Dance Books

Path of Totality grabbed me from the very start and wouldn't let me go. It filled me with every emotion and made me feel for the well written characters. The author has a very poetic writing style that left me wanting to re-read chapters again and again. I didn't want to stop reading this book. I look forward to more from Todd C. Noker!

Upon starting this book I knew I was on to something special. I could not put it down. Path of Totality was gripping, intense and gritty. As other reviews have stated, I felt sadness, terror, and triumph. I am looking forward to the next work from Mr. Noker and hope that it comes out soon.

I couldn't stop reading this book!! I was completely addicted. I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it!
It is very graphic in the appropriate places; enough so that you feel hatred, extreme sadness, hopelessness, and panic! If you don't cry while reading this book, you are not human. The book is written in such a way that it is easy to relate to some of Devin's life experiences and teenage emotions. I also felt as though I wanted to reach inside the book and pull him out of his Hell.
I am very impressed by the level of experience Todd writes with, and this is only his first published work! I can hardly wait to read Todd's next book. He writes with all of his senses and does an incredible job portraying them to the reader.

I havent read a book this freakin good since I got out of prison. I loved it, Todd Noker keep up the good work!! A book about loss and the loss of family and then family comes back again.

I can count on one hand the number of times that I literally COULD NOT PUT A BOOK DOWN. Todd Noker�s Path of Totality ensnared me nearly immediately. Completely fascinated and repulsed by Devin Arnold�s path and transition out of hell into not heaven but an earthly lesser hell(?) With classic redemptive themes, Noker literally and seamlessly draws on religious and natural metaphor. His compelling voice comes from a dark place. But it is a voice headed for light. Noker seems to be taking us somewhere. After painting a picture of dreary Utah bleakness and pain, Noker skillfully weaves a resolution . . .with a twist.

This book is a completely visceral experience. I literally felt Devin�s pain in my gut. And yet every page made me hungrier for the next. Baiting with subtle innuendo in the first person, Devin Arnold is in real trouble and pain. I felt empathetic for this rebellious violent teen who suffers from physical and emotional abuse. And yet his spiritual cry is not stifled. Devin is hopeless, aching to die an early death and yet basketball and fantasizing for his long lost brother (who is the only family that he has left) keeps him going one day at a time.

Simple text deep subtext.

I recommend Path of Totality highly and my only regret in reading it is that now that I have finished it, my hunger for his next book will not be silenced until his second book. Write Noker Write! I have high hopes for this young author. First book. Wow.

Don Greene is good at explaining how to utilize your "right brain" for performance purposes. It's harder to work through the material in book form, but if you can't get his CD or work with him personally, the book is great. I would definitely recommend it.

This book empnasizes on how to manage your fear, stress, emotion and all situations that will not let you perform adequately. Mr.Greene gives some good examples on how to use your right side of the brain, the place where everybody would love to be. Also there is a series of questions that will let you know at what level of performace you are at that moment, and according to the score, he tells you how to improve on it. So all you people out there looking for a book on self control in front of an audience, this is it!

I believe strongly that the key to winning an audition lies in identifying the stresses that affect all musicians and performing artists, and learning how to become more comfortable with your abilities by accepting both your strenths and weaknesses. Winning an audition is a game, and whatever you can do to prepare yourself psychologically is a help. This book categorises the psychological activity that accompanies the lead up to an audition or performance, and allows you to set up a regime of positive thinking and relaxation that will inspire you to achieve more from each of your successive performances. I think it is an absolutely essential addition to any serious musician who really is determined to pursue their dreams. Too many of us engage in "doomsday thinking", and don't allow ourselves to find out what we could really achieve if we just gave ourselves a fighting chance. Obviously you don't have to use everything in the book, but as a professional violinist, i highly recommend it to any of my colleagues who have problems focusing on achieving a good performance in the meager ten munites that we often have to prove ourselves.

This is a very good book for performance artists, not only for musicians. The strategies and exercises for performing at your optimal under situations of high pressure are effective. Nonetheless, sometimes I thought they were oversimplified. The exercises explained in the book DO work, however, I thought that the lenght of time proposed in the book to practice and master them are unrealistic. I don't think that after practicing and performing without an intense focus for many years I could just make it happen in one week by just practicing it a couple of minutes a day. I know it takes (at least to myself) many months even a couple of years to train my mind to be in the "here and now" every single minute I play. What this book did for me was to create a new awareness of how should I approach my practice time, what kind of exercises to do to be better prepared for a big event and what kind of mental state I should be pursuing in the moments leading to and during performance.

