Music Books

Sacks books are enjoyable and informative reading, but this one just didn't tell me what I bought it to learn. Uncle Tungsten, by contrast, made my friends ask "WHY are you reading THAT?!?" Well, I'm a chemist, but the anecdotes made that book a delight.
I had hoped Musicophilia would give more insight as to the interplay between musical melody and lyrics, that occipital-temporal thingy. Maybe we just don't know the answers to why people must sing along while others are annoyed by it, why relative or perfect pitch work, and what elicits the emotional response to chord structures and dissonance.
Instead, I found the book to be rather clinical (no faulting Sacks on that one) and entainingly anecdotal (why his work is popular) but not insightful with regard to musical and amusical issues.
Still worth reading this and all his books! This one didn't move me.

Sacks looks at music and the neurological basis for music within the mind. He presents a variety of case studies.

People who are obsessed with music, some born so and others becoming so late in life. We read of victims of dementia who have lost all mental functions but somehow keep a sense of self through music. We read of an amnesiac man with no memory stretching beyond the moment yet who can play long pieces from memory. Victims of Williams syndrome who have very low IQs but are highly social, very outgoing, and genuine lovers of music.

And we are told of people with odd conditions but who are otherwise perfectly normal. A woman with perfect pitch, who can play instruments well, but who doesn't care or emotionally react to music at all. A woman for whom music has absolutely no meaning: any tune is to her no different than the clanking of pots and pans thrown on the floor. A man who cannot stop musical hallucinations from coming unbidden. People with synesthesia who see colours whenever music plays and who associate specific colours with specific notes.

Sacks presents all his case studies in such a way as to convey what these people feel like. Here and there he sprinkles slightly technical concepts, such as the location of the brain's speech centers behind the left ear, how lesions in this or that area can release musical activity, how blindness can induce strong auditory hallucinations because the now unused visual areas of the cerebral cortex are taken over by auditory functions. Through these technical details we come to discover hints of how our brain creates our mind and how music in most of us is deeply embedded in our sense of self.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

Oliver Sacks has written many books for lay people. As they all are, this book is informative, interesting, funny, personal. It shows how important music is to humankind. In case vignettes and in discussion Sacks shows how music affects us positively and sometimes, alas, negatively. It is throughout very compelling.

I received the book I ordered very promptly. It was in excellent condition just as stated by the seller. Thank you for such good service.

Whenever my daughter has a tune in her head that she can't shake, she has an interesting solution. "Turn on the radio," she says, "I gotta hear some different music." In effect, she tricks her brain and diverts it from one musical function to another. In this his tenth book, Oliver Sacks, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University, explores how the brain processes music. As in his other books, Sacks compiles dozens of "clinical anecdotes." These are informal, inherently fascinating, and deeply human case histories of his patients. In addition, he shares at length from letters that he has received, scientific studies, the results of brain imaging techniques, and his own personal experiences.

Rooted in his own deep love for and skill in music, Sacks examines how music impacts "almost every aspect of brain function." If that sounds far-fetched, consider the range of his topics. There's musical imagery, whereby you "listen" to a tune in your mind even though there is no sound. As experience shows, this can be either voluntary or involuntary, sometimes an obsession or even something like a "possession" by the music. A long chapter explores "musical hallucinations." There are forays into amusia, dystimbria, dysharmonia, perfect pitch, and musical savants. He analyzes the relationship of music and blindness, music and color, music and speech, Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, dreams and dementia. Sometimes musicophilia results from a seizure; at other times music induces a seizure.

Sacks's book is an extended case study of the brain-mind relationship. And most mysterious of all is the question whether music even has any meaning. "While [music] is most closely tied to the emotions, music is wholly abstract; it has no formal power of representation whatever. We may go to a play to learn about jealousy, betrayal, vengeance, love -- but music, instrumental music, can tell us nothing about these. Music can have wonderful, formal, quasi-mathematical perfection, and it can have heartbreaking tenderness, poignancy, and beauty. . . But it does not have to have any 'meaning' whatever" (37). Such is the mystery of music, that although it conveys no inherent meaning, no one would question its power.

First let me say that I have been a die hard Prince fan since the age of 12...I'm now 36. I own everything he has ever done and plenty of bootlegs but every since the new millenium Prince has dissapointed me time and time again with the quality of his music and his constant rants about religion. I can no longer justify me being a fan. The music just plain and simple sucks. It's like he doesn't care about the quality anymore. I say if he so serious about being a JW start doing gospel music ONLY. Maybe that will have more feeling and appeal and people just might like it. This latest mess he put out is another waste of money. Pictures of nothing in particular and some tired old recordings. If this is the Prince we're going to get until he dies then I'm done!

