This book is now a firm favorite in my toddler's library - although the book is recommended for over 4's, I have found that the pop up mechanism's really withstand little fingers! (My son is 2 and a half.) We've read our copy several times a day for months now and it is still (nearly) looking as good as new! It's quite amazing as he has managed to shred most of his other pop up books.

The illustrations are beautiful and the 'story' true to the original song. A MUST for all parents with interactive little ones - so much more fun than a video game!!

I'll definately be looking out for other Paul O. Zelmsky illustrated books.

The Wheels on the Bus is my one-year-old's favorite song. It has been our companion on long car trips, and it has forced me into greater and greater physical contortions in trying to act it out. When I saw this fabulous book, it seemed to be the answer to my prayers. Let the book do the work! Look! The doors actually open and close, and the people on the bus can go bumpety-bump without me jumping up and down. My son seemed to agree. He adores the book. The only thing is that if he gets it into his hands by himself, he tends to rip it apart. The wheels on the bus have been glued back on several times. So, we put it on a high shelf away from the other books, only to be read with an adult. But my son can't pass the shelf withoug pointing and going "Ungf, ungf." Now, I'm a slave to the Wheels on the Bus. I'm forced to read it day and night. Thank goodness it's such a wittily illustrated book. Now, if they'd only make it in a board book version..

Our two-year-old loves this book. It is colorful, interactive and fun fun fun. It is one of those gems among children's books that is actually bearable the 500th time you read (or sing) it. The artistry is exceptional -- clever manipulatives and delightful illustrations help bring this classic song to life. You will open the doors, swish the windshield wipers, ssshh the babies, and yes, you will make the wheels go round. Manipulatives are generally lift-the-flap or tab.

The material is not very thick, so we also save this book for use with an adult. We have had to tape the wheels back on though, and have lost functionality on one or two pop-ups. Nevertheless, this is a delightful book that will bring smiles to your child -- and not drive *you* crazy!

This book is one of the 2 most desirable and collectible books on classical guitars (the other one is: Collection of Fine Spanish Guitars from Torres to the Present by Urlik, Sheldon). The figures are superb and the text informative. The hard cover edition is better in the following senses:

1. The hard cover edition is a limited edition (6000 copies only).
2. It is like a textbook which can be opened fully on its back. Easy for reading and scanning.
3. It's got a hard protective slipcase

However, getting the softcover edition might be your choice for its price and availability.

If you are a lover of guitars, specifically classical guitars, you owe it to yourself to purchase this book. There is nothing else like it. Great photography, details on some of the best guitars from some of the best makers...Romanillos, Smallman, Bernabe...They are all here. Inclusively, the book covers players (Williams, Bream, Segovia) as well as an in depth look at wood and the guitar market today. Great stuff and at ..., an incredible bargain.

Any lover of the classical guitar cannot help but appreciate this gorgeous collection of instruments, as well as the way in which they are displayed on the pages. Filled with information about the guitars and their construction, the luthiers, and which players'CDs you can hear them on, I highly recommend this fine edition. I take issue only with the subtitle "A Complete History", as the guitars are based on a single collection of instruments, owned by Russell Cleveland, and not necessarily what any other person would consider "Complete". That fact does not diminish my enjoyment of this exquisite book one bit.

Although Maxwell Maltz is listed as the first author (he passed away in 1975), I know that Dan Kennedy has played a huge role in writing this book and making it happen. Dan Kennedy is currently President of the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation and has been one of my success mentors for years. His wisdom is easy to follow - but more than that it is right on! I started out as an engineer and a very timid salesman. Dan Kennedy is has helped to change that. Because of him I know myself better, which has helped me to better serve others in my business. I guarantee that if you read this book you will be a changed person - it's that incredible.

Kennedy covers all of the proactive bases: smart thinking, system thinking, futuristic thinking, and positive thinking. If you are truly seeking the kind of success and abundance that makes your life 100% livable - you must read this book. Many of his ideas are found in SUCCESS BOUND, another book built on learning how to live a proactively life that is God centered and fulfilling.

Everything that I have put into practice that Dan Kennedy has recommended in his books has worked. He has brought me success by focusing on what is important in selling and using my God given talents and my thinking ability to be a better salesman. Nearly every bit of our success starts in our minds including sales success. This book makes it very clear as to how to think in the right way so that your success is assured.

