Book Description
"Brigham/Houston: A Classic, redefined...because a classic never goes out of style." The market leader, Brigham/Houston, continues to grow in reputation and amount of users as the most effective approach for teaching the first undergraduate corporate finance course. The seamless, integrated ancillary package, still painstakingly prepared by the authors, is a hallmark of the Brigham/Houston package which reduces course preparation time for instructors and makes the subject more accessible for learners. New for this edition is the addition of iLrn Finance, an online student assessment and tutorial resource to help improve student performance. Additionally, access to Thomson ONE - Business School Edition, an online financial database that students can use to complete projects or select end of chapter exercises, is included with each new text.
Customer Reviews:
Funadmentals of Financial Management.......2007-09-25
I'm using this book as a part of my master of science and it is pretty good, easy to understand even for non financial people, I hihgly recomend this book
Again not enough info.......2007-03-29
It goes into the questions but does not go into how to solve the problem well enough. Like every other financial book. Just once I wish the authors would realize they cannot skip steps on solving the problems! Instead of giving a COMPLETE answer. How hard is it????
This book deserves 0 star.......2007-02-04
This book is required for my finance class. However, this book doesn't explain the concepts well. For example what the book covered on the chapters have nothing to do with what were asked on the exercises. Students are often left in the dark trying to find themselves to come up with the formula (luckily we have the internet). If you buy this book make sure you have the TI BA II plus calculator. The book ONLY explains how to do most of the problems on THAT particular calculator instead of giving us the formula to use on any other calculator or using spreadsheet. Although there are some chapters that mentioned they will give instructions on how to solve the problems using MS excel but so far only chapter 1 gave us some basic information and rest of the chapters don't show anything (even though they mentioned it). So the words on the book and what you are actually getting don't match. Unless you have a very good instructor who's willing to work without getting help from the book, you are pretty screwed.
This book needs some serious editing (as I said the words and the contents don't match).
Target Market is for undergraduates.......2006-12-30
If interested in an MBA text, you might examine Brigham's Intermediate Financial Management. This Fundamentals text is outstanding for the undergraduate, intro course. JWB
Too basic for an MBA class.......2006-11-21
I got this book as the accompanying textbook to a Financial Management Class. Our class had to study most of the material on its own. As it usually is, the majority of the work is done at home hitting textbooks and figuring out how formulas are derived, which variables go where, and how fundamnetal coefficients (beta, alpha) are calculated.
Well this book is not well suited to acquire a solid foundation in finance without consulting better books or the internet. The result is: one needs much more time than actually necessary to learn the material.
Furthermore there are some statements; for instance "...multinational corporations (MNCs) issue stock in foreign countries..."; well I knew that, too, prior to this class. But why doesn't this book a little bit better explain why MNCs actually do this? There are several of such unexplained statements in the book. I am very disappointed.
Even though this book is really just about the fundamentals, it should have much better caught those fundamentals. I think I have to go to the Stanford, Harvard, or MIT MBA syllabi to find a good financial management book which goes a bit more in depth.
This book is priced by weight not by content! Definitely not worth the ~$160.
Book Description
"Brigham/Houston: A Classic, redefined...because a classic never goes out of style." The market leader, Brigham/Houston, continues to grow in reputation and amount of users as the most effective approach for teaching the first undergraduate corporate finance course. This Concise version of the extremely successful, Brigham/Houston-Fundamentals of Financial Management, contains the same level of topical rigor while also reflecting the latest in theory, research, real-world examples, and use of technology as Fundamentals. The seamless, integrated ancillary package, still painstakingly prepared by the authors, is a hallmark of the Brigham/Houston package which reduces course preparation time for instructors and makes the subject more accessible for learners. New for this edition is the addition of iLrn Finance, an online student assessment and tutorial resource to help improve student performance. Additionally, access to Thomson ONE - Business School Edition, an online financial database that students can use to complete projects or select end of chapter exercises, is included with each new text.
