Performing Arts Books - Page 5

The Monkey Wrench Gang

Edward Abbey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 104 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Edward Abbey called The Monkey Wrench Gang a "comic extravaganza," which it is, although one with a clear, serious message: to protect the American wilderness from the forces of commercial enterprise. The story centers on George Hayduke, an ex-Green Beret and Vietnam vet, who returns to the Southwestern desert after the war to find his beloved canyons and rivers threatened by industrial development. On a whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River, Hayduke joins forces with three others who share his indignation and want to do something about it: feminist saboteur and Bronx exile Bonnie Abzug, wilderness guide and outcast Mormon Seldom Seen Smith, and libertarian billboard torcher Doc Sarvis, M.D. Together they venture off to become eco-raiders, waging war on the strip miners, clear-cutters, and the highway, dam, and bridge builders who are turning their natural habitat into a wasteland. The misadventures of this motley group make for an uproarious blend of chaos, conflict, and comedy.

Private Parts

Stern

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 82 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Bathroom Read 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is one of those books you can pick up anywhere, read a few pages, enjoy it, and put it down again. Perfect for, er, certain rooms in the apartment.

If you get Howard, you should get this.

....and i thought i was disfunctional! 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

a rather interesting bio. pretty much the whole book is half bio and half satire and commentary. it definitly give's you a tour into the demented mind of howard stern and as you progress through the book even as raunchy as it get's you finish by saying to yourself "well that made sense"

not for the uptight and not for the easily offended,,,read with an open mind!

HOWARD IS THE BEST 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I could actually hear Howards voice as I read this great book that tells the story of Howard Stern from a child until present day(1994)Also check out his follow up book Miss America(its also great)

"Can one pour out one's heart?" 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Writing about oneself is an extremely difficult task that requires both daring and self-criticism. I don't know how many times I wanted to destroy my own writing because, with time, I realized how naive and stupid I was in the past. This is not the case with Howard Stern's autobiography here. He's a very brave man who does not fear to be criticized neither for who he is nor for what he does. Perhaps, the greatest anxiety of being ignored or under-appreciated drives H. Stern to put his "private parts" into unusual and fascinating language codes. And in this creative process, he is probably to be compared to such great names of the past as Giovanni Boccaccio ("The Decameron") and Francois Rable ("The Life of Gargantua and Pantagruel").

Moreover, H. Stern's "Private Parts" is a great representation for the recent immigrants like me of the unofficial American life in the second half of the 20th century. I'm reading this book along with Peter Novick's "The Holocaust and Collective Memory" and it's a great combination so far that allows me to see what's considered history and by whom.

Leaving the critical reflection for people who don't understand that critical concepts and theories are not weapons to discredit an artwork or an artist, just want to say, "I really loved this book!" I did love it even though as an average woman I was constantly measuring myself up to who H. Stern considered "hot" or "nice" or important. On the other hand, reading "Private Parts", I've never felt alone in my self-oppressive thoughts and unrealistic dreams. Howard Stern also indulges into both unimaginable self-appraisal and genuinely scary self-criticism.

I'm still just half-through his book, but I think I won't change my mind about his talent and daring even if he wrote at the end that every reader of the book is an idiot. So far, I don't even care what the book ends on. H. Stern has already put the culmination at the beginning - a very feminist gesture... If you are easily excited (sexually I mean) I'm not sure you'll be able to continue reading after the first 10 pages. You'll surely need to pause... for a while... Enjoy the reading!

Editorial Review:

shares his observations on politics, current affairs, women, and the entertainment business. Reprint.

The Quotable John Wayne: The Grit and Wisdom of an American Icon

Carol Lea Mueller

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks By: Taylor Trade Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $10.16

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Father-in-law thrilled with it 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The John Wayne fanatic in our family (who, by the way, has nearly everything John Wayne) was excited to receive this as a gift.

A Fresh new look at John Wayne 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I've been a fan of "Duke" for over 30 years and I've read a lot about him, and I can say that "The Quotable John Wayne - The Grit And Wisdom Of An American Icon" by Carol Lea Mueller is one of the finest. Not simply another boring biography like many other books, this book succinctly gets to the 'True Grit'...the spirit behind the legend of the man. Chock full of interesting anecdotes,memorable quotes and tasty tidbits regarding Duke's attitudes about God, America & family values, it's all here. Good job Ms. Mueller!

Editorial Review:

Perhaps best known for his classic movie lines, such as Fill your hands, you sons-a-bitches from True Grit, the late actor John Wayne often displayed a spontaneous and biting wit away from the screen as well. This gem of inspiration contains Wayne anecdotes on God and country, the old West, friends and family, acting, and quotes from others about John Wayne the actor, and John Wayne the man.

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 163 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting and ... 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting and ...

