Howard Books

Co-narrated by Ron Halder and Donna White, "Memory Books" by Canadian mystery writer Howard Engel is the story of small-town private investigatory Benny Cooperman who, after being left for dead from a blow to the head by an unknown assailant, wakes up in a hospital and in the middle of a mystery. All Benny can remember is that he was close to figuring out a mystery but can't remember anything else - including the name of his girlfriend, Anna Abraham. To complicate things further, Benny is suffering from a brain injury that allows him to still write, but not be able to read! But with the help of Anna and the use of a small notepad dubbed the 'memory book', Benny engages in some dedicated bedside sleuthing. Author Howard Engel (who in real life suffers a similar brain injury to that of his lead character) has created a terrific 'who dunnit' style mystery with a medical theme that will engage the reader's total and rapt attention from beginning to end. Expertly abridged and originally broadcast on CBC Radio, "Memory Books" is especially recommended to mystery buffs and, with a total running time of 3 hours and 30 minutes, is a welcome addition to any community library audiobook CD collection..

Oliver Sachs was right. This mystery was approached from a whole new point of view. A detective with a memory problem from a head injury tries to solve the mystery of who and why he was nearly killed. The hospital is the main setting and we see the patient struggle to put things together with an impaired memory. I truly admired the fact that the author wrote this book with an impairment of his own.

When I heard about Howard Engel's stroke, I assumed that I would never see Benny Cooperman again. However, this author has done the seemingly impossible and given us another great story.
Memory Book is different from the other Cooperman novels because Benny has been afflicted with alexia, like Engel. Thus, quite a bit of time is spent with Benny in the hospital, learning how to cope with his altered abilities. However, Benny is just as nosy, persistent and peculiarly charming as ever. He enlists his visitors onto his sleuthing team. The mystery unravels alongside Benny's therapy.
We get to see some old, favourite characters and - of course - some new ones. Engel is a master at painting characters with details that leave you feeling you've met them somewhere before. Former Cooperman fan or not, I recommend you spend some time with Benny and his friends as they help to unravel the mystery and have some laughs along the way.

if you like Howard Engel and Benny, this is a must read!
I had no idea what had happened medically to Howard - so don't read the afterword by Oliver Sacks til AFTER. Let's just say that the fact that Howard even managed to write this book is truly remarkable and shows that he is indeed a master of the genre. The fact that it is a great book where I was totally hooked after 10 pages and the manner in which the plot unfolds - just read it - it's a remarkable achievement and I thank Howard for his courage.
Just watch out for those nap times...
jb

Like the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum is a fabulously wealthy storehouse of incalculable value, "a living encyclopedia of world art. Every culture from every part of the world - from Florence to Thebes to Papua New Guinea - from the earliest times to the present and in every medium", "frequently at the highest levels of quality and invention", is represented. Also like the Louvre, its holdings are immense - "more than three million works of art, of which several hundred thousand are on view."

The guide, organized in the same fashion as the museum, suffers only by its inability to represent the museum completely. Choices had to be made. How incredible is it that the museum holds thirty paintings by Monet and the editors of the guide were forced to choose only four? How many museums in the world could lay claim to having five paintings by an artist as illustrious as Vermeer and yet be limited to including only three in their guide?

Having been fortunate enough to indulge in a recent visit to the museum, I can tell you that all five works by Vermeer and all thirty by Monet were as magnificent as one might imagine. The guide (a wonderful way to prepare in advance for any upcoming visit) will serve as a memorable souvenir and the descriptive text written by the curatorial staff of the museum will serve to elucidate the history and context of the individual pieces of art that were chosen to best represent the museum as a whole.

Highly recommended as a way of enjoying the world's art even if you think you will never be in a position to enjoy the visit in person.

Paul Weiss

Before committing a couple of days to museum hopping while in New York City, a word to the wise: this book is a must for understanding the scope of the collection of the paintings, drawings, sculpture, architectural renderings, relics - everything that makes the Metropolitan Museum one of the most 'compleat' collections in the world.

