The first thing a book about color in the garden ought to have is big pictures and lots of 'em. This book is positively unstinting: full page and even double page wonders (muzzle yourself; although the paper quality seems good, it would be a pity to sully the pages with drooling).

The seldom-under-opinionated Christopher Lloyd provides text as colorful as the photos, so brace for throwaway remarks about mundane dahlia leaves and not being snobby about dandelion flowers. There is a reassuring coziness, too, as Lloyd reviews his delights and prejudices about gardening in general and on his own expansive plot.

Here's a Christopher Lloyd lecture and slide show to peruse at your leisure. Just like such events, the book is thoroughly informative and completely entertaining.

This wonderful treasury of annual flowers is inspirational and gives great ideas for garden design. Although it's a small book, it's packed with great pictures and is well-organized. The sections of flower choices by color, design ideas and how-to gardening tips are all useful and nice to look at. A nice gift for novice gardeners.

KITCHEN GARDEN by Richard Bird is one of the many books I've acquired about growing comestibles outside the back door. When purchasing a book, I look for well presented, novel, and useful ideas. KG was printed in China and contains less than perfect but colorful and informative photos, and plenty of useful information. The book includes sections on: 1) vegetable (potager, salad bed), fruit (strawberry bed), and herb plots (taste of Asia); 2) container-grown fruit and vegetables for rooftops and patios; 3) climbing fruit and vegetables (bean arbors and pear tunnels); and 4) decorative beds and borders (apple border, herb border).

Each section includes a photo of a project, such as a potager, printed on a foldout page. Associated with each foldout page is a diagram of the project and other pertinent information including illustrations of various tasks required to execute the project, tool lists, plant lists, and other items. Although some of the presentations require more space than others, even folks living in townhouses with a space no larger than a deck or patio can benefit from the ideas offered in this book.

One of my favorites sections is the 'Patio container garden.' You might ask what could anyone say about container gardening that has not already been said, but the answer is plenty. For example, Bird shows you how to secure your recently planted container so that birds and animals don't disturb the contents. Having watched a squirrel roll around one of my containers yesterday (apparently playing, there was nothing in it but soil), I can attest to the random, senseless, and wanton destruction of run-amuck wildlife. Bird also shows in his patio container section how to irrigate a strawberry jar. In all the years I've reviewed books and plant catalogues, I have never seen his novel approach depicted.

If you're looking for a cookbook approach to kitchen gardening, as opposed to an encyclopedia of possibilities where you supply the creative combinations, Bird's book of clearly described and carefully planned projects is a good place to begin. For intermediate gardeners.

I got this book as a "bargain" book at another big name book seller (bn) for about [cheap]. I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, I have yet to use any of the ideas in it, but I have to wait until I get a bigger yard! The book's set up is nice, spiral bound w/fold out pages, great illustrations. The author makes it look so effortless. The instructions that I have read are very thorough, right down to the supplies needed. Over all a nice set up.

Yes, Rough Guide is comprehensive, it lists minor details and it is very strong on practicalities.

However, leaf through hundreds and hundreds of its pages and you may be excused for thinking you are reading a telephone directory. The book laboriously lists everything that there is to be listed, but it does that in a dull tone that lacks focus, inspiration and personal touch. I have seen tax planning guides that were more thrilling to read.

The information is all there, but you don't want to go through it. There is nothing to focus attention and nothing to thrill you - just a steady stream of facts and information. Sometimes, it seems they were trying put in as much as possible and to go for the highest possible number of pages. Thick book equals good book at Rough Guide publishing, but this approach does not serve all destinations equally well: what is OK for Africa is not necessarily true for most sophisticated and refined cities in Europe.

Maybe if I was about to settle in Venice for a few months, I would get a Rough Guide to keep myself on top of all practical info, but for a briefer trip you need more inspiration and more color. Travel writing is not the same thing as directory compilation, and this sheer sparkle of writing talent is something that is so distinctly missing.

Buying a Rough Guide or a Lonely Planet guide is very much an ideological decision: many readers do it because they feel that they subscribe to the same ideas about the world that form editorial policy of these two publishing houses.

