Dance Books

Package arrived quickly and book as described. Content is helpful and has colorful pages. Wish I could have paid less, but "oh well". I will enjoy using it to teach other students the craft of clown makeup.

This is the best book on makeup available. In full color photos, you are taught - step by step - how to apply Whiteface, Auguste and Hobo makeup. Dozens of color photos at the back of the book, provide a photo gallery of styles and designs to choose from. I HIGHLY recommend this book to any clown who is looking for pointers on their makeup technique!

Best book on Clown make up out there. This is the one that is used for reference at the clown conferences and class I have gone too, NO OTHER! If you are a clown you need this book, review the steps on face design and application technique so you arent SCARY clown. Covers application and design of white face, auguste and hobo clowns. Has many pictures in the back of clown faces to search through. Also has many different examples of mouths, eyes and eyebrows.

This is the best book on clowning. My copy is covered with Mehron smudges and baby powder because I still open it up as I am getting ready to get into character.

Very practilcal. Good job of addressing the needs of the beginner AND helping the veteran.

If you are going to apply clown make-up and don't want to look like a lipstick clown in a rainbow afro wig you need to get this book.

If ever there was a case of 'don't judge a book by it's cover' it's this one!! At first glance you might think you hold in your hands another dry, ordinary, boring, how-I-got-into-show-biz-and-how-great-I-am bio but this is NOT the case with this book! What a great read! Mr. Phillips' long, stellar and varied career in the music business is written with a lot of humor and I found myself laughing out loud through much of it. He also makes you feel not only for himself but for those 'characters', both ordinary and 'stars', that come and go in his life throughout the telling of his story. He makes then human. SOMEONE in Hollywood needs to pick up the rights to this book and make it into a movie!!! This book IS indeed hard to put down and I only found myself doing so after not being able to keep my eyes open any longer in the wee hours of the morning. Coming from someone who has been 'behind the scenes' for so long, it's nice to see him step out front and tell his story. I guarantee that if you've looked at a movie, watched television or listened to the radio or records and cds in the last 50 years, you've heard SOMETHING that had Mr. Phillips' name attached to it! Stop reading the review and click on the "Buy" button up top! You will not regret it! I promise!

Where I'm coming from: a part-time musician for around twenty years; did work for a record company for about 1 1/2 years and met my wife of 23 years there. Always fascinated with music careers. Well, I read Stu Who? because I actually did recognize the name from some old records. Rather than hash through his career points here, I'd just like to report that Stu Phillips has a gift for recounting his music career. He really humanizes what it is like to brush with fame, what it is like to get tremendously lucky, what it's like when the opposite of luck happens. He seems to be thinking and writing this book at the same time, which gives it an energy I could not resist. For some reason I carried it around with me everywhere until I was done, and I left the copy somewhere, wherever it was when I finished it. I guess that's the best recommendation you can give to a book, that it lives in your brain so strongly, you mislay the darn book itself. Good going Stu, and thanks for sharing your story.

"Stu Who?": Forty years Of Navigating The Minefields Of The Music Business by record producer, television and film composer Stu Phillips is the fascinating, informative, personal history of a life-long career in the music industry. Phillips shares heretofore unknown anecdotes about entertainment and music world personalities ranging from Sammy Davis, Jr.; Donna Reed; Librace; and Russ Meyer; to Shelley Fabares; James Darren; The Monkees; and Don Kirshner. From Phillips first professional job as a copyist for The Milton Berle Texaco Hour, to his work with Russ Meyer soft-porn movies, to his participation with cult classics such as Battlestar Galactica (where he was privileged to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic), to his years in the recording business at Command, Colpix, Capitol, and Epic, to his work composing music from The Donna Reed Show, Gidget, as well as films like Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, to his unsuccessful "dabbling" in film-making and screenwriting, "Stu Who" is an impressive autobiographical compendium that is enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the history and personalities of the music, television, and film industries.

A fascinating trip down memory lane which brings our childhood and adolescent heroes and icons to life and humanizes them. Stu is a gifter racounteur and his story is full of humor, pathos and interesting insights.

An excellent primer for arts groups to revive or start a subscription program.