Yes, the book does show outlines of the museum's layout to facilitate the enjoyment of the various sections. But more important than that, this is a compendium of examples of some of the finest art in collection. The reproductions are excellent with all of the data needed to give a brisk brush up on not only the work illustrated but the timeframe incidentals that make the Metropolitan such a user friendly museum.

Whether for the personal library or for the perfect gift for art lovers, 'The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide' in this revised form is highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 05

This guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art helped me to plan what I wanted to see in that museum, and to learn beforehand about many of the works of art I was going to find there (for example European paintings, Egyptian, Greek and Roman Art, etc...). What is more, this book allowed me to read about some paintings and sculptures I didn't have time to see, even though I would have loved to be able to do so (too many beautiful things to see, to little time). Well, I suppose next time I will just have to start by the 2nd floor!.

I think you will appreciate the beautiful color illustrations, and the opportunity to plan ahead of your trip and not in a hurry what you want to see first. This is not only the kind of book that helps you to prepare for a visit and to enjoy it, but also a souvenir you will treasure after returning from your holidays. Recommended!

Belen Alcat

Phillipe de Montebello is one of the top museum directors in the world, thus he runs America's greatest museum. This guide is perfect, it allows you to get a feel for this singular museum and its extensive, to say the least, collection. So much is packed into this guide, every area of this vast collection is hit upon, and most importantly it helps you navigate this HUGE building, if you are going to tackle this emmense museum then you MUST have his guide, it really helps you make the most of your visit. It is well worth the investment, I advise getting it well before you go to the museum and read it thoroughly, it will make your trip so much more enjoyable and worthwhile I assure you..it's like taking the museum director with you..in your back pocket...though at five hundred pages you may need a uh, large back pocket...at anyrate it's easier that putting Phillipe in there, verdad?

An excellent book. I feel like I've a more encompassing understanding of the big picture after reading this book. Before I was vaguely aware that I was missing the forest for the trees.

My only reservation about the book is its age. I wish the book were a little more recent, and I wonder if some of the newer developments might be missing.

The central purpose of this book is to make sense of the fierce issues and debates concerning modern macroeconomics.

The authors suggest that the text be used alongside a basic macroeconomics textbook or as a main text in itself.

It is an excellent introduction to what is recognised as a controversial area of economics. The analogy of climbing a mountain and not being able to see the landscape is a very pertinent one.

There may be disagreements about the content of this book. Indeed it is easy to adopt a position about exclusions but this is a side issue. The format of an historical perspective in the development of ideas coupled with a consideration of the major positions within the debate works well.

It is clear from reading the text that the authors are very familiar with the subject matter and that each has contributed to the individual chapters on the specialist areas in a way which carries along the general reader.

Two particular things stand out for me in this text. The first is the section within the first chapter devoted to methodological issues and the associated section on rhetoric in economics. This is a key to a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the debate and the competing schools of thought involved.

The other standout aspect of this book is the interviews with various protaganists of the differing schools. Some pretty big names here including that of Nobel Prize Winner, James Tobin who only died last week. And what interviews. Not for these authors the standard sort of awe-struck beholden interviews but foccussed on the central points of the debate, exploratory questions which give real insight into the people and the issues involved. An excellent approach and one which has proved to be very successfully applied.

The final chapter, Conclusions and Reflections provides an outstanding summation and is followed by a comprehensive bibliography.

This book manages to convey in written form the full extent and depth of the macroeconomic debate such that it is intelligible to the educated reader without resorting to more mathematics than are absolutely needed and for that the authors are to be applauded.

In summing up this is a very valuable text which will be an asset to every macroeconomics course reading list.

This book is very useful. It is a definite help to graduate students trying to understand macroeconomics. It would probably not help undergraduates.

The challenge of explaining the major schools of thought, and explaining their strengths and weaknesses is a major one. The authors also go over some non-orthodox schools such as Post Keynesian and Austrian. However, some of the diagrams are poorly explained and the writing is a bit incomprehensible in a few chapters. Also, the book does not go over growth theory, which is probably a major part of any graduate macro class. On the whole though, it is one of the best macro books available.

