Gibson Books

Very quick shipping. The book was in the same condition that the seller stated. Good purchase! Thanks.

The Modern Conductor is an amazingly straight-forward book. Its directions are constructive and clear, and by following Elizabeth Green's suggested exercises and drills, you will develop great conducting "grammar." Arm motions become second-nature, and the aspiring conductor can focus instead on expressing musical ideas clearly to the orchestra.

I was Elizabeth Green's last student before she died in 1995. This book brought me to this wonderful musical sage. Nothing can replace the lessons I had with her as senior in high school, but the Modern Conductor encapsulates her method and primary teachings. It is an essential book for any conductor who wants to speak clearly with the hands.

This book written by the legendary conducting teacher Elizabeth A.H. Green is very insightful and shows the beginnings of conducting from an old master like Malko.

I would reccommend buying the Max Rudolf text (used by most major conservatories and universities) for a more substantial basis. Then read this book and get a whole new perspective on several different baton techniques, rehearsal techniques, and conducting in general.

My only problem is that I don't think this book is worth the 68 dollars that the publisher is asking. First get the Rudolf (much thicker, more info for a basis, and cheaper) and get this book. It's great despite the price and somewhat limited explanation.

I have been looking for a biography of Nancy Mitford for so long, and here it is finally, and by a friend of hers as well. It made me laugh as much as her novels. Rather than put himself on the foreground, Acton lets Nancy Mitford do the speaking and so it really is as if this is her talking about her own life, a sort of autobiography. I watched the documentary earlier this year and I must say quite a different person emerges from this book. She was quite a self-made person, despite her background, and no doubt therefore so resilient in her disastrous love affairs. Highly recommended.

I have been looking for a biography of Nancy Mitford for so long, and here it is finally, and by a friend of hers as well. It made me laugh as much as her novels. Rather than put himself on the foreground, Acton lets Nancy Mitford do the speaking and so it really is as if this is her talking about her own life, a sort of autobiography. I watched the documentary earlier this year and I must say quite a different person emerges from this book. She was quite a self-made person, despite her background, and no doubt therefore so resilient in her disastrous love affairs. Highly recommended.

For anyone with a interest in the Mitford family, this a nicely written book by her personal friend. It's like having a conversation with the author about this funny and clever lady.The only to watch out for is if you don't speak french ( as I don't) then you may miss some of the best jokes.

This book documented what so many of us experience growing up as a "double" minority in this country. Aliona, congratulations to you and everyone who survives the madness and the struggles and still has the courage to get up and face the next day and whatever it brings.

Aliona is a gifted and awesome storyteller. Her book details her experience in a truthful (and sometimes comedic way). She definitely pulls you into her life and allos you to feel what she is feeling. I can't wait to see more from her!

This was a book that all of black america (especially black men) should read. Anybody on this side of the color bar knows, HAIR IS A BIG DEAL. It really widned my eyes (and I do mean widened, 'cause mine are already open) to the plight and inner struggles a sister goes through just with her hair. To conform or not to conform, that is the question? To weave or not to weave? To let a hot comb sizzle your ears or let curling irons burn your neck? To perm or let the roots go back to Africa? Why does Jheri curl? Whether we admit it or not, hairstyle (or lack of) is another one of our intercultural racisms. (We won't get into that light-skinned, dark-skinned thing.) And corporate America ain't down with hairstyles that represent freedom and any attachment to the Motherland. The author has an open, honest, easy going style that sucked me into the story from page one, and I look forward to devouring her future projects. Miss Gibson, keep pen to paper, continiously move onward and upward toward the light.

For fans of the MGM'S splendid, splashy Esther Williams films of the 50's, this wonderful bio, the backstory for Williams' "Million Dollar Mermaid," enlightens us as to "how it all began."

Well worth reading. Annette Kellerman was an exceptional athlete, able to do virtually anything she set her mind to. She 'invented' underwater ballet and the modern women's swim suit. She was a star attraction in vaudeville, Broadway shows, and was an early film star. The book is well written and has two sections of photographs.

I'm completely amazed at the accomplishments of Ms Kellerman. Those who have watched and enjoyed the film 'Million Dollar Mermaid' only know a small part of the tale. What an inspiring story of a unique and fascinating woman, a pioneer athlete & performer who no doubt continues to inspire many of those in the aquatic performance field.

I am well satisfied with the purchase of this book, Great seller and price.

I just finished taking a class called "Introduction to American Politics" and this was our only textbook. I found the textbook to be easy to read, clearly written, and factually accurate. I fear that many students, like myself, who have already studied some in this area may find the book to be too simplified, and will get bored reading about the basics of material which is already familiar to them. The book is great for the novice, but is definitely not upperclassmen material.

