Jeff's review may be self serving, but so is mine - my dad, the late Bill Alton, is interviewed in the book. This is probably one of the best books about Second City because it is written in the words of those who created Second City. Don't get me wrong, Sheldon's new book is O.K. but this book is better. Bless Jeff for getting these interviews before we lost too many of the original performers. If you can only get one book about Second City - buy this one.

For those not familiar with the Second City, it is basically the granddaddy of all comedy troupes. Started in the mid-'50s as the Compass Players, it transformed into Second City in 1959 and has been going strong ever since, even opening sister theatres in Toronto & Detroit. So many of our current and past comedy stars have started here, it's mindboggling. The Belushi brothers, Bill Murray, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Chris Farley, Bonnie Hunt, Ryan Stiles, Richard Kind, David Steinberg, Alan Alda, Peter Boyle, the entire cast of "SCTV Network," Philip Baker Hall, Mike Myers, Bob Odenkirk, Tim Meadows, Dan Aykroyd... the list goes on and on. This book was written in the '70s and is a collection of interviews w/ several of the company's key writer/performer/directors, among them Gilda Radner, Avery Schreiber, & Mina Kolb. A must-read for anyone who loves improv, sketch comedy, theatre technique, and, specifically, the Second City!

I read this book when I was first starting out in improv about 12 years ago. It features interviews with many of my heros and is still inspiring to me. I went on to work at Second City years later and found this book essential to my understanding of that place's traditions as well as the fact that traditions are made to be broken--with respect, of course.

My favorite recipe is the stevia fruit gluk. It is delicious and easy to cook. The apple pie is also terrific. Most of the recipes taste better than sugar recipes, because stevia tastes so good. I would recommend that you buy a copy, then another 5 copies for your friends.

My only problem with the book is I can never get the author's name spelled right. :)

The content of Jeffrey Goettemoillers cook book is excellent. I am allergic to wheat and milk, along with sugar. Some of his recipies are wheat and milk free. The recipies for everyday foods; [ketchup,Granola, etc.] are great as you can now have sugar free ketchup, and wheat free granola. Thanks for a great book.

So far I have only tried one recipe...the apple pie. Everyone loved it. I really like this book because it is completely healthy. Not just sugarless. It also calls for whole food products, not refined. They try and stay away from dairy as much as possible. They give you options just in case you might not like a certain something. Intelligently written.

This serial is the best theatre series in existence. The plays that are covered are: Ragtime, The Lion King, Art, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Gross Indecency and Pride's Crossing.

This book provides useful synopsis of each book, as well as an incredible summary of the year in New York Theatre.

The Lion King: If you only see one musical, see this one. I can't believe some people didn't like it. In a surprisingly tight race between this and Ragtime, The Lion King beat it out to win the best msuical Tony. It is easy to see why. To watch it on stage is stunning. The opening ten minute sequence has made history. I cannot even begin to describe the impact that it had on me, and the audience (by the time the elephants appeared in stage, the audience was weeping).

Get this book (and the next one if you can, along with all the previous ones).

This is a true treasure of a book. What the editor does is he: Reviews the year in theatre for New York (Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway), which is great for theatre enthusiasts (like myself) who don't live anywhere near New York. Produces synopsis of the prize winning plays of the season (He covers the New York Critics, The Lortel, The Tony, and The Pulitzer prizes/awards). He used to choose ten of the best plays of the season, but changed to the abover system in the 1996-97 season. This season, the plays he covers are: Wit, Side Man, Fosse, Closer, Parade, and Not About Nightingales.

Also included are a whole schwak of pictures and lists of the award winners, the longest running plays, and an entire list of plays that made the Best Plays Yearbook before.

This is an absolute must for anyone with love for theatre. The reviews are great and intelligent, the synposis are fun to read, and the Hirschfelds are great to look at. This book will provide hours of a old-fashioned broadway lore, and you will be blissfully lost at home.

This series is a must-have for any theater-fan.

This is the most compelling cookbook I have ever had in the more than 50 years I've been cooking (and eating). Usually I skim cookbooks, just picking out the best sounding recipes. But, in this book, I read (and salivated over) every word. Upon finishing, I immediately ordered another copy to be sent to one of my brothers and his wife who also love to travel and cook. All of the recipes I've tried so far have been fabulous.

I am, admittedly, a coockbook hoarder. I have them everywhere -- even in the drawers of my nightstand and tucked under the bed. I read them cover-to-cover like other people read novels.

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet is, without a doubt, the best cookbook I have ever read. It is part travel novel, part anthropology lesson, and -- in large part -- a primer for westerners in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Easy to read, straightforward in instruction, its' only flaw is that -- in rare instances -- recipes may include items not available in even a metropolitan Asian market. (I have been to all of the Asian markets in Little Chinatown in Chicago and have yet to find coriander root!) But the ingredients are largely available at most Asian markets and even some larger supermarkets, and substitutions are often recommended.

