Stevens Books

This book from renowned picture book author and illustrator, Lynley Dodd, is one of her best and that is saying something as all of her picture books are great. This is appealing to small children and adults alike. Slinky Malinki is one of several characters who appear in many of LD's books. He is a cheeky and loveable pet cat who gets up to highjinks around the neighborhood. Highly recommended

Although a fun book to read to a child, not Lynley Dodd's best. The various cats' names are quite clever, and the last page is entertaining for a child who likes surprises. I was hoping for more extended rhymes and a more complex story (a la Slinky Malinki), but this one is not quite of the same calibre. Still, a good addition to a child's library.

Great book! My grandaughter loves all the Lynley Dodd books! Her books are charming and fun to read aloud!

This book is adorable. The rhyming text is fun to read aloud and the illustrations are hilarious. My 5 year old son LOVES Slinky Malinki and all the other Hairy MacLairy characters. Love that last page with Scarface Claw sneaking into the house after the other cats. :-)

Slinky Malinky shows a softer side in this delightful tale from the creator of Hairy Maclary. Slinky Malinky has been a thief in the night (SLINKY MALINKY) and a partner in wanton destruction (SLINKY MALINKY OPEN THE DOOR) but this time the long-tailed cat shows compassion to others.

Slinky Malinky exits the quiet house via a catflap. Joining up with nine other cats (also seen in other Lynley Dodd books) they gather on a crumbling wall. But along comes Scarface Claw, the toughest tom in town, and the resulting howls and screeches awaken the neighborhood. Scarface Claw runs off and Slinky Malinky welcomes the other cats to the warm hearth waiting at home on the other side of the catflap.

This book is a delight and reminds me of the sweetness of HAIRY MACLARY AND ZACHARY QUACK. Lynley Dodd uses fun lyrical language and delightful artwork to tell the tale. If you have enjoyed other Slinky Malinky books, or any others from Lynley Dodd, this tale of the reformed feline should provide additional delight.

The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball is about Jackie Robinson overcoming the struggle of racism. In college Jackie Robinson was a great athlete who was good at a lot of sports. No black was allowed in the major leagues. But one day Branch Rickey asked Jackie to be in the major leagues and then that started the Noble experiment. At first the fans yelled racial slurs. In 1947 he became Rookie of the year. I recommend the book Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball, to any baseball fan because it tells all about Jackie�s career and struggles.

The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man In Baseball is about a black man who never gave up. Although Jackie Robinson was a great college athlete he couldn't play in the Major Leagues because he was black. This was very unfair but one luckily day Jackie met a man named Branch Rickey who thought black men should be able to play baseball with white men. Branch Rickey was the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and was willing to let Jackie on the team. This made Jackie very pleased. However, the Brooklyn Dodgers were not very kind to Jackie. But he lived through all this and won many different titles. I think you should read this book because it tells a true story about an African American hero!

Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man In Baseball is a biography about how he became the first African-American to play in the MLB. It starts out in Jackie's childhood in Georgia. When he was a kid he was good at all different kinds of sports such as basketball and track. When he played sports he always picked the little kids who weren't as great as everyone else so he could help them improve. Every kid on the block wanted to play on his team.
I think Margaret Davidson's message was you can do what ever you set your mind to. Meaning if you want to be the first woman in the MLB you can. You just have to be ready for what's in store for you just like Jackie.
I liked this book a lot because baseball is my favorite hobby. I also like to read about some of my favorite baseball players. I loved this so much because I can relate to a lot of this book. And I got to learn all about the great Jackie Robinson.

The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man in Baseball is about the struggles of one black man who never gave up. Jackie Robinson was a great athlete in college and wanted to go to the Major's but they wouldn't let him because he was black. The general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey took a chance on Jackie. Rickey said would let him play if he didn't fight back over racial slurs and attacks. This was known as the "Noble Experiment". Jackie's team looked down on him and fans harassed him because of the color of his skin. At last everybody realized Robinson was a great guy and that the color of a person's skin doesn't mater. In the end Jackie Robinson won the admiration of all American people. I think that you should read this book because it shows someone with great courage.

