive,as amusing or as touching as Graham Payn's loving portrait." - RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH"It's simply terrific !...So funny and so sensitive." - ELAINE STRITCH"Stories I never heard before bringing Noel vividly to life." - LAUREN BACALL"I greatly doubt if anything written about the Master will ever be as fascinating,as perceptive,as amusing or as touching as Graham Payn's loving portrait." - RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH"It's simply terrific !...So funny and so semsitive" - ELAINE STRITCH"Stories I never heard before bring Noel vividly to life." - LAUREN BACALL

Don't read this book unless you want to fall more in love with Noel Coward than you already must be to read the book in the first place. Mr. Payn has assembled a quilt of memoir, unpublished theatre writings by Coward, photographs, a beautiful reminiscence by one of Coward's leading ladies, and a recorded conversation between Coward and Judy Garland. The whole of the book gives a tender, honest, delightful insight into Coward, the people he loved, the perils and pleasures of his work, and the places he most enjoyed. Lovers and students of theatre will find great rewards in these pages.

It is a generous book; Mr. Payn shares with the reader all of the real stuff of knowing Noel Coward so well and for so long. He does not share intimate details of their relationship, but does share his deep love of the man himself. In short, Coward himself was a man who treasured good taste and true sentiment -- and it is fitting that his life-partner should offer this book in his honor.

I just finished reading "Myself Among Others" by George Wein. This is the best book on Jazz I ever read. Politics, craziness, love, trust, friendship, race relations... are all inside by a major insider.
I even learned things I did not want to know about my idols. That is a must read book for anyone who has any warm corner in his heart for the "classical music of America."

I'm only up to page 128 in this wonderful book but am already completely enthralled. As Nat Hentoff said, "He has known more musicians-some very well indeed-than any writer on jazz, and he certainly knows the business end." To read personal accounts of his relationships and experiences with almost every jazz legend I've ever heard of (and some from before my time as well) is mesmerizing. And George Wein's personal life outside of jazz is not exactly "chopped liver" either!! The book is written with a wealth of knowledge, intelligence, insight, warmth, humor and humility. The only criticism I have is that the book is only a little over 500 pages!!

George Wein has blessed music lovers by utilizing his God-given business acumen to influence the way live music is presented. He has blessed us again with this warm and well written memoir that contains a wealth of anecdotes regarding a who's who in American music in the later haalf of the 20th century. George Wein started out as a jazz pianist but his exposure to so many legendary jazz performers brought him to the realization that his talent for the business side of music may have exceeded his actual musical ability. He devoted himself to promoting jazz performances and performers ultimately becoming the driving force behind the famed Newport Jazz Festival. Along the way he has countless stories to share regarding the great legends of jazz with whom he became acquainted. Branching out to promote folk music festivals and having some intersting experiences with the newly emerging Rock culture , George adapted his approach and enjoyed some additional successes. The book includes characters such as Ellington, Basie, Armstrong, Monk, Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, etc, etc.

This is a very entertaining book for music lovers of all stripes but will have special significance for the jazz lover since George Wein is clearly a jazz lover and speaks the language. A great book.

Without question, the best book on Jazz I have read. Mr. Wein's story by itself is fantastic. His life is interesting and his writing excellent. Additionally, he dicusses numerous musicians and offers personal observations which bring them to life. He recommends Lp's, CD's, songs and sets. What more could you ask for?

George Wein's wonderful memoir, "Myself Among Others", might just as well have been titled, "Payback Time". Although he chided Alberta Hunter for using the expression, as she mounted the stage, after many years in obscurity, followed by renewed stardom in the eighties, I can't help feeling that George is muttering that phrase to himself, as he rollcalls those sometime irresponsible, sometime neurotic, sometime drug addicted children the world knows as "jazz artists".
George knows the territory very well. As a teenage fan, very competent pianist and singer , jazz night club entreprenuer, and promoter of the "daddy" of the outdoor music festivals, "The Newport Jazz Festival", and oh yes, lecturer at Harvard, in his custom designed jazz course, dare anyone tell George anything about jazz, and the wonderful lunatics that people the jazz world?
Here is what it's like to do business with artists worshipped the world over, like Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Chet Baker, Count Basie, Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus. Space precludes naming them all. In addition to dealing with these "darlings", were the torrential rains at outdoor perfomances, political opposition from irrate townspeople, and the piece de resistance of booking concerts, other promoters dissapearing with George's money.
Maybe the presence of a natural built in Prozac machine kept George sane through this craziness, but I have another theory. His passion for the music. When you are hearing a Louis Armstrong, or a Charlie Parker and you truly "get it", there is something that goes beyond mere entertainment, or an expert improvisor. I can't even find adequate words to describe it, but when these men improvise on a popular song, it becomes like a classic solution to a philosophic, or mathematical theorum. It's hard to state the "problem" to be solved, but the true jazz fan knows that Louis, and Bird, and the other masters, came up with incredibly beautiful solutions night after night, year after year.
If you love jazz, and the artists, this book is a must.

