Warner Books

This story is about family relations--showed the good and the bad. It's a touching love story about a 15-yr. old Holy Roller con-preacher's daughter who got pregnant by a Catholic boy and was thrown out by her family who went to live with grandparents. It was enjoyable reading.

Dorothy Garlock is my fav. I have read ALL OF HER BOOKS. THIS IS ONE OF MY FAV. It has been a while since I have read this book but it is sooo romantic and wonderful, couldn't put it down!!! I am actually thinking of reading it again. I love when the leads have a history. It adds depth and meaning to the story! HOPE YOU ENJOY AS MUCH AS I DID!!!!

This is one great book!!! The romance is sizzling, and the characters are unforgetable!! I couldn't put this book down, and am now anxious for my next Dorothy Garlock book!

Tension and excitement are found on every page, as Letty and Mike fall in love, then lose each other due to Letty's father. When Letty - fifteen, pregnant, and terrified - seeks out her grandparents that she doesn't even know, in hopes they will take her in until Mike finds her, you can feel the fear with every word Ms. Garlock writes. Throughout the story, you feel all the growing pains of Letty as she becomes a woman and mother.

Mike Dolan comes home from working in the logging camp to hearing that Letty has become ill and died at her grandparent's farm. Mike begins a reckless life when joining the war, and when he finally gets out... decides to visit Letty's gravesite, hoping he'll be able to move on. Only instead of a gravesite for his dear Letty, he finds out she is alive... and with another last name... could she actually be alive?? ... and is she married???

In addition, the story includes murder and threats from Letty's family after many years... these items will keep you turning the pages!

This is a touching story, and if the romance doesn't draw you in... the relationship of Mike Dolan with his son, Patrick, will. Great story... and as always with Ms. Garlock, great selection of characters!!!

I think Dorothy Garlock's books could be rated on separate items e.g. time setting, characters, plot, descriptions. Ribbon in the Sky I thought:
The setting: great
The characters: interesting
The plot: good
The descriptions: excellent.
I left the story a little sad for people that read and quoted scripture yet knew nothing of forgiveness, repentance or unity.

This book was by far the most romantic, exciting, and wonderful book I have ever read. Dorothy Garlock is a fantastic story teller. Her characters are great people especially the men. This is not something that you normally find with other romance books. If you don't read this book and get excited when they finally find each other, then you are not human. Take my advice, buy and READ this book!

I think our closest modern writer to the great Anthony Trollope is Susan Howatch. While "The Rich are Different" and "Sins of the Fathers' (really parts I and II of the same novel) were annoyingly packaged as romance novels, referring to Howatch as a romance writer is like calling a hurricane a disturbance in the weather. At 1400 pages, Rich/Sins certainly has its romantic elements (sometimes to a fault) but the characters and plot are so richly drawn, which makes these far more than standard romance novels.

Spanning over 45 years (1922-1967) the story takes place through the first-person narratives of 10 of the key characters (two - Dinah and Cornelius - narrate twice). This narrative device, which is also used to great advantage in Howatch's later novel, "The Wheel of Fortune," provides the reader with penetrating insight into the inner voice of the character, but also reveals how each truly feels about the others. The author stays loyal throughout to some basic themes: the trappings of wealth and power, how the past tends to repeat itself, how one can't escape the past, and her two favorites: revenge and redemption (the same themes are explored in "The Wheel of Fortune"). The characters that we meet (including the two principles: Paul and Cornelius)can be both quite exhilarating and frustrating: we cringe at some of the reprehensible decisions they make, but in the end, I think we can understand (or even sympathize) with most, if not all of them. For instance, can't one certainly understand how a parent might do quite unsavory things if s/he truly feels it's in the best interest of his/her child? We cheer when someone gets his revenge, and later on too, when he, himself, gets his comeuppance.

Sometimes Susan Howatch can be too heavy handed in her constant reminders that the present has links to the past. Also, I found some of the sections a little dull(especially in "The Rich Are Different"). However, this 1400 page novel kept my interest and made me think about the characters, which is why I think the books together easily deserve four stars.