Danny Newman provides a rigorous approach on building arts audiences. He shows what's arts marketing really is about - win the customer for a series of great artistic products - and provides the tools to be succesful

As the volunteer box office manager for a small theater company in the Midwest, I have found Mr. Newman's book the single most valuable arts marketing book I've ever read. It is filled with many wonderful, practical ideas to help a company bring in an audience. I've used many of his suggestions to build our subscription by 25% a year for the last three years. Newman provides clear directions to put his ideas into practice. His Keep It Simple Stupid style is easy and often amusing to read, and he provides a wealth of examples for the non-professional marketer (me). *Most* important, this book brims with optimism. When confronted with kindly but dim-witted audience members and tempermental artistic directors, Mr. Newman is the little voice that says "You can do this, and it will be great!" I love you, Danny.

My first job was as marketing director of a regional music theatre company. I was a journalism grad with little "arts" experience. This was a wonderful book. It really helped me understand our audience. It was at my right hand throughout the two years I held that job.

This book is poetry that has power! Youth has no hinderance for this young author and Hurth's wisdom is amazing to read. I was truly blessed and helped after reading. For anyone that is dealing with tough issues, this is the book to buy.

I hide under a calm mask,
Smiling to the faces of onlookers,
Dying when they turn away.

With those words, Rebekah Hurth reveals the depth of her despair in this book of poems borne of tragedy.

Some years back, Rebekah's family was dragged through the public arena in the aftermath of a crime. An outraged public at the time was not kind. Through poetry, the author struggled to make sense out of a chaotic world through a child's eyes. Particularly heart breaking is this excerpt that clearly demonstrates her confusion, her crying out to an absent father.

Daddy?
Do you hear me where you are?
Can you feel how much I miss you?
Do you know how much I love you?

Daddy.
Do you see how much I need you?
With no one here to fight for me,
Or help me to be strong.

Through this time of harsh publicity that the author and her family could not escape, Rebekah Hurth attempted to stay firmly in God's hands, to hold onto faith. The reader, through the author's words, fully comprehends the mixed emotions she experiences.

Deep down anger sits,
Stirring and growing,
Reaching from the pit I've thrown it in.
I continue holding it inside,
While trying to forget.

Ms. Hurth's poems are sweet, sad, heart stirring. I hope she spreads her wings and gives us future books of poetry, and perhaps even prose.

This book radiates a power, intensity and charm of bestseller-
caliber. Ms. Hurth shows a maturity beyond her years in her
touching and thought provoking collection of poems, based on her
true life experiences. Also, she demonstrates a deep religious
perspective on her life, and a philosophy that embraces hope and
morality. Obviously a woman of high character moral standards,
she tugs at the heartstrings with the beautiful images painted
by her powerful words. Palpitating with beauty and substance,
this book is an excellent source of inspiration to all who read
it. Ms. Hurth has written a rich and beautiful masterpiece,
guaranteed to touch and enlighten its readers.

While reading this book, I was captivated by the depth of feeling that each poem brought. Someone with many years of life experiences could have written this compassionate, heart-felt poetry. However, I am aware that Rebekah Hurth is young in years; yet, she possesses a level of maturity in her writing that left me speechless. Through her poetry, Rebekah allows the reader to share in her pain, confusion and isolation. The imagery is powerful and moves the reader to tears. As the poems progress, one can begin to feel her emerging ray of hope through her strong faith. I know that we will be hearing much more from this talented, young writer in the future. This is a deeply emotional read and I highly recommend it.

This effervescent story, with its vivid, carefree illustrations and its protaganist's refreshing win-win attitude, is a rousing celebration of individuality and joie de vivre. We love Suki!!

This is a great book for showing the importance of treasured possessions and how they can be shared effectively with others. Suki loves her kimono and wears it to school with pride. The author, Uegaki, does a fine job of showing Suki's spirit and respect for her grandmother. The text is easily understood and the addition of humor lends to the usefulness of the book. It can be used as a catalyst for sharing time and discussions of favorite relatives. The illustrations are done with ink and watercolor and are especially delicate, yet expressive. They portray Suki as a spunky young Japanese girl with a mind of her own but a love of tradition and family.

