No comments about A Garden Lover's Martha's Vineyard.

No comments about East Coast Wineries: A Complete Guide from Maine to Virginia.

4 comments about Coldplay: Look at the Stars.

1. Gary Spivack's "Coldplay: Look at the Stars" is a captivating look into the emergence of Coldplay as a rock phenomenon. With the exception of a few small annoyances (like referring to Will Champion as "Wil" or the song "Politik" as "Politix") this new book provides a colorful view of the evolution of a band that has had numerous ups and downs over the course of its relatively new career.
   
   The many witty band quotes, the enthralling color photos and the day-to-day accounts of the band's many tours make up the silver lining of the book. Spivack does an excellent job of making the reader feel like he or she is "along for the ride," and his "backstage" observations help the reader to understand the true, what Spivack calls "schizophrenic," nature of Coldplay.
   
   "Colplay: Look at the Stars" is a true page turner, and Coldplay fans will have a hard time putting it down. Luckily for them, at just over 130 pages (with pictures included throughout), they will most likely be able to read the book from front to back in a single sitting.
   
   Thank you, Gary Spivack, for sharing your intimate look at a brilliant band and their timeless music with those of us who have been moved, awed and inspired by their musical and emotional contributions to our lives.



2. Rare is the event where one close to the story is also a gifted writer. This is why Gary Spivack's LOOK AT THE STARS is an event deserving your attention. Spivack was part of the process of Coldplay developing from a brand new British band that nobody had ever heard of to a household name. The author had access to events and behind-the-scenes meetings that will keep you turning pages. This is a must read for anyone curious about the music business ... whether you're a Coldplay fan or not.



3. I'm a musician and a big Coldplay fan, so I should have loved this book, but it fell short. This book read more like a tour book you'd buy at a concert put together by their marketing people than an insider's story.
   The main problem I had is it was written by a record executive who claims to be "insider", but has nothing new to offer. I suppose Gary's perspective would be interesting to fellow record executives and the like, but the book falls short in revealing any real insight on the band that you couldn't read in a magazine interview with the band.
   One of Gary's "insights" is how humble Chris Martin is...he quotes Chris in a conversation early in the book where Chris asks Gary "how can I make your job easier" and Gary beams. WHO CARES. Chris Martin is humble and selfless to a fault; no insight here. The problem is most of Gary's interactions with the band are interactions between a record exec. and the band...and it reads that way.
   The fact is, Gary had very little to do with Coldplay's success and it's obvious he is not much of an insider. Gary admits himself Coldplay was "lightning in a bottle", signed only after a fierce bidding war between labels. I think Chris Martin is just a really nice guy, who saw someone (Gary Spivack) down on his luck and wanted to help the poor guy out by letting him write this book (Gary had been fired by Columbia just before penning the book).
   The author seems to blame his lack of an insightful story on Coldplay's middleclass upbringing and that they're all around good kids (this isn't a drugs, sex and rock and roll type band). I don't agree that an interesting story couldn't be written by the right person.
   My biggest problem is this book is written by a record company exec. who approached the project like you would a tour guide sold at a concert venue, only longer. Gary didn't grow up with the band (to the point they were signed), didn't discover the band (they were signed by a sister co. in England), doesn't manage the band (where he'd be touring every night seeing all sides of the members), or produce the band (where he's in the studio witnessing the creavtive process)...he just booked tours and showed up occasionally for concerts and "meet and greets". How does that qualify you to write a band biography?
   Coldplay should have their manager, producer or the members themselves write this story...with a side of the story to tell that we don't already know.



4. I'm a big Coldplay fan, and when I saw this book at my local library, I just picked it up out of curiosity. The author, Gary Spivack, was a record label executive at Capitol (he's since then departed) and responsible for marketing/supporting Coldplay in the US.
   
   "Coldplay: Look At the Stars" is Spivack's personal take on how Coldplay broke the US market, and in that it succeeds. He obviously had a lot of contact with the band, and that is where the book succeeds. My favorite part of the book is Gary's recollections on Coldplay's first American tour in February, 2001, for no other reason than I happened to see Coldplay in Portland, OR (the second stop in the US). You could just feel the magic in the air, a band that was about to make it really big.
   
