5 comments about Margot Fonteyn: A Life.

1. Daneman, Meredith 2004 Margot Fonteyn. Viking, New York ISBN-10: 0670843709 ISBN-13 978-0670843701
   
   The dancer as a spy? One of the mysteries of Margot Fonteyn is her association and almost certain minor activities as an agent. This book hints at such (page numbers are taken from hardcover edition). First there is her association with Graham Greene, a known British agent during WWII; in an apparent inconsistency on page 265 she is said to be his lover, while on pages 279-280 he is merely said to enamored of her. On page 279 the author mentions Greene's love letters to Margot.
   
   
   By 1959, when Greene has become at least on the surface an admirer of Castro, Margot finds herself with Castro named first president Manuel Urrutia Lleó's wife, Esperanza LIaguno, who (according to the author p. 352 and 366) was ransacking the wardrobes of deposed dictator Batista's wife (Martha Fernández de Batista).
   
   
   At present admirers of Castro will not allow Grahame Greene's 1958 novel "Our man in Havana" (which most oddly predicts the 1962 presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba) to be mentioned in Wikipedia's Cuban section about authors who wrote on Cuba. These admirers of the communist dictator furiously erase each insertion of any reference to Greene and his work, giving one pause and setting one to wonder at the rationale behind this odd and extreme measure of zeal. Ernest Hemingway yes! Graham Greene No!
   
   
   Through the book runs a continual thread of the open and clandestine politics of the geo-strategic country of Panama tied to her and her husband Robert "Tito" Arias. However, the clincher is Margot's role in the defection of Russian Ballet star Rudolf Nureyev (e.g. pp. 383, 386-396 and others).
   
   The Castro government has allowed mention of some of Fontyn's activities to help impose blockade on UK weapon shipments to Cuba in late 1958 and in the Castro organized invasion of Panama by Cuban partisans of her husband Roberto Arias in 1959 (1). It was during the preparations for this invasion that the above mentioned wardrobe looting was observed by the famous ballet dancer.
   
   One day, when the British Intelligence's secret files for this period are released, perhaps we will know the whole story.
   
   [...]



2. I was very disappointed in this book about the great Margot. Was it really necessary to put in all the salacious details of her sex life in order to give us a picture of her career and life? I think a little more restraint on the part of the author was definitely in order. I wanted to learn more about the ballerina's career on stage, not especially about what she did in bed and what her sexual prowess was. I agree with the lady who said she would not recommend this book to her daughter, the budding ballerina as I thought the 'so-called' sex information on La Fontaine was tasteless and over the top.



3. I was iniciated ten years ago by the two daugthers of my wife, who have practiced ballet all their lives, in the knowlege of ballet. Before I just did not understand it, and even today know little about it. This biography, however, is beautifully written, very well researched, with a great sensitivity and it has been beautiful for me to know from the inside this life of "the most famous ballerina of the world", a life very different from a point of view and at the same time so near to our own lives.
   
   My life has been enhanced after this lecture. Now I understand a thousand times better ballet and I love it. Thanks to Meredith Daneman for her great work.



4. I enjoyed the book because Margot lead a fascinating life. And I didn't know about the end of her career and life. But I believe most readers choosing to read about Margot are not interested in her sex life. Particularly not interested in lewd statements of her prowess from any past lovers. I would have loved to recommend it to my daughter because Margot is a wonderful role model, but the sexual references make it inappropriate and I would instead recommend her Autobiography.



5. I so agree with the reviewer who said the author was lucky in her subject ... the four stars are for Margot, not Daneman. Margot's life is the history of ballet outside Russia and neither her life nor herself could fail to be fascinating. Wonderful to read all that history in one place. BUT ...
   
   Oh god, do we really need all this sleazy speculation? Most of the book is devoted to who did with who and how. According to the author, everyone did everything with everybody. This based on the slightest whiff of a rumour from any source. Instead of real descriptions about the Fonteyn/Nureyev partnership, she goes on and on and on (pages and pages, seriously) about every form of physical contact that may have occurred between them and agonizes about whether actual "penetration" (that's really a quote) occurred. According to her it's a tragedy that we will never know because they both took the secret to their graves. Actually they both categorically denied it all their lives.
   
