Entertainment Books

This book is absolutely amazing. Very good design, editing....You don't get tired of reading it , watching it, stare at it. Very entertaining. The book is pretty big, I though it was smaller. Love the pictures, notes, poems, songs, letters, documents...

Amazing. ***** 5 stars

The book is absolutely great and I received it with no problem.
Courtney Love is a rock goddess and with this book you can follow her life from a young age to the Hole era.
You can really get inside Courtney's head and looks at life through her eyes. The poems and songs are beautiful.

Is there any celebrity who provokes such polarizing reactions as Courtney Love? I, for one, am a fan, of both her work (as a musician and an actress) and of her persona. She's an enigma ... constantly defying expectations, contradicting herself, self-destructing and then rising from the ashes.

As for this book ... as the Amazon review says, it's not really a diary as much as it is a scrapbook. And although the (excellent) graphic design of the book makes it look as if its content were pieced together with tape and scissors and glue, it's really a meticulously gathered collection of carefully chosen mementos that chronicle Courtney's life.

After reading the book, my opinion of Courtney really hasn't changed so much. I've always thought of her as a sensitive, wounded, intelligent, ambitious, needy and occasionally vicious woman, and all that is evident here. As is her inability to decide whether or not she wants to be a frightening outcast or a high-society fashionista.

If you're a fan, this book is probably worth buying. But instead of offering many answers, it only really contributes to Courtney's mystique.

This is with a doubt, one of the coolest Coffee Table books out there.
It's a pick-up Guilty Pleasure type of book. The notes/poems in her hand writing is very cool. To see her personal thoughts through her eyes is a Bonus! Allot of pics most fan's never seen. Just a all-around awesome book that isn't super long and drawn out. You walk away with a sense you've seen the Brilliance and the madness of this Under-Rated Talent!

I Highly recommend this book to all Rock fans.
10/10

I've always been a Courtney Love/ Kurt Cobain fan and looked forward to this book. I was VERY disappointed with it. It's supposed to be made like a "scrapbook" and there are handwritten notes, etc. throughout the book which would be nice if Courtney's handwriting were legible. It's terribly messy and the book is put together badly too. Everything is scattered, nothing is in order, pictures and notes are upside down, sideways, etc. having to turn the book every which way just to see things. Nothing makes sense in this book and she even says she didn't see the reason for doing the book at all. A BIG disappointment! :-(

If you like giant monster movies, and want to know more about how they were made, this book is for you. Not many photos of the monsters (there are other books out there for that) but there are behind the scenes photos. Learn the biographies of the men who made films you still love after all these years. Not much has been published in the West about them, but here it is! Well written and laid out. 2 page essays about certain film makers by noted Western Kaiju lovers. Worth the price, and thankful that it was printed.

This is a wonderful coffee-table size book that contains beautiful photos and interesting commentary. If you are a fan of Godzilla and/or Eiji Tsuburaya this is the book to get!

This book is a meticulous, thoughtful, well-written, and beautifully laid-out tribute to a true master of special effects. It is a fascinating look, not only into Tsuburaya's life and career, but also the way the film industry works in Japan. An interesting read for non-fans; a must-have for fans of the genre.

Phenomenal book. Great quality, design, and content. If you have any remote appreciation for this kind of film making and monster design, this book is an absolute love letter... A must have!

Tsuburaya Eiji was the Japanese special effects director who was behind so many monster movies that came out from Japan during the 1950s and 1960s. This is a pictorial biography of Tsuburaya Eiji that proves to be very well written and informative. I found the book to be rather insightful as the author included inserts written by men who worked with or worked under Tsuburaya Eiji during his career. The book also comes well illustrated with photographs and movie posters on almost every page as it traces the life and time of Tsuburaya Eiji's career. It was interesting to note that during World War II, he made a movie made from miniatures that showed the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was so realistic that during the initial post war period, Americans thought it was the real thing. Tsuburaya Eiji was also the man who made Godzilla what he was and creator of the Ultraman series that is still going on to this day.