After spending my teens and twenties playing rock and roll, I began playing the cello at 29 and a decade later now play at a professional level. Along the way I have experienced plenty of psychological bruises in performance situations--which, thanks to this book, I learned were self-inflicted. "Performance Success" has provided me with plenty of "right-mind" ideas for dealing with performance anxiety, which I have tried out successfully on stage. If you've ever dealt with nerves before performances or auditions, this book is a must-read!

While certainly a brilliant play, I should mention that this edition differs slightly from the edition I used while in the United Kingdom. Aside from the typical spelling changes, certain words were changed slightly in meaning (Coulmier's "This is outright defeatism!" vs. "...outright pacifism!"). The biggest crime, however, was a drastic reduction of the final scene.

The UK edition features an extended Epilogue, including an explanation from Sade, the "resurrection" and counter-explanation of Marat, and a giant poster of Napoleon during the parade scene. In this edition, some of the Herald's lines were given to Coulmier to apparently bridge the gap.

All of the descriptions, introductions, notes, and even inclusion of musical scores remain identical. If given a choice, I would certainly look for that edition, as it is somewhat more fulfilling. (It features a standard black & white cover with no pink trim)

I found the title of Peter Weiss's play so interesting that I bought his play on an impulse. I half expected it to be unreadably pretentious, but in fact I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would love to see it actually performed, but I live over a thousand miles from where that might be happening. One advantage of reading the play is that the author's comments are available.

I knew very little beyond the superficial about Sade or Marat, so I was somewhat surprised to discover that Sade actually wrote plays while confined in Charenton that were performed by the inmates, and that Marat was a scientist who expressed ideas well ahead of his time. I was inspired to learn more about Marat, so I read his essay ARE WE UNDONE, in which he urges: "The cutting off of five or six hundred heads would have guaranteed your peace, liberty and happiness." In the play he justifies this savagery by insisting (p. 113): "We do not murder we kill in self-defence." (It might very well be our beloved president speaking). If Marat was made the scapegoat for the Reign of Terror, it was not without foundation.

Weiss writes that what interested him "in bringing Sade and Marat together was the conflict between an individualism carried to extreme lengths and the idea of a political and social upheaval. Speaking to Marat, Sade says (p. 131), "these cells of the inner self are worse than the deepest stone dungeon as long as they are locked all your Revolution remains only a prison mutiny to be put down by corrupted fellow-prisoners." This dovetails interestingly with Sade's comment to his wife when she complained that one could not approve of his mode of thought (p. 147): "My mode of thought is the result of my reflections, it is a part of my life, of my own nature. It is not in my power to alter it, and if it were in my power I should not do it." This brings to mind Schopenhauer's reflection that "You can do what you want, but you cannot want what you want." Thus do Sade and Marat imprison themselves within their own grubby little minds. Sade claims, in this play at least, (p.72), "In a criminal society I dug the criminal out of myself so I could understand him and so understand the times we live in." His mode of thought makes this sort of understanding improbable.

However, as with all pessimistic assertions, this is not really true. With just a moment's honest reflection it is obvious enough that most of what makes up our "nature" is purely haphazard, and our "reflections" are just an obsessive rehashing of petty grievances and sexual fantasies that that we come to mistake for our true nature.

Written in the early sixties, the play frequently abbreviated as Marat/Sade is set in 1808, yet many of the comments are distinctly directed toward current events, notably the upheavals in Eastern Europe. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Union behind us, the play takes on even greater significance. Despite the reassurances of the asylum director, whether a mere fifteen years or well over two hundred years have passed, the nature of revolutions, and the fanatics who cause them, has not changed. Combining historical events with modern theatrics, Weiss has produced what has been and will continue to be one of the most disturbing, as well as one of the most important works ever to be performed on stage.

Maybe you have seen the film "Quills" and it has sparked an interest in you about the Marquis de Sade. Or maybe you are a history buff and are interested in the time of the French revolution, or perhaps you just love a really good thought-provoking play. If any of those things holds your interest you are in for a really marvelous read. 'The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat as performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under The Direction of Marquis de Sade"(by Peter Weiss) is the full title of this book, but is AKA "Marat/Sade" and various editions may be found under either title. The edition I am reviewing is the English version(original is German) by Geoffrey Skelton.