Customer Reviews:
Fundamentals of Financial Management.......2007-10-18
Everything came as promised, unfortunately I found a better deal around here, by about 50 dollars so I just had to bite the bullet and send it back.
Excellent textbook for gaining an understanding of Finance.......2007-03-10
This text book is an excellent resource for understanding Financial Management. It was a required text in my MBA program and the book is easy to go through on your own. There are exercises, or self tests, at the end of each section in the chapters, as well as many types of problems and self test questions at the end of the chapters.
We had a mediocre teacher in my MBA program, so going through the text was imperative. The authors do a great job breaking down concepts and some of the examples at end of chapter sections have the answers.
I comes with a supplemental booklet to further help undertand the "Time Value of Money" which, according to the authors, is a difficult concept.
One big plus for this text is that it shows you how to figure out the problems using formulas, using financial caluclators, and using an Excel spreadsheet.
I highly recommend doing the examples and problems in the book, and ordering the study guide. The study guide has additional examples and problems to work through and is the perfect supplement.
This is one text I am going to keep!
Great Service.......2006-12-21
The book is in an excellent condition, the package was terrific, well wrapped against rain or snow. Ryan did a great job packing and shipping the item. I received it on the 2nd business day after placing the order. I am very happy with the service.
fundamentals of financial management.......2006-11-06
It was in great condition but it just took too long for what I pay for the shipping but overall the item was just right brand new great.Needs to improve their shipping only two thumbs up!!
great book.......2006-09-26
bought the book for a bit cheaper than the price cover but got exactly what i paid for on time.
Book Description
Following the exploits of Peter, Paige, and Jason, along with parental units Roger and Andy, FoxTrot chronicles popular culture while sublimely critiquing society's latest events and obsessions.
In this 24th collection, Jason creates his own word jumble, horoscopes, and King Kong feature film while Paige begins cheering with the JJV (that's Junior Junior Varsity) cheerleading squad. Peter pursues the latest in gaming software and continues to hone his driving skills. Parents Roger and Andy keep up with this tenacious trio while lamenting the abundance of product placement on TV. As testament to his strip's wide appeal and industry acclaim, Bill Amend was nominated for the National Cartoonists Society's coveted Reuben Award in 2006.
Customer Reviews:
Great Strip.......2007-07-18
I read through all of Bill Amend's comics...each one funier than the next, he knows how to make you chuckle and he knows how to make you happy. I cried a little when the strip was "semi" retired but life goes on.
Any Foxtrot fan will love this. Any newbie curious will love the strip.
I swear it will tickle your funny bone.
The last book of a great series?.......2007-05-16
Amend once again delivers in what may be the last of the Foxtrot books, now that he's stopped doing the dailies that made up the bulk of these books. The collection is filled with the best of his last strips, and makes a great addition to the previous sets.
I miss this comic strip.......2007-04-07
I can't believe that Amend is retiring the strip. Nonetheless, I deeply appreciate this little book - combining some of his more recent strips.
I love this comic strip and recommend this book highly.
Love It!.......2007-04-02
I always love FoxTrot!!!
I'm very sad the dailies are ending, but am happy for him that he was so successful.
I own all the books, and love them all!
Book Description
The market leader, Brigham/Houston, continues to grow in reputation as the most effective approach for learning the basic finance principles, tools, and applications. The Concise version of the extremely successful Fundamentals of Financial Management text offers an briefer alternative containing the same level of rigor concerning the topics covered. It is also updated to reflect the latest in theory, research, real-world examples, and use of technology. The seamless, integrated ancillary package - done by the authors - is a hallmark of this package that makes the subject more accessible for learners.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent textbook with clear explanations.......2006-12-09
This textbook is very well done. Difficult concepts are clearly explained and there are simple examples backing up explanations. Exercises are plenty and the accompanying CD is an excellent resources.
All major concepts of corporate finance are covered and links to real world examples are very helpful. The authors always keep the subject close to the real world by telling how corporate finance is practice by corporate. So none of what is in this book is ever abstract of too academic.