You will find that this exciting book becomes a part of you. Don't hold back - let it happen. In fact, I plan on spending 10 to 15 minutes every morning for the next several days focusing my thoughts on the truths of this book, thereby allowing them to seep deep into my subconscious mind. If you do this too I guarantee God's wisdom will most assuredly bring you the success and abundance you deserve.

Enjoy this book and your new proactive and successful life!

What do you get when you put Dan S. Kennedy--the all-time, number one, best salesman and marketer in the world, and Maxwell Maltz--the world's leading innovator of self-image building, and blend them together--well, you guessed it...one powerfull piece of work. Invaluable to anyone needing to learn the inner game of selling, and by this I mean, one must master their inner self (Maltz) before they can master thier salesmanship and certainly bestow their conquering effects of marketing (Kennedy) on the world. Worth the read, very easy, flowing and has readily available and practical exercises for training your mind...to SELL! Top 10 sales book, on my list. Steve Adele

I am a sales trainer from Singapore and I like your book very much. I have certainly benefited a lot from the book. I will recomend this wonderful book to as many sales peoples as possible. Could you please send a copy of " Zero-Resistance Living " report to me. My address in Singapore : Mr Paul Ong, No 70 CASHEW ROAD< #03-03, CASHEW PARK, SINGAPORE 679646 REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE OR EMAIL TO : dulcia@cyberway.com.sg

Warmest Regards, Paul Ong

Use literature and literary figures to follow in the footsteps of notable writers and their settings with the aid of a title which covers many destinations, from the Prague of Kafka to Steinbeck's California setting for Cannery Row. Add first-person reflections on the literature containing the settings and you have an excellent take-along or travel planner.

Literary Trips: Following In The Footsteps Of Fame is a superbly presented compendium of observations, adventures, and travels of and by some of the best loved writers as they trekked around the world. A magnificent armchair travelogue, Literary Trips is divided as the world is: Africa to Australasia (Paul Bowles, T. E. Lawrence, Rohinton Mistry, Bruce Chatwin); North America: West (Malcolm Lowry, The Beats, D. H. Lawrence, Garrison Keillor and Sinclair Lewis); North America: East (Tennessee Williams, Margaret Mitchell and Tom Wolfe, Ayn Rand, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Smart); Caribbean and Latin America (Ernest Hemingway, Ian Fleming and Noel Coward, John Stephens and Frederick Catherwood); Great Britain and Ireland (W. B. Yeats, Jane Urquhart and the Bronte Sisters, A. A. Milne, Agatha Christie and Jane Austen); Continental Europe (Knut Hamsun, The Lost Generation, Mary Shelley). Highly recommended for both school and community library collections, Literary Trips is enhanced for the reader with a section on biographies and a "user friendly" index. A novel and original feature of this publication is that any of the chapters are available as separate, individual e-texts and downloadable from the GreatestEscapes.com website.

This is a book to savor in a cigar lounge...in the corner of a jazz club...in front of a softly crackling fire at home. Or in a hammock under a royal palm in the deep, deep south.

I started out by nestling with the book into our oversized, down-filled sofa - and ended up traveling through one of the best reads of my life. Several times, I startled my husband with cries of "No kidding...Wow...I didn't know that...Ohmigod..." as I discovered new places in the hearts of my favorite authors. And delved into the lives of others I knew little about.

Literary Trips probes into the past, yet is formatted for the present. We're all used to reading in chunks now - short, self-contained sections that are complete, independent modules. And this book is totally "today" in that respect. Each chapter, written by a different person, is a complete story - gift-wrapped with its own special signature. Each has its own flavor, its own style, its own finds. Every writer has unearthed amusing tidbits and lively tales that add richness and depth to well researched and beautifully written prose.

The book is also an excellent travel guide for following in those famous footsteps. Each module contains a practical reference section listing hotels and other stomping grounds of famous feet ("Literary Sites"; "Literary Sleeps"). Each section also describes how to get to those grounds and provides useful tips and background information.

My favorite parts are the little surprises throughout. For example, did you know that: §Hemingway dedicated his Nobel Prize for literature to the patron saint of the basilica in Santiago de Cuba? § Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond novels at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica, and named 007 after the local author of a book on birds? §When Ayn Rand was writing Atlas Shrugged, which took 12 years, she didn't leave her apartment for an entire month?

