Big Bird & Beyond charts the growth of the Children's Television Workshop and Sesame Street,which marked the start of the Markle Foundation's struggle to make quality programming a part of everyday media presentations. This coverage of the foundation which nurtured such programs explores how media for education was developed and marketed. Recommended for any involved in media studies.

My 1 1/2 year old has already worn out our first copy of this book--we love it! It is a perfect size for her hands and has all her favorite Sesame Street friends.

Although this is strictly designed as a children's book, this book is actually an excellent refrence for bird watchers of all ages (I'm 14, and I use it all the time!). It has easy identification to about 50 kinds of North American "backyard" birds. Great for any bird enthusiast!

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This volume brings together what are probably the two most atypical Greek comedies by Aristophanes. "The Birds" is one play where for once Aristophanes does not seem to be attacking some specific abuse in Athens, while "The Frogs" is actually the first "serious" attempt at dramatic criticism. This is not to suggest that "The Birds" ("Ornithes") is nothing more than escapist entertainment. Certainly there are those who see it as a political satire about the imperialistic dreams that resulted in the disastrous invasion of Sicily (which happened the year before his play was produced in 414 B.C.). Then again, this could just be Aristophanes bemoaning the decline of Athens.

Pisthetaerus ("Trusting") and Euelpides ("Hopeful") have grown tired of life in Athens and decide to build a utopia in the sky with the help of the birds, which they will name Necphelococcygia (which translates roughly as "Cloud Cuckoo Land"). Pisthetaerus and his feathered friends have to fight off those unworthy humans, malefactors and public nuisances all, who try and join their utopia. Then there are the gods, who come to make some sort of agreement with the new city because they have created a bottleneck for sacrifices coming from earth.

Because it is a more general satire, "The Birds" tends to work better with younger audiences than most comedies by Aristophanes. Besides, the chorus of birds lends itself to fantastic costumes, which is always a plus with young theater goers. In studying any of the Greek plays that remain it is important to I have always maintained that in studying Greek plays you want to know the dramatic conventions of these plays like the distinction between episodes and stasimons (scenes and songs), the "agon" (a formal debate on the crucial issue of the play), and the "parabasis" (in which the Chorus partially abandons its dramatic role and addresses the audience directly). Understanding these really enhances your enjoyment of the play.

On the one hand Aristophanes's comedy "The Frogs" is a farce, but it is of more interest because it presents the earliest known example of dramatic criticism. Presented in 405 B.C., the play tells of how Dionysus, the god of drama, had to go to Hades to fetch back Euripides, who died the previous year, because Athens no longer had any great tragic poets left. The first part of the comedy involves Dionysus, who has disguised himself as Heracles, and his slave Xanthias on their way to Hades and features several interesting songs by the chorus of blessed mystics and the chorus of frogs. However, the high point of the comedy is the contest between Euripides and Aeschylus.

Each of the two great tragic poets denounces the other and quotes lines from their own works to prove their superiority. We discover that Euripides writes about vulgar themes, corrupts manners, debases music and has prosaic diction. In contrast, Aeschylus finds obscure titles and is guilty of turgid prose. In the end Dionysus finds that artistic standards of judgment are useless and turns to a political solution. This makes sense since the problem facing Athens is a political one: what to do about the tyrant Alcibiades. What is most interesting is the implicit belief that the tragic poets had a social responsibility towards the audiences of their dramas. "Frogs," in addition to being one of the better comedies by Aristophanes, is also of interest because it contains the only fragments from several tragedies by Euripides and Aeschylus that have been long lost to us.

Because "The Birds" and "The Frogs" are not typical comedies by Aristophanes, this is not really the first book that people wanting to understand the Greek comic playwright are going to turn. Better to start off with "Lysistrata," "The Clouds," or "Peace" before proceeding to these works.

Good sharp, clear rendering of Audubon's 435 Birds. The images appear to be photo offsets of the original Havell prints, including small flaws like spots and tears. No page or image numbers. You have to pencil in your own by using the excellent table of contents at the back of the book. Solid, high quality binding. Excellent addition to any birdwatcher's library.

Field guides are great for helping you identify the bird you just scoped, but once you want to learn more about the birds you've been seeing the field guides aren't of much use. This book covers a limited number of birds, but the information provided is excellent. He covers the life history of the birds, including a season by season account of the typical year in the bird's life. Mating habits, habitat preferences, and threats to their enviroment are some of the topics covered. In general, there are 3-5 pages devoted to each species. The illustrations are black and white, but are well done.

This is a marvelous coloring book. Thirty five birds are sketched in considerable detail, including appropriate backgrounds. In addition, each page includes detailed information about the bird. And the cover includes a photo of each page appropriately colored for your reference. As a reference tool for painters, as an educational tool for children, or simply for pleasure, this is one book I would highly recommend.

I am just a beginner birdwatcher and this book was so easy for me to locate the different birds I saw. Very informative-Good drawings and a great price. I just love this book. Being from the Pacific Northwest I didn't want to look through the books that displayed all North American birds. It would take me forever to find the bird I saw and I would forget most of the time what the features were. With this book-refined down to the pacific northwest birds- it is so easy and QUICK to identify the birds in my backyard and on the coast. Pick one up today....you won't be disappointed.

This book provides color photographs, in-depth descriptions, and migration/nesting habits of many birds in the southwestern US.

Bird species include water birds, birds of prey, hummingbirds, songbirds, etc. that residents or visitors to the southwest may encounter.

The book is very well organized and is useful as a quick reference when viewing birds.