The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball is about the struggles of one black man who never gave up. Jackie Robinson was a great athlete in college but he couldn't play Major League baseball because of the color of his skin. When Jackie Robinson played on the Brooklyn Dodgers he was part of the "Noble Experiment" and his teammates were unfriendly. Also fans yelled slurs at Jackie. In 1947 Jackie Robinson won Rookie of the year and the admiration of the American people. I recommend this book because it tells how Jackie Robinson was a great athlete and a brave person.

R.T. Stevens has done an absolutely wonderful job of this fictional novel of the Imperial Family! The main characters are John Kirby, a British officer, and Grand Duchess Olga Nicolaevna, the eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. The Summer Day Is Done is such a charming book and so difficult to put down - it makes you want to smile, and yet at the same time, so tragic that it is quite easy to find yourself in tears. The portrayal of the Imperial Family in this book, I find, is much better than a lot of other books on the family (fiction or non-fiction).

Overall, The Summer Day Is Done is definitely worth a read and one to treasure for a lifetime.

I just finished this book, and although I knew the hero and heroine would not end up together, I couldn't but the book down. The description of the characters are vivid and makes you love them dearly. Many things have been written about the Romanovs, and this book give us a glimps of what could very well have been.

The Summer Day is Done is one of three superb books I have read in my lifetime. It moved me to tears, an unusual response from me while reading. I read it over twenty years ago and only two other books since then have touched me so deeply: The Clan of the Cavebear, and The Time Traveler's Wife. There are "must-reads" that I purchase and enjoy, such as the Harry Potter books and James Patterson books. But this book has stayed with me for a lifetime.

This is my favourite book ever! The love between Grand Duchess Olga and Mr. Kirby is very sweet and touching, even though it is a very unlikely match. I also loved the Imperial Family because they were all so united and loving. The end is very sad though, because we know that the Romanovs were murdered in 1918. But still, the love continues in the heart, even though Olga's life ended so early and tragically. But overall, this book is excellent and I recommend it for EVERYONE.

This is a historical novel. Granted. But it is much more.
The author, Robert Tyler Stevens, grasps the heart of what REAL Russian people are about, as well as the classic British persona with its keen, clever humour.
But there is more afoot in this novel. Stevens gives the reader a highly believable peek into the very english-speaking and english-living lives of the Nicholas Romanov family--even though they were technically Russian. The children: Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Aleksey all make the reader laugh and cry with equal intensity. This is a huge work with very very reslistic glimpses of a wonderful family, who were totally devoted to themselves and to Russia. Utterly Superb!

great book... its up there with hagakure, book of five rings ... i like it so much because it gave me a good example of what you can acomplish with budo his story was very clear and understandable at same time admirable and unbealiveable.

Other than the constant referances to buddism, this was a great book. I could not put it down for the first few chapters. This greatly inspired my kumdo(kendo) training & teaching. Every traditional martial artist should read this.

This is not a detailed biogtaphy, nevertheless, the author gives you a good overview of Yamaoka Tesshu's life. Yamaoka lived during a time when Japan was moving toward industrialization, and we get a glimpse of key historical moments during the transition.
There are numerous accounts that give insight to Yamaoka's mindset and character. Thus, no matter what art the individual reader may practice, Yamaoka's approach to training will reinforce the ideals of the serious-minded.

Unlike other books where certain martial arts figures are ridiculously protrayed like gods, Steven's book has humorous stories and Tesshu comes across like a normal human being who achieved everything throigh his diligent search and practice.

The book's strong point...it inspires hard training.

This is a very well written and entertaining account of Tesshu, one of the last samurai, a retainer in the Emperor's service who lived during the period of Japan's transition from feudalism to a modern, industrialized state. Tesshu was a man of great martial skills and equally great compassion who was always poor because he gave away most of his considerable stipend to support his poor and starving relatives, friends, and innumerable homeless (human as well as animals) that he took in and fed, often saving them from almost certain starvation. As a result, he often went without food one or two days a week, preferring to give it to those in even greater need. A devout Buddhist at a time when most Japanese had long since adopted Shinto, Tesshu was also an accomplished calligrapher and poet. Overall, a very readable account of a great man who remained loyal to the old ways and traditions even as they were crumbling around him.

I bought this book used at the recomendation of my sensei. Mine is a tattered copy and I treasure it. I was suspect about buying it initially because I'm not a great fan of John Stevens' work in general he's good but tends to be a bit diefying. But that was not the case with this book I've re-read it so many times that it is truely in tatters...so I am happy to see it has been re printed. I will buy I hope you do to.

