Literature and Music Art Books

this book is absolute garbage. the author has no concept of history and completely disregards the archaeological and historical record. If you you want to know more about ancient history, go to the experts. heck, even Livy is better than this guy!

Looking through this book reminded me of the movie "A Beautiful Mind". A brilliant mathematician constructs a fantasy world complete in every detail. The only problem is that it doesn't exist, and that he's as mad as a hatter.

Just two examples of the many "possibilities" suggested by our schizoid author:

(1) The Biblical flood and the Trojan War were the same event because Noah was Aeneas, who fled Troy to found Rome. (Noah and Aeneas had names that sound alike. Thus it is proven.)

(2) Nine kings fled the fall of the Tower of Babel and seven kings founded Rome. Therefore, Rome was founded by the kings who fled the fall of the Tower of Babel. (In the author's words, the Biblical figure of nine is "close enough" to the Roman figure of seven.)

Need I go on?

The professional historians faint as prominent mathematician Doctor Fomenko et al research the known historical data and come to fairly controversial conclusions.

For example, the English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. As the sign of recognition of the special role of the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Russian historians brand it as pseudoscience because Dr Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by over two centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called `Tartars and Mongols' were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a trilingual state and aspiring Global Empire with Arabic and Turkic spoken as freely as Russian.

The ancient proto-Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities and the hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called `blood tax'). Their `invasions' were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion.

Fomenko proves for a fact that official Russian history is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scholars brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs. Their ascension to the throne was the result of conspiracy, so they charged these German historians-imports with the noble mission of making Romanov's reign look legitimate.

Dr Fomenko et al prove Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. These rulers represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate Godounovs and the ambitious Romanov upstarts.

The European historians fume not only because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History but for asserting that all medieval European Kings and Princes were but breakaway vice-regents and vassals of the Global Empire who badly needed glorious and very `ancient' past in order to legitimize their new independence from the Empire.

Dr Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one: the Ancient Rome: the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the 14th century A. D., the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, the Ancient Egypt: the pyramids of Giza become dated to the 11th to 14th century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global Empire, no less.

The civilization of the `ancient'' Egypt is irrefutably dated to the 11th to 15th century A. D. following the breakthrough in decoding of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone and painted on the temple walls.

Arabic historians may find some consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire as a part of the Global empire in the 15th - 17th century. The trouble is that this Empire was initially a proto-Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, but built in 1550-1557 A.D. by Sultan Suleiman according to Fomenko and Islam with all its key figures is datable to 15th 16th century A. D.!

The Chinese historians are also an unhappy lot because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such history. Period. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the 17th 18th century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation.

The Divinity excommunicates Dr Fomenko because the history of religions according to Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the 11th century and Jesus Christ ), Bacchic Christianity (11th to 12th century, before and after Jesus Christ), Jesus Christ Christianity (12th to 14th century) and its subsequent mutations (15th to 17th cy) into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on..; and The Old Testament written after the New Testament in xiv-xvi cy A.D., if you please! Everybody served? Saint Augustine was quite prescient when he said: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun (ie. closer), different tilt on its axis (ie. less than 23.5 degrees), different orbit (ie. more circular), different rotation (ie. in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different relative positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently from how we would today? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history or geography is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

An inside look at a major player during the 70's, 80's, and 90's. You have to admire Robert Evans' chutzpah, and I think it was his egomania that got him back up each time he was down for the count. It's a delicious and dishy look at hollywood during a very exciting era. I can't say that the book will stay with you long after you've read it, but while you are reading it you won't be able to put it down.

I met Bob Evans a couple of years ago at Book Soup on Sunset Blvd., for no less a 'literary' L.A. event than a 'book' signing for the release of 'Kid' on cd. I stayed after, to speak with the legendary producer and get my 1st ed. copy of 'Kid' signed. When the last guest had left, only myself, Evans and Army Archerd (with a Michael Clarke-Duncan size bodyguard) remained. I told Mr.Evans that I have great admiration of for his work and that meeting him was a dream come true for me. Evans' story as meteoric rise to head of production at Paramount and white-hot, sub-orbital fall due to substance abuse is an amazing tale of genius and hubris. Evans was personally involved in producing some the classics from a cinematic-artistic Golden Age: The Godfather, Chinatown, Harold & Maude, to name a few.