A very good book, a very useful resource. Highly recommended.
Fundamentals of Financial Management .......2006-05-31
The quality of the book was good and the price was even better. It arrived within 5 days of my purchase which was good because my class starts tomorrow.
Fundamentals of Financial Management: Concise.......2005-09-14
The quality of the book was very good. There was a large amount of highlighting but, the price was fair. The book was shipped with good packing materials and received in an expected time frame.
The Long Way Book.......2004-03-22
I was very disappointed in this book because I looked forward to my finance class in college. But this book was poorly put together - one short paragraph would talk about carry forward and back but nothing was elaborated on the subject - it would just go right into the equation. I heavily depended on the professor's lecture and not once referred to the book when studying for the exam. However, I did use the book to make sure I was using the correct terminology for the exam.
Book Description
"Son, we’re going to Hell."
The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.
Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again–until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home.
In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston—a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will–power—and the undying faith that their country would prevail.
Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every single word is true.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book.......2007-09-28
Excellent write-up on a little-known story. I had read of the Houston, but not of the fate of the survivors.
Ship of Ghosts - A Must Read for all Generations.......2007-07-31
Mr. Hornfischer graced my University Area Rotary Club in Austin, his home town, with an excellent talk about the saga of some of our bravest men from the greatest generation. Of course, I bought a copy of the book and it took me a few days to get through it before I hand it to my father to read. Hornfisher shows an unlikely ability to truly connect the facts of the USS Houston and her POW survivors together to tell a compelling human story of the horrors of war and the ability of man to overcome any adversity. Hornfischer is a true patriot for documenting the courage of these brave men, and I am a better man for reading this great book.
A good telling of the USS Houston and her crew.......2007-06-18
Ship of Ghosts is Mr. Hornfischer telling of the USS Houston and her crew during WWII. The USS Houston, known as the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast (because of how many times the Japanese reported her sunk) was the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet. In WWII she was responsible for holding and delaying the Japanese in taking Indonesia. Any ways, Mr. Hornfischer opens by telling us the early pre-war history of the USS Houston, how she was used by FDR as his yacht, and the history of the gentlemen whom Mr. Hornfischer interviewed.
After telling us about the pre-war years, Mr. Hornfisher jumps into the action of the Battle of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait. This is then followed by telling us about the crews time as POW's and working on the "Death Railway". Most of this book deals with their experience as POW's (btw, the crew of the HMAS Perth has coverage in this book, not as much as the USS Houston, but it is recognized. Also, Mr. Hornfischer cover the men of the 2nd battalion, 131st Field Artillery). In the chapters dealing with the men being prisoners of war we learn about the poor conditions they kept in and how terrible it was working in Burma on the railway (interestingly, the conditions in Thailand were worse). An interesting fact the Mr. Hornfischer points out several times is how the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai poorly represented the conditions the men served under.
Rating wise this book was very easy for me. A solid 4.5 stars. While Mr. Hornfischer did a commendable job telling us about the crew, I had two problems. First, was his book Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors was more solidly written than this one. There I felt as if I was there, this time I had someone telling me of the tale. My primary reason though for only 4.5 stars is that I'd read The Ghost That Died at Sunda Strait(by W.G. Winslow, a true 5 star book). Since I can't leave this as a half star I need to round the number. If I hadn't read Mr. Winslow's book prior, I might round up, however since I've read his book, this one gets rounded down. Sorry Mr. Hornfischer. A very good book though! It complements Mr. Winslow's nicely and picks up where Mr. Winslow chose to leave off. A very good job!
A Last-Minute Tribute.......2007-04-26
With America's WW II veterans dying at the rate of 1,500 a day, we are clearly into "the last lap". Therefore, Jim Hornfischer's excellent treatment of the cruiser Houston comes none too soon. His taut narrative actually involves two stories between the covers of one book: the ship's early combat in the Pacific and the surviving crew members' 3 1/2 year struggle for survival ashore.