So Marat/Sade is a play within a play with definite messages concerning "Revolution" and the effects on both the masses and the leaders. The setting is a fictional one, but uses the basis of historical events and characters to tell the story. The play inside this play is written and produced by Sade and performed by the inmates of Charenton where he spent so many years imprisoned for his writing, considered socially unacceptable and outrageous. The year it is being performed is 1808 but the events surrounding the story are happening on July 13, 1793, the day Charlotte Corday stabbed Jean-Paul Marat.

It is the day of the assassination. Marat, Sade, Corday,and political activists of the time argue back and forth about the reasoning and atrocities surrounding the Revolution and the state of Terror. The points going back and forth(sometimes in song) has the inmates(the rest of the cast), being easily swayed and worked up into a state of frenzy, all the while building to the stabbing. What is morally right and wrong? Heads are rolling - literally - who are the sane ones here - are the inmates running the asylum - so to speak?Even Columier(progressive director of the institution and supporter of freedom in arts)has trouble with the play when he feels it goes to far against the establishment.

This book, first published in 1965 grasps not only the horrific events of the 18th century, it is also certainly a statement on the international events of the 1960's. It will still provoke thought and may translate to some of the atrocities going on in the world today. Author Peter Weiss, seems to have really gotten into the heads of Sade, Marat and the others giving intellectual and provocative dialogue to the players. The scenes are well set for the stage, and excellent descriptions are given for each character making it very easy to visualize the entire play.

The books includes character descriptions - even down to subtle items in the wardrobe that would distinguish their roles, author's note on the historical background of the play,the music and words to the songs, and a brief bio of Weiss. I don't speak German(the 2 semesters I took in college nearly 40 years ago is long forgotten), but I have to say I don't feel like anything was lost in the translation of this play.

I would highly recommend this play to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, politics, infamous characters, and even if you are part of an acting group looking for an interesting and provocative play, you should have a look at this one.

This is a keeper and one to be read repeated times...enjoy the read...Laurie

I first heard of this play around 30 years ago when it was performed by the upper classes of my school in England. I never forgot it and decided recently to purchase the play and to read it.
The story takes place in an insane asylum in France around the time of the French Revolution, where The Marquis de Sade was kept for a number of years. He wrote a play about the revolutionary - Jean-Paul Marat, which was performed by the inmates of the asylum.
However, the play is much more than that. It really is a commentary about about how people behave toward one another during terrible periods of time.
I think it is a remarkable play - sometimes a little horrifying - but very well worth while picking up to read. I whole heartedly recommend it.

Despite performing in professional productions from the age of 11, despite a great high school theatre experience (thanks, JMO!), and despite a university degree in theatre, I suddenly realized how much I needed to know (but didn't!) when faced with my first high school directing job! I learned the director's craft and art from hard experience, from consultations with my own high school director (JMO again), and from reading everything I could get my hands on. This book would have saved me YEARS of trouble had it been available 'way back in the late 1970s!

David Grote knows his stuff. He has worked with actors of all ages and appreciates the special problems confronting the high school theatre director. His advice is solid, practical, and workable. He is, in short, eminently qualified to write on this subject.

If you can buy only one book on directing, buy this one. It's great--and a heck of a lot better than the textbook we used in my university-level directing course!

I bought this book the minute I read "The 7 Myths about Musicals. Myth #1: Musicals are fun." (He goes on the qualify that they are fun to watch and be in, but hard hard hard to direct.) I knew then I had found a kindred spirit, someone who loved theater with all his soul but wasn't sugar-coating all of the pettyness and brouhaha that accompany running a program in a high school. This guy is straight forward, no nonsense, and he believes that high school theater directors are real directors and should behave and be treated as such. His advice is smart, sharp, and on the mark. He includes very useful chapters on how to run and maintain a theater program and how to select plays. It is above and beyond better than any other "how to direct a high school play" book. Buy it, then tell all the theater teachers you know to buy it. This is the real thing.

A terrific work that "lays it on the line." I especially liked the sections about dealing with censorship in the high schools and the role of the high school musical in a drama program. An excellent work, worthy of being read by novices and experts alike.

