2 comments about One on One: The Best Women's Monologues for the Nineties (Applause Acting Series).

1. this book is alright, there arent many monoloques and I really didnt find more than 5 which I liked enough to play with. by monoloques for the 90s, they mean monoloques pertaining to topics and issues which were prevalent in this decade, also most of the monoloques are somber, few are comical or light, i would not recommend this for the beginner



2. I was able to find pieces in this book not only for my college acting courses, but also for auditions for graduate school. It was truly very helpful, with a variety of types of characters to choose from. I would recommend it to anyone.

5 comments about Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses.

1. This book is a fun, quick read. The quotes at the start of each chapter are very good. I had hoped for more from Bo on her insights re: horses.



2. "Riding Lessons" is not worth the time to read. Look at the pictures, if you wish, but read something else. Ms. Derek certainly looks good on a horse, but her writing skills wouldn't earn her a passing grade in high school. Disjointed, self-centered and immature, "Riding Lessons" appears to have been written by a giddy, clueless teenager. I gave it two stars because it does have a section of color photographs, otherwise, it would be a "one".



3. This wasn't a bad book at all, and I admit to having been conditioned by my society to believe that Ms. Derek wasn't the smartest fish in the school. This, believe it or not, is a simple story, told simply. Although she has had fantastic encounters with the rich and famous and travelled widely the world over, Ms. Derek writes a story of a life spent just as enjoyably in a quiet world as in the fast lane variety. Her story is told honestly, with no baloney thrown in, and I was very impressed at how honestly she dealt with herself. She pulled no punches (which I liked) but didn't make herself out to be a saint either. John Derek comes across as an honest and complicated human being and not the glorified star that some people believed. All told, this was an enjoyable read.



4. I was a little disappointed in the title after I had read the book...hoping it would be more about how horses affected her life. I was left with the sad impression that she is a little more shallow than I believed. The stories don't lead to any deep revelations...they leave you hanging. I hope she is more colorful than these stories portray her to be.



5. It seems that this book was put together rather hastily, as there is not much depth here. You will be disappointed if you were expecting a nice celebrity biography (or just a biography). It seems that Bo wants the readers to believe that she is more than a 'bimbo' but there is not much evidence in the book. Often, she talks about how she didn't have an interest of her own but was content to follow her husband's passion. She admits that she doesn't read much at all. There are numerous 'admissions'like this mixed with incidents that do show her wiillful self: 1)refusing the life cover 2)being a producer for a porn film and other films that she starred in 3)supporting Bush campaign.

   At the end, she states that she purposefully didn't try to portray John, her husband, because she didn't want to misportray him. However, the lack of his presence in the book is just too glaring. I wish there are more indepth discussion about how she felt about him , how she saw him, what about him that she loved, how she changed over the time, etc.

   Even the episode that she describes about Jane Fonda trying to be a matchmaker for Ted Tuner and herself, comes off shallow in terms of her reaction. To normal people, it is strange for Jane to try to introduce her husband (they were by then separated) to Bo. However, Bo lived an unconventional life where she was friends with all ex-wives of her husband. Even here she comes off as little airhead.

   Before reading this book, I always imagine Bo Derek as beautiful, mysterious, and spiritual with lots of inner strength. But this book convinced me otherwise. I am curious how John Derek, a man of many passion and interest who married exceptional women in terms of physical beauty as well as mental, dealt with Bo who were some what plain mentally. She admits that John patiently waited for Bo to grow up to be a fascinating persona of her own but it really didn't happen.
   However, one thing seems to be true: she is an honest and nice girl. So that's lot better than most celebrity of our time!

   Now, I am very curious about Ursula Andress as she seems to be a woman of great depth and intelligence- what a surprise!

1 comments about Five Finger Exercise: A Play.

1. Shaffer's work seems to be synonimous with mystery, impact, ritual and theatrical pyrotechnics. How strange, then, to see him in this, his first major play, to see him attempting something very close to a kitchen sink drama.

   Indeed, there is a smack of Ibsenesque drawing-room realism so far removed from the 'total theatre' of Equus and Royal Hunt that some readers may find disconcerting. But, nevertheless, Shaffer's tender understanding of the emotional pressures of middle-class family life make this play just as extraordinary and gripping as any of the later, more popular successes.

   The play does exhibit Shaffer's characteristic love of linguistic versatility and, as with all his plays, is extremely relevent. I for one cannot but feel moved by the characters' tender denunciation of love and sexuality.

   A must for anyone wanting to find new layers to an original and penetrating writer.

5 comments about The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason.

