Entertainment Books

I think, if it had stuck to the brief it claimed to have on the front cover, I would have loved this book. But it didn't at all. This book has it's interesting moments, but it is effectively a chance for a former pirate DJ to try to convince you of three things. (I) Pirate radio is awesome. (II) DJ's are gods of the modern era. (III) Any and all significant cultural advances accomplished since the 60s are solely the result of music's influence.
Now, your mileage may vary on how useful any of those statements are, but I can't stand radio in any form, and DJ's typically make me want to punch someone, which means that the 3rd statement is the only one that could have any truck with me. Sadly, the book very much puts the cart before the horse. It is probable there's interchange, but for the author's purposes we're to consider EVERYTHING in terms of music. Then there's the way he uses Pirate in the book, it becomes a generalist term that applies to almost all innovators, which kind of misses the point of WHY piracy is an issue.
The books real gift is in teaching music trivia, and providing some form of introduction to Hip-hop as big business, but here he hardly does anything new, and he mostly hides behind pretentious words to make out that everything has meaning. Fashion is even glorified as emblematic of what our culture should be like. For someone who is on the surface offering a counter-culture account of the changes going on in the world and what the future will be, he doesn't actually attack much of the mainstream.
His only other really interesting assertion is that new youth-cultures can't form presently due to the instant spotlight effect that corporates give to anything with any promise in the constant quest for marketing. I'd just like to say, this is one of the weakest arguments I've ever heard. It seems fairly evident to me that the reason we aren't getting new large scale youth movements is that the Internet has made most movements small and decentralized, and because WOW is just so awesomesauce that most people don't bother anymore.

I found this book to be poorly researched, and clumsily written. The opening chapter on punk rock misspells Johnny Rotten's name throughout as "Jonny." The New York Dolls are lumped in with the Velvets as "another band that hung out at (Andy Warhol's) Factory." They had, in fact, no association with the Factory or Warhol. The author describes the reaction in England to the Pistols' appearance on the Bill Grundy show as mass hysteria, which is rather over the top - yes, the headlines expressed shock, no, it did not cause a national strike. The author also manages to use every cliche he could think of, from "too fast to live, too young to die" to describing Sid Vicious (at least he spelled it right!) as a punk martyr. I'll bet he thinks the Ramones were actually brothers.

I have spent the last two years reading on pirates and piracy, from the pirates of the Caribbean to the p2p pirates of "The Pirates of the Caribbean", and any and everything in between. It is an extraordinarily rich subject that is deeply embedded in local and global social, economic, political, legal histories.
So with great expectations I have started to read this book.

And what a disappointment! I am devastated! Matt Mason tells stories about various innovators, renegades, avant-garde artists, oddballs, and labels all of these people as "pirates", though they share little more than the fact that they are being labeled by the author as pirates. The background he offers to accompany these stories is shallow and reflect the attitude of what Mr. Mason really is: a music magazine journalist, who needs not be neither deep nor very sophisticated in his studies.

It is insult to injury that Mr. Mason as he wrote for VICE should be, but is not funny or even entertaining. He tries though, but with dreadful results.

I would recommend this book for transcontinental flights if it wasn't a too long and unfunny thing to spend 8 hours accompanied by.

One the whole, this book offers an excellent snapshot into some of the issues currently driving the online world. While I thought it was an overall good read, this book is not without its flaws. Sometimes the author's opinion is concise and his criticism is well-aimed, such as when he addresses the music industry's decisions to punish its suppliers and its customers for its own mistakes. Especially noteworthy is how he takes what might be run of the mill criticism and offers alternative course of actions, elevating some of the book from the standard armchair quarterbacking into something that could be (gasp!) useful to the reader.

Unfortunately, this book also includes some filler. I am especially disappointed that he spent so much time extolling the virtues of hip-hop as both the original youth oriented remix-friendly music and `voice of the streets' (apostrophes for emphasis, not a quote) while totally ignoring, for example, Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie (and others)deciding to remix their pop music at warp speeds, ignoring the dictum that music should be the background for swing dancers.