This charming story is one that every child should read (or have read to them!). Not only does it have an encouraging message and introduce aspects of Japanese culture; it's also VERY beautifully illustrated, and Chieri Uegaki's writing is a pleasure to read. I love the way she phrases things, like when Suki sits close to the taiko drummers and feels "like she'd swallowed a ball of thunder and her whole insides quaked and quivered." Buy this book -- you won't be disappointed.

Suki's Kimono is the heartwarming picture book story by Chieri Uegaki of Suki, a young girl determined to wear her favorite blue cotton kimono to school because it is a cherished gift from her beloved grandmother. Suki's friend warns her that it seems weird, but young Suki is determined to follow her own heart. A delightful tale Suki's Kimono is an exuberant story which is wonderfully enhanced for young readers with the brightly colored illustrations of Stephane Jorisch.

Swing takes readers into a world that few of us know. Yanow's research is flawless and his writer's voice is full of respect for the rich history of the jazz world. Even novices will enjoy this book. It is the standard for all other jazz books.

Yanow covers almost every aspect of swing(he's left out Banu Gibson!), with a few acceptions. From Louis armstrong's Hot Fives & Sevens to Glenn Miller, to Squirrell Nut Zippers. Surprisingly the tough jazz critic likes Bran Setzer's Dirty boogie Cd, and gives Squirrel Nut Zippers HOT cd, a rating of 9(out of 10)! A great book and Yanow tells it like it is, if it doesn't swing, or the musucianship is poor he's not afraid to say so. a grea thonest book that will tell you what cd's to bu yand what to skip. Includes an interview with big band leader Lavay Smith(he gives her cd a perfect 10 rating)! Even a whole section here on modern swing including Big Bad Voovdoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin Daddies, and more... Fun book to read while stuck on the toilet, I keep one in all three of my bathrooms, and one in the car for when I go to record stores!!!

This is a truly valuable book. Far, Far better than the Musichound Swing book. Unlike that book, which had several different reviewers, Scott Yanow is the only reviewer of selections in this book which makes for a much more even assessment of Swing Recordings. Yanow gives a brief history of Swing and gives the reader excellent bios of the musicians. Yanow also gives very good coverage to today's retro swing music, which, as Yanow points out, is often dismissed as fad by the mass media, many Jazz fans and Jazz magazines. His reviews of the new bands are honest and fair, unlike the Musichound book which, for the most part, seemed so have the view that Old=Good and New=Bad. His recomendations for each artist are perfect in almost all cases. I disagreed with only a few of his selections and reviews. The only complaint I have is a relatively minor one. He virtually ignores one of the greatest Swing acts, The Andrews Sisters. He includea a short bio and acknowledges their popularity, but he doesn't even recommend one CD for the trio. Surely, Mr. Yanow doesn't think the sisters are that terrible! This is really the only omission that I objected to. With the overwhelming selection of CDs to choose from, Scott Yanow's 'Swing' points out the very best selections and will help you to separate the good collections from the not-so-good collections.

Scott Yanow, the editor of the "All Music Guide To Jazz," is probably one of the most readable jazz critics around. Here he concentrates on the music all the kids were talking about, that crazy little thing called swing. As ever, his style is clear and compact, and the breadth of his knowledge impressive. Yanow covers all the bases: the big bandleaders, the important musicians (broken down by type of instrument) and even a section on composers and arrangers. Even when he's talking about unfamiliar artists, he knows how to stir your curiousity (Cab Calloway had a famous older sister...!?), and the book has a lot to offer to a wide variety of readers. Hundreds of albums are rated on a 1 to 10 scale, and if anything Yanow is a little more charitable here than in his "AMG Jazz" reviews... He's particularly kind to the dozens of retro-swing acts that have sprouted up in recent years...but at least he had the good sense to knock the Cherry Poppin' Daddies down to size!

So many people love Benny Goodman's music, but know so little about the man himself. Hopefully, all of you Benny aficionados will take a crack at this excellent, well-written biography. Firestone has done copious amounts of research, interviewed many people close to BG and has produced an absolutely definitive look at the King of Swing. From cradle to grave, this provides readers with information on Benny as a musician and also as a(oftentimes difficult) human being. If you want a detailed musical analysis of Goodman, you will find it here, but there is also a gossip-y element which adds considerable spice.

