Buchman-Moller has put together a session-by-session analysis of Lester Young's entire recorded output. Hundreds of partial and complete solo transcriptions are included, along with analyses and commentary. For Pres fans; for saxophonists; for jazz students and improvisers; this book is a MUST.

Six stars at least.

I'd heard about this energy stuff but thought only a few people were given the gift. Turns out ANYONE can do this. I followed the photos and simple instructions and felt the energy coming out of my hands within the first try. WOW!

I was very much impressed with the way the information was presented in this book. Very different from most poodle breed books, in that Mr. Sabella shares his knowledge on the poodle through his experience as a handler, breeder, and ultimately an AKC judge. His book discusses the canine species and how the domesticated dog is thought to have evolved, history of and beginning of dog shows, obedience training, and of course, the conformation of the poodle. There were many facts written in this book that I did not know, nor have I ever come across in all the breed books I have read, as well as handling and obedience training books. There is definitely alot of good history about the dog world in this little book.

The book is clearly written, easy to understand and comprehend, often entertaining with true stories of great poodles which, no doubt, confirms the high level of intelligence and the playful disposition of the breed. After reading Mr. Sabella's book, I feel very confident that I have a good understanding and background on the poodle. His admiration for the breed is subtle, yet, he truly writes from the heart and soul and instills a desire for all of us to appreciate the breed as much as he does. Bravo Mr. Sabella! Now if I can only get his autograph at the next PCA National!

This is an excellent companion to your Zappa collection. It might be of little interest to those totally not in the know about Zappa; unlike Bet Watson's excellent "Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play" however, it is not incomprehensible to the novice. The chronological flow and the wealth of biographical material is a fine bonus, as are the hitherto rare photos of Zappa with various family members. Of particular interest are the bits about Zappa in the Czech Republic - his welcome there, his interaction with Vaclav Havel - did you know he set up a company to represent Czech business interests in the US? (The book does not go into detail on how the Bush administration arm-twisted Havel into withdrawing this accreditation from Zappa, but that is another story) For the hardcore Zappa-phile, there are shots of Zappa with the earliest Mothers, a rare photo of the legendary Studio Z, Zappa with Beefheart, and so on and so forth. Unlike most of the quickie picture books designed to cash in on the latest boy/girl/whatever - band craze, this book will stay by your bedside for years.

As an actor, I fell completely in love with Zoyka's Apartment. Bulgakov has an amazing capacity for imagery. The characters are vivid and enthralling. His sense of comedy remains unsurpassed by the writers of today. I highly recommend this hysterically ludicrous play to any fan of Bulgakov. You may also enjoy reading anything by Kurt Vonnegut, his work runs along the same lines as Bulgakov's.

This is a richly layered book, full of interesting and thoughtful insights into the Zunis and the anthropologists who have studied them. McFeely combines a sympathetic approach to Zuni culture with intelligent analysis of the Euro-American anthropological tradition. Her language is sometimes difficult, a reflection no doubt of the fact that this book had its origins in a Ph. D. dissertation at New York University (some unfortunate passages are so complex and convoluted that they come close to defying comprehension). But this is more a stylistic problem that one of substance. I was particularly taken with McFeely's descriptions of the Eastern anthropological museums of the early twentieth century in which Zuni artifacts were displayed in row on row of glass cases, and with her observation that a dialogue took place between the frozen objects in the cases and the peering faces reflected in the glass (of course, the peering faces were learning about themselves even as they studied Zuni). It is a good metaphor for the book. Readers who are interested in the complex interplay between Native American cultures and the dominant European culture of the United States, will, I think, find this book rewarding--but only if they are willing to read slowly and carefully.