   The author doesn't spend a lot of time on how the band actually formed and where it found its musical origins, and that is the major failing of this book. Nevertheless, this is a quick and pleasant read. Spivack recounts his sacking from Capitol in early 2003, and how quick Chris Martin was there to console him (by phone). But for the definitive Coldplay story, we will have to wait another day and another book.

No comments about Life in a New England Mill Town (Picture the Past).

No comments about How Strange It Seems: The Cultural Life of Jews in Small-Town New England.

No comments about Nature Walks In Central & Western Massachusetts, 2nd.

1 comments about Robin Hood (Dover Children's Thrift Classics).

1. I recently bought several kid-oriented versions of the tale of Robin Hood, looking for one that would be right for my 2nd grader. I haven't found one that's right for him to read yet, but this version is excellent for me to read to him. The first one edition I read was the Bullseye "Step into Classics" edition, and this edition is the second children's edition I've read.

   The chapters are short (as is the whole book), but the author takes the time to include the elements of feasting and fighting that mark the older, more adult versions of the tale. The language is more complex than the Bullseye edition, but not by too much, and the language has a bit more of the "Olde England" feel I'm used to without going so far as to use archaic words. There's no smiting of pates here, I'm afraid. I'm torn between missing the archaic style and being glad I don't have to explain every other word to my son.

   Robin Hood comes off as having a nasty temper, which I suppose he always did, but other versions usually have a bit more build-up before he goes wild. In order to keep the pace fast, the author omits some of the process of Robin getting mad, so he often seems a bit mean.

   This book does a bit better than the Bullseye edition as far as telling how the men joined the band, giving better detail on the origin of Robin Hood himself and how Friar Tuck joined the band. It also tells the story of Alan a' Dale with more detail, and gives much better background on Maid Marian and her father. The other members of the band are explained as having been there from the beginning (in this story, an existing band saves Robin from the Sheriff, and Robin comes to lead them.)

   The biggest weakness in this edition is that Prince John is virtually absent from the story, and King Richard never comes back to pardon everyone. There are several bits where the sherrif goes to see "the king," and the king he talks to seems a decent sort of fellow. Without a properly evil ruler, it's harder to understand why the people love Robin Hood so much.

   Overall, I'd say this edition is a good compromise between being comprehensive and remaining accessible to children. I'd estimate it's at about a 3rd-4th grade reading level, but should be fine for reading to children as young as 6.

5 comments about The Coast of Summer: Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod.

1. I am now reading this book for the 4th time. You easly place yourself rght in the cockpit with them. Going day to day, harbor to harbor. A must read !!!!!



2. This delightful account of a summer of sailing along the Southern New England coast is a must-read for any cruising sailor or sailor wannabe. It is the story of the normal events of coastal cruising, from anchoring to meeting old friends ashore, from monitoring the weather to cooking on board, told in a prose which flows as easily as the tides. The personal memories and reflections, and the historical notes on the many harbors along the route, are as thoroughly engrossing as the 80-foot waves, pirates, and seamonsters of most adventure books. Perhaps it is the reality of planning such a cruise for yourself that makes the book even more captivating than the more unlikely tales of life-threatening ordeals in violent seas. This book informs, entertains, and gratifies almost as well as the sea, itself.



3. With a title like "Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod" one expects a practical sailing advice on sailing the said waters. Well, this book doesn't do much in the department of practicality or advice, and I am still looking for a good guide on New England cruising.
   
   Other than that, the book is quite enjoyable and makes a wonderful winter read, much recommended.



4. Long Island Sound and the south coast of New England--City Island in New York City to Martha's Vinyard and Nantucket and then the north shore of Cape Cod is one of the finest sailboat cruising grounds in the world. This area is replete with coves, quaint villages, rivers, islands, and a vast number of harbors and anchorages all different and interesting. Anthony Bailey writes an informative and charming description of a summer cruising the eastern sections, from Shelter Island to Provincetown. For anyone who is interested in or contemplating taking up coastal cruising Bailey's book is a dream of the way coastal cruising could and can be. Bailey cruises sometimes singlehanded, but mostly with his wife Margot. They are serious and dedicated sailors, cruisers, and enjoyers of people and the outdoors. I have cruised many of these same areas and thoroughly enjoyed revisiting them vicariously with Bailey. Bailey is a fine writer, with a modest and friendly voice. This material could easily have been unexciting and tedious in less skilled authorial hands. Bailey brings it lovingly to life.
   
