My daughter, Nadine Morse, recommended this book to me. It says something about the timelessness of the book that it appealed to a 20-year-old and a woman (slightly!) over forty. I found it fresh and invigorating, and am amazed it was written by a woman younger than my daughter.

I found the quotes from people in the music industry to be highly entertaining, but the best parts of the book were the author's introductions. I'm going to look for more books by this author.

I originally bought this book when it was first published, in 1982 -- at the book release party, which was held at The Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco. I loved it then, and was happy to find it was still for sale after all these years. It provides such an accurate picture of what was going on in San Francisco during the late 70's; not just the music scene, but the scene in general. And much of it's timeless, but the parts that aren't are fascinating in their 'time capsule' quality.

I'm twenty, so hadn't been born when this book was being written, but I thought it offered a fascinating glimpse into the lives and thoughts of music people in San Francisco during that era. But your site says there are two other reviews...I couldn't access them, though.

I try to get all of Bill Burk's books. I enjoy his writings about Elvis so much.
I also have all his Elvis World Magazines. He only writes the truth. You will find no lies about Elvis in his books so they will sell.

This is the longest-running, best-selling book in the Graceland shops since its first printing in 1987! The author -- a personal friend of Elvis' and a journalist who wrote almost 400 stories and interviews on Elvis during a 20-year span -- paints an insider's picture of Elvis, the human being behind the glitter. He was the lone journalist allowed on Elvis' private train car coming home from the Army and the first to take Elvis aloft in a small airplane and allow him to handle the controls. Follow the ups and downs of Elvis from 1957 to 1977, including their last private conversation while parked behind a donut shop near Graceland after midnight just 3 months before Elvis died. The author -- well-known to Elvis fans around the world, and widely "researched" by more famous writers -- has always been sensitive to the private Elvis.

This book is one of the most comprehensive looks at a legend ...an inside look by Mr. Burk who was the only journalist allowed inside Graceland to interview Elvis. I was fortunate enough to have a friend to loan me the first edition years ago, and I contacted Mr. Burk to try to obtain a copy which was out of print at the time. I'm so grateful that he had another printing done and I was able to obtain a copy for myself. Just one in a series of works from Mr. Burk about his favorite subject. I will always buy Mr. Burk's books.

This is a wonderful, concise book that will help anyone achieve a higher level of guitar mastery. The book covers blues, bending, soloing, modal theory,and many other areas of guitar playing. It is highly recomended.

This is a really great book! It's just so well put together. I can tell it's going to really do wonders for my playing. I can not tell you what a great surprise this was, looking through the shelves and finding this! I think I may finally understand the modes and how chords work. Can't wait to dig in!

Whether you've been playing guitar for 30 years or 30 minutes, you will find a wealth of information here that will be a source of inspiration for years to come. Mr. Schonbrun's comprehensive approach and clear, concise explanations cover everything you'll ever need to excel on the guitar. The accompanying CD is a real bonus, which helps illustrate the numerous examples in the book, and is performed at tempos that we mere mortals can relate to. Forget about purchasing a separate book for scales, chords,modes, theory, etc: this book has it all!

If you're getting into climbing and getting into it fast, there are about five books to get, and this is one. Eric Horst gives a solid overview about how to speed progress and avoid typical mistakes such as overtraining, a common problem that kept me in 5.9 longer than I needed. The progression from grade to grade is more a mental one than a physical one, as my weeklong slothfest followed by a near full number jump in climbing ability will attest. Buy this, Performance Rock Climbing by Dale Goddard, the Heather Sagar book, and as much John Long as you can afford, and you will move more quickly up the ladder. Or, you can lift and jog yourself to death and spend your money on fingerboards, supplements, and other dubious methods, and hang out at your current level for a few more months or years like the other groundlings. Success requires effort; efficient effort requires knowledge. Get some.

This book is a very thorough, overall guide to training for climbing. It is very helpful for discovering what you need to work on in order to maximize your climbing potential. I didn't realize how ignorant I was about training until I read this book.

This is a great climbing book in that it presents two great ideas. They are you can climb 5.12.and you have to train like a real athlete to succeed at rock climbig. I know climbing is fun but I want to excell at it . This was very helpful in gaining the focus I need.

It's been a few years since I've read any 'Beatle' books. (I had my fanatical Beatle phase in high school in the 80's.) But, something about this book drew me, so I bought it.

I think it's great at filling in some holes in the Beatle mythology. Brian's talents are very fully explained. His weaknesses are, too. Therefore, for the first time, he comes across as a more complete person.

He was obviously ahead of his time in terms of the music business. His artists loved him and respected him, but they didn't fear him.

It's interesting that after all this time, there's still conflict about his demise--did he or didn't he kill himself. It reminds me a bit of the Michael Hutchence accidental/suicide death.