1. This author takes every opportunity to take The Great One down a few pegs. Even when begrudgingly admitting Gleason's strong points (such as his generosity and support of civil rights), there is an underlying tone of judgement throughout the book.
   
   Also, I kept waiting for the "Honeymooners" period to be discussed, but this entire period seems glossed over. No anecdotes, no behind the scenes tales...
   
   It seems the author just wasn't privy to much information and instead composed a smear campaign of a dead man. A shame.



2. On the first page of the book you hit the statement that Jackie was "the laziest man alive." For me, that statement sets the tone. A quick look at the picture of the author will show he doesn't know much about excercise himself. I found it laughable that one of the big gripes William makes about Gleason was he proported musical talent was his that belonged to others, when whole paragraphs from the previous two biographies mysteriously found themselves into this book, word for word at times. Whereas the first two books were written by friends of Jackie's, William never had even a personal conversation with him, and spoke to NONE of the family. While he did speak to coworkers, I got the feeling from the beginning that he had set out to write a "Jackie is a smuck" book, and filtered everything accordingly. Within the first few chapters, I lost count of the number of factual errors that I found. Mae's mother had 11 children, not 5. They never actually lived in Ireland. Jackie's darkness didn't come from some ancestral Spainard sunk of the coast of Ireland, but from a maternal Great-Grandfather from Portugal. Herb, the father, was not a decade older than his wife, but three years. These were all easily researched items and were wrong. This cast a long shadow of suspicion over the rest of the book which consists of people's accounts of things long past. We all know how memories can be. The bookcover said the author treated shortcomings with compassion, but I found it closer to intense condemnation, such as with the statement, "the laziest man alive" because Jackie didn't walk 12 blocks in New York. Have to wonder if the author would have hoofed it, or hailed a cab. There may be some facts buried in the pile of misinformation and bad feeling, but it may be hard to find, or to identify. For me, I see Jackie's ever changing stories as a way for him to keep the truth private and just for himself. I certainly hope no one out there really believes that Tom Cruise is telling us the truth about his life, or Julia Roberts. Just because they do something, doesn't mean we deserve the intimate details of theirs lives. And just because Jackie wasn't upfront about his, doesn't change that mystical magic that happens when people watch the Honeymooners. He wasn't perfect, few of us are, but he gave us smiles we didn't have before. His life was sad and hard, but to be so spiteful and mean about it makes William's life even sadder. Imagine implying Jackie shouldn't feel upset because his mother died when he was a "man of nineteen" instead of boy of sixteen. I can't imagine having lost both parents by nineteen and to only have one cousin at my wedding for family. This book will only give you what you want if you already know that it has been written by someone who looked for the bad and down played the good, or quite possibly, simply didn't include those accounts. The book wasn't that interesting, and I certainly could put it down. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.



3. On the first page of the book you hit the statement that Jackie was "the laziest man alive." For me, that statement sets the tone. A quick look at the picture of the author will show he doesn't know much about excercise himself. I found it laughable that one of the big gripes William makes about Gleason was he proported musical talent was his that belonged to others, when whole paragraphs from the previous two biographies mysteriously found themselves into this book, word for word at times. Whereas the first two books were written by friends of Jackie's, William never had even a personal conversation with him, and spoke to NONE of the family. While he did speak to coworkers, I got the feeling from the beginning that he had set out to write a "Jackie is a smuck" book, and filtered everything accordingly. Within the first few chapters, I lost count of the number of factual errors that I found. Mae's mother had 11 children, not 5. They never actually lived in Ireland. Jackie's darkness didn't come from some ancestral Spainard sunk of the coast of Ireland, but from a maternal Great-Grandfather from Portugal. Herb, the father, was not a decade older than his wife, but three years. These were all easily researched items and were wrong. This cast a long shadow of suspicion over the rest of the book which consists of people's accounts of things long past. We all know how memories can be. The bookcover said the author treated shortcomings with compassion, but I found it closer to intense condemnation, such as with the statement, "the laziest man alive" because Jackie didn't walk 12 blocks in New York. Have to wonder if the author would have hoofed it, or hailed a cab. There may be some facts buried in the pile of misinformation and bad feeling, but it may be hard to find, or to identify. For me, I see Jackie's ever changing stories as a way for him to keep the truth private and just for himself. I certainly hope no one out there really believes that Tom Cruise is telling us the truth about his life, or Julia Roberts. Just because they do something, doesn't mean we deserve the intimate details of theirs lives. And just because Jackie wasn't upfront about his, doesn't change that mystical magic that happens when people watch the Honeymooners. He wasn't perfect, few of us are, but he gave us smiles we didn't have before. His life was sad and hard, but to be so spiteful and mean about it makes William's life even sadder. Imagine implying Jackie shouldn't feel upset because his mother died when he was a "man of nineteen" instead of boy of sixteen. I can't imagine having lost both parents by nineteen and to only have one cousin at my wedding for family. This book will only give you what you want if you already know that it has been written by someone who looked for the bad and down played the good, or quite possibly, simply didn't include those accounts. The book wasn't that interesting, and I certainly could put it down. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.



