5 comments about Zap the Gaps! Target Higher Performance and Achieve It!.

1. Blanchard and Co. are truly masters at developing a `business fable', and in this one they remind us to get to the root cause of a problem before moving to the solution stage. In this story, GAPS is an acronym for:
   (G)o for the "shoulds", or what should be happening
   (A)nalyze the "is", or what is the current status
   (P)in down the causes, or get to the root of the issue
   (S)elect the right solution, that is of course a solution that addresses the problem
   
   In getting to the "shoulds", we are reminded to start with the big picture (what is your business reason for existing), indentify the performance metrics that define success, and then benchmark how excellent performance is delivered by the best. Now, find out what is actually happening; segregating the internal work environment issues from individual or personal capabilities when doing so. Once you know the problem(s); match it/them with appropriate solution(s).
   Dennis DeWilde, author of "The Performance Connection"



2. The befuddled manager, the wise old man, some simplistic advice (what is the difference between where you are and where you want to be?). Nothing new, but some good basic reminders.



3. This very short read (thats a good thing) provides an excellent tool for biz problem solving. You can actually use the GAPS approach to solve ANY problem. I am adding the book to my permanent library. I loved it.



4. This is a very quick read. 1-2 hours and you're done. It's a cute little story about 2 people trying to improve quality and performance for their company. The story is about the advice they receive from a friend which is simple and presented well. It's really nothing you can't find in just about every other management book out there. Analyze the problem, look for options and choose the best method to fix it. If you're reading this, chances are you've read other management books. There isn't anything groundbreaking here. But there certainly isn't anything bad about it either. I personally would recommend "The Power of Six Sigma" by Subdir Chowdry over this. But you won't go wrong if you do decide to pick this one up.



5. Dr. Blanchard should stop putting his name on books others have written! This is deceptive to those readers who respect and trust his "brand." Has he no shame?!

5 comments about Theatre for Young Audiences: 20 Great Plays for Children.

1. Coleman Jennings is known in the theatre world for his vast knowledge of plays for young audiences, and this collection of plays is an excellent one. Jennings combines great plays in this book, ones that audiences and actors love! Great scenes for the classroom or for enjoying at home. EVERY classroom teacher should own this book!



2. This book is like new--beautiful! Thank you! Came fast and safe.



3. I love this book! The plays are deep and meaningful. Normally, my students would never want to read something so deep but since it is a play they are more motivated to do so. I like it a lot better than using novels because most of the plays are fairly short at least for 5th graders and up (They're about 10-20 pages long). This perfect for pulling lessons about story structure, characterizations, themes, and whatnot without having to read a full length novel or a lower level picture book.
   
   There is a lot to discuss in these plays. For example, we are reading The Ice Wolf in class today. This is a story about a little Eskimo girl who is rejected by her community because she looks different and was almost threw out in the snow to die by her own father. We were about to discuss the father's internal struggle to follow the ways of his people and the love of his own daughter with my 5th graders.
   
   Plays seem to be great motivators for my kids to read and discuss literature in a deeper way. These plays allow you do so in a 'just right' manner. You are putting the kids over their heads with Shakespeare or dumbing it down too much with other kiddie plays out there. I would recommend this for Intermediate/Upper Grades.



4. The person who received this book as a gift loves the plays in it for their class.



5. Coleman A. Jennings was a professor of mine at the University of Texas at Austin, and this collection was a required textbook for his class. Instead of selling back the book when the semester was over, I kept it, because the plays are such good ones. As the Booklist review says, the anthology includes original plays as well as adaptations of well-known folk and fairy tales.

   Quite the multicultural collection, many countries and cultures are represented: Cajun, Native American, African, Jewish, Eskimo, Southern Plantation, Russian, Central American, Japanese, and Scottish.

