DISC

Dang near every story ran the same course, which was, the "client" turns out to be the "killer". Every single
story was predictable. I found none of them to be original or special.

Mr. Block, along the line of Elmore Leonard, has a gift for dialoge but his stories are dull and repetitious.

And the book itself was so bloody heavy it was a pain to comfortably read.

I discovered Lawrence Block when he was writing a monthly column for "Writer's Digest" magazine back in the late 70's. His contribution was always the highlight of each issue, so I began reading his novels and short stories. Now almost all of his shorter pieces, over a 40-year career, are in this volume...885 pages worth. For the price, you can't get another book that will give you as much enjoyment as this one, and teach you about well-crafted writing to boot. All his tales have a twist, and he wastes no words. Block is as good in his own way as Dick Francis and Robert B. Parker are in theirs. I had read many of these older stories in the 80's, but forgot the details until encountering them again in this volume. He'll occasionally make you laugh, more often give you a shiver, but always, his people resonate, even the darkest characters. If you know Block's work from his mystery/detective/humor series, you already know that you want to own this. If you haven't started the LB habit yet, this is "Enough Rope" to tie you up in him for years.

Fans of Block's series characters will find plenty to enjoy here, including nine Matt Scudder stories, three featuring burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, and five with hit man Keller. They have all appeared elsewhere at one time or another, but unless you're a Block completist, you're unlikely to have seen several of them before. Even if you have read some of them, this book is still an invaluable addition to your collection, as it includes all of the stories and presents them in chronological order, something impossible to find prior to this.

Perhaps the best thing about "Enough Rope," though, is the inclusion of a dozen new works, most of them fairly lengthy for short stories, all of them superbly crafted and delightful little reads. A few in particular, like "Almost Perfect" (about a murderous baseball game) and "Points" (about a father and son) stand out for their quality and inventiveness. Even after half a decade of writing short fiction, Block is still trying, and succeeding at, new things. (For historical value, if nothing else, the author's first published story is included as well.)

"Enough Rope" is a hefty book, containing eighty-three stories that run almost 900 pages. That represents virtually every published story by this prolific writer. It is a testimony to the popularity of Block and the quality of his writing that his publisher would take such a gamble and produce such a large, handsome volume. "Enough Rope" is a real treat.

Reviewed by David Montgomery, MysteryInkOnline.com

Poor grammar, many spelling errors, and a type face that looks like it came off an ancient IBM Selectric typewriter, and that is BEFORE you actually begin reading the material. The rest of the book is about how the Nazis built amazing saucer-shaped aircraft propelled by exotic power-plants based on obscure principles (except for "suction" or boundary layer control). He backs up the story with excerpts from ancient and deservedly obscure books like Lusar's German Secret Weapons of the Second World War II or Zundel's "UFOs: Nazi Secret Weapons?" All of this must be true because so many people say it is, right?
Actually Mr. Stevens does a pretty good summing up and combining all the stories and legends and even adds a few new pictures. That is why he got 3 stars. Too bad the editing is so crummy.
So why did a skeptic buy it? RPG material, believe it or not: NOW is the time to strike against the Antarctic Space Nazis and their masters, the evil Vril Lords from within the Hollow Earth! Nazis, dinosaurs, magic ("psionics"), and squared-jawed heroes with Tommy-guns: can you say fun?
If you are really serious about this, get the Hunt for Zero Point by Nick Cook. Otherwise, this is probably the most complete distillation of the Nazi Flying Saucer legend.

"As the hum of a great engine filled the air, cirlces of shadow crawled along the ground indicating a great, flying shape up above."

While a small division of Hitler's army was equiped with flying saucers, he failed to discover the technology for disk mounted laser cannons. If you're going to build an army and use flying saucers as part of your militia, one MUST outfit them with giant lasers!

Yes, I know that back in the 40's even having built a flying saucer was quite impressive. However, there is not a single report of a UFO landing and dispensing men dressed in space suits.

