The Widening Gyre (Spenser Novels (Dell))

Book Description

The adoring wife of a senatorial candidate has a smile as sweet as candy and dots her "i's" with little hearts. A blond beauty, she is the perfect mate for an ambitious politician, but she has a little problem with sex and drugs--a problem someone has managed to put on videotape.

The big boys figure a little blackmail will put her husband out of the race. Until Spenser hops on the candidate's bandwagon.

But getting back the tape of the lady's X-rated indiscretion is a nonstop express ride to trouble--trouble that is deep, wide and deadly.

"A thriller all the way." (Seattle Times)

Customer Reviews:

Solid Spenser.......2007-06-21

Another lively book in the Spenser series. Not great, but very good.

Quick & dirty.......2007-06-12

Spenser is hired to watch over a Senatorial candidate in this short book. Meade Alexander is a true-blue fundamentalist Christian and his adoring wife is the perfect politician's wife - beautiful and poised. But, as it turns out, she has a dark secret. She tends to get drunk and commit . . . indiscretions. Meade, as it turns out, is being blackmailed, and he asks Spenser to find a way to stop it. Meade does not want his wife to ever know about the blackmail, or even to find out that he knows about her indiscretions.

Spenser unravels the threads that lead him to a drug ring and what appears to be a flourishing black-mail circle. Pulling on the loose threads brings him, unfortunately, to the attention of some very dangerous people.

Spenser is off-balance through a good deal of this book, as Susan Silverman is away, working on her doctorate and this leaves Spenser feeling like he is without his center.

A strong showing in the Spenser story line.

Typical Spenser.......2007-05-29

This short novel was the typical Spenser which is to say very good. I enjoy the mix of intellect and toughness of Parker's charachter. A good read as usual.

"I Spin my Tales (and Bust a few Chops) As I Walk Alone Through Night Drenched Streets." - The Private Eye........2007-01-17

This one played the neon-light-blink, moaning-blues song of the lonely P.I., but with a sugar plum twist of Spenser's ideal of Romantic Love oozing out-of-the-funk. Susan cast a long shadow in the background until Spenser drew her into his Spotlight midway through the plot. Prior to Susan's entrance, The Master P.I. had walked alone. Not even the Hawk had flown there, except for a cool cameo in the plot conclusion. Spenser narrated the soliloquy scene so well at times that the style in THE WIDENING GYRE, # 10 in series, read like a diary dealing with the sad refrain of "Susan's away" (she was in Washington DC, getting her PhD, developing her "Me").

When Susan did arrive in plot ... actually Spenser went to DC were she was solidly steeped into her "schooling"; stuck-in-the-mud of its professional status of mining/mixing ... she and Spencer exchanged a few thought provoking conversations, doodling boarders around Cynicism and Romantic Love. With interesting irony, Susan was the cynic, interpreting each human action/feeling as self-serving. Those conversations, containing several pages of quotable-keepers, set a large segment of the baseline for the evolving Silverman/Spenser mystique. (See chapters 19 & 22, in particular.)

Well prior to those scenes, eighteen-year-old Paul had arrived at Spenser's apartment to share the Thanksgiving holiday, and zinged Spenser with a few passages of "blow-your-socks-off" wisdom about intimacy breaking down Spenser's previously well-contained-and-clearly-coded "me-ness." If nothing else had given me a clue, I would have known Spenser was in a MOOD in this one (entertaining to the reader though not to him) by the dull description of food available, and resultant location of the "Be Thankful" dining event.

I'm glad I didn't miss the touching (and telling) comment Spenser made to one of the Grannies involved in the voyeurism scenes, as he walked away from her after having "saved her bacon" (though no cast iron skillets sizzled in this one).

