5 comments about The Truth About Being an Extra: How to Become a Good Background Actor.

1. "The Truth about Being an Extra: How to Become a Good Background Actor" by Jo Kelly is an amazing book. Finding each and every page interesting, exciting and filled with valuable information, I read it nonstop from beginning to end. I even found valuable information in the introductory sections before the first chapter and in the information at the end of the book. I devoured this book with enthusiasm from cover to cover! Jo Kelly's writing style is friendly, informative, encouraging, and easy to understand. She provides examples of scams and problems she encountered early in her career as a background actor, and explains how she eventually received many successful jobs in background acting once she learned the ropes. She also provides lists- -including addresses and phone numbers- -of legitimate casting agencies for background actors. After reading Jo Kelly's book, I felt that becoming a background actor is a very real possibility, and that it would be tremendous fun!



2. In "The Truth About Being An Extra", Jo Kelly (founder of Background Actor Seminars) draws upon her years of professional experience as a veteran background actor and her personal insights as a former celebrity wife to reveal "inside secrets" to becoming a successful "background actor", that is, one of those folks you see in movie and television scenes of crowds, passers-by, restaurant diners, etc. Readers will also learn of scams and pitfalls that can happen to naive actors accepting walk-on, background roles in movies, television and commercials when they register with casting agencies. A compendium of solid film industry information, invaluable advice for newcomers, illustrative anecdotal stories of her own experiences, practical tips for securing background acting jobs, locating legitimate casting agencies, as well as becoming both comfortable and professional on the set, "The Truth To Being An Extra" should be found in every college Theatre Department's reference collection and considered "must reading" for anyone aspiring to a background acting gig.



3. This is a quick read that is full of interesting tidbits of information providing a rare glimpse into the world of working as a background actor in the movies. It is not a detailed guide by any means but it does give the reader an overview of many things aspiring "extra" needs to consider as they travel this career path.
   
   Author Jo Kelly comes across as knowledgeable and very personable in her style of writing. Kelly generously shares her knowledge to help newcomers avoid some of the mistakes she made. Her numerous stories from the trenches offer insights into how the real world works and serves up helpful warnings for the neophyte.
   
   The author offers many very specific recommendations with all the necessary contact details. Unfortunately, for readers outside California, the contacts in "The Truth About Being An Extra" seem to only apply for those in Los Angeles (Hollywood). Other interested readers could probably use these listings as a guide and seek out comparable resources in their own part of the world. For example, Canadian actors might find the book useful for its general advice but then need to go a step further. They would need to seek out the agents, agencies, and specific organizations that are relevant in Canada if that's where they plan to start their career as a background actor.
   
   Kelly discusses both general and specific issues. She mentions child actors, parents of child actors, and actors with disabilities as examples of situations with unique considerations. The glossary of the vocabulary used in the industry adds even more clarity.
   
   As a complete outsider to the world of movie making, I came away feeling I had a bit of insider knowledge about the day-to-day reality of a career as a movie extra. It was a bonus to also learn Kelly's fascinating personal story about how she happened to write this book. Widowed in the early 1990's, her original goal was to make a career change by breaking into the world of background acting! Once she learned to be a good movie extra, she then moved on to give presentations, run seminars, and write this book.
   
   What makes this story within the story so interesting is that she had a major hurdle to overcome first - she had to conquer her fear of public speaking. She gladly credits Toastmasters for helping her deal with that challenge. And the rest, as they say, is history.



4. Author and veteran movie extra Jo Kelly candidly shares her experience in the field of background acting for films in Los Angeles, CA. Included in this handy guide is contact information for casting agencies and casting agenies, calling services, production studios, and tips for how to join the Screen Actors Guild. The business of background acting (from tracking expenses, finding the location of the shoot, and where to turn for tax preparation help) are also covered. This is an excellent gift book for any aspiring actor interested in learning the ropes of show business and finding his-or-her way around LA. Give one to your community theatre director and pass the information on to others who'd like to work as a movie extra.