What an incredible writer Dawn is, and what a heroic story she shares with us.
I was awed by her word-ability -- Dawn is truly capable of giving the reader an intimate portrait that has us experience, along with her, the triumphs and tragedies that she so adeptly relates with her two-character style of writing.

She is a genius of a person. A gifted musician and now an insightful story teller. She expresses her superior intelligence in such a down to earth way that she makes it easy for us to like her and want to be her friend. I was moved emotionally as the story unfolded. In fact, knowing her story in advance of my reading, I found myself reluctant to read on, knowing what was to come. I'd put the book away for days eventually braving her words.
I couldn't believe the amount of pain she somehow tolerates, yet transmutes through her spiritual exercises. Dawn shows us the way a true believer struggles with overwhelming situations and actually achieves victories over adversities.

Worthy of being put on the Oprah Show, and let the world get to know a Giant of Spiritual Power, one who shows us the way. She is truly a 21st Century woman.God Bless Her.

If you have any doubts at all about the quality of the writing in _Notes From A Minor Key_, please take a look at the following excerpt.

I step onto the stage, feeling cocooned within the stage lights. Again, public privacy. Curry, who has followed me onstage, grabs my hand, and we bow together to the sound of the applause. Then we turn and nod to the orchestra. I go directly to the piano and miss the bench, nearly falling before I manage to sit.

G minor. The piano has a long solo in the beginning, which almost sounds like a duet - the bass and the treble banter back and forth like a man and a woman. The woman wants to fly and the man protests, trying to keep her grounded. Finally, they merge in a resistant passion, which is predominantly feminine. And the struggle continues into a series of somber bass chords: big, bossy, and dogmatic. When the orchestra comes in, it sounds a little like Mozart's Requiem Mass, but this quickly relinquishes to a romantic melody, lushly dark, foreboding, then nostalgic. The music is too painful - it separates me from myself. At least, I think it is the music that is doing this. Glassy couplets in the high register make me feel that I am dying, suddenly connecting me to the beginning and the end at the same time: babies in their mothers' arms, old people breathing their last breaths, and me, disintegrating into vapor, becoming nonexistent - everything that I was, evaporating. I am beyond all thoughts except one: I miss my life, yet I long to be more because my life is closing in. My brain turns inward on itself, so that I can see myself dying. I am both afraid and unafraid, breathing and resisting breath. My humanity rails in self-defense, in desperate crashing passage-work that encompasses the entire keyboard. The numbness in my hands switches to stabbing pain. Then, I feel numbness and pain simultaneously. I do not understand this, but I am split between my sensation and my self. I can actually sense the signals that my brain is sending to my hands. They are moving so slowly, I can feel them traveling down the nerve pathways, struggling to reach my hands. I have to concentrate to make my hands respond: there is no automatic response. The effort is immense, and it takes everything I have - every ounce of power still remaining in my body. My brain seems to disconnect, but I cannot feel what it is disconnecting from. I am separated from myself, but I am still aware that my self exists. Yet, I cannot find it... pounding, percussive... suddenly, the entire left side of my body disappears. I cannot feel my leg, my foot, my arm, face, torso - nothing. In my left eye, there is only darkness. It is difficult to breathe, and my sense of being becomes distorted. Dear God, am I having a stroke? Is this it?

I fall off the bench. I am flat on my back in front of over 2,000 pairs of eyes. The stage lights are too penetrating for my one remaining eye. Too bright. Then, somehow, I know it's over. The music has stopped. At least, for me.

This is a facinating story of a remarkable woman who courageously survives in spite of contacting MS and suffering other personal tragedies. This is a passionate love story of a gifted artist that is deeply moving and invites the reader inside her thoughts. A page turner.

Dawn Bailiff's title describes living with multiple sclerosis - but it's much more. It's also the story of a half-Jewish, half-Japanese girl who played with Leonard Bernstein when she was just 10, who was accepted into the Peabody Conservatory of Music at age 15, and whose music helped her struggle through MS diagnosis and symptoms. Bailiff is a composer, former world-class concert pianist, and here integrates her musical passion and experiences with powerful first-person insights on living with ms.

What an exceptional piece of writing! I've never read anything by a man or a woman that is as raw and honest. Through the telling of a beautiful love story, Dawn Bailiff becomes vulnerable to the the reader in a most powerful way.