I enjoyed riding along through Spenser's daily diary submissions about booze and caffeine, describing the ticking of minutes as he struggled to stretch the timing and flavor of his culinary "vices" ... which The Experts had proclaimed bad one year (or decade), good the next. This series is a fascinating vehicle for recalling the years when certain habits emerged with stamps of sanction or sacrilege. From my observations, the 70's were the time of shuffling every card of "Do" and "Don't"; sorting and re-sorting the ups and downs of each trump of life-and-taste, until Flavor Itself, along with Human Nature were condemned as Ultimate Evils.

Such a deal. And that makes sense why?

Sigh. Maybe a decade will arrive in which sanity, or even a useful sentience will emerge from the abused bowels of the human race. Maybe the pseudo varieties of Science will slither down the drains in the dungeons of drudgery, and what's left to pick up from The School floor will clean up into something based on truth instead of in alternate fad pushing (with punishment, $$$, and fame the partially hidden intents).

(An informative, intriguing series of Amazon Shorts is currently available which addresses evolutions around some of this thinking, which was upchucked and overturned in the 70's, then poked and picked to death in the 80's and 90's. In the 00's, we seem to be in a stupor of gyration to the sloshes of aftermath. Is it any wonder this is the outcome of the age which coined "Duh"? The series of which I'm speaking was presented by scientists Gregory Benford and Michael Rose. I've recently reviewed the first 5 of their series of Amazon Shorts.)

I was intrigued by Spenser's play on "Gyre" in his book-front-dedication and quote from William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming." Parker asks, "Can the center hold, or not." That was the question. Spenser seemed to be dramatizing that it can. He added a how and why.

WIDENING GYRE was a classy offering in this cultural landmark of a series. I very much enjoyed the slight-lime-twist on the classic "voice" of the low-key, poor-me, lonely P. I. My thanks to Parker for staying true-to-soul and avoiding another same-ole detective series. That well-established, long-trod genre has abundantly and sensually filled a void with lip-smacking (and bone-shattering) satisfaction. But for me, The World's need for Spenser was/is like its need for gravity.

Bless the same-ole, along with the unique (maybe they need each other),
Linda Shelnutt

The Widening Gyre.......2006-11-07

Great book - I highly recommend it. The vendor sent it very quickly and was in better shape than I expected.

Average customer rating:

The Widening Gyre
Robert B. Parker
Manufacturer: Dell Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000Q8QGN6

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WIDENING GYRE (SPENSER, NO 10)

Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GKYZ2S

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Widening Gyre 1ST Edition Inscribed
Robert Parker
Manufacturer: DELACORTE PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TXLPCU

Widening Gyre Crisis & Mastery in Modern

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Widening Gyre Crisis & Mastery in Modern
Joseph Frank
Manufacturer: RUTGERS UNIV PRESS *
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000Q3Y9IK

Widening Gyre Crisis and Mastery in Modern Literatur

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Widening Gyre Crisis and Mastery in Modern Literatur
J Frank
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Widening Gyre, a Spenser Novel
Robert B. Parker
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W7GRQC

Within a Widening Gyre: Going Beyond the Greco Roman for a Coherent Model of Rhetoric

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Within a Widening Gyre: Going Beyond the Greco Roman for a Coherent Model of Rhetoric
Samuel Edelman
Manufacturer: Hampton Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Rhetoric | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1572732970

Decentering The Contact Center: Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; ... article from: Customer Interaction Solutions

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Decentering The Contact Center: Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; ... article from: Customer Interaction Solutions
Erik Lounsbury
Manufacturer: Technology Marketing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Customer Interaction Solutions, published by Technology Marketing Corporation on November 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2973 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Decentering The Contact Center: Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. (Staff).
Author: Erik Lounsbury
Publication: Customer Interaction Solutions (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2001
Publisher: Technology Marketing Corporation
Volume: 20 Issue: 5 Page: 28(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Widening Gyre: Crisis and Mastery in Modern Literature

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The Widening Gyre: Crisis and Mastery in Modern Literature
Joseph Frank
Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H5DAQ4

Average customer rating:

I love this book

Help! My book is now lined with post-its!...