The grilled chicken with hot and sweet dipping sauce has become a family favorite. The dipping sauce was so flavorful, so simple yet so complex in flavor -- I was surprised that I had made something so delicious.

Buy the book -- you won't be sorry!

I bought this cookbook after reading many wonderful reviews. I was not disappointed. This book is beautiful from start to finish. It took me while to pick out a recipe to cook because everything looks and sounds so incredible. I have now cooked several dishes and everything has been great and fairly simple to make. One of my favorites so far is the dish, "Our Favorite Noodles with Greens and Gravy." Find a good oriental grocery store, buy the book and impress your family and friends.

I've read several books that explained how to follow the three-act structure in writing a movie or play.

But Jeff Sweet's books include specific ideas writers can use to improve their work line by line.

Negotiation over objects, the power of the unspoken word and violation of rituals are some of the devices Sweet explores in his book.

Each idea is amply illustrated with scenes written by students which are accompanied by Sweet's comments.

This book will enable you to improve your work as a playwright/screenwriter.

Jeff's book is a welcome and helpful addition to a playwright's library. It's a book that I refer to often. It's a great companion to The Dramatists' Toolkit.

I didn't think Jeffrey Sweet could top The Dramatist's Toolkit, which is full of insightful analyses of well known plays and related advice to playwrights. Solving Your Script is equally engaging and useful. It comes at the subject of playwriting from another perspective. It, too, is full of advice, but it also offers not just writing exercises, but samples of completed exercises with detailed critiques. I admire the practical, specific ideas in both of Sweet's books, and I recommend them both.

I had a divided reaction to this book. On the positive side (and most of my reaction was positive), Sweet offers some wonderful insights into the profession of the dramatist, as well as some very welcome discussions on how to avoid common traps and pitfalls. He also offers some excellent and often shrewdly humorous analyses of the mistakes made even by greats like Shakespeare, Miller, and Simon (And know what? He's right). In addition, in the face of today's too-common dismissal of musical theatre as inconsequential, it's refreshing to hear Sweet's enthusiastic defense of such Sondheim gems as "Sweeney Todd" and "Forum." The book is well-written in a light, conversational manner that makes it a lot of fun to read.

On the down side, I was really, really disappointed in Sweet's opening chapter, which still casts a pall over "Dramatist's Toolkit" for me as a whole. It's unfortunate that such an otherwise helpful book nevertheless opens with a blunt, narrow, and chapter-long definition of who should attempt the life of a playwright (the journalist) -- and who shouldn't (the prose writer). As this is supposed to be a general "toolkit" to assist any attempting the art of the dramatist, Sweet's dismissal of a huge number of writers who do not meet his criteria for success is doubly disappointing.

I'm not knocking journalists (I am one), but Sweet's starting-gate assumption that a versatile writer can't straddle more than one genre surprised and disappointed me, especially in the face of such obvious successful exceptions as William Goldman, Larry McMurtry, W.B. Yeats, John Steinbeck, and many more.

Only in a small closing paragraph to this chapter does Sweet offer any acknowledgment at all that -- perhaps -- the prose writer can use his book to learn to overcome the built-in handicaps associated with his or her genre, and write a good play.

Yet to be fair, overall this is an excellent book that should probably sit on the shelf of any working or aspiring playwright. Just don't always expect to agree with him.

I teach college playwriting, so I've read lots of these books. My ideal book for use in the classroom (and for my own review as a writer) is one that strikes a balance between clearly describing the basic principles, providing inspiration and courage for the journey ahead, and leaving enough time to actually write! Jeff Sweet's "The Dramatist's Toolkit" is my current choice. This book introduces a few especially useful tools. It also provides enough biz illustrations to make the beginner feel in safe hands and make the road-weary glad for Sweet's wise and witty companionship. I recently spoke with a dramaturg who said that Sweet's chapter on Ethics was the best writing she'd seen on that subject. I heartily agree. The final sentence in the Ethics chapter is well worth becoming a calligraphied, fancy-framed plaque posted high above the callboard for future generations to hide in their hearts.

Jeff Barker, Professor of Theatre and Playwright in Residence, Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa

Sweet's book is a valuable compilation of tools for playwrights. It contains original concepts, not just a rehash of other playwriting books. Negotiation over objects, high and low context dialogue, violating rituals, the unspoken concept and characters speaking with different voices are all extremely useful tools which have changed my writing for the better. After reading "Toolkit," I went back and reread Pinter and Albee and Ibsen and others. Sure enough, they utilized these tools in their plays. I just never recognized them before. This book is a quick and entertaining read - probably about two hours. But the concepts have to be practiced. The only thing Sweet doesn't do in this book is write your play for you.

If you want a (slightly abridged) copy of Lynda Barry's play 'The Good Times Are Killing Me', this book has it, along with a review of the play and photos of scenes from the off-broadway production.

However, if you want the full version of the play, you will need to purchase 'The Good Times are Killing Me', published by Samuel French.