Music Books

I finally bought a guitar and started taking lessons. This is the book my instructor teaches from and I can't beleive how quickly it progresses to playing actual songs. It keeps my interest, so I know I'll be flying solo soon enough.

Recently I enrolled in a school of music. I was aprehensive at first (I didn't want to have to practice little children's music) but soon was happy to hear that my instructor uses this book. When I first looked thru the book I could see that it was meant for serious students. I appreciate the methods used here. The music that one must practice is beautiful and I really get a sense of accomplishment when I "get it right". I would recommend this lesson book to all instructors.

This book was originally purchased from a music store in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for my grandson who was visiting from the Czech republic. His music teacher recommended it as a great basic tool for learning to read music and understand the basics of the guitar. With the help of this book he was able to show Joni that in order to be a great guitar player, no matter what type of music, a good foundation in reading music is essential.
After Joni returned home to the Czech Republic, the book was stolen from him. His father sent me the co-ordinates to allow me to easily replace it by ordering it from Amazon. Thanks. (PS, it was on sale at the time and I paid less for this copy than for the original).

This book offers enough exercises to obtain a well practiced hand before moving into harder pieces. Other books seem to offer you building blocks, then show you the pyramide, but miss connecting the two. Shearer does an excellent job of helping all the pieces come together.

this is the ideal next book in the excellent Aaron Shearer classical guitar learning books. I like these books a lot. Very good buy for the price.

Very accesible book & good introduction not only to Duke Ellington but the world of Jazz. I suppose an author is limited by the number of pages how in depth one can get but still I expected a more critical examination of the contradiction of Ellington's public persona w/ his spirituality and how he reconciled these contradictions. That said, I still found Steed's argument convincing, especially his leading up to his sacred music. This is especially a good book for the new initiate to Duke Ellington.

The author's knowledge of Duke Ellington, and descriptions of his compositions is impressive. After studying Ellington's life and compositions through this book more closely, in his music, even when it is not overtly religious, one can quickly see that Ellington did indeed work out his spirituality through his music, as this author so convincingly argues. Of especial interest is the author's conception of spirituality and her deep artistry of both genuinely recognizing Ellington's and making that connection with his music, and how both shaped and influenced his life. This is not a scholarly tome, but rather a wonderfully quick, short read. As one of many old Ellington fans, my guess is that Duke Ellington would have smiled brightly and given his big stamp of approval to this book.

I just got finished listening to the new CDs of Duke Ellington's Sacred Music, picked up at Borders. Wow! While I was listening to this great stuff I was reading this book. And Wow! again. If you want the nitty, gritty, the lowdown, or dope so to speak, on the Duke you'll have to go somewhere else. Miss Steed does give you the whole story but her emphasis is on his work, his artistry, and his legend--what the Good Man left us with--and his Sacred Music, which he said, was not his best work, but his most important work. And it was real, man, this is what I was looking for, someone who really had something new to say about The Man, and knew what they were talking about! Buy this book and get to know the Duke and the man behind the legend.

I just recently joined a book discussion group and last night, during my first meeting we were discussing Janna Tull Steed's new book "Duke Ellington: A Spiritual Biography." In just 192 pages Steed traces Ellington's development from a piano player to bandleader to composer and his truly thrilling and sublime sacred concerts in the last decade of his life. Steed also discusses in depth Ellington's ability to write for the individual voice, or band member, which seems to be, at least partly, what made and marks him as such an extraordinary and perhaps greatest American composer--that and his overwelming dedication to his music and a relentless ability to constantly break new ground.

Steed's grasp of Ellington and his music, particularly Ellington as a composer is tops. She draws on the enormous archives at the Smithsonian Institution but also on extensive firsthand interviews with scores of people who were intimately familiar with Duke Ellington and his music, and especially his development of his sacred music and concerts. It is in the area of the sacred concerts that Steed breaks new ground but also her focus of Ellinton as composer, as well as his oft forgotten important work in Hollywood. Her outstanding achievment is that she accomplished this in 192 pages. Steed covers the entire scope of Ellington's remarkable life and career and her insights are very welcome and as engaging as they are informative.