Very good baking book

A great book for beginner and expert alike.

Authoritative

How to Bake: Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins,
Nick Malgieri
Manufacturer: William Morrow Cookbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Bread | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Cakes | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Muffins | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Reference | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Perfect Cakes

A Baker's Tour: Nick Malgieri's Favorite Baking Recipes from Around the World

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Nick Malgieri's Perfect Pastry: Create Fantastic Desserts by Mastering the Basic Techniques

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ASIN: 0060168196

Book Description

How To Bake is as necessary and essential as a good oven; it is the most comprehensive and accessible guide to baking available in English. In a single, illustrated volume, Nick Malgieri, one of America's preeminent bakers and baking teachers, leads cooks through the simple art of creating an international assortment of delicious sweet and savory baked goods.

Here are the best recipes for breads, including such quick ones as Buttermilk Corn Bread, Irish Soda Bread, Classic Southern Biscuits, and Currant Tea Scones, as well as such delicious yeast-risen breads as Italian Bread Rings, Swiss Rye Bread, Challah, and English Muffins. Malgieri also offers recipes for savory treats like Old-Fashioned Chicken Pie, Pepper and Onion Frittata Tart, Cheese Quiche, and Rosemary Focaccia; and for sweet pastries ranging from puff pastries--Apple Turnovers, Banana Feuilletés with Caramel Sauce, Brioches, Strawberry Savarin, and Croissants--to pies and tarts, cobblers, and cookies of every stripe--drop, bar, rolled, and filled; brownies, macaroons, and rugelach. Cakes, too, are here, from layered to rolled, from angel to devil's food.

The recipes in How to Bake are clear and methodical. Master recipes explain all the steps to making a classic dish. They are frequently followed by creative variations so that the baker's palate and skills will always be accommodated and challenged. Start out with a simple spice cake, for example, and transform it, under Malgieri's reassuring guidance, into a lavishly decorated celebration cake.

In addition to an exhaustive and tempting selection of recipes, Malgieri offers clear, detailed instructions, interweaving techniques and helpful sidebars: how to make a pastry bag out of parchment paper; what baking pans to buy; mastering pie and cake toppings; learning to decorate a cake so it looks as if it came from the bakery; and scores of other helpful tips. All this is punctuated with precise explanatory illustrations and thirty-two pages of luscious color photographs to inspire and guide the baker. How to Bake is a one-volume "bible" for bakers.

Customer Reviews:

I love this book.......2006-08-24

This is a great cookbook for anyone. Whether you are just starting or are a seasoned baker. The recipes are fantastic and I haven't made one in the book that my family hasn't loved. Check out the Potato Pizza--it is a favorite for my kids. The instructions are very clear in the recipes and the option to use a food processor or a mixer are also available as well as if you are doing it by hand. This is my right hand in the kitchen. I love it!

Help! My book is now lined with post-its!..........2006-05-03

...and "dog-ears" and whatever else I can use to sve the pages of great recipes!

This was a required book for my baking class at school. It is the only school text book I actually wanted to keep after I completed the class!! The bread recipes are great. I now see all the baked breads in the supermarket and specialty stores and smile knowing that this book has helped me to be able to make the same stuff at home for a fraction of the cost. In class we had to learn the recipes without using a Kitchen Aid or food processor. Now that I am baking at home, I feel no guilt in using my machines finally. Even a more complex bread recipe is not that much of a challenge any more for me. I've also made some of the cake recipes. I am sure there are many other books out there about baking but this one is a great place to start. It made me actually want to bake when I started off just using it to complete one of my many required culinary classes.

Very good baking book.......2005-10-01

Whenever I'm going to bake something, I at least take a look in this book to see how he did it. I use this book for the bread and pie recipes mostly. I've not tried any of the cookie recipes, but I have tried a few of the other desserts, and they've been very successful. The best recipes that I've found are the sourdough bread recipe, and the quick puff pastry recipe. The puff pastry never fails to turn out perfectly as long as I follow his directions.