5. A great little book for anyone interested in getting into the "extra" game. Jo Kelly gives lots of very practical advice and good "do's and don'ts" for the first-timer. I especially liked her guidance for those about to appear as a background actor for the first time--she takes away some of the fear of the unknown and tells you the most important things to be aware of BEFORE you step on the set. She also provides excellent resources for child casting, calling services, talent agencies, and scams you may encounter as you get into the field. Definitely recommended for anyone thinking about being an extra, or anyone who has done it and wants to learn more.

5 comments about The Taming of the Shrew (Dover Thrift Editions).

1. This is not the book I ordered--If it was a book for personal reading I would have no problem, but it was ordered for academic purposes.
   It did arrive in a timely manner though.



2. The whole Cambridge series is very valuable. It offers helpful footnotes without cluttering the page, and actually indicates within the text when a footnote will appear. Text appears on right-hand side, and left-hand page offers thoughtful questions and activities to spur engagement, including comprehension and analysis, get-out-of-your-seats and act, and staging/directorial decision-making, and thematic extensions.



3. "The Taming of the Shrew," by William Shakespeare, is, essentially, about the taming of a shrew. However, in this case, the shrew is in fact a woman, not an animal. The best translation of shrew into modern English is a stubborn, mean woman. About half of the book is about courting, marriage and domesticating Katherine, the shrew. The other half is about Bianca, Katherine's sister, and her dozen suitors.
   
   Being written by Shakespeare, "The Taming of the Shrew" is well regarded in academic eyes. This fame is not entirely deserved. The play is blessedly short, but lacks a solid plot. What plot the story contains is throughly confused by how indistinguishable the characters are. Two thirds of the cast's names end in `io,' making it almost impossible to tell them apart. The theme of male domination is adequately achieved throughout the book. In the end, man triumphs over woman, but has not succeeded entirely in domesticating her. This play is far less amusing than the rest of Shakespeare's works, for they contain a mostly understandable plot.



4. OK, I know I'm going to get hammered for this; once again, there goes my reviewer rating. But I just HAVE to be honest: this is a terrible story. OK, being that it's Shakespeare, it's prettily told, but it's still a HORRIBLE story, and I can't imagine why otherwise sensible people like it. Perhaps they feel that Shakespeare is telling it tongue-in-cheek (it IS a comedy, after all) and poking fun at the system of fathers marrying off their daughters without any concern for whether they want it or not; that would almost make it tolerable, if I could believe it. But given that it IS a Shakespearean comedy, we must assume that the ending is supposed to be a "happy" one, and the situation at the end is far from pleasant. Or perhaps people believe (I've heard this claimed in all seriousness) that Kate has actually "triumphed" at the end, having figured out how to manipulate Petruchio so as to get her way subtly and underhandedly. Even if this were true, I'd hardly consider it a "happy" ending, and personally, I see little evidence of it.
   
   No, what we actually have here is a story of a strong woman (some people seem to like it simply because there IS a strong woman to be found in it) being married against her will to a scheming golddigger who "Tames" her by blatent if indirect spousal abuse (he doesn't beat her, simply starves her and sleep-deprives her, as well as forcing her to wear muddy rags until she behaves exactly as he wants, up to and including winning him a bet by lecturing her contemporaries on their duties as obedient wives.) Her spirit may or may not be broken, depending on how the part is played, but the fact remains that she's forced to BEHAVE as if it is, and that's not a message that should be bruited about in a "comedy". This is absolutely the WORST of Shakespeare's plays.



