Mr Kohler presents two hundred and fifty covers (from his large collection) which he rightly thinks show the best of album design in the early years of the LP. He features eight artist/designers who created some of the most distinctive work in cover art. Two of them are my favorites, David Stone Martin who gave Norman Granz's Clef label some beautiful cover illustrations (twenty are shown) and Reid Miles who created the east coast look to Blue Note Records. Unfortunately only four of his covers are shown but you can see dozens more in the two books by Graham Marsh , 'The Cover Art of Blue Note Records'. The other six designers range from the unique illustrations of RCA's Jim Flora to the work of Swiss born designer Erik Nitsche and his semi abstract work for Decca. Record companies are also featured and you can see the beginnings of the Capitol Records house style, I think they were the only major company to produce consistently well designed covers with excellent photography and typography.

Though all these covers are interesting to look at I don't think too many work as complete design units, that is image and text complement each other, mostly they are images with text added later. One cover that I like is on page eighty-one, it shows a file-card box and the albums title, 'Guide to Jazz' is typed on a card which is resting against the box, the tabs of the other cards have musical instruments on them, a simple creative idea that works. Strangely the designer is unknown.

I doubt you will see as good a coverage of the early years of the LP as this (well produced) book but have a look at two books that concentrate on jazz covers from the fifties and sixties, 'Jazzical Moods' by Naoki Mukoda and 'Jazz West Coast' by William Claxton and Hitoshi Namekata. Both books have dozens of examples of creativity on paper twelve inches square, somehow CD covers just can't compete with that.

Being a music lover, I've never been partial to one type of music only--I have a passion for everything from rock to classical, pop to country, even from jazz to techno. Something in all of these styles intrigues me. And how intriguing is this incredible book by Eric Kohler. I never thought I'd "get into" a book dedicated solely to album covers from 1940-1960, but I was wrong. The music lover in me kicked in, and I found myself fascinated with the glorious color photos, the revealing and well-researched text, and with the artists themselves. This album cover artistry really has diminished with the advent of the much-smaller compact disc (which is a truly disappointing fact), but Mr. Kohler's book rapturously captures the vividness of the times, the artists, the moods, and the music of those two decades. It took me back to the time when I myself used to stare at the covers of my records for hours while playing them over and over again - this classic book uncovers that wonderful feeling inside you once more. And to top it all off, Mr. Tony Bennett himself writes an introduction that's both classy and sentimental. This is a great book for any music lover with a coffee table -- and an open mind towards how art has influenced music (and vice versa) in so many ways.

As a graphic designer, I get so flustered when I see the same old CD covers now: a photo of the artist or band, and their name scribbled on top, or a really un-inspired text treatment, most likely using some wretched Photoshop tool like, alien skin or eye candy- blech! Perhaps modern day CD's skimp on the design work of the covers because they are so much smaller now. But back in the days of LP's and 45's art was generously splashed on covers. Full-colored, stylized and oh, so hip! Each one fit to be framed and displayed. "In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics, 1940-1960" effectively chronicles the history of this long, lost art-form in a picture-book style. I say picture-book, because of the lack of background information on many of the pieces, in fact there are quite a few pieces that are listed as "unknown designer", how unfortunate! Some poor old designer dedicated his or her life to creating some stunning art to attract music lovers' eyes to this or that particular record, and now they're the "unknown designer". Eric Kohler did his best grouping together styles of record graphics, so seeing the evolution of style was very nicely mapped-out. Nice quality paper, nice printing... would've been nicer in hardback. Still, this is one of my favorite books!

I've got to meet this author! He's got a wonderful sense of humor and is able to capture the "just gross enough" aspect of human nature. If you have a child who loves to pretend he's eating real worms in front of his little sister just to gross her out, you NEED this book. I love it, cover to cover.

Anyone for some soup made with birds' nests?? How about "1,000 year old eggs" aged in mud?? Live maggots?? I've got it, seaweed!! What?! You want to eat HAMBURGER?!? HOW REVOLTING!! :)

Food cuisine from around the world and the strange things people have found to be delicacies is the topic of this fun book. While most American children wouldn't eat cooked spiders for a million dollars, they may be interested to find that spiders, grubs and other insects are considered not only cruncy delights in other countries, but pound-per-pound they have more nutritional value than most snack foods we eat in the states!