Overall this book is a good overview of the american political system. The structures of the beurocracy, executive, congressional, and judicial branches are covered very thoroughly. However, I found that the author inserted a bit too much of his own Republican biases in it. There is a whole section devoted to "government waste" - a common election tactic by Republicans. While it is true that the government is wasteful- all beurocracies are to some extent- a recent survey showed the US gov't to be the 3rd most efficient in the world. Also, sprinkled throughout the book are convinient three paragraph long and very shallow "Counterpoints" which try to convince readers of republican principles from the flat tax to the abolition of affirmative action. The most egragrious offenses come in various profiles "people in polics" of various leaders in politics. Invariably, the Republicans profiled have their personal strengths asserted with a folksy charm, while the Democrats are given a far away overview as well as mention of some trivial personal faults (Barbara Boxer's overdrafts from the House banks- a trivial issue in the big picture of things- is in her bio). And of course there are also the "Liberal ratings" in it- with the late Paul Wellstone topping the list. In addition to all of this, the general wording of the book and word choice used betrays the clearly Republican biases of the author. Overall the book is not a bad book, it does a good and thorough job at outlining the structure of the federal government, however, reader beware of the biases of the author.

Anthony Trollope turns the tables on the usual "happy ending" in this intriguing novel and has his undaunted and faithful heroine fail miserably in bringing about the attempted reform of her disreputable husband-to-be. Sir Harry Hotspur is a wealthy baronet whose only surviving child, his daughter Emily, falls in love with her cousin George Hotspur. George is a scoundrel, though - a rogue and gambler and alcoholic swindler, all of which he admits to openly. However, Sir Harry's title will pass on to George if he and Emily should marry, as would his estates and property; it is for this continued union of title and estates that Sir Harry, out of his own pride, can't bring himself to forbid the marriage. But when the depth of George's depravity is made known to Sir Harry, he can't any longer give consent to Emily's marrying him. But the incredibly innocent and naïve Emily is convinced not only of her love for George, but of her ability to reform him. In the hands of any number of other novelists of the period that is exactly what would happen, but not in Trollope's. Harry, knowing his man, refuses to budge, and Emily, listening only to her heart, refuses to give up on him. When George finally dumps her and marries someone else, Emily dies.

The novel is simple, straight-forward, and compelling. Trollope is concerned with a couple of issues here, one being the "double standard" of the wretched male rogue being the object of Emily's compassion (no female character could ever survive a tenth of the dastardly behaviors exhibited by George). Another is Sir Harry's aristocratic pride at work in hoping to keep his title and property intact, although Trollope would never go so far as to have Sir Harry let Emily marry the blackguard just for that alone. The story moves along quickly and decidedly, and the downward spiral of events into utter sadness at the end is emotionally draining for the reader. One of Trollope's best short novels.

I don't know how anyone who has read a Trollope novel cannot want to read them all. While Sir Harry Hotspur is far from Trollope's greatest work, it is a pleasant reading experience. I always think of Trollope's novels as having a certain "sweetness and light" to them; however, in his often comic marriage knot tied novels, he is also very realistic. This novel is the tale of a less successful relationship, and one all the more interesting as a result.

The story is that of Sir Harry Hotspur and his wife. They are approaching old age, and their son, the heir to the property and name has died. They now only have one living child, their daughter Emily, and she needs to be married. Because the novel is set in England, Sir Harry's title will pass to his next male relative, a young cousin, George Hotspur, but Sir Harry will leave the property to his daughter. What Sir Harry would like more than anything is to keep the property and title together. His daughter agrees with him since she has fallen in love with her cousin, George. The plan for George to marry Emily, however, becomes complicated. As Emily falls deeper in love with George, Sir Harry finds out more and more that George is a "blackamoor", one who runs around with women and cheats at cards. Emily, however, remains determined to love and marry him. She is convinced she and her parents can reform George.

Is George reformable? I will not give away the end, but I will say the novel is realistic in its treatment of the relationship--Emily is ready to worship George as a god if he can only prove himself worthy of her, and George promises to change.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite was published in 1870, after Trollope's masterful series of Barset novels, and also while he was completing his second great series, The Palliser novels. Sir Harry Hotspur does not reach the standard of those twelve great books, but anyone who has read them will want to read further and continue in Mr. Trollope's pleasant company.

- Tyler R. Tichelaar, author of Iron Pioneers and The Queen City, available on Amazon

Written in 1870, when Trollope was at the height of his powers, Sir Harry Hotspur is a moving story of greed, courtship, and conflicting emotions. The story is simple. Harry Hotspur is immensely wealthy. He has lost his son, leaving him with just a daughter for as heir to his fortune. His daughter loves a low life cousin who wants her money. The financial troubles of the cousin, and the emotional conflict between father and daughter create the drama of this fine short novel.