I recently student produced the play Little Women at my high school for my senior project, and I wish that I had read this book before I put on the play. In it there are great suggestions for choosing a play, analyzing the script, prepairing for production, blocking, casting, rehearsal, acting and student actors, recurrent problems, directing the musical, and building a theater program. Everything Grote said I could identify with, and I nearly always agreed. In one section he gives great specific ideas for helping students understand how to portray their part, and I found this section particularly helpful. The only negative thing that I could say about the book is that in the chapter on "recurrent problems" he didn't metion the number one recurrent problem: personality conflicts between cast members! Which anyone ever involved in a drama program would know is nearly always a problem. Overall, however, this book was insiteful, and quite useful. I recommend it for anyone who will be directing a play in a school situation.

I read this book to get some new and different ideas for upgrading the Drama Dept in the HS where I teach, and it did not disappoint. While obviously not every suggestion will work in every school situation, the author's years of experience naturally lend themselves to some excellent advice. Of particular help to me where the chapters on how to run auditions, and how to select a play to perform. I highly recommend this book to all teachers and staff in the school setting who are responsible for theatrical productions.

A fine book, evoking a lot more than just thoughts of fiddles. It brings back a lot of memories. There's endless stories winding on late into the night and square dances at the fire station with bright lights and cake walks. It's playing rhythm guitar while sitting on the porch hypnotized by the "play of the fiddle", playing those simple little tunes over and over and over, breathing life into them till they break loose and come alive. Reading Jerry's book was like stumbling into an attic full of memories.

There's something hypnotic about the sound of a fiddle, and Jerry weaves his own spell. All those countless, nameless, fiddle players were drawn to it and just couldn't ever get away. Way back "up the holler". It seems like the devil got hold of them & wouldn't let go. It's like sitting around a campfire, deep in the woods, listening to the baying of the hounds and just wondering what's really out there. Lot's of mystery up in the mountains and those old fiddle players felt it and made it sing out. Jerry really loves his fiddle music, but I think he really loves the spell of the mountains even more. Seems to come out best in the sound of a fiddle, played on the front porch, all alone, nothing but that fiddle sound, a full moon, and the deep silence of the endless woods. That fiddle music just floats in the silence. The hills don't care, they just sit there, and the fiddler plays on, just hearing that sound, going on and on and on...

Yep, it's a pretty good tale.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Milnes provides good descriptions of the history and the cultural contexts for fiddling in West Virginia. He provides especially good descriptions of dances. My favorite part of the book dealt with some of the traditional beliefs and practices associated with fiddling. There are fascinating traditions that fiddlers continue to use, and there is a wealth of folklore associated with the instrument. Milnes also provides a fine history of dulcimer music in Appalachia, and his work provides a corrective perspective about this instrument as he challenges the degree of purism and perhaps "snootiness" that is associated with fiddling.

Gerry Milnes knows more about the tradtional music of West Virginia than probably any other writer on the subject.

This book presents a delightful look at the history of West Virginia fiddling, profiles of the players, and the culture in which this music thrived. It is well researched and presented in a very engaging style. Of particular interest to me were his profiles of some of the musical families of the state. In addition to his look at fiddlers, other folk music traditions are covered as well, including a look at the fretted dulcimer players and builders of the region. There are many helpful and interesting photographs as well.

Also recommended: "Fiddles, Snakes, & Dog Days," Milnes documentary film on the same subject which features the playing of many traditonal West Virginia musicians.

As a storyteller and passive folklorist I found this book to be extremely useful and well written. The work the author has done to trace the origins of lore is an incredible journey into the past and speaks clearly to the persistent little voices in my head that are always calling out- "Now how on earth did someone think that up." The book does much more than instruct the reader: It creates a whole new world around folk traditions that is as colorful and as engaging as any novel and as useful for understanding Appalachia as any history book.

Along with providing a good understanding of old-time fiddling in West Virginia, this book also provides a wider discussion of other forms of folk music within the state. Milnes's discussion of the various folk traditions associated with fiddling is really interesting to read. He has fine descriptions of house parties, square dance callers' patter, and a good variety of the folk beliefs associated with fiddle tunes. The chapter on the ballad of Naomi Wise is especially good, and I also appreciated the chance to learn more about the dulcimer tradition in the state. Prior to reading this book, I thought that the dulcimer was primarily a recently introduced instrument that became popular only with the 1950s and 60s folk music revival. Milnes broadens that view and demonstrates that there has been an interesting and rich tradition of dulcimer playing in the Appalachians.

A great source of tunes, I had heard about this book from a few friends. Add this to the Fiddlers Fakebook and you will have plenty to keep yourself busy.