   The plays and authors included are: 1. Charlotte's Web - Joseph Robinette 2. The Arkansaw [sic] Bear - Aurand Harris 3. Really Rosie - Maurice Sendak 4. The Secret Garden - Pam Sterling 5. Wiley and the Hairy Man - Suzan Zeder 6. According to Coyote - John Kauffman 7. The Mischief Makers - Lowell Swortzell 8. The Wise Men of Chelm - Sandra F. Asher 9. Crow & Weasel - Jim Leonard 10. The Ice Wolf - Joanna H. Kraus 11. Home on the Mornin' Train - Kim Hines 12. The Falcon - Greg Palmer 13. The Man-Child - Arnold Rabin 14. Hush: An Interview with America - James Still 15. Bocón - Lisa Loomer 16. The Crane Wife - Barbara Carlisle 17. Jungalbook [sic] - Edward Mast 18. A Thousand Cranes - Kathryn S. Miller 19. The Yellow Boat - David Saar 20. Selkie - Laurie Brooks Gollobin

3 comments about As You Like It (The New Folger Library Shakespeare).

1. This is a pastoral romantic comedy that is set in the Middle Ages. The story is about four different sets of lovers who each represent the different faces of love. The characters are wonderfully portrayed. The setting is bucolic, and it is just so much fun. And, of course, the language is exquisite.



2. I recently re-read AS YOU LIKE IT prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of this play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Shakespeare (1564-1616) produced this romantic comedy in 1599 and published it in the First Folio in 1623.
   
   Summarizing the play is rather challenging. It basically tells the story of Duke Frederick, who has banished his brother, Duke Senior, into the Forest of Arden, thereby usurping the kingdom. In his exile, Duke Senior has found a humble life of merriment with his court. Following a wrestling match, Duke Frederick also banishes Orlando (son of the late Sir Roland de Boys) and Rosalind (daughter of Duke Senior) into the forest. At the match, the two have fallen into love at first sight. Out of friendhip, Duke Frederick's only child, Celia, and the court jester, Touchstone, follow Rosalind (now disguised as a boy, "Ganymede") into the forest. Soon, Orlando, Rosalind, Celia, and Touchstone are all welcomed into the merry life of banished Duke Senior. Orlando, however, is lovesick for Rosalind, and Rosalind (still disguised as a boy) decides to cure Orlando of his lovesickness. While counseling him in the ways of true love, Rosalind (disguised as Ganymede) finds herself falling deeper in love with Orlando. Meanwhile, Celia has fallen in love with Orlando's brother, Oliver. The two decide to get married the next day. Even witty Touchstone has fallen in love with a dull-witted goatherd girl, Audrey. In the final scene, and after many hilarious mixups, all romantic entanglements are resolved by marriage; and after a sudden religious conversion, Duke Frederick returns the throne to his brother--thereby righting all wrongs and uniting all couples by love and happiness.
   
   G. Merritt



3. As You Like It is one of Shakespeare's most beloved pastoral comedies. Banishment, disguises and love are the elements with which Shakespeare weaves his tale of several pairs of lovers who ultimately wind up marrying in the forest of Arden.
   The melancholy Jaques delivers one of Shakespeare's most familiar speeches regarding the seven ages of man. If you haven't read or seen a performance of As You Like It I highly recommend this paperback edition.
   The Folger Library editions are my favorite. Each page has a facing page that explains obscure terms and helps as a handy reference to make reading the plays pleasurable and educational. These paperback editions of Shakespeare's works are a great value and fit in your pocket.

5 comments about Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Show Biz Party.

1. This book is an easy read. A lot of the information in it isn't new, but there is some confirmation on various subjects.
   
   Frank Sinatra's loneliness powered his voice. He had a strong desire to have an entourage around him. This started with a group he called "the Varsity".
   
   Sinatra's interest in politics is explained by his mother's involvement in local politics.
   
   Frank's ties to the mafia are detailed and the relationship of organized crime with the Kennedy family are confirmed and detailed better than in some contemporary books. The Fischetti brothers, Sam Giancana, and other organized crime figures appear in the book. The real ownership of various casinos and how the entertainment industry was involved was interesting.
   Frank's gifts to Lucky Luciano and Sam Giancana was a new item to me.
   
   The Chapter entitled "One of these days it'll come out" has a ring of familiarity in it regarding JFK's assassination.
   