I was dissapointed with this book in as much as it did not even explain the detailed inner workings of such an aircraft and the photographs failed to deliver reference for the ion thruster that I am currently trying to build.

Nice try, Hitler guy...oh, and when you build a flying saucer it needs to have blinking lights ALL along the outside. Duh!

-Dr. Steel
World Domination Toys Inc.

Painstakingly researched, compiled, and written by Henry Stevens, Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide To German Flying Discs Of The Second World War is an original, iconoclastic, involving, and entertaining look at the saucer projects carried out by the Nazis during World War II. Presenting amazing (and sometimes incredulous) theories, some of which have been vehemently denied by conventional authorities, Hitler's Flying Saucers is a singularly fascinating and thought-provoking study which is highly recommended reading -- especially for students of UFO phenomenon, military aviation, and suppressed history.

This review is coming from someone who has consumed nearly every book, article, liner notes etc. about rock 'n' roll circa 1948-1970, so hopefully my criticsm is based on a solid foundation of knowledge. With that said, let me state unequivocally, this book is as close to unreadable as any I've ever picked up.

To start with, Wes Smith can not write, either intelligently or entertainingly. This work is amateurish, sanctimonious and flippant. He did negligible research and apparently found he did not not have enough material to compile a book 15 pages long, double spaced, and to compensate he filled each page with so much insipid wordplay between the two quotes he managed to procure that reading it may cause a loss of IQ.

Even someone with only a passing knowledge of the subject can see he clearly has no concept of the times and continually attempts to bluff his way past that lack of basic understanding. Furthermore, his knowledge of rock 'n' roll history is so slight it would not be surprising to find out his record collection consisted solely of a water-stained copy of a Martin Denny album. For example, in referencing the first rock 'n' roll show staged by Alan Freed in 1952 he calls the Dominoes (the most popular group of the day, led by Clyde McPhatter, perhaps the most dynamic vocalist of the 50's) among the "rather dim headliners". He obviously has no idea who they even ARE! Hardly the credentials necessary for writing about this subject. Perhaps his most glaring self-inflicted wound is when he refers to the Crew-Cuts, who were among the most notorious white pop cover acts of the time, by saying "their record... 'Sh-Boom' became a rock 'n' roll classic". Their version of "Sh-Boom" is NOT rock 'n' roll, NOT a classic and is perhaps the most despised record by rock 'n' roll enthusiasts in history. He clearly wouldn't know the difference between it and the Chords original (which IS a classic) if he listened to them both a thousand times.

He goes on to make dozens of factual errors regarding songs (Elvis Presley's first Sun recording, "That's All Right Mama" was not a "Number One country hit", as he states, nor a hit of any kind in fact) and of singers themselves (Chuck Willis did not die in a car crash, nor was he ever in a crash, he died of bleeding ulcers). Maybe worst of all he cites Sam Cooke's first secular record, "You Send Me" as the "first record to top both the Pop and R&B charts". In reality a full 17 OTHERS (!!!) had done so before Cooke, including the three previous #1 hits on the charts. This information is not exactly hard to find yet Smith is such an incompetent reporter he can not open a Billboard book to check?

He constantly misspells song titles (adding an extra "e" to "Be Bop A Lula", an extra "p" to "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and refers to John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen" as "Boogie Children"), names (adding an "e" to the end of LaVern, as in Baker, and an extra "m" in Big Mama Thornton), and he claims legendary guitar instrumentalist Duane Eddy was a singer (he never uttered a vocal on record). Those examples only scrape the surface I'm afraid.

Truthfully it seems that Smith never left his Chicago Tribune cubicle (where he was employed - apparently he held incriminating photos of the Trib's editors) as he wrote this on his lunch breaks. At one point, in attempting to link rock 'n' roll with movies, he actually says "James Dean came out in black leather with a motorcycle and a knife in 'Rebel Without A Cause'". For the record, Dean wore a red windbreaker and drove a Mercury in the film - only one of the most indelible images in film history. These repeated and blatant factual errors are utterly incomprehensible and yet they pop up on virtually every page throughout the book. Are basic FACTS not a qualification for writing where he comes from?