Howatch puzzles me, her novels look like run of the mill pulp fiction best sellers to judge by the covers but once you start to read them you discover a formidable intelligance. Why doesn't this author have the reputation her skills entitle her to, she is easly up there with Drabble, Murdoch and other Doyens of the British novel.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. It took me a while to actually pick it up and start reading it, but three pages in, I knew I was hooked.

Other reviews mention that this book is a modern re-telling of the story of Cleopatra's affairs with Caesar and Antony, so I won't go into that too much here, except to add that it's a neat conceit, and Howatch works these plot details into the novel flawlessly. There were several moments when I smiled or chuckled to myself when I noticed something I remembered from I, Claudius or The Lives of the Caesars.

However, even if you don't know or don't care about ancient history, this is a gripping, surprisingly fast-paced, incredibly well-written novel. Dinah Slade is a fascinating woman in her own right, rather than a mere shadow of one of history's most infamous characters. Ditto Paul Van Zale, Steve Sullivan, and Cornelius, all of whom leap off the page and seem right at home in the America and England of the early 20th century. The men and women who populate the world of the novel are driven by the same things that drive us: greed, pride, love, lust, ambition, the need for security, and the hope of a better life for their children.

To me, the most fascinating aspect of the book, and the one that might have been the easiest thing for Howatch to mess up, is the fact that the story is divided into six sections, each narrated by a different character (Dinah Slade gets two.) The varying personalities all come to life, giving us sometimes overlapping accounts of the plot line, all of which add up to one heck of a great story.

I just read that the saga continues in The Sins of the Fathers, which I'm going to purchase right now.

I've ready this book about 6 times for the past 10 years and it always delights. It didn't hit me, until I started studying ancient Rome that it is the very story of Caesar and Cleopatra, but set in Wall Street, New York (as powerful as ancient Rome!) The story begins identical to the first meeting of Caesar and Cleopatra...just as Cleopatra was brought to Caesar rolled in a carpet and carried by her faithful servant...so is Diana Slade brought to Paul Van Zale concealed in a cart and rolled in by her trusty Geoffry. Paul's wife is barren, just as history says that Caesar's wife Calpurnia was barren. Guess what else? Paul has epilepsy - who else can you think of that historians believe ALSO had epilepsy? Paul's right-hand man Steve is described exactly as Marc Antony...burly, surly and with dynamic charm - guess what? Diana and Steve find an even greater love than Diana and Caesar...oops I mean Paul Van Zale...Paul is assasinated by the son of his ex-mistress (If you know your history...you know that Brutus is the son of Caesar's ex-mistress Servilia...) Paul leaves his fortune to his cunning, clever, sickly nephew Cornelius. Who also mirrors Octavian (Augustus Caesar in later years) Octavian becomes Diana's bitter enemy and vows to take from her the one thing that she holds most dear...Mallingham her ancestral home... Just as Octavian vowed to take Egypt from Cleopatra. Steve is hounded by Cornelius much as Antony was hounded by Octavian and finally dies a virtual suicidal death...When Cornelius tries to take Diana back to New York (mmmh, seems to me that Octavian wanted to bring Cleo to Rome...) Diana gets the last laugh. Paul's son also dies in his early years just as Caesarian did. Paul's only daughter Vicky married Paul's enemy just as Caesar married his daughter to Pompei...and Guess what? She dies during her pregnancy just as Julia did! I can go on and on, but you get the picture. In my youth, I considered this a truly original masterpiece...but I now know that the entire story is the most famous in history and that it did not come from Ms. Howatch's incredibly imaginitive mind. It does not mean this book isn't worth reading...It Is!! We'll just have to forgive her for borrowing from history. I have ready many of her books and they are all wonderful. I usually read them many times.

