Climbing accidents and near accidents told in the classic "Largo" style. Each situation is colorfully written with lots of humor. Long then technically evaluates what caused the problem, and describes how to prevent such situations from happening. Keep 'em coming John!

Just hope you're not one of the people in his stories!

A truly great book. I laughed so hard my sides hurt as I read "Nellies Night Out" and "Helluva Time on Mt. Dutzi." Long comically recounts classic stupid mistakes all climbers have made at one time or another but still provides a down to earth commentary so that we all might never be on the receiving end of these same mistakes.

John Long is really telling us cautionary tales. But if anyone can make you laugh, snort, and giggle at the thought of some poor sod hanging by a fingernail to a crumbling mountain ledge, John Long is that man. Also cartoonist Tami Knight has an equally irreverent sense of humor.

However, if you are not laughing too hard, you will notice Long's Commentary and Prevention notes on each tale are precise, well written and helpful. The big moral throughout is you can never ever be too careful when rock climbing. Also, never assume anything.

I think this is a particularly good book for young people who have an interest in rock climbing. A solemn, dry book would never do the trick. It is difficult to grab this group's attention, particularly since the hormones are raging, and they are certain of their immortality. But they adore gallows humor, and just perhaps a few of these safety measures will stick in their minds and hearts.

John Long has a knack of coming on like your new best friend. Similar to Stephen King, you feel like he is telling his stories just for you and no one else. So settle in and enjoy the read!
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

The Eclipse trilogy by John Shirley is perhaps one of the finest examples of cyberpunk "war" novels available - a classic us vs them series. Guaranteed to keep you up till all hours of the night, this series has been placed on "Permanent Out Of Stock" status by it's publisher, which usually means they are in a tussle with the author and will not print the book, but will not release the rights back to the author so it can be printed elsewhere. Your best bet is to seek out a good used bookstore or sf con - a set is usually available. This is a must read for hardcore sci-fi genre addicts, along the lines of Necrom and Armageddon Rag (if you don't know them, find them). And it never hurts to complain to the publisher, Popular Library Questar division about their stance re this series. Find it. Buy it. Read it.

John Shirley belongs to the generation of science fiction writers led by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling who are known as cyberpunks. Shirley was one of the early proponents of cyberpunk fiction. "Eclipse", the first in his "A Song Called Youth" trilogy, is a vivid, stylistically hip mix of politics, rock and roll and computers. His lean prose is almost as elegant as Gibson's; here he depicts a near future in which Europe falls under the sway of a Neo-Nazi Christian fundamentalist tyranny, the Second Alliance (SA), in the aftermath of a limited nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Opposing the SA are a motley band of rock musicians and socialist guerrillas known as the New Resistance. Those interested in reading some great cyberpunk fiction should acquire John Shirley's "A Song Called Youth" trilogy.

After discovering John Shirley through his short horror fiction, I bought a copy of Eclipse and sat motionless for days to read it. In other words, I could not put it down. While this would be shelved in a store's science fiction section, it really is more than typical spaceships and lasergun fare. It falls more towards cyberpunk but exceeds it with a focus on characters instead of technology.

The basic premise of the rise of a neo-fascist "security" corporation during the starts of a limited nuclear war between the USA and Russia sets the background for the very believable characters, each with distinct personalities and flaws that come to life from the printed page. Mr. Shirley weaves a complex and intertwined tale of guerilla mercenaries, fading rock stars, and fasicst powermongers that would stand proudly with the great works on science fiction. If not for any other reason, his interpretation of developing cultural trends is at the same time illuminating and frightening.

Having only read the first book*, I am anticipating no less enjoyment from Penumbra and Corona, the second and third works in the series.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a complicated read where each page yields a small reward.

* Sometimes I do need to spend a little time reading my college textbooks, too.

This book shed a lot of light onto one of the greatest and most tragic figures in modern music. Much of what I knew about Jimi was based on rumors and vague interpretations about what he and his music stood for. However, this book presented a detailed look into his life. Through personal accounts from those around him, the author paints a detailed portrait of who Jimi really was. Although I have always been drawn to Jimi by his music, the book showed his personal side, which is equally as compelling. The weakness in my opinion was the lack of detailed information on his early childhood years. Although his father Al would play an important role in the Jimi Hendrix legacy (and still does to this day), their relationship (or lack thereof) is rarely mentioned. Also, there could have been more written about how much influence he had on music. The discography is very inclusive, but it lacks detailed commentary. Overall, I enjoyed the book a great deal and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about Jimi Hendrix.

