Just received the book and is an eerie reminder of what happened on 09/11. Truly, truly moving, especially the writing of Frank Messina and Zoe Artemis. I highly recommend this book.

Growing Teen Disciples provides easy to follow strategies for creating effective youth ministry programs. It is a "must read" for any youth minister. Mercadante integrates a variety of personal stories into the reading as a way to illustrate his points. The stories, worksheets, and tools enable this book to not only be a "how to" book, but a reference manual as well. After reading it through to understand the big picture, I have often pulled it out as my first point of reference for such topics as "getting started," "evaluating a current ministry," and "developing large and small group evangelistic settings." Since using Growing Teen Disciples, it is clear to see why Mercadante is viewed as one of the experts on developing successful youth ministries.

For the person who have no idea what colleges they go to, and what to look for in colleges. The book guides you through with a self-assessment survey in the beginning that allows you to prioritize between preferences you may have for colleges.

The most useful part of the book, however, is the catagorized colleges. Unlike other books that list colleges by state or alphabetic order, this book lists the "brain" colleges, the liberal arts colleges, the "specialized" colleges. This allows me to find colleges that are similar to the ones they are interested in.

Also gives significant insights into the colleges with long and informative commentaries on each of the profiled colleges.

Also includes a section on the admissions process itself.

The only shortcoming is the fact that not too many colleges are included, but the ones that are are amazingly done.

I spent an entire junior year trying to choose colleges. This book did the job in a few hours.

This is Dobie's commentary and listing of a miscellany of writings on the Southwest that he considered "good reading." The Guide's purpose, according to Dobie, was primarily: to help people of the Southwest learn more of the land to which they belong, to make their past more alive, to bring them to a realization of the values of their own cultural inheritance, and to stimulate them to observe. This is an important work, written in a witty style, and conveniently organized into almost three dozen categories that cover virtually every aspect of Southwestern culture.

Guide to Score Study for the Wind Band Conductor by Frank Battisti and Robert Garofalo

Guide to Score Study for the Wind Band Conductor by Frank Battisti and Robert Garofalo is well written book that details a comprehensive method of score study. The authors conceived the text with the intention of filling a void of references on the subject. Most texts written about conducting go into detail about developing the physical skills of the conductor. Fine examples of conducting texts include Elizabeth Green's The Modern Conductor and Donald Hunsberger's The Art of Conducting. These references, while invaluable, have very few pages committed to the art of score study. Battisti and Garofalo in their surveying of young conductors discovered that most novices learn the technical aspects of conducting before they learn an approach to studying the score. These students, they discovered, rarely realize a score with interpretive intent. The young conductor typically consults recording references or bases interpretation on prior school band experience. The guide is written with the music education student in mind and is designed to provide valuable first hand experiences as well as a step by step process approach to score study.

Every chapter in the systematic process begins with a quote from a prominent historical musician. The statements provide the reader with a sense of induction into the greater world of music making as a scholar of the score. After a brief overview and introduction in chapter one, the second chapter introduces the initial step of becoming familiar with the score. The process is divided into three parts, a reading of the printed references provided in the score, an assessment of the facts appearing on the first full page of printed music and a cursory look at each page of the manuscript. After a detailed description of the process, the authors furnish an exercise in applying the method to a full score. The score chosen by the writers is Percy Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry. An additional illustrative device called "A View From Within the Mind" invites the reader to read the thoughts of hypothetical conductor as he/she approaches the score for the first time.

The third chapter and second step in the method is to read the score at a tempo that will allow the student to hear the music without stopping. The reader is encouraged to permit their creative imagination to surface naturally. Score memorizing, utilizing the piano, or listening to recordings of the composition is discouraged. After this initial reading, the reader is advised to reflect on sections of the music in his mind without consulting the score. Application exercises are provided followed by thought provoking questions for self-evaluation and discovery.