This is a splendid chronicle of a remarkable career, though I can't help but wonder if Evans wouldn't have been happier if he had just learned to love himself for who he is.

I've read just about every autobiography I've come across, but I'd have to say Robert Evans has taken a more honest and critical look at his life than anyone I've ever read.
I can't imagine anyone wouldn't find this book absorbing and interesting

The Kid Stays In the Picture is another in a series of stylistic documentaries over the last few years that seems to be reinvigorating the form by using different narrative and filmic techniques in service to a story. In Winged Migration it was an interplay of raising birds from hatchlings, mixing great flying footage with special effects, in The Fog Of War it was juxtaposing a man's life (ex-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara) with his beliefs, & then with special effects and facts not widely known, but this film goes the furthest in pushing this technique, to almost docudrama, and it succeeds brilliantly. As a work of art it's a tour de force. It's subject matter may seem a bit more problematic- it is not the life of a major political figure, but of a Zelig-like Hollywood mogul- Robert Evans- whose rise and fall is chronicled mostly by his own narration, & the computer effects of taking still photographs & making them come alive. There is very little of the talking head phenomena that infects most film documentaries. In his behind the scenes with the stars life Evans resembles rock DJ Rodney Bingenheimer from the documentary The Mayor Of Sunset Strip, and in its blend of subjectivity with reality it shares a kinship with the Harvey Pekar docudrama American Splendor, yet it succeeds far more than either of those two films because its subject is not an oddball, and has actually led a life worth examining. Neither Bingenheimer nor Pekar ever had the personal success Evans did.... Filmmakers Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein have achieved something rare in the film world- a documentary that both pushes the genre's boundaries yet achieves what all but the very best documentaries achieve- insight into its subject matter. Evans is a man who is both a starmaker and starstruck fan, barren chaff yet sage insider. He is truthful- to a degree, arrogant, yet self-deprecating- a refreshing turn from many self-satisfied and dishonest documentaries. This film was clearly worlds better than Bowling For Columbine- the doc that won the Oscar that year, yet the reason for its not winning, nor even being nominated, is obvious- aside from the fact Evans made many enemies in Hollywood. Most viewers will forget it is a documentary while it's being watched. So effectively subversive are Morgan and Burstein in their technique that it works against them in terms of recognition. Yet, this film, not Columbine, will be studied in film school.
As for the features, there is not much- no making of documentary, just assorted interviews with celebrities at the film's premiere, and Evans accepting some awards. The commentary track by Morgan and Burstein is superb, one of the best explications of the marriage of technique with subject matter you're likely to hear.
A cynic might argue that the film is an homage to a talentless actor who just had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and to a degree that's true. But, the film is really about the solipsistic nature of all people. We know that. We are that, by and large. It's only when we see that in people richer, more famous, and more rewarded that we look away from ourselves. The film opens with a quote from Evans: `There are three sides to every story: my side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently.' Rarely has such truth been admitted by anyone in film, rarer still something done with it. This is why The Kid Stays In The Picture is a great documentary.

If so u need to buy this book.Justin is one of the most popular guys around the world.This book will get u up close and personal with his life.You'll find out things you'd never know about him unless u read this.I was even a little surprised with it.Plus it even comes with pages of justin full colour.And yes cute ones! If you're in love with this hunk this book is a need!

I thought this book was "helpful for justin lover beginners" but if you bought the book because it had a Picture of Justin of the cover for being a big Nsync fan, its really not worth it. The best part of the book is in the back of the book a Justin quiz. Its really fun to play with your friends so overall its a ok book.

Yeah he's cute but he's gettin kinda repetitive. Let's move on people! JUST MOVE ON!