5. Unlike any other Shakespeare's plays, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has an induction, which lives up to its name in the sense that the prologue scene does indeed lead into the play that follows. It seems likely that Shakespeare had adopted the device from medieval narrative poetry, where it was extensively used to introduce a story in the form of a dream. In the induction, far more is involved than the mere setting of a scene and the informing to audience. In fact, Christopher Sly seems to have lapse into a dream as he is forced to adopt a new identity. The brief yet vigorous altercation between Sly and the hostess with which the induction begins is a curtain raiser for the dramatic struggle between Petruchio and Katherina that is to follow. Equally as significant is the Lord's instructions to his servant-boy as to the behavior he is to assume when he appears disguised as Sly's wife forebode the main theme of the play.
   
   THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has a powerful appeal for the Elizabethan audience at the time it opened because the struggle for mastery in a marriage remained a fact of existence and hot topics for writers. A true-to-life domestic scene opens the play and instantly grasps attention: Signor Baptista forbids all suitors to court his younger daughter Bianca until he finds a husband for the ill-tempered, difficult, and waspish elder daughter Katherina. She is notorious for her hot temper, foul tongue, and caprice. Out of jealousy and the qualm not remaining single, she often vents out her anger on her sister. Suitors of the younger sister, who decide to put aside their rivalry, contrive to find a match for Katherina.
   
   Gremio and Hortensio bear the cost of Petruchio's courting Katherina while Lucentio, who is madly in love with Bianca, and his crafty servant Tranio cunningly switch role to infiltrate the Baptista house. What inevitably follows is a facetious pursuit of love and a farcical melodrama that culminate in a riotously funny final scene in which Lucentio's real father, who has no clue of his son's betrothal, confronts the pedant-disguised impostor who reverse-accuses him of a charlatan. Equally as clueless of the entire crafty scheme is Baptista whom the suitors have tricked and outmaneuvered. He is consistently mistaken about everything and everybody, so that he does not even understand why Bianca later asks for his forgiveness. He and Vincentio are merely the butts for all the intrigues that go on throughout the play.
   
   THE TAMING OF THE SHREW maintains an irresistible appeal among the comedies owing to the intriguing trickery with which characters rival for courtship. Just as suspenseful and entertaining is Petruchio's calculated, punctilious campaign to tame his wife. His line of attack is psychological, although persuasive words carefully planned for each step accompany his actions. He somehow outsmarts his wife and deliberately outdoes her in his perversity and bad temper. The quintessential spleen of tantrum flourishes in the scenes in which Petruchio abuses his servants and tailor. His being abusive, tyrannical, violent, and capricious functions more than a reflection - it is evident of a caricature of Katherina through an exaggerated parody of her wild behavior. His evaluation of her mind is confirmed by her softening and surrender for she welcomes the opportunity of meeting an antagonist who will put up a good fight.
   
   THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is highly rhetorical (even more so than AS YOU LIKE IT). Whether it is Petruchio's aggressive, vituperative taming or the milder courting of Bianca, the play never lacks an elite style with which Shakespeare exploited language to a linguistic virtuosity. For example, Petruchio's taming distinguishes from the usual method that might involve violence. What differentiate his campaign are the subtlety, the sophistication, and the ingenuity of his conceiving of Katherina's mind. His perspicacious mind justifies the use of highly rhetorical, puny, and literary discourse that somehow alienates the ordinary speech in the play and paradoxically brings in a fuller, more intimate possession of his witty scheme.

5 comments about Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women.