She came into this world with incredible intelligence and talent. While she continuously struggles with the effects of multiple sclerosis and has suffered unimaginable losses, she continues to share her greatness through the gift of this book.

Since everyone else has given this book such good reviews i cant help doing the same, this book really explain the things worth to know about the legendarious rock band Queen. From their very first song and how Brian with his father built his very special guitar to the sad end for Freddie. A whole lot of pictures and things we fanatics really like. Just great book!

If you are a Queen 'FANATIC", or just a newbie looking into a possible interest in the band Queen, this book is for you. From the very beginning we see each band member grow up and come together. We see how this great enigma became, and how so tragically it ended. I have read this book more than 5 times, and plan to read it some more. Kudos to Jackie!!

It is assumed that the buyer of this book either has or is planning to cultivate an interest in Queen, one of the most successful bands of the past two decades. Such a reader will not be disappointed; this book sidesteps the temptation of becoming a tabloid-style biography and instead focusses on real facts. Written by two longtime 'Queenies', As It Began is a frank, clear, and comparatively unjaundiced view of the band's progress, from 70s glam rock band to 90 'macho' musicians. For he who intends to become ridiculously well-read on one of the most memorable bands in history, As It Began is the ideal bookshelf companion.

A fantastic and detailed journey through the history of one of the greatest music sensations of the 20th century. Anyone who wants to really know about this incredible band should read this work compiled by the the manager of the Queen Fan Club and Queen's official discographer. Jampacked with information about the band. Beginning with info about the lives of the four talented musicians who made up Queen : Freddie Mercury , Roger Taylor , Brian May and John Deacon. We see that Taylor , May and Deacon all had BSC Honours Degrees. The life of Freddie Mercury makes particularly interesting reading. Born Farookh Bulsara , of Persian parents Bomi and Jer Bulsara , on 5 September 1946 , on the small spice island of Zanzibar.
In 1954 , at the tender age of eight , Freddie was shipped off from Zanzibar to St Peter's English Boarding School in Panchgani outside Bombay. During his time at Ealing , Freddie formed his first band , the Hectics , which played only within the school at fetes , parties and school dances. After taking his O Levels at St Peters Freddie returned to Zanzibar , but his family fled the island in 1964 , along with many other Indians and British when the African Marxists launched a violent revolution. The Bulsaras moved to Feltham , Middlesex in England and in September 1966 , Freddie began a graphic illustrating course at Ealing College of Art. In 1969 Freddie joined a Liverpool band named Ibex , which played a selection of cover version songs by the Beatles , Rod Stewart and Yes. He had also met Tim Staffel , who together with Brian May and Roger Taylor , had a band named Smile. Freddie later formed his own band Wreckage. A few months later , Freddie disbanded Wreckage and in 1970 , formed Queen together with Brian May and Roger Taylor. The following year the band where joined by John Deacon. The rest is music history , and the book traces Queen's development from a unique inside view, full of colour pictures and exclusive interviews .We feel we are watching the history of the band unfolding. We read of the Bands first triumph in Japan , where they first achieved Superstar status. Of the bands friendship with David Bowie and their meeting in 1977 with Groucho Marx , of Freddies friendship with Michael Jackson and Elton John among others and of John Deacon's friendship with tennis great , John Mac Enroe.
The last chapter is about the tragic death of Freddie Mercury from AIDS after having fought a brave battle against the disease.
I particularly enjoyed reading about the golden years of the Super 1970s.

The complete and virtually unabridged biography of the greatest band of all time is a must-have for any fan. It details the lifes of Freddie, Brian, John and Roger from their respective births, and leaves little out (apart from the malicious gossip that so frequently found in the tabloid papers about them).

The book is written by Jacky Smith (nee Gunn), the manageress of the Offical International Queen Fan Club (which is now the longesy running fan club of all time) and Jim Jenkins, a long time fan who was at most of the concerts Queen ever gave, so the authority from both people is a good one. You cane expect everything in the book to be completetly factual, and absolutley respectful to Queen and their families.

wonderful! writing styles, details, photos, insights all
excellent. It is like reading a national geograohic article
(so many pictures to go with the stories). The depth he went
into to talk about his ideas and thoughts is really
a treat.

This book is a fascinating account of the life of Ravi Shankar. I was a little reluctant to pick up this book at first- -I thought to myself, "Ravi Shankar- pop star, a musician who lives on hype - who wants to read a fan book? If George Harrison hadn't stumbled across him, he would have been just another sitar player." But after reading this book, I have a much greater understanding and respect for Shankar and all that he has accomplished.

