Thank goodness that this book is out of print! Even when it was published back in the 70s it contained erroneous and rediculous information. Ms. Bach advises readers not to exercise while they are overweight because the fat will be converted into ugly bulky muscles!!! There are many such silly, uneducated statements throughout the book. The Lotte Berk method takes its movements from ballet, yoga, and therapeutic back exercises. This is nothing new. Pilates was doing it much better and for decades before anyone ever heard of Lydia or Lotte. While Ms. Bach specifically states in her book that one must study the method with a personal instructor in order to achieve true and proper form and thus results - one would have to live in New York and have lots of $$$ as the Lotte Berk Studios are expensive, exclusive, and for the wealthy. I understand that Lotte Berk is now available on video (gee, it sure took them a long time to get on the exercise video bandwagon)! Don't waste your money on Lotte Berk video,dvd,book (whatever). I highly recommend one of the many Method Pilates and Callanetics videos out there. You will not be sorry.

Both Lydia Bach and Callan Pinckney studied under Lotte Berk for a time, then went their separate ways. Callan did some modifications to the exercises so that people with back problems (which she also had) could do them, as well as people who were just starting out. Lydia did not modify them. When you read this book, you definitely get the message that if you are not already fit, or someone who has the flexibility of a ballet dancer or a yogi, don't bother.

It kind of has some artsy/grainy black and white photography, and is interesting if you are looking at the original method to see where Callanetics came from, but as a manual of exercise, even though it demonstrates the positions, it is not as "ordinary people" friendly as Callanetics. Buy Callanetics instead, you won't be sorry.

Maybe it would have been clever if the author wasn't just cranking out reasons for hating every brand-name school in thr country. I don't think throwing in six top-ten lists should count as 60 individual reasons - that's cheating. Too many dumb blonde jokes in there.