On the whole, the book is worthwhile and is significantly better when paired with the companion website (and maybe that's the point).

This book is slightly maddening. The intention is valid: to steer people towards thinking about piracy in a new light. The "pirate's dilemma" is whether to persecute and shut down piracy, or to recognize it as a kind of creative competition. If you can't beat them, join them. The thrust of Mason's argument can be summarized by the two models of music industry approaches to P2P file sharing: either go the route of Apple and create a cheap, viable option for consumers, or the RIAA route and sue its customers.

As a former DJ, Mason cuts and pastes his way through the book with anecdotes. At first I found the approach a little obnoxious-- a kind of overly cheerful airline-style of magazine writing. As a former punk, I found the whole chapter on punk capitalism a little superficial, which lacked a discussion of a really important DIY capitalist, Discord Records. The section of the "Tao of Pirates" was also missing an important discussion of pirate culture, i.e. the black beard types that are so discussed so interestingly in Wilson's Pirate Utopias. I think the word pirate is used too general. Basically, anyone under 50 is a pirate these days, and I don't thing that's true. Also, the remix section failed to credit Dada.

But as I read on, I warmed up to the book and found the discussion of guerrilla marketing and hip hop pretty good. There was some history and anecdotes that I wasn't aware of, so I was pleasantly surprised here and there. Still, if you want a more in-depth analysis of the economic situation of open source, read Benkler's The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom.

Ultimately I think Mason's intentions are good. I'm not sure celebrating the cooptation of underground culture by capitalism is something that is to be happy about, but I suppose as the pirates become more mainstream, maybe our society will be better for it, and that to me, is the ultimate Pirate's Dilemma.

This book just takes me back to the Woodstock Days....I was 19 and never went as I had a 3 month old baby at the time..lived in Brooklyn..reading Elliot Tibbers book about the White Lake area brings back such funny memories as my parents used to take my brother and I to the bungalow colonies in Monicello NY and Woodridge area each summer.
I was just cracking up at his accurate discriptions of the area and reading this book reminded me so much of my own Jewish parents and paternal grandmother from Minsk, Russia.
Wonderful book!

wow. a great book to collectors of woodstock trivia and the awful
stuff during that time of vietnam to one of peace and music! the
author shows a great ability to tell a story that kept me glued to the
pages. read it overnight!!! someone ought to make a movie of this
unusual tale.

Born Eliyahu Teichberg, poor Elli struggles to break what he calls the "Teichberg Curse" and changes his name to Elliot Tiber--hoping that would break the curse. Always on the brink of financial ruin and trying to hide his deepest secret, he dreams of the miracle that would change his life.

In 1969, he got that miracle. Manager of his Jewish parents' failing resort hotel El Monaco in White Lake, New York on the weekends, Elliot runs during the week to Greenwich Village where he can live the life he chooses as an interior designer and meeting the likes of Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Robert Mapplethorpe--all the while keeping his gay life a secret from his family. That is, until June 28, 1969, when he finds himself at the Stonewall Inn and the famous "Stonewall Riot" that would revolutionize the gay culture breaks out. With a newfound boldness, he finds out in July that the town of Wallkill has revoked the permit for the Woodstock festival. So he contacts Mike Lang, the concert's promoter, to offer his 15 acres for the concert. While Elliot hopes this is the miracle he has been waiting for, Mike Lang and his entourage arrive by helicopter but they end up feeling that the swampland of his resort hotel won't work for the concert. Tiber assures Lang and company that, since he has been the president of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce and has held a concert and art show for the past few years, he can get the necessary concert permit. Quickly, he calls his good friend Max Yasgur--who supports everything Elli does and only lives four miles up the road--and asks him to hold the concert. Elli explains to Mike that Max has a dairy farm on a hundred acres--more than enough to hold a concert. Arrangements are made and, before he knows it, Elli is caught up in the magic that will change his life forever. He is introduced to the hippie scene where everyone is accepted no matter who or what you are and learns he can love himself.