Now there ARE some good stories to be found amongst the ruins, but they all have quotation marks around them, meaning they came directly from the sources themselves. Smith's contributions were simply to reprint them. He actually does the disc jockeys he writes about a disservice because he is incapable of framing their stories in the proper context, or adding any valuable insight into what made these men so vital in advancing the popularity of rock 'n' roll in those early days. After getting through it I feel better that I got this book used, as no additional proceeds went to the now hopefully out of work author. This is a rinky dink effort in every way, evidenced by the fact all but one of the pictures in the book came from the Chicago Tribune's files to which he had easy access, most showing the subjects in their later years from the 70's or 80's long after the focus of this book. Even the book's jacket has the appearance of a cheap product that bookstores put on "drastically reduced price" tables outside the store, hoping that shoplifters walk off with as many copies as they can carry.

This is a subject that has an abundance of interesting stories and fascinating tales waiting to be told. Smith reveals little of them. For well researched and written books about early rock 'n' roll DJs get "Have Mercy" by Wolfman Jack and Byron Laursen, "Big Beat Heat" about Alan Freed by John A. Jackson or "Sound Of The City" by Charlie Gillett and leave this gathering dust.

The one star I'm forced to give this by Amazon's rating policy is one star more than it deserves.

I am a deejay (and librarian) myself and this book is the best on the subject I've ever found, a real pleasure to read and full of hilarious stories. The sections on the great DJ's at WLAC - Hoss Allen, Gene Nobles & John R - make it a true gem. Some of it is sloppy, true (see the sour schoolmarm review) but let's face it, the subject matter is sloppy, too. This is not a dry, academic treatise, folks - it's about ROCK AND ROLL and the spirit of these guys shines through in these pages like nowhwere else! This is a spirit that has all but been snuffed out by the likes of Clear Channel and Top 40; if you want to see who was integrating the races before the Civil Rights movement you can read all about them in this book. In the 1950's being a Southern White Liberal was a dangerous thing; to promote Rock and Roll was almost suicidal. Although they were all players in payola (which as Alan Freed observed is called lobbying in DC) they were real heroes to a lot of folks, including myself. I love this book.

The best book on early rock 'n' roll radio, detailing the rise of the music and its mass medium within the heated cultural politics of the time; the basis for the documentary ROCK 'N' ROLL INVADERS, which is now available on DVD and is also excellent. Buy both -- they complement each other.

Smith did solid research in interviewing as many of the surviving disc jockeys as possible. He also does not flinch from the racial problems (despite what you have NOT read in other rock 'n' roll histories) were a major part of the rise of rock 'n' roll.

I bought this book at the same time I bought "Ticket to the Opera" by Goulding. As an introduction to opera, Goulding's book is better written and more objective; however, "Rough Guide" includes information on more operas and what's available on CD. This is a very useful source of information, but as other reviewers have suggested, investigate other sources before buying anything. Personally, I like to have more than one reference of this sort available, because like all art, evaluating opera is a matter of opinion; guidelines are helpful, but the individual listener or viewer is the ultimate arbiter on what he or she appreciates most.

This book has two great features going for it. There is a (brief) synopsis of probably every opera in the repretoire. Yes, they leave a lot out, but there's enough detail, I think, to prepare yourself before attending a performance or listen to a recording. Each synopsis is followed by the author's commentary, and a brief list of reviews on CD. (which is obviously highly subjective, so longer reviews would have been more appreciated. One paragraph is about enough to say, "this was a good/bad performance." Hardly enough to go on to choose a recording.) I wouldn't make a decision to buy (or not buy) a recording based on their recommendations, but at least you can get an idea of what is available.

The really great thing about the book are various stories about opera stars and productions, such as some hilarious performances of "Tosca" and "Otello". I just coulnd't stop laughing about those stories.

Their treatment of Wagner, I thought, was pretty balanced, portraying him as a composer of great music, but much less than a great man. However, their commentary on Parsifal was unfair, making it seem like a "pro-Nazi" work, which it emphatically is not.