Snowdon et.al. present a thorough and concise summary of the competing schools of macroeconomic thought and the major scholarly contributions by their proponents. The book is organized in such a manner that one can follow the major ideas and models within the different schools as they emerged, and then follow how these ideas came to be critiqued by a proponent of a competing school. Snowdon et.al do this all by using intuitive interpretations of the literature and without the complex mathematical formulas or empirical test data. Very readable by intermediate standards with excellent information for understanding macro thought.

I love historical novels, but a hefty tome such as this might take me a month or more to finish. The Monitor Range was so readable that I was able to blaze through it in little more than a week. It's the story of a young military aviator dealing with conscience, women and warplanes in the Vietnam era. The aeronautical descriptions, such as a night refueling mission in inclement weather, were both thrilling and unforgettable. The human elements of the story, such as Steven's romantic relationships, were masterfully written. The ending, in which a number of loose ends came together, was completely unexpected. A great read!

This engaging biographical novel includes an insightful exploration of a warrior's conflict between blind patriotism and his questioning the meaning of war. We follow the protagonist on a round trip from his origins, through his exploits as an aviator, on to southeast Asia, and back to the realization that a solid relationship is the real essence of life. A good and entertaining read.

I found the Monitor Range a fascinating and captivating read, as it was one of those page turners that is hard to put down. Being a pilot myself it was easy for the author to draw me into the story. His development of characters kept the story moving but dwelled enough on each character so as to understand their relationship with each other. The book gave a realistic and detailed description of the time frames presented. The ending was a complete surprise and I am looking forward to the author's next adventure.

This is the best book I've read in a long time. Steven Anderson's life was intertwined with so many others. His story started when he lost his brother in an airplane accident at a young age. Airplanes became a major part of his life, including his flying in Vietnam. The women he loved were all so different and so interesting. I truly hated to see the story end and I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

Being first generation American with my parents born in Montserrat. I was fortunate enough to visit the island and remember what is was like before the volcano. these photos are post volcano and my family and I were happily surprised to see that the island still is quite lovely and is surviving. We have relatives that are still on the island, but they are old and just keep telling us how they miss the way the island used to be. After purchasing this book, (which by the way was extremely hard to do,and can not be done through Amazon proper, but through a reseller listed with them) I want very much to visit Montserrat again and to take my daughter to see some of her heritage. If there are any Montserratians or desendants of Montserratians reading this,please go and visit, I believe the island could use it and so could we.

This book gives you a first hand glimpse at the
magical island of Montserrat. Igor Kravetchenko brings
the island to life through his book which is separated
into two sections. The first section provides a brief
look at the history, politics, economy, nature, and
culture of the island using thumbnail size photos to
illustrate its stories. Kravetchenko enables readers
to paint their own images of Montserrat in their minds
before viewing the second section of the book. It is
this photo journal portion which truly captures the
essence of the island through vibrant images of its
landscapes, and candid photos of its people. If one
has not traveled to Montserrat this book will incite
the desire to go; and for those who have, it will feel
as though you have just returned.

Igor Kravtchenko's fabulous portrayal of Montserrat is a joy to look at and read. After returning from a wonderful week spent in Montserrat, coming home to this book on the doorstep was a fantastic way to relive our memories from a lifetime of visiting, living in and loving Montserrat. The evocative pictures show Montserrat as it truly is, an emerald paradise, and despite the devastation caused by the volcano, it remains a place we are still honoured to call home. Kravtchenko's book graces our coffee table and has already been the subject of many discussions and has inspired our friends and family to want to visit. I would reccommend this fabulous book to anybody.

What better way to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Soufriere Hills Volcano than to obtain the new publication- Photo Exploration- Montserrat and Montserratians?

The Authors- Igor Kravtchenko with his pictures and Howard A. Fergus with the script capture the very essence of what Montserrat was and is- a unique tropical paradise.

The variety of comments and opinions speak for themselves.

One Tourist had this to say- "Seeing is Believing. Montserrat is indeed an extremely beautiful place. The pictures give a comprehensive portrayal of Montserrat's charm and natural beauty. The volcano has taken nothing away."

Another Tourist just passing through, said "I must take back a copy of this book to show my friends. The book illustrates in words and in photography what I have experienced on my short stay. I want more! I must come back for more."