   Fonteyn also gets a blast because when she wrote some filler in a book about Pavlova, acting as a presenter of Pavlova's own notes (NOT a biographer) she didn't tell everyone the rumour that Pavlova was (gasp) possibly illegitemite and (gasp gasp) possibly half Jewish. All Pavlova said was that her father had died when she was two and according to this author, Margot ought to have jumped right in there with the rumours and was negligent not doing so. This is a person I would never care to meet and spending 580 pages with her seriously detracts from the pleasure of spending 580 pages with Margot. Especially since, like most people who write books this long, she excelled in Creative Writing 101 and seriously needs an editor for her flowery passages.
   
   So -5 for her and + 5 for Margot equals +4, Margot being worth a lot more.

5 comments about Leni Riefenstahl.

1. I was very disappointed to read so many bad, professional reviews of this book, all clearly coming from a biased standpoint. Leni Riefenstahl's memoir is honest, brave, engaging, and even inspiring - it is time to put aside the "Leni the Nazi" glasses and look at her for what she was - an exceptionally talented artist and a passionate, courageous woman who lived at a time when bad decision could end up being fatal. I actually watched through all of her work, and although two of them clearly glorify Hitler (she was shooting a propaganda film after all), I did not find any proof of her being a racists, but many to the contrary. So many of her critics never even actually bothered to watch her films, let alone put it into context (they usually fail to mention that at the time Riefenstahl was commissioned by Hitler, Hitler had not yet invaded Poland and was seemingly nothing but an ambitious political leader who gave people food and hope and promised to help Germany to get on its feet again). As a Jewish Hungarian immigrant, I certainly could have all the reasons to hate Leni Riefenstahl; but I prefer to look at her work in the context of her time and in the light of her artistry, and as such, she certainly deserves much more than these biased reviews try to make you believe.



2. Riefenstahl was indeed a genius, a genius with the camera and film editing. One will never know whether or not she'd eventually have been a great director, as she was pretty well blackballed by post-war political influences, and had few resources during the war (the "Tiefland" movie, filmed during wartime, was strapped for money and never finished ... as far as I know.) "Das Blau Licht" was an interesting early try at film directing for her, and while that is certainly not a great movie, it does an exceptional job of creating mood via the camera and chiaroscuro effect. The camera angles and camera lens applications she chose were definitely leading-edge. She would also let the camera dwell on the human face and body, so that one could really appreciate the uniqueness of individuals and see how interesting they were (the people used as extras in the "Blau Licht" at its location near Trento, Italy, are particularly memorable). Leni's genius was in showing us the angle, the viewpoint, the shading, and letting us see what she saw. It was at times awesome.
   
   No doubt film makers in the US paid attention to her work. What is really astounding is that she was a woman and pioneer in a man's trade, who created photographic techniques and treatments like none seen before. In the US, we had no female equivalent to even compare to her, and this makes an interesting statement about Third Reich society, which is far different from what we are lead to believe -- women had opportunities to engage in traditionally male professions, even test piloting (the US certainly had no one comparable to Hanna Reisch, either).
   
   Movie viewers may have seen the 1936 sports documentary, "Olympia," that she filmed, composed and edited. It is regarded as THE best such documentary ever produced. Keeping that in mind, think of the Winter Olympic coverage we just witnessed ... "will Michelle Kwan make the team? Why did she miss practice? Will she skate?, etc." It all a bunch of tasteless, dramatic hokum, IMHO. We have jumped the tracks and gone over a cliff of degeneracy compared with the high standard set by Riefenstahl. I recommend viewing her film once again, for the sake of enjoyment and appreciation.
   
   I read her book, "Memiors," in late 1993. It was the best autobiography of a woman that I've ever read ... by far. I wrote her a letter through her publisher, St. Martin's ,and the following July, received a very warm reply and an autographed picture. I quote an interesting extract from her letter:
   
   
   Quote:
   "Dear Mr. (Anon), your letter from December 13, I have received only few days ago ... but even in the time you were in Murnau (poster's note: I was in Germany for a couple of months and had hoped to meet her personally, her home was in Pocking), I was diving in Africa, Kenya and in the Seychelles, and not in Germany. Even now I fly to Papua, New Guinea for diving ..."
   
   
   
   To clarify, she didn't receive my letter until months after my having sent it, because of her travels for the purpose of underwater photography. And, let's see, she was born in 1902, so she was about ninety-two years-old at the time (We are discussing an incredible person here). We corresponded for several years after that, the last time around her 100th birthday.
   
   In the post war years it was quite common for the US media and particularly Hollywood, to extract excerpts from her films and give her no payment, no recognition. At the same time they were carrying on this artistic theft, they would never miss an opportunity to criticize Riefenstahl for the usual specious reasons. Although she was much too gracious to think in this manner, she, in the end, had the last laugh. She outlived all of her "Hollywood Harry" detractors and carried on to accomplish great and innovative things in photography (See her photo book, "Die Nuba," it is awesome.)
   