1. A delightful book covering some of the most unique and entertaining acts presented over the years in Side Shows,Circuses,Stages,and famous Rooms in Europe and America.Although I remember going to Carnivals,Side Shows and the Circus since I was a kid in the late 40's and after.I also remember many great Magic and Illusion Shows over the years ,brought right into our home via Television.I always had a preference for the side act,oddities,daredevils,illusionists,etc., over the animal acts.Yes,I can still see the Monkey Woman,the King and Queen of the Midgets at home in their Castle in Montreal. Then there was the World's Smallest Horse,The Alligator Boy ,whose body was covered in scales,the man without arms who drew portraits with chalk using his feet, A Flea Circus where real fleas did all kinds of things,even pulling a tiny carriage, and on and on.
   What surprised me most about this book is that many,even most of the people and acts covered were new to me.I guess this sort of stuff was more popular in the 18th,19th and early 20th Centuries and more so in Europe than America.I really haven't seen much in recent years. I guess Political Correctness and activist groups have had a major impact on these acts and people. The media is forever doing a story about mistreatment of animals in the Circus etc. Maybe the diversions this kind of entertainment gave us did us more good than realized.I know as kids we waited with anticipation for the Circus to come to town and particularly the Side Shows that accompanied them. I can tell you one thing,there was no need to drug up the kids on Ridlin,then,like you see today.
   For my money,I would far prefer to watch an act like La Roche climbing the spiral tower while inside a sphere;than any Olympic event.To me ,shaving one hundredth of a second off some record I've seen hundreds of times is pure boredom.It seems that the most excitement is created with announcers debating calls by referees ,judges or as a last resort;who has failed a steroid test or broke some rule.
   So, if you ever saw a good Side Show, saw some great feat of magic or illusion;this book will give you some wonderful memories of how entertaining this all was.It is jam packed with photographs and wonderful illustrations ;both in color and B&W. You may have to make a bit of an effort to find this book.It is out of print, but thanks to finding books on the Net now,It is available at a wide range of prices and some even signed by the author.It is a "must have" for anyone who loved this form of entertainment that may become a thing of the past.All we can hope for is a revival.



2. "Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women" is a tour of peculiar performance through the ages by modern master and scholar of the magic arts Ricky Jay. Each of the book's 17 chapters is dedicated to a different type of performer that awed audiences with his or her unusual skill or expert illusion. These are not all practitioners of misdirection or deception. Many are people who possessed very real unusual mental or physical talents. And some were not even human. There are scholarly pigs and horses, slight-of-hand artists, hypnotists, faith healers, poison resistors, and mind readers. Also featured are painters who happened to be limb-less, a blind and dumb musical prodigy, daredevil divers, mnemonic sensations, sword swallowers, musical farters, a man who could grow 6 inches at will, and more.
   
   The book does not attempt to be comprehensive on its subjects. Ricky Jay limits himself to "pioneers or refiners of peculiar performance". The truly extraordinary and inventive, not their many imitators. So many famous and impressive performers are not included. Ricky Jay's writing is precise, fluid, and conveys his admiration and awe at these human oddities and pioneering showmen. Jay's occasional references to his own experiences when they are relevant add interest. There are black-and-white reproductions of posters, playbills, and other illustration throughout. In the center of the book are 16 pages of full-color poster reproductions. "Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women" is an education in eccentric performance and the unusual, determined individuals who have created it. And it's great fun.



3. In Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Ricky Jay takes on the history of oddball performers: men who claimed to cram their entire bodies into quart jars, armless ladies who could paint miniatures holding a brush between their teeth, gentlemen whose specialty was to enter large ovens accompanied by raw meat and exit (unharmed) with fully-cooked steaks, as well as mind readers of all sorts and species (human, pig, and horse).

   Organized into chapters by skill by oddball skill, Jay is sometimes able to document such performers back into the 1700s by tracking newspaper reports, handbills, etc., many of which are reproduced in color plates and black-and-white photographs.

   Ricky Jay occupies an engaging hole in intellectual space between enthusiast and academic. He is comprehensive in the extreme, but his writing style is anecdotal and he does not go for any elaborate sociological explanation of why such performers exist or what they `mean' to society. He just wants you to have fun, and perhaps to freak you out just a wee bit.

   The book is also very nicely designed; its large wide pages lie flat and there are loads of remarkable illustrations. Definitely worth a look!




4. As a magician and card wielder Ricky Jay is fascinating to watch as well as listen to. As a writer Mr. Jay also brings his own fascination at the work of others to play and writes a truly well-written, very interesting and enlightening book about the arcane world of many sometimes downright odd entertainers.

