Here's a jazz play-along book that doesn't leave the beginner in the dust, but still gives the intermediate player some challenging chord changes.

I've found it a much more fun and friendly place to start than the Jamey Abersold books, and have made much more progress as an improviser than I was able to with the Abersold series.

No theory is presented. If you have an idea of what jazz is about in your ears, you can use this book/CD set to practice your skills at improvisation. (Beginners will also love Mantooth's From the Beginning, and then Movin' on to the Blues. These books don't provide tunes, just progressively more difficult etude-like patterns to practice with a rhythm section.)

The best thing about all the Mantooth books is that the CD includes the head (tune) played by ordinary jazz musicians, not by one of the jazz greats. You don't even have to know how to read music to use these books! Classically trained musicians can hear how written music is interpreted in jazz style these days, and play along with it, before playing their own choruses (improvisations).

These are exactly the skills that are essential to read a jazz chart, or use a fake book, and play jazz with conviction and style.

In Jazz Gems tunes range from very easy to fairly challenging. If you don't know some of them you will fall in love with them as you're learning. The most famous tunes included are Bluesette, Satin Doll and Tangerine.

And if that weren't enough, the price of these books couldn't be more reasonable.

This book contains poems that are like little stories about the daily people and life of each day. Each poem takes on a "life" of its own and takes you down a journey into the heart and soul of what the writer has seen and experienced. Good stuff and quite different, I like his style and for a few bucks you get the "real thing" from a poet that is a storyteller like another Jersey guy named Springsteen.

Jews And Medicine: An Epic Saga by academician and lecturer Frank Heynick is a vast and comprehensive history of the scientific and medical accomplishments discovered by Jewish doctors and researchers throughout medical history, from the classical medicine of Maimonides to the germ theory of Cohn to Freudian psychoanalysis. An amazing and informative volume, Heynick discusses college-level medical theories with careful explanations written for readers of all medical backgrounds, from the non-specialist general reader with an interest in Judaic Studies, to advanced scholars in the field of Medical History. Jews And Medicine is a simply fascinating distillation of the evolution of medical science across the centuries and the lengths to which Jewish people have advanced the knowledge and skill to help sick and injured human beings.

This book is truly remarkable. It gives never before released interviews with Jim's family, a crucial element missing in many other books. His family reveals fascinating stories and accounts of thier time spent with Jim. Lisciandro has finally been able to open up the Morrison family.
Rattlesnakes, Whistles, and Castanets is the most in-depth of the Jim Morrison biographies to have been released.

Joaquin Murrieta and his Horse Gangs is the most definitive single source for an accurate history about Joaquin Murrieta and his associates. The author has spent many years researching the subject and retracing the steps of Joaquin; his vast knowledge about Joaquin is obvious as you read the book. The book is well written, easy to follow and contain many photographic references (nearly 300).

The book is written by a two-term, eight years, former Governor of Georgia. It is more a personal story than a political story. As such, the reader gets a view of what inspired a very private individual to take on a very public political office. This is a book which can dispel the common belief that all politicians are crooked and just in politics for themselves. It is also a book for those who seem to be demanding a theocracy. As a Christian, Harris made some decisions which advisers told him were not "politically astute" but which he believed to be right. Yet, he steered clear of the "hot-button" religious rights issues, such as abortion. The book reveals a great deal about the family upbringing of Harris and the values that shaped his life. The same values he would carry into public life. He was not a darling of the media and given very little chance for success when he announced his race for Governor. He had only a 2% name recognition among voters, but broke from the crowded field to win the democratic nomination. The book doesn't expose any scandal, is not shocking in any way, and makes no enemies. It is just an easy read about an unassuming individual that wielded tremendous power. Nice guys can finish first.

This slim volume is a good biography of Bunyan, a man whose interesting life is often overshadowed by his works of native genius. It is lively, readable, and written from a Christian perspective.

Especially good is Harrison's discussion of whether Bunyan was truly a Baptist or not.

Recommended.

John Dough and the Cherub is sweet reading. Aimed for younger readers, this book is set in a fanciful world much like Baum's Oz books. This story tells of a gingerbread man come to life much like the fairy tale. It tells of his adventures with his companion, the Cherub, as he dodges his enemy, a sinister man who wishes to eat him to and gain immortality. Recommend reading for nostalgic sentimentality. It hooked me when I was a child and my mother as an adult. (I still like it!)

"Johnny Cash" by Frank Moriarty is a large, coffee table format book about country music's biggest living legend. It is filled with excellent photos and concise text chronicling Cash's incredible career. Fans will love it!

This is a good collection of Swift's works. Many of his most famous tales and pamphlets appear in this collection including a Modest Proposal and the Wretched State of Ireland. The collection also includes a Tale of a Tub and Gulliver's Travels. This collection si a very comprehensive and adequate group of all who like Swift.