This book works. It is a down to earth guide that has already had an impact on me. I followed the process and found an answer I've always had trouble with...how to fit my dream of starting a business into all the responsibilities I have as the mother of two boys.
What's practical about Dreamcrafting is that being busy is taken into account. Giving gifts to my future self, time relaease motivators, being my own nay sayer...just a few of the really great suggestions. Living with one foot in tomorrow makes so much sense. After reading the book, I realized that I was being hooked to yesterday (fear).
I'm referring this book to friends and by writing this review (a first for me) I guess I'm recommending it to you. Dreamcrafting is easy to read but more importantly really practical and exciting to implement. I've transformed what was a cloudy fantasy into a well defined dream that's on its way to becoming a reality. I'm feeling better about day to day commitments because I've let go of many things that weren't really necessary. And like the book promised, I'm starting to grow by letting go.
Once my dream was focused, the proposed next steps just fell into place. So far so good.

Dream Crafting gave me EXACTLY what it said it would on the cover of the book! Not only does it help in defining a precise dream, but gives you the basic 5 skills to achieve it. Like most everyone else, I have read several books on dreams, goals, and how to achieve them, but I really ENJOYED this book. It was not a chore to "get through", nor does it confuse the issue either, making the reader struggle to get anything out of it. Dream Crafting not only covers all the basics, but goes SEVERAL important steps further! It imcompasses total issues that I didn't realize were missing until I read it! Has your life drastically changed since the last book you've read on dreaming big, the how, what and why?? Are you any closer to YOUR dream since reading it???? I sincerely urge you to read one more book on the subject! DREAM CRAFTING! It covers it all..and goes further than that by drawing YOU into the equation.

Very insightful & Motivating!
What a wonderful book during these trying times!
With an ever so changing world around us, this book sheds
light on the inner abilities that lay within us all.
I feel rejuvinated and have the skills and "know how" to accomplish my goals, my dreams. Kudos extended to authors, Art & Paul for a wonderful illustration filled with honesty, humor and most of all the 5 macro skills to unleash the power that lay within us all. I highly recommend this to everyone and anyone who has a passion to live life to the fullest! This book would serve as a wonderful gift for all occasions.

Alex McNeill's "Total Television" is one of those reference works which is useful both for settling trivia arguments at parties and for helping those engaged in serious scholarly study of television programs and their impact upon popular culture. As of this review, "Total Television" is in its fourth edition.

The book is basically an alphabetical encyclopedia of thousands of television programs in every possible genre: dramas, sitcoms, game shows, cartoons, and more. Each entry lists the series' air dates, principal performers, and other relevant data.

In addition to the main body of encyclopedic entries, the book includes a wealth of supplemental features: lists of Emmy winners, a chronological gathering of one-shot specials, and more. Particularly interesting are the programming grids, which show the nightly lineups on each network for each night of the week. You can turn to a season (say, 1951-52) and see what choices the American TV viewer had each night! This feature is great for historians.

Although most of the entries on each series are brief, McNeill spends more time and space on certain series of outstanding impact. These extended articles on "All in the Family," "CBS Evening News," "Dallas," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and more are truly fascinating.

TV has been derided by many with such epithets as "the Boob Tube" and "The Idiot Box." On the other hand, it was praised in an episode of "The Simpsons" as "teacher, mother. . . secret lover." McNeill captures TV in all of its facets: from the depths of inanity to the heights of cultural significance. This book is a great achievement whose reputation, I believe, will increase with future editions.

Like author/critics from Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael to Joel Whitburn and Fred Bronson, TV historian Alex McNeil has a fun but never-ending job. He charts the myriad of programs that have appeared on broadcast networks (including those, like Dumont, which no longer exist), cable, and in syndication. His fun comes in praising the praiseworthy, trashing the deserving, goreing sacred Hollywood cows and keeping a critical expert's eye on important pop culture strands and shifts.

"Total Television" is exhaustive, enjoyable, fun and fact-filled reading from any page it's read. McNeil generously shares facts, transporting you to time, channel, cast (sometimes literally in hundreds) and summaries of thousands of familiar and long-forgotten TV shows. TV's giants (from Walt Disney and Captain Kangaroo to Oprah Winfrey and "Monday Night Football") receive their fair space, while McNeil also chronicles changes in TV daytime dramas, game, talk, and sports shows.