MAN,I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK OF THIS MAN. I WAS EXCITED TO HERE OF PRINCE RELEASING HIS OWN BOOK. BUT, AS USUAL, IT'S NOTHING BUT SUPERFICIAL. A LOT OF GLOSSY PICTURES, SOME LYRICS, AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING NEW. I DON'T KNOW HIM, BUT THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO HIM THAN FANTASTIC MUSIC. ONE NIGHT ALONE WAS A FAR SUPERIOR CONCERT, AND RAINBOW CHILDREN WAS A MUCH MORE PERSONAL STATEMENT.I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A BOOK FOCUSING ON HIM IN THE STUDIO, COMPOSING AND CREATING. HIS INTERACTIONS WITH HIS BAND, HOW HIS CLOTHING IS SELECTED. WHY HE WEARS MAKE-UP AT 50. I GUESS I CAN'T BLAME HIM FOR SHOWING HIS PUBLIC SIDE, AND KEEPING HIS PERSONAL LIFE, WELL,PERSONAL.

When I first unwrapped the package to open this book, I was eager to get to know what Prince's life is like. Once I started flipping thru the pages, I could not stop. In the past, I thought Prince was weird but now I see that he's just mysteriously creative. He is an artist, an artist so unique that we cannot understand. It is not beyond us,but rather hard to imagine. Prince continues to captivate our attention and after reading this book, I can see why!!!! I LOVE Prince!!!

I am a life-long Prince fan and I couldn't wait to see my 21 Nights. I love the music and jamming-he is always entertaining -I will listen to anything he plays. *The first song, a live 3121, rocks!*

The book, however, looks and feels like a giant album brochure and not much more. I appreciate Prince's poems and mystery, but I thought the quality of printing for a coffee-table type of book was unfortunately poor, and the all-caps text drove me crazy after a while. Lastly, if Prince cares about the environment, as he claims, why have these huge, card-stock pages printed? How many trees did it take to make one book?

First I'd like to say, yes I have listened to bootlegs of live shows of his. Yes they were great and in some ways, except for total sound quality they were better. However, being someone who was not able to attend the shows in london I'd have to say I love the chance to get a glimpse into what was going on. Granted, I too think that including the tracks by other artists does take away from the disc. I mean who really wants to hear others when they buy a cd to hear their artist live? That aside though I do not see this cd as something that could be considered a proper release. Meaning, I believe, as some have said that this was simply an add on to the book, kinda mood music while looking through the pics. While some of the songs are great and complete, the addition of other artists makes me believe this was almost a musical appetizer to go with the book. I do not understand the inclusion of all the pictures that are not of prince and the band, but i can appreciate the pics of the twins/maid. I mean come on they are very nice to look at LOL. But I do believe this wasn't intended to be a photo album of prince, I believe it was to capture moments in time on the journey of 21 nights. Kind of a way to show you what prince sees as he travels to perform. I definitely would have loved to see more on-stage type pictures too, but this is more a photo essay, so if some pictures seem staged, as someone said, that is because it's intended to be, it's not impromptu, it's not spontaneous. It's beautiful photography, done in such a way as to capture a gig, one that lasted 21 nights. So when people are overly critical, I only have to ask what were you expecting? It is what it is. A Beautifully bound timepiece that also includes a musical interlude from something we were not fortunate enough to attend. While I believe it wasn't a proper album as it was not intended to be an album release, but a book companion piece, I still believe overall the album rocks. And, even though, there has not been an official live release either on cd or dvd that actually does capture the magic of probably the greatest live showman on the face of the earth, it still fares far better than most, if not all of his contemporaries. In rock, the king is dead, but the prince shall reign forever. as long as there are people who like their music to be real, then prince will always have an audience. Besides amazon's price along with the free shipping can't be beat. I totally reccomend buying it from amazon if you can, they have the best price and I got my copy pretty fast even though shipping was free. So enjoy the music, glance at the pics and blow the twins a kiss or two this book is definitely worth the price. And a must have for all true fans (remember even those who found it disappointed still bought it, so true fans, will always have his back hit or miss.And they will probably buy whatever he puts out next, even if he sings out every name of the phonebook accompanied by acoustic guitar, and if that isn't a testimony to his talents, then I don't know what is.

I was very happy with this purchase. The book arrived very fast and in great condition.

Loved this book! Kept me laughing and I love Tori and her adorable family! The show is great too!

Tori absolutely out did herself in this book....I loved the book. What a great story and she was so open and honest.....I always liked Tori Spelling and enjoyed any show she was in but now I can honestly say I am a fan! I sure hope Oxygen has another season of her and Dean...now that I have read the book I will know more about some of the people in her life...friends etc.

I have never watched a single episode of 90210, but have seen Tori on her show with Dean. She seemed very down-to-earth and funny, so I bought the book. She has a very interesting, but sad story. It was a bit curious to me that she justified her affair with Dean because she had finally found true love, but was disgusted by her mother's inappropriate relationship with Mark.