I picked this book up after reading Joan of Arc in this Lives and Legacies Series. This new book delivers everything it promises. I'm a real biography nut with an interest in a very broad range of subjects (and that's just what this series delivers) but have little time to immerse myself in a 500 or 700 page reading. So it's great to be able to pick up these short biographies, get a great read, and then decide if I want to explore a subject in further depth. But I can tell you with both these books, short as they are (192 pages), they are still very in-depth, scholarly and but still accessible to the popular audience. Duke Ellington was a particular pleasure as I knew nothing about his Sacred music and Concerts, nor have I run across anything that examines so fully the films that him and his orchestra were featured in, and which by the way Ellington had a significant role in developing. Author Janna Steed offers up a terrific little gem with this new book on Duke Ellington.

For me this was an amazing discovery. I read a review of it in a literary magazine in the waiting room of my optician and when I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon.
What caught my eye in the review were the names of the inhabitants of the February House - Auden, Britten,McCullers... in that amazing year. I knew of their work individually but to read of them living under the same roof was a revelation.What a cauldron of creativity! All against the background of the war in Europe and the period leading up to Pearl Harbour.As I read the book I felt as though I were there. I hope that someone will make a documentary about it or better still a dramatised reconstruction. The two Truman Capote films have blazed the trail.

A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!

Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.

One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.

Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.

The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.

In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.

George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."

There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.

Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.

Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).

Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.

Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.

Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.

my son is 7 months old and when i got a book version of twinkle twinkle little star, he loved it! when i found this book at the bookstore, it reminded me of my sesame street days! he loves the song and the pictures and now we'll both have grown up with this song!

What a wonderful book based on the great Sesame Street song! My twins love the song and book!! Beautiful pictures and easy to follow for toddlers.Pricey, yeah.... But well worth the money!!!Best money I spent in a long time!!!

We have enjoyed singing this song to our son almost since he was born, and when we got the book recently, it was an instant hit with him! It makes a wonderful bedtime story. I wish we had known about it a long time ago! Great gift idea, too.

My 22 month old loves this book, as do I. We sing it together every night, and she loves to see her friends Ernie and Bert in the beautifully illustrated pages. Its a wonderful song, and a lovely story about taking adventures but always coming home.

I can't read this book to my children without singing. The song is a lovely little lullaby we heard on Sesame Street, sung once by Aaron Neville. It is so beautiful, if you buy this book and don't know the tune, do yourself a favor and get a CD, too! You'll want to "sing" this book! It doesn't matter if you think you don't sing well -- the tune is so simple and your toddler loves your singing voice, anyway.

Even if you don't know the tune, don't sing the song, and don't ever care to "sing" a book with your baby, this little board book catches a lovely, lilting rythym (even without music) that's perfect for bedtime. Read softly with lots of cuddling. The point of the story is that "home" is the best place to live, and other spots are great "just for visiting."

I am a big fan of the Doors, and Jim Morrison (went to his grave in Pere La Chaise twice) and I had long been looking for a coffee table book on Jim that was both interesting to look at and a fine read, too. This pop-up book has pockets and slides of letters, photos and mementos so well reproduced they look like originals; it's a must-have for anyone who loves arts and crafts and The Doors! Enjoy it!!

I am a devoted Jim Morrison/Doors fan but wasn't aware of this book until my nephew mentioned it to me while we were at a Ozzie/Rob Zombie concert. I promised to give it to him for his birthday. I bought it from Amazon and before I wrapped it I spent at least two hours going through it. This is the most well-conceived, cohesive, unbelievably put-together book I have ever seen. I could not stop going through it and taking all the papers out of their pockets and reading Jim Morrison's letters to his mother, report cards, letters to Jim from his pastor, teachers, etc. Every insert looks like the original document. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I gushed over it so much I hope my kids get the hint and give it to me for Mother's Day!

Excellent collector's edition book for any Jim Morrison/The Doors fan. Full of never before published pictures, handwritten lyrics and letters by Jim Morrison. A must buy for any Doors fan.

My husband loved this book and all it has to offer. This is for a true fan of The Doors and collectors.