There's a lesson for other researchers and authors: "the greatest generation" is fading fast, and its memories are fading even faster. Now is the time to grab the tape recorder or notepad and get the remaining veterans' stories while they are still accessible.
A Missing Piece of History.......2007-04-09
Americans generally think they know about world War II if they know about Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Front, and the Pacific War from the perspective of island hopping coming from the east side of the Pacific. What we usually overlook is the war in Southeast Asia. John Hornfischer has written what might be two books, one about the nearly-solo fight of an isloated ship in the face of the Japanese onslsught in 1942, and the other about the unbelievable suffering of prisoners of war in Japanese prison camps building the Thailand-Burma Railroad - familiar to most of us from the sanitized version seen in the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The writing is good (though not overly great); but it is the content that makes this one of the best books written about World War II, the early struggle to give ground only very dearly, the suffering enduured by our soldiers, and finally the failure to meet the real needs of soldiers trying to readjust to society after three years of captivity.
Book Description
This text is a theoretical and practical analysis International Financial Management. It builds upon the key ideas that are taught throughout the traditional finance curriculum, explaining how financial concepts such as capital budgeting are applied in a global setting.
Book Description
An indispensable reference for students, journalists, and teachers — and endorsed by the Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. (IRE) — The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook is the most comprehensive classroom text available for courses in investigative reporting.
Average customer rating:
- Dictionary of American Regional English by Cassidy et al.
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Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume IV, P-Sk (Dictionary of American Regional English)
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Dictionary Of American Regional English (Dictionary of American Regional English)
ASIN: 0674008847 |
Book Description
Every page in this new volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English makes it wonderfully clear that regional expressions still flourish throughout the United States.
Depending on where you live, your conversation may include such beguiling terms as paddybass (North Carolina), pinkwink (Cape Cod), or scallyhoot (West); if you're invited to a potluck dinner, in Indiana you're likely to call it a pitch-in, while in northern Illinois it's a scramble; if your youngsters play hopscotch, they may call it potsy in Manhattan, but sky blue in Chicago.
Like the popular first three volumes of DARE, the fourth is a treasure-trove of linguistic gems, a book that invites exclamation, delight, and wonder. More than six hundred maps pinpoint where you might live if your favorite card games are sheepshead and skat; if you eat pan dulce rather than pain perdu; if you drive down a red dog road or make a purchase at a racket store; or if you look out your window and see a parka squirrel or a quill pig.
The language of our everyday lives is captured in DARE, along with expressions our grandparents used but our children will never know. Based on thousands of interviews across the country, the Dictionary of American Regional English presents our language in its infinite variety. Word lovers will delight in the wit and wisdom found in the quotations that illustrate each entry, and will prize the richness and diversity of our spoken and written culture.
Customer Reviews:
Dictionary of American Regional English by Cassidy et al........2004-09-02
This dictionary contains approximately 11,000 entries. It is
geared to local idioms or word embodiments. The local idiom,
definition (preferred embodiment) and sometimes the date
are included. For instance, here are examples.
o felt-plant- genus--Horsfordia plant
o fandango- 1807- Spanish dance in triple time
o did - she- cackle-- a children's game
This would be an invaluable research volume for any professional
writer, editor or author.
Book Description
From the author of Snow Mountain Passage, a saga of the Donner Party, comes a deeply engaging new novel, set in both our time and the late nineteenth century. It centers on a California woman, half Indian, half Hawaiian, who became consort and confidante to the last king of Hawaii.
The story is told by her great-grandson, Sheridan Brody, a Bay Area talk show host, whose life has reached an unexpected standstill. He can’t quite commit—he doesn’t know why—to his Japanese-American girlfriend and her five-year-old son. A corporate merger may soon threaten his job. But when he receives an on-air call from a woman claiming to be his grandmother, Sheridan feels compelled to uncover all he can about this previously unknown branch of his family, embarking on a quest that will change how he sees his future and his past.