McNeil's consistent irreverence and historical perspective is remarkable. He salutes Walt Disney for creating TV's first mini-series (the wildly popular "Davy Crockett") while also creating TV's first "synergy" (TV show promotes park and films, which promote movies and TV show).

McNeil also gives long-running, non-cult classics like "Gunsmoke," "Knots Landing," and "Wagon Train" their proper respect while chronicling the knotty, behind-the-scenes problems plaguing stars from Nat Cole to Judy Garland to Jerry Lewis to Sammy Davis, Jr., and the respective failures of their 50s-60s variety shows. (He recalls failed sitcoms like "Family Dog" and "The Waverly Wonders" with especially sweet relish). McNeil also features sections on landmark TV moments (which decrease in number and size from the mid-70s), full TV schedules, and Emmy winners.

This is NOT a book read cover to cover, even by diligent TV fans. Series' with same or similar titles, long paragraphs retelling old tales of Roseanne Barr and 1992's "Tonight Show" fiasco (in an otherwise fascinating entry on that TV staple) are redundant one after another. But in preferably small portions, "Total Television" is a refreshingly unobjective reference book of the best, worst, longest and least TV's omnipotentence has presented.

With the explosion of available networks on cable television, this book becomes more than just another reference work for professionals in the media. It's instantaneous information on any show that might happen to pop up on TV Land, Nick at Nite, A&E, PAX, Game Show Network, Soap Opera Network, or the multitudinous other outlets for yesterday's programming. And once you've dipped in, the information MacNeil gives (along with the occasional opinion)is like salted peanuts -- you'll keep dipping your hand in the jar. A comprehensive index of performers, a listing of notable TV movies and specials, and a chance to go back in time with prime-time network grids for every year up through the publication date, all make "Total Television" impossible to resist. You'll be counting the days until the fifth edition as soon as you've spent a week with this one (which takes us into the age of "Must See TV").

Fellow Travelers -

I have found John McNeil's "The Art of Jazz Trumpet" to be truly helpful and inspiring. The exercises presented are tough, though-provoking, and very cleverly focused on amplifying skills that appear - to me at least - to be genuinely useful in a jazz setting. Personally, I see the value of this book less in the applicability of specific lines ("licks") to tunes, and more in improving the improviser's ability to present his/her own ideas with more propulsive articulation, fluidity, and melodic confidence.

There is, of course, a significant (in terms of wood shed frustration) cost factor here - but most players, I suspect, will feel that the improvements are deep and fast enough to fall well within our pain and patience thresholds.

Thanks John for a terrific contribution to the field, and for my (small but enjoyable) personal mini-breakthrough - it has been a long time, and I'm really enjoying the experience.

Bravo.

The discography alone makes the price of the book worth it to me. The history and pix of trumpet players is also a nice addition to what is an excellent method for jazz trumpet. Its exercises are tough but sound very cool and all would be great arrows in your improvisation quiver. I've already started practicing and am enjoying myself more than I have in a long time. Thanks, John.

The Art of Jazz Trumpet is by far the best book on the subject I have seen to date. The exercises sound incredibly hip and were challenging to play. The ideas for playing over chord changes have totally changed my conception of the horn. The history of trumpet is also fascinating, and McNeil's take on influences is truly unique. I highly recommend this book.

This book does an excellent job of exploring the many contradictions of the life and career of an artist who was both his own biggest fan/promoter and his own harshest critic. The book presents the many talents (artist,etcher,interior designer to name a few) and his many flaws (vain, arrogant, bitter and self serving attitude) while still showing the human side of the artist . The illustrations are complete and a glorious showing of both his popular works as well as his less known pieces. The triad of this book, "Diabolical Designs" and "Beyond the Myth" reveal an artist who deserves much more critical and popular attention.

This is a beautiful book in every way. The selection of art juxtaposed with the intriguing range of literary excerpts combine to make the reader do exactly what the editors want: to "see" jazz. I bought extra copies as Christmas gifts.