Firestone illuminates Goodman's jazz beginnings, the early sidemen gigs in the 20's and then the genesis of the Swing band in the mid-30's. It was great to have thumbnail portraits of the great musicians Benny's early bands, they're all here: the frenetic, pot-loving Gene Krupa, the arrogant Harry James, the gentle Teddy Wilson and the phenomenal Lionel Hampton. At the core is Goodman himself, an extremely hard task master, perfectionist and driven man. Firestone details how nit-picky Benny could be, demanding take after take on various album cuts until it all sounded "perfect." Goodman's notorious cheapskate ways are also detailed.

If you love Goodman's music, then treat yourself to discovering what Goodman was like behind the scenes: difficult, ambitious and addicted to prescription pain killers in later years. Yet despite it all, who could swing like this man? No one.

If you are interested in the history of Jazz, this is one of the books that is essential to your collection. It's not only a great biography about an unusual but talented man, it's the story of a man who stood at the divide between swing and bop, who was a cruel band leader but who nurtured some of the great talents that followed him, who never really mastered bop but whose vision and band format was the foundation that made bop possible.

Goodman was apparently a hard man to like, and this biography squarely faces his difficult personality. He was also a genius, and incredibly hard working. This book does a good job both of telling the story of Goodman's life and the context of his music. There are many compelling anecdotes, and the story is engrossingly told.

No, not the caped crusader folks. That was the title of a 1940 original composition for the Benny Goodman band composed by Eddie Sauter. But it could also serve as a fitting eulogy for the man who became a clarinet virtuoso in both popular and classical fields of music.

Along the way he managed to be credited with launching the 'Swing Era,' was truly amazed at the fans who came to scream (yes scream) at his band's performances and dance in movie theatre isles (oh you thought it was the Beatles who started all that stuff - think again!!), became an International Ambassador to the USA through his music, playing in Moscow and other Russian cities in 1962 at the height of the cold war, and, oh yes, performed what is generally acknowledged as one of the finest performances of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. Whew! But then, you only have to listen to understand why he was so highly regarded.

As a Goodman enthusiast I have to confess to owning a large collection of his music, and I have read several mini biographies of the man. In Ross Firestone's book I found many details not previously known to me, which when combined with an excellent and well researched narrative style, combine to make outstanding reading.

From 'hot shot' clarinetist too young to wear long pants but old enough and good enough to find a place in the early dance bands of the 1920's, to 'King of Swing,' World Ambassador of popular music and classical supremo, this book manages to convey a lot about Goodman the man, perfectionist, genius and who could be a nightmare to work for.

Through some fine research it is also one of an elite group of writings that manages to bring the period to life.

Highly recommended.

Drew. Drew Savage is a lifelong big band enthusiast, presenter and the author of The Deceivers

Happily there are hundreds of 'BG' recordings still available. Here are a few of my favorites.

50 Tracks in One Day With One Hour for Lunch, Of CourseThe famous 1935 session done in a single day for radio transcription services!
Complete Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Concert 1938Definitive Goodman and has the distinction of being in the catalog every year since first released in 1951!!
B.G. in Hi-FiBenny was not happy with the soundtrack for the movie 'The benny Goodman Story and so recorded this Hi-Fi (for 1955!) album of his hits. Actually it sounds great.
1941 Vol 2 The 'modern' band that contained Charlie Christian on electric guitar and trumpeter 'Cootie' Williams who Benny stole from Duke Ellington's band, and the modern arrangements of Eddie Sauter and Bill Finnegan
Benny In Brussels, Vol. 1/Benny in Brussels, Vol. 2 In fine form in Europe
Mozart at TanglewoodOne for the classical fans. Benny was proud to be a performer at the first 'Mostly Mozart' festival of music in New York in 1986. Tickets for his concert were the first to sell out but sadly he died before the session and the event became something of a tribute to him.