4. As far as I know, this is the only biography written by someone who was not a friend of Gleason's, and it shows. While the book is well-researched, the author takes an inordinate amount of pleasure in pointing out as many of Gleason's faults as he can. I was left with the impression that the author was jealous that Gleason enjoyed such enormous success despite not always being a pleasant person.

   Audrey Meadows commented at the end of her book "Love, Alice" that the author skewered Gleason for not living up to his (the author's) standards, and that sounds about right. To pay Meadows back for this, the author tries to discredit her story about how she won the role of Alice on "The Honeymooners," but only ends up looking vindictive again, as Meadows has published the photos taken of herself auditioning for Alice that prove her story true. This is only one of several instances where Henry tries to attack people who try to disagree with his negative view of Gleason.

   There are many instances in the book of phrases like "Gleason said..." or "Gleason often commented..." but very few of these quotes are backed up with any kind of source in the text itself, and there are no endnotes in the book. In addition, many other people quoted in the book are identified only as "colleagues," with no one specific being cited as the source(s) of many of the stories about how horrible Gleason really was.

   I noted the comments from various celebrities on the back of the dust jacket, and was surprised to hear praise from people who call themselves Gleason's friends. It makes you wonder just what kinds of friends they were.




5. What Mr Henry reveals in this biography is the true ugliness of Jackie Gleason. Yes, he was an outstanding performer. Yes, he was loyal to his "pals". Yes, he worked his way up from nothing to become something. But what, exactly, did Gleason become? "The Great One", a title he bestowed upon himself? Or a miserable, bitter drunk, who twisted and controlled everything and everyone around him just to project the image of a genius?

   I believe every word of William Henry's excellent book, even though Jackie fans most certainly do not. I believe it because Mr Henry went to the sources--he interviewed Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, Jane Meadows and Joyce Randolph; he interviewed The Great One's directors, producers, castmates and writers (the people that truly made him great)--and they all agree to a universal conclusion, even when they try to be kind: Jackie Gleason was a crude, cruel, manipulative man, even beyond what you may expect. Read this book and prepare to be shocked.

1 comments about Producing and Directing Drama for the Church (MP 681).

1. Rucker does a great job of outlining the steps for directing and producing a musical or play for church. The book addresses both big and small situations. A "must have" for any person dealing with church members and drama.

5 comments about 88 Keys - The Making of a Steinway Piano.

1. 88 Keys is beautifully presented; a large-size book full of fine colored pencil sketches, broken down into chapters on each aspect of the piano.
   
   The book is best suited, and was probably intended, to be a coffee table book at Steinway sites. It provides an overview of the process of building a Steinway, making note of all the innovations that make Steinways pianos the most popular today.
   
   My only reservation is this: I bought it hoping that it would be geared toward the reader interested in the engineering and perhaps physics of piano building. The book provides only enough detail to *just* satisfy this interest, but I walk away like leaving the dinner table still a little hungry.
   
   Nevertheless, this book took me, in its storybook way, from no knowledge of piano manufacture to an overall satisfying knowledge. I'm definitely eager, now, to visit the Steinway factory and see it all for myself.



2. 88 KEYES is written for music lovers. It is not intended as a manual on the construction of a piano. It reminds me of a college course on the history of science for liberal arts majors who are not interested in becoming scientists. The book contains a history of the Steinway piano and the people behind it as well as a description of how the Steinway piano is built. It is written with clarity and lavishly illustrated. The book is definitely fit to grace the coffee table. The author incidentally is an accomplished actor and also a fifth-generation descendant of Steinway's founder.



3. This book gives you a blow-by-blow account of how a piano is made at the Steinway factory in New York City. The book is readable and gives you an appreciation of the detail and precision, all of the handiwork that go into a well-crafted piano. It also shows that a piano is not just a standard item -- pianos are crafted for individuals (Horowitz likes a light, responsive touch, Rubenstein wanted a more resistant touch, some performers want different tones depending on what they are playing). The only drawback (unless you're a Steinway groupie) -- it's rather self-promotional, a well-written, well-illustrated 143-page Steinway & Sons advertisement, but fascinating nonetheless.