   Thorough in his presentation of details Mr. Jay's book is well-researched and his appreciation and awe for these unique people makes us quite enthralled as we read page after page about performers such as Le Petomaine, with his unusual ability to produce sounds of musical quality from a most unusual source on his body.

   Ricky Jay, besides being fascinating to watch, is also fascinating to read.




5. This wonderful book profiles some of the most unusual entertainers of all times: calculating pigs and acrobatic horses, stone eaters, poison resisters, daredevils, and mind readers. The contents of this meticulously researched and lovingly presented book often boggle the mind, inducing, at times, a wonderment that is nearly stupefying. Profusely illustrated with contemporary broadsides, lithographs, and photographs, the book is also enlivened by JayÕs seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of each performerÕs antecedents, biography, and critical reception. Engrossing from start to finish, but particularly notable for JayÕs account of the controversial career and bizarre death of mind reader Washington Irving Bishop, whose story beggars imagination. Also not to be missed is the final chapter on Joseph Pujol, whose career as Le PŽtomane was based on his ability to create music and sound effects with the least reputable of bodily orifices. A treasure

2 comments about The Pope and the Witch: and The First Miracle of the Baby Jesus (Modern Playwrights).

1. This is a work of scathing satire and brilliant wit, it's no wonder that Fo won the Nobel Prize!!! A must read for anyone who loves freedom!



2. What a waste of valuable trees to produce this garbage. Environmentalists should be outraged.

No comments about Production Design in the Contemporary American Film: A Critical Study of 23 Movies and Their Designers.

No comments about Dance, Spectacle, and the Body Politick, 1250-1750.

3 comments about Manor House: Life in an Edwardian Country House.

1. If you share my opinion that Manor House is one of the best reality series, you'll enjoy this book. As thorough as the series was, there are reams or reels or whatever of footage that never made it onto TV, so this book provides more information about Edwardian life, the participants and events of the series. It's an oversize book which unfortunately makes for awkward reading -- and it does have a lot of text that you'll want to read. However, the size makes for good display of photos, including many taken in Edwardian times and even at Manderstone, the house where the series was shot. So you see that they really did dress up in a thousand items of clothing just to watch cricket on the lawn or stroll around the grounds. A fascinating addition to a well-made series. I loved the series and could have watched ten times what they showed on TV and therefore really appreciate this book.



2. I missed most of the series on PBS, but what I saw looked very good, much better than the earlier 1900 House. This book is the companion to the TV program and is really better suited to those who have seen it as I found some parts a little confusing due to not having watched most of it.
   The book gives a good background on the house itself but is skimpy on the program, reads almost like it is about a real Edwardian family, no details on family selection or what happened after their stay was over.
   All of the photographs are very good, the little extra sections on the cast I found interesting (likely would've been better if I'd actually seen the show), the side bits on foods and other items were even interesting.
   I did notice that, as in 1900 House, the experts setting up made a surprising blunder, here they forgot to check the possibility that a decades unused chimney might be blocked (which it was). Another thing I found little mention of was the Silver stair railing (does the show mention it?), something so unusal and only a couple of photo captions about it.
   Not enough to be a time travelers textbook but a very good companion to the series.



3. This is an excellent companion to the Manor House series on PBS. It combines the historical background of the Edwardian period, information about each of the participants in the project, recipes and instructions for making items seen in the series, and information that was not shown during the series, such as the story behind the pig's head (and whether Monsieur Dubiard was trying to gross out the Oliff-Coopers) and more about Guy's education (a surprise there!). I only wished it had information on the selection process and what happened after the series ended.

5 comments about Death and the King's Horseman (Modern Plays).