This review pertains to the 2004 hardcover "Phoenix Edition" reprint. I must also confess that at this moment I have only made my way through half of volume 1. I feel it necessary to give potential buyers a "heads up" about this set: it is, as described, a massive work of mid-1800s scholarship. It was assumed at that time that anyone who would be reading such a work would be able to read Latin as well as Old High German, Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, and a smattering of other medeival languages.
The author spends most of his time NOT telling mythical stories as the curious dabbler might expect, but instead chasing down obscure linguistic clues imbedded in medeival texts, place names, and quaint figures of speech in an attempt to reconstruct some sort of Germanic mythology (for which documentation is lacking) from its hypothetical parallels in Norse mythology (for which documentation is abundant) and the mythologies / religious beliefs / superstitions of surrounding races such as the Saxons, the Gauls, even the Greeks and Romans. This process is dull, dry, tedious, and to someone not fluent in Classical and Germanic languages, incomprehensible. If you love philology you will love these books, but if you want to be thrilled by tales of the Old Gods, stay away!! Herr Grimm does not tell many stories; all the cool stuff is quoted from his sources, and whatever of that isn't in Old High German is in Latin. _Untranslated_ Latin. BEWARE!!
Don't get me wrong; I do not regret owning this set, and I have every intention of finishing it - I'm just saying it's going to be unexpectedly difficult for me, and I can only recommend it for those with a Serious Interest in the subject. The information Grimm presents here is dense and staggeringly thorough - and it is, in a way, a very enjoyable read: the book has its own soporific charm which provides an almost physical pleasure from reading it. An entire mysterious world of unknown language and dimly-comprehended episodes from Latin chroniclers yawns before me. Should be a fun trip.
Nevertheless, my review must bear a mere 3 stars as a warning to those who only want to be thrilled by the mighty adventures of Thor: look elsewhere. This is not the right book for you to start.

This is thoroughful and extremely good edition of the phenomenal book. Naturally, several scolars later made some corrections on some subjects. Nevertheless Jacob Grimm's work inspired H.Heine, R.Wagner and many other men of genius. One cannot overestimate the 'Teutonic Mythology' even now. In a way it's a monument of human imagination, of both oral and written creations made during the centuries by the individuals as well as by the folks. And it still be and will be an inexhaustible source for our both knowledge and imagination as well.
Only one thing I would dare to suggest. Many fragments J.Grimm quotes in Latin, Greek etc... For the future editions I would translate all of them even it could take much space - up to an additional small volume. So, this unique book would be understood by much wider circle of the readers.

Yes, a few years ago I plunked down the over a $100 cost for this recently put back in print four volume set. I don't regret spending the money. Criticisms I have you have to wade through a lot of linguistics/philology stuff and for whatever reason, even though this is supposed to be the English translation, there is still a fair amount of material in German and Latin. But there is all kinds of great stuff in this. Not for the beginner or someone with just a casual interest in the subject matter but this is a must have for any serious student of northern European culture, folklore or Odinsim. What is it about so many books written in the 1800's being superior to 99% of whats been published in the past 50 years?

This is required reading for the true student! Can be a difficult read at times, but the knowledge and world view contained therein make it a treasure!

So Dover Publications has now (2004) reprinted "Teutonic Mythology" under the "Phoenix" imprint, apparently in two formats (bindings). I look at my copies of the previous (1966) Dover paperback edition of James Stallybrass's 1883-1888 translation of Jakob Grimm's "Deutsche Mythologie," with the four volumes bound in different colors, and I feel terribly old.

They were purchased at less than a tenth of the publisher's current asking price (well, one volume was a gift, but I'm looking at the cover prices), and I feel grateful that I bought (three of) them in the early 1970s. At the time, that still seemed a lot of money for paperbacks, even trade paperbacks, but I have had decades of use out of the set, which is still holding up well. (Dover then still used signature-stitched bindings and high-quality paper; their claim that their paperback books would last as well as hardcover editions was well founded. If Dover does reissue them in paperback, they will probably be less durable and, inevitably, more expensive.)