I read this book in 1977 & still remember it as a great book. It is quite long, 658 pages but it is very hard to put down. It is intertaining & interesting. I know I will be reading it over & over again.

if you are afraid to be seen crying. I read this book during my commute on the train but was so engrossed I did not care if I was being watched. I was so touched by this book I have given to all my dearest friends with the warning that they will be touched. I have worked with social services and court systems in two states. Yes - this may be the work of Ms. Pappano's creativity - but there are parts that ring very true. I fell in love with each child, Allana, Josie and Brendan. All very different believable little personalities striving for one common goal - to keep their little family together with a little help from devine intervention. This is not just a holidy season book. This is the first book in a wonderful series that reminds the reader even in the worst of times we must hang on to our hope.

The first time I read this book, I cried at the end! I dont normally cry reading a book, but this was a really great story. I recommend it and all the other ones in the Bethlehem series!

It's not Christmas for me until I've read the story "A Season for Miracles." It's uplifting and Christmas-y without being syrupy or overwrought. While I always enjoy Ms. Pappano's books, the Bethlehem stories are my favorites. If you haven't read this, don't spend time watching "A Wonderful Life" for the umpteenth time--reach for this book!

What a wonderful book. I have not seen the movie - not sure I would be able to really, but I tell you, the book is a great read. You will not want to put it down. I think I read this in one sitting or at least tried to. The opening chapter just broke my heart and even after reading it several months ago, I still think about it and how the story unfolded. I am so happy how Ms. Pappano took us on a journey, had us crying at times, laughing at times and in the end...we were smiling.

That's what books are all about, huh?

After reading this book, I purchased every book I could get my hands on from Ms. Pappano's.

Please, read this book...order it from either from Amazon or your local library if they have it. You will not regret it.

Well, I hate to be the one who "breaks up the party", but I was dissapointed when I finished reading this book, the first one I have read by this author. Part of reason I didn't really like it may be due to the fact that I already own the movie (from Hallmark Hall of Fame - I first saw it on TV), and have watched it every year since 1999. I am aware that the book came first, but I discovered it second. (This may be one of those things that you will like whichever you experienced first, I don't know.) That being said, I may have expected more from the book than the average reader has not seen the movie.

The main difference between the book and the movie was it's family friendliness. The movie was very sweet and the romance was completely clean (no sex, just kissing) and could have been rated "G". Just a very nice, heartwarming movie that you could watch with your kids. But the book had several sex scenes in it (some of which were fairly explicit.) I know that it won't bother everyone, but it did bother me.

However, whether or not you liked the book, I can almost guarantee that you will like the movie. You can find it right here on the Amazon website, on DVD or VHS.

Simply put this book should be mandatory reading for anyone that feels the American military should always have a "world presence" in the various political quagmires. Both young & old & in-between will benefit from a book that can make you laugh & cry often within the same paragraph.

Very Dry humour... I LOVE IT

This has to be one of the funniest, well-written, smartest books I've ever read. You can find the time to cry and laugh at the same time - it is an example of others in a horrible situation that can find some security in laughing and making their experiences funny to a certain point. I love this book and I intend on having my friends read it.

I was given this book by a friend who raved about it. I expected yet another terrible "Vietnam was hell-don't you feel sorry for me" books. Instead I got to read a book that transcends that conflict and all others. The story and mood could easily be transplanted to any other conflict in history and thats what makes this book so compelling. As a former enlisted infantryman, I rarely read any accounts that accurately portray the bizzare and often irrational logic that one has to adopt to deal with the situations faced by a soldier. Most stories and recollections make soldiers clear-thinking and rational and are usually from the perspective of an officer or high ranking NCO who seem almost to enjoy the experience. Any bad decisions are made "out-of scene" by politcally motivated officers or out-of-touch politicians. They imply that things would be fine without these busybodies. McAfee throws away these stereotypical conventions and gives us the hazy and almost absurdist reasoning that governs a man in times of unrelenting stress and deprevation. Each character in this story clings to each other, and in one case a mortar, to try and ground themselves in an environment of chaos and incoherence. This book should be a classic and the fact that it is out-of-print is a disgrace considering how much junk out there should never have been printed in the first place. However you can swing it, get this book. You will not be disapointed.