Shankar's early life was simply amazing. His first tour of the US was in 1932, when he was all of 12 years old. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense for Shankar to be the leader in bringing Indian classical music to the West, since he spent so many of his formative years in Paris and on tour throughout Europe and the US. During this time, he became familiar with Western audiences and their expectations, as well as with Western music traditions. It is this familiarity that has enabled him to be so successful at explaining Indian music to Westerners. But as this book details, Shankar was not only popular in the West, but long before George Harrison met him, he had built a very successful career in India. For example, he was the one who did the music for film director Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, among so many other projects.

Shankar's influences on music in both India and the West are enormous and far-reaching. He was one of the first musicians to gain a following in world music, and he fought strongly against the marginalization of world music as a field only fit for ethnomusicologists. As described in this book, in India, he helped change attitudes towards musical performance and performers by demanding full attention from audiences and formal venues, much like classical performers in the West expect.

Interspersed throughout Shankar's text are short interludes from friends such as Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. The book includes hundreds of pictures that span Shankar's entire career, including the pre-World War II tours with his brother Uday. There is also a very informative glossary at the end, as well as a chronology and index.

Raga Mala is destined to be a classic of literature.
It is a biography, history, diary, and a basic primer
of Hindustani (North Indian) music.
As a beginning Sitar student under a Guru myself.
I appreciate Raviji's journey from student to master.
The life covers so many memorable moments of history.
His triumphs and pain are an inspiration to all who
are open enough to see it. There is not enough that
can be said to fully explain the depth of this book.
It is fair to say that most will not fully understand
it in one reading.
In closing, Raga Mala will be the textbook to be used
by all interested in Pandit Ravi Shankar, Indian music,
and how it has gained popularity in America since the
1960's. I recommend this book as in the top 5 of my
all time favorite books.

Regardless of how you come into this book, as a Beatles fan, as an admirer of Indian classical music, or someone who studies the Indian culture, you will come out of it thinking of Ravi Shankar as someone very special, but who shares the same passion for life as many of us. "Raga Mala" is his story through his words, from his days as a dancer to traveling out of India for the first time, and eventually setting a goal to spread his music and culture around the world. With celebrity comes fame, and with fame comes admiration, and there were many women who admired him, only for he to admire them back. His love of women is at times overshadowed by his love of food, which is something I never knew before this.

But he talks about his music as his core (at point during the book he compared the sitar to his wife), and gets in-depth about his mission to enlighten people with his music. He loved the hippies but hated their lifestyle, and felt that he could make them high, and higher, with his music.

"Raga Mala" shows a well-traveled and cultured man with the utmost respect for his culture, his people, his music, and life in general. At 81 years old, he knows his "old junk of a body" can't do the things it did when he was 15, but he refuses to slow down for anyone, including himself.

Raga Mala is the autobiography of pandit Ravi Shankar,told in story,profusely illustrated{some in color}], beautifully bound {with luxurious endpapers], on high quality, beautiful papers. It tells his story{introduced by George Harrison} from his early childhood, stage[as a dancer in his brothers famous troupe] to his study of sitar and Hindustani music with a master{Khan},to his gradual emergence in the west. I had no idea, that he had performed at Carnegie hall in the 1930's, that John Coltrane's son ravi was named after him, ot that he was well known BEFORE the Monterey pop or woodstock concerts[he called woodstock"terrifying'}. This is a wonderful book, it tells the ENTIRE ARC of the life of pandit Ravi Shankar{including his apparent heir and pupil, his daughter Anoushka}, and does so with such a well put together volume. The papers, the binding, the photographic reproductions are exquisite. The publisher has done a remarkable job. A classic book, both in form and content.

I have many books about Sinatra and this is one of the best. Richard Havers put together a wonderful read. The book combines his music and life very well in a chronological format. There are some great pictures and sidebars about other events music and otherwise associated with the time frame you are currently reading.The research put into this gem is amazing.If you are a fan of Sinatra get this book. You won t be able to put it down!

To me, as someone who lived thru this era and read many books on Sinatra,
none has captured the essence of the man and the times he lived in as
Richard Havers has done. All aspects of Sinatra's life are discussed; the music,
the movies, the concerts and shows, his friends and his loves, good and bad,
in a fair, unbiased, nonjudgmental manner

This is a big book that contains a lot of information and pictures that you
will not find anywhere else. It can be read by casually leafing through the
pages and enjoying the sidebars and photos, or it can be read carefully from
beginning to end to reveal the real Sinatra. If you take the latter approach
you will not only better understand what made Sinatra tick, you will also
better understand the times he lived in.