What he finds, through the journals of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala (aka Nancy Callahan), and through his own investigations, is an almost mythic tale: how Nani, a shy girl from a remote Indian village, learns English at a local white rancher’s school and meets the Hawaiian king, David Kalakaua, on his grand progress by train across the United States in 1881, and returns with him to Honolulu. There, as his young ally and protégée, ever more assured and charming, she plays an integral role in his attempt to revive the monarchy and spirit of his people and, eventually, witnesses the mysterious circumstances surrounding his downfall.
Bird of Another Heaven is rich in historical scene and character, based in part on actual events. Nani’s life unfolds against the backdrop of the opening of northern California and America’s rising ambitions in Asia and the Pacific during the 1800s. It is also a story of emotional intensity and compassion, equally compelling for Sheridan’s contemporary journey of self-discovery and the beautifully imagined journey of Nani, a woman of extraordinary power and appeal.
Customer Reviews:
Historical fiction with plenty of soul.......2007-07-13
It's a captivating story, but even more rewarding to the reader is the exploration of values of the major characters.
A young man seeks his roots; discovers the small is ever swallowed by the big.......2007-05-05
Moving between his narrator's view in 1980s San Francisco and the narrator's great-grandmother's story a century earlier, Houston reels out a soulful tale of ruthless conquest and dying cultures in the context of a young man's search for roots and meaning.
Alternative-radio talk show host Sheridan Brody never knew his biological father. Sheridan Wadell died in the Korean War and his son was brought up by as good a stepfather as a boy could ask for. But when a woman claiming to be Sheridan's grandmother, Rosa Wadell, calls in to his radio show, he can't help but be intrigued.
In addition to pictures and stories of his dead father, Rosa has stacks of notebooks belonging to her mother, Nani Keala, a half Indian, half Hawaiian woman who was a friend and lover to the last king of Hawaii, David Kalakaua. She was a witness to the last days of her mother's tribal culture and her father's Hawaiian nation. She was with Kalakaua when he died in San Francisco and was always suspicious of the circumstances.
Nani was born in one of California's last Indian villages. The place slowly disappeared as elders died and young people moved off to find work and when Nani's parents died she was sent to a rancheria where Indian ways were preserved on a white man's estate.
There Nani lives a dutiful life, helping out in the Mistress' school, agreeing to marry a man she doesn't love. But then a Hawaiian kinsman comes to fetch her to see their king when he visits Sacramento. Her notebook entries are brief, stilted, even shy, but Sheridan fleshes them out with his own research and eager imaginings.
He recreates Nani's father's life, from his days exploring and establishing an outpost in the wilderness with Capt. John Sutter, through the gold rush, and his adoption into his wife's tribe. His exile from Hawaii remains to be explained and becomes part of the fabric of American conquest as the story goes on.
Sheridan imagines how Nani captivates the king with her mixed heritage, her quick mind, her languages. And her beauty, of course. She accompanies him to Hawaii where his extravagant coronation sparks the wrath of the white merchant community who see him as a wastrel. But Kalakaua's aim is to appear as a king among kings, to make his people proud of their island nation, now so encroached upon by the whites.
Houston weaves the history seamlessly into his narrative, illustrating to the reader how European and American greed and self-righteousness informed the times. The U.S. wants a Pacific port, Pearl Harbor, and pressures the king, exasperated by his resistance.
"Peabody's smile was almost derisive. He held degrees from Columbia and Yale. He had practiced in New York and in San Francisco. He saw himself as the voice of right reason and common sense."
"'What am I to do with such a man,'" the king says when Peabody is gone. "'He was born here and his father too. Yet their loyalty is not to me. It is to a roomful of senators six thousand miles away.'"
Nani becomes witness to the demise of her Indian and Hawaiian culture; her great grandson does not even know he has Indian or Hawaiian blood until he's told as an adult and he regards it as something exotic and romantic. This idealization never quite goes away, even when he becomes immersed in the history.