Dear Mr. McAfee,

I read your book. I have sent copies to friends. I never understood why it did not become an American classic. Finally, I saw your on-line comments and I understood.

You have done a marvellous thing for veterans and civilians alike. You have captured the essence of the Vietnam conflict. You "Get" it. You also made me weep for the first time in thirty years.

Thank you

I have a past of 15 years in the fish business in my family company (third generation) and I'm a commercial fisherman since 10 years ago and I know something about commercial fishing and fishermen.
If you like to know how that fish you love to eat come to your table and about the real life and feelings of the people who made it possible this is the only book you must read.

This was by far of the three books i have red by william mccolskey the favorite he has another book called fish decks cannot find on amazon have to let you know about that one.

unlike highliners and breakers this one is nonfiction and follows along as the author goes back to alaska and around alaska where he served in the coast guard 20 years before and now is crab fishing and goes fishing around georges bank of the coast of chile and new zeland ,indonesia,and japan.looking for fish and shellfish. it also extensively covers the wreck of the exxon valdezand the effect on the fishing industry and the enviroment.Fisherman were making more money selling back buckets of oil back to exxon.He goes to the tokyo tsukiji market which i have seen on a national geographic program. This place is huge they figure they have on any given day 330 different species for sale which come from all around the world for example They have prawns and shrimp from 64 nations the market and auction generate enough trash to fill 200 trash trucks a day.It cover alot of the political side of fishing and how the different regulations have come about to protect the fish.
You read this book it is amazing that they fish with nets miles long and never think about depleteing the resources.Also learned tha over fishing was not the only thing affecting the amount of fish being caught runoff from farms both animal and agricultural.And fish farms that apeear on the surface appear to be a good thing end up causing harm to native fish.

The author knows his subject matter but gets too heavy with all the legal bs and too light on the human stories. Seems like the author couldn't decide if he wanted to write a text book or a down to earth type story.

The best book I've read dealing with the social AND political AND cultural aspects of commercial fishing. Making no excuses for the industry or the people who condemn it. His stories are compelling and enrapturing as well as extremely informative. It'll give understanding of why the worlds oceans are in the state they are in and all the players who have caused it to be where it is. Enjoy!

This is a superb book. McCloskey writes from such a deep base of personal experience, that within a few lines we are transported to the heaving, noisy and often foul-smelling deck of a rusty trawler pitching in a cold northern sea or the cramped camaraderie of the galley on a Japanese squid boat. You feel the shudder of the steel deck as the boat pitches into a steep swell, taste the salt in the air and gag on the stench of diesel fumes and dead fish. The book is a collection of essays, exploring the challenges that face commercial fishermen in various parts of the globe. We hear lots of languages - Russian, English, Spanish, Norwegian, Japanese and more - and experience very different cultures, each united by the sea and the grueling task of pulling food from its depths. Gradually, the similarities grow much larger than the differences. No matter where he is, McCloskey can rapidly blend into the crew becoming just one more figure shrouded in foul weather gear pulling in the nets. This remarkable desire to muck-in with the deckhands no matter how hard the work or how severe the conditions, is the secret to his vivid and exciting writing. I can never look at a piece of sushi or a bag of fish and chips in quiet the same way.

I just finished it and cried throughout the book. I have been to one baseball game in 63 years, and only know the names of a few baseball greats, yet I loved this story. I have searched the internet. Can't find Elgin Woodell. I even went on ebay to see if I could locate one of his baseball cards. No Elgin Woodell. You know your great at writing when you convince your readers that a character in one of your novels is real. That's right, go ahead and laugh.

The first two-thirds of this book were wonderful, but there wasn't enough conflict and suspense and as the end approached there was nothing to resolve. The book ended in a straight, predictable, and grossly sensational fashion that left me feeling cheated.

The author let me down on this one.