This is really the only bio to get of BG. Collier's book "BG And The Swing Era" perpetrates many myths and inaccuracies, mainly because he seems to have this fear about going to primary sources and seems to get a lot of his information off album sleeves and from 12th-hand anecdotes. Firestone's book uncovers some interesting facts, about Benny's flirtation and near-marriage to singer Helen Ward, about the recording of the famous Carnegie Hall concert (contrary to popular myth, there was more than one overhead mike turned on that night, and the band knew they were being recorded) and Benny's near emotional breakdowns in the 50s and 60s and his near total dependence on painkillers and other medications (for a chronic bad back) that also may have altered his personality and brought on some of the bizarre behavior Goodman is infamous for. Briskly-written, filled with surprises, a fascinating read, it should be on the shelf of every jazz fan and big band enthusiast.

this book is for you... it is full of great pictures and information... it is awesome

Digby Diehl has dug up enough ghastly art and story lines from the old E.C. vaults to chill even the most die-hard Crypt fans! This book captures the horror and fascination many of us experienced as kids, encountering our first Tales from the Crypt comic. This archive presents a rich visual history of the development of the horror genre in comics, its rise to horrific success, and the devastating blows it was dealt in the 1950s, as comics came under tighter censorship scutiny. It is worth having this book for the collection of cover art alone, but also worth noting is the section on its spinoff into the television series. Anyone who has ever seen the comics, or the shows, will undoubtedly enjoy poring over this collection into the wee hours of the night...

A mere comic book in 1950, today Tales From the Crypt and its Crypt Keeper are trademarks whose value exceeds their initial medium, much as Disney's Mickey Mouse surpasses the value of his cartoons. And if Mickey means amiable family entertainment, the Crypt Keeper signifies a particular kind of horror tale: one combining brevity, gore, black humor, and moral irony.

Tales From the Crypt is also a multimedia property. Digby Diehl touches most bases along its history, beginning with the origin of comics books, a marriage between newspaper comic strips and pulp fiction. In 1896, Richard F. Outcault created The Yellow Kid, a comedic strip of cartoons about ... a yellow kid (allowing its publisher to showcase a newly invented, bright yellow ink, a favorite practice of tabloid yellow journalists). Until the late 1920s all cartoon strips were comedic, hence, a comic strip.

In 1933, Max Gaines conceived of reprinting comic strips into pulp books, making him the Father of the Comic Book. In 1945, his partners at Action Comics bought him out and he founded Educational Comics, publishing titles such as Picture Stories From the Bible and Bouncy Bunny in the Friendly Forest. He died in a 1947 boating accident, saving a child's life while perhaps sacrificing his own.

Bill Gaines grew up hating and avoiding comics because they had represented Max, a critical and demanding father. Now Bill's mother insisted that he run EC. He did, changing EC from Educational to Entertaining Comics, and hiring Al Feldstein to draw an Archie clone, Going Steady With Peggy. But Bill soon dropped the idea of cloning successful trends, a standard publishing practice then (and now?), and created what he called his New Trend titles.

The history of EC's New Trend horror and crime comics (Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories) informs much of Diehl's book, but there is much else. We read of Weird Science and Weird Fantasy, Bill's sci-fi comics tolerated out of love since they never achieved the success of their horror siblings; the GhouLunatics (Crypt Keeper, Vault Keeper, Old Witch); Harvey Kurtzman's distaste for horror, his meticulous attention to military detail in his beloved EC war comics (Two-Fisted Tales, Frontline Combat), and his creation of, and defection from, MAD; EC's plagiarism of Ray Bradbury's "What The Dog Dragged In," leading to a long, congenial working relationship with Bradbury (but who later requested that his name not be put on covers, as he worried that being adapted by the comics hurt his authorial reputation); and the cloning of the New Trend, so that by 1953 about 150 competing horror titles were being published, today mostly forgotten.

Sections on each EC artist includes bios and samples of his unique style. Al Feldstein, who wrote and edited most of the New Trend, demanded that each artist have his own signature style. Bill Gaines encouraged it by instituting an "Artist Of The Issue" kudos page, a respect rarely accorded by other publishers.