Overall, this book is definitely worth your time and money to read over and treasure. Tsuburaya Eiji is one of the great pioneers of motion picture industry regarding special effects and his influence help shape this industry to this day. His influence in the science fiction genre will remains pretty strong as monster movies like Cloverfield still hit our theaters and on DVD to this day. The book strongly reflects the heydays of Japanese monster movie era history and it will remind many of us, the fun and wonder these movies brought us during our younger days. And it will inform otherwise misinformed that there is more to these movies then just a "guy in the monster suit" concept.

(And yes, I am writing the subject's name in Japanese style...sur name first always...Tsuburaya Eiji is the way you would address him if he was still alive today...as you would with any Japanese national.)

I like this book for it's drawing examples and it's heart to heart talk. I can almost hear the writer talking directly at me about how to look at dancing in a different way. . .the heart and emotion of the dance not the techinques that are drummed into us from the time we first put our foot down. This book was recommended to me from a person that studies and teachs ballet. I am a bellydance studen myself but found that it was very helpful in getting over my fears of making my owns dances. Highly recommended for all levels and types of dancers.

as a post-modernist who is always asking "why?" or "who says so?" i see this text as simply brimming with possible areas for undermining aesthetics, theories, and practices in choreography... when i was an undergrad, i learned to choreograph by reading this book. essentially i learned how to make "grocery store list" dances... do i have the "proper" levels? check! do i have "interesting" variations? check! is my music "appropriate" for dance? double check!! have i avoided anything that should be better described with words? ummm... hmmm. well... err... this is where the problems get really big -- yes, i adamantly suggest a beginner learn the material from this book, but only so that the dated notions can be completely thrown away. i give this book 5 stars, because it introduces some of the most important concepts about craft all in one nice, orderly place, but i also give it 5 stars because of the hundreds or thousands of dances that could be made simply to refute the ideas contained herein. yes, get the book... it's essential to your training as a dance maker... yes, throw EVERYTHING away once you've learned it. this text is a bibliography brimming with sources on dance/performance concepts... now that i'm a college professor i'm teaching the choreography 1 class how to use this book as is, but i'm teaching the choreography 4 class how to refute it completely.

Written by one of the master pioneers of American modern dance, "The Art of Making Dances" was Doris Humphrey's final effort before she died in 1958. Published after her death, the book is a tribute to her legacy of providing a formal methodology of the craft of choreography. The book is an excellent manual for the beginning choreographer by outlining elements of dance and music composition, design, dynamics, rhythm and gesture. She includes choreography assignments to illustrate each compositional element. While somewhat dated in its choreography references, Humphrey offers the reader advice for what to look for in formal choreography making the book an excellent introduction to understanding and appreciating dance for the practitioner as well as the audience member.

Dalienne Majors
Chair of Dance
Berkeley Carroll School
Brooklyn, NY

July 2006

I adored it...full of photo's I'd never seen before of Edie...new quotes, etc. Really gave me insight into her whole vibe & electricity. major fun! and it comes with a great CD with an interview.

This is the tragic story repeated again and again of Edie Sedgwick, born into historically noted and millionaire family.
This book has many more pictures than some of the other books.Also,many pictures of her before becoming Andy Warhol's muse.
Co-written by David Weiss, who also co-directed Ciao Manhattan! It is a familiar story of beauty and drugs and the dismal consequences.She seems emotionally fragile, breaking apart from page one to the end.
It is tragic but readable and each the photographs speak a thousand words.
She has a fascinating kind of face which doesn't hide or betray her feeling.I love this just for the pictures.
Who other than she could have brought such elegance to a t-shirt and fishnet stockings.
If you prefer more pictures,this is the right book you.
For more personal history of her life, Edie:American Girl would be better

I loved this book. Edie Sedgwick really is about expression whether it's her clothes or her face. A force to be reckoned with. She was a colorful character and photographed better than most models today and then. Love her and love this book.

I just recieved this some days ago, after much expectation on my part, having read the book Edie several times (and watched the movie Ciao Manhattan, though that is subject of another review). The photos on this book are amazing (to say the least), I don't know where they came up with so many and with such good quality. You can see so much of Edie's energy and you can also clearly see why so many people were so enamored and enchanted by her, there is just something she transmits that is very attracting (and tragic, Wuthering Heights-like), even after all these years. However you can also see the dark side in many of the pictures, which is also a well known side if you know even just a little of her story.