I liked Tori and wanted to know more about her life, not much in the way of life growing up, pretty much dull and uneventful, not the rich girl, gets everything she wants, no good dishing on anyone worth mentioning. Such a dissapointment, pretty much like high school stuff and not great high school stuff to boot!! If you want excitement look at your own growing up, don't waste your time!! Tori you could have done soooo much better!! So glad I didn't buy this book.

When I decided to read and review Through the Storm, I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew about Brittney and Lynne Spears was what I had heard from the media. So I was skeptical, to say the least.

Especially as a Christian author myself, I struggled with what Lynne Spears could have to say to me, and other moms out there. What faith lessons woudl there be?

A lot. And redemption. I am struck by the prayers Lynne has for her children, and by the redemption she live sout every day.

Through the Storm is a story of one families journey through a very public life, and one woman with a faith that has not been shaken.

Lynne would be the first to tell you she made many mistakes. In fact, near the end of the book, she lists many of those mistakes, and what she could have, should have done better.

Many stories in this book were pulling at my hearts strings, and may were just page turning interesting. And as a mom, I so felt for Lynne's struggles with her alcoholic husband, troubled marriage, and chaotic life as she tried to do her best to help her children achieve their dreams.

The biggest lessons I got fomr this book:
1. Kids know mor ethan we think, and keeping your marriage strong and Christ centered is urgent.
2. Being pro-active in sharing your faith with your children is crucial. They will not pick up your faith like they catch a cold.
3. Trust your gut instincts as a mom,a nd as a woman. God gave us those gut feelings. Use and trust them.
4. Mom trumps every other title in the world. Never let someone else tell you what is best for your child.

There were many more lessons, and I am thankful for having shared in Lynne's journey through reading this book.

I am also thankful to co-author, Lorilee Craker, for helping Lynne share her life in a meaningful way.

I strongly ureg you to read this book. It will surprise you. ANd you might just be a better mom for havign read it.

Trish Berg
Author, Book Reviewer, www.TrishBerg.com

Rattled: Surviving Your Baby's First Year Without Losing Your Cool

The Great American Supper Swap - Solving the Busy Woman's Family Dinnertime Dilemma

Frazzled: Surviving the Preschool Years Without Blowing Your Top

A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holidays

Thomas Nelson Publishing Company has again given an AMAZING opportunity by giving out 200 free books to bloggers! I was among the lucky few and was asked to give a 200 word review of the book.

Through the Storm is an amazingly touching book. I have to admit that I went into the reading very skeptical. I am a Youth Pastor and have seen TONS of bad press on Britney Spears and her family. However, I like all of America was only reading HALF of the story. I was more than convicted as to how I came about my judgments of this family while reading this book and know for sure that anyone reads this book, they would be too. Lynne's utter candor in this book was shocking! She was just flat out honest. I must hand it to her for bearing her soul out in this book. Purposely rehashing awful events, so we could see the truth in the matter, was just amazing.
One thing that made me almost weep due to my conviction was the fact that Britney's aunt (to whom Britney was close to) died just 2 weeks before her "shaving her head" incident. I mocked her for her insanity, yet she as simply reacting to her pain. My inner pastor felt wrecked while reading this book, because I just wanted to minister to Britney, Jamie (Britney's dad), Lynne, and Jamie Lynne! If I could sum up Lynne's attitude during this book it would be one word: Transparent. She was just open about all aspects of her life, and not just Britney and Jamie Lynne either! She talked about her marriage and divorce, her failures as a mother and most of all her faith. I was shocked at how steadfast this woman is in her faith. So many people bash her and many Christians including myself have said horrible things about "a woman whose kids do such things". To doubt a persons faith totally and completely based off of the "performance" of their children is plain wrong and this book was used by God to convict me of this truth!
Lynne uses tons of scripture both in reference and in detail throughout the book. She tells of how God helped her and her children (and husband) through hard times. I am truly glad I read this book, because to be honest, I probably wouldn't have aside from this opportunity and I would be the worse for it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the reading of this book, the honesty that's in it and the courage it took to write it! I strongly recommend reading this book.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for allowing me the pleasure of this read and for challenging Christians to seek out truth and not fabricated fictions!

Through the Storm is a memoir written by Lynne Spears, the mother of Britney Spears. It talks about Lynne's own life and her marriage and subsequent divorce with Britney's father, Jamie and continues on through their life and Britney's career from precocious toddler on to a international pop music superstar. Then it describes Britney's estrangement and weird behavior last year from a mother's perspective.

I know that Lynne Spears involvement in her daughter's affairs are very controversial and that some people accuse her of not taking care of her daughter. I may be very naïve but I found her account of Britney's rise t fame to be believable, it has the ring of truth. Britney had great talent and they work ethic and drive to make the most of that talent. What parent would not do what they could to help their children reach their full potential? I think that it would also be very hard to make wise decisions regarding a child's career. Who could you trust.