Another thing I really like about the book is that it is laid out well so recipes are easy to follow. He also offers lots of variations at the end of each recipe, which I like because I like to start from a basic recipe then give it my own flare.

A great book for beginner and expert alike........2005-07-25

I like Malgieri's practical, no nonsense instruction. This book is a great teacher as well as a good cookbook. It is equally good for beginner and expert. His recipes are achievable and delicious. He explains and teaches so that one is not left in the dark as to any of the "how tos."

Last Christmas, I gave countless loaves of panettone...all met with great appreciation and raves. I fear it is now an expected tradition for me. His challah is one of my favorites and was my first attempt at this beautiful braided bread. I am hooked. It is interesting as each time I make it, I think "this isn't going to rise" but each time it rises beautifully.

My only critique is that I wish he'd included comments on oven spring. Some rise like crazy in the oven, some do not. All in all, it's a good book to have.

Authoritative.......2004-07-06

Having studied with Chef Malgieri, I know first hand the detailed work that went into his master work, How to Bake. I've used many of these basic recipes in both home and professional kitchens; I've made many my own. The book is methodical. It is geared toward intelligent cooks. I believe it is critically important when dealing with recipes on this level to acquire as much background information and perspective as possible, to learn the ins and outs of ingredients, to understand the moods of your oven, take altitude into careful consideration, and, in all ways, treat recipes as beginnings rather than ends. You can find recipes anywhere. The deep perspective and commitment to teaching of How To Bake is something much rarer.

Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com

Average customer rating:
How To Bake - The Complete Guide To Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins, Sweet And Savory
Nick Malgieri
Manufacturer: Harper-collins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RTH5U2

Book Description

In this superb expanded and updated volume, equestrian expert Elwyn Hartley Edwards traces the evolution of the horse, covering every major breed of horse and pony as well as the contribution the horse has made to civilization -- in the wild, at work, at war, and in sport and recreation. Chronicling the history of the horse, The New Encyclopedia of the Horse encompasses the early domestication of the horse. This expanded edition features new information on Western riding as well as classical riding styles, and current international sporting events. There are also completely new chapters on horse management, training, and equipment. Visual Breed Guide: There are more than 150 of the world's major breeds of horse and pony photographed in specially commissioned full-figure portraits as well as hundreds of action shots. The origin, history, and uses of each breed are explained, and each breed is brought to life by historical anecdotes and fascinating, little-known facts. Outstanding specimens of familiar as well as obscure breeds are featured, including Dutch Warmbloods and Camargues, Icelandic and Timor Ponies, Morgans and Shetlands, Andalucian and Lusitano, and the Cutting Horse. Brand New Chapters: The new sections on horse management, training, and equipment explain the basics of the proper care of the horse. Information is also included on farriers, feeding, grooming, horse behavior, training techniques, and which equipment to use, including saddles, bridles, and bits. Truly encyclopedic in scope, this is the essential reference for every horse lover.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book, Lots of great information.......2006-08-16

This book has answered many of my questions I have had about horses. I even learned information I never thought to ask about.
I love it.

THE BEST!!.......2006-06-28

I love this book! It has so much info! It tells about lots of breeds, and they're all mixed through the book. I'm glad that it tells about my favorite breeds as well as others that I've never heard of, or I don't know a lot about. This book has over 400 pages, but it dosen't cover horse care. My local librery bought it for $40, but I don't know how much it costs here (Amazon). Get this awesome book, it covers so much, including the Spanish riding school and a horse called Coogenhogan. This book is high on my wishlist, and it's a wonderful book. I would like to know about the revisesd edition, if there is one. Buy this book, no matter how much it costs!!!!