The text on the book is only so so (not because of the quality, it's just not much new info here), mainly because the definitive text in my opinion is Jean Stein's, however it is well worth the read.

I find it very interesting that so many years after her death and the Warhol days are over, a book like this can still be published and that so many of us still flock to buy it. Indeed Edie is an icon of the past century.

Edie: Girl On Fire is chalked full of rare pictures and new commentary from the people who knew Edie the best, her husband, friends & family. The co-author of the book, David Weisman, not only shares never-before-seen pictures of Edie but, also marvels at the Edie obsession some 36 years after her death. Weisman & Painter do an excellent job of portraying the real Edie through pictures & stories shared by Edie's family & friends. They don't romanticize Edie as being an victim. In fact, they show that Edie was just like the rest of us. A flawed human being who was trying to find a place in the world during a turbulent time period. Edie's flaws are not glossed over or explained away. Instead, they show what a disturbed and lost young woman she was. Weisman himself knew Edie personally for years. Weisman saw Edie at her zenith and watched her fall apart and ultimately lose her life because of her own addictions & obsessions.

One of the best parts of the book is the pictures. After years of seeing the same Edie pictures over & over, there are finally pages & pages of glorious "new" pictures including scrapped "Life" magazine photoshoots and newspapers covering one of the many fires that Edie started at various hotels due to her speed usage. Another awesome part is the cd of audio interviews Edie conducted towards the end of her life for what would be her last movie "Ciao! Manhattan!" (made by co-author Weisman). Edie talks about her many drug trips and her time at the Factory. She's candid, well spoken and heartbreaking. When listening to this cd of Edie's voice and looking at the pictures, you almost want the ending to change. You want Edie to pull through all this garbage and rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Just like any story, the ending never changes and there's really no happily ever after.

I try to pick up something new from each poker book I read. As I am a new student to the game, I have found the starting hand chart found in this book to be extremely helpful. The chart lays out what hands you should play from what positions, and under what conditions (unraised/raised pot).

But beyond this chart I have to agree with Bartman_9 in that internet poker is pretty much live poker without tells. There were a few pages of specific internet related material and internet tips here and there but not much at all. If you want to play serious online poker and you are somewhat of a beginner, then this book would be a good cold call, however don't expect it to impart an online silver bullet. You can't go wrong with this book, 3 stars.

The book contians standard information, is written somewhat blandly, and doesn't reveal anything the myriad other poker books have already covered.

I do like the cover though.

I went to the bookstore specifically for this book, but was rather dissapointed when I looked through it. So, take my review with a grain of salt, b/c I only spent approximately 20 minutes reading through the various chapters.

The boom in online poker has brought with it an equal boom in how-to handbooks for internet players. The problem is that they're all pretty useless, for the very simple reason that:

Internet poker = real life poker - tells.

Save for some marginally informative behavior like speed-of-play (and you don't have to be a poker genius to figure those out yourself), decisions in online poker are never based on tells, which actually reduces the complexity of the game and makes internet poker an excellent tool to learn the game: it's one less thing you have to worry about.
Therefore, you really don't need a handbook on internet poker, any good Hold'em strategy guide (like Sklansky's Hold'em Poker and Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players) will teach you all that you need to know.
That said, Matthew Hilger's book is a good guide for beginning players and offers some handy charts on starting hands and probabilities.
If you're just starting out and you've never read a book on Texas Hold'em, you might as well begin with this one, but if you've already studied the game, you'll find nothing new here.

For those claiming that this is a beginners book, I say you must be quite confused about what constitutes "beginners" material when it comes to the discussion of Limit hold 'em. Also, for those who claimed the book is "boring," why do you buy poker books? To be entertained? NO! You buy them to learn how to win at poker. They are instructional manuals, not bedtime Wilbur Smith novels!

One of the questions that needs to be asked when considering whether a poker book is merely average or exceptional is; "Could I read this book and nothing more and become an excellent, winning poker player?" In this case the answer is a resounding "YES!" Lets just be clear, Hilger is very successful middle to high limit player and this book provides the knowledge to play anywhere from low to middle and high limit games. Almost all of the hand examples in the book are taken from actual hands played at 20/40 or 30/60 games! I personally would go so far as to say that this is a better book for even the middle limit player than either "Hold 'em for advanced players" or "Middle limit hold 'em" which are considered by many to be the two best books for the mid to high limit hold 'em player. (It is my humble opinion that both those books are somewhat overrated. Of course I'm only a low limit player so what do I know? :)) Some might say that is blasphemy but I've read all of them and that's my opinion.