Review of Play: Waiting for Godot - A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

Written in: 1949

Premiere in: 1953

By: Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989)

Originally written in French and translated to English by the author himself.

This play takes place on a desolate road next to a barren tree. There are two aimless men loitering and passing the time in discussion. They are soon joined by two others. The first act of the play lasts through one evening. The second act lasts through a second evening almost identical to the first. When ever the subject of leaving their spot arises, we learn that they can't leave because they are "Waiting for Godot" and need to stay at this particular spot on the road.

There is a sense of timelessness. The second evenings (second act) seems to be slightly altered copy of the first evening (first act). The characters are "Waiting for Godot" and for salvation. Their wait for salvation might well be endless since all of them are loath to face their true motives, their real needs, their personal wants and honest desires. They don't seem to know why they are "Waiting for Godot" or what Godot (God?) will bring them. When they mention suicide they flippantly dismiss the subject. One time they say they can not hang themselves because they have no rope when in fact there is a rope lying on the stage as one of the few props.

They appear to have voluntarily subjected themselves to a purgatory and don't have the courage or initiative to even question their situation.

The discussion ranges from an inane account of boots being too tight to sophistic meanderings on the purpose of life. The characters seem to relentlessly keep talking to avoid facing something. We are not privy to any of their pasts or in fact any personal information about any of the characters. They might have been meeting on the desolate road for an endless time, so that any past that they had is lost in the mist of their memories.

The nearly barren tree reminds them of a hanging tree and by implication a crucifixion cross. The tree dominates the stage background just as Godot dominates the lives; free choice and every expression of the four main characters. Does the milieu force the characters to think of salvation to the exclusion of a meaningful life? Could their need for salvation keep them trapped in a purgative existence where escape would be a form of condemnation which none of them could tolerate?

The play "Waiting for Godot" forces the reader to ask questions of him/her self.



Waiting for Godot

Krapp's Last Tape

Endgame and Act Without Words



I completely enjoyed and highly recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

Waiting for Godot is the best-known work of Samuel Beckett, the Irish dramatist and novelist. Half a century after it was first published, the play is considered forerunner of the plays of Ionesco, Pinter, Stoppard, and others. Study the play with this volume, which includes some of the best criticism available on the play.

The title, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Interpretations series, presents the most important 20th-century criticism on Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot through extracts of critical essays by well-known literary critics. This collection of criticism also features a short biography on Samuel Beckett, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University.

Rebel without a Crew: 8Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player

Robert Rodriguez

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 117 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Teriffic! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Loved this book. Funny and insightful look at breaking into Hollywood. Read it & watch El Mariachi.

intresting 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

i have been in the motion picture world for a very long time, i also know alot about low budget filmmaking and i love the way how he got into the industry, i think he tells his story in a very intresting way but i do not like the fact how he makes it seems like film school is completly useless, i understand where he was coming from but do not diss film school as if you cannot learn anything from it, i myself did not attend film school but for 15 years of my life i read about cinema. i must have read so many books on film directing and it did help me out alot, i think he also forgot that he went to film school himself, he had to know the rules in order to break them properly. this book had me laughing alot, robert has a great sense of humor and his ten min film school can be very useful to alot of us independant filmmakers, he's right film school does show you how to work on a huge set that cost alot of money but thats because they hope one day you make it big, they show you how to work as a team with other crew members just like robert is doing now. i've seen him on several film sets and his crew consists of more then 75 people, way more then he worked with the first time, so when reading this book don't take things literally.

Editorial Review:

A behind-the-scenes look at the film world by the 23-year-old director of El Mariachi, a highly successful low-budget independent film, covers the making of that film and the business deals that made its success possible. 15,000 first printing. Tour.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Stoppard Tom

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 83 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

grossly overrated 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Hard to believe all the good reviews here. This is a silly little book, with no story, no coherent dialog, and no meaning. Worst of all the jokes are not funny.

Brilliant. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

No mean to be offensive or anything, but I honestly feel that if people do not find R&G Are Dead hysterically funny and/or wonderfully ingenious, they have probably missed Stoppard's point in this play.

This play was during the age known as Theatre of the Absurd, when ridiculous plots and characters were used to overall convey themes about life and people's preposterousness. As one can see, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are precisely such characters, as is their plight.

It should be noted that this play is a much more valuable experience for the reader if he has read Shakespeare's Hamlet previously, as it is R&G that serve a purpose in the play. However, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead was not written to enforce the thematic points of Hamlet, I simply recommend it to give readers a different perspective. And it is a wonderfully funny perspective, at that.

It is a wonderful work. I highly recommend it for those who are not too fixated on trying to find a deeper meaning with Hamlet, because that simply is not the reason for this play's existence.