Another of the book's delightful dimensions is a smattering of recipes that could form a menu for a literary memorial party. You could honor D.H. Lawrence with his dandelion wine; Hemingway with double daiquiris; Mistry with Dhansak; and Sinclair Lewis with his "Sinful Christmas Cookies".

I'm always looking for inspiration for my own writing, and Lit Trips provides it on many fronts. Much of it comes from seeing so many authors "under one cover" - an excellent way to compare styles, to link lives, to see how they made their magic. But I was no less inspired by the talent of the book's contributing writers.

I am still amazed that Q was able to write such a readable and hillarious book about a trip that turned into a disaster. Only an author blessed with superior skills and humour could pull it off, but he did and 'in spades!' As Q's 'Old Guy' I am putting the finishing touches on a sequel to his book, Fishing With Paul Quarrington by His Old Guy. It delves further into our fishing and casting lives together since we met fifteen years ago and includes Paul's second trip to the Broadback, this time to my territory and with superb fishing.

I talked Paul into making this trip with us. We had fished and worked on his angling skills for over ten years and I felt he was ready to go affter the 'Big One'. Howeverr it was not to be. We ran into just about the worst conditions that anybody could imagine and due to circumstances were unable to go to the Deval territory, one with which I was familiar. I didn't think it was possible for anybody to construct a readable tale as a result of this venture, but Paulie not only pulled it off, but wrote his 'Old Guy' book with all the flair and humour that only a superb author could. I am just putting the finishing touches on a sequel to his wonderful account of that mis-adventure, 'Fishing With Paul Quarrington by His Old Guy'. It fills in the holes that 'Q' left out and includes his next trip with us, this time into my territory and with superb fishing.

WOW. I read this play for an english class and irght now we are watching a production of it. As an activist I have to say this play captures many of the tensions in all schools of the left. Performed in the early 60s, it reveals the debate that raged between the 'old' and 'new' left. All I can say is unbeleivable.

Written in the early sixties, the play frequently abbreviated as Marat/Sade is set in 1808, yet many of the comments are distinctly directed toward current events, notably the upheavals in Eastern Europe. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Union behind us, the play takes on even greater significance. Despite the reassurances of the asylum director, whether a mere fifteen years or well over two hundred years have passed, the nature of revolutions, and the fanatics who cause them, has not changed. Combining historical events with modern theatrics, Weiss has produced what has been and will continue to be one of the most disturbing, as well as one of the most important works ever to be performed on stage.

Paul Brooks knew Rachel Carson well and encouraged her writing of her sea books. Upon Rachel's death, it was Paul and his wife who adopted Roger, the son of Rachel's niece (who Rachel adopted). Paul Brooks biography is much shorter than Linda Lear's about Carson's life and work. I feel he shows the writing genius of Rachel the poet/scientist. He mentions the personal circumstances of Carson's family responsibilities, but Brooks gift to the reader is an understanding of the unique publications Rachel produced in her very brief life. I do not know of any other writer who has had every work on the NYTimes bestseller list, sometimes two at a time!! Non-fiction all, even her posthumous The Sense of Wonder. Science written for the layperson is a gift and Paul Brooks nurtured it in Rachel Carson.

From Planeta Journal - This compelling biography documents the life and work of Rachel Carson. From a government official to a star of the 1960s environmental movement, Rachel Carson is a figure often cited but poorly known. This book sets out to change that perception and includes excerpts from her books as well. A favorite!

I first read this book as an eleven year old and it made a strong impression on my young mind. Now, as a 44 year old, I thought I would reread this book to take a stroll down memory lane. I wasn't disappointed. This story of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the late 1930's is the sequel to The Kid from Tomkinsvile. The "Kid" chonicles the season that leads up to the World Series and this book disects the seven game classic against the Indians. At eleven, I cheered and cried for the heroes in the story; and at 44 I did the same. This is a wonderful book, and a great look back into time, for any young boy or girl.

