This is the book I bought when I wanted to learn to play the tenor banjo. I got it mainly because it was the cheapest book they had. Not my smartest move. In its defense, the book is not bad: there is a nice section in the back with chord diagrams, and the songs are for the most part old familiar tunes, so you'll know if you're playing them right, and it does give you a good introduction to the instrument. The problem is that the book is pretty thin, everything is in notation...no tablature (not that you'll need it, but still), and it doesn't really show you any advanced techniques, which I found in other books. I outgrew this book VERY quickly, after a week and a half, I was playing everything in the book and ready for more...but it wasn't there. If you have previous music experience (and who takes up tenor banjo as a first instrument?) You won't get too much out of the book. Go for something else with more substance.

Turn eversday food into extraordinary appetizers, main dishes, salads, desserts, brunch treats, and more! With a little practical advice and a few minutes of time, you will be able to transform many of the ingredients you already have in the pantry or freezer into elegant"you-must-have-been-in-the-kitchen-all-day-meals.

Good Housekeeping Magazine said "The cookbook for lovers of good food no matter where you live"

500 triple tested recipes guartanteed to please.

A nice sampling of hikes but not enough variety to warrant all the pages. This isn't a book I can take along in my pack so I've had to photocopy pages which is a little inconvenient. This is more a book for beginning hikers. The hike selections weren't chanllenging enough for me.

If you are just visiting Virginia Beach for a few days, this book has a lot of information that you don't need and not much of the information that you do need. There are no detailed maps and very little tourist type info. Despite the title, this book covers a much larger area than just Virginia Beach. The restaurant guide is very good, and it is obvious that considerable effort was expended in compiling all of this information. If you are considering a move to Virginia Beach, this is an excellent resource. Otherwise, another travel guide that includes Virginia Beach would probably be a better bet.

Bud Lea used his notes and articles published during his years covering the Packers as a Milwaukee newspaperman to put together this book. Also featured is Vernon Biever's excellent photography from the Packer Glory Years.

This is fairly light-weight in content (large print and lots of pictures). But if you were a fan of the Pack during the Lombardi years, you probably will enjoy this book. There are a LOT of photos, many of which I've not previously seen, so the book gives a fairly good feel for the atmosphere at each game.

However I wish the text had been more in depth. The background given for each of the seven games is sketchy at best, unfortunately. There are lots of quotes from the men who played those games, but overall I would have liked more meat. Still, a "good get" for Packer fans.

This comprehensive book/CD set presents some of the finest contemporary blues guitarists! Features Muriel Anderson, Duck Baker, Mickey Baker, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, William Bay, Larry Bolles, Ben Bolt, Dan Bowden, Dix Bruce, Mike Christiansen, Alan de Mause, Craig Dobbins, Steven Eckels, Jim Ferguson, Buddy Fite, Tommy Flint, John Griggs, Stefan Grossman, Ole Halén, Al Hendrickson, Roger Hudson, Jean-Felix Lalanne, Paul Lolax, Larry McCabe, Dale Miller, Franco Morone, Ronald Muldrow, Paul Musso, Bill Piburn, Bucky Pizzarelli, Paul Rishell, Vincent Sadovsky, Felix Schell, Jerry Silverman, Martin Simpson, Fred Sokolow, Stanley Solow, Tim Sparks, John Standefer, Jay Umble, Phil Upchurch, Paul Yandell, and John Zaradin. Standard notation and tablature are offered for most of the pieces (a few are notation only), along with a biographical sketch of each performer. A set of 2 CD's is included, making this an ideal sourcebook for serious students and professionals alike. 232 pages.

The eve of the cold war in Greece provides the political setting for the murder of American journalist George Polk and the stagy trial that followed. In this thorough examination of the meager evidence and doubtful testimony, what becomes clear is that the "official version" was at best a shadowy distortion and at worst a clumsy fiction. Essential reading for those intrigued by the immediate circumstances, the prominent personalities, the leading theories of the crime and the general cold war context.

Having just moved to San Francisco, and being a fan of mysteries and crime novels, I figured this collection of thirteen short stories and excerpts would be a nice way to get to know my new surroundings. Unfortunately, only a few of the stories really attempt to evoke their setting, and on the whole, the book is a bit flat.