This is a strong collection of tunes with both melodies and chords included so that an advanced novice guitar player could accompany and fill out the sound. Songs are included in both 4/4 and 6/8, so the rhythms and tunes overall are more diverse and interesting than just standard "old-timey" fiddle tunes. While the collection was compiled for contra dancing, they make for charming ensemble pieces that work well at a variety of tempos. I had a few played at my wedding with a mandolin, penny whistle and guitar, and we were all under the spell of love and good music!

After the "Fiddler's Fakebook" this is the tune collection to own. Hundreds of reels and jigs in clear notation with, usually, good chord suggestions. Little, if any, overlap with the tunes in the FF. Very durable spiral binding, sits easy on a stand or table. Includes many recently composed tunes including my favorite, Erik Sessions' "It Ain't the Heat, It's the Humidity." Many hours of playing pleasure, fast becoming a standard collection.

While the fiddler's fakebook has a greater quantity of songs, this particular collection has consistent quality of songs chosen. There are so many great tunes in here, jamming out would not be quite the same without it. My personal favorite is "Lady of the Lake". Yes, I know there are two of them... but they're both good! Go figure.

If you are looking to purchase a fiddle book, this is definitely the best one to buy. This book contains about 400 tunes and the quality of the tunes is fantastic. Every single tune in this book sounds great and can be ornamentated dozens of ways with plenty of room to make the tune your own. One of the best features of this book is the spiral binding. The binding is great because you don't have to constantly bend your book to get it to stay open on the stand. Another great feature is that the book is organized alphabetically so you can find your tune quickley during a jam. There is also an index which organizes the tunes by key and type which makes it really easy to come up with your own sets. There are even detailed notes on each song. Some of the notes even give suggestions on how to add some ornamentation to the tune.

Overall, this book is great, but there are two things which are worth noting.
-The pages are quite thin and could tear easily.
-The book is very thick but it's only about 8.5 inches tall. This could make it difficult for people with weak eyesight to see some of the tunes.

The book begins with a heartfelt foreward by the late Lewis Griefer (writer of "The General" under the psudonym of Joshua Adam), an introduction by the author, and then a reproduction of the original ITC "Prisoner" writers guide created for the series' writers by Story Editor George Markstein which is a most interesting read! Then follow the original shooting scripts for the first 8 episodes of the series.

Each is reproduced in full, along with cast lists, transmission dates, writers details, original TV Times "trailers", and music cues. The highlight of the reproductions, other than being able to witness the superb scriptwriting, are the endless footnotes supplied by the author. Every single subtle change from the original script to the finished programme are highlighted in these extensive notes, as are interesting snippets of information concerning the filming locations, shooting schedule, performers, crew, and much more. The amount of information Rob has managed to include is not far from astounding, and the mind boggles as to how many times he must have watched the episodes to include every otherwise unnoticeable word change. The above-mentioned footnotes are fascinating, and make this book the ultimate tome of "Prisoner" information.

Also included is "The Outsider", an unused script written by Morris Farhi (rejected by McGoohan), and two storyline ideas submitted by series Music Editor Eric Mival, as well as a biography of George Markstein. It could be argued that the scripts and footnotes would be enough to justify a positive review, but these rare "bonus items" are the icing on the cake and also make for fascinating reading.

Those familiar with the scenes of "The Prisoner" could be forgiven for thinking that reading such a book might be a dull experience, as they already have the episodes on DVD, but they couldn't be more wrong. Whilst much of the scripts remained unaltered for the finished product, there is much that is different. Small/subtle changes in some cases, large changes in others, each and every one is included. Two such interesting things include the inclusion of the "original" Rover device, complete with flashing blue light, and mentions of Number Two's residence as the "Georgian Cottage", rather than the more familiar "Green Dome".

To list all the interesting script changes here would be an impossible task, so I will close by advising that you go out and buy this book and see them all for yourself. At £19.99 (hardback) it is by no means cheap, but is well worth the price for the scripts alone, let alone all the "bonus items" and countless footnotes.

This volume has scripts to the first eight episodes of "The Prisoner", together with extras like a script to an unmade episode called "The Outsider". Also contains a number of b/w Prisoner-related photographs.

I'm old enough (sad to say) to remember when The Prisoner first aired on American television, as a Saturday night summer replacement for the Jackie Gleason show on CBS. No matter what comes out of all the debates about what the show "really" meant and what McGoohan's "real" intents were, it's definitely stood the test of time. Perhaps because it was as eccentric as it was in its own time. This book is to the series what Martin Gardner's "Annotated Alice" is to "Alice in Wonderland". Needless to say, if you are enough of a fan to want this book, you will also want Volume 2 (thanks, honey... :-), which covers those infamous last episodes (and one unproduced one).