This is a very useful guide, improved in the second edition over the first. It gives informed and opinionated summaries of the history of opera and its major composers and works. It also has a useful glossary of terms, and potted summaries of major 20th century singers and conductors. Not complete, of course, (eg. Frederica von Stade mysteriously is not included among the singers, though her contributions to varioius recordings are always lauded.) It contains a remarkably extensive survey of 2oth century opera (one is up to the Russian late 19th c. composers by the mid point of the book). The groupings are sometimes strange -- bel canto is tacked onto romantic operas --but it gives one of the best short critical and informed discussions of how opera has evolved with which I am familiar. The evaluations both of composers and of the selected operas are necessarily short, but still informative though I am not sure that the plot summaries really add very much. These bits are a great deal better than the typical discussion one finds in the booklets accompanying recordings or the contents of the program notes of most live performances. The recording reviews do give an indication of why the author made the first picks he did and some indication of what other recordings are available. On individual recordings, about as informative as (say) the Penguin guide. There is a strong liking for old recordings and the singers one suspects of Boyden's youth, and of recent operas. Overall, it is a great deal of fun. One doesn't have to agree with it to learn from it and enjoy it.

I was excited by the description of this book but disappointed by it's contents. The techniques are totally outdated. It goes on at length about analog recording technique which is nearly inapplicable to the beginning composer. Not recommended except as a minor resource for your library. Buy "The Guide to MIDI Orchestration" by Gilreath or the Jeff Rona Film Scoring book and the general orchestraion books by Adler and Blatter first.

This is the follow up, or second volume to "scoring for films" As the first book, this one is full of diagrams, recording techniques and scores. The technical view is like updated now with the advent of computers and the new digital technology, but the score analysis and inter relations with scripts is great. It has, also, a couple of writtened cues from Mephisto Vals (Goldsmith) and The Clan Of The Cave Bear (Silvestry) in musical notation. It comes with a CD that include cues from the TV series "I Spy" which are the highlight of the Book. Don't be confused, this is not a history book or biography book. Is on the technical side of the industry.

The book is short (just over 100 small pages of text with lots of diagrams and photos), and so the coverage of topics is pretty shallow. Most of the information is stuff you can find yourself by scouring the web for an afternoon (throws, marks, defense, offense, and drills). The writing is mediocre, and so are the diagrams.

this is a very valuable piece of literature to understand and play the sport of ultimate frisbee!

The constant berating of people who's voices aren't 50's style radio "pukers" as "being totally devoid of emotion" or "unable to express emotional content" belays an inherent lack of understanding of the blues and how the music expresses emotion. This book smacks of a pampered academic trying to compare workin' folks' music to slick city jazz enjoyed by the priveleged upper class. I bought this book used for $8.00 and refuse to sell it or give it away. I have hidden it at the back of my closet in the hopes that it will NEVER see the light of day. I give it 2 stars for the accuracy of the listing of the players on the discs and the slightly more accurate reviews of the instrumental playing.

a great help in deciding which blues cds to buy. does not cover jazz or rock or any other kind of music. to its credit it's pure blues!

The author appears to have done little more than collect a sheaf of manufacturers' literature and then rewrite it for this book. A typical chapter contains a step by step description of the tutorial that comes with Apple's DVD Studio Pro software. You'll get a lot more more from simply working through the tutorial than from reading Dixon's rehash of same, and you won't have to waste money on this book. Some overlap is perhaps inevitable, but 500+ pages of regurgitated material? No thanks! Save your money and wait for David Pogue to cover this topic.

Do not purchase this book if your intention is to learn the technicalities of DVD authoring. It is only an introduction to most of the software products out there right now.
Purchase this book if you intend to attain a software product and are unsure which to select among the many choices out there.
It is a good overview of these products and would be a very useful book for this purpose.
There is discussion about DVD authoring but it is weak and vastly incomplete. As a long time author and owner of several products, and all books on the subject I am dissappointed with this book. I would have liked to have seen at least some command sequence examples. There are none. If you wish to learn the intricacies of DVD authoring,do a course.