Okay I have to admit he is hot, and this book is good. But only if you are CRAZY over him. I mean u know everythin in this book already if you are a big fan so why buy it? And don't you think it isn't fair that Justin gets all these books and I havn't even seen one for the other guys. So girlz, move on! He is way too self centered! His fav song is 'God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On Me!' But I do agree, he is the hottest guy on earth. And the book is pretty good, except I know all the info in it.

If you like Justin it's a must have. But there were a few errors in it. Like it said at one part that Justin's mom was Lisa. So, I don't know. But it wasn't a book you had to keep reading cause you couldn't put it down. I didn't even finish reading it, cause it was all stuff I have already learned from magazines and off the television. If you're a serious die hard Justin fan and you have nothing better to spend your money on, then go ahead and buy it. Not highly recommended though!

I thought that this book was really good. the pictures of the guys when they were little are so cute, scott was such a sweet looking baby, I thought that this book really gave you a good look inside on who they are as a band and as people.

The minute I saw this book I had to get it! It has everything you could possibly want to know about The Moffatts and more! There are baby pictures and facts you wouldn't find anywhere else like their fave cereals,that came as a shock to me! My sister hates The Moffatts and she asks to see this book!

I found the moffatts backstage pass to be a very interesting book. Unlike other Backstage Pass books this one is totally 100% official. It also contains facts that were unknown to me before such as why Scott wrote Misery and wonderful rare pictures of the moffatts. If you are a fan of the moffatts or are interested in learning more about them then this is a must have.

I love this book to death! I'm never leaving the house for a long period of time without it. The information is TRUE, and the pictures(some of them anyway) came from the very own Moffatt family photo album! HOW COOL! This is official so everything you read has come from the Moffatts' very own mouths! The highlight of the whole book is seeing all of those baby pics and performance pics of when they were young! It's like it was yesterday I was sitting down in front of my TV singing along to Caterpillar Crawl! Awwwwww!

The cover that you see is not the cover you receive, though! Unless there are two seperate books! I got a different cover! But that doesn't really matter now does it?

I'll let you in on a little secret about the book before I go! There's a pop quiz in the back to test out all your Moffie knowledge and On the very last page and the back of the book, THERE ARE AUTOGRAPHS!

Have fun reading the book and like it suggests in the book, throw on Chapter 1: A New Beginning and sit back for the reading experience of your lifetime! Bye now!

~steph~

This book was really great! It was easy to read (I read it within 20 minutes), and the pictures were great! I found out a few things I didn't know before... hmm... I didn't think that was possible. If you're a Moffatt Fan, you should definately buy it!

Such a strange,obnoxious and fiercely independent man with an unbelievable story that is told in scrupulously researched details, but is as readable as a novel.A BIG piece of the Elvis puzzle and an inside into southern americana circa first half of the twentieth century.
Highly recommended!!

Truly this book has great research in it, and it is valuable as a resource for anyone seriously interested in Elvis. Tom Parker, no doubt, did something really bad in Holland (maybe murder) as he never even communicated with his family after the late 1930's. Parker also did possess a certain power over Elvis that probably depressed Elvis to some degree, and Elvis knew of some of Parker's gambling habits (as one can hear in the 9-2-74 closing show, for example), and Parker lost nearly 90 million dollars in gambling (as estimated). That is truly incredible, but this book doesn't speculate into the nefarious nature of these habits or analyze what drove Parker to gamble, and we may never know. For its reluctance to analyze, I give the book 4 stars instead of 5.