Whoa! Totally awesome and even far out and groovy! This book is absolutely amazing! This reviewer couldn't put it down--in fact, read it twice before writing this review. If you've ever dreamed of being at Woodstock or even if you were there, the author Elliot Tiber will take you back. The Sixties will come alive and you won't want the trip to end! But that is only part of the story, as Elliot takes you through the time of his troubled past and describes in perfect word pictures the struggles of his secret life, his childhood, the insanity of running the hotel resort, and dealing with bigoted locals who persecute him because of his Jewish heritage. In the end, you'll feel you know everyone and that you were there, too.

See Woodstock through the eyes of someone who lived it, who helped bring it to life - you'll never look at this period of history the same again. Don't pass this one by, as this autobiography guarantees to be one of the best reads of 2007 and is to be released just in time for the media's annual August remembrance of that great music festival. Also an awesome unique feature that this reviewer really likes is the reversible dust jacket--one side conservative, the other psychedelic. This feature, according to Square One's publisher Rudy Shur in Publishers Weekly, represents "The notion of duality [that] has been a central theme throughout Elliot's life, and we wanted the book to represent that notion of difference in a very direct and colorful way." So whichever trip you decide to take, this is one you'll never forget.

Cheri Clay
Reviewer's Bookwatch

Being just a bit too young to have lived the Woodstock experience, I have been left to rely on the tales of others, mainly from an audience point of view. Having read Tiber's accounts of the experience from conception to fruition, brings a new appreciation for the era, the event and the effect on those who were a part of it.

The above would be an appropriate subtitle for this heartfelt but energetic and witty coming-of-age autobiography/memoir by Elliot Tiber, whose main claim to fame is that he fought the petty politics and narrow-mindedness of his small town of Bethel, NY, in order to make possible the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

The author (born Eliyahu Teichberg) grew up in the richly ethnic neighborhood of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in an emotionally-starved but hardworking family with his Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. His father worked as a roofer, while his mother ran a housewares store in which they all helped out. Elliot finished college and began a moderately successful career in art design, primarily starting out dressing store windows and painting murals for rich Manhattanites. A trip to the Catskills resulted in the family buying a run-down motel right off Highway 17B at White Lake, in the town of Bethel NY, and Elliot found himself splitting his time, working weekdays in NYC and spending weekends doing whatever had to be done to keep the motel operational and barely financially afloat.

At the same time, Elliot came to the realization that he was gay, and - for whatever reason - favored the underground S&M flavored scene that existed in NYC in the mid 1960's. He met and partied with Robert Mapplethorpe, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, and even encountered Rock Hudson at one point. Of course, coming out to his conservative parents wasn't an option for him at the time, but his "secret life" during the week somewhat served to make bearable the weekends at the motel, scrubbing toilets and dealing with customer complaints (The Teichbergs cut a few corners in customer service. For example, they had phones in each room, but they weren't connected to anything. The TV was an empty box, as was the air conditioner sleeve below the window. Need soap and a towel? It'll cost ya extra, but you're lucky you made it in today, since Dad has hosed off your sheets - the only cleaning they ever got - just yesterday.)

In early 1969, Elliot read with interest the news accounts that the promoters of the planned Woodstock Music and Art Festival had been denied a permit by the town of Walkill, their planned location. As president (nobody else wanted the job) of Bethel's Chamber of Commerce, he had the authority to issue festival permits, and contacted the promoters about the possibility of moving the festival to Bethel, and offered the meadow of a friend, dairy farmer Max Yasgur, as the perfect venue. Much of the book details the whirlwind events that followed, as the festival took on a life of its own, eventually attracting around 500,000 people to the small town, resulting in threats by locals, payoffs to those who opposed it, nudity, drugs, gangsters, people bathing in the lake, shortages of food and water, but - despite it all - the most historic event in music and counterculture history, after which nothing would ever be the same again for Elliot and his family.

