_Twice Upon a Time_ is a glib, sarcastic take on fairy tales. Yes, a few of the retellings are serious, but most of them are attempts at poking fun at the conventions of fairy tales. I like these sorts of stories when they are well done, but most of these stories seem to be groaners rather than side-splitters; farces whose main purpose seems to be dragging every single fairy tale cliche into every single story. I mean, seriously, does a detective story about Rumpelstiltskin, which was just getting interesting, really need Hansel and Gretel barging into the plot? Many of the stories are like this. Just throw the ten or so most famous fairy tales into a blender and see what comes out, and top it off with a forced wittiness. If you're looking for cheesy fairy tale humor, check this out. Otherwise, look up Datlow and Windling.

Twice upon a Time is an anthology of eighteen fractured fairytales. Taking off on such stories as sleeping beauty, the emperor's new clothes, and Jack and the beanstalk, these stories recast the stories in a new and often humorous form. My favor was True Love (or The Many Brides of Prince Charming), which is hilariously funny, showing that happily ever after isn't always in the cards for Prince Charming either.

Some of these stories are somewhat off-color, and inappropriate for small children. However, as these stories are not intended to teach uplifting stories, as the original fairytales are, I would recommend against using these stories for small children. That said, though, this book does contain a number of quite entertaining stories, and is a very good read.

This is definatly a great fairy tales book...with a bit of a twist. Okay, more than a bit, but who's counting? My favorite stories: True Love and The Constant Tin Soldier. Although I must say, despite what they say, this book is not for nine year olds. Let's rule out 10 and 11 year olds too. 12 year olds, I think they can handel it. Some of this book is quite, shall we say...vulgar, but I think they should be able to handle it. Over all it's a great book especially if you're looking for a good laugh.

If you can only purchase one book on the battle of Bentonville this book should be your second choice. I have read Hughes history of the battle as well as Mark Bradley's book on the same subject. Bradley's book covers the battle in much greater detail and has excellent maps. Hughes book is a good book, but head to head with Bradley's work finishes a distant second. Hughes gives a good overview, but I did not find his writing as engaging as I did Bradley's. Hughes book lacks the passion of the other book.

This is a very enjoyable book to read and offers a detailed and well researched account of the final battle between Sherman and Johnston at Bentonville fought on March 19-21, 1865. This was the last full scale battle between the two opposing armies. The book has 9 maps which are well presented and the battle ones are very easy to understand and follow. Overall this book is a well documentated account of this very interesting and bloody battle.

Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr. some years ago did a book on the battle of Belmont, Grant's sort of victory in the early part of the war, and the book was very good. Hughes continues this trend with a book on the battle of Bentonville, which has been largely ignored by historians because the war was essentially over when it took place. Hughes explains the maneuvers with dexterity and skill, and shows why the battle was important and how the Confederates thought they were going to make something of the victory they hoped to achieve. Includes much participant accounts of various episodes from the battle. Recommended

I bought this book because I wanted to develop a better understanding of the music I was hearing at concerts. I was disappointed. The authors spent so much effort trying to make the book interesting that they didn't include the information I was seeking. I can understand the wordplay in the section headings, but I got VERY tired of the "Bet You Didn't Know" sections with tidbits like "Salmonella was reputed to be such a wonderful piano player because he had two left hands." I tried to just skip them, but the remainder of the text assumed the reader had read those sections.

The music theory portion of the book - the part I wanted to understand the most - is only 13 pages and still left me lost. Some of it may be from oversimplification. One question I had - and still have - is the meaning of a piece described as being In C Major. The book states that this is "the basic tone on which the rest of music is constructed." I don't know if that means the most common note, the midpoint, or something else. Examples of specific works would go a long way to making this discussion more useful.

This book might be an amusing resource if you're looking for biographical trivia about composers, singers, or performers. But I would not recommend it for someone struggling to understand the music.

This book is not bad at all. It may deserve 4 stars had I never read Classical Music for Dummies. A book on classical music ought to come with a sample CD. This one doesn't. And you won't know what you miss until you get the other book.

Ironically, I took up violin when I was four (like so many Asian kids) but gave it up after 13 years of continuous practice. Recently I realized that even though I could still play, I did not know much about classical music as a genre! So I bought this book and found it very informative. Let me just say that (after checking with my music history professor) everything you need to know about classical music is here, explained in a friendly and clear way. You'll learn how to appreciate classical music as well as who-is-who in the field.

Now, would someone care to write a "complete idiot's guide to Chinese music"? :)

READ THE BIBLE AND THROW OUT THIS NONSENS

I am somewhat of a collector of Harold Sherman's sports books -- the ones that he wrote during the 1920's and 1930's.

I bought the paperback edition of this particular book (originally written in 1981) out of curiosity.

When I think of Harold Sherman, I think of all of those stirring high school and college sport operas that he wrote about the world of fresh air and fair play where teamwork and good sportsmanship inevitably prevail and where the big game is ALWAYS won in the end with a thrilling come-from-behind finish.

I bought this paperback because I was genuinely curious (but I must admit, a little disillusioned) about the fact that Harold Sherman, whom I had always though of as a bedrock of down-to-earth Midwestern values, had actually become a parapsychologist in the latter two-thirds of his life and was actually interested in the subject of communicating with the dead and other paranormal activities.