4. This is fundamentally an oversized pamphlet. It is double-spaced with wide margins and still only has about 130 pages including many illustrations. Steinway has a CD-rom, which one can obtain quite easily, which covers many Steinway construction topics with better illustrations (including video) than this pamphlet. Anyone with any knowledge at all of piano construction (viewers of the Steinway CD- rom video, and a couple of manufacturers' brochures) will be disappointed in this book.

   The book contains no photographs. Hard to believe, eh? The illustrations are excellent, but do not seem to be integrated with the text and very few are diagrammatic showing how things work, just show how they are, if you are lucky.

   Many topics are described without detailed reference and explanation with an illustration or diagram.

   E.g.. Pg. 15 clavichord mechanism is described verbally, without diagrams.

   Pg 64: English style ... "the hammer heads are placed at the far end of the mechanisms and move forward when the keys are struck." I am clueless as to what this would look like. " a glimpse at any contemporary grand piano keyboard will..." How about a picture?

   Pg 48-49 Re: matched veneers: " a careful look at the case of any natural wood-finished Steinway will show you how good they are." No photographs or illustrations.

   Pg 52 re Scales. "these characteristic dimensions differentiate pianos from different makers more than any other technical element." Perhaps I do not understand the statement, but a Steinway salesperson will point out three distinct differentiations between Steinway and its competitors, which are technically related in my mind.

   I was abhorred to look down at the page number, 62, half way through the book, and realized I had only learned a few things of interest and had not learned anything of several topics which I had assumed would be covered. While I did not keep track of the time, I felt I had only been reading a short while.

   On several occasions the author begins on what appears an interesting topic, but he either aborts early or has no illustrative diagrams and I cannot follow, despite very good grades in science classes from a prestigious private etc.

   Pg. 56. He starts talking about harmonics, but has no diagrams, and again, if one does not know harmonics will probably just be confused.

   He talks about sound board gluing, but again no illustrative diagrams or dimensions on final cut. How thick is a soundboard?

   Bridge: verbally describes making one, but no diagrams or detailed illustrations.

   I will stop with the last. One thing I would certainly expect from a book on making a piano is a detailed explanation with diagrams of how the action works. Pg. 71 (this paragraph is unbelievable): "A model of a piano's action is a fascinating thing to behold. I used to play with one for hours on end ..." "The answer is that the pianos action has evolved over years of experimentation." That's it! No explanation of how the mechanism of the action actually works. One very nice still illustration, but no explanation or additional diagrams.

   If this book does not sell on Amazon, it will not sell anywhere, because I would never have bought this oversized pamphlet at a bookstore.

   Sorry.




5. With exquisite illustrations by Rodica Prato, this book attempts to explain the most complicated piece of machinery made by hand in the world today - the much-loved & familiar grand pianofortes from the Masters at the House of Steinway. For those of us, seduced as children by the wonder of a piano, so much so that we dreamed at the keyboard, created our own little ditties & mimicked the music & sounds that we heard in our lives, this is a wonderful reunion! I loved the time line at the bottom of the history chapter, now what is that melody, I wonder? An unusual, unique & absorbing book. Certainly a good idea for anyone starting out at the keyboards!

No comments about The Comedies of Machiavelli: The Women from Andros; the Mandrake; Clizia.

No comments about The Moment of Movement: Dance Improvisation.

No comments about Voices of Color: 50 Scenes and Monologues by African American Playwrights (Applause Acting Series).

5 comments about The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 1, 2005 - May 31, 2006, Second Annual Edition (Playbill Broadway Yearbook).

1. stellar compilation of the entire broadway season's playbills; a must have for any theater fan



2. I live in South Africa and am a regular visitor to New York but was unable to get there this year. This book gives me full information on all aspects of shows on Broadway. I find it exceptionally interesting particularly on those shows that opened within that period.



3. This book was just what I expected, and it was wonderful! I shall definitely go back and buy the previous years' books. However, it is targeted at a specific reader/theatregoer. Lots and lots of pictures and behind the scenes lists, not only cast, but crew, producers, etc. Also lists awards and nominations. A great find for avid theatre buffs, but probably boring for the general public.



4. I purchased the first year yearbook as well as this second one. It is a good source of documentation of the theater season- complete with the cast listing, crew,stage door stories (which I particularly enjoy), photos and events that transpired on that particular theater season.



5. This was an ideal gift for my granddaughter who is majoring in theater in college. I also bought her the previous year's book. She had seen many of the plays and thoroughly enjoyed reading about those along with those she hadn't seen.