I have to admit that I am more of a rock and roll and indie band type fan and do not particularly care for pop music all that much except that I am hooked to American Idol. Also, I don't follow the celebrity news. Like who Is dating who and who has been arrested for DWI. I do though have sympathy for people who are hounded by paparazzi. I say all this because I guess that I am the only person in the world who had not heard anything about the ordeal that Britney Spears went through last year. I found her mother's account of her daughter's ordeal horrifying but believable.
One of the best things about the book is the description of being married to an alcoholic and how destructive it is to the family. I have read about it before. This book made me feel it.

I highly recommend this book. Not so much for learning about a pop star but to read about the love of a mother who admits she might have made a few mistakes but never stopped loving her daughter.

Lynne Spears warns in the introduction of her book that it's not a "juicy tell-all," and the truth is that readers won't be privileged to much inside information on her famous daughters, Britney and Jamie Lynn. Instead, this memoir tells the story of a relatable woman dealing with both the ordinary and extrordinary challenges of raising her famous children.

The first half of the book paints a picture of a simple life in the South--complete with crawdad cookouts--punctuated by the grief of living with an alcoholic husband and keeping creditors at bay. Some of Britney's early experiences with audtions and talent shows are mentioned, and Spears often asserts that she never pushed her daughter into show business and never guessed at the level of fame Britney would attain. She spends much time alluding to the hardships that would come later, but most of the early chapters of the book focus on Lynne Spears' personal ups and downs dealing with ailing family members and the task of raising three children alongside an alcoholic husband.

The rest of the book discusses how Spears and her family have dealt with the whirlwind of fame. Spears touches on experiences with Britney's budding career, admitting her own naivete at handling her daughter's rise to fame. For example, she allowed Rolling Stone to do a photo shoot in Britney's bedroom and then was shocked to find that instead of taking pictures of Britney amid her stuffed animals and posters, the photographer was capturing shots of the then seventeen-year-old in a bra and hot pants. Spears also discusses younger daughter Jamie Lynn's rise and fall, which culminates in the teen's pregnancy.

While most of the book is surprisingly quiet, revealing no real shocking details, it reaches a page-turning climax with Spears' recounting of the flurry of events surrounding Britney's forced institutionalizations. Spears chronicles the disturbing influence of Sam Lutfi, a paparazzo who supposedly had Britney under lock and key and even want so far as to allegedly crush perscription pills and put them in Britney's food.

Overall, Spears comes across as a likeable women telling her story in a quaint, come-sit-on-the-porch-and-listen-a-while kind of way. She defends the role she has played in her daughters's careers but also admits her faults as a mother and emphasizes her faith. One of the appeals of the book is that Spears makes her story sound like it could have happened to anyone. Ultimately, the spirit of the book is captured in a suprising wish Spears has for daughter Britney: to throw off the "breathy, super-produced pop-voice given to her by record producers" and regain her "strong, true voice again, in more ways than one."

(Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for this review.)

This books is the story of Lynne Spears (mother of Britney, Jamie Lynn & Bryan) and is written to tell the rest of the story behind the lives of her celebrity family. It is not intended to be a parenting book. However, the reason I read the book was to try and learn some lessons of what happened and how to attempt to avoid the traps that led to such heartache (though Lynne points out that there were also many treasured times).

There are lessons to be learned about life and choices and parenting. For example, Lynne warns of the danger of alcoholism and how one beer at a cookout led her husband into a slow slide into alcoholism (p. 48). The reader will also see the results of other decisions as they are played out.

The book reveals the heart of a mother who loves her children and wants them to succeed. She wanted to help her children achieve their dreams, yet got sucked into the whirlpool of celebrity. This presents a challenge to parents to stop and ask and honestly answer the question, "where are we headed with our family?" This would make for a good discussion between parents from time to time to ask, "If we keep heading in this direction, where are we going to end up?"

The admonition to parents to savor the time with children is well emphasized. Life moves so fast and to often parents keep thinking that the next phase will be easier, or more enjoyable. Reading through this book reminds us all that our times with our children are moving fast as well.

Lynne explains what happened with Britney's meltdown and how an individual named Sam Lutfi was involved. You will need to read the book to understand what was behind the troubled soul that the media and paparazzi delighted in pursuing.

I read the book looking for insight into helping parents protect their children from disaster. Here are a two observations, there are more (gleaned from Regrets, page 189ff).

1) The need for daily exposure to God's Word and a committed relationship to a local church that teaches and encourages from Scripture (p. 189). This apparently was not a consistent part of life in the growing celebrity years. I believe there are many parents making the same mistake as they dash here and there for every sporting event, or pageant, or performance, or whatever as they try to help their child/ren reach for their dreams. Too often the things of God are made optional with disastrous result.

2) Be the parent (p. 191). Parents often can be intimidated to feel that they are inadequate because they are not the "professionals." If a parent feels that something is not right, they need to intervene. This is true in the realm of education, sports, health, medicine, etc.

The book is an easy read and moves quickly. There are jumps back and forth in chronology, so the reader must stay awake. It is not a "tell-all" book, and in fact, is very gracious to those who have hurt the family deeply. It is a story of God's grace and redemption in progress through life, a story of which we all need to be reminded.