I like the style of the book--the oral history with additional explanation. It leaves the history to the people who were there.

I agree with the earlier reviewer's incredulous comments about the cover of this book. If the publisher wanted to make browsers think twice about a purchase, they've done it.

But despite the cheesy cover, I went ahead with my purchase & was not disappointed. One would think that just about every aspect of the Beatles has been absolutely covered and trampled to death. Then along comes Debbie Geller with this gem - the Brian Epstein angle has been an untapped vein up until this point. It's not so much a traditional book about her subject as it is an oral history. Geller's coup is to get Paul McCartney - among many other voices - to comment at length on Epstein's role with the group.

The book's main themes and premises, of which a strong case is made by all the book's participants:

1. There would be no Beatles without Epstein. During the very early sixties when they were no more than a crude band distinguished only by their Hamburg experience, Epstein's belief in 'his boys' was indefatigable. He created a new image for them, and sold that image - after much rejection - to London.

2. Epstein created rock and roll management and promotion as we know it today; it simply did not exist before he came along, & it is around today mainly in the guise that he created.

3. Epstein was a terribly complex and conflicted man. No one participating in this project makes the case that he was 'nice' or easy to get along with. In fact, he comes across as a holy terror at times. Jewish in a non-Jewish world, openly gay prior to any societal openness on that front, a manic-depressive (some posit) before a clinical diagnosis for such an afflication existed, addicted to various uppers and downers.

This was a terribly complex, troubled - but enormously gifted - man. To think that he fit all he did into 32 short years. Amazing.

Thank you Debbie Geller for honoring this blazing comet named Brian Espstein, who willed the Beatles into this world.

Ok - so the cover is so heinous that one wonders whether anyone is actually breathing at St Martin's Press. Despite that, this is a subtle and nuanced celebration of the life of a truly unsung hero - and a celebration it is, despite the temptation to characterize Epstein's life as a sordid tragedy, victim of the era etcetera etcetera. A truly original man, with his own share of demons, but also with the incredible vision to recognise in the Beatles that which the rest of us now take for granted - and this when they were nobodies, and he was the only one to recognise the genius.

What Debbie Geller conveys so beautifully is that transition from a normal life to a life lived in the strange swirl of celebrity. And by "curating" the book, rather than writing it (ie, leaving it in the words of the people she and Wall interviewed for the documentary), Geller allows the protagists to remember Epstein - it makes for an impressionistic protrait of him: complex, contradictory, filled with incredible life.

As outlined above, this book details the history of thalidomide, including its discovery, introduction into society, harmful effects, withdrawal, and eventual rebirth as a useful medication. It is very interesting and keeps your attention throughout the entire book. I am a physician and learned very much from this book, including some information about the FDA, and even about what thalidomide is used for today. I would say that you should read this book if you have any interest in medical history told in a narrative fashion. It will educate you on a tragic event in history and the amazing effects of medications upon human beings. Great, great, great book!

Dark Remedy tells of how thalidomide caused the greatest medical disaster in history - but today is enjoying a comeback as a life-saving treatment despite its side effects. Dark Remedy considers how the drug became a nightmare in the 1960s, how it was banned, and how it's receiving new research attention today which may reinstate its use without its side effects. An intriguing medical history.

This short book is a compelling drama, complete with innocent victims, dark villians and compassionate and dedicated heros. But it is no simple account in black and white. Rather it is a textured retelling of the profound human tragedy of Tahlidomide, it's impact on the phamaceutical industry, the FDA's regulatory role, and the pursuit of scientific insight.

It will come as a surprise to many laypeople that Thalidomide, notorious for the extreme birth defects it caused when it burst upon the consciousness of the world in the early 1960s, is now used for the treatment of dozens of conditions. This book details the painful story of Thalidomide's devastation; the greed and indifference of it's corporate promoters; the dilligence and dedication of a handful of doctors who helped curtail it's spread, the tortured legal struggle of it's victims, and the difficult and collaborative process by which scientists discovered it's secrets and are putting it to use to relieve suffering.

The history is recounted on a human scale, making the drama real to the reader. The science, as complex as it is - including molecular structures and the mechanisms of DNA - is articulated in a way that makes it accessible even to the layperson.

I highly recommend it.

This is definitely the most unusual book I have read about Marilyn Manson, rather than looking at the group's exploits, it takes a very indepth look at what makes MM tick. All of his early influences and heroes are looked at with an excellent and informative manner. However this is not a autobiography by any means. It does exactly what the title says, dissects him and many other people in the music scene. This is a book for Manson fans who have read all the usual stuff, and want to dig a little deeper, it clearly explains his ideas and points of view on his music and what he is trying to express. The bands message sometimes gets lost in the excitement of there performances, and this book helps you to see some of the things you may have missed or misinterpreted first time around, the book can be slightly hard going, but perservere and its still a satisfying read.