   The Coast of Summer is part informal cruising guide, part "log of our journey," and part dreamy reminiscing. Unlike some cruising guides, Bailey's is very much focused on people. Some sailors have a girl in every port--Bailey has a friend in every port, and we learn much about them. Bailey is British but partly grew up on Cape Cod and lived for years in Stonington, Connecticut while he worked for the New Yorker magazine. He seems to know an endless number of the rich and famous (and eccentric) who summer along the New England coast and he and Margot are happy to be entertained by one or another of them in most every destination on his cruise.
   
   Although The Coast of Summer is one of my favorite and most enjoyed sailing books (and I've read many), I must nevertheless enter some qualms. For one thing, this book tends to breed resentment, at least in my puny soul. Bailey spends three quarters of the year living in London, and then July, August, and part of September cruising New England in his sailboat. Hmmm. What a nice life! I've also already mentioned his many aristocratic and intellectual friends--probably from his New Yorker days. And if you or I wrote a manuscript about our summer cruise, no matter how charming and informative, I bet we could not get it published. But Bailey can! Why? One surmises it's his New Yorker connections again.
   
   OK. Enough of these cranky thoughts. I still have other more serious qualms. Bailey enters disclaimers about treating his tale as a cruising guide and I'm inclined to agree. For one thing the book is dated. Much has changed since he wrote it (but some things never change). I also question some of his boating methods. He and Margot cruise without a bimini. I consider a bimini essential protection from the Sun. Do not cruise anywhere south of the Arctic without a bimini. His auxiliary engine is gasoline rather than diesel. Diesel is much safer. Furthermore Bailey is unwilling to use his engine except in the most dire of circumstances. This can be a danger to oneself and others. We sailors rely on our engines when the wind dies and to get us out of tight spots. To compulsively insist on keeping the engine off, as Bailey does, even in dodgy situations is unwise and in my opinion unseamanlike.
   
   But for his joy in sailing, his love of anchoring in remote spots and enjoying the peace and calm (what we cruisers call "gunkholing"), for his friendship and conviviality, for his treading softly and easily--Bailey is to be learned from and prized.
   
   I recommend this book highly to anyone who is interested in coastal sailboat cruising, especially in Long Island Sound and New England.



5. I first read this book from a copy obtained from the local public library. I was so impressed I bought one. It is a beautiful description of one man's sailing adventures of the New England Coast in the summer of 1992. I bought it primarilly as a cruising guide to the all the places I intend to explore with my own sailboat.

1 comments about The Maple Sugar Book: Together With Remarks on Pioneering As a Way of Living in the Twentieth Century (The Good Life Series).

1. This book is a description of way the Nearings earned hard cash to sustain their homesteading project. When they first built their homestead in Vermont in the early 1930s, they thought they might make the cash income for purchasing things they couldn't grow on the farm by selling wood. However, they soon found themselves owners of a sugar maple bush, and the family who had been tapping the sap up until then showed them the ropes of the maple sugaring business. It wasn't long before they discovered that they could earn their annual cash needs during the six week sugaring season, leaving the rest of the year free to grow food, construct farm buildings, and write.

   The book starts with a history of sugar making. Then it includes some how-to information (current as of the 1940s). This section includes chapters on maintenance of the sugar bush, equipment for sugaring, sap and weather, making sugar, making syrup, and marketing. The book closes with a section that describes some of the philosophy of the Nearing's homesteading project, especially those aspects related to maple sugaring. And in the end, there are a few recipes for using maple syrup.

   Because of Scott Nearing's academic training and experience, the book has an academic flavor, and the chapters on the history of sugaring are quite well documented. The details in the book about sugaring aren't quite sufficient for rank newbies to take off and try to start their own sugaring operation- -if you want to know exact details about constructing a sugar shack or using an evaporator, it would be better to look for a more technical book with a recent publication date. The book's main value is for those who wish to learn more about how the Nearings put their thoughts about cash income and bread labor into action. With that in mind, the book is truly a classic, and well worth reading many times through.

No comments about King Richard II (The New Cambridge Shakespeare).