This was a fun book to read since it reminded me of some of the fun of being a kid playing ball. This book is about a 10-yr. old boy named Elgin and his love for baseball as well as his relationship with his parents who are divorced. His dad, who used to play ball, is in prison. Elgin has great talent and is so good at hitting that he is kicked out of little league because he's too good so he gets to play in higher leagues even though he's just a kid.

Another aspect of this book is to practice correctly and keep at it. Elgin practiced all the time! He played fastpitch in the alley or practiced with a pitching machine in the basement that he adjusted to throw really fast. Anyone interested in little league or baseball would probably like this book. I enjoyed it very much!

Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

When you finish this book, you'll be searching the Internet to find out if the Youngest Hero was a real person, it's so real. The perfect book for young and old men that love the game of baseball. The author allows you to get into the thoughts of the characters and you become a part of their life. It's the best there ever was. If you like this one, check out author John R. Tunis for other real sports books you can't wait to pick up again to finish.

This book was excellent. I loved every single minute of it. Even though I am not a big sports fan, this book was engrossing with it's facinating detail to the game of baseball. It gave me a new appreciation of sports, and what it means to the people involved in it. The characters were precious, and I truly felt like I knew them. Several days later, I still remember them well. THAT's the sign of a great book!

when a package arrives as promised and the book delights the child that is all one needs.

If you love The Boxcar Children books, you will love this one. It follows book no. 2 very well. It will keep you on the edge of your seat as the adventure unfolds. Hard to put down.

in book number three of the boxcar series, the children find themselves yet another mystery. they find a yellow house that they are forbidden to go into because the man who lived there vanished. the boxcar children are on their way to solving the mystery....but when they solve it, can they heal a broken heart?

I love the Boxcar Children books - these are great adventures for kids. The entire series is worth reading.

In this third entry in the Boxcar Children series the Alden children (Henry 16, Jessie 14, Violet 12 and Benny 7), ask their grandfather about the mysterious yellow house on their island. He tells them a story about the long missing Bill McGregor, husband of the family housekeeper. The children and their cousin Joe and his new bride Alice decide to locate the missing man when they uncover an overlooked clue to his whereabouts. The six set out to Maine following the clue and along the way have many adventures.

This book was originally written in 1953 by a teacher who combined a basic vocabulary and exciting storyline in order to entice young readers. Her formula was and is a great success. To an adult the mysteries involved are rather simplistic, the situations more than a little unrealistic and the characters quite wooden but to the children the stories are written for these are exciting stories with thrilling adventures around every twist and turn. Just the thing to get a reluctant reader inspired to read for fun.

In the early sixties one of my teachers kept our 5th grade class entralled by reading to us the last few minutes of each day. The Boxcar Children were always a popular choice, the short cliffhanger style chapters kept us anxiously waiting for the next reading and stirred up more than a few schoolyard discussions on what might happen next. It inspired me to go canoe camping in the northwoods years later and share that adventure and The Boxcar Children with my children.

Like a ship's captain, a CEO is only as good as the latest weather report. If a chief executive unknowingly steers his or her ship into the path of a hurricane, that ship's in trouble, no matter how skillful a seaman that captain may be. And unfortunately for CEOs, hurricanes - in the form of disruptive changes that remake markets overnight - have become almost an everyday danger. Authors W. Warner Burke, William Trahant and Richard Koonce argue that the most critical function of a corporate leader today is to monitor and respond to these rapid shifts in the external marketplace, or business climate. To illustrate this point, they offer insightful profiles of leaders who successfully guided their companies through the storms of organizational change initiatives. These profiles are especially effective in giving the reader both a sense of the personalities of these dynamic executives and a practical breakdown of the methodologies and strategies that they employed. We [...] strongly recommend this book to senior executives, would-be change agents and anyone curious about how to navigate the turbulent environment of 21st-century business.

This book is a must-read for anyone involved with organizational change -- whether you are managing the change or experiencing it from the "front lines." These fascinating Q & A's gave me real insight into the process. I recommend Business Climate Shifts to any forward-thinking person in the corporate world today.