Well, if it was, then it is a fine and fitting end. Although the cliffhanger tells us that we aren't going to be seeing that much less of Rebus.

Rankin used the self imposed limitation of the last ten days of Rebus official career very well. The action is taut and well plotted and the descriptions of people, places, and things are spot-on.

By now, Rebus is like an old friend who drops in for a short visit every year or so. You are always glad to see him, you get nostalgic over the good times you have had together, you are shocked by how old they have gotten, which reminds you of how old you are getting, you get annoyed by the same things they have always done, and you are sad whenever they have to leave. In this case, there is a finality to the departure, yet you are not sure if that finality is terminal. It is somewhat confusing.

I thought the awkwardness depicted between Rebus and Clarke is well written and realistic. It is very tricky to describe the interaction between people who have known, liked, and hated each other for a long time, especially when a landmark is approaching in their relationship.

The crimes being solved in this case was interesting but I thought some of the turns were a little too pat. That didn't stop me from enjoying the book, nor does it stop me from jonesing for more Rebus and Clarke.

Say it isn't so, Ian. Has 60-year-old John Rebus come to the end of the line? The popular protagonist spends his last days in his three-decade-old career in this novel in his usual manner, solving crimes, upsetting the powers that be and dealing with his 20-year-old enemy, Big Ger Cafferty as well as setting the stage for tying up loose ends with his long-time partner, DS Siobhan Clarke.

In the mix is a delegation of Russian businessmen, Scottish politicians and a large bank and its executives all seeking to bring business to Scotland. And then a leading Russian dissident poet is found murdered, and everyone wants to sweep it under the rug as a mugging gone bad. But is it? Neither Rebus nor Clark is convinced, especially when a second murder caused by an arson fire seems to be connected to the original case. To complicate matters, Big Ger is assaulted and left in a coma, and Rebus seems to be implicated.

This novel is as good as Rankin gets in the way of a mystery novel, and he works in commentary on Scotland in general, Edinburgh, money, politics, greed and power. Where does Rebus go from here? This reader (and many others, I'm sure) hopes Rankin hasn't permanently retired him--he's too good a character to fade out of existence.

Highly recommended.

Almost exactly two decades ago Ian Rankin's first Rebus novel, Knots and Crosses, began with the sentence, "The girl screamed once, only the once." Twenty years later and Rankin has used the same sentence to begin the last, as it did the first, of the Rebus books.

DI John Rebus is retiring in November of 2006 and he and his erstwhile protégé, DS Siobhan Clarke, are working on clearing up Rebus' old cases, when a dissident Russian Poet is murdered in an apparent mugging right after he left an Edinburgh bar in which local crook and longtime Rebus nemesis Morris Gerald Cafferty had been drinking.

Meanwhile Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko is dying in a London hospital, poisoned by person or persons unknown. Are the cases related?

The poet was murdered during a time when the Edinburgh big wigs are hosting a group of potentially very large Russian investors and the brass wants this case wrapped up as quietly and delicately as possible. Then somebody attacks `Big Ger' Cafferty and the blame lands squarely on Rebus.

Think he's gonna back off? Not a chance.

Rebus and Clarke chase down leads that eventually take them to the Scottish Parliament and we all know how much politicians like to be investigated. And if you've read or learned anything at all about John Rebus, you know he does not take too well to authority and after being told for the umpteenth time to back off, Rebus remarks to himself, "It's not the underworld you need to worry about, it's the overworld."

I have been reading Rebus right from the start and I find it hard to believe it's all over. Yes, he's retired, but Michael Connelly's brilliant character Detective Hyronamous Bosch retired, came back as a PI and we sure as all get out hope Mr. Rankin finds more for Rebus to do, because we're addicted. This book is as good as all the others and all the others have been great.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

Ian Rankin
ISBN: 9780316057585
Little Brown and Company, 2008
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 09/08
4 Stars
Fans will be thrilled with the return John Rebus.
Fans will be thrilled with the return of Detective Inspector John Rebus. Exit Music begins with the Inspector reluctantly preparing for his mandatory retirement. Just as he thinks his desk is clear of cases in comes a new one. Rebus once again teams up with Detective Siobhan Clarke in the investigation of a murdered dissident Russian poet. What at first glance appears to be a mugging, soon shows signs of something much deeper. Another death brings more questions.
Exit Music shows a personal side of Rebus. He dreads retirement while partner Siobhan looks toward a future where she does not work in his shadow. Ian Rankin has open doors in which Rebus may return. Fans of Rankin will rejoice in this new novel. While they will mourn Rebus' purported retirement, they will eagerly turn the pages of Exit Music.