Even those of us who live in Montserrat have to admit that despite the fact we only live on part of the island now Montserrat seems just as appealing. This book helps us to appreciate a whole lot more, the scenic beauty we took for granted all these years.

This book captures it all; an exquisite exhibition of the flora and fauna of Montserrat.

Its art, its history, its nature, its resilience, it's Montserrat, a real Tropical Paradise on land and under the sea.

So there you are. Get yourself a copy of this book. See the variety of excellent accommodation that's available and come get a taste of our ambience and hospitality. It's an experience you'll never forget!

If you think you're too old to do kid stuff, then read Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane by Cynthia Rylant. You'll learn you are never too old.

In the beginning Mr. Putter thinks he's too old ot play with toys. But he buys a toy plane anyway. Will Mr. Putter ever learn tht you're never too old to do what you want? You can do anything even if you are old or young, weak or strong. Who cares what age you are!

This book is good because it teaches kids to just stick with who they are. So read Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane because it's just right for grown ups and children

Review by Abigail

Do you think you're too old for toys? Then read Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane because it will teach you that if you are old you can still get toys. You are yourself and you can do whatever you want.

In the beginning Mr. Putter went to the toy store, and he thought that he was too old for toy airplanes. The he realized that he is himself and his life was all about planes since he was a kid. So he bought it.

If you're the kind of reader who like characters that think they're too old for things, then read Mr. Putter and Tabby Fly the Plane.

Review by Khaled

My daughter, 4, loves this story best of the several Mr Putter and Tabby stories that we have read. Unlike so many children's stories, this one (and the others in the series) convey a sense of real sense of human (and cat)character. The relationship between Mr. Putter and Tabby is loving and supportive. Most important, each story -- and especially this one -- communicates a wonderful sense of life lived with joy, respect, compassion and the muted simple little "heroics" of everyday life. In this case, sharing a wonderful red-and-white remote controlled biplane with neighborhood youngsters, especially with one boy who reminds Mr. Putter of himself as a boy.

While directed mainly to children 4 to 8 years old, they have touched by wife and I as much as my daughter as we have read them at bedtime. The small price of these books is more than worth the time spent and re-spent in the simple, caring world of Mr. Putter and Tabby.

The flowing language and engaging text and illustrations encouraged my 6 year old son to try to read this "all by himself". Unlike many "early reader" books, the language is not awkward, and the repetitions are very natural. A pleasure.

This book is a great children's book, as our ALL in this series. It is the one series that myself and my two children always look for on our bookmobile that visits us every week in town. They simply are great stories, that really leave you with a good feeling inside. You can really see the love in the stories.

Ted Tatosian Vernon Hills, Illinois

With a four year old toddler, impromptu music is an everyday occurance. Reading about Mr. Putter and Tabby tooting the horn is just icing on the cake when you are in a musical mood. Delightful to read and fun to savor. This one is a keeper!

Mr Putter and Tabby are our favorites. Wonderful story, whimsical writing style. I RECOMMENED THIS ONE HIGHLY, and every one in the series.

I have every book in this series. This one is a good book to show little ones that not every one can do it all. When my little one is too small to do something, this one shows that Mr. Putter can't learn to play the horn. His friendly neighbor does, but he is happy in the end. Get the whole series and enjoy. My 4 year old loves them, but secretly, I bought them for myself.

I deeply encourage you to learn about the multiple intelligences. Gardeners concepts are shared by teachers, educators, naturalists, facilitators and business owners worldwide and profoundly impactful. The implications of his work, and that of Project Zero deserve the highest honors.

Gardner is a witty author with strikingly brilliant mind and admirable reverence toward the human divinity. In his book, Gardner manifests the notion of intelligence, as a bio-psychological potential, a computational capacity and a mental chemistry set and subsequently sheds lights on the commonly misconceived concept of intelligence as a one-dimensional human potential, characterized by the g or IQ metrics.

With his eloquent style, Gardner articulates the social, educational and psychological impacts of the multiple-intelligence theory rendering speculation on how intelligence shows its multifaceted attributes in various forms such as Mathematical-Logical, Kinesthetic, Musical, IntEr-personal, IntrA-personal, Linguistic, Spatial, Naturalistic and Existentialist abilities.