   She died at age 101. And would have lived much longer, had she not been severely injured in a helicopter accident a few years earlier.
   
   A toast to Leni!



3. Incredible, the insight she gives into the making of films before and during WWII. The trials and tribulations actors and film-makers endured is described in such detail that one can imagine being there.
   
   The book is art, absolute art, all the way through, no matter what Riefenstahl describes. I especially loved the beginning of the book, the description of her childhood. It is so totally German. The customs, the sentiments, the feelings she describes returned me to the stories my mother and grandmother told me, and to many of my own childhood memories.
   
   After reading her book, I believe that she has been deliberately maligned and that she was always only an artist, not ever a collaborator of Hitler.
   
   I especially recommend the book to anyone who loves the art of film-making.



4. The hardcover edition I read in 1992 is a remarkable work, an intimate firsthand account of a celebrated Third Reich ciné artist and her subsequent history. Did she know the `master race' myth (hawked in her films) would be used to justify criminal war, racial laws, and genocide? Did she knowingly profit from a criminal relationship?
   
   Riefenstahl maintains the demeanor of a totally devoted `artist' innocent of opportunism or worldly ambition. This contrasts with an all too actuarial viewpoint on events after the war (where she becomes the victim and keeps score). Her posture is also hard to reconcile with the business of art (which like other trade requires one think of how to get paid).
   
   Sanctimony, omissions, and counter-accusations provide a clue to myopic flaws in one who would have us believe she was completely unaware of the activity of the criminal regime that was her greatest benefactor.
   
   Don't read this if you seek confessionals from an author of propaganda that helped the world go to war and kill millions. If, on the other hand, you want to read how such a person lived with herself in a candid and well-written account, this is highly recommended.



5. It took me over a month but I finally finished this
   astonishing book. I'm exhausted and staggered by the sheer scope of
   this woman's life--it is in fact a story larger than life. By way of
   illustration, I recently read the famed and lengthy Carlos Baker
   biography of Ernest Hemingway. Let me tell you in no uncertain
   terms: Papa was a sissy in comparison to Leni Riefenstahl
   (hereafter, LR). This woman displays more grit, tenacity, artistic
   vision, dedication, resilience and audacity than a pack of wolves
   cross bred with Ayn Rand and some other extreme artist of maniacal
   bent, say, Van Gogh. She exemplifies the good and bad potentials for
   life in the extreme. Hers is a story of perseverance and survival,
   with agony and ecstasy throughout. The movie "The Wonderful,
   Horrible Life of LR" could not be more aptly titled. Whew, I'm tongue
   tied....this book took me there and back and I need a week off to
   recuperate. It's well-written, but you won't read this for the
   writing. This is about a life lived to the hilt, decades of painful
   adventure, the stuff of legend.
   
   Should you contemplate reading this book, I think you need to make a
   decision in advance: Are you going to squander your time primarily
   evaluating whether she had knowledge of the genocide of the Jewish
   people by Hitler and hisminions?? If sitting as a juror as to facts
   almost 60 years old is a particular hobby of yours, go at it. The
   fact is, LR was pulled in front of multiple courts, tribunals, and
   boards throughout the years and has essentially been acquitted time
   and again by people who would have relished convicting her had there
   been sufficient evidence. LR denies having knowledge of the
   genocidal treatment of the Jewish people. Her denials are very
   similar to those made by the balance of the German people who
   survived the War and who lived in the same cities and who had similar
   contacts with various Nazis, albeit perhaps at the lower social
   levels. I personally believe her, as she demonstrates herself
   throughout the book to be naive and self-absorbed. Like a lot of
   artists, she was preoccupied with her own artistic agenda,
   and "politics," political philosophy, and military ambitions were of
   no interest to her. Similarly, she gets betrayed and ripped off so
   many times by so many different people throughout this book of her
   life that it is clear she has no real ability to evaluate people from
   a character standpoint. She also seems credible from the stand point
   that she describes a Hitler who is, suprisingly, not immediately
   hateable. Instead, I was kind of taken aback by what a gentleman he
   appeared to be to LR, and how he honored various agreements that he
   made with her despite every temptation not to do so. LR's failure to
   categorically condemn Hitler seems to accrue to her credibility that
   she didn't know his full vicious potentials. (By so denouncing him
   she could have staved off some further criticism.) She doesn't,
   however, display that kind of deference to Goebbels and many other of
   the Nazi bureaucrat/thugs. She describes them exactly as you would
   envision them as being. Ugly and scary. In any event, my real point
   is that this book is so full of a broad variety of intrigue that you
   will miss out should you exclusively focus on this question of her
   knowledge of or involvement in the atrocities. Bottom line: I don't
   think we will ever know for sure one way or the other.
   