The author has a gift in telling a story, even one as obviously self-centered as this one is, for the most part. Witty and engaging, sure to bring back memories of that era. Loved the reversible (regular/psychodelic) dust jacket! 5 stars out of 5.

One of the best since Peter Brown's "The love you make",but has a lot of detail about the fab four as to their musical career and experiences in show business. I would read it again if i could. Good investment.

No other book tells the beatles story like this, awesome pictures and comments by the fb4 as well as people that worked with them

I am 56 and so just caught the end of the Beatles era. I enjoy their music, but would not label myself as a Beatles "fan". What I liked most about this book was discovering what happened in fact that I was only vaguely aware of at the time.

One strength of the book is the illustrations. Many of these would not be considered worthwhile to include in a biography, but they can stir interest, such as seeing portions of contracts for their performances did for me. Another strength is hearing the story directly from the band members. (John's "contributions" were taken from interviews he gave prior to his death.) They do debunk some silly rumors that have persisted about the band. I also enjoyed hearing the circumstances that prompted the writing of many of the songs they recorded.

One negative is that, being an anthology, you get the various opinions on what occurred at key points in time. These can be repetitive and even contradictory among the different band members. So, you do not get the persistence and continuity of having one point of view from the author. The book follows the general sequence of the band's development, but doesn't provide an exact chronology which is sometimes an annoying omission. At times the Beatles are quite candid and at other times I feel like they are offering up answers that protect one another as I would expect from any close group of musicians.

All in all I now have a much greater appreciation of the Beatles phenomenon, their contribution to popular culture and their personalities. However, I still feel that I know "the whole story" and would only consider this book to be one key reference towards understanding the group.

This is an excelent book, it is the Beatles story told by them, the book quality is amazing, clear pictures, hardcover is the way to go with this book.
The only problem I see in this book is the size, it would be almost impossible to carry it in a bag, it is heavy and big to carry, it is a book to read confortably in your bed drinking a Margarita and imagining the adventures of the most succesful band in the history of music.

The only negative is the size of the book. There should be a smaller hardcover or paperback edition. The content is superb and a great coffee table book, but it's difficult to curl up with this book in bed.

This book is season 2 of The Tudors almost EXACTLY, and is a MUST for any fans of the show!!

King Takes Queen, the novelization of the second season of the Tudors, has everything you'd find in the castles, gardens, streets, and Tower of King Henry VIII's London - intrigue, lust, love, betrayal, murder, adventure, fear, hope, torture, greed, and more. This book, superbly penned by Elizabeth Massie, follows Hirst's scripts closely and not only shows the reader the tumultuous times in which Anne Boleyn rose to become Queen of England, but lets the reader feel them as well. The emotion in this novel is rich, putting readers in the shoes and skins of those who lived - and died - under the rule of one of England's most powerful monarchs. Highly recommended, even for those who have never seen the show.

Media Entertainment: The Psychology Of Its Appeal focuses on an empirical exploration and analysis of media entertainment's appeal to those seeking and experiences diversion, relaxation, excitement, amusement, bewilderment, and other alterations of prevailing experiential states and emotional responses. Dolf Zillmann and Peter Vorderer effectively collaborate to compile fourteen outstanding, informative, and highly recommended essays by experts in the field. These include: The Coming of Media Entertainment (Dolf Zillmann); Interactive Entertainment and Beyond (Peter Vorderer); Humor and Comedy (Dolf Zillmann); Conflict and Suspense in Drama (Peter Vorderer & Silvia Knobloch); Violence, Mayhem, and Horror (Glenn G. Sparks & Cheri W. Sparks); Sex on Entertainment Television (Bradley S. Greenberg & Linda Hofschire); Affect-Talk and Its Kin (Gary Bente & Ansgar Feist); Children's Likes and Dislikes of Entertainment Programs (Patti M. Valkenburg & Joanne Cantor); Sports on the Screen (Jennings Bryant & Arthur A. Raney); Music and Music Videos (Christine H. Hansen & Ronald D. Hansen); Video Games and the Pleasures of Control (Torben Grodal); The Respondent Gender Gap (Mary Beth Oliver); Personality and Entertainment Preferences (James B. Weaver III); The Aesthetics of Media Fare (Gerald C. Cupchick & Stephen Kemp). Enhanced with both an author index and a subject index, Media Entertainment is invaluable, informative reading for students of mass media and the popular culture.