1. This is a definate must read. Written as a poetic play, Soyinka captures the Yoruba experience during the British occupation of Nigeria. It captures their perception of their colonizers, their religious ideologies in sharp contrast with that of the British, their political stance including about Yoruba persons who worked for the British at the time(hence, the mimic men/women) and their trauma and lamentations regarding the slave trade. The title refers to a specific issue that main protagonists will struggle with, leading to the Yoruba/British clash of religious and political ideologies. The result unveils the hypocracy of forced-conversion and explores issues of (in)humanity, suicide and freedom by examining each group's relationship with their leaders, their understanding of the divine God(s) and destiny. This book is one of the texts used in African literature classes.



2. Soyinka both entertains and asks subtle questions about mass psychology, individual psychology, and universal human struggles of the will.



3. In this play Soyinka gives such roundness to his characters that it is hard for some to decipher their goodness or "badness" as characters. The play is a story of the western colonizers' failure to recognize African culture as substantial. The play deals with the Yoruba religion and a specific ritual that is thwarted by an ignorant colonizer who does so for reasons traced back to ethnocentricity and racism. The man who is deemed to kill himself is pitied by the westerners and this shows their hippocrisy. By demanding that suicide was immoral and could not be a spiritual endeavor they denied the status of one of the most important men to grace Western Civilization with their presence: Jesus Christ. Christ gave himself away the same way that the character in this play does and did so for spiritual reasons that transcended himself.
   THe play gives great insight into African culture and builds with intensity to a hugely climatic ending that is rewarding for the reader to experience.



4. At a university seminar in the US recently, Prof. Soyinka was asked to respond to charges by certain critics that his writing wasn't 'African' enough. He responded, saying "The people who say these things, I refer to as neo-Tarzanists, people whose Africa is the Africa of Tarzan, swinging from tree to tree. That's not my Africa", he said, to a standing, thunderous ovation. It is difficult to imagine a writer in English today with a wider grasp of the language. Some of his work is unbelievable - metaphor, irony, the supernatural, interwoven with tragedy, lyricism, and language. Top-draw.



5. Hello! And welcome to my review of Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman. In my opinion the book lacked suspense, a characteristic I admire in a piece of work. It wasn't completly mundane but neither was it the kind of book I can't put down once I start reading. What I did in fact like about this play was Soyinka's use of language. The characters in the play expressed themselves through Soyinka's thoughtful words. There were some passages that stuck with you even after reading the play. For instance "There is only one home to the life of a river-mussel; there is only one home to the life of a tortoise; there is only one shell to the soul of a man: there is only one world to the spirit of our race. If that world leaves it's course and smashes on boulders of the great void, whose world will give us shelter?" That right there is one of my favorite passages. When reading this play expect more of these philosophical character monologues. The play also had some situational irony. Some roles were reversed while others were forgotten. It also introduced you the culture and traditions of Africa. The tension builds throughout the play and explodes in the end. But I don't want to give it all away. If you like the kind of pieces which explore foriegn cultures than this might be your bag. Personally I wouldn't have read this book if I didn't have to.Anyways thanks for reading my review...I'm out!

5 comments about Little Ballerinas (Grosset & Dunlap All Aboard Book).

1. [Latest line on the Little Ballerinas: the publishers have caught and corrected the misprint! That should be good news--or it could be bad news should this author become the next Emily Dickenson, Sylvia Plath, or Toni Morrison. A first edition with a missing letter "s" could drive the price up into rarefied collector's territory. Therefore, should you have the defective edition, be careful not to let your little ones get their hands on it!]
   
   To the reviewer who issued the cryptic statement that she was "shocked" because the book has what must be a "misprint"--I was prepared to find something erotic, perverse, horrifying, nauseating, sensational, or even politically incorrect. It's just a lousy typo. Had the reviewer chosen to be more helpful, she might have specified what it is--the omission of the initial letter "s" in the word "show." If it disturbs you as much as the preceding reviewer, simply use a thin black pen to insert the wayward "s." Or make up another story to tell your young reader: "Show" me "how" (fill in the blank, "to do a pirouette"?). I don't think that a single typo damns a convivial, charming, communicative little story (my 3-year-old granddaughter didn't either). It's fine to point it out (keep those publishers and proof-readers on their toes!), but wasn't there something to talk about in addition to the errant "s"?