   The true value of this book is the unique view it offers into so many
   other varied areas: the history of Germany before, during, after
   WWII ; the various people who inhabited Germany during this time;
   insights into other great artists, actors, film-makers during the
   30's, 40, 50's, 60's; insight into flying ace, Hans Udet; the story
   of a person who endured multiple serious health ailments through the
   years but went on to live to 100; a woman who experienced the heights
   of international success and artistic glory; a woman who experienced
   the depths of prejudice and hatred for her earlier affiliations;
   tremendous insights into early film-making; great mountaineering and
   skiing anecdotes; insights into the Sudan, the characters and tribal
   peoples there; insights into the mind and agenda of a great
   photographer (inspired, I pulled out my Leica and started shooting
   again half way through the book)....on and on it goes. I enjoyed her
   anecdotes of meeting Mick Jagger and Bianca, the people at National
   Geographic, Andy Warhol, Walt Disney. The sheer number of interesting
   events and people which are described is so vast I would have to
   tabulate it to give an accurate estimation: she was almost strangled
   as a child by a child serial killer; she was in Central America in
   the early 70's when a huge hurricane went through and killed 8,000
   people. She describes vivid and bizarre "psychic visions" at the
   moment of meeting the two loves of her life, both of whom went on to
   betray her trust and hopes. And, of course, her precisely described
   conversations with Hitler are extremely interesting and of extreme
   historical import (she gives almost verbatim descriptions of perhaps
   20 or so private conversations with Hitler; she kept journals and had
   to testify numerous times about the same, thus her accuracy). She
   describes a bizarre meeting with Mussolini which was fraught with
   tacit significance as she found herself unwittingly a messenger
   between him and Hitler. I also was interested in her friendships
   with Albert Speers, Jean Cocteau. Her favorite people over the
   course of 90 years?? The Nuba of Sudan, natural, naked, innocent,
   generous and playful...and extremely photogenic. That is actually
   how I became familiar with LR: I have her Nuba books (reprints) and
   they are some of the best examples of photography that I've ever seen-
   -believe it or not, National Geographic has never published photos of
   tribal peoples as good as these photos. I then discovered her
   underwater photo books and was equally astonished. Only later did I
   learn this photographer had earlier been a film-maker, with a couple
   of flicks called "Triumph of the Will" and "Olympia" to her credit,
   ominous milestones in the history
   of film-making. I'm looking forward to one day seeing her earlier
   masterpiece "The Blue Light" which received international acclaim.
   
   This woman is, in my opinion, one of the great artists and
   adventurers of the 20th Century. This book is her story. It is
   comfortably written and well translated, albeit filled with a few
   more details than I needed (eg, production details from some of
   films, and details regarding her countless defamation suits). As the
   father of a young daughter, I plan on having her read this book (and
   Ayn Rand's "Fountainhead") at as young an age a practicable. LR
   displays what I see as enlightened feminism: no bitterness or
   complaining about unfair circumstances, just full-on pursuit of her
   dreams, going over or through anyone or anything who tries to thwart
   her visions, like a locomotive, powered by pure merit and talent and
   will power. Trying and failing, and then trying again and succeeding.
   
   LR is hardly perfect, and her life is bittersweet. But she is still
   here and her many enemies are mostly dead. And her films and
   photographs will live forever. But her ultimate work of art is her
   life story itself. She has inspired me with her courage and her
   sense of adventure. Hemingway clearly would have wanted to buy her
   drinks, and Shackleton likewise would salute.

5 comments about Winning Monologs for Young Actors: 65 Honest-To-Life Characterizations to Delight Young Actors and Audiences of All Ages.

1. This is the perfect book for an audition or cold reading. I needed to have a monolog for my theatre class and this was just the thing! The monologs in this book are so perfect for kids. It has monologs for any style of audition and some of the monologs are just hilarious! I truly don't know who wouldnt like this book!



2. I didn't really like this book. The monologs were of an unusual sort, they were really abnormal, that is, most of them were. They also were hard to "act" to. They just weren't my style.