   The author does a good job chronicling the lives of the "Rat Pack" and their associates. Frank Sinatra is the main subject, but the others are covered well also.
   Entertaining book!



2. I WOULD GIVE THIS PIECE OF JUNK A MINUS 5 IF IT WAS POSSIBLE. THE AUTHOR IS PEDESTRIAN AND PEDANTIC. HE MEANDERS SLOWLY THROUGH THESE MEN AND ACTUALLY MAKES DEAN AND FRANK DULL. THAT TAKES A REAL ABSENCE OF SKILL.HE USES IS OWN ERRONEOUS INFO AS FACT. THERE ARE SO MANY BOOKS FAR SUPERIOR. HE OBVIOUSLY IS A SINATRA FAN WHICH IS FINE BUT PALLEY FRANK NEVER CAME CLOSE TO CROSBYS HEIGHTS OR RECORD SALES.FRANK ON HIS OWN LABEL DIDNT OUTSELL DEAN MARTIN EVER.DEAN WAS THE NUMBER ONE SELLER AT REPRISE ALWAYS.ALSO SINATRA WAS BIG IN THE USA , CROSBY WAS GOD IN THE USA AND THE WORLD. WATCH CROSBY VS. SINATRA IN THEIR TWO FILMS TOGETHER AND CROSBY WIPES THE FLOOR WITH FRANK AND -ALL THE CRITICS WROTE ABOUT THAT OFTEN.SINATRA WAS A PUNK AND ALWAYS A PUNK WHO NEEDED SYNCOPHANTS TO YES HIM. CROSBY WAS A MAN AND WENT HIS OWN WAY. LIKE BOGIE SAID OF SINATRA- HES A BOY WHO HAS NO MANNERS AND WILL NEVER GROW UP. DONT BOTHER WITH THIS BOOK. IT ISNT GOOD ENOUGH FOR TOILET PAPER.



3. Not a lot of new knowledge in this book. Most of it has been written about before but it was interesting to see how the author linked the lives of these men together to show how their relationships evolved over time. I enjoyed reading this book.



4. Rat Pack Confidential gives a 101 level course of the group, highlighting the fun they had together makes movies and showing off at the Vegas clubs. It then chronicles the toubles they had together (Why did Sammy alientate himself from Frank?) and then their downfalls as indvidiuals (Dean's descent into alcoholism). Longer books could (and have been) written about each of them indivdiually, but this succinctly captures their spirit in both the glamour and their squalor. It accomplishes what it sets out to do.



5. I found this book to be enlightening and enjoyable, filling in some gaps in my knowledge of the Rat Pack. It did, however, suffer from something that happens fairly often in popular histories, and that is a shading of facts to fit the premise of the book. In this case, the premise is that "It's Frank Sinatra's world, we're just living in it". Author Shawn Levy makes that point over and over again at every turn, sometimes making bold statements about Frank's superior style or entertainment abilities, which really was unnecessary and took away from the book, in my opinion.
   
   All-in-all, a good and informative read for Rat Pack fans.

5 comments about The Eight Characters of Comedy: A Guide to Sitcom Acting And Writing.

1. As an actress and a writer I was thrilled that this book helped me out in both fields. You get great ideas/inspiration for characters to write and great tips and tricks for acting out very specific characters. It's also quite great how the author talks about "types" of actors and characters and knowing yourself well enough to know who you will pull off well. I found myself discovering things about myself, not only as an actress, but as a person, which can only help in my portrayal of certain characters! Great read!



2. The "Eight Characters of Comedy" by Scott Sedita was absolutely fantastic! The book was incredibly informative to a writer and an actor, but also gives the audience/reader such an insight to how tv shows and film are created. It's a wonderful book. I recommend it to all!



