First of all: I am not dealing professionally in any way with music and I am not a music theory student either. However, I find the article 'Listening to Zappa' by Professor Jonathan W. Bernard (which takes circa one third of this volume) as much entertaining as insightful. Like me, Mr. Bernard is a Zappa fan from his early youth on, and in spite of all the theoretical analysis, one can feel that the author truly likes Zappa's music and even appreciates his sense of (often purely musically expressed) absurd humour.

So if you are seriously into Frank Zappa and his music (and his musical parody, of course), this book is a must!

Oops, that summary makes me sound like one of Crawford's characters (NOT a self-compliment). But that's only fair, as his art functions best as a mirror in which we in the supposed "underground" (which term has lost most of its meaning since these cartoons first appeared) can laugh and wince at our own absurdity. His grotesque drawings and ripsaw wit make mincemeat of everything lame and pretentious about the musical/political "subcultures" that festered around the SF Bay and in fact most coastal cities. (By refraining from Goya comparisons, can I avoid sounding like Crawford's character Art Hefty? Hope so.)

Many people objected to his attacking already marginalized groups, comparable to stomping a paraplegic, and largely sparing more deserving targets in mainstream society. But, I think he detected a certain precious, self-congratulatory arrogance on the part of these (largely) declasse, parent-supported hipster frauds. And his spindly, ink-clotted caricatures and lacerating prose gave these parasites a kicking they won't soon forget. And which they had previously been exempt from.

Every movement needs antibodies to fight the rot and sanctimony that eventually turn all "avant gard" cabals into impotent, mutual-admiration societies. Crawford provides such healthful abuse, leavened with rip-cracking humor and a supple penline. Many of his targets are still around, still doing their clownish damage, so buy this book as soon as possible.

And relax--it's not nearly as solemn as I've made it sound.

This is the information that Capitol left off of their CD booklets, track by track annotation of all of their songs. A great companion to your CD collection or a good book to read to get thoughts on how the Beatles crafted their music.

Both of my children love this book. We read it before bed.They learntreasured nursery rhymes and about Jesus in a delightful way. Great christening gift!

This is the 2nd edition of Moynier's and Fiddler's High Sierra "best of" guide. John Moynier and Claude Fiddler are very experienced Sierra climbers/guides with hundreds of routes and dozens of firsts to their respective credits. The authors have painstakenly selected over 100 outstanding routes ranging from moderate class 3 peak bagging exercises to Grade V walls and Grade VI linkup routes. The represented climbs are among the most popular and most sought after climbs in the range. Climbers of all skills and goals will benefit from this guide. They provide topos, verbal approach, climbing and descent descriptions and a rich historical perspective on climbing in the Range of Light.

Improvements in this guide include more detailed topos, a larger selection of alternate routes, more historical anecdotes, and a refined selection of climbs.

While this book is an excellent stand alone guide, many climbers would benefit from RJ Secor's Peaks, Passes and Trails as a companion guide.

I rate this book 5 of 5. Most climbing guidebooks are dry material... just the facts Ma'am. But this one colors all of the technical data with stories of old heros and epic struggles. Buy it so these guys will be tempted to write more!

This is another good book in this series and one of the better ones. This is well researched and very detailed, even in such a small sized book. You can tell that the author has a genuine love for the music.

This book is a collection of interviews with John Cage, the late avant garde composer who was one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. The interviews span nearly a half century and give a cogent idea of Cage's thought on music, art, education, politics, and social revision.

If you are curious about why a composer would write music that is "silent", why he would use chance, nonintention, and denounce music as communication, this is a good book to begin an overview of Cage's philosophy of art.

It also shows that Cage's musical thought was not monolithic, but changed several times in the course of his life, as did his music.

John Harrington lays out geological ideas in understandable terms. What a great book.

The Greatful Dead is one of the most popular, influential, and long lasting rock groups in the history of rock music. Dead Reckonings: The Life And Times Of The Greatful Dead is a nostalgic "must" for all their legions of fans, and will aptly serve to introduce a new generation of "deadheads" to the lore, legend and history of Jerry Garcia and the other unforgettable Greatful Dead group members.

There are a multitude of us out there who obsess about the Grateful Dead (and you know who you are). The larger, full-size versions of DeadBase have been invaluable to us for many years, helping us to make certain the concert dates of our favorite tapes, letting us know every time "Sugaree" or "The Music Never Stopped" was played and whether it opened the show or closed the first set, how long a particular show ran and gave Deadheads an opportunity to write and reminisce about our best Grateful Dead experiences. The larger editions of Deadbase make handsome additions to any Deadhead's library but this compact version is the one you keep with you (even to this day, 5 years after the last Dead performance)in your backpack, at your desk, near your computer, whatever. Deadbase Jr gives reliable information that a Dead fan, tape collector, novice or expert craves in portable fashion. If you know a Deadhead who has never heard of Deadbase (unlikely but possible), introduce them to this fun paperback, it is guaranteed to please and don't be surprised if they look for the larger, more comprehensive versions shortly thereafter. Like all Deadheads, when we find something we like, we always want more! ENJOY! :)