3. this was a pretty good book expected i expected more! it said in the add WINNING and it wasnt really the kind you act out on stage with they were the kind you express yourself or make up a little play for your friends and that is not what i expected i was very disappointed because now i have to find a new book.



4. I found this book excellent for monologues. Trying out for an acting club, we used monologues from here as our cold readings. They put everyone at ease because they are so perfect for kids. Everyone got really into the monologue they were assigned. In the club, we will perform live with big puppets like they use on tv. For each of our puppets, we will use one of these monologues. They're fantastic! The kids we perform for will absolutely love the monologues!



5. a friend of mine gave me this book in preperation for a professional audition i had coming up and i found nothing in it worth performing. the conclusion that i came to is that the peices selected in the book are somewhat shallow and it's my opinion that if a young actor wants to "win" with whatever he/she is performing, that the material will need to be more real to life and personal to the performer. i don't meant to say that the book would not be usefull for acting excersises or cold reading work, i am, however, saying that young actors such as myself need more of a challenge in their performing than this book gives, especially for something as important as an audition.

3 comments about Perform at Your Best: Acting Techniques for Business, Personal & Social Success.

1. A friend gave me these cards as a gift. I was at first impressed by the box and the look and feel of the cards. A very nice coffee table friendly box set that's about the size of your hand, very eloquently designed. Upon opening the box ther is an introduction pamphlet and a credential page for the author, Jane Marla Robbins that gives the cards merit. The front of the cards have a cute cartoon with a question like "Want to walk into that party looking and feeling great?" When you flip the card over there are a couple of great, easy to read techniques that you can keep in your head and use in different situations. Postitive, humurous and very effective. Thumbs Up.



2. Witty, down-to-earth, practical advice in a fun format. A handy guide and morale-booster for anyone facing an unfamiliar audience. It's like having your own acting coach, with a sense of humor. I gave a set to my daughter who's just out of college and job-interviewing in San Francisco. It goes well with Acting Techniques for Everyday Life, the book by the same author. A little time taken to understand Ms. Robbins's approach to acting can have a surprisingly transformative effect on--yes--your every day life.



3. Jane Marla Robbins' cards have been extremely helpful in boosting my confidence level and are helping me make better impressions in my work and social life. I have always struggled with feeling insecure in difficult situations but after reviewing the cards and putting the techniques to use I feel I no longer have the same sense of dread going into situations that literally used to make me sick to my stomach. I plan on giving the cards as gifts to several friends who also struggle with low self esteem. The illustrations are very clever and funny and they help me visualize the techniques -- which makes it a lot more fun to practice learning how to feel more comfortable in difficult situations...but I'll still never act!

No comments about Romeo and Juliet (The New Cambridge Shakespeare).

5 comments about Foreign Dialects: A Manual for Actors, Directors, and Writers.

1. I bought this book as an amateur trying to coach dialects to actors in my local theatre. As a native English person, the information comes across as quite dated - it gives the impression that we brits still all walk around in London with bowler hats and rolled umbrellas calling each other "jolly good fellows" - but I found it fairly easy to pick out the bits and pieces that I needed to give the actors a general overview of various dialects, with enough detail to present a convincing voice to an American audience.



2. I bought this book to help me build and polish a cockney accent for my first acting role as an adult. I was cast as Alfred Doolittle in a local dinner theatre's production of My Fair Lady. My accent got the most favorable comments from the audience and fellow actors alike, many of whom asked me for pointers on pronunciation. This book is great, and speaking cockney has become so easy and natural to me that I find myself slipping into it without realizing it immediately. The pronunciation tips and examples were excellent. I cannot praise this book enough.



3. This book is proof that some information is eternal. I found the sections on European dialects fairly useful. However, I did not find the Asian dialects to be all that accurate and found the background information given on them to be of a rather politically incorrect (not to mention rather inaccurate) nature. But considering that the book was compiled in the 1940's (so says the first printing date in the version I have), that isn't all that shocking. The main reason why I have a hard time giving this book anything higher than three stars is that, like stated earlier, it does not use IPA, which is a far more accurate than the awkward system they used in the book. The system they use still has me boggled as to whether I am pronouncing the words correctly.



4. As you maybe can tell from the title, I'm reading the first chapter on Cockney accent and driving everyone around me bloomin' bonkers. It's a well written, detailed book. The hints on dialects are so insightful...I've always liked to do accents but the fine-tuning ideas make you go, "Oh, yeah! That's right!" when you try them. There are almost too many details...the authors give you so many tidbits on doing certain dialects that you would be unintelligible if you tried them all. They warn you about this, though. The authors not only cover vowel and consonant changes but also lilt, grammar, and common slang. I only wish it came with a companion CD; I learn well by listening and imitating.