Her associates and superiors considered Carole Ann Gibson a very good attorney when she abruptly placed her law degree in cold storage. Tired of the justice system's endless swinging doors, Carole Ann formed a partnership with Jake Graham. Their firm, Gibson, Graham International (GGI) provides investigative and security services. After nearly dying on their last case, Carole Ann vows never to place herself in that type of danger gain. However, she quickly finds her reneging on her personal promise when she and Jake take on two different clients whose cases converge into a nightmare that leaves everyone in peril.

DC wealthiest person, Richard Islington hires GGI to find his missing daughter, though every indication leads to the conclusion she voluntarily left on her own. At the same time, On Shore Manufacturing asks the team to make discreet inquiries into the company trying to take them over. On the surface, the two cases seem miles apart, but soon they merge in a way that leaves GGI under siege and its operatives in danger.

The first two Carole Ann Gibson mystery novels were enjoyable, well-written stories. However, the third entry, THE STEP BETWEEN, is such a superbly plotted tale, it makes its excellent predecessors seem pale by comparison. Penny Micklebury creates likable characters that will garner audience empathy and attention. The author fully develops the two prime subplots before merging them into a fabulous story line that seems to stay one step ahead of the reader. Ms. Micklebury is an artist who leaves her audience copiously satisfied yet salivating for more.

Harriet Klausner

The Step Between is one in a series of novels about reluctant PI Carole Ann
Gibson. Carole Ann is a former Washington, DC Defense Trial Lawyer who left
her criminal law practice for a partnership in a security firm. Carole Ann's
partner is former DC homicide detective, Jake Graham. In her new role as
partner of GGI, Carole Ann reviews and writes contracts as well as takes
administrative control over some of the accounts.

The Step Between opens with Carole Ann and Jake accepting a case from the
city's richest man to find his missing daughter. After taking that case
things go awry for GGI. A routine surveillance job uncovers three corpses and
Jake's wife is kidnapped. Carole Ann and Jake are caught in a web of deceit,
lies, and murder and the only way out is through discovering the cause of the
problems.

The Step Between is action packed and will leave readers searching for the
rest of the Carole Ann Gibson mysteries.

Reviewed by Diane Marbury (HonestD)
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Once again, Penny Mickelbury has weaved a tale of suspense and intrigue that kept me turning pages. Carole Ann's struggle to accept the harsh realities of her past as she builds a new life through her business and budding(but fleeting in this book) relationship with Warren Forchette humanizes her even as she works to discover why CGI has been targeted by unknown perpetrators. Ms. Mickelbury portrays Carole Ann's vulnerabilities without making her appear wimpy or weak. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

All types of nonvascular interventions are covered in this book. I prefer it for both the beginners and experienced workers.

Together with the book by Karim Valji (Vascular and interventional radiology, ISBN 0721670032) this book forms a formidable addition to any prospective interventionalist's library. The book essentially forms two parts. An introduction describing in a review format some common fields of interventional radiology such as lower extremity arterial disease, but also enlightens the user on the highly busy part of interventional radiology - that related to dialysis vascular access and its importance for the dialysist and (no lesse important) for the patient with a dialysis access. The second part of the book describes case stories with appropriate images and narrative content. A few areas seem a little different from modern approach with almost no vascular CT or even mention of multi-detector vascular CT, an important emergent technique. Also - albeit this may be from my lack of familiarity with American settings - a curious case of a patient with a brain abscess is related and the sequelae of that is never really mentioned. In general the book is informative, well written, clear and with a lot of interesting and highly educational examples.

I found this a great book on vascular radiology as a 1st yr resident and an unbeatable resource for the radiology boards. It's easy to read, and easy to learn from. It should be in every radiolgist's personal library!

Toby Tyler was first published in 'Harper's Young People' as a serial in 1877, and then as a book in 1881. It was an immediate classic and favorite among young boys and girls who dreamed of running off with the circus. It was very popular and sold so well that a few years later Mark Twain wrote his own story of a run-away conscious-stricken orphan who joins the circus: 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (1884). The central theme of the novel is doing what you know is right versus doing what comes naturally and following your instincts, as shown by the character Mr. Stubbs the monkey. Although written to be a "wholesome" children's novel of what happens to bad boys, most remember it for the romantic story of running off with the circus. Indeed, by the end Toby has become so successful in the circus, his reason for returning home stretches credibility (probably to the secret delight of younger readers who knew what they would have done in Toby's shoes: stayed with the circus!). The novel was influential for at least 3 generations, a young Carl Sandburg thought it his favorite novel and William S. Burroughs mentions it in his memoirs. Disney paid it homage in a 1960 movie adaption. Since then it has become increasingly obscure, but it's close similarities with Huckleberry Finn should give it a wider audience as a comparison novel. The original included 30 pen and ink drawings by W. A. Rogers (1854-1931) which are essential.

