Quotes about the composers, by the composers, about the nusic, about the inspiration for the music, about the instruments, and about performance... this book of quotes provides an alphabetical listing of topics which include composers themselves and many other subjects. William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, and other famous non-musicians also figure prominently.... its is interesting to read quotes from the composers about a piece I am currnetly playing... gives a new viewpoint, that of the genius who created the music.... and there are a few criticisms too.... a great book for musicians and music-lovers!

This is a wonderful book filled with images of the beat coffeehouse hangouts in Greenwich village circa 50s and 60s. It is great to actually be able to view a photo of a poetry reading as it took place in one of these bohemian haunts. We are lucky that the author had the foresight to take photos in the smoke-filled coffeehouses and beat pads. I have a coffeehouse and the book is a great reference to utilize when trying to recapture the spirit and styling of the 50s coffeehouse.

McDarrah's photograpic work evokes what it must have been like to frequent the bohemian scene of the late '50s and early '60's. Anyone who is greatly interested in the literature of this genre, but too young to have actual remembrances of this era, will find this work fascinating. Many of the photos have never been published before, and thus are a refreshing change from the standard photos of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and crew that have been served up so many times elsewhere. McDarrah, who I believe worked for the Village Voice at that time, has done a fine job in selecting the photos in this collection. My favorites are one of Diane DiPrima, perched on a piano reciting her poetry, and Herbert Huncke visiting Allen Ginsberg and attempting to fix the latter's broken TV. I also enjoyed the many pics of other accomplished, but lesser known figures of the era, and the establishments they frequented, such as the Cedars Bar & Grill

This book is an exploration and attempted explanation of how white Anglo-Saxon Protestants fell from grace through American history. E. Digby Baltzell's "The Protestant Establishment" was a drier, more social scientific survey made decades ago. Nelson Aldrich's "Old Money" was, like Frazier's "Family", a more personal account, but dealt with the very rich of the East Coast. In "Family" you can follow the history of several WASP families that lead to Frazier's nuclear family. The various Frazier forebears went from being biggish to medium-size fish in the small bowl of 19th century Ohio to typical middle-class suburbanites in the mid- to late 20th century. I watched this steady dimunition with more empathy than I thought I would feel.

Frazier's style is almost telegraphic through certain passages where each consecutive sentence includes a story in miniature about some member of the family during a particular historical time-slice. For the most part this works as a way of imparting a lot of information in a condensed package and suggesting much more than is actually told.

The chapters of the book that I found the least interesting were those concerning the Civil War. Two of Frazier's Wickham ancestors happened to be participants in several pivotal battles, most notably Chancellorville. Frazier devotes a great many pages to Stonewall Jackson because the Confederate general's deathbed words ("Let us cross the river and find rest in the shade of the trees") come to represent the most important theme in American history for Frazier. He makes a case for the hypothesis that a belief in salvation and a promised land were the organizing principle for his ancestors and the gradual dimunition of that faith is at the root of our collective modern malaise. It seems like a hypothesis worth fleshing out, although not by supplying so many details about several Civil War battles.

This is a remarkable book. Frazier did a monumental job of researching his family history and produced an eloquent family history that parallels the country's history as well. The book can be read as a beautiful and fascinating family history, a meditation on the role of religion in U.S. history, and as a portrait of many memorable figures both within and without the author's family. His descriptions of his brother, father and mother brought tears to my eyes.

In "Family," Ian Frazier manages a literary coup seldom attempted, much less achieved:the telling of a personal tale with such sensitivity and imagination that the personal is transcended to become, quite possibly, the universal. The story -- of his family's migration, settlement and flourishing in America -- is at once both epic and allegorical. Equal parts history, autobiography, and geneaology, the story takes us from Frazier's family's early haunts in colonial Connecticut (and a host of other places) all the way into the contemporary interior lives of his parents, siblings, and of course, himself. Along the way, we are treated not just to stories of family life, but to grand meditations upon the meanings of history, family, and the ever-longed-for (in our time) "community." A generous book from a brilliant writer ("Great Plains," "Dating Your Mom") and regular "New Yorker"contributor, "Family" is a work of American narrative that should take its place alongside other masterworks such as Alex Haley's "Roots"and Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It"as an offering of passion and insight on the notion of belonging -- to our own families, and to the often fractious and ever elusive "American family." --Bronson Hilliard Boulder, CO May, 1996

This book is meant for french beginners. However, it is not entertaining in any way. Although this book is kinda helpful, the plot is miserably stale. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.