Bill Pronzini's contribution is a tragic (and rather predictable) little story set in Glen Park and the Mission. Dashiell Hammet's 1928 Continental Op story, "Fly Paper" is the longest, and perhaps best fiction in the book. Hildegarde Teilhet's "Demon in the Belfry," which recounts a savage double murder that occurred in 1895 is interesting reportage, but pales next to Oscar Lewis' 1924 true crime article, "The Phosphorescent Bride." His retelling of a famous murder and legal battle is the most engrossing bit of writing in the collection. Joe Gores contributes an early story from 1966, in which two hipsters decide to go witness an execution at San Quentin for kicks. It's an effectively creepy story, but not as evocative of the city as one of his DKA stories (which are collected in the volume Stakeout on Page Street) would have been.

The editors note that Jim Thompson's story "Ironside", is one of his few that has fallen out of print. However, after reading it here, one can understand why as it exhibits a few of the harsh sentences he excelled at, but none of the coherence. Scenes from the 1958 film Vertigo are included, and although one may concede that Alfred Hitchcock "made" the movie, it's nonetheless irritating that the actual authors of the screenplay which is being excerpted, Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor, are buried. Ambrose Bierce's Poe-inspired ghost story is a decent inclusion, but Mark Twain's brief ghost piece is not. Marcia Muller's "Deceptions" is a so-so story set amidst the city's elite and the Golden Gate Bridge. The excerpt from Mabel Maney's "The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse" is atrocious, while those from Gloria White's "Murder on the Run" and John Lantigua's "Heat Lightning" are more interesting, especially the latter, whose action is set in the Mission.

On the whole, the collection is a very mixed bag, one I found rather disappointing. There's no real sense of the city to be gained from it, nor was I introduced to any outstanding talent I wasn't familiar with. Oh well, I guess I'll stick it in the guest bedroom.

Overall, the book was enjoyable to read, it really informed me of the problems the Chesapeake Bay faces each and everyday. I felt that the author used charts, graphs, and examples in a way that helps the reader fully understand the science that he/she is reading. I recommend this book to all of those readers who are affected by the Chesapeake Bay or who just wants to learn more about the environment in general.

Robert Graysmith's first book was riveting, so much so that I was compelled to read more on the subject. But "Zodiac Unmasked" was such a disappointment. While clearly there are many startling revelations in this book, the format in which it is laid out makes them difficult to find and nearly impossible to keep track of. I do believe the author makes a strong case against Arthur Leigh Allen, despite recent DNA evidence. It would be hard to find or recall from the book, but at one point Graysmith does say that A.L.A. would have had the foresight not to lick his own stamps or envelopes.
I think if this book had been written in a different format(a much shorter one for sure) with timelines and charts of facts, it would have been more enjoyable to read. Often the same piece of information is repeated over and over, making you wonder if you'd lost your place.
Also, the various names of Detectives and police investigators from different counties gets monotonous and confusing. Perhaps a chart with their various names/positions might have helped.
My husband bought me this book because he knew I enjoyed the first one. The only reason I finished it was because he kept asking me if I had read it yet.
Overall, a MOST unsatisfying read.

While I enjoyed (and gave a good review of) Graysmith's Zodiac book, I found his follow-up, Zodiac Unmasked, to be meandering and disjointed. I was engrossed by the information the book provided but found myself working too hard to keep the story straight (even though I was familiar with it). This also would have been an excellent place to reproduce all of the Zodiac ciphers, letters, and postcards (in one book) as I was reluctant to dig out my copy of the first book just to follow along. Natalee Rosenstein (his editor) at Berkley must have phoned this one in. A truely disappointing coda to an interesting mystery.

I discovered this book by reading about it on comedian Tom Voight's subversively comical website actually run by Graysmith himself. All you do it search Robert Graysmith and go to his self titled website and you'll arrive at partner Tom's website.

Tom portrays a guy who pretends to have written Graysmith's work and you need to have your own copy of Graysmith's book to follow along with the mysteries Tom imagines. It really is fun to play along with the gag.

Tom, like the supposed Zodiac lives with his mother and has many of the same habits, so it's not surprising that Tom may actually be a character in a play to create more discussions about Graysmith's writing.

The book is thick with info as is the humorous website based on the book. Graysmith while very serious in his investigations is not so full of himself as to poke fun by creating controversy with his website.

Enjoy this book as all my students have.