Just ordered "Business Climate Shift" at the recommendation of a friend. I am a consultant who works with corporations on training and e-learning strategies that support implementation of knowledge and skill development in rapidly changing market places. My work continually has me working with senior managers on business change issues. I am always looking for new perspectives on organizational change. What is interesting about the book is the interview format. A very interesting way to explore the subject. The interview style gives you a chance to draw your own conclusions and you get a personal feel for the context senior managers face as they address organizational change issues. I have found the interviews very engaging and the authors do a nice job of summarizing the key organizational change issues for each interview. Many organizational change books present models and theory. This one also gives you a view of the human and personal issues associated with leading major change initiatives. .

After reading BUSINESS CLIMATE SHIFTS it was clear to me that this book was as much about leadership as about change. As a thirty year middle manager who has participated in both the planning and implementation of change, I was extremely pleased to read throughout the book that, although the companies were focusing on the customer, they all recognized the importance of the employees. The one common denominator throughout the book was that how management treats the employees is how the employees treat the customers. Although Colin Marshall at British Airways and Roger O. Goldman of National Westminster Bancorp. have distinctively different styles, they both recognized the importance of employees in the change process and demonstrated that leadership is key to effective and efficient change.

Starting my career in government late in life, I have noticed a reluctancy of federal executives to get the rank and file involved in major change initiatives. I suggest that any government manager or executive contemplating change read BUSINESS CLIMATE SHIFTS. The lessons learned from those who have been there, both government and industry, are invaluable and provide a framework for developing issues and questions that need to be addressed before any major shifts or changes in organizational culture.

As a college president, I read a lot of books about leadership and about institutional change. I found "Business Climate Shifts" to be extremely enjoyable to read, helpful, and relevant to a CEO of a not-for-profit. Although the idea of fast change seems like an oxymoron when connected to higher education, this book gives a framework in which higher education and other not-for-profits can operate. The helpful use of the living organism as a metaphor feels comfortable for higher education as does the book's use of scenarios -- something we are very comfortable with but often fail to use. In fact, the use of a metaphorical approach throughout fits with current thinking on the sources of visionary capability in leaders. The Organizational Diagnostic Checklist is worth the price of the book; it allows an organization to begin quickly the process of assessment and can be used throughout an organization. Educational institutions are very familiar with assessment, and this book fits directly into that familiar territory while giving it a business twist. The use of informal case studies and interviews makes the book easily readable and quite interesting. The chapter conclusions help focus the reader's attention on what has been read and demonstrate what has been learned from the case study. I found myself going back to them as a kind of review when I had finished the book. Asking people who have been successful to describe their own skills and approaches adds strong credibility and validity to the book. I feel certain this aspect of the book will make it useful as an educational tool for developing future leaders.

The message of the novel and film adaptation are essentially the same:
if you deny your true self, you will be left feeling empty and unfulfilled in life. You cannot give in to fear or society's definitions of who and what you should be at any point in your life. Scorsese and writer Richard Price took a lot of liberties with the story for the film adaptation. I like what they did, but I found the novel The Color of Money compelling for somewhat different reasons.

Tevis does a wonderful job of updating his Fast Eddie Felson character from the original novel, The Hustler, and the opening scenes in this book where Minnesota Fats "coaches" a middle-aged and tired Felson are outstanding. I have even more appreciation for Fats than I did in The Hustler, and it's unfortunate that Scorsese and Price choose not to include him in the movie.

Tevis has a great understanding of what drives certain people to excel at something as opposed to just getting by in life. The winner's mentality is at the heart of this novel -- as it was in The Hustler -- but now the idea is centered more around not giving up, despite what society tells each of us about what we can or cannot do (based on factors such as age, etc.).

Felson's midlife crisis is the bane of his existence, and it is only the acceptance of who he is and what he loves to do that can deliver him from his ennui. Relationships and suburban comforts are merely distractions for Felson. He needs to get back into the game that made him touch greatness when he was in his 20s.