In some ways, this is an even better read than "The Kid From Tomkinsville" because Tunis keeps the story within the framework of a series as opposed to two seasons in "The Kid." In "World Series" you get to see how a battered and bruised Roy Tucker handles his first postseason, although the novel also puts a lot of time in on Brooklyn manager Dave Leonard (who shows himself to be a lot more complex than in the first book). Tunis is very good at getting the feel of what baseball was like in the 1940's, and "World Series" contains perhaps his best game-situation writing of all the novels. And the banquet scene is priceless. Very much a companion piece to "The Kid," and it's well worth buying them both and reading them one after the other.

When I was a kid in the late 60's and early 70's, I read all eight books in the J.R. Tunis series in his Dodgers series. Anyone who gets into the series MUST start with this one. Roy Tucker is an integral part in nearly all the books ("Young Razzle" being the exception), and "The Kid From Tomkinsville" introduces him along with the other characters. While some of the dialogue is of the "gee whiz" variety, the book and series are excellent. I'm so glad they were re-released, and I now have all of them. Now, I want to get a Dodgers replica jersey with the name "Tucker" above the number 34. Any kid between 9 and 90 who reads this book will know why.

I read this book the first time back in the mid-80's in high school. I had a burgeoning love of baseball and fell deeply in love with Tunis' works. The point I got from this story is that there is always another door to get to your dream.

I first read this book when I was 7 years old in the 1970s. I still love it to this day. The characters jump off the page and take you back to the 1940s, a different time and world.

Unless a person has been isolated in Siberia I think everyone has heard of the Mel Brooks hit musical "The Producers". Written by Brooks and Thomas Meehan it is probably the biggest hit on Broadway in the past 50 years. Tickets are unavailable until July 2002 and "prime" seats are fetching $480. Is the show worth it? You bet and so is the book. And it is only ...
The book is a wonderful coffee table volume full of wonderful photographs from the production, rehearsal, casting and out of town tryout. There are stories from the stellar cast such as Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Brad Oscar and Cady Huffman. Madeleine Doherty relates her hilarious audition as a little "old lady" and Brad Oscar's rise from a swing/understudy to the permanent part of Franz Liebking when another actor was injured.
All of the lyrics and most of the book are included Act by Act. The lyrics for some of the songs that were deleted are hilarious. With Mel Brooks heavily involved in the book, we get to know how this valentine to Broadway was created and how the original 1968 film came to be.
Miramax Books is to be given a standing ovation for the gorgeous design on this publication.
If you have seen "The Producers" in New York as I did one month ago, this book is a wonderful souvenir and a necessary addition to your bookshelf. If you haven't seen it yet, it is still a wonderfully enjoyable volume. Anyone interested in Broadway or musical theatre will pore over the pages for hours.
I highly recommend it and it would make a great gift.

Caution: This book contains vulgar three and four letter words in the libretto and lyrics of The Producers. The intent behind the use of these words is humor, rather than prurience.

The Producers is by far the best book I have ever read about the development and staging of a Broadway show. Anyone who likes Broadway, comedy, or Mr. Mel Books will find this book to be irresistible! For those who cannot get tickets to The Producers (or have tickets for 2003), this book is your best bet to enjoy this marvelous musical in the near future. I strongly recommend this book as a gift item for those who don't mind some salty language and references.

This book contains reminiscences of the show's development from the first contact by Mr. David Geffen to Mr. Mel Brooks to encourage Mr. Brooks to create a Broadway musical version of the 1968 motion picture of The Producers by Mr. Brooks. Each personal statement is accompanied by beautiful, lighthearted candid photographs of the people involved. One of the most touching sections involves how Ms. Susan Stroman was chosen to direct and choreograph the show after her talented husband and artistic partner, Mike Ockrent died, and Ms. Stroman was still in mourning. The stories about the first reading for producers will leave you with a tingle of excitement. After the first act was read, Mr. Rocco Landesman offered the St. James Theatre. Fourteen producers present eventually invested in the show, after Mr. Geffen had to bail out due to other commitments. The accounts are full of one-liners to keep you laughing as you learn. For example, turning a movie with two songs into a musical with 16 more is described as being "not unlike trying to translate it from English into Serbo-Croatian."

Although the feedback was good all along, everyone kept waiting for something to go wrong. But it never did. The most negative thing anyone said about the show was Mr. Brooks. "It's not funnier than Blazing Saddles." When the New York Times Review came in, it was an amazing rave that began with "How do you single out highlights in a bonfire?" You then get some background on sets, costumes, and winning 12 Tony awards.