I have read more than my fair share of interviews and editorials on this artist; it is a must for anyone tired of them, hungary for more, or simply curious. Essentially devoid of meaningless non-commital banter, the author manages to address nearly every subject parralel and adjacent to the band's life and leader. It was such an intriguing read that I still think about it whenever any aspect of the artist comes up in daily life. In fact, for the purpose of journalistic study, I try to make time to read over it again.

The book dissecting Marilyn Manson has a lot of information for the man himself Marilyn Manson with the help of Gavin Baddeley and other the book takes on a life of its own with vivid pictures I find something new in it every time I read the book.

Daniel Nester is an obsessed fan. Nothing strange there - lots of music books are written by fans. The difference is that Nester - also a New York poet - takes his fandom seriously; he considers it a suitable topic for poetry. And why not? Post-baby-boomers tend to define themselves by their cultural affiliations - whether you like the Smiths or System of a Down, pop taste articulates your personality, your stance towards the world. Nester's prose poems - one for every Queen song - go well beyond the traditional tribute. They explore the odd, obsessive mindset of the fan, the curious distance and closeness he feels towards his chosen object. The poems are madly associative in the Beat tradition but also toy with a pedantic scholarly bent, particularly in the hilarious footnotes. This bold work deserves to be read and discussed.

I believe that any music obsessive can always identify another. Just by casually glancing at this book I immediately recognized the author as a genuine fanatic. But the book isn't merely the ramblings of a Queen junkie (that would hardly be enough). It is a carefully crafted trip down the author's own memory lane with Queen as the singular, all-consuming soundtrack. The result is so infectious that I could hardly believe that I was anxious to read it again (rare for a book of poetry). It also made me anxious to revisit the Queen canon. A perfectly fitting tribute to a great (and sometimes underrated) band.

I'm a Queen fan, so I went online to look for a few books about the band, and I found this. I'm not really into poetry, but this book rocked. There were a few times I laughed out loud when I was reading it. This guy is funny and sincere. I'm 30, and there was something about this book that reminded me of when I was 12 or 13 and first getting into music. It's more about being a weirdo teenager than anything else. I really liked it. Also, it's the size of a 45, which is cool.

I keep this book as a reference in my personal library. The invoice formulas are very helpful.
I walked into the Mercedes-Benz dealership knowing the maximum amount I was going to spend for a C230 Kompressor in July 2000, that's empowerment.
I want to sell this car and get a 2003, E320 or E500. I checked the Kelly's Blue Book and my car's valuation is $1800 higher (before taxes) than what I paid for it 2 years ago! I expect to just about break even when I sell my current car in August.
A negative note: The author is very repetative and (in every chapter) he constantly reminds you that all car salesmen are the lowest form of theives. I can put up with that, though, because the book worked for me. It's better than walking into a showroom naïve and unprepared.

I purchased a car where the saleman made $4 on the car. I used this same strategy to purchase a used car. About a month after I brought the car, it was totaled. I received about $300 more from the insurance company than I paid for the car! This book is excellent. This is probably the 5th or 6th time I've purchased this book. Everytime I hear someone is buying a car, I have to lend it to them (although I'm obviously not good at following up to get my book back). However, I don't regret one dime I've spent on this book. I'm about to buy it again because I'm getting ready to purchase another car and want to refresh! Take my advice -- DON'T BUY A CAR WITHOUT THIS BOOK.

The advice given in this book helped me save thousands on my new car purchase. Dr. Sachs gives readers the inside information to sucessfully navigate the dangerous and stressfull world of car buying. For the first time, I don't feel like I was ripped off by a dealer. Don't buy a car without reading this book.

I just finished this book. Her first book was great but this one was awesome! I had gastric bypass surgery in Aug of 2001. Carnie truly is an inspiration! This book talks about how losing all the weight does not magically fix all our personal problems. She tells it like it is and doesn't hold back. I think it is awesome that she decided to accept Playboy's offer to pose. You go girl!

Carnie's second book talks about what happens after the surgery is done. You still have all the emotional problems you had when you were fat. I had my surgery in August of 2001. I know that I can relate to much of what she is saying in this book. She is honest and tells it like it is. She is an inspiration! Posing for Playboy? You go girl!!

Carnie is out of control...and I like it! She is hot, outspoken, brash, honest, real and can't hold back. My only complaint is that the book is too short. I was on vacation in Kauai and met a delightful tourist, Dr. Bombay, and shared the book with him. Before long, he was laughing with tears rolling down his face like someone who sat on a whoopie cushion. It was great sharing the book and seeing how she can improve the character of those she touches!