Read with care, and with frequent reference to modern text editions, translations, and studies, the "Teutonic Mythology" is still a mine of information on the religious ideas, customs, and common metaphors and figures of speech (supposed to be fossilized beliefs) of the ancient and early medieval Germanic peoples (the continental Germans, the Dutch and Flemings, the Scandinavians, and the Anglo-Saxons), and much else in medieval literature. Everyone knows the Grimms from the fairy-tale collection, but individually and together they wrote and edited much more. (For some reason, Jakob Grimm [1785-1863] almost always appears in English as Jacob, but his brother Wilhelm [1786-1859] never seems to become William.)

The "Mythology" in particular is constantly cited in the older secondary literature, so it is nice to be able to find such references. On many occasion it has clarified for me an obscure argument carried out by long-dead scholars with page-references to Grimm's then-definitive treatment of the issue (although sometimes I have had to work out the relation of the pagination of an unseen German edition to the English text -- not fun).

More important, for my purposes, it was a handy reference for what would have been readily available knowledge in the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the early twentieth. They are very useful indeed, if you are interested in Richard Wagner's versions of Germanic myth and legend, or those of William Morris. Or, particularly since this is a translation, if you want to see what was available to the young E.R. Eddison, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, among many others.

(For that specific purpose, the only thing really comparable in scope they might have read was Benjamin Thorpe's three-volume "Northern Mythology" of 1851, which was briefly available in a one-volume omnibus paperback from Wordsworth a few years ago. In terms of information available to its learned author, Thorpe's book, which I have reviewed, was largely a less systematic English Grimm, with more extensive summaries of Norse sources, and some excellent additional evidence from folktales. It is not quite so dated, but mainly because it was not so ambitious; whole topics aren't even mentioned, so Thorpe couldn't have made any mistakes about them. For the intellectual and cultural background, Andew Wawn's recent (2000) "The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-Century Britain" may become the standard reference.)

Thomas Shippey in particular has pointed out several places where Tolkien invented Middle-earth "solutions" to passages where Grimm expressed confusion over contradictory data. Tolkien would eventually have gone directly to the German text; Lewis mentions reading Grimm in German, but seems to mean the Fairy Tales ("Kinder- und Hausmaerchen").

In addition, Grimm's appendices (in the fourth volume of the translation) assemble an extraordinary number of important non-literary medieval (and later) texts in one place; genealogies, spells, penitential guides, lists of superstitions, dialect terms. Although as editions they are antiquated, having them in one place proved convenient on a great many occasions. (For example, Valerie Flint's 1991 "The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe" cites later editions of several of them, none readily accessible to me.)

Given the present price, although I'm delighted that Dover has brought the whole set back into print simultaneously for the first time in years, I'm not urging everyone interested in Germanic myth and folklore to rush to buy it. (Even with the current -- November 2004 -- Amazon discount.)

And not just because of the price. This is a monument of scholarship from the first half of the nineteenth century (1835; second edition 1844); almost everything in it has to be viewed with at least a little suspicion. Grimm already recognized that there were problems. A good part of volume four consists of additions and corrections to the text, which he had hoped to incorporate in a third, and fully revised, edition. (His publisher instead reprinted the three-volume second edition text in 1854, and called it the "Third Edition." A posthumous editor arranged the notes in order, to be printed as a supplement in a "Fourth Ediiton," and Stallybrass followed this practice, instead of tampering with the original.)

Throw in the expense, and there is reason for suggesting other places to start. I mention this age factor because the amount of antique misinformation I have seen gleaned from it, and presented as current, sometimes explicitly dated 1966, is a little frightening. And I expect to see more examples, with the 2004 date of the Dover Phoenix edition in the citation.

Stallybrass called his translation "Teutonic Mythology" to reflect that Grimm was using "Deutsche" in the widest possible sense, instead of a nationalistic one; the more recent term would be "Germanic." But for almost a century, beginning not long after after Jacob Grimm completed his work treating *all* the Germanic-speaking peoples as a continuum, the best surveys and handbooks, and almost all serious scholarship, carefully distinguished Northern (Scandinavian) from Southern (continental German) evidence. Surveys in particular were generally restricted to one or the other; usually "Norse Mythology," with a few citations from the continent. While some of Grimm's comparisons -- or the conclusions drawn from them -- were of dubious legitimacy, denying the validity of such comparisons *in advance* pre-determined the nature of the argument. Apparent exceptions generally quickly reveal themselves as second-hand Grimm. Those scholars who did survey the whole field were often concerned to prove that the medieval Scandinavian texts were late and unreliable compared to nineteenth-century German folklore. (If it looks "primitive" [crude], it must *be* primitive [early].)