As a newbie getting acquainted with Apple's DVD Studio Pro, I found this book to be a great suppliment to the manual. It also contains useful user guides to other authoring packages such as iDVD, Sonic DVDit!, Sonic ReelDVD and Sonic Scenarist. An interesting read if you already own or are considering any of these products. The book also covers other DVD related topics, from buying a DVD player, to technical summaries. A great starting point for those ready to take the DVD plunge.

Barron’s How to Prepare for the TOEIC Test has both positive and negative points, but the negatives outweigh the positives. First off, the positives. (...) You get six complete TOEIC practice tests and a fair number of practice exercises for each of the seven sections. All of these exercises somewhat approximate an actual ETS TOEIC test. In addition, the author gives explanatory answers to the practice tests and exercises. However, this is where the positives of Barron’s book end. On the negative side, the author’s analysis of the construction of the TOEIC is very confusing. For example, his presentation of the material in the listening comprehension sections is less than helpful. It attempts to mix all four sections together which, in my opinion, doesn’t work well. Peterson’s TOEIC Success presents this listening material in a much clearer manner. In addition, the author’s analysis of Parts 5 and 6 (grammar) of the reading section leaves much to be desired. Simply put, the grammar points reviewed in the Barron’s book are not an exact reflection of the grammar you will find an actual TOEIC test. I do feel that the author’s analysis of Part 7, the reading comprehension section, is the stronger than his analysis of Parts 1-6. For Part 7, he provides a useful “question type chart” and realistic TOEIC-style reading passages. However, even here, there are problems: The reading passages are on the short side and there is an overabundance of chart-type passages. Overall, Barron’s How to Prepare for the TOEIC Test is not terrible, but mostly confusing and unenlightening. Buy this book if you want a lot of practice tests, but not as a way of giving you a full understanding of the construction of the TOEIC exam.

The attractive thing about "How to Prepare for the Toeic Test : Test of English for International Communication" is that it's good value for money. You get six full TOEIC practice tests, as well as some mini-tests, and a full coverage of every section of the test. Unlike some other reviewers, I found the explanation section quite good and well-detailed, but most of my students have complained about the ease of the practice tests in comparison to the real TOEIC test -- this does not have to be a big problem. I teach a TOEIC preparation program at Cambridge International College in Melbourne, Australia, and, as a result of my students' feedback, I now use this book during the first and part of the second week into the course to drill my students for harder tests. By the time the students have finished the six practice tests in this book, they are ready to move to harder tests that reflect more the level of difficulty in the real TOEIC test. Some of the answers at the back of the book have errors in them, but no so many that you should be too concerned. Overall, it's a great tool for low-level to intermediate TOEIC students, or advanced students who want to start low and build up from there with other text books. It is a great teacher's tool, but it might be a little difficult for some students if used as a self-teaching book.

I am an ESL teacher using this book with students in Japan. I most like the large number of sample questions, including several full-length tests and accompanying CD's. One problem, though, is that Loughheed's explanations are difficult for even my advanced-level non-native speakers to understand. However, they are very helpful to me as a teacher in explaining how to solve problems. What I do is review his explanations myself before class, then use them as a tool to help teach things to my students as they work through the sample problems. The test section does not include a table giving a model TOEIC score. I wrote the author about this, and he said a conversion chart would be included in the next edition. He also kindly sent me a conversion chart.
Overall, it was a useful book and I will continue using it with future students.

This is not the best book on the subject. There are many other superior books to this one. I still keep it around as a descent reference on statistics, and occasionally get something out of it.

It's a very good book because of the way it divulges you into the real world. If you are interested in learning business and business statistics, what better place to learn it than the real world.

I had the privelege of taking an MBA level course from Andy Siegel. The style of the text reflects the simply, user-friendly way he communicates in class. Not having taken a stats class before, I was happy to find a professor who could take a dry, complex subject and make it interesting and relatively painless. More professors should use this text!