FO

A fine book just to let you know what is that which could hold a universal audience griping through Fo is basically a italian artist. the improvisation of Fo's plays, essentially a charcteristic of popular performance is beautifully explicted through the book

This book presents a clear and concise analysis of Dario Fo's performance art. It explains how Fo's theater is based on popular forms, focusing on techniques, such as improvisation, and how Fo uses grotesque comedy as a weapon for political and social change. It is a pleasure to read.

I always look forward to the annual Nobel Prize for Literature with the hope that I'll be able to discover a new "diamond in the rough". When I read the descriptions of Fo's avant garde works, I thought it looked too strange for my taste. However, I came across this book on sale so I thought I'd take a look. I was very pleasantly surprised and actually had a hard time putting the book down.

This is a collection of four plays. The first one is rather political in nature and might seem more enjoyable with a better knowledge of contemporary Italian economics. However, the absurdity comes through very clearly. The comedy comes through as well. I came away with a pretty good grasp of the author's view of the Italian economic problems (as well as that of the European Economic Community). However, this leftist view point left me feeling that there is another side to the story. That, of course, is my problem and not the author's shortcoming.

The second play is an interesting and enjoyable look at Queen Elizabeth I done in great comedy and absurdity. There is a main character named Grosslady who steals the show. She speaks a sort of Esperanto slang that is absolutely hilarious. There is an accompanying translation in the back of the play to help the reader understand her "language". I normally dislike anything that detracts from the flow of the book. However, I enjoyed the availability of the translation to help me follow the flow of the book. At the same time, I made sure I read the actual lines that Grosslady has in the play because it is such a brilliant comedic concoction. For example, her word for England is "Angleterror". This was all brilliantly translated by Gillian Hanna.

The last two plays are interesting examinations of human relationships and interdependence. They continue in the comedy of the absurd.

Perhaps the best recommendation I can give this collection is that I am now looking to read more of Dario Fo's works. Give this one a try!

The first time I heard about Dario Fo was when he won the Nobel prize in 1997, and this was the first book of his that I could get my hands on.I wasn't disappointed.His plays are eminently readable and quite hilarious at times.The only drawback was that being not too well versed regarding Italian politics,some of the puns were loston me[in spite of the helpful notes provided at the back].If you enjoy reading plays you'll like this.

"Mistero Buffo,"., alternatively titled "The Comic Mysteries," is a wonderful introduction to the irreverent, playful and imaginative world of Dario Fo, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. If "Mistero Buffo" has a shortcoming, it lies in the fact that it is merely a text and does not embody the vitality of Fo's imaginative work, which relies as much on performance as it does on literary content.

"Mistero Buffo" draws on the popular and comic tradition of the medieval mystery plays, as well as the tradition of the so-called "jongleur", or traveling comic and mime, whose performances provided a subversive counterpoint to the authority of Church, Monarchy and Lord. As the jongleur in Fo's piece, "The Birth of the Jongleur," reminds his audience: "I leap and pirouette, and make you laugh. I make fun of those in power, and I show you how puffed up and conceited are the bigshots who go around making wars in which we are the ones who get slaughtered. I reveal them for what they are. I pull out the plug, and . . . pssss . . .they deflate."

Written and originally performed by Fo himself, "Mistero Buffo" consists of a series of pieces involving mime, improvisation and performance art. The texts are fiercely anti-Church, anti-materialist and anti-authority, but they are written with a comic verve and playful sensibility that mark Dario Fo as a remarkably unique writer, director, and performer. Drawing on religious traditions, the pieces include Fo's modern take on Biblical stories entitled "Slaughter of the Innocents," "Marriage at Cana" and "Resurrection of Lazarus," as well as a series of short dialogues (entitled "Passion Plays") where Fo adumbrates the death of Christ as experienced by Mary. All of these pieces border on the blasphemous, subverting conventional pieties and unthinking reverence for established religion and replacing them with a kind of popular re-writing of Christianity, a revision which glorifies the common man at the expense of those in power. Not surprisingly, "Mistero Buffo," like most of Fo's texts and performances, is controversial and provocative. It is also, however, a short text worth reading for an insightful sampling of one of Italy's most remarkable literary and theatrical geniuses.

"Mistero Buffo", alternatively titled "The Comic Mysteries", is a wonderful introduction to the irreverent, playful and imaginative world of Dario Fo, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. If "Mistero Buffo" has a shortcoming, it lies in the fact that it is merely a text and does not embody the vitality of Fo's imaginative work, which relies as much on performance as it does on literary content.

"Mistero Buffo" draws on the popular and comic tradition of the medieval mystery plays, as well as the tradition of the so-called "jongleur", or traveling comic and mime, whose performances provided a subversive counterpoint to the authority of Church, Monarchy and Lord. As the jongleur in Fo's piece, "The Birth of the Jongleur", reminds his audience: "I leap and pirouette, and make you laugh. I make fun of those in power, and I show you how puffed up and conceited are the bigshots who go around making wars in which we are the ones who get slaughtered. I reveal them for what they are. I pull out the plug, and . . . pssss . . .they deflate."