However, if one is able to quite simply look for best guidebook which would make a trip enjoyable, Rough Guide Venice would hardly be one of them.

Rough Guide definitely gets 5 stars for thoroughness. From cover to cover there is more information about Venice than I would have thought possible, or maybe even desirable!

Especially when it comes to information on neighborhoods, museums, scuole and the like, this is the best book of it's kind. I kept it in hand walking through the Accademia; I think they actually gave background information on every single painting in the place. The sections on the Doge's Palace and the Basilica are just staggering. Every tiny little campo, every plaque, every statue is covered with a thoroughness bordering on [tedium].

Unfortunately, this is also the Rough Guide's biggest drawback. The guide covers everything from the sublime to the mundane, and sorting through it all (and with no pictures!!?!?!) sometimes takes some effort. With a prose style more reminiscent of Henry James than Rolling Stone, I thought it seemed tedious at times.

Having said all that, the restaurant recommendations were dead-on, and they were forward-looking enough to attempt lira to Euro price estimations.

Recommended, but you may want to pick up something more entertaining for the flight over.

Over the past few weeks I think I have read all the guide books on Venice there are on the market (a very crowded market), and this one leads the pack.

It is not for the person looking for pretty pictures, that is true. But it is the most comprehensive, most insightful, and ultimately most helpful.

The Time Out Guide is also very good, especially its listings section, some interesting background, terrific colour maps (complete with street index), and nice pics and Lonely Planet looks more than adequate, but it is Rough Guide I am most impressed with.

That is because of the depth of information on many places. There are really clear black & white maps of the layouts of things like the Basilica and Doge's Palace, and sestiere maps. I decided this is the guide I want to read at night or in a quiet corner when actually visiting places.

Of the three books on reggae I have recently read this is the second best. It gives a fairly good overview of the music, recommends albums from various periods and interviews a lot of former and current stars. It's not really a book for continuous reading but rather a reference work to be consulted occasionally. Overall a worthwhile addition to the growing literature on reggae - better than Reggae, Rasta, Revolution but not as good as Reggae Routes : The Story of Jamaican Music which is definitely the best book ever written on the subject.

The current Rough Guide covers the genesis of reggae and has a comprehensive discography guide to the music that began as ska and has evolved into the main stream culture of Jamaica and beyound the Jamaican community.

It would be easy to say that the book's crowning glory is it's many pictures both old and new of the many artists that has given the word reggae life and meaning. But the book is much more than that, it's a testament to the works of reggae performing artists and the inspiration behind those artists, the record producers....

Most people that have criticized this book already know a great deal about reggae (or at least think they do) and don't need a primer such as this. Sure, it can't include everything. It is the "Rough" Guide afterall. In my opinion, one could do considerably worse than this book written by one of the foremost reggae historians working today. It has been accused of being relatively stale and slow but if you're interested in the subject matter that shouldn't matter, right. This is history not entertainmant. If you want to be swept away by the prose get Borges. If you want to learn about reggae from a knowledgebale source then read this book. It's that simple.

Some books have too much information in them and will sit on shelves, but never be read. This book is not one of them. The articles are concise and interesting, and feature helpful recommendations of CDs currently available.

It is a good resource if you want to keep up to date, because the book gives information about many recent composers, as well as those who are already familiar.

I also appreciate the articles interspersed throughout the book on such topics as:
What is a Fugue?

Sonatas and Sonata Form
Composers at the Movies
Development of the Keyboard

The chronological list of composers is also a helpful bonus.

An excellent resource for students, teachers and all interested in Classical Music.

I owned the previous edition of this book. As someone relatively new to classical music, I found the book to be an ideal place to expand my interests. I initial purched th NPR Guide to begin my collection and then the previous edition of this book.
It is possible to find faults with any guide containing suggestions for recordings and repertoire, I have been highly satisfied with the suggestions in the Rough Guide.
As one of its best features the book contains music from the earlest times and includes contemporay composers. The descriptions of composers and recordings allows one a greater appreciation of the music.
This edition contains twenty essays that did not appear in the previos edition on topics as diverse as gregorian chant to atonlity.
This book is perfect for anyone interesed in Classical Music

The ROUGH GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC is a very well produced book that has several qualities that make it an essential purchase for lovers of music composed in the European ( Western ) Tradition.