The third step initiates the technique of intensely analyzing the score. Battisti and Garofalo give an exhaustive list of specific components of musical composition to examine. The conductor, after completing the detailed examination, assesses the overall structure of the work. The construction of the large form is studied in the context of the micro components. The authors then encourage the reader to develop a flow chart of the composition. An illustration of the process is provided using the Irish Tune score and excerpted analysis notes from the authors' hands.

The final step, described in chapter five, is a synthesis of the knowledge acquired from the application of the preceding sections. Tempos, phrasing, dynamics, color, texture, the composer, historical context, and the style period are all taken into consideration. The utilization of information synthesis to create interpretation is applied to the Grainger score. The hypothetical conductor returns and the final creative stage is demonstrated. The interpretive analysis of Irish Tune is included in a narrative and in the included full score. The chapter ends with a quiz for the reader and a summary of the entire score study process.

The appendix in the book includes several valuable references and resources. A section on instrument transpositions and clefs is provided. Several score examples, referred to throughout the guidebook, offer opportunities to practice the various steps in the procedure. A detailed reference list, a well-written biographical sketch, and other Percy Grainger materials fill the final pages of the section.

The authors define score study as the process in which music notation and other printed information provided in the score are systematically examined and thoroughly assimilated. The Guide to Score Study is an invaluable reference that can be used to supplement undergraduate conducting classes and provide a well-conceived method for score study for the experienced wind band conductor. It dives into the most fundamentally neglected part of conducting, the learning of a musical score. The authors have put together a text that not only provides a process for conductors to follow to learn a new score, but a way of taking logical steps to elicit a well founded interpretive analysis. The included analysis of Percy Grainger's Irish Tune is complete and well researched. The text truly addresses an aspect of a conductor's education that requires guidance.

This is one of the best guidebooks for a city's architecture I've seen. The entries cover not only St. Louis proper but also the entire metro area, reaching far into the suburbs in both Missouri and Illinios. Every entry has at least one photograph, a rarity for such books. The maps are clear and concise; a regional map shows where each local map is located. Also includes a number of color photographs in the introduction pages. About the only thing I would fault the book for is skipping a few of downtown's historic towers; however, the book does an excellent job of directing city explorers to St. Louis's most interesting areas.

If anyone wants to sell me this book, please reply. Thank you !

Being a lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore, I couldn't resist buying 'The Gull's Story' for my two daughters, ages 4 and 7. My little one spotted this book first because of the beautiful illustrations of the various birds and animals, but I have to admit, I was curious myself as to how this book would read and represent the shore area to others. We loved it so much, I was forced to buy another so each of my daughters could keep one for their own. For anyone who hasn't read this book with their children, its a beautifully written book about the life of a seagull and his creature friends who live on the Jersey Shore .. perfect book to read before bedtime. Another book we recommend (also illustrated by Margie Moore) is 'The Little Brown Bear ' Count the Ways,' a favorite especially for my 4 year old since she is still learning her numbers and letters. You will believe the animals in these stories are real by the way Ms. Moore brings out each of their little personalities. I believe this illustrator is a genius in her field of art and her talent of depicting the lives of the creatures in each story told. 'The Gull Story' is a 'must have' book for any child whether you live on the shore or not.

gus is on his normal route when he spell't a woderful smell and couldn't resit! he snuck into the house. then the owner (who was REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY mad!) whent to were gus lived because after his visit her (the owner) ring was missing. gus has a great idea. but if it dosen't work...

....gus could be sent to the pound

I've been playing piano for two years and am not exactly Mozart, but I hate not being able to play songs I love due to that one minor impediment. Then I stumble upon the sheet music to one of my favorite musicals, and I CAN PLAY IT! And what's more, it isn't completely dumbed down so it sounds like "Hot Cross Buns." This could definitely be talent show material. Guys And Dolls for Easy Piano features many of my favorite songs from the show including "Sue Me," "A Bushel and a Peck" and "If I Were A Bell." They aren't too hard to learn nor to master, and are a wonderful way to learn piano and actually like it (so much better than pummeling Ode To Joy to death)!