Torin's Book Review.......2005-12-20

The New Horse Encyclopedia
The New Horse Encyclopedia is your average encyclopedia. With facts diagrams, photos and all that jazz. You can find anything in there that you need to know. I'm not saying it's fun to read but it is easy to understand and it is quick and decisive in telling you stuff you need or want to know about horses. If you don't mind reading facts and if you don't know much about horses than this is the book for you. If you don't like reading facts than don't pick up this book.

The best horse book! .......2004-08-04

I am very new in horses. Living in a small city my whole life, I never had the opportunity to own a horse, or even be around them much. But I have always loved them, and know that someday I will have one when I live in an appropriate area. So I want to take my time from now until then to do as much research as I can on horses so I am prepared.
Going to book stores, I do not have much luck finding books that are informative. Most of them focus on one small category of horse ownership or history, os just focus on photos.
So I came online and looked through all the horse books on Amazon and read reviews. This book got great reviews and multiple times refered to as the best horse book that exists. So I figured I'd take a chance and order it!
I was not disappointed! This book covers EVERYTHING! It has a 2 page spread dedicated to each breed and includes their history, size comparison to humans, temperament, etc. with beautiful photos of each breed.
It also has so much general information on horses including evolution, veterinary care, grooming, showing, etc.
If you are looking for one big horse book that covers all topics and breeds, I very highly recommend you go with this one!

Very Well Done.......2003-06-24

This is a fabulous work. The book is large every page is like 2 pages of a regular size book. Great photos on all of the major breeds. The history section in the front is very informative. I read it cover to cover over time and this is the book I refer to when I want to show a breed to a friend.

The New Guide to Horse Breeds: The Complete Reference to Horse and Pony Breeds of the World

Average customer rating:

THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE BEST BOOK EVER

The New Guide to Horse Breeds: The Complete Reference to Horse and Pony Breeds of the World
Judith Draper
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Veterinary | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This comprehensive book with over 300 full-color photographs captures not only the beautiful and admirable nature of the horse but also the hardy and resourceful characteristics which allow them to work in different environments. The two main divisions of the book cover Horses and Ponies, from the more familiar Thoroughbred and the Shetland Pony to the less well-known Nonius and Caspian. Each breed's entry offers a concise physical description, and special features and attributes are illustrated in beautiful photographs. A final chapter on Types examines a few of the world's more exotic or specialized horses and ponies.

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2002-06-19

This is the best horse book EVER!!! I'm 15 yrs. old & I couldn't put it down. It gives you a picture of the breed & a 1-2 page description on the horse/pony. I reccommend it to everyone who loves horses as much as I do!!

THE BEST BOOK EVER.......2000-08-19

I would defenitly recommend this book for horse lovers!

Average customer rating:

The New Rider's Horse Encyclopedia
Elwyn Hartley Edwards
Manufacturer: Hylas Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Veterinary | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1592580017

Book Description

The ideal gift for young horse lovers everywhere: A practical step-by-step guide to the essentials of horse ownership.

Renowned equestrian authority Elwyn Hartley Edwards describes the horse as "the creature that has supported all man's endeavors through his history" in his lavishly illustrated book, The New Rider's Horse Encyclopedia hardcover). Packed with more than 500 photographs, including several state-of-the-art photographic how-to sequences, The New Rider's Horse Encyclopedia serves as a celebration of this beloved and indispensable animal, as well as the definitive reference guide for the horse owner.

Edwards begins at the beginning, tracing the evolution of the horse from a small, multi-toed browsing animal of 60 million years ago to the powerful competition horses of today. He touches on every aspect of horse history, including their impact on legend, literature and art; the contributions of working horses to war, agriculture, and industry; and the many horse-related sports, including racing, steeplechase, hunting, rodeo, polo and more. Along the way Edwards celebrates the world's most famous horse heroes and amazing equestrian feats.