2. This is a informative book for children who like ballet! Great pictures that show how to practice at home and what ballet classes look like.



3. There is an evident misprint on the back of the book. I am shocked it actually got published.



4. My niece is obsessed with all things ballet. She is 7 and loves all the color and pictures.



5. My little girl is four and she loved this book...a favorite!!!

5 comments about Samba.

1. If you are interested in learning the true roots of Samba and Brazilian Carnaval(and not just the obligatory blurbs that you see in guidebooks), then this book is an absolute must for you to read. Alma Guillermoprieto does a superb job describing the rich religious, historical, and socioeconomic roots of Brazilian Carnaval and Samba - both of which have become famous around the world, yet remain remarkably poorly understood.

   Guillermoprieto writes in a very engaging, enjoyable style, which occassionally seems more like an engrossing novel than a non-fiction work. If you have ever been curious to learn more about Brazilian culture, this is the book to start with!




2. Guillermoprieto is both a skilled writer and a serious scholar. That combination makes this erudite, and exceedingly detailed study of the black underclass in Brazilian society both readable and engaging. She employs an inductive approach, using the culture surrounding the Samba and Carnival in Rio as a base for exploring the status of blacks in Brazilian society and the many contradictions and ironies in light of their prevailing influence in all levels of Brazilian culture.

   The story is fascinating and the author admirable, because in order to learn and effectively represent the culture of the Samba and black Brazilian society (which she pretty effectively demonstrates are in many ways largely synonymous) she not only joined a Samba club in order to participate in Carnival, but also moved into the favelas of Rio.

   Guillermoprieto depicts the injustice of the blacks' fate in Brazil in a dispassionate, yet also very poignant and sympathetic manner. She allows the compelling facts to represent themselves without embellishing them with personal assessments, which makes her writing that much more powerful.

   This is really a great book: a fascinating story about the complex organization and serious part of the Brazilian economy that the Samba and Carnival comprise, and a distinctive and holistic representation of black Brazilian society and the rest of that nation in its reflection.




3. For an author whose first language is spanish, her skill in writing in english has to be commended -but she ain't Borges. Planning a research trip/adventure for a year in Rio, and then writting about her life there obviously demonstrates Guillermoprieto's ability to earn money by doing what she likes. Her style is journalistic and if you've never visited a third world country you can get a good idea from her observations of what living in one, as an average citizen, is like, eg. people accustomed to little prosperity evidently will go to great lengths for entertainment, and to achieve a feeling of importance. If you want to learn about samba, well- guillermoprieto is not omniscient. Conclusion: If you want to read something, you could do a lot worse than this book, but it's not a keeper. get it from the library.



4. This is a good book written by a journalist who consistently produces some of the most insightful work on Latin America in the U.S. print media. Writing from a journalist's perspective about her own experiences as a white Mexican living in Brazil it's a great read. I was captivated when I read it. Other reviewers are correct, there are better studis of all the subjects she covers, and as a Latin American historian, lusophile, and student of Capoeira I could find flaws to; here historical sections are simplistic, etc. But why bother? She did live there and join a Samba school, she freely admits her limitations, concerns, and desires, and she writes like a dream. That is hard to find and worth reading.



5. Samba is a highly personal account by a journalist who takes us into the center of the carnival experience in Rio, seen from the point of view of a very poor neighborhood with a rich carnival tradition. Through this we learn worlds about Afro-Brazilian culture, the notion of "exotic" as often applied to the tropics, and about Ms. Guillermoprieto's fascinating way of understanding and relating, as a Mexican, to a powerful Latin tradition quite other than hers. While there are some problems of organization, this is a very informative book, but mostly I found it fun, and it made me want to be in Rio and to dance.