Talk about the antithesis of down-to-earth!

Well, this book was certainly entertaining enough to hold my interest, but it's really only for true believers in the paranormal and not for those like myself who are fans of Sherman's EARLIER works.

I acknowledge that I like Sherman's version of the afterlife more than I like that of most people. For personal reasons, I appreciate the absence of hell, at least in the way that it is traditionally conceived.

And I also like the complete ABSENCE of reincarnation in Sherman's view of the universe. It's much more comforting to imagine that those who have left us are waiting just around the corner for us to rejoin them, rather than being reborn into a slum in Calcutta.

But where O where, Mr. Sherman, is the SPORTS? I searched in vain, but I found NO MENTION ANYWHERE OF SPORTS in Harold Sherman's version of the afterlife.

Do you really mean, Mr. Sherman, that even YOU can discern no Valhalla on the other side where star fullback Bob Delano and super-sub Rusty Milburn, playing within the confines of a celestial version of Yankee Stadium, AGAIN crash the line on behalf of good old Bartlett in the big game against arch-rival Pennington and its ace back, King Moulton?

Is there really no setting on the other side where Prescott team members AGAIN agonize over how to defend against Redfield's top slugger Bingo Nelson (so-called because his line drives travel -- BINGO! -- down the third base line threatening the welfare of rival teams and the health of their third basemen) with no outs and the bases loaded?

"I'm still with you," Chic Hutchins gasps in "Hold That Line" to his supposed arch-enemy, Bowen teammate Vic Wanderman, who is heading downfield in a desperate attempt to [grab]victory from the jaws of defeat, at the hands of arch-rival Great Northern, by crossing the goal line with the pass that he intercepted. "Keep on going, old boy! I won't let 'em cut...you...down!"

Hutchins then throws a tremendous block on Wanderman's behalf, and this last-instant combat zone reconciliation of bitter rivals is enough to bring a manly tear to any eye.

Did Harold Sherman really come to envision an afterlife in which there no ethereal grass and white-chalked stages where such dramas are re-enacted?

I can only hope that Harold Sherman, wherever he is today, is intensely lobbying the powers-that-be for his domain to be graced with the early 20th century high school/college sports ethos (and with the lads that personified that ethos) that he once wrote about.

And anyone who wants to talk to Harold Sherman about all of this might certainly be interested in reading "The Dead Are Alive" and obtaining insight on how Harold Sherman himself recommended attempting to communicate with the dead.

But I can't help wonder if this book hasn't been overtaken by technology. It describes how one might purchase powerful and sophisticated tape recording equipment and hear the voices of the departed through the "white noise" that is heard when a blank tape is run.

Sherman acknowledges that radio waves and telephone lines are often the source of other voices and suggests that "practice makes perfect" when attempting to distinguish a spirit's voice from that of radio or telephone sound wave.

But considering the fax machines, cell phones, pagers, Internet access call signals, and microwave ovens that have been created since Sherman first wrote this book, you really have to figure that it's just that much more difficult (if not IMPOSSIBLE) for a communicative spirit to get through and for the aspiring parapsychologist to discern such spirits through all of that additional interference.

READ THIS BOOK or ANY HAROLD SHERMAN BOOK. IT'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Harold Sherman is the author of many ESP books. My favourite is "How TO Make ESP Work For You" and "The Power Of Prayer" since these are the 2 books that I own. I am sure if I own his other out of print books, I'll love them too. I READ THIS BOOK once although I didn't own it. Sherman goes from case example to another (with evidences) to convince us that the dead watches over us before they move onto another plane of existence. There's no death to the soul or consciousness, I am sure you already believe that. And our subconscious is all connected at a deeper level (hence we experience ESP sometimes). If people who read the BIBLE can talk to God which is Divine Consciousness, why can't they accept that we can communicate with all kinds of consciousness, since God includes the Whole and Infinite? I see people talking to God or Jesus in their mind and they have no problem with that. So why don't the reviewer below be more open minded? Sherman was a deeply spiritual man who radiates an aura of goodness, he was a very respected man in Arkansas and for those who knew him. He did a pioneering long-distance telepathy experiment with Sir Hubert Wilkins (the artic explorer). Wilkins was in the north pole on a rescue mission in 1938, Sherman remained in New York, and 80% of SHerman's records of Wilkin's activities were accurate! So accurate that he could record Wilkin's thoughts! He trained and experimented with the power of the human mind on himself. Once, he used ESP to save his very life from a deadly throat infection. After years of experimenting, his mind got so sensitive that he can make "coincidences" happen, read people (even stranger's) thoughts-many times unintentionally. This proves that all consciousness is connected at a deeper level of Mind! He used his ESP to help people and sometimes helping the police to solve crime accurately. (...)

This book seems like it was written as an assignment and not as a subject that actually needed to be written about. I'm a HUGE baseball fan and love reading about the business of baseball. Still, I couldn't get myself to care about this one. The writer over dramatized everything in order to make it seem like he actually had a subject. I would not recommend this book to anybody who does not LIVE for Arizona baseball.

