The Rough Guide to the History of the USA (Rough Guide Histories)

Customer Reviews:

Good overall timeline.......2006-02-22

For a rough guide it is especially good (some rough guides are better than others).
clearly written and covers the whole broad spectrum.

The Rough Guide to Country Music (Rough Guide Music Guides)

Average customer rating:

An amazing, amazing book
From hillbilly to alternative, it's all here . . .
Broad and well-researched book with plenty of info.
You need this if you listen to country.
Fascinating and informative.

The Rough Guide to Country Music (Rough Guide Music Guides)
Kurt Wolff , and Orla Duane
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1858285348

Customer Reviews:

An amazing, amazing book.......2005-01-19

I've read many a' Rough Guide to a variety of musical forms, and Kurt Wolff's book on country absolutely takes the cake. From the music's hillbilly beginnings to the alt-country offshoots of the '90s, this well-researched book is written with wit and a tender affection for the genre's highlights AND lowlights. I can't imagine a better gift for someone interested in country music. My only gripe: Now that the book is four years old, some of the artist information could use an update. Second edition, Kurt? Please?

From hillbilly to alternative, it's all here . . ........2004-12-04

This is a truly fine one-volume encyclopedia of country music. Organized both historically and generically, the book is divided into 14 chapters, each discussing a type of music (hillbilly, cowboy, western swing, honky tonk, etc.) and tracing it from the time of its introduction to the present, with an overview followed by entries spotlighting the artists in alphabetical order. The chapter on rockabilly, for instance, includes both Elvis and the Stray Cats. Each entry concludes with brief reviews of recommended recordings. In addition, there are over 250 photographs of performers and album covers and numerous sidebars with short essays on a variety of topics.

The book comes in at almost 600 pages, covering the length and breadth of the subject and making a pretty fair attempt at measuring the depth, as well. To give an idea of the book's scope, the "classic" stars Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline don't appear until the middle. For anyone who may think country music starts and ends with Nashville, it will come as a surprise that so much of this music originated elsewhere.

You can read this book any old way you like, flipping through the pages, letting the pictures catch your eye as you discover favorite performers. If you grew up with country, there's many a trip down memory lane. If you're just discovering country, it is an excellent reference book just filled with information charting the careers of artists and their place in country music history. Well written, handsomely designed, easy to read and enjoy, it's a terrific book that will enhance any fan's love of this great musical tradition.

Broad and well-researched book with plenty of info........2002-12-19

I bought this book at the advice of a friend and was not disappointed. Wolff is a thoughtful and articulate writer, and this book has plenty of recording artists that I was not aware of. It is arranged in chronological historical chapters, which show the progression of country music to the present. Interesting write-ups on all the major artists, and plenty of information on musicians you probably won't have heard of.

You need this if you listen to country........2002-09-19

Love this book, just stumbled on it a few weeks ago, and can't put it down. I've been listening to country and loving it since I was a little girl, and this thing keeps turning me on to more music I want to go out and buy. Cool bio's on the artists and a great section on the seventies outlaw artists.

Fascinating and informative........2001-11-15

An essential addition to your music library - whether you're a country novice or expert. The author has meticulously researched and written about country music in a well-organized chronological format that allows the reader to fully grasp the roots and progression of this music genre. The book includes biographies of country artists (those who are well-known, as well as some forgotten gems), discographies, reviews, and essays which fit the music into a broader social and historical perspective.

Book Description

Dan Brown's thriller The Da Vinci Code has created an extraordinary controversy, with its sub-plots of the sacred feminine in religion, the bloodline of Christ, the legend of the Holy Grail, and the role of sects like Opus Dei within the church. This Rough Guide explores and explains the context of the novel, including: - How the early Christian Church `edited' The Bible, and drew on earlier religions. - What art historians make of Leonardo Da Vinci's symbolism in "The Last Supper" and other works. - The true history of the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, and the debate on Mary Magdalene and the bloodline of Christ. - Location guides to Da Vinci Code sites in Paris, Rome, Jerusalem, New York, London and Edinburgh. - Reviews of Da Vinci Code sources and a glossary of everything from the Templars to the Fibonaccci Sequence.