Upon reading the book, I found some interesting answers to my life-long inquiries regarding to the intelligence such as;

1. Why individuals with strong abilities in certain areas of mathematics, such as algebra or probability theory do not necessarily indicate strengths in other areas of mathematical sciences such as geometry or topology?

2. How the society can take advantage of the MI theory to bridge between the ethical values and individuals' capacities.

3. How a creative educator can achieve the "understanding" by exercising various avenues, such as foundational, quantitative, aesthetic, logical and existential methods to stir and incite the human intellect.

Gardner makes no effort to back up his hypothesis through psychometric experiments and I believe he has done this deliberately. More specifically, he believes any effort to benchmark the performances of individuals against these metrics would create a new version of human labeling, a concept that he certainly refrains to delve and investigate. Instead of putting effort in benchmarking these abilities in human minds, he believes efforts need to be made to identify, enhance and exercise the abilities that help the individuals to thrive in the areas that they have been blessed with, irrespective of society norms.


Chapter 1 of the book contains the highlights of his theory and covers various forms of intelligence. The introduction of the existential intelligence as a form of computational capacity is rather unpersuasive, knowing the fact that it is defined as an attribute (intelligence of big questions) and not as a mental ability. Favorite quote of this chapter;
"Having strong intelligence does not mean that one necessarily acts intelligently".

Chapter 2 of the book covers the semantics of the intelligence. An interesting topic in this chapter is the profile of the intelligence in which Gardner discusses how the intensity, diversity and locality of these potentials in an individual can result in spot-light or laser characteristics.

Chapter 3 provides a chronologic view of intelligence. Gardner tries to provide a simplified and standardized conception of the intelligence development across the life span of a human being. He also discusses the framework for the analysis and examination of the human intellect. This chapter is quite dry and lacks ardor. In my opinion, putting framework around something that has no boundary is rather counterintuitive.

Chapter 4 is the prelude of the educational impact of the intelligence. The very interesting topic in this section is the subject of "Multiple Representation of the Key Concepts". Resorting to the notion of multiple-intelligences, Gardner believes that there are numerous ways that an educator can approach a topic in pursuit of understanding. This methodology also helps students to think about a problem in a variety of ways, triggering the thought process in the most diverse form.

Chapter 5 is a pool of questions that individuals have asked Gardner regarding to his theories. Of special interest in this section is the topic of memory and its different faculties such as procedural memory, propositional memory, semantic memory, short and long-term memories. I believe this topic deserved more elaboration, or at minimum more references.
Favorite quote from this chapter:
"I often encounter the greatest resistance to this perspective when I speak to mathematicians or logicians. To these individuals, thinking is critical thinking, wherever you encounter it; if one knows how to be logical, one should be able to apply logic everywhere (And if you don't, life is hopeless !)".

Chapters 6 to 10 have heavy weights toward education. Of special interest is the chapter 8 and the topic on multiple entry point toward disciplinary understanding.
Gardner discusses how an informed educator can use various entry points, such as narrational, logical, quantitative, foundational, aesthetic, experimental and collaborative methods in approaching the topic. The examples given in this section are extremely valuable for all educators.

As you progress toward the end chapters, the modality of manuscript transitions toward ethics. To some extent, the progression of the thought process in this book is analogous to Gardner's perspective toward the subject; in his early life his motivation toward intelligence was mainly driven and influenced by cognitive sciences and psychometric studies, whereas his recent research and interest have roots in social impacts, ethics and humanity.

In summary, this book is an instant classic on the topic of multiple-intelligences, a must have book for the fireside at home.

Howard Gardner summarizes his mulitple intelligences theory first introduced in his 1983 book Frames of Mind. Gardner introduces a provisional acceptance of a ninth intelligence (Existential Intelligence--pondering deep, life questions) to add to the eight intelligences already established. Gardner updates his theory's relevance to education and to other arenas in society.

It was in 1983 that Howard Gardner first decided to challenge the established view of a monolithic intelligence with the book Frames of Mind. In that book, Gardner posited that there are (at least) seven relatively seperate and autonomous intelligences. And 25 years later, this theory is still setting the education world ablaze.