The closest thing to a scholarly modern successor, the two-volume "Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte" by Jan de Vries, was severely criticized when it appeared in the mid-twentieth-century for returning to Grimm's comprehensive approach. (The author was under the influence of Dumezil's then-recent work on the original unity of Indo-European mythic and religious concepts, and the controversy has moderated with time and familiarity.) Unhappily, de Vries's "History of Old-Germanic Religion" is still not available in English. But there are substitutes in English which, taken together, are almost as comprehensive, as well as much more reliable than Grimm alone.

For the serious-minded beginner, John Lindow's "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs" or Andy Orchard's "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend" (and variant titles) are far better and more reliable guides to the Scandinavian evidence, with Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" filling in some of the continental material, along with copious linguistic information reflecting an additional century and a half of research. I would strongly urge anyone new to the field to have at least one or two of these at hand whenever Grimm is being consulted; definitely Simek on matters linguistic, if possible (the book is currently out of print, although a reprinting of the paperback is scheduled for Spring 2006). All three (which I have reviewed separately; I call attention to some of Simek's shortcomings, but his book is mostly first-rate) have extensive bibliographies. Some of Lindow's extended articles come closest to Grimm's chapter-length treatises.

However, when all is said and done, there is something to be said for these four antiquated volumes. Like Aristotle, Jakob Grimm produced a "premature synthesis" of knowledge, and, as with Aristotle, even the errors of a first-class mind are worth pondering. And a lot of it *is* dead on right.

At some point "Teutonic Mythology" should be consulted by anyone interested in Germanic studies, or medieval literature, or folklore studies, or comparative mythology -- if only as an act of piety. Having hardcover and library-bound editions available may make this effort more likely than it has been in recent years. And maybe it will, sooner or later, be back in paperback form.

Ruth Stevens' Trade Show and Event Marketing has proven to be a very useful book with many good ideas. As a Marketing representative who has worked in both the Tech Industry and for Consumer Products companies I have had the opportunity to attend a wide variety of trade shows, ranging from annual Comdex and CES shows in Las Vegas, to ECRM, NACS, and GMDC shows around the country. When you are dealing with such high costs and logistical problems at these shows you can tend to feel overwhelmed. But authors like Ruth Stevens have helped to pave the way, making our paths to trade show success a little more pleasant, by way of communicating a thoughtful approach to difficult problems. Good work!
Review by: Adam Platts, Northridge

Completely comprehensive on every aspect of trade shows and event marketing. Whether you are part of show management or an exhibitor this book is a solid reference. Even if you are seasoned at trade show and event marketing - you will learn something from this book.

Not until I dug into the case histories did I realize how truly valuable this book is. These punchy examples drive home point after point with clarity that makes all other how-to books I've read on this subject pale by comparison. "Put Ruth in Your Booth" could be its subtitle.

Ruth has hit all the right buttons in this book. As a trade show consultant, too many of my clients focus on the display and event on the show floor, neglecting the pre-show and post-show part of the medium. When you take Ruth's well-documented book literally and plan, promote, you will indeed profit. Especially with proper post-show lead development. I am sending copies of this one to my best clients and prospects.

If you are in marketing and you exhibit at trade shows, this book may change your behavior forever. Not only does it provide in-depth information about what trade shows can do and how they operate, but it also explains the financial structure you should put in place to determine whether participating in a trade show is worth your while financially. That may be bad news for corporate marketers who prefer to unpack their booth, buy the coffee and flowers, and hand out literature.
But if you want to turn a trade show appearance into a truly special corporate event, author Ruth Stevens has a game plan for you. Her book includes sample budgets, case studies, expense spread sheets, lead generation forms, checklists, survey ideas and a great appendix listing sources of additional information. It explains everything you need to know about the opportunities that trade shows offer and how you can use them to advance your marketing goals. We highly recommend this book to marketing managers of business-to-business companies who want to start getting solid returns from special events.

I loved these books as a kid over 30 years ago. They have a perfect combination for a young girl - a club with it's own clubhouse (without being a gang), adventures, mysteries, a hint of teen romance. Excellent. I read and reread all of these as a kid. I was excited to see that they are being reprinted. I've started buying them for my friends children.

