If you love Cole Porter's music there is nothing better than this collection of songs. I've made use of every song. Each one of the pieces are from some of his best works. It's a nearly perfect combination of some of the greatest songs ever written. One minor disappointment is that it doesn't contain more, or that there isn't other volumes of the same book. Basically, if you need/want a collection of Porter's music there isn't any reason why you shouldn't have this book. :-).

"The Best of Cole Porter" contains some of his best songs ever (in my opinion at least). The only thing that would make this item better is if it contained all of Mr. Porter's songs. For anyone not to familiar with Cole Porter, this book offers a great introduction to his music.

What struck me most about this book is the density of both the language and the detail of Hal Porter's life in the first decades of the 1900s.

This is a classic Australian book. It is a beautifully written autobiographical work that one presumes was based on an extensive diary.

In short, this book is like reading primary historial sources based on the first two decades of what was then a quite ordinary life. Hal Porter starts with his earliest memories, about his parents at their house in inner suburban Melbourne - including watching life in the street from his cast iron balcony. Then the family packs up and moves to Bairnsdale in country Victoria. His vivid account of how to adapt to a new life and people around him is very enjoyable reading.

After his schooling he goes back to the city as a teacher. He is socially active and provides us with more detailed descriptions of life in Melbourne. Even the menus of exclusive restaurants are reported - for example, at The Latin, he eats tomato soup, lamb and apricot pie.

This book will not appeal to everyone. It will appeal most to Australians and some may have to persist at first to get used to the richness of the expression.

I would rate it as one the most engaging books I have read.