The discipline of psychology, however, has been a bit less enthusiastic. They, much more than educators, demand hard evidence in order for a theory claiming to be scientific is accepted as such. Is Garnder's theory testable? If so, has it undergone such testing? Can these intelligences (including 'musical' and 'naturalistic') be measured by objective standards? If not, is it an adequate substitute to the reigning model of 'general intelligence' which, with all its flaws, IS measurable in such a way?

In this book, Gardner sets out to expand upon his 25 year old theory and, in so doing, answer some of the preceeding questions. Some will be disappointed and some will be encouraged by his answers.

The first section of the book devotes itself largely to questions of MI Theory's methodological standing.

Several chapters - particularly towards the beginning of the book - seek to answer objections to MI theory. As to the question of whether the theory can be called scientific, Gardner reluctantly answers a "no." He writes MI theory "intermediary status" between a philosophy and a predictive science. He suggests, though, that it can be put in a similar category with plate tectonics and evolution, in the sense that neither theory is a predictive sceince in a falsifiable sense (which is mistaken, as both are tested by retrodictions and, in evolution's case, also by predictions). Further, Gardner admits that designing assessments for these intelligences has proved to be more than challenging and that he has given up the search for ways to assess them.

There is, though, a chapter devoted to detailing a promising new study put together by Project Spectrum, to test elementary schoolers on these seperate intelligences. They were tested (a) to see if the intelligences are interrelated or autonomous by investigating whether high scores in any one area correlate with high scores in any other. The reports are that the intelligences are, by in large, seperate - as Gardner predicted they would be. They also tested to see whether the student's strengths on the tests were echoed by parent and teacher reports gotten independently. (There was correlation, but not so much as to be conclusive).

The section that will be most useful to my fellow educators, however, will be the second section. For roughly 80 pages, Gardner expounds on his theory and its possible uses in the field of education.

Gardner is quite famous for his 'value free' stance here. He suggests that there are many, many uses for MI theory in education. He tries both in this book and elsewuere to refrain from too much prescription, acknowledging that educators probably know better than he how to apply the work of a cognitive psychologist to schools.

However, he is passionate about two things educationally in this book. First, he is very displeased at the 'high stakes testing' mentality that has been developed of late. Like the concept of 'general intelligence,' Gardner sees this as being a very 'one-size-fits-all' way of assessing, and probably mis-assessing, knowledge.

Gardner is also very passionate about making sure that we see the 'ends' of schooling as pluralistic. Consistent with the idea of Multiple Intelligences, we must strike a balance between making sure that everyone recieve a common education and making sure that everyone is able to pursue their own strengths, interests, and proclivities to the extent possible.

It is hard to disagree with much that Gardner says, particularly in this and the next section (where he takes a look at MI theory's applicability betyond education). Even as one who is a bit skeptical of whether MI theory can ever be a scientific one (and whether there might be bettter models of Intelligence, like that of Robert Sternberg), it is difficult not to come away with much admiration for Gardner. He obviously cares about education and comes to his conclusions out of balanced and rigorous thought.

This should be read by educators and those interested in the psychology of intelligence alike.

Work tapes, demos...don't be deceived, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman produce nothing but pure magic. Marvel at the quality of their 'rough' stuff, and the music that never made it. I had been trying to obtain a copy of this set (CD apparently discontinued) for ages; I was not disappointed. Obviously if you are reading this then you like/love Disney music, and this will only increase your appreciation of the beautiful, timeless lyrics and melodies . The accompanying book is excellent, through it you are given an idea of how work on the music for these three films proceeded. The inclusion of the original score to Aladdin is a real gem, and if you didn't already consider these three men geniuses....

This boxed set is INDISPENSABLE for any fan of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's work together, not to mention admirers of their Disney music and films in particular (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin). To hear the composer and lyricist developing what would become some of this generation's most beloved and widely known melodies sends chills down the spine (as does the demo track where Menken works through various iterations of the tune for the title song of "Beauty and the Beast" before finally coming to the best version - you can hear him make the breakthrough on tape.) The discs are inspiring for fans of the duo's work, and a terrific insight into how a great musical number for film or stage is crafted.