The Jim Morrison Scrapbook *****

With the abundance of material that has been released and re-released and alternately released from the Jim Morrison estate in the past decade very little of it has been any good. It is mostly things that had already been released on one thing or another deeming it pointless to own, but not The Jim Morrison Scrapbook. Oh-no! This is phenomenal and a must have for Doors-geeks like myself. This shows sides of Morrison rarely or never shown.

Chronicling the genius from birth, poet, songwriter, lover, performer, and death. This is a book explaining all of those things about the man, but with actually tangible documents like his will, report cards, letters, his handwritten lyrics, rare seen photos; some of which have never been released to the mass public.

The Jim Morrison Scrapbook is the first in a series of "scrapbooks" being released of famous legends. As of right now a Bob Dylan, and John Lennon version is also available. This is essential for all rock fans! A must read!

This book is an expansive overview of the life of Louise Brooks and also of the early days of the movie industry. Very throughly researched, it gives a nuanced look and the beautiful, brilliant and maddeningly self-destructive icon. It also is a wonderful history of the entertainment world in the 1920's and the personalities who populated that world. A must-read from fans of Louise Brooks.

Several books have been written about Louise Brooks, but this book is probably the most concise and most thorough of them all. The book starts off with Louise's birth and it describes all the people that helped to make Louise so interesting and famous. There are many black-and-white photos of Louise, from the time she started in show-biz (at age 4) to Louise in her later years, just before her death.

Since Louise Brooks had such a fascinating life, it is not a surprise that this book is so long. Each Chapter basically covers a chunk of her life, and each Chapter describes (in detail) the characters that encountered & shaped Louise, and also all the Theatre and Movie productions that Louise was involved in.

This is what a biography should be: insightful, understanding, offering a measured & complex view of its beloved subject. And what a subject Barry Paris has in Louise Brooks! Her beauty, her intelligence, her compelling charisma all shine in these pages, giving us a multi-faceted view of this ravishing star. For someone who had never heard of Louise Brooks, this biography will send him or her in eager pursuit of her all-too-few films & her own writing -- and both are of the very highest standard.

It's clear that Brooks never did anything without wanting to give her all, to make true art out of it, a work of beauty & meaning that would stand the test of time. And the same could be said of this superb biography. While Paris clearly adores Brooks (and with good reason), he never succumbs to blind hagiography. Nor does he stumble in the opposite direction of pathography. His purpose is to explore the life of a fascinating woman, and to present it to the reader as thoroughly & lucidly as possible. He succeeds on every level. Louise Brooks emerges from these pages as both a flesh & blood woman, and as the dazzling, mysterious icon she became to countless admirers.

In short, the best book on Louise Brooks you'll ever find, most highly recommended!

I have not yet read this entire book, but just glancing through it when it arrived I would find that I have just read twenty pages or so whenever I openned it up. I can't wait until I read it cover to cover.

Barry Paris's bio is a wonderful read and in my opinion did more for the recent increase of interest in Brooks than anything other book.

At the time of it's publishing in the mid 90's the internet was a mere flicker of info, photos bios and trivia about obscure stars like Louise Brooks were very hard to come by. After this book was published, I was one of several people who started fledgling web sites in Brooks' honour. While I gave up, one of those websites carried on to become the Louise Brooks Society, the definitive website on her life. Paris' book is essential reading for anyone who is facinated by this beautiful starlet.

This was purchased for my daughter who happens to be a huge Lucy fan. She thoroughly enjoyed it as it is chock full of reproduced letters, articles and other memorabilia. It makes a wonderful gift.

What a wonderful gift Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. have given to the fans of their parents. This book will warm your heart, make you smile, and bring tears to your eyes. It will make you feel like you snuck into Lucy's closet and found her scrapbook sitting on the shelf. I got goosebumps when I saw the enevelope written by Desi that said 'To my darling'. I almost felt like an intruder when I pulled out the Valentine for Lucy that was inside. There are photos, letters, clippings, and side notes, all beautifully assembled. This is a must have have for anyone who has ever loved Lucy, Desi, Vivian, and William.