Inspired by the notebooks, the great-grandmother Sheridan envisions is a young man's creation. She is myth embodied, almost a saint. She owns an abundance of love, and is alive to everything, with a rich sexuality and a deeper modesty. Truly a young man's ideal.
His girlfriend, smart beautiful - but with a young son - is not quite so simple an icon.
Houston's writing is beautiful; his word-pictures are mesmerizing. The narrative has a hypnotic effect, fed by the mythical frame of it, the slow inevitable decline for the two halves of Nani's heritage.
In addition, in Sheridan's present, he too fights for cultural survival as his small radio station is swallowed by a conglomerate that will no longer be happy with niche markets. Not on the same scale as swallowing a culture perhaps, but emphasizing, nonetheless, that might and self-righteousness always wins in the end.
A lovely, moving word picture, though maybe a tad too long.
powerful character study .......2007-03-24
In 1980s Northern California radio host Sheridan "Dan" Brody has always wondered about his roots, but did nothing to learn more about the identity of his father. However, when he sees his birth certificate, it includes the name of his sire. He wants to know more about his paternal side.
Not long afterward, Rosa Waddell calls Dan while he is on the air to inform him she is his grandmother. He goes to meet her and she shares family stories and her mother's diaries that tell quite a heritage. His great-grandmother was Nani Keala who was the wife of Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua. Now Dan seeks an audio of his ancestor's regal trip to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
BIRD OF ANOTHER HEAVEN is a delightful tale of a San Franciscan seeking his roots. Once Rosa contacts Dan, the story line becomes one sitting throughout as readers will want to more about his Hawaiian ancestry and that missing tape. This it behooves fans of remarkable family dramas to give this fine novel a chance; once Dan gets started there is no turning back for him or the audience. James D. Houston provides a powerful character study of a soul searching person looking for his unknown heritage.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
As seen on public television stations nationwide, a revolutionary new approach to playing non-classical music on the piano.Have you ever wished you could play the piano? Well, now you can! Scott "The Piano Guy" Houston teaches you to play the way the pros play, in a style enormously simpler than traditional classical piano and with an absolute minimum of note-reading. By focusing on playing the melody with the right hand (one note at a time) and simple chords with the left hand, Houston gives you the tools you need for a lifetime of musical enjoyment. Best of all, your tour guide to this adventure forces you to have fun along the way!
Customer Reviews:
If you're trying to decide..........2007-09-26
...whether to buy "How to Play Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home" or "Play Piano in a Flash! Play Your Favorite Songs Like a Pro--Whether You've Had Lessons or Not!" by Scott Houston, buy BOTH--- and do read Scott Houston's book FIRST. He explains the whole premise of playing off chords so much more clearly and simply. After reading Scott's book, you can delightfully play all sorts of piano music you may have around your house effortlessly after a few tries. To give you an example, I used to practice fairly simple folktunes for about a week before (somewhat joltingly) being able to play up to tempo at an even pace. Now, knowing what I know from Scott's book, I can play any such song in about 15 minutes. Really! And I can play faster and more eloquently than I ever could before. Now, I have confidence that I could accompany any singer (including myself)-- a trick I used to think only "good pianists" could do (with much practice). In short, it motivates you to play music almost immediately in a fun and joyous manner.
Now for "How to Play Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home". It's A LOT more philosophical, and a lot more wordy. It explains everything in much greater detail, and is very fond of the basic Oom-pah-pah sort of playing. The "standard" technique call for playing the melody an octave higher, the root note in octaves on the lowest possible section of the piano (for the Oom) and the chord (reconfigured so as never to reach higher than middle E nor lower than middle C) for the Pah-Pah. This takes quite a bit of PRACTICE. I certainly do not master this in 15 minutes! However, using this technique, I sound like one of those pianist that play at cash bars in restaurants that used to send my mother in the other direction because the "noise" gave her a "headache". It may work exceptionally well for some pieces, and it is certainly not the ONLY device taught in this book. It *is* a good book, with lots and lots of ideas of how to vary the bass notes and such to get a "full" sound from your piano. But you might get a headache or two... and might get discouraged and give up playing piano after all. (DON'T!) It is less motivating, and much more practice than Scott's book. I just can't decide whether I even like the result of the techniques shown. But music theory is explained in a somewhat harmless manner....