If you're interested in Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker, this is THE book for you. This story took years and many man-hours of exhaustive research to bring to fruition. By now, most Elvis fans are well aware that Parker was an illegal Dutch immigrant by the name of Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk. But until now, relatively little was known of his life in the 'old country.' We learn that a woman was brutally murdered in Parker's hometown in Holland on the very day of his disappearance. Did he commit the dastardly deed and abscond to America? Of course, we'll never know, but it's an interesting theory, nonetheless. It appears that the old boy may have been asexual. If so, this might explain his aversion to being touched. Though Parker earned mega-millions during his lifetime, he left behind a relatively modest estate. Of course, the same can be said of Elvis. Parker's addiction was gambling, while Elvis simply overspent on virtually everything.They were both masters at profligate spending. The Colonel seemed to possess a "Jekyll/Hyde" personality, displaying acts of kindness and generosity to loyalists and cruelty to others. The Eddy Arnold years are very interesting indeed. Parker and Eddy were opposites, and Parker's taste for ostentation sometimes clashed with Eddy's more conservative tastes. The story of Parker moving in with the Arnolds is hilarious. Alanna Nash is a very gifted writer and unless I'm mistaken, this is her third Elvis-related book. "Revelations" is still the best Elvis book I've ever read. I've never had the pleasure of reading the Alan Fortas book, which I believe she ghost-authored, though I hear it's excellent. Her latest book is an intriguing read which I finished in one day. I simply couldn't put it down. The phrasing, the meticulous research and the fascinating enigma that was Tom Parker all come together quite nicely. Buy this book. I promise you'll like it.

The title including the word "Extraordinary" is fully justified. I thought this book would be a "dishing the dirt" epic on Parker but it turns out to be a very well researched lifetime biography of the Colonel's life and not just his involvement with Elvis.

The well told story is of a man who from poor beginnings in Holland was involved in a murder there and forced to flee to the USA at an early age. He then spent his life as an illegal immigrant with that dark secret.

His early struggles with poverty in the 1930s and 1940s including being discharged from the army with mental illness, sets the scene for a man who revitalised his childhood fascination with fairs and carnivals, which were a major circus in the Americas of that period. All the man's later business cunning and marketing skills were learnt in that "carny" environment of deceit, overstatement, advance promotion and getting the cash in any deal as soon as possible to survive. He clearly retained a soft spot for this teaching ground all his life.

His first major music involvement came with country star Eddy Arnold who he fell out with when Arnold found him doing personal side deals. With no real appreciation of music ever, he became aware of the early Elvis and the storm he was creating in the South and took control under an initial contract that fully reflected Parker's approach all his time in managing Elvis of keeping it simple and balanced in his favour.

The view established by the book is that while the Colonel (a title obtained by politial hucksterism and not from his army days) always looked after Number One and was continually doing side deals that personally benefitted him not his client, the usual Elvis fan's view of the Colonel being a parasite is certainly challenged-

- the fan mania developed across 1956 and subsequent years including manipulation of the RCA label and TV was unprecedented and owed a lot to the flair of Parker to do things differently in the face of others historic approach to how to promote pop stars;

- Elvis's enlisting into army service and his "protected" life in Germany plus a controlled keeping in the public eye across those years may owe more to the manipulation of Parker;

- the much derided series of Elvis movies in the 1960s together with their hit singles and dross LPs may in retrospect have actually protected Elvis from live performance and a decline in popularity esp. with the advent of the Beatles plus given his lifelong poor approach to financial matters kept him earning a steady stream of income in that period;

- the return to live performance while driven by Elvis was taken to a new level by Parkers' approach to concert promotion, both in Las Vegas and across the USA.

However, the book does not flinch from the downsides of the man's personality and approach to business, especially his endless paranioa, bullying and control by fear over all those who worked with him; his ensuring limited access and opportunities being shown to Elvis by others (notably his failing to allow his development as an actor in serious roles); his Las Vegas deals fuelled by his increasing addiction to gambling and not Elvis's best interests at the hands of the casinos, and due to his illegal immigrant status his unwillingness to ever allow foreign tours by Elvis which in the later years could have been major revenue earners for him.

The sad conclusion is that Parker given his personality always saw himself as the person in charge and Elvis his instrument and that Elvis's success and earnings were down to the Colonel's skills and negotiations not Elvis's talents. The reality demonstrated endlessly is that Elvis and his family (especially his father) were never going to challenge Parker, given their lack of financial acumen and extravangant spending laid them open to continual manipulation. Parker in turn given his personality was unable to help as Elvis's deline under drugs gathered pace and the inevitable happened.