   I definitely recommend this book and am planning on also purchasing "American Dialects".




5. If you haven't learned dialect basics using the International Phonetic Alphabet, then you might find this book useful. The author discounts the use of IPA by saying that to learn it to be practical in this book would require the reader learning the equivalent of 3 other alphabets. I disagree; most useful IPA characters comprise about 36 different figures, most of which are similar or identical to the english alphabet. And the authors' use of very confusing diphthong combinations and upper and lowercase letters, without a solid basis of understanding their pronounciation, left me stumbling over the examples listed. I got more from trying to piece together their drawn-out descriptions of each sound than their "simplified" symbols.

   If you're at all familiar with IPA, which is pretty much a standard for any dialect work you may learn, or any voice or articulation work, for that matter, you'd do better to avoid this book. The confusion is not worth the smattering of dialects (often bordering on the stereotypical) contained within.

5 comments about Superman Lives!.

1. This is a well done audio presentation with excellent production values and superb voice acting (the only problem I had was with Supermans voice but that was a minor issue). I enjoy relistening to this ever so often, it is really superb.



2. It follows the story pretty well. The abridgement didn't hurt the story. The author did a good job.



3. Worth the wait. The dramatization isn't the best of the best, but still has re-listenability.



4. I though that this was a pretty cool audio book myself. I had heard that it wasn't very good but I though it was. It did have the kind of cheesy drama effects in their voices at times, but that is to be expected with any audio book.I like to read the novel books based on comic characters so I do my best to get every one there is.Now I have really gotten into the audio books about them because I can listen to them in the car. This CD pretty much follow the "Death and life of superman" novel by Roger Stern. I have read the book and really liked it. I was confused a little in some parts but after listening to this CD I understand it perfectly. I would recommend this to any comic book fan. I would also love to see more comic audio CD's very soon.



5. In the tradition of the Mercury Radio Theater and radio masters like Stan Freeberg and Douglas Adams, this CD collection proves that anything visual mediums can do, radio can do even better.
   
   Excellent talent, flawless editing, magnificient sound effects and complete commitment to the story all come together to make this an outstanding audio experience.
   
   Though not a Superman fan myself, after listening to the BBC and Warner Brothers adaptations of Knightfall, I knew I had to hear this as well and I'm glad I did.

3 comments about The Origin of German Tragic Drama.

1. I found this book interesting. But my book, like that of a previous reviewer, completely fell apart upon the first reading. Frustrating to have to treat my NEW book like some loose sheaf of sibylline leaves bound together with rubber bands.



2. Benjamin has written a highly valuable book here. My concern is with Verso's treatment of it. The binding is horrible -- my edition literally fell apart on the first read. There are no annotations which, in a book as wide-ranging and dense as this, is a gross oversight. In short, a horrible edition of a great book. Find another version.



3. While it concerns baroque Trauerspiel (literally, "mourning play" or "lamentation play," not "tragic drama") this book is necessary reading for students of critical theory who don't have literature as a primary field of interest. In it, Benjamin develops his critique of allegory (which he later amended in his work on Baudelaire and would play a major role in The Arcades Project) as well as his method of philosphical history, which would decisively influence Theodor Adorno (see, for example, Adorno's book on Kierkegaard and his lecture "The Idea of Natural History"). Don't let the notoriously opaque prologue dissuade you from reading beyond the opening pages--the rest of the book has more stylistic and conceptual clarity (which doesn't mean it's easy!). In fact, you may want to skip the prologue and return to it after reading the body of the text. In any case, this book will give you a solid grounding for understanding the foundations of Benjamin's work--it should not be slighted. I deduct a star not because of Benjamin but because of the translation (less than sterling) and Steiner's introduction which, despite correcting the title's translation, restricts itself to literary concerns.

No comments about The Encyclopedia of Acting Techniques: Illustrated Instruction, Examples and Advice for Improving Acting Techniques and Stage Presence--From Tragedy to Comedy, Epic to Farce.

1 comments about Nail Your Next Audition, The Ultimate 30-Day Guide for Singers.

1. You owe it to yourself to take the next 30 days and apply the techniques given in this book to your plans. As you prepare for your next audition, the advice and accompanying worksheets will help to order your process and get you to thinking clearer about achieving a positive result. I'll be using the T-I-M-E and L-O-V-E techniques given by the author for my own future presentations even though I'm in a different field. The cover of the book is beautiful too!