A picture is worth 1000 words and this book uses color pictures well. The book is fairly short, but covers the subject with concise grace. I am a rank beginner. My first climb was 3 days ago, my second was yesterday (both indoors). I took my 3 year old and 10 year old yesterday and they loved it! In the past 2 days I've read 5 books on climbing, and so far this has been the best.

I read a 250 page "textbook" on climbing, and only saw about 10% that I cared about right now. At this point I really don't want to know 75 different ways to wrap a rope around my body to rappel. (you know what I mean?) Teach me something fast, show me some good graphics. Get me started on the right foot! That's what this book does in spades.

The author's best use of pictures are to show both the right way and the wrong way to do something (like run rope through a 'biner). Also, I have done alot of equipment pricing over the past few days, and this book is DEAD ON when it comes to costs of climbing equipment and accessories.

This book is everything the beginner needs to start crawling up walls, just make sure you have a belay partner so you don't kill yourself. :-)

Rock Climbing is an excellent resource for beginning courses offered through high school and university programs. The text is full color and includes many exciting photographs by noted climbing photographers and very nice artist renderings of gear and techniques. All the basics for getting started are covered. The text describes techniques and methods for Traditional and Sport Leading as well as for Top-roping routes. Information on specific training for climbing is provided and one chapter even presents a mini-guide to some of the best areas around the world. Of course, I am a bit biased since I wrote the book

The definitive guide to Mott the Hoople, a band known around the world for their "All the Young Dudes" smash hit. The book traces the origins of the band from 1969 right through their eventual demise in 1974 and includes a full UK discography, photos, and a complete gig guide. A must for all fans of the band and 70's music in general.

The cover of this book looks representative of a light trashy romance novel but don't let that put you off. It is a well written, powerful story particularly the last half whcih deals very dramatically and vividly with the horrors of World War 1 without resorting to sensationalism or typical cliches. A very absorbing and thought provoking book

You can throw away those rock and mineral guides you've been collecting through the years; this well-written and well-thought out guide makes them pale and obsolete. I bought this for myself, then needed another one for a young niece who was captivated by its straightforward style and unbelievable photos. It is clean and organized and easy to use as a reference. It would also make a great text for self-education as it places rocks and minerals in context, including photos and descriptions of famous cliffs, sills, and other geologic formations around the world.

Our protagonist, a film buff, tracks the missing films of an obscure German director through twisted alleyways of conspiracy. Spiced with technical film information which can give you a new slant on the movies, the hunt is the thing and its fun all the way.

This unjustly neglected work of paranoid suspense almost beggars rapid summary. Like all good tales of conspiracy and hidden menace, it starts small with a lost genius of cinema. The protagonist starts trying to track him down, and discovers more and more disquieting details. Who are the 'orphans', and why do they want Max Castle (the missing auteur) to stay missing? What are we being shown in the flickers between the frames? Like Eco, a surprising amount of obscure history and culture is slipped in between the plot and characterization; also like Eco, it is never just for show but advances the mood and tone. I wish I could find my copy!

While watching VH1's "Behind the Music" about the Mama's and the Papa's, I became curious about Michelle Phillips. She came off as flaky and shallow in her interviews. I wanted to read this book to see if I could find a shred of depth to this woman.

I didn't.

This autobiography, while poorly written, does give some insight as to why Michelle Phillips was INCAPABLE of being faithful to
any man. She blames all of her actions on being "young and inexperienced". In fairness, her parents certainly didn't set the best example with all their infidelities. She clearly never witnessed any healthy relationships among her elders, and carried this "love the one you're with" mentality into her marriage to John Phillips. She loved being the "hottie" of the group, and used it to her advantage. Interesting sidenote: Her daugher, Chynna (of the group "Wilson Phillips") married actor Billy Baldwin. I read an article a few years back that Chynna was frustrated that Michelle kept hitting on Billy. Big surprise.

I have read the three definitive books on the history of the Mamas and the Papas (including "Papa John" by bandleader John Phillips and the recently published "Creeque Alley" by Matthew Greenwald) but the only book that really captured my interest and gave me a truly in-depth view into the Mamas and the Papas was the wonderful "California Dreamin'" by Michelle Phillips. I bought this book when it was first published in 1986 while I was in college. I had always loved the music of the Mamas and the Papas but I really never knew how the band got together, how their relationships fueled their music and why the group eventually disbanded. It's all here - Michelle's coming of age, her romance with John Phillips, the burgeoning New York folk scene, the first fateful meeting with Mama Cass Elliot, their vacation in the Virgin Islands and then on to California where they met record producer Lou Adler and the rest was history. I think what I enjoyed most about this book was the detailed images of what it must have been like to have lived during the late 60's - Flower Power, the hippie scene and the "Summer of Love". The relationships between the band members, especially that of Michelle and Mama Cass was especially riveting. They were very close and their friendship survived bitter jealousy and deception. I also didn't realize the impact the Mamas and the Papas had on that generation and all they accomplished in just 3 years - several hit singles, four successful albums, a Grammy Award for "Monday, Monday", sold-out concerts from The Hollywood Bowl to Carnegie Hall and their participation (and headliners) with the Monterey Pop Festival in the Summer of 1967. I loved Michelle's writing style - you felt the gamut of emotions from her budding romance with John Phillips, her humilation of being briefly fired from the group, her enthusiasm for being a part of one of the most successful pop groups in history and, finally, the pride of having been so fortunate to have been so resilient and "better off for all you have read". I know I was!