The post Elvis years show a man who was still driven by the self benefitting deal and his manipulation of the Elvis estate, with the sad endgame as he gambled ceaslessly of a man who earned an estimated $100 million plus from his relationship with Elvis but at death had less than a million dollars in assets.

This is by far the best rock management biography that I have ever read.

I read this book a few days after receiving it. It was excellent. Nash has a very special gift. Having read just about everything about Elvis I could get my hands on over the years, I thought I knew it all. It seems most of the books I have read are saying the same stuff. THE COLONEL is full of thorough research and info I had never read before. I loved it. I knew Parker was different, but I had no idea how different. He sounds a bit twisted. He also sounds very misunderstood. And not very happy. Nash should should be very proud of what she's accomplished with the book. I
suspect she has enough material about her actual conversations with him for
another book. I hope she writes it.

What can be said? On the surface, it's obviously the most pretentious twaddle ever hard-bound--- the constant little descriptions of strangely mute actions that she calls "pieces", each just a couplet long or so, can grate. Why not actually write a real piece of music, or make a painting, you might begin to ask. Well, look closer. Really close. And listen, too. Hear that rustling? That's wit, dry and crisp as bamboo matting under your bare feet. As she guides you through the tiny, many mansions of this curious paper house, familiar incense wafts, a subtle, fragrant empathy for humanity: we who are so frail, so ephemeral, so filled with dreams that long to burst forth like a cache of fireworks. No wonder John loved her.

(I freely admit that, as a fan of her music, I am somewhat biased. I was also lucky enough to experience an entire museum full of her films, sculpture, and other art, in Houston, in 2001.)

Grapefruit has something for everyone, even if you are dead straight. It's nuts and philosophical at the same time .. can take your mind far. Love it.

A profound book!

Yoko Ono is a brilliant poet. She is abstract, yet poignant. It is a great disservice to the public that this book has been out of print for so long.

Yoko Ono has one of the most fertile imaginations and artistic sensibilities of our times. It is difficult to descibe how this volume works its way into your psyche other than to say "in most delightful ways".

there is a cloud in sky / with a hole in it / i must leap through the hole / to understand the donut / with the sugar sprinkles on top

Yoko ono deserves a litle justice for her great creative work. This book of instructions shows the innovation of a real conceptual artist that not to many peopple know about her. This is a realy interesting, funny, helpful and inteligent book. Buy it, even thouh you're not into Yoko stuff. You will become a fan

Before K-Fed, before her striptease at the MTV Video Music Awards, there was the sweet Britney with the number 1 hit song "Baby One More Time". This little biography tells the story of Mrs. Spears up to the release of her first album "...Baby One More Time". Don't expect to see photos of her nude in Rolling Stone magazine, expect a sweet pic of her drinking an iced coffee and smiling at the camera. I bought this book when it was first released in 1999 and looking back at on it today, it's quite a nostalgic piece. The book is like all the other unauthorized bios on teen stars, and I'm sure it will be a nice little collector's item for Brit fanatics.

This book is a must-have.It is really good for a unauthorized book alot of those books are not really good but this one is great!

I like this book because it has the grading scale of each song. It has the exercises and stuff that you could look like Britney, it has the favorites of Britney's MMC and today. It has a lot of website of Britney that you can go on. I also like the Jackie Robb book about Christina Aguilera. If you are a huge-big Britney Spears fan. This book is a must.

I like this Britney Spears book. It has a grading of the song, stuff that you look like Britney, It even has a quiz that I got an A+ on it. It has a lot of websites of Britney Spears. I also like the Jackie Robb book about Christina Aguilera. This Britney book has the MMC Hall of fame and her favorites from MMC and today. It's a must for Britney fans.

This is the best book about Britney Spears that I have read so far. It is completely filled with tons of info on her! It's 128 pages of info on how she got started, her love life, and even some stuff about how you can look like Britney. There are some really pretty pictures in the middle of the book as well. I definitely recommend this book.