Ashman passed away long before his time, and with Little Shop of Horrors and these Disney films as his popular legacy collaborating with Menken, listeners are fortunate to find such a wealth of material here (for a similar "behind the scenes look on Little Shop of Horrors, check out the 2003 Broadway cast edition which features demo recordings as bonus tracks - Little Shop of Horrors (2003 Broadway Revival Cast))

Note that while Tim Rice is given equal billing, this set really is all about Ashman and Menken (Rice contributed to a handful of songs out of the four disc collection). This is an example of a Disney music collection done right, with four full discs to provide hours of listening (the Aladdin score disc isn't as long as the others, but the main discs are jam-packed).

Amazon does not generally carry this set in stock, so be sure to check their marketplace sellers for new copies; also note that Amazon has this collection listed at least three times on their site under different titles and each has different marketplace sellers (and pricing!) - aside from this listing, here are at least two of the alternate listings:

The Music Behind the Magic, the Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman & Tim Rice

WALT DISNEY RECORDS PRESENTS: THE MUSIC BEHIND THE MAGIC THE MUSICAL ARTISTRY OF ALAN MENKEN, HOWARD ASHMAN AND TIM RICE

If you adore the music of "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Aladdin", you will love this set. Besides final versions of most songs, it also contains work tapes and demos perfromed by the song writing team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. The music and the book that comes with it are gems. As a special treat, the origional score for "Aladdin" by Ashman and Menken is included. They paint a whole different feel for the film

The Music Behind The Magic is simply just that...magic! It doesn't matter whether you enjoy 'Disney' music or not; this collection is a must buy for any serious musical composer. By experiencing these tapes, you actually go behind the scenes to the creation of some of the most famous and magical songs ever written. Want to hear 'A Friend Like Me' in its demo version? How about 8 time Academy Award(R) winner Alan Menken playing around the piano trying to think of 'Arabian Nights'? This set not only includes the entire scores and songs to The Little Mermaid, B&B, and Aladdin (although some minor score cues are left out), but it also includes priceless work and demo versions of these beautiful and moving songs. Imagine hearing Alan on the piano humming the theme to a Whole New World before the song even had lyrics! Or what about Howard Ashman singing Poor Unfortunate Souls with lyrics that were cut from the movie. The book is a great addition, providing photos, great behind the scenes info, and the entire lyrics to all the songs in this collection. You'll not only enjoy the superior brillance of Mr. Menken, and the late Mr. Ashman, but you'll also learn some stuff about composing and writing worthy musical material. It took me months to get a hold of this set. Thank God for amazon.com...take advantage of it and purchase a piece of pure sophistication!

This is an exceptional short story with an intriguing plot that questions our moral sense. This story focuses on its main character, Satan, who constantly attacks our conscience claiming that it is our one weakness and that it will lead to our downfall.

This story traces the interactions between Satan, and Theodore, Seppi, and Nickolaus, three curious boys who eventually become dependent on Satan's visits. Satan captures the boys' attention with his magical abilities to create objects out of air and his cruelty towards humans. Throughout this story Satan attempts to help others by providing for them financial support or by just being considerate; however, all of his good intentions only cause more problems because he does not have a moral sense and believes that he is helping others when in reality he is hurting them more. Throughout this story Satan criticizes mankind and all of our flaws, claiming that with no moral sense, there are no sins

Satan is a physical representation of Mark Twain's beliefs and pessimistic view on life. Twain experienced many hardships, such as a failing health, financial loss, and the death of practically every member of his family, which helped to shape his literature to incorporate dark romanticism. This bleak life of his is seen in this story through the numerous deaths and overall cynical mood. Twain was heavily influenced by his past experiences that he incorporated many aspects of his life into this story. The main setting of this novella is in Eseldorf, Austria which is a representation of Hannibal, Missouri where Twain grew up. Both of these places have similar characteristics and people. Not only was Twain influenced by his hometown, but also by people he has met and by other pieces of literature. In this story, Father Peter represents Emperor Norton, an insane yet happy man that Twain met during a trip to San Francisco. Receiving many ideas from other dark romantic authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, Twain takes some of Hawthorne's ideas on life and mixes it with his own views. Theodore is also one of the main characters and he represents mankind. The interaction between Satan and Theodore represent Twain's criticism of man and how we are worthless because we have moral sense.