This book takes an inside look at the life and legend of the man that was James Marshall(Jimi) Hendrix. His troubled youth and how he had to suffer tremendous hardships just to be noticed. His love affair with blues music and his affinity for the guitar are also well intact. What puzzles me is why so many people would want to drag Jimi's name through the mud and desecrate his legacy and good fortune with lies and deceit. Why couldn't people have respect enough for Jimi and his music to take it seriosuly and treat it like gold, instead of commercializing for their own personal gain and profit? Jimi was a serious artist and this book certainly attests to that. He wasn't in it for the money or fame or recognition. He was simply in it for the music.
He deserved to be treated better by people who called themselves "His Friends." Jimi was a incredible man and amazing guitar player as well, but he was also very human. He had a very vulnerable side to him as well. He had enough problems without people wanting him to be everything to them. He couldn't do that.
He needed someone to love him and someone to respect him and take him at face value instead of having him always be Mr. Rock guitar god. he wanted people to listen to his music and be taken seriously. He was sick and tired of doing the same theatrical tricks that he had done with the guitar night after night, and now he just wanted people to listen to him, and not look at what he was doing with his guitar. he didn't need to prove anything anymore. he'd already done it. it was time for him to move into a new direction. Unfortunately, that new direction was never fully realized during hendrix's lifetime. Only now, after his death do we fully know just exactly what he was trying to achieve. Some things we'll never know. That was the genius of Hendrix. To keep people guessing. He'll never know how much of an impact he has had and continues to have on people's lives even to this day. God Bless You, Jimi. We Love You, Man!!!

This biography was written to, as the title states , set the record straight. After Jimi Hendrix's 6-year career wasw cut short by a drug overdose he was viewed as an anti-establishment, sex and drug addict. However, no one ever focused on his serious vision and path of his music. He started his career as a backup musician for such artists as Curtis Knight and the Squires, the Iskey Brothers, and Little Richard. After that he was signed by Chas Chandler ( formally of the Animals0 signed him and moved to England. There the Experience began. The book shows that Jimi spent hours and hours in the studio to get a song right and kept to himself alot. Totally unlike his stage personallity. I would recommend this book to any music lover. The other musicians' insight into Hendrix's talent and personality makes the book especially interesting. It provides an interestingperspective into the most unique period in music History

How did such a normal day lead to such a phenomenen? Was it destiny? Did John Lennon and Paul McCartney have any idea as teenagers as to what lay ahead of them? These are questions that can never be answered, but eight years of painstaking research and a little artistic license has produced a book which plants many a romantic thought in the mind about how the Beatles started. "The Day John Met Paul" is a book about the 6th of July 1957, focusing primarily on events in Woolton, a leafy suburb of Liverpool, where a local village fete leads to the first meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, later to become the driving forces behind the band that became the Beatles. Author JimO'Donnell describes these events as a present-tense review of the day, and it is this approach as well as the remarkable factual detail which makes his book unique and compelling. His introduction to the book is mesmerising in itself, as he explains how his research sought to capture the atmosphere of that place at that time. He also describes world events which were happening simultaneously, taking into account time differences, meaning that these events were literally happening at the precise moments. This gives emphasis on the physical normality of what happened that day but as it is written now, it is an experience to read the book while obviously knowing what happened subsequently. This is where O'Donnell engrosses the reader, forcing us to imagine the scenes taking place, and the book, although really an acquired taste, actually works on a historical level as well. For those who never saw 1957, images are conjured of life at that time on a Saturday in the middle of summer. What O'Donnell also acheives is as mentioned the romanticism of the Beatles story and myth and the idea that the real reason for their success and incredible longevity as a part of people's lives was the personal relationships between them and the higher spiritual plane that they seemed to stumble on together. As Paul watches John play at the fete, and later vice versa, there is a "meeting of minds" and a sharp vision. Whether the true story was anything like this is always open to speculation, but the telling phrases used by O'Donnell in his book lead us to believe that was a union so important that it must have been written in the stars. O'Donnell starts off from the early hours of the morning as the teenagers and most of Liverpool sleeps, and he describes the surrounding scene before the main protagonists have had a chance to contribute to events of the day. We see the build-up to the event which, while not big in itself, began something special, and as the event unfolds, his vivid imagination is given full rein as he describes what might have been going through their minds, and how they were spurred on not just by the sound of the music but what it really meant to them on a personal level, creating the collective vision that would eventually be shared with the world. This is of course primarily a book for Beatlemaniacs and positively demands multiple readings and musings.

I couldn't stop reading once I started this gem, and of the many Beatles books, I'd rate this as one of the best. For pure literary artistry, it ranks high: the descriptions are vivid and bring you completely into that fateful day (one moment stands out in which the Quarrymen go on their second, evening, show and a minute into the set, a rare Liverpool lightning storm sweeps through the town, knocking out the power, leaving John and his bandmates in darkness for a moment...
the proverbial, but in this instance real, "lightning flash" of greater things to come?!)
Definitely recommended to any Beatles fan.