This book is a who's who of the true spirit of American rock'n'roll--never mind that the average person on the street couldn't tell you who Johnny Thunders, Stiv Bators, Dee Dee Ramone or Richard Hell are. What a marvelous way of writing history--we see how the outrageous stories collide and intersect; we get to "hear" the youthful energy and enthusiasm first-hand; we gain fresh insights into folks we thought we'd learned all about years ago. People like Joey Ramone and Iggy Pop are, of course, heroes to me--to see them brought to such life here as real people is an absolute joy. I got to meet Legs and Gillian on their tour for the book several years ago and they are the epitome of COOL, as are the people in this book. Pix are good too, I especially dig the one of Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell and Sid Vicious out on bail. Poor kid. I don't care if the majority of music listeners don't know who these folks are--rock'n'roll wouldn've died out years ago if it hadn't been for their reckless, drug-fueled ferocity and their maniacal genius raw power. Buy this and "England's Dreaming" and that's punk baby! LAMF Forever!

A facsinating account of pre-punk and early punk scene starting in NYC. The book is written by combining interviews and writings of different people in the early scene. Tons who were there comment on what happened. The book runs like a conversation. The effect is mesmorizing. People are crazy, yet increadably verbose. Even if you aren't into punk rock, individuals such as Andy Warhol, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Joey Ramone, Patti Smith, etc will whirl you round their world. Although the book is wonderful, it is also easy to put down. It traps you for a while, but then you zone out. So it isn't a book that you will finish in a night, but it is definately worth the read.

I vaguely remember the punk rock movement when I was in school. But where I grew up, you didn't hear any of the music. So it was with great interest that I picked up this book and I have to say, it is one of the best tomes I have read in a long time.

What made this work for me was the different voices and takes on the movement by the people who actually lived it, not the pontifications of self-important rock critics. By reading the accounts, I got a better idea of why the music was as it was, where the inspirations came from, how it was to live the life of an underground musician at a time when rock and roll stars took themselves too seriously.

The sadness, the insanity of it all came across very vividly. No doubt some people I know would be shocked at some of the confessions and language, but so wonderful to see how people really feel.

If you are a fan of rock history like me...GET THIS BOOK! But be forewarned, it is not for the faint of heart, or the easily offended. But what is life without a little shock?

No, it's not the best written book, but it's certainly better than the fluff piece "Ramones: An American Band". Dee Dee tells his story in a fragmented manner. He'll spend a paragraph discussing the recording of an album and then a full page talking about crashing his favorite car. Well, the car meant more to him, I suppose, and so what? It's still entertaining. For those who might be inclined to chastise Dee Dee for "whining" or for not being "grateful" for the career the Ramones afforded him, you've obviously never been in a successful band. All musicians are egomaniacs, and most successful ones are pessimists. Dee Dee Ramone was a drug addict. The book is written as if by a drug addict. Taking all of this into consideration, I think it's the most honest book I've ever read by a musician. It's also one of the most accurate overviews about conflicts among band members you'll find. If you're afraid of finding out about Dee Dee Ramone, don't read this book. If you're genuinely interested in the man, this book will offer some insight. If you don't like what you see, maybe you should've turned your head...

The title of this book is "Lobotomy: Surviving The Ramones" and that's exactly the tale Dee Dee tells. It's his story; not a Ramones chronology or tell-all. I found it fascinating. Dee Dee writes honestly about his unhappy and lonely childhood, his drug addiction, and his dysfunctional relationships, both with girlfriends and The Ramones (apparently, he had to omit any references to his first wife, Vera, as part of their divorce settlement). He freely admits his own faults and ineptitude (he writes that Johnny had to teach him the bass lines to his own songs) and the book reads like the wistful memories of a man who has finally come to terms with his past and found happiness at last. As much as I love The Ramones, one can't deny the fact that they are quite a dysfunctional family. Remember Joey and Marky's verbal slugfest on Howard Stern's show? And Johnny's position as Boss Hog? No wonder Dee Dee quit! Sheesh. I enjoyed his dry humor and writing style. Dee Dee rules! He is a true original. For more information on the history of The Ramones and their career, read the excellent "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk" by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.

This is the best sorce to find out how it's really like to be one of the ramones.Dee Dee gives you great insight on life of a drug addict,musican,and one of the most influencial bass players of all time. If you like the ramones at all you will love this book. The best part about it is that is is an easy read all chapters are less than 20 pages long...short like a ramones song! Long live Dee Dee Ramone, may he rest in peace.