Highly recommend this book, the author will make you feel like you right next to Bob, and also give you an overview as if you're 'following' along, looking over or riding, right on Bob's shoulders. It has definetly made me understand Bob and humanity better... highly recommend this book

The book came lightening fast and was in brand new condition. I would recommend this seller and would definitely purchase from them again.

Okay, I read all of the book and learned a lot more about Bob than had preciously known, but I was disappointed by the lack of details on the making of the music. I was hoping for more details about the inspiration for a lot of Bob's music and this book did not have it.

I am currently reading "Exodous the Making & Meaning of Bob Marley & The Wailer's Album of the Century." This book goes into a lot more detail if you want to learn more about the music. I would recommend it over this book.

Still "Catch a Fire" is a good read if you want all the details of Bob's life.

I was very disappointed with this book. After reading it, I have a pretty good idea of what Marley's childhood was like, a hazy picture of his adult life but no understanding at all of how a poor man from a third-world country was able to popularize a genre of music that was almost universally disdained, or considered a novelty, in the world outside of Jamaica in 1973.

I would have expected more discussion of his music; specifically how he and Chris Blackwell adjusted the arrangement of Marley's reggae songs to appeal to a broader audience, as well as how Marley's music evolved over time. I know from watching VH1's "Classic Albums", that process was critical to Marley's success but I don't even get an inkling of that in this book.

Instead the book has way too much on Marley's childhood (140 pages into it, we have only followed Marley up to the age of 14!). This book also has too many vague, cryptic references to conspiracy theories about the CIA, Ronald Reagan, the Jamaican government, etc.

On the bright side, the book does a good job of describing the superstititious world of poor Jamaica, full of demons and ghosts, etc., which helps explain the popularity of Rastafarianism.

The book title is also the name of the 1973 debut album on Island records for Bob Marley and The Wailers that brought the lyrics and sounds of reggae to an international audience.

Originally published two years after Marley's death from cancer, the biography remains a great read due to the exhaustive research by author Timothy White.

White had interviewed Marley from 1975-1981 and projects the development & growth musically, spirtually and politically in his life. White also interviewed musicians, friends, family members, music industry executives and poltical leaders, along with the typical research - newspaper articles and other media outlets - and not-so-typical - CIA documents concerning Marley.

There are also sections on Jamaican history & politics, the history of reggae & Rastafarianism and how White did his research.

Marley projected a militant spiritualism in his music that will remain timeless. Catch a Fire gives the reader an understanding and appreciation on why Marley's message means as much today as it did so many years ago.

This book is a good introductory book, but it should have probably been called "Beginning OpenGL". The Gaming part is mentioned only briefly, and for any detail you'll have to go to what's on the CD. The CD literally makes this a decent book to buy; without the CD the OpenGL Red Book is probably money better spent. The other fault of this book is that the images are sub-par; it looks like the authors themselves did the images instead of a professional graphics house.

If you need to get 3D graphics into your application OpenGL is a wonderful alternative. If you want to get up to speed with OpenGL this book is one of the best alternatives.
It's good to know a little about 3D math, and have a familiarity with terms like unit vector, transformation, and dot product, but it's definitely not necessary.

I'd recommend this to anyone.

On comparing this text to other OpenGL textbooks, I would like to point out that the explanations of graphical techniques in this text are very well done. The CD bundled with the book have excellent code examples of things like using height maps and input from DirectX. There are bonus chapters that cover advanced topics like curves and surfaces that obviously weren't in the actual book, and thus kept the final press cost down.