In A Zuni Artist Looks at Frank Hamilton Cushing, Phil Hughte portrays the images of F. H. Cushing who was an American ethnologist who resided in a late nineteenth century Zuni pueblo. Hughte, a trained artist, illustrates the life of Cushing in Zuni pueblo in a form of cartoon. Hughte offers forty-three cartoons which are developed upon Cushing's the reminiscence of his Zuni years, My Adventures in Zuni, and letters written by him, or to him by others. They are also accompanied by the cartoonist's explanatory comments on his drawings, reflecting his own interpretation of what Cushing did and meant to Zuni people at that time. What Hughte offers with his cartoons is the perspectives of the society studied which is hardly conveyed in such anthropological monographs. As an insider of Zuni culture, Hughte depicts the ethos of Zunis of the ninteenth century and provides "the other side" of the story which were told by Frank Hamilton Cushing. In other words, the reader is able to see how "other people" explain themselves.Hughte's drawings are done by a pencil, presenting a beautiful monochrome tone. It is interesting to observe that Hughte always illustrates Cushing in traditional Zuni outfit, implying Cushing's obsession with the culture, and constantly depicts Cushing with almost no facial expressions. On contrary, Zunis are rich in expressions as well as in clothing, representing the emotions of the people. Hughte's juxtaposition of the images of Cushing and Zunis clearly shows their divergence in perspectives. Generally speaking, cartoons are often associated with satire and caricture in which the target is tha larger entities such as political power, or the dominant culture, in this case Cushing who represents the Anglo-American culture. However, Hughte uniquely portrays Cushing in many ways; one way he is disturbing the Zuni clowns, and another way he protects their land from U.S. troops. He is an outsider, a Bow Priest, an ethnographer, and a clown, representing a trickster figure in the Zuni society. This is the very reason why Cushing appears human and does not appear as the target of satire or caricture. Hughte brings such figure on the settings where Zunis are warm and kind, treating them all equally in a drama called "A Zuni society in the ninteenth century." While maintaining a Zuni perspective, Hughte teaches us to see the story as a whole, helping us to balance between the objectivity and the subjectitvity.

Expanding upon early impressions of Zuni fetishes, this book contrasts the reprinted text the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (published in 188), with annotations by noted art historian and author Mark Bahti.

After seeing part of the movie (as much as I could stand to watch), I've always avoided this book, but after reading some reviews of it, I decided it was probably just the movie that stunk and gave it a try.

I liked the book. I thought the plot was good, and the characters were solid, and I was always interested to find out what happened. But the plot never really grabbed me, I never had to keep reading to find out what happened, so it went a litt;e slow for me. But I think that may just be a personal preference more than any shortcoming of the story. I thought it got a little too involved in the ritual and the customs of the Fremen, but what I was more interested in were the characters of Maud'dib and Jessica and the Atriedes and Harkonnen families.

I'll probably at leat read the next book to see if I get any more interested, but if I don't I probably won't go any farther with the series. Overall, though, I thought this book was interesting and well-written if not the best thing for me personally.

The novel Dune is one of those works that you hear of by reputation as being a classic and which you always see in the bookstore but never seem to pick up to read. I had seen the David Lynch film when I was younger and was confused and bored by it. I borrowed a copy of the Dune tv mini-series recently, and after watching one episode I found the story intriguing but the special effects lacking. So I decided to read the book in order to experience a better effects company, my imagination.

To me, one of the things that makes Dune unique is its glimpse of what the future holds for the human race. It isnt a future controlled by machines and dominated by technology as so many science fiction worlds are. The universe that Frank Herbert creates here is a humanistic one, almost a mideval renaissance world. Going along with that thought, this universe is filled with court intrigue. The known universe is loosely ruled by an emperor named Padashan IV who keeps his rule going with the threat of his imperial guard, elite fighting units called Sardaukar. He also keeps his noblemen in suspicion of each other and sometimes helps bring about actual wars between them if it suits his purpose.

As the book opens, one of his most respected noblemen, Duke Atreides, is sent to the desert planet of Arrakis (Dune) to take over spice production. Spice is the most important product in the universe and whoever controls it, controls power, and brings danger on themselves. One of the sources of conflict is that the Atreides have replaced the House Harkonnen, their bitter enemies, on Arrakis, so the whole place smells like a trap waiting to spring. The Harkonnens have sworn eternal war, called "kanly" with the Atreides and it is only a question of when and how they will strike. In addition to this, there are mysterious native inhabitants on Dune, known as Fremen, whose allegience is unknown, and the Duke also has to deal with giant sandworms who can swallow ships whole.

The main character of the book is Paul Atreides, son of the duke, a fifteen year old boy trained by the best fighters in the galaxy and also learned in the ways of his Bene Gesserit mother. The Bene Gesserits remind me of the Jedi in Star Wars. They are trained psychics who have strange powers feared and respected among the general populace, such as future vision, and can sometimes control weak minds and sorta steer the galaxy. Some say that Paul is destined for some terrible purpose that will lead the human race to a new destiny.