"It's Disgusting" is a well researched, well illustrated book that I would file in the 'expand your horizions' section. We easily forget that not everyone is like us or likes the same things we do. Hindis would be revolted, shocked and offended if we ate hamburger in front of them. Asian cultures find soup made from birds' nests a delicy (the nest itself is largely made of the birds spit) as well as sun dried jellyfish. Closer to home, at one point in history in the US turkey was once considered a food that would make you stupid and tomatoes were once considered poisionous. The passenger pigeons of yesteryear who used to blacken the sky by the millions were made extinct in part because of people's desire to eat them.

Meanwhile, today many food thickeners are made from seaweed or the hooves of animals (carageenan and gelatin, respectively), and some colorings are made from the carapaces (exoskeletons) of insects. However, no one seems to be worrying about horse hooves and bug juice in their yoghurt these days...

The book is written well so that even intermediate readers will be able to make their way through and become enligtened about the foods other cultures fancy. The authors strive to keep any bias out of their writing and simply state the facts: while WE may find this food gross, other people find it a delicacy and vice-versa--there's stuff WE regularly eat that other cultures would quickly push aside. Peppered with fun poems and bright illustrations (including some fun bar charts of the nutritional value of various foods, like bugs), this book may get a chorus of "ewwww!!"'s, but it will also expand the horizons of it's readers!

Now, pass the chocolate covered ants...

My daughter absolutely loves this book. She checked it out from the school library and cried everytime it came due, checking it out over and over till we finally bought one. This book looks at things that kids love - gross and disgusting things from everyday life. I only wish Mr. Solheim would write a sequel.

This book is about children and the appropriate participation of sports at different age levels. Moreover, it addresses the problems of children with various disabilities, such as asthma, diabetes, etc. for parents and school coaches, to enable them to make decisions regarding their childrens' participation in sports. I believe this is an important and remarkable book that
Dr. Small has made available for those people who are concerned about the well-being of their children

Dr. Small has covered all bases in this extremely informative, well layed-out book.
His outlines, questions and answers, and diagrams provide a clear cut guide for parents. As a physical therapist that treats adults and children, I am often faced with the same questions Dr. Small has answered in his book. Besides being a great guide for parents, it is an excellent reference for rehab professionals, coaches and any other professionals who work with kids' sports.

This is a vaulable book for any person involved in children's sports. My children will be both safer and better athletes as a result of my reading this book. In addition, although Dr. Small is obviously a highly trained physician, the book is written in s a very user friendly style and highly acccessible to a layman.
I think that this is a great book for people involved with childrens' sports.

For years I have told the tale of the king, the mice and his cheese. I was so happy to find my favorite book from childhood available here on Amazon.com. I have been in search of it for years. This is a terrific book and you must get it today!!

We love this book! The artwork is excellent and inspires many funny voices and animal imitations! I read this book to my children's classrooms every year and it is a sure fire hit for every age (up to age 6 now) that I have presented it to.

I remember this from my childhood and kids today still love it. The artwork is particularly hilarious. A good segue into lessons about Middle-Eastern studies.

This wonderful children's book is a colorful, creative story that helps attract the attention and interest of my younger patients. It helps teach children the importance of good posture in a creative and visually stimulating way. I would highly recommend this book. As a chiropractor, this book has special meaning to me. I am always looking for new ways to interest my pediatric patients in learning about healthy ways to live. This book is a powerful weapon in my arsenal.

Great find!! Easy for young and old to understand. Fabulous illustrations. The pictures alone keep the kids who cannot read interested in learning more about correct posture. Thank you for finally putting out a book to teach our children how important spinal health is. Pete is a fun and easy way for kids to learn. We want more!

As a mother I am elated that there is finally a children's book that address ergonomics for children and the dangers of improperly carrying a backpack. The book is very entertaining and extremely informative. It kept not only the attention of my 8-year old daughter, but I couldn't put the book down myself! We teach our kids to take care of their teeth, but what about their spines? The amount of weight our kids are carrying on their growing spines is unbelievable! The characters in the book made learning about posture fun for my daughter. I plan on purchasing one for her school's library. The book is a must for parents with school age children!

As an actress, I've spent many hours thumbing through monologue books that featured what seemed to be exactly three plays, repeated over and over again. These were, in general, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Miss Firecracker Contest, and Agnes of God. Now, all of these are good plays, but trust me, EVERYONE DOES THEM at auditions. That's why this book is so great! First of all, instead of merely giving you excerpts of plays, this book gives you each play in entirety. This is important because good acting requires that one reads the entire play, not merely a few paragraphs. Also, the range of characters is liberating, ranging from very old to pre-teen parts. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that using two monologues from this book got me into a B.F.A. Acting program. Obviously, it's not a magic book that will cause casting directors to gasp with delight and fall into your arms, but it is a useful tool, and far superior to many other books out there.