To say that Robert Fairclough's book is a revelation is perhaps an understatement. Sure, its just the scripts. But, the evolution between concept to realization is what this book is really about. Whether or not you agree with McGoohan's decision to take an essentially simple idea (the spy-prison) and turn it into his own subconsious metaphor, if you are a fan of this brilliant show this book is the only one I know that will give you any kind of window into this process.

Can't wait for the second volume.

This really sheds new light onto the series, with deleted lines, scenes, and information not found elsewhere. If you really want insight into things, read the scripts, assuming that you can handle script format...

I bought this book for a production class, and thought "Yet another book to sell", but after reading it, I decided to keep it. Each chapter goes to the point, and lists all the important facts needed for TV and film production. The CD that comes with it is full of generic production forms that can be modified easily. Overall, it has value, and it's cheap too.

I loved the speedy service. I needed the textbook for class, and it came early the following week, just in time for lectures and homework. The condition stated by the company said used and even claimed there is a high chance of some damage. I could swear this book is brand new. Not a single thing about it shows that it is warn, even the CD that came with it is unopened. Love it.

This great book should be a staple in every classroom. It instructs with clarity and insight, and gives real, practical, working knowledge from inside the world of TV and video production. It's conversational style makes ingesting the material a pleasure. You'll easily want to read and re-read it; and no holes will remain in your understanding, as it seems that every question was anticipated and then answered.

The book is extremely well written and very comprehensive. It provides a great entry-level introduction to the world of TV and Video Production while also managing to deliver thought-provoking and educational perspectives via "interviews" with many long-term practitioners.

Cathrine delivers here a complete collections of issues for those looking to learn all the details about producing TV and for those who are also considering to take the "jump" and start their own company.
Her advice and simple style make this book a "must" for those trying to get as much information as possible in a single piece.
Also of interest is the second part of the book, with several interviews with real people/producers, dealing with the most vexing questions about producing TV in the 21st century.
I can't wait for the next edition.

While detailed and imaginative, "Puppetry of the Penis: The Ancient Australian Art of Genital Origami", is only the tip of Simon Morley and David Friend's fascinating show of penis-art. This book explores the many different shapes and positions the penis can be temporarily molded into. And thank you Morley and Friend, for rising to the occasion, and putting your penis-art in a book, for the world to see.

Many of these penis-puppets are hard to accomplish without lots of practice. The "Hamburger", "Hot Dog and a Bun", and the "Loch Ness Monster" are among the more challenging puppets to create, but you'll have plenty of fun trying.

Don't be ashamed to take matters into your own hands, and buy "Puppetry of the Penis", today!

Well what can I say about this fabulous book. Before I read this book my life was dull, imcomplete but through this book I discovered that my penis was not an inanimate peice of flesh just hanging there in between my legs but a instument of pleaseure that I can share with many people through the magic of puppetry! It is no longer the dull slip of skin that was but an all singing ,all dancing Marionette of mirth!
I've already been putting on puppet shows for all my friends and family and so far they have been delighted.I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyman everywhere.

This book is just the thing to bring a little genital excitement into your dull, drab, wretched life. It proves beyond a shadow of a foreskin that it is a phallacy that the penis can't be funny. The authors' hilarious exhibit of penis performance art is guaranteed to drive all your inadequacies away. My favorite is the puppet with the pop-up feature. This is one of the funniest and most entertaining books I've ever seen. I'd love to see the show if it ever comes around to my obscure and vanishing corner of America's sexual landscape.

Before my mother bought me this book, I was just your average Nordic swedish fellow, with nothing interesting to offer to entice the ladies.

Now... my swedish ... tricks are the talk of the town. EVERYONE KNOWS of "The Swede" now. I'm FAMOUS!

The most astonishing self-help book ever penned. Having seen the amazing show in London's glittering West End I am flattered that the guys are prepared to share their secrets.

Behind the bike sheds; after the rugby match; under the table - male misbehaviour will never be the same again. A revolution and a revelation.

HOORAH! GET KNOTTING!

A twisted little short story. Everything takes place during a brief summer vacation. Love traingle, which brings upon unprecedented mayhem. A good spine tingler to read.