In addition, he provides a complete catalog of all the major horse and pony breeds, from the tiny Falabellas of Argentina to the giant Shires of England. He offers instruction on the proper selection and maintenance of tack and equipment, and a complete guide to owning a horse, including selecting the right horse, feeding, grooming, exercise, handling, health issues, and more.

A bonus is Edwards's unique ten-lesson riding course that teaches the fundamentals, from mounting for the first time to cross-country riding and combination jumps.

The Complete Book of Horse Racing/Auto Racing (New York Times Scrapbook Encyclopedia of Sports History)

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The Complete Book of Horse Racing/Auto Racing (New York Times Scrapbook Encyclopedia of Sports History)
Gene Brown
Manufacturer: Bobbs-Merrill Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Racing | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Sports | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Motor Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0672526476

Average customer rating:

A Very Impresive Work!

Truly Original Origami

Awesome Origami Aircraft Models of the World's Best Fighters
Tem Boun
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sculpture | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Origami | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1412047897

Customer Reviews:

A Very Impresive Work!.......2005-03-23

I have enjoyed the art of folding for many years and I have to admit that this is without a doubt the best instructional book I own. It has incredible detail and the finished models are strickingly realistic! I have had to reccomend this one to my friends and I am looking forward to seeing more from this talented artist in the future...well done indeed!

Truly Original Origami.......2005-03-19

I highly suggest adding this one to your collection!

The author has provided what appear to be accurate models of eighteen different fighter aircraft. There is quite a bit of detail in the models and the finished products are very impressive.

This book does use some fairly advanced folding techniques, but the first 20 or so pages give sufficient instruction to allow patient beginners to figure out the models.

Check it out!

Book Description

That's right! Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey is here, and boy, is he bendable. It's simple, really - take a funky stuffed monkey from the pages of a charming comic series, make him real bendy, and you've got fun! How could we resist? This is no ordinary sock monkey, either - this is Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey, buddy. 5` bendable toy on blister card.

Customer Reviews:

never received.......2007-01-04

I ordered this in Sept. for my nephew's birthday in October but after repeated delays culminating in an e-mail just prior to Christmas that pushed the estimated delivery to Dec. 27 (but when I went to the website to confirm this the date had been moved to Jan. 17) I cancelled my order and, as this is not the first time that Amazon has not been able to deliver when promised, I don't plan on ordering from Amazon again.

Book Description

When it appeared in 1950, this biography of Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton became an instant classic of jazz literature. Now back in print and updated with a new afterword by Lawrence Gushee, Mister Jelly Roll will enchant a new generation of readers with the fascinating story of one of the world's most influential composers of jazz. Jelly Roll's voice spins out his life in something close to song, each sentence rich with the sound and atmosphere of the period in which Morton, and jazz, exploded on the American and international scene. This edition includes scores of Jelly Roll's own arrangements, a discography and an updated bibliography, a chronology of his compositions, a new genealogical tree of Jelly Roll's forebears, and Alan Lomax's preface from the hard-to-find 1993 edition of this classic work. Lawrence Gushee's afterword provides new factual information and reasserts the importance of this work of African American biography to the study of jazz and American culture.

Customer Reviews:

Between Lomax , Morton and the Truth.......2007-08-12

Unlike many works that Alan Lomax had has hand in, this book is great reading, if nothing more. I am not known to be a fan of Alan Lomax and his father as my review of _The Land Where the Blues Began_ attests, but at least Lomax realized what a treasure Jelly Roll Morton was and interviewed him and also had Morton create hours and hours of singing and piano music.

This book offers a digest of hours and hours of interviews with Morton in the late 1930s when Morton was living in Washington. It is supplemented by some very useful interviews Lomax did with New Orleans musicians and their families in the late 1940s. The New Orleans interviews provide very useful direct source material about the social and culture and professional milieu that both Creole and Black musicians in New Orleans Sprang from. A recently written criticial review by a real scholar at the close of the book explains the great limitations of Lomax's selections and writngs here.