3. I mean, seriously. Someone FINALLY sat down and wrote a book that deconstructs all the different characters (there's 8, by the way) that appear in comedy, sitcoms specifically. Sedita manages to set forth a simple, concise, easy-to-read (AND understand) method to determining, from an acting standpoint, WHICH character you are (I'm, surprisingly, a "lovable loser" and not, as I had hoped and dreamed, a "womanizer"), and which specific traits are most often and commonly associated with PLAYING these characters ("hopeful" and "optimistic" are two big ones for the "lovable loser"). I can only begin to tell you how incredibly helpful this book has been in my audition preparation and my character creation. If you've ever thought about acting, especially in comedy, PICK UP THIS BOOK!



4. Now I truly understand comedic timing! Sedita is a master at communicating the true technique of the comedic actor and how to apply it to your performance. I learned more from this book about acting than any other acting book I have read. He writes in simple straight forward terms that any actor can use to improve their performance and truly makes you respect the great comedic actors of our time. Thanks Scott!



5. Scott Sedita's Eight Characters of Comedy provides the actor and/or writer wonderful tools for making sit-com characters come alive! All artists interested in the world of sit-com will benefit from this book! And it's fun to read, too - Unique and incredibly insightful!

5 comments about How to Shoot a Feature Film for Under $10,000 (And Not Go to Jail).

1. This book is more funny than informative. Good for some leisure reading but not for anyone that is trying to find some serious insight on the subject.



2. Great book if you've never made a film before...if you've made 1 or a few of them, this is a decent review, but you probably already do all these things. The digital info is a little outdated as it was published in 2000.



3. This book is really great! I learned a lot, and at the same time wanted to keep reading more. The book is really funny, and made me laugh lots of times. Bret Stern is very clever at telling you things, and he makes it fun along the way. And you can understand all that he says! it dosen't just go over your head! I'm young, and just learning, and I highly recomend this book! its one of the best of its kind! From teaching you how to write in script format, to trying to get your film to a distributor, Bret Stern shows you all that!



4. The book opens with a classic 'real life' scene from Stern's life, written as a screenplay, and gets better from there. I highly recommend this book. The writing alone is well worth the purchase -- even if it weren't chock full of great info.
   
   "How to Shoot a Feature Film for Under $10,000 (And Not Go to Jail)" by Bret Stern was a great jaunt. This book is loaded with tips about what to do or not do, and how to do things cheaply and without permits -- and not go to jail.
   
   While the book may be a bit out of date in terms of 'the DV revolution', the tips are not. The guerilla shooting style presented in this book CLEARLY is among the best approaches to knocking out a movie on DV, perhaps even better than a film.
   
   The upside to shooting on DV vs film is cost, the downside is quality of image ... so subtract the cost of buying film ends and renting some film gear, and you STILL have costs for making a movie. So bottom line, Brent's book can still help broke movie-makers out AND have a chuckle at the same time.
   
   (threewaysmedia.com)



5. eh... good comedy book.... has some good advice for artists intrested in working with film... but im more of a digital person...
   good though i enjoyed reading it ^_^

3 comments about Literature - Reading, Fiction, Poetry and Drama.

1. I bought this book instead of buying the 2nd edition. I figured it would be exactly the same. It isn't. It has a lot of the same stories but some are missing, like "The Lottery." Luckily it's a book of short stories, so the stories that are missing you can get online. The price is worth the work. It's half the price of the new book. A paper back book is not worth 58 dollars. Buy this look up the other stories.
   
   Plus it's easy to navigate.



2. The book arrived in great condition and in a very timely manner. I would purchase from this seller in the future.



3. This book not only contains a lot of excellent literature, but it also gives instruction on how to read and analyze literature more effectively. This is a book I come back to again and again.

5 comments about Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style.

1. I'm sorry, but having actually read this I wonder if the author's editors were on holiday. While I can appreciate the point of view in discussing CG's fashion, throwing in colloquial terms like "dissed" into the text makes the over-all effort come off as less than serious. In this light the fact that the author spends an ENTIRE CHAPTER on CG's preference for women's underwear is downright creepy, and taken together it says more about the author than the subject of the book.
   
   Really, this is stupid stuff, and the only thing to recommend it are the pictures, but the pictures aren't enough.