Whatever you think of Dan Brown's novel, this Rough Guide has the key to understanding its wider background.

Customer Reviews:

Informative........2006-09-04

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE DA VINCI CODE is a little book that explores the history, legends, people, and places that are involved in Dan Brown's book THE DA VINCI CODE. The book is divided into five sections: Basic, Context, Locations, Author, and Glossary & Index. The basic section gives a general synopsis of the novel, detailing some of the major claims the novel makes. Context is an extended look at the actual history involved through the telling of THE DA VINCI CODE. Location examines the various places of setting in the novel. The author section gives a very, very brief biography about Dan Brown, discussed the books he has written, and lists and briefly discusses books that Dan Brown used for research as well as other books and websites of interest. The glossary & index contain a glossary defining key elements that a reader might need more explanation about as well as an index to highlighted items.

I know that when I read THE DA VINCI CODE I noticed several historical inaccuracies and fabrications and I was sure there were others. THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE DA VINCI CODE helped me better understand the various inaccuracies, fabrications, and suppositions that the novel makes about history, people, and art by comparing them to the real events, people, and items. It is true that the authors don't list the sources for the information they include. However, this is a ROUGH GUIDE and that is how most if not all of the ROUGH GUIDES have been written. The book is compact, easy to read, and chock full of informational tidbits. In short, it does what a ROUGH GUIDE should do.

The book for the film.......2006-05-29

The Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code not only explains Dan Brown's book, but it also explores the making of the film! Really interesting stuff, with a lot of inside information.

An Eye-Opener.......2006-01-22

Reading this book has really been an eye-opener. It has made me understand how interesting the issues are behind The Da Vinci Code. Not in a hubla-bubla sort of way, but in a serious way. You cannot do better than this for getting started on the whole historical and religious route of discovery.

Creeps.......2006-01-10

This Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code is sound, articulate, well written, and altogether a brilliant investigation into the issues surrounding Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Anyone who is curious and wants to be informed, and wants to make use of the extensive further reading and website lists, will welcome this book. But a lot of creeps will not like it because it tells the truth.

Not what it claims to be..........2005-09-24

The publication and subsequent widespread popularity of "The Da Vinci Code" has led to a host of books attempting to delve further into the subject matter and separate fact from fiction. The authors and producers of these books usually fall into two categories: those of the Christian faith that feel threatened and try to discredit everything Dan Brown presents in his novel; and those who wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Brown and seek to reinforce the subject matter of his novel. Additionally, in my personal opinion, both of these camps also seem to be motivated by a a desire to capitalize on the popularity of "The Da Vinci Code" for profitable gain. While these types of exploratory 'history' books (and I use that term very loosely in this case) no doubt succeed in clearing a decent profit margin they fail miserably as researched historical treatises on the subject matter of "The Da Vinci Code".

Both, "The Rough Guide To The Da Vinci Code" and "Da Vinci Code Decoded" purport to be properly researched exploratory works with the former taking the side of discrediting much of Mr. Brown's novel and the latter supporting much of it. However, what the astute reader will notice is that neither makes its case very well and both are guilty of the same gross error, namely not presenting any tangible historical reference to accompany the myriad of 'facts' (I use this term quite loosely as well) presented. By this I mean, whenever they present any information, whether it opposes or supports Mr. Brown, there is no specific reference as to where that information came from. As far as the reader knows, the author could be entirely fabricating the information themselves as there is no footnote and corresponding reference for the reader to check to ensure the author is not just asserting their own opinions as 'facts'. While that type of writing is entirely acceptable in a fictional novel such as "The Da Vinici Code", it is most unacceptable in non-fictional writing where the claim is made that the book presents researched historical facts. If the books are so well researched, where are the footnotes and references that will allow the reader to double check the facts themselves? These books are in essence 'he said / she said" publications where it is the word of the author against the word of Dan Brown, and as such are of no use in the realm of legitimate historical study.