Lomax apparently knew little about the real history and processes of New Orleans jazz and life, so that a lot of questions that someone interest in Morton's impact on music are not asked, not just in what Lomax selected to put in this book, but in the larger transcripts of Lomax's interviews and in the monologues Morton dictated to a stenographer as part of this project. Lomax's tendency is to seek out non-musical issue his stereotypical images of Blues and Jazz musicians call forth. This is quite unfortunate because to the end of his life, Morton had a very sophsiticated and articulate understanding of music and was capable of serious discussion of jazz and blues in formal musical terminology. He was a person who seriously thought about music most of the time when he was not playing it.

Recently scholars with new information drawn from new discoveries of Morton's personal archives, correspondence, and musical library as well as the range of interviews with other musicians tend to verify much of what as thought of after these intervews as bragadoccio. Morton probably was the first person to produce written compositions that were Jazz as opposed to rag time. He was certainly playing and writing down blues compositions before Handy. Even the greatest of early Jazz Pianists like James P. Johnson affirmed that both in the days before WWI and in the 1920s Morton outplayed all the great Jazz Pianists.

The examination and performance of the music that Morton wrote in the late 1930s indicates that Morton had not only mastered composition and band arrangement in a style that would have surpassed the most surpassed swing of his day but had written orchestral pieces that prefigured the modal Jazz that Coltrane and others presented in the 1950s. These and other compositions indicate that whatever the fortunes of his public performances, Morton was a serious composer whose skills continued to advance even in his last years when his health collapsed.

Yet flagged by failing health, Morton was never able to organize an orchestra that could have played these pieces. He had been told that he could have lived ten or fifteen more years had he given up performing music, but he wanted to make his music more than he wanted to live.

Finally, Morton WAS cheated out of millions of dollars in royalties by the music industry, especially by the Melrose Brothers and by ASCAP. He was one of the first musicians to challange the way the Mafia-connected music publishers simply robbed musicians of their compositions or did not pay them. Unlike some musicians who suffered quietly or WC Handy who was one of the token Blacks ASCAP paraded around to hide its racism, Morton launched a public campaign in Downbeat and other Jazz magazines that exposed the crimes of ASCAP and music publishers like Melrose.

Until the mid 1940s, ASCAP which collected royalties for compositions from record producers, radio, night clubs, and other places where music was played had a racist setup. Few Black members were admitted although royalties were collected for their music. Morton carried out a public and legal campaign for years to be admitted to ASCAP even though it was collecting millions for the large number of his compositions that had become great hits in the swing era, like the King Porter Stomp that became a standard that any competent string band cut its teeth on.

Once inside ASCAP, he found ASCAP distributed its royalties not based on the money different songs brought royalties but on what a board of ASCAP leaders decided was the cultural worth of different kinds of music. Thus while Broadway and classical writers were getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalty payments, Morton received under 200 dollars each of the two years he was living and a member of ASCAP. Morton protested and exposed this publically in the last years of his life and attempted to gather other victims of this system in a law suit. While he was dying and unable to carry on this struggle, his protests and the information he gathered led to congressional investigations in the 1940s that forced an end to discrimination in ASCAP in regard to membership and forced it to distribute royalties based on the sales of the music, not on its "value."

The issue of braggadocio also comes here from the fact that Lomax supplied Morton with a bottle of whiskey for each Interview. Morton was not an alcholic, but those who have studied the transcripts have noted that Morton grew more inaccurate, abrasive, and unreliable longer into the interviews as the booze took effect.