EC's five horror and crime titles all folded in 1954, due to public outcry against comic book sex and violence. Psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Wertham of the New York Department Of Hospitals and Harlem's Lafargue Clinic led the fight. Powerful enemies against EC included gossip columnist Walter Winchell, waging a vendetta against EC business manager Lyle Stuart (whose book had revealed the "seamier side of Winchell's private life"); Senator Estes Kefauver (D-Tenn) of the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency and a presidential hopeful; and EC's competitors, particularly Archie Comics's John Goldwater and DC's Jack Liebowitz. As President and Veep of the Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA), Goldwater and Liebowitz prohibited the words "horror, terror, crime, and weird" for a comic book to earn the CMAA's new seal of approval, required by distributors. EC's strength was its horror and crime titles, unlike its competitors. Ironically, Bill Gaines had called the meeting at which the CMAA was formed.

Wertham recruited support from "women's groups and religious organizations," vilifying horror and crime comics for their "detailed descriptions of all kinds of felonies, torture, sadism, attempted rape, flagellation" and portraying women "in a smutty, unwholesome way, with emphasis on half-bare and exaggerated sex characteristics." He decried all horror and crime comics, but EC had the most to lose. Ironically, EC was rare among publishers in diluting its horror with humor. The GhouLunatics' wry commentaries distanced readers from the suffering characters.

One rare political hero was New York Governor Thomas Dewey, who vetoed "numerous bills outlawing horror comics." But though attempts at state censorship failed, bad press, public pressure, and boycotts discouraged distributors and retailers from carrying EC. Bill Gaines summarized, "Magazines that do not get onto the newsstand do not sell."

Gaines requested permission to testify before Kefauver. In his statement (reprinted by Diehl) Gaines says, "I do not believe that anything that has ever been written can make a child hostile, over-aggressive, or delinquent." Here he was disingenuous, or at least contradictory. Gaines believed in comics' power to influence youth, periodically publishing what he called preachies (tales condemning racism, anti-Semitism, drugs, etc.), usually in Shock SuspenStories. And if art can influence for good, it follows that it can influence for ill.

The question should not have been: are violent comics potentially harmful? Tobacco, marijuana, airplanes, cars, guns -- and yes, art and ideas -- are all potentially harmful. To users, to third parties, to children. The proper question is: Do we chose to live and raise children in a society that assumes the risks of liberty, or do we wish a society cocooned, safe, and inoffensive, hypersensitive to the sensibilities of all?

Although Diehl makes no connection, Wertham began his campaign in 1948 and Bradbury began Fahrenheit 451 in 1950. One wonders what influence the psychiatrist had on the author. For the society in Fahrenheit 451 is a democracy, one in which whatever book offends any group is banned, until none are left. Unlike 1984's obvious state totalitarian target, Fahrenheit 451 reveals that people can discard their freedom by choice.

Yet as EC so often demonstrated in its pages, you can't keep the dead down. The Crypt Keeper lived on. In fanzines, in Russ Cochran's hardcover reprints (published in black & white so as to display the artists' meticulous ink lines), in the Amicus films, in the HBO series (Diehl includes a 93-episode guide covering the first seven seasons), in the more recent films, in the Tales From the Cryptkeeper cartoon. All covered, if only a page. There are a few errors (remarkably, Boris Karloff is referred to as William Henry Platt). Thankfully, there's an index, albeit incomplete. No reference to Karloff under any name.

Not covered are the Amicus film novelizations by Jack Oleck. Although pictured in the collectibles section, there's no information on its making. I miss it because it was both my introduction to Tales From the Crypt (being underage for the Amicus film) and my first "adult" book. To boomers, Tales From the Crypt is a comic book. To Xers, an HBO series. To those born in between, the Crypt Keeper is Ralph Richardson, seen on the back of Oleck's novelization.

Diehl's book reprints four "classic" stories and all 105 EC horror and crime covers (nine per page). Extensively researched, generously illustrated. If you have a serious interest in Tales From the Crypt, you'll want this book.