Dancing shoes

Noel Streatfeild

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

More charm and fun in this installment of the Shoes books 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Dancing Shoes is a similar formula compared to Streatfeild's other books. After Rachel and Hilary's father dies, they are sent to live with their Aunt Cora, who owns a talent school and troupe. While Hilary is a very talented dancer, she wants nothing more than to have fun. Her sister, Rachel wants nothing to do with dancing, but she does want Hilary to go to the Royal Ballet School to study proper ballet, as her family and old dance teacher wished for, even though Hilary doesn't want to. So everyone, including their mean and selfish Aunt Cora, believe that Rachel is jealous of Hilary. Meanwhile, Aunt Cora's talented, and conceited, daughter now has competition with Hilary.

The book is full of the same charm as her others. While not as endearing as Ballet Shoes and Theater Shoes, maybe only due to the nastiness of Aunt Cora and how mean she is to Rachel, it is still a wonderful read. Any fans of Streatfeild's other books will surely love this book as well.

Editorial Review:

Aunt Cora is determined to turn two orphans, perky Hilary and sullen Rachel, into members of her dance troupe. But Rachel wants to keep Hilary from being one of Wintle’s Little Wonders—is it selfishness or something else? Misunderstandings and a spoiled cousin come together for a tale full of high drama. Originally published in 1957.

Nutcracker

E.T.A. Hoffmann

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not suitable for young children 2 out of 5 stars.
62 of 71 people found this review helpful.

My daughter loves the Nutcracker ballet and I thought it would be good for her to know the full story behind it (I had never heard it myself). The previous reviews and comments on the beautiful illustrations led me to believe this would be a great choice for my 5 year old daughter.

The illustrations are very similar in style to those in Where the Wild Things Are. If you don't like that book, you won't like the illustrations in this one. Also be aware that this is NOT a picture book. There is a very high ratio of text to illustrations.
I also feel the text is inappropriate for young children. The actual story is very dark and the language, while beautiful, is above the vocabulary and experience of most young children. ( "These intrepid and magnificently uniformed troops, consisting of gardeners, Tyroleans, Tunguses, barbers, harlequins, cupids, lions, and tigers, and monkeys, fought with coolness, courage, and perseverance. With their Spartan bravery, this elite regiment would have wrested the victory from the enemy, had not a daring mouse captain leaped into the fray and bitten the head off one of the Chinese emperors, who in falling crushed two Tunguses and a monkey." p32)

I WOULD recommend this book for older children.

Editorial Review:

In Nutcracker, the premier children's book illustrator of our time adds his own magic to a story that has long enchanted children and grown-ups alike. Maurice Sendak created this illustrated version of Hoffmann's wonderful tale, basing his illustrations on the sets and costumes he designed for a dance production staged by the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Illustrations.

Romeo and Juliet (Dover Thrift Editions)

William Shakespeare

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Shakespeare as it should be... 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is Shakespeare as it should be... no extraneous notes, no unnecessary stage directions, nothing but the text. If you are looking for anything that explains character, language, theme, etc. don't look here, as Shakespeare never wrote any of that. This is purely the text as-is.

As a theatre professor, I would rather have my students work with a text like this rather than one littered with useless commentary and biased notations. If you don't understand a term or reference, use the Oxford English Dictionary rather than the limp and limited notes available in many editions.

Well worth the money. 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Romeo and Juliet does not read as well as some other plays such as Hamlet. It must be seen to be fully enjoyed. Nevertheless, I would reccomend this edition of the play. It is dirt cheap, for the amount of content you recieve, it is well worth the money. I reccomended it, however I strongly suggest you watch the play first before reading it. I believe that only after you watch the play will you fully appreciate it.

Editorial Review:

Tragic tale of star-crossed lovers, feuding families, and timeless passion contains some of Bard’s most beautiful poetry.

Self-Working Table Magic: 97 Foolproof Tricks with Everyday Objects

Karl Fulves

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Any of the Self Working titles are gold mines 5 out of 5 stars.
44 of 48 people found this review helpful.

Many beginners to magic (and others who should know better) are of the opinion that a magic effect has to be difficult in order to be worthwhile. While there are many killer effects that take months or years of practice, there are equally wonderful tricks that rely on psychology, subtlety, and/or advance preparation. The Self Working series of books are a treasure trove of great magic. This book is no exception. Many of the included tricks are used by successful professional magicians. Admittedly, these are best used in a program with other, more elaborate tricks, but for those moments in your act where you need a short, sweet effect, something in this book might just fill the bill. And as you get more proficient in magic you will find ways to further embellish these tricks and make them your own private miracles.

Editorial Review:

97 mystifying tricks done with ordinary objects that can be borrowed from the audience. Make coins appear or disappear; matchsticks jump into the air; classic cups and balls; pierce balloons without bursting them; plus tricks with dice, rubber bands, eggs, safety pins, pens and pencils, more. 185 illustrations.