For fans of The Hustler, this is a great compliment. If you've seen the movie a bunch of times, you will still discover a fresh story here. The angle is a bit different, and Tevis' perceptions about what it takes to rise about mediocrity are priceless.

Classic novel by a classic writer.

I'm a big fan of the movie, particularly the first restaurant scene with it's triangle of small timer, scheming girlfriend, and semi-retired hustler. But, thought the book was MUCH better. I enjoy his writing style, and although the ones I've read were on short side (Hustler, Queens Gambit, and COM), he always seems to draw me into the story. His writing is always anchored in the drama of recognizing/overcoming the psychology of self doubt and making ones way to redemption and/or self improvement. Highly recommend the book.

Great book -- maybe better than the Hustler. Ignore the movie. This is a handbook for living. It didn't change my life but it would have if i read it when i was 15. Will make an excellent bar mitzvah gift.

If you enjoyed the movie "The Color of Money" try the book from which it is loosely based. Not giving anything away, there is no Tom Cruise character, nor his movie girlfriend. If you are an "early to mid-boomer" you may especially relate to this work even if your eyes glaze over at the mention of "pool". If you read/saw "The Hustler", even better.

I have to admit I'm a fan of Scorcese's film sharing the same title, but these are two completely different stories. I was shocked at how little the two have in common, which is almost nothing.

Tevis's book paints a very different picture of Fast Eddie in the 80's. Tevis shows us a dejected man who let years of his life just pass by idly while he ran a small pool hall, as opposed to Scorcese's Fast Eddie who had become a successful liquor salesman (ironically, Tevis's Felson failed as a salesman). Not only that, the Vince character (and his t-shirt) does not really exist in Tevis's book - Felson does not take on a prodigy at all. Even Fats is back in the book.

All this drivel I've written here is to encourage you to read the book. A completely different story than what the movie offers, but one more plausibly in line with The Hustler (the book). As usual, Tevis is deft at writing the intricacies of pool and the psyche that surrounds it.

this is a great practical theory primer, and the practice CDs are great!

Useful material here, with plenty to keep you going for a long time. Steve gives you lots of examples on how to use triads and extentions and not just a bunch of theory. The CD's are very helpful in hearing the applications. After all, it is music and having an opportunity to hear what the material should sound like was a great aid in helping me understand the ideas.

This book gave me so mouch to chew on it will be years, if ever, before I put it down. I have played and performed on guitar for 30+ years and studied music in college and I still have discovered that the more I know, the less I know. I felt that I had hit a brick wall in playing and performing and this book gave me so many ideas and options that I had not considered. I emailed Steve Khan to thank him and got a personal response a day later. Not only does he have a lot to give in this book he is truly a nice guy. Buy the book, work at it everyday, utilize the things that work for you and become a better guitarist.

If you already know your basic chord theory, know all your barre chords and jazz chords, play well from lead sheets, etc... then you are ready for this book. Kahn discusses the use of leading tones and the basic triad as tools for playing guitar in a combo setting. He does a good job of covering the no-man's land between rhythm guitar and lead guitar. The book is well written, in an easily accessible style, by someone who really knows what he is talking about. There are many gems sprinkled throughout these pages. If you are a beginner or weaker intermediate player, pass on this book for now and come back to it later.

First of all, let me qualify my review by saying that I am 40 years old and have been playing since I was 11, mostly classic rock, blues, and rockabilly (with a bit of jazz). This book, in my opinion, is geared toward the intermediate to advanced jazz guitarist as the text references focus on upper 4 strings to be played over a bass guitar. Cool concepts and useful stuff if you're in a jazz band. Me, I play 99% of the time as solo (fingerpicking rythyms, chord-melody solos, etc), therefore I didn't gain a lot of insite out of this book. There is a nice discussion on triads, but I already knew this concept, plus the author never tied any of it the CAGED system.