Jim O'Donnell is a very gifted writer. His descriptions of the past are like painted murals in our imagination. The images he creates with his words take us back in time when John Lennon and Paul McCartney were teenagers, in Liverpool, England, and the world was just learning how to rock around the clock. I couldn't put this book down. Besides his great writing ability, it is very obvious that Mr. O'Donnell has done his research well. This book will NOT insult the intelligence of any Beatles' fan. It will make the reader understand a little more of the genius behind the remarkable songwriting team of Lennon and McCartney. Their strong differences of personalities brought John and Paul together... and yet, drew them closer. The author, I feel, has done the job well.

The big problem with Chockstone/Falcon's "How to rock climb" series is that too many of their books, particularly those written by John Long, seem to contain huge sections cut-and-pasted from other titles in this series.

Alas, "Climbing Anchors" is no exception. If you have a copy of the book "How To Rock Climb", you already have about 50% of the matter covered in this book. What remains is useful, but hardly justifies the cost of a full book.

If this book contained a section on setting up pulley systems, it might be more worthwhile.

A bit out of date (for example, he talks about cordelettes like they're something really rare and new) and some of the black and white photos of anchor systems are difficult to see, but I still learned a lot from this book (in conjunction with hands-on learning, of course). It helps to have the companion book (More Climbing Anchors) because some of the techniques in there are a little more up to date. I liked how he talked about the pros/cons of each anchor setup and situation. I've heard that Bob Gaines and John Long are working on a new book on anchors, but not sure when that's supposed to be out.

This book is extremely valuable for learning how to place protection or setting up anchors for trad climbing or top rope anchor setup. My friends and I carefully studied this book and went out and practiced placing gear and setting up anchors from the ground. When we went and took an anchor building class, we learned a lot of good tips, but the information we learned from this book helped us rapidly advance in our class. This book also is very helpful after you learn your basics because you can analyze various anchor setups and compare it to the analysis in the book. One drawback of this or any other book is that a picture is never as good as inspecting protection on your own at various angles close up. For this reason, you will want to go climbing with a more experienced partner or an instructor so they can give you more detailed feedback on your own protection placement skills.

As someone who wrote reviews for this (and the forthcoming) volume, I certainly enjoy the book. The criticisms of "a reader" above are certainly valid, which is why this book should not be billed or used as a reference book. Without question, there are many errors, but I use the book primarily as an enjoyable way to check out other people's opinions of shows I attended or have on tape. For that, it's unsurpassed.

This book has all you could want to know about the shows and songs from 1975-1985. If you favor the dead in those years, GET THIS BOOK!! It tells you highlights of the shows, highlight shows per year, etc.. Simply amazing.

Michael Goetz and company have done it again! This book has more in-depth, historical interviews with tapers from the Deadhead community, more information on soundboard releases, and another batch of incredible photos from people's collections. Sure, there are some errors in song titles and some missing shows, but there are a number of fine reviews by a number of contributors. If you enjoyed Volume I and enjoy Deadbase, go get Volume II of The Compendium as well. You'll be glad you did...I am!

A fan of Robinson's radio and t.v. efforts for years, I was thrilled to see he's compiled his famous trivia questions into book form. Thanks, John :)

This book would make a great trivia board game. The style and execution is simple and easy to read. The questions are interesting and, although I knew some of the answers beforehand, there are hundreds that I didn't know. It's a fun read and can really perk up a party! I think it would make a great coffee table book, too.

How could anyone not enjoy this book? The first page had me hooked. As some of the others have already stated, it's fun to use these questions on other people as well as yourself. The cover on my copy is worn out from people borrowing it. Sure, there are some publishing mistakes, but the joy these people had while making this book comes across like gangbusters. If you're looking for in-depth analysis of your favorite oldies, forget it. If you're looking for interesting tidbits, off-the-wall trivia and fun, then you'll enjoy it! The title says it all: jukebox TRIVIA...not jukebox analysis. You got a problem with that? Look up "trivia" in the dictionary.

The book starts off promisingly with a review of the Blackpool show, but soon falls into a rather muddled writing style. The most disappointing part about this book is that Robb (someone who claims to be there when it happened) fails to interview any of the four Roses. Pretty much every quote is from a previous press interview. So we never really find out why Reni quit or what the band was doing between the two albums or the background behind the fractious recording of 'Second Coming'. Other than that, it's an interesting account of the band, but definitely written from a fan's perspective.

This is a book for every true Stone Roses fan and will convince everyone of the fascination of the Roses and their music. This is also a good introduction to 80's rock & rave culture and leaves the readers with the desire to have experienced all this by themselves, if not already done so. Be a part of the Stone Roses phenomenon and read it!