Having been a die hard fan of The Mamas and The Papas since age 10 (now 21), I purchased this book along with John's with the greatest enthusiasm, and set out to read what the two Phillips' had to say about those glorious and the not so glorious moments they have shared.
I can only say I never got around to finishing John's book, Michelle's however, I finished reading for the second time last week and found it to be every bit as exciting and enjoyable as I did the first time around...
It is a a very personal book, Michelle certainly chooses the path of honesty in this book, she speaks the words of a woman who was a...lot more than just a shallow hottie as 'some' might put it, but as a woman who loved passionately, who was hurt deeply, what always strikes me as powerful is the pain I think she feels to this day over the death of Cass Elliot. In interviews she says very little, and not a lot of emotion is shown up front in the book, but when she speaks of it, something happens, be it facial, or something in the words, but you just find yourself missing a beat with her and empathising as she remembers the good friend she lost.
For a non-writer, this biography is top knotch, not nearly half as self indulgent and hedonistic as John Phillips' biography is.
I highly recommend this book, it will unveil the many depths of this wonderful lady I can only hope to meet one of those days.

I really wish people would stop placing Buddy Holly's sex life on the stand. Really, if you want to make a sex story of him, write it and say this is an fiction book! Is that too hard to understand??? But, it was better than Ellis Amburn's book.

Norman's biography strips away many of the hitherto half-truths and speculations about the young rock and roll pioneer, whose death in a plane crash is an occurrence that most everyone in the Western world knows about, since it has mythologized Holly as rock and roll's first martyr.

What not many people know is the difficult and at times troubled existence that Holly led during his brief two years in the spotlight. Norman's book is best when he details the insidious influence of Holly's eccentric producer and "manager," Norman Petty, who orchestrated a devious plan to not only deprive Holly of ever collecting his due monies, but to pit Holly's two bandmates against him during the ugly legal wrangling, eventually tying Holly's hands and leaving him no choice but to tackle a grueling winter tour to raise cash for himself and his expectant wife.

While Norman's writing is sometimes weighed down with starstruck adulation, no other Holly biographer has written such a gripping and chilling account of Holly's final days. Many questions about the plane crash remain unanswered, as they probably will always be, but Norman's practical approach to the facts puts things into perspective without embracing some of the more outlandish hypotheses that have surfaced in recent years (such as Holly shooting the pilot in mid-flight). Norman acknowledges but does not pursue such tabloidish details, and though he comes across as a staunch Holly admirer, he presents his subject honestly.

This book is highly recommended to anyone who wants the most truthful chronicle of Buddy Holly's ill-fated but enormously influential life.

This book will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Buddy Holly, but from the perspective of Britain. Philip Norman seems astonished by things that are commonplace to Americans. It is not a big deal to drive a hundred miles, spend a couple of hours, and drive back. High school yearbooks are not a big deal. Eddie Cochran was not a big star in the USA; Dion was a big star. Little things like this can add up fast. I recommend this book, but not unreservedly.

Lots of physics stuff that isn't too useful. Confusing chord charts(edge gets a bit dull after a while), not worth the money.

If you want to really understand the guitar as an instrument, you want this book. This is not for posers who just want to play Green Day covers. Although I could say it sometimes refers to musical terms the way a guitarist does instead of the way accepted in music theory courses, the information is generally correct and answers all the questions that no one else does. This book is aimed at the serious (and intelligent) guitarist. It is in pieces because I use it so much. The diagrams are something that you look at and don't get, then it hits you like a rock and you are hooked for the rest of your life. They are gold. The book is actually hilarious most of the time, but definitely steeped in technical information. A final word: if you really want to play, put down all those tab sheets and buy this book. If you actually read through it, it will change your life.

This book is one of the best, and I have gone through many. It is concise, to the point, and does not leave any mystery. Now I have to go buy the tapes that go with it. The book really does not waste time with stuff you don't need to know, like the "great staff" and how to read music. It uses pictures of the fret board...How else would I learn. It is not a book for rocket scientist, it is a book for someone who owns a guitar. Also try "Blues You Can Use" by Ganapes and "Guitar Handbook" by Denyer.

Michelle Phillips. now an actress primarily acting in TV movies and was in Knot's Landing, tells her version of the rise and fall of the group. Acid, sex and wild spending were part of the lifestyle of the Mamas and Papas, fired by the musical genius of John Phillips. Very interesting reading for those interested in this cultural phenomenon of the sixties.