If you are starting out with OpenGL, then this book is the best I have seen to get you up and running.

If you are interested in cross-platform OpenGL programming then DO NOT buy this book, it is M$ Windows Dependant. The title should have been "Beginning OpenGL Windows Game Programming".

Overall this book was an excellent resource for getting on your feet with OpenGL.

It covers pretty much every basic topic conceivable along with touching on the some advanced uses of basic concepts. One thing that I found particularly annoying, however, was that the book claims to go into "much greater detail" concerning models later in the book, but after that line I found nary a reference to them. The author just uses the MD2 file format in the concluding "End Game" sample on the CD without ever having mentioned it in the book. Writing any useful graphics application requires using a model format, and it irks me very much that the book didn't cover it.

One other problem with the book is its age - it covers version 1.5 of OpenGL, while 2.0 has been out for a while now. But like I have already stated, it's a great book to jump into GL with.

Very good book if you don't have the DVD. Fills in many details not in the film. A must have for Bass Players.

I'm one of those Bass Players who discovered James Jamerson late in my bass playing life. Any young (or old) aspiring bassist should have this book. The 2 cd's that come with it are worth the price alone. Some of the greatest bass players on earth (McCartney, Entwhistele, Pallidino,Bob Babbit,Chuck Rainey..) paying homage to Jamerson and playing some of his famous bass lines. The great thing about it is that when played through headphones you get the bass in one ear and the rest of the mix in the other. I have actually listened to just the bass mix multiple times and marvelled at the Bass Lines. A must for any young Bass Player.

The book has some great stories and pictures and compliments the CD greatly.

I've always been a fan of Motown but of the singers, now I'm starting to realize I shouldn't give the singers all the credit, it was the producers, songwriters, and musicians who made the artists become hits. If it wasn't for the unique, special Funk Brothers who knows if the Motown artists would have become as successful as they did. It doesn't matter how good of a singer a singer is, if the music ain't right, the singer ain't gonna sound good. Its that something special about the Motown Sound that sparks something in our minds, hearts, and souls, the music complimented the singers excellently. James Jamerson was just a handsome, wonderful, real, interesting, talented person. Its sad he had to get recognition after he passed on. It seems the only way to become a legend is to die first then people appreciate you more, well this book taught me to love and praise people while their alive that's what keeps them going. All James wanted in his last days was recognition and to know he did make a difference in the world of music. This book taught me to appreciate the musicians, songwriters, and producers, the people behind the scenes, who made it possible for the music to become timeless, sometimes we give the singers too much credit.

It was interesting for me to read most of the Funk Brothers didn't even like Rock N Roll or Soul music, they were really jazz fans and wanted to play jazz, so it shows how gifted they were to still play soul music effectively even though it wasn't their cup of tea. Another reason why Motown sound is so appealing and fresh is because the Funk Brothers laced different genres of music into the soul music and tried new things with the music creating the Motown Sound, a sound in its own class.

My husband is love with this bass gautairist, and love this book and DVD combo.

James Jamerson is one of the top bassist of all time and this book will give bassist some insight to his genius. I never learned to read music, but I was born with an exception ear! I remember a long time ago, going for a job in a pit orchestra. The musical director was not all that impressed with my playing on the first day, because I didn't read music and I kind of fumbled through the rehearsal. I went home that night and learned the entire show from a tape. On the next rehearsal, when we started to play the opening number, the conductor stopped in the middle of the song, looked at me and said...."Turn up the bass!" ..this made me very happy, as I always felt a little inferior not being able to read :-)

The book covers Jamerson's story and shows many of his classic bass lines for those of you who do read. It's no walk in the park, but it's time well spent and will take your playing to another level.

The book comes with 2 CDs full of Jamerson's bass lines and many top bassist playing their favorite Jamerson tunes. It's all very interesting for musicians and non musicians alike and well worth the price! I never knew how much this guy influenced my playing until I really sat down and listened to him! What a great talent!