This book is great for research on Haydn, or for Classical music lovers who want to know more about their favorite composer. Besides giving a lot of information on Haydn and his life (which, by the way is very interesting), this book also has many pieces that were composed by Haydn, so you not only get information, but music, too. This book is also filled with many colorful pictures, which makes learning about Haydn that much more fun. If you want to learn about Haydn, this is a great book to use.

Joseph Henry is a good book, but has small print and is very long. I wouldn't suggest it to other children.

The author has discovered the life behind the art during years of research. He consulted original documents and living descendents. Including one color and many b&w plates, the large format hard bound volume covers Highmore's prosperous and well educated youth, his art, his family, and his courage as a Christian freethinker.

In his new biography Joseph Jefferson: Dean of American Theatre Arthur Bloom captures the life of one of the most compelling figures in the history of American Entertainment. As a comic actor and producer, Joseph Jefferson stood alone at the head of his art. In terms of financial and critical success, Jefferson had no rival. He built this success, for the most part, by perfecting a stage version of Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle". A role which Bloom shows Jefferson lived off-stage as well. Like Will Rogers and comics who followed, Jefferson traded on a home-spun simple image. For years and years audiences packed houses to see the simple character Rip experience the extraordinary. However, behind this mask was a man who lived a luxuriant life, and cultivated fame at the cost of artistic growth. In his life, Jefferson was filled with contradictions. He was the common man in public, and a pampered man in private.

It is the contradictions in Jefferson's life that Bloom reveals for the first time in this biography, and captures with great detail. Before he died, Jefferson had published and enormous autobiography which is charming and seemingly the last word on the subject of Jefferson's life. Fortunately, Bloom penetrates the amiable facade of Jefferson without viciousness. Indeed, the contradictions which Jefferson would have hid from the public, make him all the more appealing as subject for biography. Jefferson's response to the civil war, his relationship with his wives, his temperament as a manager, his impoverished childhood--all of these subjects keep this book from falling into the realm of the dry theatre biography.

Born into a theatrical family in 1829, he made his debut as an infant in crowd scene. His work as an actor would end only with his death in 1905. In his lifetime, Jefferson was praised as an actor of comedy touched with pathos. Like Robin Williams of today, this sentimental side was embraced by some and rejected by others. In this biography, the praise and criticism co-exist with dynamic results.

Wisely, Bloom has found a way to balance the details of Jefferson's 76 years of life at a swift pace. His method is to present the narrative followed by a large appendix. The core of the book is 300 pages, but what follows is another 200 pages of footnotes and performance information. While the appendix is not needed to appreciate the book, it holds additional colorful stories and odd bits of information. Bloom's style is straight-forward, clear, and he supports his work with details. At times, the biography is even quite fresh and witty. In discussing Jefferson's All-Star production of "The Rivals" , Bloom quotes a letter from Jefferson: "We all lived in four cars which were provided for us and during the whole four weeks of the trip, I never heard a cross word". Bloom responds: "If Jefferson never heard a cross word among ten star actors living together for four weeks in a railway train, it is probably because he was going deaf'. Bloom then provides evidence that there was much unhappiness on that tour.

Another strength of the book is the description of Jefferson's acting style. As an artist, Jefferson was consistently praised for his natural style. He achieved humor without artifice. His work as a comic actor seems to shatter many stero-types about 19th century theatre. He was an innovator. There is no question of Jefferson's artistic ability, but even here Bloom does not take anything for granted. Using criticism, promptbooks, and recordings, he is able to communicate Jefferson's unique artistic accomplishment in a clear way, without becoming clinical. In his autobiography, Joseph Jefferson wrote with great eloquence about the craft of acting...communicating with great clarity and passion. Arthur Bloom proves to be Jefferson's equal in this area.

While the first quarter of the book moves slowly, the momentum picks up and the picture of Jefferson emerges with contradictions, frailties, strengths and more. His life spanned from the days when actors were denied burial in a church (Jefferson's view of religion is colored by this, another delightful contradiction), to the days when, at the end of his life, successful actors had risen to be honored men in society. By focusing closely on the life of Jefferson, Bloom indirectly captures the evolution of theatre in America.

Although one wishes for more information on the relationship between Edwin Booth and Jefferson, and for more details about Jefferson's relationship with his children, it is difficult to fault the author. Jefferson's life was so long, and there is so much to cover that one is grateful for the amount of compelling detail Bloom is able to present. This biography will stand as a cornerstone for future works on Joseph Jefferson and the American Theatre. "Joseph Jefferson: The Dean of the American Theatre" is as innovative and compelling as its subject. Who could have imagined that the real life of Joseph Jefferson was more engaging than the story told in his autobiography?

This book is wonderful! In addition to being a good story in and of itself, it is an important work showing the opposition to the hasidic movement in the early 19th century. Give this to your hasidic friends to annoy them! This will strengthen your Misnagedut.

This book is a wonderful look at Joseph Schillinger the man.

The author of this book, Richard Ingrebretsen, does a fantastic job writing a book about both science and religion and how both and be correct! Usually science and religion are in a game of tug-of-war, with truth being the rope. The author's writing is so clear, it is easy for a novice of astronomy to understand the theory of relativity, the big bang, and even black holes. The book then goes into a religious aspect of these phenomena. And with the amount of degrees and education the author has, according to the introduction, I found his grasp on science credible. The book is quite short, so you and zip right through it. Even if you don't believe some of his conclusions, it is great reading.

This is the written form of Brother Madsen's first tape series on The Prophet Joseph. The book will be found to be easy and fulfilling reading. He references all of the stories that he tells on the tapes to make for eaiser research. The book is well done and is a great refrence for the causual reader or the soon to be Joseph Smith scholar.

This book contains all of the corrections Joseph Smith made in his new translation of the Bible. The 1979 version of the Bible that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses has most of the best changes, but not all. This book fills in the gap.

It has a user-friendly format that focuses only on the revised verses. Each page is a double column, with the JST on the left-hand column, and the KJV version on the right-hand column. Be cautious--sometimes Jospeh Smith only corrected the punctuation in a verse.

It has introductory essays about how we got the Joseph Smith Translation. Admittedly, they are written from the point of vierw of the Community of Christ (the new name for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), but they are helpful in any case.

I use this version since it has what I need where I need it.

Of all the books written on Jospeh Smith, John Widtsoe (who was also an Apostle) takes a new aproach to this amazing story. I found this book to be refreshing and unique and very informative. I enjoyed reading about one of the greatest leaders ever written by one of the greatest leaders in the Church. This adds an angle to Joseph Smith's life that needs to be explored by everyone.