The Ambidextrist started out seeming like a good book. The concept was good. But that is where the positive stopped and the negative started. The book is a picture of inner city life in Philadelphia from the slums and homeless perspective. The plot is weak. The character development is flimsy. And the writing style is just one step above "pot boiler" mass market novels.

The book in no way can be labeled as literature. It seems like a piece whipped off in an afternoon. Very little depth to the characters and very low levels of description on just about any aspect of the book. Even the dialogue seems less than realistic. In fact, the only character in the book that was developed was that of the Schuylkill River, which the reader gets a pretty good feeling for throughout the book.

Otherwise, the reader's time would be infinitely better spent, reading "Native Son" by Richard Wright. That is a modern day classic where the characters are well developed and really ring true. If you truly feel a need to read Peter Rock's book, perhaps borrowing it from the library is better than spending the money to own it.

This is a novel about people trying to make connections, people on the margins looking in, people trying to reach outside of themselves, powerless people trying to feel strong. Unpretentious, understated, this novel elucidates what life is like for a community of disparate spirits who spend their time on the Schuylkill riverbank. I think it's a very relevant book for our times. It shows an aspect of the American spirit not often dwelled upon. Most of us are on the margins. Most of us are not the movers and shakers of corporate America. Most of us are confronted with our powerlessness everyday, and our salvation is the forging of connections with others like us.

I bought this book cause of the mri of the writer's head on the cover. it's good stuff though. reminded me of cormac mccarthy and denis johnson. the plot ain't much but who cares? the flayed prose's worth the price of admission. desolate's the word to describe this book except it's remarkably rich emotionally like a kenny roger's tune. i liked it alot. thank god for writers like peter rock.

For the most part, these sightings are very well written and seem possible. The one about Elvis spotted in a trailer park is weak to say the least; however, most will make you think twice if you keep an open mind. I find this book fairly well written and hard to put down once you start reading. What if ??

As a highly respected and lauded scholar on the topic of canned cheese food products, I must commend Mr. Eicher on his efforts to present clearly and even-handedly the often ridiculed issue of Elvis sightings. His meticulously researched and extensively footnoted tome is a triumph of modern scholarly efforts.

I am proud to have this volume in my ponderously large library and I consider it one of the crown jewels in my collection of American literature.

Anyone with a modest degree of breeding and education should not find fault with this magnificent book.

Perhaps I should succumb to the powerful temptation to spend a part of my vast fortune to support the work of this young man.

Bravo, I say, Mr Eicher! Bravo!

Elvis does live and Mr. Eicher has the proof in this book. Multiple sightings and multiple contacts show the truth from this shy rock star's disappearance.

This was a fascinating book. Although I was a big fan of country music, rock, and the unique hybrid the subjects of this book created, I knew next to nothing about the artists themselves, (with notable exception to Gram Parsons, as I had read Ben Fong-Torres's Hickory Wind). There is a biography worth of information about the major players, from Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash to Gram Parsons, as well as slightly less well known figures, like Chris Hillman and Mike Nesmith. All these good things being said, the previous two reviewers were not exaggerating when they said the book was somewhat muddled. In painting a musical landscape that encompasses everything from Jimmie Rodgers to Wilco, Doggett seemed to bite off more than he could chew. One chapter he will be talking about Gram Parsons, then Carl Perkins, then the Outlaw Movement, then Eddie Cochran. While it is all very interesting, it needs either more structure or a narrower scope. It is definitely not for the faint of heart, so I wouldn't recommend it to the casual reader, but if you find the subject matter interesting, it is worth the read.

Peter Doggett is clearly in love with the intersection of country with rock music and has amazing anecdotes to tell about Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and about 100 other greater and lesser lights of country rock. His knowledge is encyclopedic and his opinions are well-formed and well-informed. I, like Doggett, fell for country music around the time of Dylan's Nashville Skyline and the Byrds' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo and in many ways never looked back. Gram Parsons entered into my personal mythology with the release of Gilded Palace Of Sin and got cemented there by his self-destruction in 1972. One of the best things about this book is that it managed to "demythologize" Parsons and helped me understand what he meant. Parsons was so afraid of not being hip and on the cutting edge, that he could not survive. After he had preached the gospel of country traditionalism, he couldn't get it together to become "traditional" unlike those closest to him. This book is, at it's core, about Parsons and the impulses he represented. The subtitle (Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the roots of country rock) is ill-fitting and sounds as if it was pasted on by a Penguin editor or marketing drone because books about Dylan and Elvis sell. I also like the fact that Doggett made me reconsider artists I dismissed 30 years ago (such as Michael Nesmith). The most compelling parts of the book are insights into the personalities and the least compelling parts are the crush of minutiae about recording sessions and discographies..."and then Roseanne Cash went into the studio with Don Was..." that kind of thing - didn't add new insight. Very good book, though. Nostalgia+new appreciations+new artists+hilariously dry opinions ("hat act" will never mean the same thing again).

This book does an excellent job of tracing the half-century relationship between country music and rock 'n' roll. I don't find it "muddled" at all and prefer the detailed information over a more streamlined slant that would have sacrificed information for an "angle." The author dwells on sensationalistic events (there certainly are enough of them to go around) only to the extent needed to provide context for the musical developments. His respect for the musicians and their music is obvious and appreciated.

They needed a book on this specific topic but this is not nearly extensive enough for someone to go out and toprope! "From Gym to Crag" is much better for learning toproping.