It's all about Nsync! Cute pictues! I love you Nsync! Somebody read it cause it's a good book!

I like this book a lot. It has good pictures. I like the whole group of 'NSYNC, Joey, JC, Lance, Chris, and Justin. This is a really good book. It has fun pictures, too! Nice book! I especially like the pictures of Justin, JC and Lance. I hope there is more of those scrapbooks! I really like them! Don't forget to look at my other reviews!

Well my name is Ryan keaders....I do love the book very much but....i THINK THEY TALK TO MUCH ABOUT JUSTIN AND JC...BUT HEY WHERES THE PERSONALS STORIES ABOUT JOEY. i MEAN i LOVE N SYNC BUT JOEY IS THE BEST. hE HAS THE BEST LOOKS AND DANCES THE BEST!! AND HAS A NICE SET OF HAIR. aND HE IS A CRAZZY GUY. WINK WINK;O)AND INVALIDLY SPEEKING IF A N SYNC IS A GROUP.....THEY SHOULD BE TALKIN MORE ABOUT JOEY! I LOOOOVE YOU JOEY! SUPERMAN!!! HEHEHEHE. THANKS FOR LETTING ME SHARE. i HOPE SOMETHING CHANGES IN THE NEXT BOOK! OK???? LOVE RYAN GO JOEY GO JOEY!!!!!

This is a great book to get for any *NSYNC fan. It has several great pics in it of each of the guys. It also has a lot of great facts in it about the guys. It does not have any of that rumor or "he said, she said" stuff that we often hear. It is stuff that they know to be true about the guys. It is a book to get if you are loyal fan and you want to get more pics of those five cuties. I would recommend this book to anymore. I have had it know for months and I still look in it all the time. A must get and this is a great price too, believe me , I shop around at the bookstores where I live and amazon.com is way the better deal.

This book may only contain 48 pages but, it is packed with a lot of info. It gives you a personal page or so of a member of N Sync and gives you lots of info about them. Some things you most likly never knew about! I give this book five stars and I think you will too once you read it!

Jerry Lewis' films represent to me the best and the worst of that genre: at times he's able to evoke the most joyous emanations from the human voice box, in individual scenes, projecting through brilliant technique and artistic temperment some of the most beautiful, balletic images ever captured in that medium; at other times, he seems to trash the entire industry by indulging himself in some of the most laborious and unfunny bits one can imagine - the "what was that?", "why didn't he just..." response from the fans inevitable.
On the small screen, he could host and perform in greatly successful fund-raisers, singing, dancing, ad-libbing at a level most comedians could only dream of; and at the same telethon, drop his pants while a diva sings.
This book effectively brings out such artistic (and personal) highs and lows.
For this historians, Levy writes of events I had long ago aassumed never could have taken place, i.e. a 1958 and 1961 stage reunion with Dean Martin.
But through all the twists and turns, the wonderment and the disappointment, Jerry emerges as the natural successor to Chaplin and Laurel. At the end of that charity event with the the embarrassing boxer display interlude, he sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" with enough emotion and grace to temporarily make fans of his most carping critics.

Whether you love Jerry Lewis or hate him, you won't be able to stop reading this definative biography that corrects years and years of misinformation and paints a brutally honest picture of the entertainer. It's certainly a warts-and-all bio, filled with unflattering information, but its leveled with a real appreciation for Lewis's work as a comedian, actor and director. This biography gets beneath the skin and gives you a real insight to Lewis. He's not a monster but he's also not someone you'd want to spend a lot of time with off the pages of this excellent biography.