Now, I again suggest you buy BOTH books so that you can read them both, try them both, and make your own decisions. However, if you're relatively new to this topic, I suggest that you at least buy Scott's book first. Yes, you'll probably finish it in one sitting and it will seem so OBVIOUS after you read it that you'll wonder whether you ought to have spent the money for the book at all. Yes! Now, sit down and play the piano using these technique to see for yourself!
(To give you some point of reference, my level of playing beforehand using the classical method was Book Four of John Thompson series.... about intermediate I'd say.)
Azphil.......2007-06-30
Great instruction. I've played sax for years and never touched the piano until now. From moderately easy to moderately difficult. Good learning system.
Play Piano in a Flash!.......2007-06-28
If I could give this 10 stars I would !!!!
Our son started this program the day it arrived and he has not stopped since. In no time at all he was playing his favorite songs on the piano and has even arranged 2 of his own songs!
He had not had any type of lessons prior to this, just the desire to learn to play the piano. (I do have 3 aunties who are all self taught-so he may come by this naturally)
Anyway, if you are wanting to play the piano and do not have the time or the money for expensive lessons BUY this book! You will not be sorry, it is worth it's weight in gold as far as I am concerned. (atleast "this is one woman's opinion")
In less than 2 years he now plays and sings solos in church!
Great book for beginners.......2007-06-09
I really liked this book. Specially because it clarified for me somet hing I had thought: Classical piano and party piano are a world apart so the ways to learn to play the two can not be the same. Most people want to play piano for parties, have fun, etc. But then they get into learning classical piano that is not it! This book shows how to learn the right way. I do not mark it as 5 star as I do think it is a bit glib on "how easy it is to play piano" and gives you the idea that there is nothing to it, when the truth is that is easy but requires hard work and practice if you want to become good at it. Everything else is great
Very helpful.......2007-04-30
This well-written little book is just what the trepidatious beginner needs.
Even a rank beginner would probably do fine with this. Having read Houston's book, I'm now even angrier at my old piano teacher than I used to be (yes, you, Mrs. Ó Murchú!). You mean it was that simple all along?
Houston, using layman's terms, makes it plain that there's no mystery to the piano. Chords with the left, melody with the right, and away you go.
He does glide over the fact that you actually DO have to either i) learn the melody by heart on the keyboard or ii) learn how to sight-read quickly, but there's no avoiding that really.
A good book, easy to read, and will definitely get you playing simple tunes (that sound good!) within days or weeks.
Like many, I was introduced to Houston's book and technique through Public Television, and despair for the United States should PBS go under.
Books:
- Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
- Head for Mexico: The Renegade Guide
- Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
- Hiking Grand Canyon National Park, 2nd (Regional Hiking Series)
- Hiking Wisconsin (State Hiking Series)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- How to Care for Aging Parents (Morris, How to Care for Aging)
- In Patagonia (Penguin Classics)
- India, 14 Edition (Footprint India Handbook)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles I: Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
- Nectar in a Sieve
- How to Make and Sell Your Own Recording
- Labor Relations in the Public Sector, Third Edition
- Information Technology Project Management, Fourth Edition
- Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woma
- Lonely Planet Chile & Easter Island
- Wealth Preservation: How to Start and Develop an Estate Planning Practice
- Islamic Insurance: A Modern Approach to Islamic Banking
- Offensive Football Strategies
Study Guide for Brigham/Houston's Fundamentals of Financial Management, 11th
Operations Management for Competitive Advantage with Student DVD
Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional Financial Calculator
Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator
Intermediate Accounting