When I received this book in the post I did not put it down for a least an hour. It was so thoughtfully put together and showed all of Desi and Lucy's fans just how much they loved and cared for each other thoughtout their lives.
My most memorable areas are the little pieces written by the couple describing their thoughts and how they felt about each other. Lucy's words about Desi's death really struck me as although she had been married for 25 years she still felt his death hard.
My daughter who is only aged 15 years also could not put it down and was especially interested in the reproductions of the important letters and documents.
We both love it and it is certainly a must for the bookshelf of any Lucy and Desi fan.

If you are a Lucy Fan then you simply must buy this book! I just received mine and sat mesmorized by it, it is now my favorite Lucy item I have. I have an enormous collection of everything to do with Lucy or I LOVE LUCY you can imagine and this Scrapbook is so incredible.....it's honestly as if you are looking at the original scrapbook and you are even able to pull out inserts on several pages.....passport, letters, etc. I am not joking, if you are a collector of Lucy things and you do not have this Scrapbook then you are missing an incredible addition to your collection. The price is really great considering all you get. Words truly are not enough....I'll never ever get tired of looking at this!!!! Don't just think about buying it, buy it this minute!!!

The scrapebook was execellent. I enjoyed every little thing about it. It was great of all the document that were in there. This is a great book.

THIS BOOK IS GREAT, REALLY GOOD AND FUN TO READ IF YOU ARE AN X-FILES OR GILLIAN ANDERSON FAN. I HIGHLY RECOMAND THIS BOOK

Straight from the cutesy title that X-Philes know and love as one of Scully's trademark phrases, Mulder, it's Me really hits the spot. Gil Adamson and Dawn Connolly's biography about the amazing Gillian Anderson is extremely informative without being invasive of Ms. Anderson's privacy. The well-written fourteen-chapter biography is only the beginning of this stunning masterpiece - the book also includes candid interviews, a comprehensive episode guide of the first four seasons of The X-Files, a section on the 1996 Burbank convention by the renowned Autumn Tysko, a listing of internet resources, and 16 pages of color photos. Whether you are a newbie or a veteran fan, Mulder, it's Me: The Gillian Anderson Files is the must-have biography.

This is the best Gillian Anderson biography on shelves today. But this isn't just a biography, this book also includes television and radio interviews with answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. You get to find out what people did when Gillian Anderson appeared at the X-Files convention and what questions her fans asked. It also includes the speech she made in Washington D.C. for public awareness about Neurofibromatosis, the disease her younger brother has been diagnosed with. This book also includes great Gillian Anderson Internet sources and an X-File episode guide with all the shows from season one to the end of season four. But best of all, this book includes a great section of full page color photographs of Gillian. If you are a Gillian Anderson fan, you have to get this book!

This book is great for people who want t get all the facts and want awesome color Photos .I think Gillian is agreat person and Actress and this book helps you realize that.AS well as info there is a great X-files episode guide section.Many thanks to the athur and gillian for being the great actress she is.

This book has, well, everything you wanted to know about Gillian Anderson (Agent Dana Scully on the X-Files) and more! The colour photo's are excellent, as well as the black and white ones. Each chapter has a unique title, and very good detail into herself, her daughter, and her work. A must have for any Gillian Anderson fan.

Sad, but not hopeless, biographical account of a young musician stricken with a horrifying illness. Heartfelt & honest without being overly sentimental. Written in a captivating & sometimes humorous tone, not witholding any details. I have been reading this as a physician, and will recommend the book to any young patients I have with grave illnesses.

I purchase this book many years ago simply because I was a big ebtg fan. I casually knew what he had been thorugh and felt terrible for him, but was going through the process of losing and then grieving for a loved one.
When I read the book, it offered me a perspective on what life may have been like for my loved one as he suffered illness. What a wonderful gift Ben Watt has given. He writes without self-pity, in his lyrical style without being flowery or glossing over the ugliness of illness. I am so glad that he survived for selfish reasons-the music he (&Tracey) has(have) produced (before and after the illness) has been a diverse gift to the world.
And I am so greatful that he wrote this book. Experiencing the death of a loved one through being a spectator to horrible illness, was, in a strange way one of life's best gifts to me. No I didn't learn to be greatful for my health and all that crap-I learned that true joy comes from giving to another and expecting nothing in return. Ben Watt's Patient, gave me an extra perspective on that experience, and sometimes helps me to remember the life-lesson from it all.
In summation, read Patient for more of Watt's lyrical writing, read it to find a surprisingly good story with plot twists and turns, read it to learn what severe illness truly is. Fascinating. A gift-thank you.