While I was never a big fan of the HBO cable series - I always felt it was more a star vehicle than a scare vehicle - I did always enjoy the comics it was based on, and with this, the offical history of EC and all their creations, you too will become a fan all over again. This book comes fully equipped and packed with features. It spotlights the history of EC and beyond, background profiles on artists, writers and producers, as well a comprehensive listings of episodes from the HBO series, plus four reprinted classics from the original run (LOWER BERTH/THE THING FROM THE GRAVE/HORROR WE? HOW'S BAYOU? and THE OCTOBER GAME - adapted from a story by Ray Bradbury... who has an interesting history with EC), plus a cover gallery running the gambit of all the EC horror series. This is a must for any fan of the series or collector of comics in general. Very fun, very nice package and very well done. My only complaint is that on occasion the material can read a bit light, but it never bores you... and you learn a thing or two, like: Just who owns all the original art work from MAD #1? To find out - buy and and read inside.

Ruby's Jacinski's life would be hard for anyone, but the fact that she's 16 makes it nearly unbearable. She's living in the stockyard district of Chicago, bottling pig's feet for a living so that she, her mother, and her younger sister can survive. The 1940s, when this book takes place, were an interesting intersection, technologically speaking. Ruby is living, virtually, a turn of the century lifestyle. She shares a bathroom with all the other people in her building. They have an icebox, a coal stove, no warm water. And literally five blocks down, people have electric refrigerators and private bathrooms.

Ruby wants out. A man she meets gives her a tip about "taxi dance halls," and suggests that she would make a good dancer. After creating a suitable cover story for her mother, Ruby dives headfirst into the underworld of Chicago nightlife. Earning ten cents per dance and working with girls who are willing to do more than dance with the men they meet, Ruby gets a quick and dirty education. There are people from all sides hounding her - crazies she meets at the dance hall, fellow dancers, her mother, her sister. And, as the book goes on, Ruby finds herself falling in love.

I couldn't put the book down, and her story is a very unique and intriguing one. I just kept thinking "no no no no, Ruby!! Don't do that, you idiot!!" She was a teenager living in a world with real life gangsters and dime a dozen prostitutes. She is a tough cookie - throwing punches more than once, but she was also so naive and made such horrible choices. While I'd say this is definitely a young adult book, it really deals with very adult issues and while there is definitely romance, I can't say it is particularly romantic.

The author took great care to be historically accurate. She paints an excellent picture of one of my favorite cities - and because my grandmother grew up during this time in this same city, I know she even got the feel and language of the city just right. She's given us a completely new look at the WWII homefront and I'm glad I read it.

Ten cents not only delivers a fantastic read but it left me wanting more. Ruby is one heck of a character that all of us independent girls can really grab on to. Ruby must navigate handsome bad guys, need for cash and mean girls. Her strength and ability to adapt in a world that could be crushing is absolutely inspiring. The action of Rubys story is never dull and extremely entertaining. I highly recommend this book to readers looking for a book that has it all!!!! What a ride!!!!

It is the 1940's and 15-year-old Ruby Jacinski has had to step in and support her family. Her father is dead and her mother is now too sick to work. The family has had to move to a poorer neighborhood and the only work Ruby can get is at the meat-packing plant, earning $12.25 per week. Her only escape is when she meets her friends to go dancing.

One night, Ruby's entire life changes. Tough-guy Paulie Suelze tells her how she can earn up to $50 a week. That much money could change Ruby's life. She could pay off the families grocery bill, get her mother's wedding ring out of the pawn shop, and maybe even get her mother and sister out of the Back of the Yards and into a decent house.

There is a hitch to the idea. The job isn't exactly a respectable one. She would be working as a taxi dancer, a girl who dances with men for money. For the cost of a dime, lonely men purchase the illusion of having a pretty girl who is interested in them, even if it is only for the length of a song. Since dancing is what Ruby does best, she figures there will be no problem earning that much money.

Ruby quits her job at the plant and devises a story so that her mother will let her stay out late every night, when the Dance Halls do their business. Ruby soon finds herself leading two lives and hiding each from the other.

Taxi dancing proves to be more complicated than Ruby thought. There is a hierarchy of girls to navigate through and earning good money means learning the act of subtle manipulation with the clients. Ruby soon learns that the world of taxi dancing is a complicated one and, as her new friend Peggy tells her, "every taxi dancer has a story."

Will Ruby be able to separate herself from this new world or will she become another one of its casualties? Will she ever be able to return to her old life? Is it possible to return to an innocent existence after seeing another side of life?