From there, the book presents the libretto of the show and the lyrics of the songs. The only thing that's missing is the musical score. But you can sing to yourself, and enjoy the many wonderful photographs of the 22 person cast (featuring Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom -- with full allusions to Ulysses intended). This is an annotated version, so it includes notes about what the draft versions had called for and the reasons why certain changes were made. Having seen the changes, I must agree that the decisions were unerringly improvements. Some of the false starts are pretty funny, too, such as the planned beginning with a "Hey, Nebraska" spoof of a well-known Broadway musical.

If you are one of the few people who doesn't know the story line, let me give you a brief summary without spoiling it for you. Max has just had a flop ("Funny Boy" based on Hamlet). Accountant Leo notices that Max made a small profit and speculates that a lot of money could be made by over raising money for a flop on which little was spent. Max falls in love with the idea, and draws Leo into a plot to do this. They find a story called "Springtime for Hitler" which they feel will offend practically everybody, and hire a director to make an outrageous version. Max raises the money by romancing elderly female investors. The rest of the story takes a number of unexpected twists that will delight and entertain you. One of my favorite lines from the show comes in Act 1, Scene 1 when Max comments that "the reviews come out a lot faster when the critics leave at intermission."

The appeal of the story is that it ultimately upholds positive values while poking good-natured fun at everyone involved in the Broadway community. Since no one is spared by the satirical spear, no one can be terribly offended. There's a lot of cross-dressing to spread out the small cast that gives the show some of the sophomoric appeal of a Hasty Pudding theatrical, which is well captured in the photographs.

Creativity experts say that you can find improved solutions by trying to do the opposite of what you've been trying to do. So the notion of trying to make something bad . . . to find something good . . . is a well established one. Turning something from one form into another one is also advised. So you can learn new ways to solve old problems, even from Broadway musicals!

As I've written elsewhere, if you can't get a ticket to this, the greatest Broadway show of all time, here's what you should do, courtesy of Amazon.com.

1. BUY THIS BOOK. It contains all of the lyrics, super pictures, and more important, not only the entire script, but the entire chronology, from its inception as a movie to creating the stage story to slapping together the first few songs to nervously hosting the first previews in Chicago to its blockbuster grand opening at the St. James Theater in New York! It doesn't get more comprehensive than this!

2. BUY THE ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM ON CD. This contains every song, from start to finish, sung by the award winning cast. The lyrics are here too.

3. BUY THE DVD/VIDEO, "Recording The 'Producers' - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks." This is the closest you can get to seeing the musical, albeit not on stage. And don't be fooled by the liner notes. This isn't ONLY the 85 minute version that aired on PBS, it has extra footage that clocks the package at around 1 hour and 40 minutes!

I saw the show in October and I'm going back to New York to see it again in March. I've NEVER been this INSANE about any entertainment product (books, films, music, staged theater) in my LIFE.

With all three items -- the book, the CD and the DVD/video -- you get a pretty good idea of what makes "The Producers," with its spectacular mix of merriment and mirth, mayhem and satire, so great! It deserves all of its hype. You can't oversell it!

Every song is a show-stopper, a throwback to the riffs that feel like a "best hits" package from the greatest musicals ever made. A little bit of Cole Porter, Gershwin, vaudeville and classic dance melodies reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly (e.g., "Gotta Sing-Sing!" -- as in prison!), with lyrics that are so happily vulgar and irreverent that you're lucky you're not more doubled-over in pain from laughing so hard if you could only see the girls wearing pretzels on their heads and others doing the swastika "circle" march (visible via a tilted mirror toward the audience), done in Busby Berkeley style! Heck, there's even a bit of an homage to the Andrew Sisters (e.g., "He's a Hot-sie-tot-sie Nazi! Woo-woo, he's a hot-sie-tot-sie Nazi! Woo-woo! The Fuhrer...is in a FUROR!")...

Sadly, this original cast won't be together much longer, but the traveling show officially begins next year (it'll be in San Diego from December 2002 to January 2003)! So the wait won't be as long as we thought!

To recap -- get the CD, the DVD/Video and THIS BOOK! Then you'll save some big-time $$$ until the show arrives in your backyard! Whatta deal!