Just a warning note: the original author, Julie Campbell, is much better than the later author.

I was delighted with the boxed set of Trixie Beldon-these are all early books actually written by Julie Campbell. The stories are the orignial stories and not revised to make them current. It is my hope that my grandaughters will enjoy them and learn about life before television and computers. The books contain the orginal drawings as they appeared in the 1950s. I used to buy these books with my allowance from the the Dimestore (another relic that no longer exists). Nancy Drew was just perfect where Trixie was not a classic beauty, had faults and often got in trouble for her temper. The author describes both Trixie and her wealthy girl friend, Honey Wheeler with much detail including how they dressed, expressions used (e.g. Gleeps!), and females in assertive roles.

I've read them all - I own them all. Trixie Belden has been one of my favorites since I was very young.

I started reading Trixie Belden books when I was about 10 years old. I borrowed old copies from my mothers friend who had them all from when she was a girl. I knew that I had to have them for my daughter that I would one day have. They are fun, fast, and captivating for any young girl.

Trixie Belden is a welcome reliefs to all kid mystery lovers! Trixie Belden's life isn't perfect(who's life is?)and just that fact makes the book better to read! She's fun loving and hates house work,my favorite Trixie Belden is the first one where she meets Jim and Honey(and to think! She thought she was going to have a BORING Summer!?),in the book you see her love for helping people and her knack for solving mysteryies shine through by the time you're done with the book(s)! She's impulsive and headstrong making her books irestible to read,I would recomend these books to ALL ages!

If you are interested in writing musical theater, you must have this book. It is inspirational and instructive. I have several books on musical theater, but this one is head and shoulders above them. Very, very, good!

There is no book available now that tells you everything you need to know to write a musical, but there are several out now that can collectively give one a very good idea of how to go about it. Latest in the field is WRITING MUSICAL THEATER by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus and Cohen have written a very useful book that can at least get you started. As the authors themselves say, there is no better way to learn than to actually do it and to keep doing it. Other books cover some of the same material, but where this book really has something new to say is in the section dealing with the music.

The most daring section of the book (and perhaps the most useful) is the part where they actually set out to write two new shows for illustrative purposes. One is an adaptation; the other is an original. Their goal was not to create great works of art, but to show how to go about writing a musical. Neither of their examples is going to set the world on fire. In the real world they would in all likelihood be flops, but they brilliantly illustrate the practical problems that arise and some possible solutions. (Bravi, guys, and thanks.)

My only real quibbles with the book are in the bibliography where they list A CLASS ACT, CLOSER THAN EVER and STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW as important musicals. (I would love to know by what logic they arrived at those pronouncements.) They also list Johnny Mercer as an important lyricist of theatre music (none of his really good work was written for the theatre and much of his reputation is a result of self-promotion through his ownership of Capitol Records) and Dorothy Fields is not mentioned. Nor do they place Sheila Davis's brilliant THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING on the recommended reading list. (I consider it The Bible of lyric writing!) They do not place Bernard Grebanier's PLAYWRITING on that list either. (There is no better analysis of what makes a plot anywhere.) But despite these quibbles, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to the aspiring musical writer. It is an excellent place to start.

I've read many of the other books about writing musical theatre, and this is hands-down the best one. Not only is it thorough and informative, but it is the only book to my knowledge that has in-depth advice about the actual music element. This is an essential read for anyone writing a musical, or anyone who is curious about how they are constructed.

This book is divided in sections, and explains more about the actual creative process than any other similar book. The authors provide helpful examples and honest advice, and they are not at all about self-promotion like the other leading book on the subject. This book will be as helpful to experienced writers as it will be to novices.

This is a first class book; well worth the money. I'm writing my first musical, and I got many many tips and ideas. It was very helpful to watch the authors create their own new musicals, so that I could observe some of the process. It would be helpful for the reader to be very familiar with a broad set of musicals, or be willing to do some research; the authors draw comparisons to other shows throughout the book. Most I knew, but a few I did not. They seem to love Sondheim (thankfully I saw "George" the week before). They crack a bit on Les Mis - one of my fav shows. Outstanding book.

Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus have written a wonderful guide to writing musical theater appropriately title WRITING MUSICAL THEATER. The book is invaluable not only for the aspiring composer, lyricist, and book writer but also for any lover of America's great art form who wants to know just how a show is put together. The experience of the authors (both active practitioners and educators) is evident on every page. I can heartily recommend this book to the student and the aficionado.

This is a fantastic book but I don't think most people would want to spend nearly $500 for a copy. I was able to find a copy on AbeBooks (in Germany) and had it shipped to the U.S. for less than $50 total. If interested try AbeBooks or Alibris. I hope all lovers of Tanguy's work can get a copy. Even if you can only get a German language text version the color plates and reproductions are worth the purchase!

I purchased this as a Christmas present to myself this year. It has become my favorite gift. I love Tanguy's paintings! Along with Miro', he was my favorite Surrealist. It's good to see some pictures of the man and his life. Nice illustrations. Informative.

This is a long-overdue volume, fully and gorgeously illustrated, covering the life and works of, in Breton's words, "the purest surrealist." The reproductions are masterful and directly relevant to Tanguy's development, while the commentaries remain truly informative without foundering in the numbing dryness so typical of this type of overview. Tanguy's fantastic, evocative visions have not received anything near the attention lavished on artistic compatriots such as Dali, perhaps because the former's near-eremetic lifestyle seemed to put his graphic revelations of the subconscious totally beyond the pale of rational understanding. This book finally provides a clear passageway into Tanguy's universe.

I am by no means an "ART" person, but there are a few artists that tickle my untrained eye, and Tanguy is on top of my list.
This is a comprehensive and insightful look into the works of this underappreciated surreal artist. Move over DALI here comes Tanguy! Get this item while you can!!!

No library of 20th century art would be complete without this splendid overview of the life and work of French-American artist Yves Tanguy. The background and technical information is thouroughly researched and wonderfully written, and the illustrations, including the flawless color plates of the paintings, are sumptious and wonderfully reproduced. A very well-designed and well-made book, too. Buy it!

This book, although in a small pocket sized format, is an excellent source of inspiration for things to do before high school is over and you ask yourself "Why did i never take a roadtrip with friends?" or "Why did i ever have that fundraiser for my local SPCA i promised myself i would organize?" As someone who is about to graduate high school, i feel this book covers all those things i still want to do and gives tips on how to do them. I determined my blood type, cooked a three course meal and even hosted my own film festival. These were just some of the suggestions from the book. I plan on giving this too all my friends!

Before I read this book, I though High-School was going to be a depressing four years full of Bullies and beer breath that I would just have to block out and bear. But now, thanks to this magnificent read, I have things to do, ways to connect with people--even conversation pieces if your desperate. This book takes everything that should be good about highschool and serves it to you with a side of onion rings. A must have for a bored teen.

97 things to do before you finish high school
By Cindy
This book provides eye opening information which shows you how to prepare your self for a personal development like. How to create a journal, how to look closely to a work of art this kind of things relate to you and teaches you how to improve or prepare your self for the future. These are things that most people don't think about in high school.
This book covers all the most significant things that you can relate, to and it is really interesting how things have there own way of teaching. Young people would really appreciate reading this book because everything would make sense and it will be way easier to try to do something when you have confidence.
Before I even read this book I never thought I would ever do something that could embarrassed me, like confess to a crush. Come on, a girl like me would never ask a guy out, but now that I have read that section in the book and learned me that every one should have confidence and trust them self's. You really don't loose anything and you'll get it over with. Buy this book! It is a great guide for teenagers.

As a teen myself, I know (especially during the summer) how hard it can be simply to find meanful activities to fill your days when all you ant to do is catch up on lost sleep. I really enjoyed 97 Things simply because the activites listed in it are realistic and hold great potential for a fun or meaningful experience, whether by yourself or with friends (trust me, I tried both). 97 Things's condensed form and pure practicality make it a great summer handbook or otherwise. Great companion for any middle through high-schooler!

I absolutely enjoyed this book. There were so many ideas about small things that make the high school experience more fulfilling that I haven't even thought about. Some of the things in this book I have already done and I have already recommended this book to a friend. It was a lot of fun to think about how meaningful a lot of the things that you do before you graduate high school really are. And the not doing of some of these things are the things that a lot of people regret not doing later in life.
Lisa Macklin , Age 16, Ny