On the one hand, this was immensely readable. On the other hand, the negative things Levy has to say turn out to be for personal reasons. You have to wait for the afterword at the back of the book to find out that he and Lewis didn't see eye to eye and Levy felt hurt by this. Hence, the dirt. It's the Mommie Dearest Syndrome. Christina Crawford, we learn when we read that book, actually had made up with and was very close to her mother at the time of Joan Crawford's death. Then, inexplicably, Crawford left Christina out of her will. Hence, the dirt. So if Levy had (a) just skipped the afterword altogether, (b) put it up front as a preface so we could go into the book knowing the motivation, or (c) eased up on some of the vitriol, it would have been a better book. I'll read more books on Lewis, but I won't be reading anything else by Levy.

Jerry Lewis is a genius, pure & simple. Read this tome & you'll discover a man as complex (and misunderstood) as Wagner. This IS Wagnerian... absolute glory & absolute dispair. It encapsulates what Jerry has always been about, but this isn't just shtick. It's the real deal. One would wish for someone as hell-raising & life-affirming as Lewis to lead a life-as-party existance--- he hasn't. And you'll read why. Still & all, he's called the shots for however many decades straight & how many people can say THAT? This man is a giant, & shall be remembered as such. I love you Mr. Levitch!!!

We all grew up watching Martin & Lewis movies and Jerry's solo projects, but there were those National Enquirer stories in the 1970's about Jerry being nasty to old people. Then a good friend of mine told me about when he worked at the Vegas Aladdin and saw Jerry Lewis completely lose his mind on a group of little children who'd talked their way backstage during a telethon to give him a donation. Jerry screamed every type of profanity at them. (A humiliated Chad Everrett hustled the kids to his limo for a ride home and my friend said he trembled in rage to keep from throttling Jerry).
When I saw Jerry on stage in the 1990's, I was stunned by the amount of swearing he did--even as I've seen him in interviews swear he never cusses on stage!
Obviously, any honest account of Jerry Lewis will have to try to reconcile the sweet, clumsy "nine-year-old" clown and the rampaging, egocentric monster. Shawn Levy has done that and I admire his book for not going too far one way or the other. I picked up the book to read about the unseen film, THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, and for any insight into the Martin & Lewis split (I'd also read Nick Tosches' DINO), and I'm glad I did.

For the people (including Jerry himself) who would dismiss this book as a "hatchet job," you only have to look at Jerry's behavior and quotes himself to see both sides of him: Jerry not only disowned one of his sons for talking to the Enquirer, he completely wrote him out of every biography of him ("Love hard, hate hard"); Jerry's dismissal of all women comics as "unfunny" and "predominately here to have children"; his recent interview with Bill O'Reilly where he declares that JFK never had an affair with Marilyn Monroe--because Jerry did! (Even O'Reilly, a man not known to be caught unawares, blinked, speechless).

Jerry's wretched behavior, whether drug-induced or simply chosen, can't diminish his contribution to entertainment, only diminish one's opinion of him as a human being. And I don't think Jerry cares what you think about him.
I can just see him as Buddy Love (a creation mistaken for Dean when it was really Jerry), lighting up a smoke and saying, "I've done it all, baby."

This book is the most enlightening book with the most interesting facts about the hottest boy band in the States : the Backstreet Boys! This book tells what the Boys look for in a girl, what they like, and all kinds of personal information. I suggest that anyone who is a fan of the Backstreet Boys buy this book. Even if you are not a fan of the Backstreet Boys, it is a great book that grabs your interest immediately. Great job guys! Keep up the good work!

This book had a lot of info on the Backstreet Boys. If you like the Backstreet Boys you'll love this book. It has info on the Boys, info on each induvidual Backstreet Boy, pictures of them, an album discography, the girls of their dreams, and even a horiscope for each of the Boys, and even which Backstreet Boy you match. Buy this.

I love this book, its got great inside things on the great stars we love to love. Its really tells about inside stories,their likes and dislikes and most important who are the dating. Its a great biography.

I thought this book had GREAT info on what they look for in a girl, dream dates, and so much more, but the picture were b&w, and it was written a couple of years ago, and is sorta outdated.

I've have seen waaaaay better books than this one! Please! The information is repetitive, the pictures aren't in color, and the book is fairly boring. If you are deciding which book you should get don't choose this one!