If you're just starting out on open rock, then this book really outlines some extremely important safety techniques, as well as useful anchor building, belaying, and knot tying instruction. Goes a little bit into rappelling as well, but not in very much depth. The only problem I had was that sometimes he writes about knots and then doesn't tell how to tie them. It's my guess this book is best used before a trip out with a guide, or at least someone who knows whats going on. Use the techniques and start out easy, 5.4, 5.7 or such until you get a feel for the way the systems work. I highly recommend this book for people who meet those needs.

This thin book has all the info you need to begin top roping; the way most beginners start this sport. It emphesizes safety and careful consideration of what you are doing. It does NOT however take the place of real life instruction; find an experienced cliber or guide to take you and then this book will help you before and after your fist rock climb.

The writing was good, and the content was done in good taste in my opinion. The writer tried to be tasteful and senstive to the readers.

Being a longtime fan of Duran Duran, I would have to DEFINITELY recommend this...Duran Duran really is great live. In the 80s, Duran Duran dominated airwaves, and were seen everywhere. It was Duran Duran that inspired the writing of new fiction novella entitled "Pop Masquerade" available through Global Publishing Bureau via the Internet.

A solid analysis of Lou Reed's music and poetry as windows into his personal life. As such, it provides keen insights into his creative processes; often it's a revelation how closely the tone of Reed's writing followed the tumultuous ups and downs of his private affairs and career. Doggett tracks this correlation with sensitivity and precision, working to untangle the conflicts, perversities, and ambivalence of a famously complex man.

Finally, however, most of the credit goes to Reed for his artistic honesty rather than to Doggett. All of the biographical material, including interviews, are from second-hand sources, and the tone is overly cold and even negative throughout. It's unreasonable to expect a music book to be objective, but Doggett shows little enthusiasm for Reed's best work to match the censure of his worst.

Usually biographies (which this essentially is) based on second-hand material bring something new to their clipping-collection: passion, a radical viewpoint, an amount of daring. Doggett's is too cautious to qualify as a first-rate study. Die-hard Lou Reed fans will be disappointed by his clinical remoteness, and newcomers will find little to spark their curiosity.

The book almost makes up for this with its intelligence and muscular concision. But, as usual with biographical studies, the art is analyzed on only one level, and with no obvious pleasure. By the last page you feel ready to pass your Lou Reed 101 final, but also a bit deflated.

A very addictive book. I wanted to re-familiarize myself for this review and couldn't put it down so a few hours later I had read it through again. Reveals the human being and chronicles the ups and downs and the artistry of Reed, for a "thorough dissection of the Rock 'n Roll animal" - and this animal has sharp fangs and a tendency to bite, one might add. The author is obviously a fan, but a very honest writer who never hesitates to tackle controversial issues. Very interesting also for the light it throws on other artists and sometime collaborators like John Cale, Nico and Patti Smith. Reading this book whets one's appetite for the music again - surely the best recommendation. Great pics and an exhaustive annotated discograpy.

Reading this book enriches the reader's appreciation for Billy Joel's music. It paints a picture of an artist who loves to make music, and accepts fame and fortune as a mere externality. While it is a very informed run-down of Billy's first few albums from a producer's standpoint (studio musicians, track order, commentary on lyrics), it leaves virtually untouched the analysis of Billy Joel's harmonic language and sense of melody. For someone who understands music theory and wants elaboration on the COOLNESS of, for example, the brilliant chord progression in "Falling of the Rain" on "Cold Spring Harbor", it's difficult to find ultimate satisfaction. All in all, a good read, loaded with interesting tidbits about the production of Billy Joel's albums, his dreams and attitudes, and his perception by the public eye. It traces his path from nowhere to somewhere, and it is interesting to read a book published before Glass Houses, The Bridge, Stormfront, River of Dreams, etc. The book concludes at 20 years ago! -A good biography to begin an exploration of Billy's life.

This is definitely one of the best of the punk books. Written in 1983, the photos are wonderful, the text informative - this was clearly done by people who were part of the scene back then, who knew and understood what was going on. Unfortunately, it's out of print - so if you find one, you're very lucky!

Yeah, I agree with the guy below. What do you want, a textbook? This was written AT THE TIME and has been in my collection since 83. If you are lucky enough to find a copy somewhere, GRAB IT!

I mean, why go through all the revisionist history that is pumped out nowadays when you can read an actual document from the place and time?

the book hasn't been updated since 1983 -- for the reason that it's written by and about a past scene. the lack of objectivity makes it a worthwhile read. what do you want, a punk rock textbook? buy this -- it's hard to find.

I think this book is good, since there are few other books about the subject of drum and bass, there are some glaring mistakes. For some reason they put Air (the French duo) in the drum and bass section and not the Trip-hop, Lounge, Big Beat area. Air clearly falls into the downtempo catagory. Second, in one review they noted that the Exploited wrote the song "City Baby Attacked by Rats" (it's an old hardcore punk rock tune) but it was GBH who did that tune. Bad mistake for a music historian. It also mimics Simon Reynolds book "Ecstasy Generation" too much. The opinions seem to be the same and the way Rough Guide is written also shadows Reynold's book. In addition, there aren't any keys to the symbols for CD or vinyl. I had to figure it out myself. And...some of the recommendations aren't the best samples of the artists' work. Kinda poor way to guide someone through a genre many find confusing. But, like I said, there aren't many more books about D&B out there.

Good reading, especially if you're a junglist, and got some spare time on your hands. Contains good info on the biggest names in the scene (the british ones). Does include downtempo and trip hop etc. however, so dont be surprised to run into names such as Dj Shadow and Thievery Corporation, towards the end. Also the book names almost each artists' biggest anthems, so why not use these highlighted tracks for your next burned compilation?

Despite the not always perfect genre listings for the artists in this book, it still porvides most all the biographical info that any normal person would want for Drum N Bass and Breakbeat artists and groups, worth the small price.