Could there be better plays for actresses? I don't think so. The Beautiful Bodies play is so wild and hysterically funny with six great parts, ditto Last of the Great Waitresses. I like David's Red Death too...and Catholic Schoolgirls. This is an all female festival. Wow! I wish I could see them all and act in most of them. They know how to pick'em. The editors have really chosen well and given actresses all over the world a shot at appearing at their best. Pure theatre! This is the perfect launch for women starting their own production companies or all girl groups finding fresh material. Bravo!

anyone who cares about great roles for actresses will want this book. I bought several copies to give to friends in theatre. The plays are terrific...This is great reading, even if you don't act. A chance to catch up with dramatic literature. I felt like I had been to a theatre festival by the time I finished reading the plays. Don't miss Last of the Great Waitresses, Catholic School Girls, Beautiful Bodies or any of the others. There's not a dog in the bunch.

If you're planning to take a trip to any country in Southeast Asia you can't miss this book. Some stories will touch your heart and some will make you laugh. Avoid getting rip-off by street merchants and visiting great sites is just a few thing you should check out.

This is wonderful collection of stories based on Browning-Larsen's personal experiences in Asia--cerebral, sensitive, well-written and interesting!

Several short stories with explicit details of Asian love. From the gardens of Japan to the Filipino "guest houses". How it happens, where to find it, and who is doing it.

for those of you who want a picture of life on an oar boat on the Great Lakes in the 1950's, this book is for you. Very enjoyable and accurate portrayal of that life.

I sailed on a number of Great Lakes oar boats in the 1950's. Reading this book, I had a vivid re-experience of my life as a Great Lakes sailor, both positive and negative. For anyone interested in an accurate and compelling account of life on oar boats back then, this book will give you a good read as well as a historical account of that time.

I was a Great Lakes sailor in the 1950's and worked on a number of ore boats. I view Meditations of a Great Lakes Sailor as a highly accurate, albeit fictional, account of what it was like to work on the Great Lakes at that time. Reading this account, I was enabled to vividly relive some of my own experiences, both positive and negative. This book, I believe, has historical significance in recreating an important time in our history.

This is one of the better Colorado photography books out there. While the photos are not consistently great, they are consistently good. Wunrow spent a lot of time hiking to remote areas of Colorado, which is to be commended. I do recommend 'Colorado II' by David Muench over this book, but I have ranked 'Mountains of Colorado' as the third best book on my list of 'Best Colorado Picture Books' (which can be seen by clicking on my name and looking at the Listmania lists).

I purchased several copies of this book and sent them to my friends and relatives across the country.

Everybody loved it.

Catch a glimpse of some of the more rare and overlooked vistas that this amazing state has to offer. Wunrow offers an incredible visual aesthetic in both photography and book design that takes the reader on a voyage to all corners of this wonderfully diverse state. A keen eye for composition, combined with strenuous backcountry hiking to areas unknown to even avid backpackers like myself, the images are striking and sometimes haunting. Former Governor Lamm's essays are engaging and well written, and form a wonderful complement to the photographs. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy the most uniquely magnificent and previously unpublished views of America's most beautiful state.

This book is for you. Although it's been a while since I got my heart broken but when I read this book, it totally sumarizes up everything that I felt during that time. Highly recommended

Finally, a non-preachy, humorous book written by someone who understands! This book is for YOU, no matter which side of the breakup fence life finds you on. If you've ever dumped someone, this book will explain your ex's crazed, erratic behaviour; you may even glean some (gasp!) sympathy for your dumpee. If you've ever been dumped, it will explain and reassure YOUR crazed, erratic behavior. It may even stop you from doing something utterly foolish you'll regret forever! Either way, you'll find a friend in the printed words who's been there and will hold your hand through the worst moments. (face it: your friends are tired of hearing about it!)

It's cheaper, faster, and more funny than therapy. I have re-read it 3 times now. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it.

_Olive Juice_ is a surprising and wonderful debut. I bought the book on the strong recommendation of a friend and was happily surprised to find the book was even better than advertised.

The book is about the nature of relationships and their maddening fickleness. Champnella skillfully reflects on how our relationships begin in uncertainty and then end in uncertainty, but yet hopefully finding between these two places a solid ground where love can grow, and further reflects on how relationships can prove to be as fleeting as an overhead cloud or as eternal as a rugged crag.

Champnella has shown himself in _Olive Juice_ to be a talented writer, and I look forward to reading his second book.