Written and originally performed by Fo himself, "Mistero Buffo" consists of a series of pieces involving mime, improvisation and performance art. The texts are fiercely anti-Church, anti-materialist and anti-authority, but they are written with a comic verve and playful sensibility that mark Dario Fo as a remarkably unique writer, director, and performer. Drawing on religious traditions, the pieces include Fo's modern take on Biblical stories entitled "Slaughter of the Innocents", "Marriage at Cana" and "Resurrection of Lazarus", as well as a series of short dialogues (entitled "Passion Plays") where Fo adumbrates the death of Christ as experienced by Mary. All of these pieces border on the blasphemous, subverting conventional pieties and unthinking reverence for established religion and replacing them with a kind of popular re-writing of Christianity, a revision which glorifies the common man at the expense of those in power. Not surprisingly, "Mistero Buffo", like most of Fo's texts and performances, is controversial and provocative. It is also, however, a short text worth reading for an insightful sampling of one of Italy's most remarkable literary and theatrical geniuses.

I bought this book to assist me in understanding the WISC III and how it is interpreted so I could be knowledgeable at my daughter's PET meetings. Very technical and detailed.Wouldn't consider it to be easily read but once you sit down with a WISC exam and the book it becomes much easier to follow. Would suggest to professionals as well as parents.

This volume contains 20 monologues. With Dario Fo's satirical wit and Franca Rame's ability to produce real-life situations, this book is a must-read for all interested in the dramatic arts. A Woman Alone, the title monologue, is arguably the most brilliant of Fo and Rame's combined efforts. It is the story of Sharon, a woman imprisoned in her flat by her husband after committing adultery with a boy young enough to be her son. The monolgue is expressed through Sharon speaking to her neighbour in the next block of industrial flats. On the outside it appears that Sharon is well provided by her husband, Bryan, with all the material possesions she could ever need. But on the inside her life is empty. Though the title suggests that Sharon is "alone" in her flat technically that is not the truth, her baby boy and her husband's molestering invalid brother both reside in the flat. Sharon's life however, is void of emotion- love, compassion and sympathy. WIth an intriguing story and a satisfying ending, A Woman Alone makes an excellent read and performance. I highly recommend A Woman Alone and Other Plays for all drama enthusiasts.

Armed with only the most rudimentary understanding of XSLT, I found this book a little overwhelming. It's not a "cookbook", though the examples are good. There are a few places where it seems to dwell on minutia, but mostly it moves along at a jog to brisk run pace. I got a better understanding of the topic and and am prepared to do more research, but this could not be my only reference.

My main gripe with this book is the manner in which the author chose to present the material.

Rather than focusing on "literal" XSL-FO, the author gives fragments of XSLT stylesheets that produce the XSL-FO. This means that the path to understanding the XSL-FO in the examples goes through XSLT.

While I understand the author's point in choosing this presentation (that no one will "really" be coding XSL-FO by hand, but will instead be writing XSLT stylesheets to generate XSL-FO from other XML input), I don't agree that it's the best way to explain the material.

I would have preferred to see actual, "complete" fragments of XSL-FO (both with and without larger context). I can draw my own conclusions about structuring the XSLT that I need. What I'm really keen to see is how the XSL-FO itself works, otherwise I've got no clue -what- to generate.

An interesting book covering a powerful but niche technology. Not a book for the faint of heart, get it only if you want to investigate this very specific topic or plan to do things like XML > PDF transformation. The author digs immediately into the technical details, condensing a relevant amount of info in less than 200 pages; the results are good, focused and well structured, but it's not an entertaining read. This is definitely not a beginner book. A decent understanding of XML, XSL and XPath is required; some knowledge of printing would be helpful too

it was very good, and it was very understanding

As a developmental and clinical psychologist, this book has been invaluable to me in helping me make sense of the physical, psychological, social and legal facets of treating children who have suffered abuse. Dr. Heineman far surpasses any expert I have yet read or encountered in the field in terms of both her empathic clinical understanding and theoretical sophistication in the treatment of abused children and their families. You will find no glib twelve step programs or schematic guidelines, but instead a deep and thorough analysis of all the issues that confront us, both psychologically and socially, as we grapple with the painful reality that some children in our society are confronted with abuse rather than affection from the adults who are supposed to be caring for them. She is also a wonderful writer who brings her thoughts to life in the stories she tells of the children she has treated. A must-read for anyone concerned with this issue.

Not sure why it is called a shop manual. A guy in a shop who is depending on this "shop manual" is in real trouble. It is not very comprehensive. The index is wrong, for example- information on the oil pump is not found on the page listed for oil pump info. Parts of the manual are fairly comprehensive but I found it lacking in many areas. It appears to be a botched reproduction of manual that really was a good one. I found the same manual in a tractor store for twice the price, so it is probably worth the money although one would have to seek out other sources of information to "fill in the gaps".

i recommend this book for anymore who might be looking for a manual for their ford n series tractors. i recieved mine just the other day and its great. the only problem with the manual is the index is alittle off on things but the book is good in getting you started on the road to fixing and repairing your tractor. pictures of parts and instruction is well done

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

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!

A little thin for the money, but still worth having. Has excellent exploded views, but sadly missing fastener torque values even for critical items.