This fits into Alan Lomax's consistent pattern of trying to make sources, particularly Black sources fit into the stereotypes he had about them. Lomax who took many photographs of his folk sources, for example, would force people who preferred being photographed in the Sunday Best, to appear in old work clothes. While Leadbelly actually favored the finest suits and imposed a dress code on Sonny Terry and Brownie MCGhee when they roomed at his New York Home (suits and ties as musicians are professionals and get a case, not a sack for the instrument) Lomax forced him to perform in prison garb or overalls. Lomax also created the fiction that singing and the intercession of his father John Lomax had some relationship with Leadbelly being released fromthe Louisiana penitentary when Leadbelly was released as part of program that automatically reduced prison sentences due to depression-caused cutbacks.

Lomax wanted precisely to convey a picture of Morton filled with whiskey, smokey rooms, and so forth, when Morton was one of the biggest stars of music between 1917 and 1930, performing in some of the most sophisticated venues and a particular favorite with Hollywood film stars of the period.

Despite these criticisms, I urge anyone interested in finding out not only about Jelly Roll Morton, but about the origins of Jazz in New Orleans and the entertainment industry in the earkly 20th Century to read this book. A good supplement, or perhaps a better place to start would be _Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton_ by Howard Reich. This can be followed by _Dead Man Blues: Jelly Roll Morton Way Out West by Phil Pastras_.

What a character!.......2004-12-11

In spite of Jelly's bragadocio and the author's lack of Jazz background (Lomax was a folklorist) it's a very interesting book. Jelly must have felt injusticed when, in the late thirties, Benny Goodman was earning lots of money with "King Porter's Stomp". But the truth is that, exactly like King Oliver, he was outpaced by the revolution started by Satchmo.

An incredible book!.......2003-01-11

This is one of the rare books for it can be enjoyed by just about anyone who picks it up. Its the amazing account of the life of Jelly Roll Morton, one of the best jazz pianists of all time. Though a braggart and troubled man, he created some of the very best pieces of jazz. The book goes into his life from his childhood and his time working at Storyville to the very troubled end in the early forties. You learn about his family, his troubled relationships with Anita and Mabel and how he went from being wildly successful to dying virtually forgotten. Voodoo, New Orleans, jazz and Creole culture, its all here.

Written with flair and never boring, Mr. Jelly Roll is a book that you will read more than once. Its a look at a legend and a glimpse into a world we can only know of through books and music. Get this if you want a good read and a look at Mr. Morton's life. A true classic.

You can almost smell the smoke in the back rooms.......2002-12-09

Alan Lomax interviewed Jelly Roll while doing an extensive set of recordings shortly before Morton's death. He followed up with a number of interviews with people who knew Jelly Roll. Lomax did a fabulous job of keeping himself out of the way while letting the often colorful information from the interviews tell the story of Jelly's part in the birth of jazz, a story with triumphs, massive ego and ultimate decline. I read a library copy and am buying a copy for a present.

awesome.......2000-07-26

I have always been a fan of Jelly Roll Morton, and I've always looked for books about him. This is by far the best. I loved it. I wish they would re-issue it

Mister Jelly Roll : The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz" (The Lomax Books of American Folk Song Series)

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Mister Jelly Roll : The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz" (The Lomax Books of American Folk Song Series)
Jelly Roll] Lomax, Alan [Morton
Manufacturer: Duell, Sloan and Pearce
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MISTER JELLY ROLL : THE FORTUNES OF JELLY ROLL MORTON, NEW ORLEANS CREOLE AND 'INVENTOR OF JAZZ'
Alan Lomax
Manufacturer: Duell, Sloan & Pearce
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$MISTER JELLY ROLL THE FORTUNES OF JELLY ROLL MORTON, NEW ORLEANS CREOLE AND \'INVENTOR OJ JAZZ\'$
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MISTER JELLY ROLL THE FORTUNES OF JELLY ROLL MORTON, NEW ORLEANS CREOLE AND \'INVENTOR OJ JAZZ\'
ALAN LOMAX
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Mister Jelly Roll, the Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz"
Alan Lomax
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Mister Jelly Roll. The fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz"
Alan LOMAX
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Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and Inventor of Jazz
Alan Lomax
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