The subject is indeed fascinating, but the book is sloppily put together. Spelling errors run throughout the text, and a key player in the Phoenix sports scene is misidentified at one point. Those editing mistakes are really inexcusable, and the occasionally holier-than-thou tone of the narrative turned me off at times. If you insist on buying it, wait until it comes out in paperback...it'll be cheaper, and hopefully someone will proofread it in the meantime.

A very enjoyable book which offers a behind the scenes look at the making of a new baseball team. I highly recommend it to all baseball fans.

"Pagen" [sic] is misspelled in the Beowulf introduction. Henry II is described in the introduction as having ruled from 1154 to 1177, when in actuality, he ruled until his death in 1189. The more I read, the less I trust what I'm reading. I recommend M. H. Abrams' Norton anthology instead.

otherwise its a great collection of texts. 3 books too.

This is an excellent anthology, with generous selections, lively introductions, and beautifully reproduced color plates. Though published on "bible paper," there is very little bleed-through. It is an splendid alternative to the Norton Anthology, not only for its ample contexts sections and for its loving attention to both canonical and new writers (especially women writers of the Renaissance), but also for its favoring of complete works--More's Utopia, Sidney's Apology, etc. I've been using IB this semester, and though there are, as the (I think excessively) negative reviewer notes below, occasional errors, these are not unusual in massive endeavors. An old game in the 1950s used to be to send grad students in search of errors and typos in the standard literary critical books of the day. I'm sure these will be cleaned up. For now the book works especially well for "survey" courses and for upper-level, specialized courses, when supplemented by another paperback or two, or course packets.

Regrettably, I feel I cannot justify this book taking up ANY room on my bookshelf. Then I thought of giving it away, but I wouldn't do that to anybody I know.

What was he thinking ? Only years of academic study would equip you with enough prentension to understand what he is trying to get at - is he trying to make a point ? I kept reading, hoping for something enlightening, without result.

My advise is - Don't waste your time or money !

While many (especially non-musicians, non-artists, non-students, non-teachers or non-thinkers) may give up on this book, there are many, many things to recommend it. Since the book is written in short, paragraph-long sections, one can jump all around, which is really how to read it. If you do you may glean numerous insights. Though prone to being pretty pretentious, Sherman has thought deeply about his work as a musician, pianist and teacher. He understands how mere technique does not make an artist, how simply hours of practice does not make a great pianist, and how music competitions are death to performers: in other words, things that need to be said! Sherman is able to convey these insights, and a patient, intelligent reader should be able to get beyond his admittedly weak style as a writer and make many discoveries.

I'm surprised by the reviews that denounce this book. Sherman's tone is at once informal and high-minded, which might limit the appeal of Piano Pieces to a particularly North American sensibility. Still, when I read it in the spring of 1996, I knew Piano Pieces would remain one of the most intellectually and creatively inspiring books that I would read on any subject. Sherman treats a range of issues related to performing the European piano literature by comparing it to, or locating it within, literary criticism, baseball, mythology, poetry, drama, aesthetic theory, art history, everyday life, personal experience, (American)consumer culture, and social history. In addition, Sherman's recollections of his own teacher, Eduard Steuermann, are touching and instructive. It is clear, too, that Sherman has learned as much from his students as he has imparted to them. Sherman has a searching, inquisitive mind that brings together disparate subjects and phenomena coherently and beautifully.

That said, Piano Pieces may not appeal to non-pianists and may turn off those pianists who, understandably, prefer not to think about how they make music. Still, this book is a fascinating record of a musical soul.

One more thing: prior to reading this book, I was only vaguely aware of Sherman as an instructor in the Boston area. After reading Piano Pieces, I sought Sherman's recordings and prepared myself for a series of disappointments. Happily, I found that he is a gifted performer. Although you may have to search for them, I especially recommend his recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas and Haydn's piano sonatas. He is a thoughtful and surprising music maker.

Larsen's /Embryology/ is not a very good embryology book at all: it has little overall organization, lots of pedantic and unclear language, and does not convey much of anything concisely. Reading it is the same as reading a laundry list of terms. If you want to get a good embryology book, this one is **definitely** NOT the one.

I am professor of Embryology and I like this book because it covers all the itens. This is an update book: It covers the molecular aspects of this beautifull science.

This book covers the basics of embryology including outstanding diagrams. In places, it has too much detail, but it is very well written and the illustrations (essential for learning embryology) are beautiful.

very unsophisticated description of the process. looks more like a list for the naive entrepreneur than a real book to prepare to being introduced to investors.

If you are thinking about or in the process of building or starting a business and have to raise outside funds, this book is for you. The author, Andrew Sherman, assumes he is speaking to an intelligent reader unlike many books I bought on this topic. I just ordered another copy of this book for my father-in-law, who is thinking of expanding his small printing company.

If you are looking for a direct,experienced and smart take on raising capital, this book is a great tool! Andrew Sherman empowers you to see through the often complex process of raising capital - all the venture financing basics + new neat stuff such as strategic alliances and co-branding....are included. If you want to understand and be a proactive participant in raising capital for your company take advantage of this book.