First, the book has a tremendous range ( historic and stylistic ), which extends from Hildegard of Bingen ( 1098-1179 ) thru Thomas Ades ( 1971- ). This far-sighted depth is quite useful for the devotee who is not particularly well informed about say, the Medieval or Renaissance periods ( about 20 composers from those periods are featured ) and is more useful still for those interested in "modern" ( or "contemporary" ) music. Where there is a comparative lack of information in other guides ( GRAMOPHONE, PENGUIN, NPR, etc ), the ROUGH GUIDE features a tremendous number of currently active musicians ( some fairly well known and others somewhat obscure ). In fact, with regard to "difficult" music, the ROUGH GUIDE is actually superior to the BLACKWELL GUIDE, which is a volume solely devoted to contemporary composers.

Secondly, the thumbnail biographical sketches, while necessarily limited in scope, are quite informative ( the writers really seem to have listened to the music ). As is normal, it will be a matter of taste as to whether one agrees with the recommended recordings; this reviewer found a number of choices to quarrel over, but that is half the fun with these sorts of books anyway.

The volume is attractively laid out, with clear type-set and a number of a black and white photos dispersed throughout.
To sum up, THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC is a fine book filling a particularly important need for depth and substance. It should perform good service to newcomers and long time fans alike.

I must agree with the previous review. The information about the different sights is excellent--very detailed, yet not boring. Many of the descriptions made me chuckle. However, much of the organizational information was lacking. For example, there were numerous delicious-sounding restaurants and gelateria listed for Florence, but they were not marked on the map!

My wife and I used this book extensively on a 10-day tour of Tuscany and Umbria. Excellent mix of history and restaurant and lodging recommendations. A few drawbacks to the book. The first is that many of the restaurants were not marked on the maps and the directions given were incomplete. Another drawback that I found is that the hotel recommendations were inconsistent from city to city - Pisa had only budget hotels listed while Assisi had hotels across the range. But these are minor criticisms, overall an excellent book.

After tooking a 2-month off sabbatical at my job, I decided to spend some time driving all around Italy, and I can't thank this guide enough. It has all the information someone needs for traveling in Tuscany and Umbria, the two most fascinating regions in Italy (ok, the Amalfi Coast is great too). All cities are described in detail, from the historical background to what to see and what to do. This guide allowed me to do exactly what I wanted: to hit the road, stop by somewhere (Trasimeno Lake, the Orvieto hill, San Gimignano Film Festival) and just decide what the next stop would be. The author has a hilarious and superb style to describe anything, from the Cathedral in Orvieto to the paintings in Assisi and the pottery in Gubbio. Gold medal to the chapter about San Gimignano... After this, I have bought Rough Guides for all my trips.

It is a well known fact for those that know me that I am a tireless devotee of William F. Buckley. That's why it has come as a total shock to most that I am of a mixed opinion about THE REDHUNTER: A NOVEL BASED ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SENATOR JOE MCCARTHY. Buckley, it seems, has fallen into the same sort of traps that those who have attempted to write "real political fiction" have fallen into before him. The difficulty is, naturally, how does one write an exciting narrative and remain true to the historical fact? Too often Buckley seems to forget that he's writing a novel and proceeds to regail the poor reader with awfully constructed dialogue and atmosphere that attempts to give the story rather than tell the story (if you catch my meaning). Readers of the book will find themselves frequently saying, "nobody talks like this!" or "nobody thinks like that!" simply because Buckley has attempted to fit as much information about the late senator as is possible while neglecting to compensate with adequate character realism. There are however, many redeeming qualities that should be noted. First, just as Buckley promised during his interview with Charlie Rose on PBS, there is much in here that has been previously unreported about McCarthy. Supporters and detractors will find ample heretofor unknown tales. Second, is Buckley's uncanny attention to historical detail. And third, is the moving and sometimes shocking way Buckley writes about McCarthy the man and those around him (for those interested in the life of the late Roy Cohn this book is a must read). Do I recommend it? Insofar as I recommend Buckley in general, though with some caution. For those looking for a history about McCarthy I prefer Buckley's excellent MCCARTHY AND HIS ENEMIES (which he wrote with L. Brent Bozell) and for those looking for an example of Buckley's usually fine fiction I recommend any of his Blackford Oakes novels (of which SAVING THE QUEEN is probably the best). Happy reading!

