This book is great for any movie or trivia buff. It's filled with all sorts of information concerning movies. Ever wonder when a certain film technique was first used? Or what the first movie theatre in the United States was? When was the first time someone appeared nude in a film? What was the yearly attendance to movie theatres in the United States? What film had the highest number of casulties? On and on and on the information flows. Over 240 pages of information and 75 photographs. Stump your friends and aggravate your enemies.

This book is the perfect book for the film fan. You can pick it up, flip through it as you would a magazine and read literally thousands of facts about movie history when you thought you knew it all. How they did research for this book is unbelievable! It is so chock full of interesting facts about film. Lots of entertaining quotes as well. Highly recommended!

In this silly little book one will find out who came up with the first diet and other stupid stuff that one really does not need to know but still craves for. The book, i.e., The book of firsts
by Patrick Robertson is written in a simple yet well written format. Highly Recommended.

My 3-1/2 year old daughter and I both love this book! Jack Mouse travels to Ireland (via the Galway Bay ship) to visit his relations for St. Patrick's Day. The little mouse enjoys some real Irish hospitality and along the way chases a legendary leprechaun. My daughter learned about shamrocks, a shillelagh, soda bread and "cead mile failte". This is a great read for both parent and child. The illustrations are lovely too. I enjoy reading it to my daughter almost every night and she loves to giggle "Tee hee hee" along with Liam the Leprechaun.

On the plus side this small book has a fair bit of information about Van's works.However, the author is very opinionated and off-beam at times.He disparages some great Van songs.He calls 'Ballerina' a "lethargic meditation".'Autumn Song'is tagged "an insubstantial fragment".He says 'Summertime in England' is "hopelessly indulgent" and "pretentious".These are excellent songs and help create the distinctive Van Morrison mood which so many fans love.Humphries includes many cliches in his writing,for example, words such as "seguing","guesting" and "encoring".Two albums, "Hard Nose the Highway" and "Hymns to the Silence" are called "curate's eggs" (ie good in parts), another cliche.Although he quotes Van emphatically denying that he is a rock n roll artist, Humphries throughout places Van in a rock n roll context.It is little wonder that Van gets annoyed with journalists when so many of them are not up to understanding him and his music.Fans will get something out of this book, but not a great deal.

Patrick Humphries' concise CD sized booklet lives up to its name. It is highly recommended for both new and old fans alike.

Humphries' review of Morrison's albums will provide an excellent starting point for the neophyte Van fan who may well be overwhelmed by the abundance of choices in the back catalogue of Van Morrison.

The seasoned Van fan will likewise enjoy (and more than likely disagree!) with Humphries' knowledgeable critique of the albums.

Patrick Humphries obviously knows Van's music and Van's life.This is a work of respect , well illustrated and well written. He isn't afraid to show his personal likes and dislikes in Van's extensive discography.All in all , an excellent overview of over 30 albums and a good introduction to the neophyte.