Hilger does a fantastic job explaining the conceptual ideas behind each topic in very basic language, he then provides several very clear hand examples to illustrate the concepts at work coupled with very solid reasoning explaining the logic and thought processes behind each play. Finally, he provides a comprehensive summary at the end of each chapter that really sums up the meat of that chapter. He covers everything one needs to know to play a winning game of hold 'em and does it in simple language that is easy to understand.

This is a great book and is almost as good as what I consider the best book on Limit hold 'em- "Small stakes Hold 'em" by Ed Miller and co. As in the case of SSHE, the only thing missing from this book is a chapter on shorthanded play but hey, you can't have everything right?

Five stars and easily one of the top 5 books on limit hold 'em on the market today.

Teaches the ins and outs of poker and will help any beginer improve his game. The flop chart is the best asset,follow it and it will help eliminate alot of beginer mistakes. not for advanced readers, but if you are an advanced player Middle limit poker by ciaffane is the best book out i feel for the advanced. This book and the ciafane book are the only two poker books you need if you are beginer or play poker at all. Has turned around my bottom line dramatically

This was a gift for an 11 yr old girl who loves her keyboard. It is her favorite at this time.

For a bit of background, I've played piano for over 10 years and have over 15 Broadway musical piano/vocal sheet music books.

This Sweeney Todd delivers on all counts. The music is not for a beginner, for sure, but would be appropriate for intermediate to difficult players. The piano part is not shortchanged to get vocals, as it so often is; the vocal part is full of the beautiful rhythms. Another nice touch is that the monologue into the songs are included at the top of the music-I've never seen that before.

However, there is one problem. To get the movie down, some of the middles of songs have been cut. One noticeable cut, which happens to be my favorite song, is "Kiss Me" (performed by Johanna and Antony, and then Todd in the 2nd). If your only exposure has been the movie, though, you will find it exactly as seen.

When I saw Sweeney Todd, I tried to find sheet music for it. I was able to find both the original "Vocal Selections" book (the one with the white cover and drawing) and the full score/piano reduction version at local libraries. I was sadly disappointed by both. The original Vocal Selections book has stripped down versions of the songs that were probably rushed out to cash in on the success of the musical. "Epiphany", the song I was most interested in, is notably missing. And some of the music sounds disappointing and flat to me in its original keys (e.g., F minor in "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd").

The full score, aside from being extremely bulky, has a lot of extraneous music designed to stretch out the length of the original. Quite a bit of it is little more than filler. I tried playing the Final Scene as it was in the movie, but in the score it is dragged out and broken up by filler material. And the accompaniment seems a little thin in places, as the musical was written for a small Broadway pit orchestra.

The new book (Sweeney Todd: Movie Selections) is exactly what I was looking for: All the major songs from the film; in their entirety (including interspersed dialogue, intros and outros); in the exact same keys as in the film; and with a full, lush piano accompaniment reduced from the newly enlarged orchestral score. The only minor drawback is that, while the cover says "Piano - Vocal - Chords", I can't find any chords printed in my copy. Seeing as I'm playing it on a piano (and not a guitar), this isn't a problem for me.

The book contains the following songs:

- No Place Like London
- The Worst Pies in London
- Poor Thing
- My Friends
- Green Finch and Linnet Bird
- Johanna (Anthony)
- Pirelli's Miracle Elixir
- The Contest
- Wait
- Pretty Women
- Epiphany
- A Little Priest
- Johanna (Anthony, Todd, Beggar Woman)
- God, That's Good!
- By The Sea
- Not While I'm Around

I would have liked to see the Final Scene in the book as well, but as it stands it's great the way it is. If your first exposure to "Sweeney Todd" was the movie, and you don't have any attachment to the original musical, this is the sheet music book to get.