In Ian Rankin's "Exit Music," Detective Inspector John Rebus is ten days away from retirement, a prospect that appeals to him as much as root canal. His superiors eagerly await the departure of this maverick, with "his mistrust of teamwork" and his "two-decades-plus of bets hedged, lines crossed, and rules broken." Although John gets results, he rarely does anything by the book, since he has little regard for authority or proper procedure. It is a miracle that this chain-smoking and whiskey-guzzling detective has lived long enough to turn in his warrant card. Rebus's protégée, Detective Sergeant Siobhan (Shiv) Clarke, has mixed feelings about her friend and mentor's departure. She is grateful for everything he has taught her. On the other hand, his unorthodox methods are troubling and she is impatient to get out from under Rebus's imposing shadow.

Their final case together begins as an apparent mugging that results in the death of Alexander Todorov, an émigré Russian poet living in Edinburgh. Todorov was a dissident who was vocal in his criticism, not only of his former government, but also of the new class of Russian oligarchs. He considered these multi-millionaires to be materialistic, corrupt, and greedy--selfish men who spend their ill-gotten gains on fancy clothing, high-end cars, pricey real estate, precious metals, and expensive artwork. Was Todorov bludgeoned to death to silence his scathing criticism of his countrymen? A subsequent murder adds to the mystery, and Clarke is placed in charge of a team with a challenging and time-consuming mission. They must ascertain if the two crimes are related and if so, who was behind them. Rebus is intrigued to learn that his archenemy, a gangster knows as Big Ger Cafferty, may be involved. Before he walks off into the sunset, Rebus would love to bring down this vicious thug who has been a thorn in his side for years.

"Exit Music" is an incredibly complicated and dense police procedural with a large number of characters, suplots, and red herrings. This four hundred page novel, which is sluggishly paced at times, could easily have been trimmed with no loss of coherence. On the other hand, the author gets high marks for depicting police work realistically, demonstrating the tedium of endless conversations with potential witnesses (some of whom lie or omit information), the sifting of every bit of physical evidence, and the search for a key fact that could break a case wide open. He also brings Edinburgh to life and deftly portrays the political and economic changes that may lead, one day, to Scotland's independence from Great Britain. Rebus is a delightful rogue who is content to say and do what he likes now that he is days away from packing it in. Although he is not in charge of the investigation, John blithely goes off on his own to follow his hunches wherever they may lead.

What makes this book memorable is Rankin's stunning epilogue--a tour de force of superb writing and dramatic surprises. The fact that the ending is not neat and tidy makes it a fitting coda for the checkered career of Detective Inspector John Rebus, a man who has always lived on the edge and thumbed his nose at conventional wisdom.

It is, in fact, stated that is "nonreligious;" however it is more so, laden with post modernistic views of Christianity. I have no idea why some Christian recommended this book to my wife. The book out rightly overlooks the fact of God's Law and Grace.

In my opinion this book presents a ground-breaking philosophy to the Christian community as well as anyone who enjoys thought provoking literature. A must read. "Searching For God Knows What" by the same author is just as good, if not better!

I know that a lot of people love Donald Miller and I know that I am in the minority, but I just didn't "get" this book. It was a bunch of unorganized ramblings.

The book was very good - it is very simplistic which is a relief from the self-righteous philosphical types. It uses stories to explain very difficult issues such as why Christ had to humble himself and come to earth to save the world. It is an easy read that will impact your soul.

I'm not completely done reading this book but WOW, it's such an incredible journey. It was difficult at first to read because the author is a bit sporadic but I've finally got his "style" down and actually, it adds some flair to the book. There are times that I'm laughing and then the next sentence I'm crying. For anyone trying to gain perspective on what a real relationship with God is like, what real people are like, and just the feeling that you're not alone, this is the perfect book!

who thought this book was one ego-driven story after another? I really couldn't finish it - I don't think there was one superlative that she didn't use in describing herself. And to think I had a Julia Mattel doll when I was a wee lassie!

I loved her autobiography. Especially her candid thoughts about aging and her life in show business. I was especially touch about her relationship with her daughter as well her having breast cancer. If you want inspiration look no further than this book.

IN HER 70's she looks better than some 40 year olds!!!! Her discipline focus on keeping herself together is so motivating, I like how honest she was about the challenges she had with balancing a career and motherhood.. she tickled me about her being a pioneer with black hair and hollywood, and how they got the cover shot.. Very Good book!

I am too young to remember Diahann from her heyday, but my mother was a fan and she was still definitely a household name for me growing up. This book not only made me laugh, it also taught me a lot about Old Hollywood, especially in its pre-politically correct days. If you like Nora Ephron's I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK, THE LEGS ARE THE LAST TO GO is similar but with more substance, and more glamour! So many entertainment legends cross these pages. It's a must read not only for Diahann's fans but all Hollywood and Broadway buffs.

Back in the 80s when she was appearing on Dynasty ,one of the hottest shows in the country, Diahann Carroll wrote "Diahann", her first autobiography detailing her life, careers and loves up until that point. Although interesting and informative, the book's prose seemed stilted and overly dramatic at times. In addition, one got the impression that Miss Carroll was holding back in some areas perhaps over fear of repurcussions to her career.

