This book is should be required for all students of theater. Not only does it offer inspiration, practical insight, and thought provoking questions, it is an exciting read. It is an indispensable companion to "The Empty Space." Brook's ideas are vital and timeless, and Dr. Moffitt serves as both guide and translator through them. No theater Library would be complete without this tome of wisdom from two living legends: Peter Brook and Dr. Dale Moffitt.

"Between Two Silences: Talking With Peter Brook" is the account of a conversation between Peter Brook and an academic audience over a period of several days. Intelligently edited by Dale Moffitt, it displays Brook's first rate mind. I assume the book would be helpful to students of drama and of Brook's work; my purpose is to recommend it to more general readers. Brook has keen insights into human nature and motivation, with zesty comments about ego, hierarchies, awareness of one's surroundings, and focusing on the material at hand. I profited from his comments about working with what is available, in terms of budget, personnel, setting, and so on. Anyone who needs to work with a team with limited resources, whether in business, academia, government, or even the church, will find here a comrade and a masterful intellect. Brook was clearly "present" to his audience during these conversations. One can understand that the same presence is the key to his remarkable accomplishments in directing.

Dr. Dale Moffitt's stellar editing of Brook's spoken words is a feat of great importance and magnitude. Cheers!

Yes: Brook is a genius.
Yes: This work is of great value to any theatre artist.
BUT!!! This book is rather dense, and those who are unfamiliar with major movements and theories in the last century of theater may find themselves a bit lost when Brook begins to talk about Artaud and the "Holy Theater" or Brecht and "Rough Theater."

Brook's ideas, through his sometimes dense writing, are meant to inspire and invigorate. This is not a manual or even a reference to create good theatre, as a major argument of Brook's is that good theater is far to complex and ever-changing to be explained by any book/manual/dogma/etc.

Read this book and know that it will not help you to create good theatre- if anything, it will raise the bar for "good" theatre so much higher that one's task becomes infinitely more difficult. This is the agony and the ecstasy of reading Peter Brook.

Building upon the earlier work of Aristotle, Brecht, Artaud and others, Brook confronts the living organism of the theatre on four levels: Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. In each level, Brook makes the case that the theatre is not only a necessary component to the human creature, but a being that despite its constant wounds and ills, manages to bounce up from the death bed and find a way to survive.

Interestingly when Brook was writing (1968) there were many cynical critics who complained that the theatre was dying in the wake of television and film. Brook confronts the issue that theatre attendance was reacing all time lows. Today, over thirty years later, it is daunting to consider that there are even more distractions (the internet, home video, etc.) and attendance is even lower still. Yet despite these imposing knives thrusting into the communal body that is the Theatre, the world's oldest art form manages to forge ahead, survive and, the rare cases, thrive all the while maintaining its cultural importance.

Brook believes the theatre is unique is that it requires a community of artists and audiences alike to exist. That very sense of humanity and awe is what allows it to flourish in many instances.

Brook's writing is admittedly erudite and sometimes pretentious. And perhaps when one takes the positions that he does, such lofty language and posings may indeed be impossible. I hate to say it, but Brook's book may be hard going for the theatre lay person- God knows I'm aware of how elitist that sounds, but I think it is true. Because of his thick verbage, it may take a couple of stabs for the reader to unlock Brook's fevered soapboxing. But the journey is well worth the price.

This is a book of theatre theory and therefore it may appear quite barren of practical solutions. However when read in conjunction with not only life experience in the theatre as well as the many great acting, directing and play wrighting texts, it does provide the theatre artist with the basis for forging a true political manifesto. To quote Brook himself, "To play needs much work. But when we experience the work as play, then it is not work any more. A play is a play."

Have you ever noticed that several of the worlds truly Great Books are very short? Reading this book, along with The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmond Jones, Acting: the first 6 lessons by Boleshavsky and Aristotles Poetics are (to my less than humble opinion) all one really needs to have a degree in Theater/re.

I purchased this book several years ago to give me more insight into E.B. White's classic novel. Every time I read and re-read the notes, rewrites and history of this touching story for children, I find myself learning so much more about the writing style of this fabulous author. The photographs of White's farmhouse add texture and depth to the story and my first grade students appreciated that he, too, had to make revisions on his work! A wonderful resource for anyone interested in children's literature.

This story is suitable for all ages. It is for the old and the young ones.I like this book mainly because the characters are humorous and interesting, the setting of the story are not too much and last of all it is full of emotions. Happiness, sorrow, excitement and it is also a matter of life and death.