A twisted little short story. Everything takes place during a brief summer vacation. Love traingle, which brings upon unprecedented mayhem. A good spine tingler to read.

Douglas Clegg is an author that one can easily become addicted to. He has a rather unique style of writing that slowly lures the reader in with its insight into humanity's mixed emotions and with carefully drawn characters that literally reach out for compassion and understanding. There's no better example of this than in Mr. Clegg's novella, PURITY, which has been printed in a beautifully designed, autographed, limited edition by Cemetery Dance Publications. PURITY is the tragic story of eighteen-year-old Owen Crites, the son of the Montgomery estate's gardener and caretaker. The estate is located off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts on Outerbridge Island. Every year, the Montgomery family spends the summer at their estate, bringing their young daughter, Jena, with them. Suffice it to say that Owen has loved Jena with (as Poe would write) a love that is more than a love for many years. Though he comes from a low-to-middle income family, Owen believes that he has a chance to win Jena's heart before she goes off to college. He has trained his mind and conditioned his body to make himself more attractive and appealing to her, but is it enough? Owen doesn't think so. Years before, at the age of twelve, he found an ancient statue of a god while exploring one of the many caverns on the island. He named the statue Dagon, after the Fish-God of the Philistines from the Bible, and hid it amongst the rocks in a small pond on the estate's property, waiting until the time came when he would finally need the ancient God's help in acquiring an obtainable goal. When Jena arrives on the island, by way of a sailboat, accompanied by her new boyfriend, Jimmy, our lovelorn teenager realizes that the moment has come to ask Dagon to give him the person of his dreams, no matter what the cost. If he can't compete against Jimmy for Jena's affections, then he'll find another way to win her heart, even if it means murder. Though only 118 pages in length, PURITY is rich in scope as the reader enters the mind of a young man and discovers how painful rejected love can be, more so when your rival is caught making love to the object of your affection. Mr. Clegg brilliantly captures the complexity of emotions that teenagers are filled with. He writes about the purity and innocence of love that only the young can know, while at the same time examining how the structure of marriage can nurture the lack of passion and romance as it does between Owen's parents and Jena's. Life is seldom easy, or viewed with a clarity that can only come with personal growth and maturity. It is certainly less so when you're a teenager with no social standing, trying to win the heart of a wealthy debutante. Subtle, yet poignant, PURITY is a tale that offers a brief glimpse into a world that might have been, reminding us of memories best forgotten, and of a longing that could never be filled. Though different from Douglas Clegg's other works and with less supernatural overtones, it nevertheless displays his remarkable talent as a writer and his ability to create characters that are but a reflection of who we are as human beings. The cover design and artwork by Gail Cross on this limited edition is beautiful to behold with its tapestry of greens and gold that perfectly depict the essence of the story and the approaching storm of tragedy about to unfold within. This Cemetery Dance edition of PURITY would definitely make an ideal gift for someone who loves books and is an avid fan of Douglas Clegg!

PURITY is a slim novella by one of the best writers in the horror genre. It is a character study of Owen Crites, a misfit who falls in love with a society girl and will do anything to have her. If it is her lover, mother, father...Owen does not care. Clegg defines the limits this Owen will go...there aren't any. A very nasty work of fiction. Very personable and will make your skin crawl. The surprise ending is one of the best in the last few years. Great stuff!

Because I had not yet read a novel by Douglas Clegg, I took on "Purity" as a way to introduce myself to a new horror author, something I find myself reluctant to do these days considering the amount of trash that is published. At just shy of 120 pages and as suspenceful as it is, "Purity" probably shouldn't be classified as a true horror story even with it's use of H.P. Lovecraft's "Dagon."

"Purity," the short story of a misunderstood boy in love with the girl he could never have, evokes such incredible imagery and emotion that I was left wanting more. It's not often that an author has an ability tap into every character's head as well as Douglas Clegg has. It's difficult for one to find much fault with the main character, Owen, despite his admitted obsession for Jenna or because of his manipulation of other characters. Even his worshipping of an ugly fish-like statue, Dagon, isn't as creepy as it should be only because we've been given a chance to feel sorry for him. On the other hand, the reader grows to despise his love interest, Jenna, for the spoiled rich kid that she is. And the love triangle that unravels between Owen, Jenna and her new boyfriend is convincingly real, filled with just the right amount of tiwsts and an explosive climax.

"Purity" is a highly recommended book, even at a hefty $30 price tag for it's limited edition run.