The book is a very precice book. there are many chapters covering many of the major subjects of art. My skill have improved a great deal from reviewing this book. The book is a very long piece but its worth the time if you need too, or want to improve your artistic skill in every which way.

It's very clear and the best is that the examples are based on large recognized artist's draws not on author's draws.

I have two older versions of this book which was a required college text for a course a friend of mine taught. This is a thorough and up-to-date volume on the elements of drawing: line, shape, texture, value, gesture, shape, form, etc. What I like best about it is that it is illustrated with a wide array excellent contemporary and historical master drawings that make great examples when teaching a particular concept. I only wish it came with a companion volume of large prints or slides for teaching.
I have many books on drawing but this has the best visuals. Much better than many other drawing books are illustrated with only the author's drawings or perhaps a few Renaissance sketches and focus on only one small expect of good art: rendering representationally. This book brings gets to the heart of what makes good drawing is designed for professionals teaching at the college level but would probably make a good home study course for those without access to college courses.

I also liked the sequential exercises given and have used or adapted some for my own students. Covers a wide array of media from charcoal to pencil to pen and ink and colored pencil.

American Music: A Panorama is a cd that has many different tracks from American Music History. I think that it contains many good examples of this, but there could be so many more. Elvis, the artist of the century, has no songs, as well as many other influential artists from the 50's and 60's. The booklet in it also had many errors in track numbers and song title numbers in it. Overall it was good but could be better, and I definitely do not think it was worth the money.

I teach a course in United States music history at the high school level, and this college text is a good stretch for my students. It is clearly written, well organized, and provides great points for departure in my lectures. The accompanying CD set, though not perfect, is a convenient way to bring in examples and allows for some independent study. Music history teachers can augment the examples with their current CD holdings.
The text surveys "American" music, not just music of the United States, although that is in the majority. The distinction of American versus U.S makes for a good discussion point throughout the semester. We do not take the chapters in order (we begin with music of the early European settlers), and the book lends itself to that flexibility.
Although there may be better texts for specific music history topics, (i.e., Jazz or contemporary "serious" music) this is an excellent survey text for the advanced high schooler or college music history survey course. Term paper suggestions, questions for additional research and bibliography are included at the end of each chapter.

I do not believe I will ever make any of the dishes in this book. Full of offbeat and hard to obtain ingredients. Perhaps suitable for a professional chef who has access to such items as fresh squid-ink pasta or pickle masala. Real food? Simple? Nope.

this is one of the VERY few cookbooks i have ever used in which the recipes can be made, in most cases, "by the book". most cookbooks do not give complete instructions, and most recipes if made exactly according to the book, seem to "need" something. This one hits everything right on the mark with bright, clean flavors, clear instructions, easy-to-procure ingredients (no peeky toe crab! ) and GOOD for your health components that actually taste wonderful. I was a professional cook for twenty years, and in most cases I just use cookbooks as a source for menu ideas, not actual recipes. This is one book I actually cook from. Thanks, Daniel. MORE!

This cookbook is a must.