Her latest book, The Legs Are The Last To Go, is informative but even more interesting as it comes from a woman who now seems comfortable enough in her own skin to speak her mind about her 50 year career. In this book, Miss Carroll is more frank in telling her story . Her demeanor is also looser. After reading the first book, I didn't expect her to be such a funny storyteller but I found myself laughing out loud at her recollections of working with Pearl Bailey as well as a fleeting encounter with a certain music superstar of the 70s.

Her recollections and updates on her relationships with her daughter and former husband Vic Damone are candid but not exploitative. Instead they reveal her emotional growth. Many readers will relate to the stories about her aging parents who she comes to recognize as flawed but good people. Even as a veteran actress, Carroll isn't totally jaded about the entertainment business. You can feel her excitement and appreciation when she writes about meeting and working with Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy.

I strongly recommend this book. Hopefully, Miss Carroll will have more stories.

In the first chapter, he made some statements about music that I know to be wrong, so I was tempted to quit, but I thought that perhaps he may still have something interesting to say--I think of the difference between a "satellite view" map and a "street view" map. He has had many interesting things to say, and I am even suspicious that his "errors" at the beginning were an intentional simplification. Even though written for the "layman," it's still pretty heavy reading--and much more focused on the brain's processes than on how music works.
A bit heavy on name-dropping (he started out as a producer), and more "don't know what's happening here" than I hoped for (but I appreciate the honesty). Interesting--but perhaps specialized: it could easily be a different book than you're expecting.

The story about Petr Janata and the barn owls is worth the price of the book alone.

Thanks for a great resource Mr. Levitin.

One can't expect a thorough look into the interplay of phychology, mind-body mechanics, and music in a shory popular book. That being said, this was an entertaining romp through the field.

The first seventy or so pages was essentially an introduction to music theory and how the mind can proces music as, well, music. For those with a music background it will be tedious and won't tell you much that you don't already know, but for someone who has only touched on it it will be like drinking from a firehose with all the information in the pages.

The rest of the book deals more directly with why certain music is liked, how it most likely evolfved, and the practical utility of music in society and individual survival. If you're ever wondering why there are still oldies stations around, it's because of all the boomers who have an emotional attachment to music of their youth, the time when music tastes are most aggressively defined.

One annoyance was the infantile critique of mind-body interplay, where he ascribes to the opinion of Dennitt that the brain creates the mind. There's not enough room in the review to state why that is incorrect, but it shouldn't have even delved on this weighty topic. Overall though, there wasn't much blanket overgeneralization that plagues many popular science books, though the meanderings of the authors was at times tiring.

Overall, pretty good, and a quick read for someone interested in the topic.

This was a fascinating book more so because I am a deafened adult. I had my memories when I lost all hearing in 1977. Experiences I've had since seem weird to me because I remember. Now I understand why. This is a very informative book from both the music lover and indifferent listener points of view.

This book was found, as many of my great finds, on the shelves of a used-book store. The book has traveled around in my car with me as I go from school to my job as a voice teacher. It has been loaned out to music professors, and is now very well worn.

I strongly recommend this book for musicians and music lovers alike. It is beautifully written in a way that nearly anyone can understand, with common examples of music from classical to popular music styles.

An excellent introduction into the technical side of how the brain processes music.

This version is closer to the CD of Raffi songs that my kids listen to.
The pictures are excellent -it's easy to make up new stories to go along with the original text.

I read all the reviews before I ordered this book and it sounded great. However, when I first took it out of the box I thought I must have ordered the wrong book - could this little book be the one everyone on Amazon raved about? The answer is - YES! My 14 month old son loves it when we read (correction: sing) this book to him and asks us to do so over and over. The illustrations are full of little details that he loves to study and point out: apples rolling on the floor of the bus, dog licking the driver's face, etc. A wonderful little book!

I bought this book based on the other reviews I read and they were right. My (almost) 2 year old girl loves this book and asks for it to be read over and over at bedtime. Definitley her favorite book so far!
Highly recommend it.

book and the song that accomanies it. Even though my kids have gotten a bit older we still have fond memories of the book. We even sing the song to other children we meet!
Thank you, [...]

This is a fun book to read and act out. We sing the song, bounce with the bus, tell everyone to move on back with the driver, etc. The book is very little, which makes it good for carrying around but a little harder to see the details of the pictures.

For any music fan, you know a title of the 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die is worth a look. For novice fans, the book makes good suggestions ranging every musical genre you can think off. For the music fanatic you can read it to pick it apart, because even with a thousand entries, certainly everyone can come up with a least of a hundred recordings that should have been included in the list and a few that you make you scratch your head at their inclusion.