My main disagreement with the above review is that it is obviously written by an adult for adults. I do not believe most young children read a book for the reasons he complains about. I have not read this book in over 50 years but I still remember it well. I can remember lying in bed at night reading this book and dreaming that I was right there along side Toby and sharing his adventure. I will not give away any of the plot but I can also remember a scene where my little boy tears just flowed(in am age where little boys were not supposed to cry). I loved the book then and am now buying it for my grandson!!

Originally published in 1881, this children's classic is now so outdated that it seems likely that there is no readership for it except the few scholars interested in the history of juvenile fiction. Toby Tyler is a small town orphan boy, bored and feeling abused on his Uncle Daniel's farm. When an un-named circus comes to town, Toby happily joins as a "candy butcher," i.e., one who sells refreshments to show patrons within the tent. Although Toby is only about 12, no one questions his running away or joining the circus. He is roundly beaten by his employers, and few question their right to that. Adults simply accept the fact that Toby has a right to leave home and that the circus has the right to hire his services without question. It is hard for a modern reader to get past this.

The circus itself is a vague world, a nameless "mud show" that travels by horse and wagon at night from small town to small town. There were no 3-ring circuses in 1881, traveling by air-conditioned train, a la Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey or Cole Brothers. The novel's atmosphere is never quite real, never gritty enough, never quite exhausting. The characters tend to be all good or all bad, with little known of their backgrounds, details that would make them real humans. Toby himself is just too--well--too nice, too innocent. He is Shirley Temple as a boy on the good ship Lolipop.

Certainly the circus (and the sea and the old west) was a magnet for a great many boys of the era. But like so much of the literature of the bygone era, the reality of the setting is never fully explored.

From the former secretary of the fuhrer comes a unique story which is easily believable because of the author herself. I've seen many interviews of Ms. Junge and have concluded that she is of high moral standard and has led a truly unique life because of the "Nazi nerve-center" she was a part of. Voices from the bunker illustrates the last few weeks of Hitler's life, aswell as the escape(s) of the surviving bunker dwellers. Because of her daily proximity to Hitler and the goings-on of the Fuhrer-bunker, the author offers a uniquely special rendition of the final days of Naziism. Covered in this book are the author's appointment to Hitler's staff, the activities of the "center of power" within the reich, circumstances leading to the eventuall downfall, Hitler's death and the escape from the bunker amidst Russian bombardment. This book is a light read, but filled with capturing discriptions of the last few weeks of the underground bunker which served as the command center of Adolf Hitler.

Somewhat misleadingly titled, *Voices from the Bunker* is only partly about Hitler's final days in his underground Berlin headquarters where, as the Russians and Americans closed in from every side, he eventually shot himself at the end of April 1945. The book is more accurately a retelling of Traudl Junge's two years as one of the Fuhrer's personal secretaries, part of an entourage of aides, guards, generals, and Nazi officials who comprised Hitler's support team as he conducted the war from a variety of heavily fortified locations in the forests and mountains of an increasingly beleaguered Germany. Nonetheless the book offers an often fascinating glimpse of a Hitler one isn't often allowed to consider: Adolf Hitler as a human being--and, even more disturbing--a man one might actually find oneself liking!

The Hitler we see in these pages is a man often funny, charming, gracious, affectionate, and thoughtful. A Hitler who suffered deeply and genuinely the pain his country and his people were enduring when the tide of war turned against him. A Hitler who steadfastly and, yes, courageously, refused the option of escaping to the south of Germany when it became apparent that Berlin was lost--or the chance to flee the country altogether and conduct the war from exile ((some sympathetic Middle Eastern countries were apparently an option)).

Having only recently read *Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar,* I was struck by the similarities and differences between the two dictators. Both were not only committed to victory even if it cost them their last drop of blood, but they truly and unquestioningly believed in the rightness of their cause. They asked of their soldiers nothing more than they were prepared to give themselves: total sacrifice. And they both felt betrayed when those around them showed more of a penchant for self-survival.