I'd been a fan of EBTG for quite awhile before this book came out. Their soothing music has always been a favorite so I was really interested to see what this book was all about.

It turned out to be a very disturbing account of Ben Watt's freak-show illness, blow by blow. His commentary is riveting and one gets the feeling that he does not feel sorry for himself in the least, but instead follows his own story as if he is an observer who also happens to be its main character.

I was heartened to read toward the end of the book Watt's own musings on what may have brought all his health problems about. Though he left it vague, his illness seems to be among those new "diseases of civilization" caused by many factors in our surroundings that lead to hard-to-define ailments where environmental toxicity and the overuse of pharmaceutical medicines are certainly not to be discounted.

In any case it seems that his passion for music transcended all, and was at least in part a contributor to his recovery. Most of all he deserves a thanks for telling his story, unadulterated. For sure it has made this reader not feel so isolated.

The fact that Watt's story lacks a significant plot (outside of the onset, diagnosis, and treatment of his rare condition) is largely forgivable. For those of us who know Watt primarily as a musician/songwriter, the somewhat static storyline here is acceptable. All that's missing from "Patient" is Everything But The Girl's enlightening bed of music to be heard under Ben's delicately articulated prose. Typical of many great songs, Watt occasionally blurs the line between the first- and third-person narration, and "Patient" is better off for it. Perhaps even better than the great writing, though, is the genuine and intimate portal into the lives of Ben and Tracey rarely afforded to EBTG fans. It's a relatively short read, but each page gives plenty to be absorbed as the result of Ben's crafty alliteration and his uncensored, yet careful, approach to the fog of medical lexicon. Not for the weak of heart--or stomach--Watt's book exacts distinct feelings of sobriety and contemplation...with an ending portrait that expertly convey's his trademark understated hope.

I'll admit I picked this up mostly out of curiosity as a longtime fan of Everything But the Girl. What kept me reading, however, was Ben Watt's skill as a writer. His story is gripping and harrowing, but told with a dry wit and wonderful observations. This book is not just about one man coming to terms with serious illness, but how that experience affected his relationships with his loved ones and his view of himself. This would be a great book for anyone in the health care field to read; it gives you a sense of the patient as a full human being, not just a "problem" to be fixed. Ben Watt's writing skills are as strong as his ample skills as a musician/songwriter. This book has my highest recommendation.

Every CD in this set is excellent, and since they were taped on site at sessions in Cape Breton you feel like Pema is right there in the room with you. Pema's words along with her wonderfully soothing voice will truly heal the aches and pains of living. It's not just the simplicity but the honesty that makes owning everything Pema worthwhile. If I had known about her years ago, I would have lived differently, if not more easily. Now, because of Pema, there are no regrets, just today. This set is very good therapy.

I put Pema in my walkman (yes, I'm old) and listen to her on my long walks with the dog. I can listen to them over and over and enjoy them. She's easy to listen to and imparts information without preaching.

these are wonderful recordings of pema chodron presenting teachings and wisdom about meditation, open heart, and tonglen. she is clear, wise and funny. i've played these over and over and they have helped me so much in my own practice. highly recommended.

This is a very nice collection of three of Pema Chodron's CD's. She is an excellent teacher--compassionate, thoughtful, and very user-friendly. Listening to these CD's has helped open my heart and mind during stressful moments in life when taking a moment to pause and stay with an uncomfortable emotion is the more difficult but, beneficial mode of operation.

Have you seen that ad on TV - "Your mind controls you, but do you control your mind?" Pema Chocdron shows you how to stop the incessant noise and criticism of your mind by finding a space where ideas are allowed, but teh spontaneous reaction to those ideas is not. By becoming compassionate towards others, you become more compassionate towards yourself, and learn to laugh at yourself and feel less alone by realizing "others feel like this too".

Buy this - it helps.