2. THIS IS AN AMAZING LOOK AT MR. GRANT. THIS RANKS UP WITH RICHARD SCHICKLES BOOK CARY GRANT , A CELEBRATION.I LOVE GRANT AND HAVE ALL HIS MOVIES AND MOST BOOKS ON HIM EXCEPT THE SCHLOCK LIES.HIS ACTING AND COMEDIC TAKES ARE BEYOND EVEN CHAPLIN OR KEATON AND IN SITUATION COMEDY HE WAS PEERLESS.I WAS LUCKY TO BE IN THE AUDIENCE FOR "AN EVENING WITH CARY GRANT" IN STAMFORD ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY.HE WAS CHARMING, ERUDITE, SELF- DEPRECATINGLY FUNNY ABOUT HIMSELF AND HOLLYWOOD AND HIS FRIENDS LIKE CROSBY, SINATRA , FLYNN, COOPER,STEWART, ROGERS ETC.AN IT WAS ALL I HOPED FOR AND FAR MORE.THERE WAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER CARY GRANT.OUCH.THE ACADEMY AWARDS COMMITTEE SHOULD DIE IN SHAME THAT HE ONLY RECEIVED AN HONORARY OSCAR. I CAN NAME 3 FILMS HE SHOULD HAVE HE SHOULD HAVE WON FOR.GET THIS BOOK AND PUT IT OUT AS A STAR PIECE ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE.WHERE HAVE YOU GONE ARCHIE LEACH???



3. I bought this book believing it was about the Cary Grant style and tips on the varies aspects of dressing well. To my surprise it was really a very short biography on CG with lots and lots of photos. Now I gave it four stars and not lower because I actually enjoyed it. Even though I've read CG biographies I must say this book has photos that I've never seen before and so that tops the flaws I found in the style department.



4. This biography is unique in that it reveals a connecting thread in all the stages of Cary Grant's life: his attentiveness to style.
   
   Even in childhood Cary Grant was particular about the fabrics of his clothes. The book gives adequate treatment to his vaudeville and early Hollywood years and mentions some of his inspirations, such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
   
   Cary Grant did not have a stylist like many celebrities do today. After failing his first screen test he worked at minimizing his flaws by making adjustments in his wardrobe. The book covers the highlights of his movie career and I appreciated the many behind-the-scenes glimpses and quotes from other actors. The book devotes the most space to the movie To Catch A Thief, considered by some as the most stylish movie ever. It also devotes many pages to his marriage to his fifth wife, Barbara, whom he married in his 70's.
   
   Interspersed throughout are short features on topics such as pocket squares, jackets, dress shirts and bow ties. The book is loaded with photographs and is a pleasure to hold and to read. If you are a Cary Grant fan, or are simply interested in men's fashion, this book should not disappoint.



5. This book is very well done. After reading this book, I admired Mr. Grant even more. He was very deserving of admiration because he really worked hard at everything to achieve his status. The author did an excellent job.

5 comments about The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor.

1. This is a basically a conservatory training condensed into a book, without pretension, and with some well earned wisdom from working in the business. I use it time and time and time again from stage to film to TV. But anyone who wants to know what it means to be an actor, or work in the entertainment industry, should check this out. Well worth the price and investment.



2. Larry Moss is an amazing acting teacher!!! This book gives anyone who is even considering acting a chance to explore and learn all the ins and outs that this craft holds. He's brutally honest, which is something that more people should be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who acts, wants to act or just really loves actors.



3. Interesting book but mostly based on the author's points of view on acting and not well adapted as a source of information for new actors



4. This book is excellent! Larry Moss makes clear the terms that are commonly used in acting class (Objectives, intentions, relationships). I have heard these terms used many times in acting class, but didn't realize how important they are until I read this book. Larry Moss describes them in simple and pratical terms and uses examples from classic and current films.
   
   I broke down in tears after practicing the exercises taught in the "Emotional Trigger" chapter. I cannot wait to get new scripts in acting class so that I can utilize the skills that I learned in this book. I highly recommend this to any actor who wants to improve in their craft. This book was the Epiphany that I was waiting for!