This book was a delight from beginning to end, packed with useful biographical information. It also contains dozens of sidebars on every one of Frank's albums as well as supplementary sidebars giving historical context to Sinatra's life and work in the form of other artists, historical events, and his various arrangers and labels. The book is packed with photos, memorabilia, track lists--in fact, everything you need to know about the life and work of Sinatra. I think that this book, combined with Will Friedwald's 'The Song is You' are the two best books on Sinatra, and as a dedicated Frankophile, I've read many. Also evident in the book is the author's love of Sinatra and his music. The book is like a virtual Sinatra museum, one you can open and enjoy over and over at your convenience.
Five stars.

This is an amazing book that lets you see Mr. Sinatra through the early days of his childhood, to what would become the ultimate legend...I was never into this kind of music but after listening to the wonderfully composed scores of music and lyrics, you cant help but become an avid fan of his. Through the good and the bad you see something everyone should strive for, the high expectation for ones self in whatever they do as he did and beautifully executed with class....I've discovered Frank Sinatra and I am definately Flying to the moon!!

His voice, his style, a trip into the past. Ole Blue Eyes we will never forget him. For all old and new fans this book is a treasure indeed.

This is a great book for SP rookie fans. Loaded with info. Become a bigger fan than me. :) (the cd is great too.)

This book Rocked ! This book answered all of my misterious questions of the band. This book was really worth the money. I respect the pumpkins way more than what I did before. They are my favorite band.( beacuse of the book !) If You're a pumpkins fan, and you didn't read this book. YOU SHOULD, YOU WILL LOVE THEM, ALSO YOU WILL RESPECT THEM AS WELL AS i DO ! ROCK ON MY FELLOW PUMPKIN FANS - - - -

I loved this book it told in detail everything to the lives of the samshing pumpkins provign they are a very well organized band and work very hard

I think this is a great interview with the Pumpkins (well, only half of them) and the book is pretty rocking, too. Two thumbs up.. :)~

great Cd and book! It covers all the things that you want to know about the smashing pumpkins. listen up, want to know more about the smashing pumpkins? buy this cd/book. ;-)

Knowing Tommy personally, I consider it a great privilege to heartily recommend "Tango Charlie" to all those who served on the boats, as well as anyone with an interest in submarine operations during the cold war era. I especially appreciate Tommy's motivation for writing this book: to preserve the history of the music of our Submarine Force. For years, Tommy has entertained those of us in the "Silent Service" with his unique genre of music specifically tailored for submariners and born of personal experience. Now, in this book, he has given us the story behind these wonderful songs. And what a story it is! Tommy's straight forward and often humorous style of writing makes this an extremely interesting and enjoyable read!

Terry L. Schmidt - Qualified Submariner

Tommy Cox has captured the spirit of what it was like to ride submarines during the cold war. I've never met him but I feel like I know him well through his music and now his book. We rode similar submarines to many of the same places. He just went their more often. Reading his book took me back to those long patrols in places we never went to doing things nobody would ever talk about. If you've been there you will enjoy the trip back in time; if you haven't been there you will learn things that will amaze and amuse you. The only thing missing from this book is the rolling of the seas and that wonderful submarine aroma.

Tango Charlie tells the real life story of singing submarine sailor, Tommy Cox. The book reveals much of the meanings behind his songs, written during some of the most intense moments of the cold war, by a man who was really there, at the very pointy end of the spear. Between the lines, between the notes, Tommy tells stories that were never meant to be told. In his songs, and in the book "Tango Charlie" Tommy captures the true grit of those who bravely served aboard US submarines during the cold war.

Tommy Cox is a retired Chief Petty Officer who spent most of his illustrious career aboard submarines during the height of the Cold War. This was the time of great peril to this nation and the submarine service was at the forefront of our nation's defense. Cox writes of his experiences with complete candor and unusual insights, the stories are those can can only be told by one who experienced them. But his book is more, much more. For Cox has for years written and performed songs about his experiences in the silent service, songs with such catchy titles as "BIg Black Submarine", "Diesel Boats Forever" and "Freedom Patrol." He prefaces his chapters with the words of those songs, that he performs in a nice baritone, and then explains the songs origins. His is a memoir, his is a great reference book, his is the work of a born raconteur, but most of all, this is the work of a great patriot who performed a great service to his the submarine service, the Navy and this nation. I heartily recommend this book.

I spent twenty years riding boats during the same time period that Tommy did and retired as RMC(SS. I never met him during that period of time but we were on the same boats at different times and I know some of the people in the book. A book that evokes laughter (especially the speed key thing), tears (Ollie North and his fellow marines), a few familiar names (one of a very close friend) and a lot of "He nailed that right", makes for great reading. Thanks Tommy.