I enjoyed reading Charlotte's Web as a child and now I enjoy reading the book to my children and students. I think part of the reason this book has remained one of my favorites is because of the classic friendship between Wilbur and Charlotte. Both characters demonstrate an unselfish kind of love that is demonstrated from the time they meet. As a mother I want to teach my children the valuable life lesson of being a good friend and I think this story teaches that lesson in a non-didactic fashion. Charlotte's Web will forever be a classic in my heart.

I am beginning to realize that I was severely deprived as a young child. The little corner library where I got my first library card actually had a pretty poor selection of books for young readers. As a result, I grew up thinking that there were only a few Freddy the Pig books. Actually Walter Brooks wrote 26 of them. That makes Freddy every bit the equal of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Many of these books are out of print now, and hard to find, but The Overlook Press has been gradually returning them to circulation. Set in the rural Northeast at a time (the late twenties and thirties), the books recall a time when the world seemed simpler and more full of grace. "Freddy and the Dragon" is the last Freddy novel, published in the year of Brooks death, 1958.

Returning from a jaunt around New England, Freddy and Jinx the cat find themselves less welcome in Centerboro then they are accustomed. Investigation reveals that many of the town's citizens have had property vandalized mysteriously. Witnesses reported sightings of several animals, including a pig. Since many people are naturally wary of talking animals, the suspect du jour for the humans of Centerboro is Freddy and some of his friends from the Bean farm. Our pig hero has no choice but to investigate before he is either jailed or lynched.

Freddy is aided by many friends, like Uncle Ben the inventor, J. J. Pomeroy the detecting robin, Samuel Jackson the mole (and professional conscience), and the adventuring spiders, Mom and Pop Webb. His first challenge is to track down a rogue bull and bring him to justice. Percy the bull has been doing a lot of the vandalism, but Freddy discovers that Percy, although a member of the gang, is really not a bad fellow, just high spirited. Once the bull is offered a chance to stay at the Bean farm and learn how to be a gentlemen he provides Freddy with many of the clues needed to track down Jack the gangster and his evil henchanimals.

What about the dragon? Well, when Freddy is terrorized by the headless horseman who picks up extortion payments he turned to Uncle Ben for help. After a lot of banging and clanking, Ben comes up with a 3 animal dragon suit that even breathes fire. Freddy's trusty dragon is used several times to great effect, eventually bringing the nefarious criminals to justice. This same spirit of inventiveness pervades the entire story and makes it a true delight. From an atomic car to a spider that uses car headlights to signal, the characters often do the entirely unexpected.

As a child I loved these books for the many exotic and wonderful characters, and the enjoyable parts they play. As an adult, I am surprised at the naturalness and simple honesty of the tales as well. There are good guys and bad guys, but justice somehow prevails. People (and animals) have good points and failings, but, on the Bean farm, diversity, mutual respect, and support are the main order of the day. I can find the foundation of many of my own beliefs in the pages of Freddy the Pig.

Someone is wreaking havoc in Centerboro, destroying gardens, stealing bicycles and breaking windows. Animal tracks, including pig tracks, are at the scenes of the crimes. The Bean animals are being accused of these crimes. Freddy attempts to track down the crooks, including a headless horseman, with the help of a friendly dragon! As always, there is lots of action.

If you like this book, you should try the other Freddy books. If you liked the other Freddy books, you will love this one--it was great!

Granted, this book is a novelization of a movie, and a very faithful one at that, so much of the credit goes to the makers of the movie rather than to Brooks, but he does succeed in taking a marvelous story and telling it wonderfully, fully capturing the spirit of the story with his tone, as well as the events in it.

And a wonderful story it is, too. A superb sequel to the original Peter Pan story, answering the question "What would Peter be like if he ever DID grow up?" in a very plausible, indisputable way. Further, it is a perfect primer on how NOT to be a father, and what effects it can have on the children of someone who's falling down on the job, as well as showing a good example of how to do it right for comparison. Additionally, it is, like the original Peter Pan, an excellent story of the magic of childhood, but this one discusses how an adult can (and indeed MUST, if they want to avoid becoming unbearable) hold on to some of that magic, even while growing up and becoming responsible. And that sometimes, even people who HAVE lost that magic still don't learn how to be particularly responsible.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is truly wonderful; do yourself a favor, and track down a copy. It will be worth the effort. Then settle in for a good evening's read. You won't regret it.

I thought this book was wonderful. Not only would Disney himslef be pleased but the original author of the Peter Pan books would also be pleased.