The novelist can sometimes unfold truth before a reader's eyes in ways that a historian cannot. This is well known: Dickens' "Bleak House" was perhaps as much a critique of classical economics (a la Mill) as a novel, for example. Buckley's latest work is in that tradition. Rehabilitating Senator Joe McCarthy is a long-overdue labor. This novel painted a compelling picture of a three-dimensional hero, warts included, who lived a quintessinal American success story, until his fall. There is no doubt in my mind that certain elements in our society will view with disfavor a novel that seeks to humanize one of the all-time bogeymen of the Left. The objective reader will have to give careful thought to the thesis of this book, however. That thesis is that there was organized Communist penetration of our government, that their intentions were treasonous, and that McCarthy did right and good in exposing them. He went to excess, but his sins pale next to those of the Establishment types who ignored the threat, and who probably viewed it with sympathy. (Class haterd seeps from many of the characters in the book, both historical and fictional, for the upstart chicken farmer from Wisconsin who shook up their little world.) Political considerations aside, I read it in one day, staying up until the wee hours to finish it. This is a classic yarn, and a compelling page-turner. -Lloyd A. Conway

Fiction can sometimes be more revealing than a bare recital of fact. (One need only think of Dickens' novels and how he described 19th century England to see how this can be so.) Buckley's book accomplishes this with his portrait of Senator Joe McCarthy. The novel's subplot, involving the fictional Harry Boncteau (sp?), is compelling, and is woven nicely into the overall story. The McCarthy Buckley describes is ambitious, blind to some aspects of human nature, and prone to excess, but basically good, and, as we now know, right in his basic thesis: Communists had systematically penetrated American institutions, with subvursive intent. Art imitates life in Buckley's portrayal of the seething class hatred for McCarthy on the part of the Left/Establishment. It was/is part and parcel of their animus toward anyone who dared to expose the truth: Nixon, Chambers, and sepecially McCarthy. This novel, which I read in one sitting, finishing in the wee hours, is both compelling literature and thought-provoking in terms of it's ideas. Hopefully, with Soviet archives open and their records validating much of what he said, this book will become the basis for a reexamination of a controversial American life. -Lloyd A. Conway

The author's disdain for progressive rock negates the book's credibility as a resource for all music fans. One star.

I don't know enough about the other bands presented to adequately judge the accuracy of the entire book, but if the entry on U2 is any indication, this book is entirely unsubstantiated. The author notes, for example, that U2 have "never inspired universal acclaim" and that the voices in favor of the band are "matched by the equally vocal contempt of a legion of detractors." Other than this author, I have never read any contempt. I have read occasionally unimpressed reviewers, responding to such albums as, say Rattle and Hum, or to the pretentions of the PopMart tour, but U2's grammy awards, sold out concert tours and extensive coverage in magazines (almost always praising the band's music) indicate that this author has an ax to grind. The very sentence "...in spite of their success, U2 have often found themselves out of step with the prevailing zeitgeist of pop" is ironic. Is being "in step" notable? Is that the condition which cues the contempt of the "legion of detractors" that the author never really names? At a recent series of U2 concerts, I spotted Elvis Costello, Bush, Gwen Stefani...are those the "fashionable" for which U2 are "anathema" according to the author? Maybe I'm simply offended...but it seems the author is presenting his own views in the shroud of real research. The opening word is even spelled incorrectly.

I own the 1996 edition, and recommend this book with some reservations. While I learned about a lot of bands I never would have heard of otherwise (draining my bank account as a result), there does seem to be a bias toward newer artists, particularly British (perhaps they could have included Wanda Jackson?). Also, there is a definite tendency toward artists who have yet to prove themselves in the long run (Alanis Morissette???) or artists of questionable merit (Meatloaf?). It is interesting to compare this book to the Trouser Press review guide, as their opinions are sometimes diametrically opposed to each other regarding specific albums.