I came in not knowing much of anything about the music industry...and after reading this book from cover to cover (its a long book), I can say I learned a lot. The book is very easy to read, with real and made-up examples, and simple language. The author does a great job breaking down the rules of the industry. It does not tell you how to run your operation or how to market a hit record...it just lays out all the rules for you to either follow, break, or bend.

The best chapters were about song ownership, copyrights, publishing, royalties, and taxes. Actually, the taxes chapter was really enlightening. You can tell a lawyer wrote this book from that chapter.

I've been in a band for several years, and unfortunately, everyone else that has been in my band has never had the experience of running it as a business. We have been skating by all these years just doing gigs, but now we are planning on releasing a CD and this definitely makes things more complicated. This book has been a godsend. Very informative and USEFUL information. Other music law type books are informative, but haven't been very useful on the level we needed it. You can use what is in this book right away. Its easy to read and understand.

Like all carpenters needing important tools to build a house, this book is the tool for all musicians. It covers all the important music business information and will help cut down unnecessary misfortune for musicians. Definitely a MUST BUY!!!

This offers a great foundation to Music Law. It is clear & easy to read w/ room in the margins for notes. Richard Stim even mentions a few legal loopholes you can benefit from.

You can also recieve free book updates on the Nolo website, which is a cool perk.

There comes a time in a musician or band's career when they get serious about what they're doing and need to start focusing on legal aspects of their endeavors. This book is and indispensable reference for that situation.

The book is written in easy to understand layman's terms. It covers a fairly broad range of subjects, and provides pointers to other resources for more in depth cover of the covered subjects.

One more notable point about the book is the pre-fabricated contracts and legal forms that it comes with. They seem to be solid, could be useful in a number of situations, and are explained thoroughly.

Lil' Jimmys book doesn't disappoint. He's definitely one of the best comedians going today. Hopefully his next book isn't too far away.

Absolutely hilarious. If you have heard him on Opie and Anthony and/or saw his stand up, this is a must. He holds nothing back. His tails of childhood are brutally honest showing his true colors. He takes everything on: race, handicapped, fat women, pooping, not bathing and even masterbation - several times. I honestly could not put it down. Every part is great. Quick read and very well written.

This book is in very poor taste, there is a very simple construct to it as well. What I mean is that it's the standard memoir only interlaced with vulgar demeaning language, and tales of his supporting the global sex trade. The foreword was written by the ever hilarious Colin Quinn but the rest of this book is all Norton. It is not a 1 star becuase he is funny, I just don't see the need to be so low brow about it.

From the cover....to the content throughout....had me laughing so hard I could hardly catch my breath.

this is the book the nice man on the cover gave to me after he touched me in a bad place.

When I find a cookbook with pictures and simple recipes I am thrilled. "Cooking With Flavor", in paperback form, was an awesome find. It was featured at our recent book fair and I couldn't pass it up.

The Rosemary Roasted Chicken under Main Dishes was delicious. Another favorite under Main Dishes is Roast Pork Tenderloin With Ginger Peach Glaze. Yummy!

Under Breakfast and Brunch I have made Very Vanilla Fruit Salad several times. The Overnight French Toast was a hit at a breakfast event.

I especially like the flavor variation box that is included with many of the recipes. It gives the cook an option to try something different.

I have not cooked out of the book yet,but it had a lot of recipes that I want to try,and I know they would be good.

This is a good cookbook. It has a lot of useful information on substitutions and measurements. We are very happy that we had purchased this book.

This cookbook was not what I was hoping for.

If you are looking for very simple recipes, which use pre-made items such as ready make pizza crusts, pie crusts, and the like, then you'll probably like this book. I avoid such ingredients because they usually have unhealthy additives.

I was hoping to find more flavorful recipes for certain basic recipes I already have. For instance, I wanted to try to find a better recipe for pumpkin bread, as I've never been satisfied with mine. This cookbook is not big enough to have all the basics such as that.

This cookbook is very easy, I have certain cookbooks that are made for children which are more complicated. I wasn't necessarily looking for an easy cookbook, but if that's what you are looking for you will find it here.

This is a really good cookbook with very practical and delicious recipes. This is definitely a cookbook to add to anyone's collection and be used over and over. This would be a wonderful gift idea for a new bride.