Twain conveys that humans are useless and powerless because our moral sense hinders us from accomplishing great things. This dark view is very intriguing because it presents a different viewpoint on life and keeps the readers engaged.

Overall this story is well written and has an excellent plot that presents a different perspective on life and questions man's motives. The only issue I have about this story is the length. It is categorized as a short story, but it is actually fifty pages long and sometimes difficult to read because the plot is so drawn out and stretched to fit these fifty long pages.

I love all the short stories in this book. I laughed, and cried over the fate we humans must face when we all look in the mirror. Some of the stories apply so easily to the current world situations.

Warning: DO NOT Read This Story Before Sleep!

Dark, mysterious, and terrifying are trivial descriptions of Mark Twain's "The Mysterious Stranger." Twain's cynical outlook on life is reflected in his depiction of human nature as the story advances. Set in 1590 Austrian village of Eseldorf, whose German translation means "stupid village," the reader already feels captivated by this strange etymology. In such a dreamy village with no strict class structure, no one has been taught to challenge authority since there has been none--yet. A handsome mysterious stranger introduces himself to the gullible Theodore and his friends, performing chilling miracles that amaze the kids who now think he is an "angel." And oh, did I forget to mention that this stranger calls himself Satan?

Before engaging in a lengthy discussion of the story's themes, an idea of the author's life is necessary to understand some of the horrid scenes in "The Mysterious Stranger." Mark Twain was not rich. He was one of the three survivors in his family, as his four other siblings died before reaching six years of age. His dad died when he was 11 and his brother in a steamboat accident not 8 years later. Twain's wife died after 34 years of marriage followed by his two dear daughters at their late twenties. In summary, by 1909, Twain was only left with a sister and a melancholic soul that is reflected in his famous writings.

With Twain's life in mind, it becomes clear why many scenes of death and torture exist in this short story. Satan creates humans out of clay but crushes them while announcing, "We angels cannot do bad, for we do not know what it is." It is simply ironic that a heavenly angel would do so, for his actions nullify his assertions. It is these ironies that Twain wants his readers to understand. Many critics have asserted that Twain agrees with Satan but only to a certain extent. We cannot deny our selfishness when we battle over territories and religion, but we must rebuke that we are "worse than animals," as Satan tells the kids.

In these 50 pages, Satan focuses only on three things: proving human's worthlessness, weakness, and immorality. Moral Sense is a major theme in this book, as Satan tries to prove that our possession of it, or our ability to differentiate between what is good and what is bad, is the main cause that we hate, fight, and kill. The irony here, however, is that Satan never discusses the opposite, namely our possession of moral sense as seen in such peace-making people as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi.

To entice the reader, Twain uses many elements of Dark Romanticism that fortify his mystical mood of the story. From the opening chapters, we see supernatural elements in Satan's creations. Later on, Twain discusses why we choose to declare war instead of peace, depicting our flaws and selfishness. Since all humans, according to Satan, are imperfect, then they are prone to sinning and falling. As seen in Satan's repetition of our failure in history, there can be no improvement since all we do is worsen. The mystical "miracles"--if you want to call them so--that Satan perform also represent the supernatural and ghostly elements of Dark Romanticism beliefs.

With bizarre and supernatural elements that immediately attract your mind and attention, with Twain's morbid perception of life that renders the story more terrifying, and with your curiosity of unveiling our undeniable flaws presented by Satan, I really believe that this short story is a worthwhile read that will keep you in your seat until you finish it.

Where this edition improves over the other edition of "The Mysterious Stranger and other Stories" is the inclusion of the stories "The Five Boons of Life" and Was it Heaven? Or Hell?". These short but satisfying add-ons alone are worth putting a few extra bucks in. The lead up nicely to the section, and are indispensible to anyone who enjoys reading the darker side of Twain's fiction.

~D