It is also classic Brooks. Filled with his enriched details and his way of writing that draws the reader into the book.

I have read almost all of the books that Brooks has written, including all of the Shannara books and the Landover series.

He is a wonderful writer and is able in his own way to make the reading of a book not only enjoyable but also very stimulating.

His way of bringing the reader into the novel is so wonderful that you can not put the novel down.

Brooks stayed true to the Peter Pan story and offered us a look at what Peter Pan might have been like had he actually grown up.

For a "What If" book, I give this book, not a 5 star rating but a 10 star rating.

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.

I have not read the book, but I am a relative of Peter Folliott and would love to be in contact with him. If possible, could he please contact me by email. Thankyou.

I am a student of Dr Lavender's and the book was on the reading list for his course at the Central School of Speech & Drama. I purchased the book tentatively considering selfish factors such as sales and authorial royalties. However despite this initial reticence and cynicism this is a thoroughly researched and crafted piece of theatrical commentary.

Lavneder focuses on three of the great contemporary theatrical visionaries and places their working methods under a sharlply focused scholarly microscope. His remarks on Brook's working methods are particularly insightful when reading The Shifting Point concurrently.

This is a fine piece of work and one that any student of directing, contemporary theatre practice or indeed Shakespeare would do well to read.

Andy didn't pay me to say write this. Go buy it!

Lighter than air human flight was achieved 120 years before the aeroplane. The first balloons of the 18th century evolved into tentative dirigibles during the 19th century. Truly practical airships, like aeroplanes, had to await refinement of the petrol engine at the end of the 19th century. Not until early in the 20th century did such airships finally emerge but by then rapid development of the competing aeroplane had already started.
The first airships had fabric envelopes like balloons and kept their shape from the pressure of the contained gas. Airships of this type have been used in war and peace throughout the past century but, because they are too slow and too vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, they have failed as a serious means of transport.
This book describes and illustrates in great detail some of the most significant types of airship. It analyses the evolution particularly of the rigid airship and discusses the reasons for its failure and for its final eclipse by the aeroplane.
Sixteen half-page and full-page colour plates illustrated by Peter W. M. Griffin. Nearly thirty illustrations in the text, many are black/white photographs.
Includes biblio and appendices.

This text refers to the first hardcover edition published by Hugh Evelyn Limited, London, United Kingdom, in 1973.

You know right away that de Balzac is an author of realism when, at the start of the book, he takes you on a five page tour of the first floor of Madame Vauquer's Parisian boarding house. One immediately realizes that sanitation standards for such accommodations were seriously lacking. The dining room "table [was] covered with oilcloth so greasy that, if a waggish diner wanted to, he could write his name in it, using nothing more than his finger as a pen." We then quickly learn about the overwhelming contrast between the boarders' life style and that of aristocratic Parisian society..

The protagonists of the story are Eugene, a young and poor law student, and old man Goriot, the aging father of two narcissistic daughters who live in the upper strata of Parisian society. While many mediocre authors manage to make cardboard characters out of real people, Balzac has the task of making cardboard people real. Eugene is invited to a ball held by his cousin, a countess, and falls in love with the beautiful people and their world. He is determined to be a part of it. Vautrin, a fellow boarder, a wise street philosopher, and prototype for modern day CEOs, tells Eugene that money is everything. Eugene promptly appropriates every cent of his family's savings to buy the clothes that will allow him to blend in with the aristocracy. Soon he meets Goriot's aristocratic daughters and falls in love with one of them. These two grasping young ladies, in their need for the necessities in life (fine clothing and jewelry), have taken so much money from their formerly wealthy father that he now lives in abject poverty, sleeping on a moldy straw mattress in Madame Vauquer's boarding house.

By now I am sure that you have discerned Balzac's attitude toward the socially elite. He has no love for people who are famous for being famous. We should resist the urge, though, to shake our heads in wonder over these strange 19th century Parisians. If Balzac were alive today I am sure he would loosen his poison pen on our own celebrities whose meaningless lives are constantly being spotlighted during their fifteen minutes of fame. Balzac is a lively writer. He supposedly drank huge amounts of coffee every day, and his writing often seems to be the product of a highly caffeinated mind. If the highly stylized writing of some Victorian era writers numbs your brain you might want to dip into Balzac.

I strongly recommend that you consider purchasing the Norton Critical Edition of this novel. It provides an additional 150 pages of commentary on Balzac, this novel, and his oeuvre in general; an extra dollar or two well spent.