5. Bravo!!! I love this book. As a professional Actress for over twenty five years I have read many books on the craft of acting and I must say next to Uta Hagen's respect for acting this is book runs a close second. Larry Moss knows his "stuff". He gives great insight to the reader and presents helpful exercises for the reader to use. This book is inspiring and exciting. If you aren't an actor you want to be by the time you finish reading this book. Larry Moss is truly one of our great Master Acting teachers of this Generation.

4 comments about Shakespeare and Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story.

1. This study of the circle of writers that made up the theatre world during Shakespeare's career provides both an excellent entry into the subject and also a refreshing reminder to students of the period of the diverse talent that surrounded and interacted with Shakespeare. I particularly enjoyed the opening chapter that gives us a sense of the theatre business in the Elizabethan/Jacobean period and a flesh and blood kind of context for the writers that subsequent chapters will illuminate. I found the study quite readable and well-paced, as well as useful to understanding and evaluating some of the more polemical studies of the period and its most prominent writer. The greatest attribute of the study may be that it makes one want to go back and read or re-read many of the works of Shakespeare's contemporaries.



2. This book is excellent in establishing Shakespeare's context among the other playwrights of his time. I only wish the author had devoted as much time and energy to discussing the later writers (especially Middleton and Webster) as he did with the earlier chapters on Marlowe and Jonson. But for those who think Shakespeare was the only fellow writing plays at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, this is a must-read. Hopefully, someone out there will now read the works of these lesser-known (but wonderful!) English Renaissance dramatists.



3. Stanley Wells is one of the great Shakespeare scholars of this, or any other, generation. His work on the Oxford edition of the Complete Works, the Textual Companion, the Dictionary of Shakespeare and, if I can mention a personal favorite, Shakespeare for All Time, assure his enduring reputation. It was with keen anticipation I picked up this book, then, and I was not disappointed. The book is not groundbreaking, by any means, but is pleasant, erudite, and consistently interesting. It is the best introduction I know to placing Shakespeare in the theatrical currents of his time and tracing his interactions, such as they can be known, with his less famous, though greatly gifted, contemporaries Marlowe, Jonson, Dekker, Middleton, Fletcher, Webster and the rest.
   
   In an age such as ours where otherwise serious people can become preoccupied with crank, dilettantish ideas like the Oxford wrote Shakespeare nonsense so much in circulation, how likely is it those same serious people have taken the time to read Shakespeare's less well known fellows? They have, perhaps, read Dr. Faustus in an English lit survey class, and know about Marlowe because, after all, HE might, just maybe, be the one who really wrote at least some of Shakespeare's plays, but certainly they have not read either part of Tamburlaine, or A Trick To Catch The Old One, or The Shoemakers Holiday. Need enough, then, that a thoroughgoing, popular introduction to the lives and masterpieces of some of Shakespeare's contemporaries deserves a home on our bulging Shakespeare bookshelves.
   
   The first sentence of the Preface says "This book attempts to place Shakespeare in relation to the actors and other writers, mainly playwrights, of his time in an accessible and where possible entertaining manner" (ix). And so it does, with, speaking for myself, at least, emphasis on "entertaining." I found the book enormously likable. If you are familiar with the period and the authors being treated, you will find nothing new, but a non-specialists book surveying a rather broad field does not attempt to present novel interpretations, but rather can be relied on to deliver the state-of-the-art scholarly understanding of these authors and their works in a pleasant style. Wells's scholarly status guarantees the most dependable understanding of the times and writers, and his gifts as a writer makes reading a joy.



4. A fun, fast read...If your looking for who wrote Shakespeare other the Shakespeare you will be disappointed...Prof. Wells though speculates on who may have collaborated with Shakespeare on some plays a little more freely the other academics might but don't look for a smoking gun...the best passage in the book in my opinion is Prof. Wells description of the death of Marlow, it is vivid and would make a great story for any High School Lit. teacher to use to spice up her/his Jr. Eng. Lit. class.
   
   If you are into Shakespeare I think you will find "Shakespeare & Co.:..." a great read.