This is a great book. Like the Lord of the Rings, you can tell that Herbert not only wrote this book, but in the process developed and shaped his world with legends and past histories that are only hinted at in this work. There is lots of action and adventure and also religious questions and philsophy, almost a little for every kind of ruler. It does have its dull moments, especially after Paul meets his destiny, but you have to expect that anytime you have a work that is an "epic". There's so much information that not all of it can be interesting. There is a large cast of characters, so I would maybe suggest watching the first episode of the tv series like I did because it gives you a visual reference for most of the main characters. I'm going to start the next book, Dune Messiah, today.

If a person were to conduct a poll, asking science fiction fans to name their 5 favorite books, Dune would almost surely appear in at least 80% of the lists.

Frank Herbert has created something remarkable, blending several intricate subplots around the central tale of Paul Atreides to form one of the most complex and riveting tales of all time.

The Characterization is flawless and there are more ideas introduced in this one book than I have seen in a dozen of the same genre. Its only drawback or another novelity, depending on your opinion, its Herbert's writing style. Some, like my sister found it very off putting to be immediately thrust into the world with no proper explanation of terms such as the Bene Gesserit, the melange. Many have not progressed beyond the first 30 pages because of this, professing a sense of confusion. I however, find this to be a refreshing change from tthe usual lengthy explanations, which lend meat but no excitement to a novel.

Dune is a roller coaster ride of thrills, exceptional in every way, and should be read by anyone, fans of the genre or not. Wheter u love it or loath it you must admit that it is something special.

Let me tell begin by saying that I have been haunted by this memoir for months now. I didn't write a review immediately; rather I've been getting this aftertaste of this book since it's completion. I simply cannot stop thinking of the sorrow and pain this family endured and everyone around them for that matter. When I first delved into this book, I got a bit tired of the sing-song passages; but it's written with such simplicity and frankness that it ties in with the "complex simplicity" of McCourt's world as he knew it. His dark descriptions were so vivid I honestly felt hungry and damp while reading it! The most inspiring aspect is that Frank McCourt triumphed over all his diversities and actually survived, for starters, and became a success. I hadn't much knowledge of Ireland especially during this bleak period until reading this. When I envisioned Ireland, I saw leprechauns and sunny, green fields, and Irish eyes smiling; well, there was none of that here. ANGELA'S ASHES is a poignant testament of how the human spirit can prevail.

I picked up Angela's Ashes on tape from the library just on a whim, knowing nothing about the book and listened to it during my daily commute.

It is narrated by Frank McCourt, and that made it all the more powerful (and entertaining!) He writes the book exactly how he would have spoken then, so I can imagine that for a well-read person, the contractions and punctuation and other bits of grammar (or lack thereof) might be a challenge at first. Listening to him tell his life's story is something altogether magical.

Frank McCourt tells of his life as a child growing up in severe poverty. Only a master storyteller could get you to laugh out loud at a boy who has suffered such severe hardships that I could hardly believe them. I'm sure that some of the circumstances have been embellished for the sake of the story, but I have no doubt that people did and probably still do live in conditions such as Frank McCourt and his family.

The deplorable conditions and situations were sometimes difficult to listen to, and I wanted to crawl through the cassette deck on more than one occasion and kick some "arse" myself. It made me realize how little a child really needs to be happy and healthy, and a little ashamed of our own children "deprived" and "falling down with the hunger" because they had to have toast with their eggs instead of a strawberry Pop Tart.

This book certainly helped me to appreciate my own life, and made me unbelievably proud and happy that little Frankie McCourt made it out of that hell and wrote to tell about it. It will also make you quite hungry for fish and chips with plenty of vinegar and salt, which is where I'm headed right after quitting time!

Reading Angela's Ashes produced emotions in me that no other book has ever done. Imagine a childhood having three younger brothers, living in a damp, one bedroom apartment without a restroom, eating one or no meal a day (a pig's head for Christmas Dinner), and a father that squanders the family's minuscule income on "pints". Like an adult, at three years old Frank took care of his brothers; he cleaned their "arses" and and dreamed of the day that he could make a little money and support his family. McCourt's life story provoked so much sympathy inside of me that I wished I had the power to travel back in time to give him my only sandwich for lunch so he wouldn't starve. One must read to believe that a person could survive such a hard childhood. Easing this sadness, Frank McCourt uniquely adds humor with the thoughts he had as a child like excusing his father's mistakes for being "dropped on his head" as a kid. Yes, I enjoyed the book because Frank's life story made me cry and laugh, but I loved it because it made me more caring of other people in life and realize that if Frank McCourt could overcome his hardships, anyone can. That is the potential power of Angels's Ashes. It deserves a perfect 10, and I think "Joseph, Mary, and Jesus" would agree. Brian 2