Although the style of this book is at times irritating, it's got to be said that Robb captures the mood of the late eighties perfectly, and does justice to just how important the Roses were in 1989. The most interesting aspect of the book is that it turns it into a pop tragedy of epic proportion, explaining how the Silvertone court case and their five years out basically destroyed the Roses beyond reasonable doubt.

OK, I love John Bonham, but the authors stated he died when he was 31, CORRECTION!! He died when he was 32! Do some more researh before you try to write a book...

It's nice to finally see a book that focuses on Zeppelin's secret weapon, Bonzo. Not only was he one of the greatest ever, his drum SOUND was without parallel. Reading about how he tuned his drums and other information about he got that sound was invaluable. Like another reviewer stated, too much time was spent on his pre-Zep days, and not enough as part of Hammer of the Gods era. The last chapter, with individual tracks explained was great, but it also have been nice to see some transcriptions of some of his amazing fills, etc. If you buy this book, you also owe it to yourself to buy the new Zeppelin DVD, which allows to see Bonzo in action in a serious way for the first time (it's light years better than "The Song Remains the Same."). If you do want to know where John's greatness came from, this book is a good place to start.

Obviously the best rock drummer of all time, the book includes ample information about Bonham's personal life, as well as his professional side and even his tricks of the trade.

The book is a clinic for rock drummers. Bonzo and others who worked with him, discuss how he tuned his drums, what drums he used and why, what to do and not to do about drumskins, and more.

The book also contains some remarkable color photos of the band on stage. With their dazzling light show, the photos suggest what it might have been like.

But what I can't understand is this. The book says that Bonham "drank vodka out of a bottle like water". Someone that far gone obviously needs help. With all of the people around him, did anyone try to organize a posse to get him some help?

Bonzo's alcoholizm even got to the point of interfering with rehearsals and shows, and soon after, ending his life. Did they all think they were invincible? Robert Plant's experiences in near previous years should have taught not. What a waste of an incredibly gifted musician, and a human being.

writing from his experiance as well as his heart fred seaman brings to life in this book tons of personal information about john lennon and yoko ono.having to keep a very heavy load taking care of johns every need,studio one office duties and yokos wild request,seaman is able to capture life at lennono at its best and worst.fred tells of johns wierd obsessions with cults,clothes,fear of fans,and even death.this book also tells of john lennons comeback,the writing of new songs in bermuda,recording double fantasy,how the album got its name,problems in the studio with yoko,on and on,all the way up to johns death.the last days of john lennon is worth every penny.i read it from cover to cover,it was hard to lay it down.i have always been a beatles fan.i have always been a john lennon fan.now i can say that i am a true fredric seaman fan.fantastic job fred! buzz sawyer

No matter what slander has been hurled against Fred Seaman, I refuse to believe that he would be lying about so many of the intricate details of John Lennon's life. When I read this book, my eyes were opened to the human being that John really was. As much as I would ever hate to offend anyone in John's family I can't help but be overwhelmed by how believeable this book really is. I'm just glad to see that there are other people out there that didn't listen to all the scrutiny pertaing to Fred Seaman. I'm glad they gave the book a chance like I did. And in so doing I discovered how believeable it really was. Some people don't realize how much heat and scrutiny that Fred is up against. In reading his book I felt that a terrible injustice had come upon him for a small mistake he had made with his heart. It was unfortunate how it turned out for him. This book is the most believeable account of the last two years of John's life that I've ever read. I've never put stock in any Beatle or John Lennon Book until now and I have just about read them all. But because of Seaman's private memoirs I no longer want to read another book about John Lennon. Freds book said it all. I wish the best for you, Fred. Remember Bermuda? It was a peaceful time? sincerely Isis & MeganJaye

I've read many Lennon bios, from Goldman to Coleman...John has been my favorite Beatle, and human being, since I was about 15 (I'm now 29)...and I feel sorry for Yoko that she has to stifle this book. This is an entirely human account of the life John and Yoko led in the last year or two of John's life...written by the guy who was a staple in their everyday living, ordering the groceries, setting up flights, witnessing his own Aunt Helen trying to control the young Sean, as his nanny...There is no vindictiveness in this book...it's a loving account of John as a real man. I never, ever, in reading this got the feeling that Seaman was some kind of pariah bent on reaping the profits of a world famous man...Just a mere recording of daily events...with John a central presence....one sequence that stood out was John hearing Paul's song "Coming Up"....and remarking that it was a song he could not get out of his head..he asked Seaman to get hold of the latest McCartney album..."McCartney II'...
a riveting account of a man we all admire, but whose faults are there, in full display.....still feeling for his past, wanting more...this book is a display of passion, a true gem....