TEN CENTS A DANCE was inspired by a member of author Christine Fletcher's own family. The story of Sofia, as explained in the book, is about a family member who was lost for several years. She had been shamed and banished from the family only to return years later. Sofia had been a taxi dancer and went to great lengths to hide her true life from her family. It was only after her death that the truth came to light. Fletcher began to research taxi dancers, which led to the creation of Ruby.

This is an amazing story that vividly describes what it must have been like to be young and offered such a great opportunity and terrible burden at the same time. Ruby is a very realistic character with enough spunk to inspire anyone. The dialogue is rich with the language of the time and the spirit of pre-war America has been accurately represented.

TEN CENTS A DANCE will leave a lasting impression.

Reviewed by: JodiG.

Ten Cents a Dance begins with an exciting opening scene and continues to deliver throughout the novel.


I usually don't say much about plot because it isn't as important to me as the characters are; however, the plot was amazing in this novel. I loved it. It was just as important and intriguing as the characters.


I thought each character was well developed, even the more minor characters. I felt like I was given a glimpse into the soul of each and came away having an understanding of each character and their actions.


Another aspect of the novel I loved was the historical one. I have always loved history and reading books set in the 1940s and earlier, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed the historical setting of Ten Cents a Dance. I had never heard of taxi-dancers before and loved learning all about this particular event in history.


The only problem I had with Ten Cents a Dance was that I wanted more, which isn't really a problem at all. I was invested in every single character so I really wish I knew what happened with more of the minor characters like Stan, Angie, Manny, etc.


I absolutely loved this book. It pulled me in from the beginning and would not let go. This is definitely a book I'll be recommending every chance I get. Go buy it now, you won't regret it!

Ruby Jacinski is desperate to get out of Chicago's meat-packing yards and start her life. This dream is far out of her reach though when she has to drop out of school and take a job in order to support her family after her mother's arthritis makes it impossible for her to work. And at twelve dollars a week, Ruby is going nowhere fast. But when a neighborhood boy tells her that she can be raking in forty dollars a week by doing what she loves most, dancing, Ruby jumps at the opportunity, even if it is a shade less than respectable. But unless she's careful, Ruby may find herself in deep trouble that she won't be able to dance herself out of.

Fletcher's eye-opening and authentic novel of the brutality of life of the poor in 1940's Chicago is one that readers will succumb to easily, and won't be able to leave anytime soon. Ruby's sass and attitude will make her an instant favorite, and you can't help but root for this spunky girl as she learns the ups and downs of taxi dancehalls and struggles to keep out trouble. Fletcher's descriptions of that life, without being inappropriate, are enough so that you don't pity Ruby, but rather admire the strength and character of this girl, who had to grow up entirely too quickly.

http://thecompulsivereader.blogspot.com/

The 49 drawings in this exhbition catalog are genius. Terry Rosenberg draws during rehearsals of American Ballet Theatre, Mark Morris Dance Group, Dance Theatre of Harlem, etc. The drawings are remarkable as they capture movement with an instantaneous touch of the hand. The sensitivity of line, eraser marks, and smuges of charcoal and pastel create a depth of space and time unique to the history of art. The essay by Jeffrey Hogrefe brilliant.

The 49 drawings in this exhbition catalog are genius. Terry Rosenberg draws during rehearsals of American Ballet Theatre, Mark Morris Dance Group, Dance Theatre of Harlem, etc. The drawings are remarkable as they capture movement with an instantaneous touch of the hand. The sensitivity of line, eraser marks, and smuges of charcoal and pastel create a depth of space and time unique to the history of art. The essay by Jeffrey Hogrefe brilliant.

Terry Rosenberg is a master artist who draws abstract representations of dance, working from actual dance companies. This is a catalogue of his work. In it, you can see his amazing talent. Dance becomes a function of energy itself, and the lines of the dancers in motion suggest the physics of movement, yet it comes out very beautifully, whether or not this was the artist's intention.

If you love art and dance this is the book for you! I love it and never tire looking at it! Rosenberg has gift for capturing the magic of dance with his drawings. It's no wonder that some of finest dance companies in the world have invited him to their studios so he may capture the beauty of their dance. I highly recommend this book for all art and dance lovers.