From his picture on the back of the book, it should be noted that author Tom Moon is of the Baby Boomer generation so naturally there is an overabundance of music from the sixties while Bob Dylan and the Beatles are more than represented. Okay old people, we get it, you really loved the Beatles, but really eight albums featuring the band members? Dylan landed four while a few ranked twice. Keep in mind Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run) and Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) and U2 (The Joshua Tree) only made the list once. I would really like Moon to justify just how Usher's Confessions, Britney Spears' Toxic and No Doubt's Rock Steady (which isn't even the band's best work) rank higher than Born in the USA, Wish You Were Here and Achtung Baby.

I also am not sure if I should complain about the exclusion of any Eric Clapton album (seriously, no Slowhand), he does show up with Derek and the Dominos, Cream, John Mayall's Blues Breakers, The Yardbirds, and Blind Faith. Where the sixties is well populated, looking at this book it is as the nineties didn't exist unless you were a grunge band or a dead rapper. That did lead to possibly the best write up in the book for Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chamber) where Moon bizarrely starts up the review quoting poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. But enough with the complaints of the selections because if I continued to nit-pick I would write a review that rivals the book's 1007 pages.

116 of those pages are just indexes. But with indexes for Genre, Occasions (like Parties, Romance), Composers, and Performers. Although it would have been nice if they would have thrown in an extra five pages to list the recording chronologically. But each write up is well done even if Moon doesn't seem to really understand any the music he included that release after 1980. Each recording also include Key Tracks, Catalog Choice, other works by the artist worth listening to, as well as Next Stop and After That, two recording that are related musically to selection worth checking out.

Easily the most interesting inclusion has to be The Grey Album by Danger Mouse considering that to listen to it you are technically breaking the law. For those unfamiliar, The Grey Album a mash up between The White Album by The Beatles (which of course is also listed) and The Black Album from Jay-Z (which is conspicuously missing from the list) that launched Danger Mouse into a succesful producer and one half of Gnarls Barkley.

But whatever type a music fan you are, there is plenty of gems to find in the book. And the short segment are perfect to have laying around when you only have short spurts of time to kill, as it is currently taking up space in my bathroom. Just keep in mind the 1007 page thick frame is a little cumbersome to hold at time, so the short spurts of reading is really ideal.

I purchased this book after hearing it featured on NPR "All Things Considered". Tom covers just about every genre of music and takes an interesting look at everything from classical music to Bill Monroe to the Sex Pistols. I enjoyed the fact that in many cases he highlighted artists best artistic works instead of just choosing to list their most popular recordings, as someone who loves exploring different styles of music, I found myself agreeing with many of his choices, and also found a few recordings I need to listen to before I die. Any open minded music fan will enjoy this book.

I can't imagine how a person could make these decisions and put it all together but it has been done!

Arranged alphabetically by musician (primarily), this list explains a bit about the musician and that recording in particular, including some historical notes and why listening to that recording of theirs is recommended.

The types of music are broad, as the author attempts to include what seems like every single type of music in the list (including 'world music' of types that many Americans have never heard in their lives).

I was surprised to find some picks for some artists being more obscure or less popular recordings than others. We could argue about why one album was chosen over another, or why just one album from one musician was selected.

I plan to keep the book in the house as a reference. I hope that my children will turn to its pages to learn a bit about certain musical artists or about how a specific recording was significant in the career of that musical artist.

The layout of the book is easy to use.

My only complaint about the book's layout and design is the small page size forced the majority of the font to be just small enough to be harder to read. Those over 40 years old will probably be reaching for cheaters to read this book. It would be better if the book was a bit larger in size so the font could be larger.

If you are a baby boomer trying to grab gusto before you check out, this is the book for you. Now you can make sure that eery recording worth listening to has crossed your ears. Personaly, I used it to make sure my iPod collection was complete. Has made cruising the recycled records stores much easier. I may not agree with all his opionions, but at the least it give me a chance to be sure I haven't missed anything major. I'm not sure I need to be told to listen to Pet Sounds or many of the other chosen recordings, but in case I lived in a cave for a few years there, nothing will be left to chance. Definitely a must buy.

As individuals with highly eclectic musical taste, my husband and I rarely encounter anyone who enjoys as much musical variety. In Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, we may have met our match. Encompassing everything from Baroque to reggae to classic rock - and just about any other genre you can think of - this book will definitely introduce you to a wide variety of styles, composers/artists, and recordings. It's even organized in alphabetical order, so these highly-varied genres are juxtaposed against one another, side-by-side!

Some of the "recordings" listed are entire albums; others are individual songs. Where entire albums are recommended, the author specifies "key tracks" to listen to. In many instances, related recommendations are made. Brief descriptions let you know what to expect and why the recording is memorable. (Genres are specified, so if you're unfamiliar with an album/piece, you will know what you're getting yourself into!)

My only complaint is that where songs have lyrics, the content is not really discussed. Given that the book's focus is on the music, it's understandable, but it would be nice to know whether the recordings are appropriate to play for my children. All in all, we have been impressed with the overall collection, and look forward to getting to know some new music.