Curiously, both men were driven to almost identical states of complete mental and physical collapse as their respective countries teetered on the brink of annihilation. And even stranger it was to find oneself even sympathizing with these two men as you saw their dreams--albeit nightmares for so many millions--dying with each appallingly costly military defeat. There's something in the human biological make-up that can't help empathy, the same instinct that enables us to watch Oedipus or Macbeth topple from pride to pity.

If one had to pick the main difference between the two tyrants...one would surprisingly have to say that Hitler was actually the nicer of the two. Unlike Stalin, Hitler doesn't come off as a raging paranoiac, even after an assassination attempt that only narrowly fails to kill him. Hitler didn't strike the kind of terror that Stalin struck into his most trusted confidantes with constant purges, arrests, tortures, and wholesale executions of even those closest to him. Instead, the Hitler in these pages seems almost a doting employer--paternalistic, loyal, solicitous, and indulgent to those close to him. A megalomaniac in some regards, he could be surprisingly self-effacing in others, embarrassed, for instance, at the interruption of an opera to pay him tribute. "It was," he said, "disrespectful to the performers." Remember, too, that this was a guy who apparently had enough of whatever it takes, even as a doddering 56-year-old wreck of a man, to inspire a young and pretty woman, over Hitler's own objections, to join him in the bunker and marry him on the next to last day of his life. Then commit suicide beside him the next day. And this wasn't the Hitler who was rocking Germany like the Beatles, but a broken, powerless, and soon-to-be-dead-and-forever-disgraced-and-reviled failure. How many men can say they've ever known that kind of unconditional love and devotion from a woman? Well, one might indeed sacrifice the regard of all the world and all of history for a love such as that, no?

Anyway, to paraphrase Marc Antony, I haven't come to praise Hitler but to review *Voices from the Bunker.*

Junge was in her early twenties when the events she recounts in *Voices from the Bunker* took place and one wonders just how accurate her extraordinarily detailed memory can possibly be after all this time...and how much the authors credited with actually writing this book added to round out her account. One also can't help but speculate on how much revisionism Junge is engaging in, conscious or unconscious, to justify her past, although, for the most part, one gets the feeling that her account is pretty even-handed and no apologia for Hitler, Nazism, or herself. Her story of her escape from the bunker through the ruins of Soviet-occupied Berlin is riveting, the kind of episode that makes you forget to swallow for pages at a time until you realize your mouth is dry. Her avowal that she, like most Germans, had no idea that the Jews were being exterminated since most of the camps were located outside of an increasingly isolated Germany is partly credible and partly incredible. Could it possibly be true? After two years at the very hub of Nazi power, in the presence of Uncle Adolf himself...could she really have heard not even a rumor of the millions being exterminated?

Equal parts adventure, gossip, and history, *Voices from the Bunker* is a remarkable personal testament that sits you elbow-to-elbow at table with one of the great villains of all time. It's unsettling to hear how politely he asks you to pass the salt.

I've read Voices from the Bunker three times and will no doubt read it again. It is one of the most fascinating books I have read about Hitler. The book is made up of first hand accounts by three members of Hitler's inner circle: secretary Traudl Junge, aides-de-camp Otto Guensche, and pilot Hans Baur. About 95% of the account comes from Junge who was hired as one of Hitler's private secretaries in January 1943 (just in time for the tenth anniversary of Hitler's coming to power and less than two and one half years before the end of the Nazi regime). During much of this time, Junge's duties were primarily social. She accompanied Hitler for meals and relaxation almost daily. Her viewpoint is, admittedly, from an isolated world with one set of beliefs and a "puppet master" who controlled her day-to-day life and thoughts. She describes Hitler's demeanor and routine at the Wolf's Lair (Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia), at the Berghof (his mountain retreat), and finally in the bunker as Berlin was being surrounded. She offers a unique perspective on many aspects of the dictator's life: his dietary habits, his outlook on the war, his after-dinner small talk with such intimates as Eva Braun, etc. Junge also describes how Hitler was affected by the July 1944 bomb plot and how he handled himself as he neared his suicide. Finally, Junge, Guensche, and Baur each offer their experiences trying to escape war-torn Berlin. Many top Nazis are included in Junge's account: Goebbels, Himmler, Albert Speer, etc. Hitler comes out looking very human in this book as Junge's perspective is from one in an isolated world where Hitler was the charming host who played with his dog and cared about his loyal friends and employees. As the authors state in the introduction: "It is generally agreed today that the most shattering feature of those who commit genocide is not that they are monsters, but that they are just like many other people." My only complaint is that the book leaves me wanting more. It is only 166 pages with many short chapters and two sections of black and white photos. Junge died fairly recently at the age of 81 and I've read that she completed a book The Final Hour before her death. I have yet to find this book but, if it is an expanded version of Voices in the Bunker, it will be excellent.