Please do not be fooled by the authoritative style with which these books are written, as they are essentially just someone's opinion and should not be taken as fact. I would recommend the curious reader who desires to learn more about the subject matter of "The Da Vinici Code" to seek out and read academic historical texts for further information, but at the same time I would suggest taking that with a grain of salt as well. Historical facts have a tendency to become distorted and manipulated over the years to serve personal and national agendas. If you don't believe it is in human nature to manipulate historical accounts, consider this real world example: the Japanese government as of this day does not teach Japanese students about the atrocities and war crimes that Japan committed historically in Asia (atrocities and war crimes that are well documented by the rest of the international community). The details have been stricken, literally, from Japanese school history books. This is even more important when we remember that Japan actually lost World War II and yet they are still engaging in this type of activity. Imagine if they had won...furthermore, imagine if the Germans had won: would the attempted genocide of the Jews even be spoken of today much less remembered in a couple hundred years?

These are the types of things one must consider when studying history. So, if you want to learn more about the Da Vinci code, ignore "The Rough Guide To The Da Vinci Code" and "Da Vinci Code Decoded", do your own research, keep an open mind, and decide on your own what seems most likely from a logical standpoint.

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1st review

The Rough Guide to Music USA
Richie Unterberger
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The ideal handbook for every rock-n-roll pilgrim, Music USA tours the musical heritage of the United States, from Nashville to Seattle, and shrines of American sound in between. Coverage includes full background on the development of local music styles together with practical details on clubs and venues, festivals, radio stations and record stores.

Music USA includes jazz, rock, pop, country, folk, funk, techno, house, and world beat in more than twenty chapters arranged geographically. Chapters focus on: New York, Philadelphia, Appalachia, Chapel Hill (NC), Nashville, Athens (GA), Miami, Muscle Shoals (AL), Memphis, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, The Southwest, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Hawaii. Each chapter covers the musical heritage of the cities and regions and the artists who put them on the musical map.

Customer Reviews:

1st review.......2002-11-01

This is fine, but how come there is no chapter on Boston?

Rough Guide to American Roots CD Box Set (Rough Guide Music CDs)

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Rough Guide to American Roots CD Box Set (Rough Guide Music CDs)
World Music Network
Manufacturer: Rough Guides Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1843533545

Amazon.com

Though literature, films, and folklore have romanticized pirates as gallant seaman who hunted for treasure in exotic locales, David Cordingly, a former curator at the National Maritime Museum in England, reveals the facts behind the legends of such outlaws as Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and Calico Jack. Even stories about buried treasure are fictitious, he says, yet still the myth remains. Though pirate captains were often sadistic villains and crews endured barbarous tortures, were constantly threatened with the possibility of death by hanging, drowning in a storm, or surviving a shipwreck on a hostile coast, pirates are still idealized. Cordingly examines why the myth of the romance of piratehood endures and why so few lived out their days in luxury on the riches they had plundered.

Book Description

"This is the most authoritative and highly literate account of these pernicious people that I have ever read." -- Patrick O'Brian

Pirates are so much a part of legend that it is easy to forget they actually existed. UNDER THE BLACK FLAG tells their story in a rollicking account of the golden age of piracy that is packed with history, anecdote, and above all adventure. Here are the true stories of such bloodthirsty legends as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, Anne Bonny, and the fearsome Mary Read. And here are rousing descriptions of what ships pirates sailed, what punishments they exacted, what they really wore, and how they flourished--or perished. From the smoky havoc of shipboard battle to the loneliness of a fugitive's life at sea, this spellbinding narrative vividly brings the brutal world of pirates to life.

Customer Reviews:

Data overload.......2007-09-18

Pirates! Everyone loves pirates, or the romanticizing image of them presented in fiction and films. Cordingly sets out to separate the facts from fiction in this book about the reality of pirates. He starts strong talking about fictional works from Dafoe, Stevenson, and Barrie then hashes on some film versions. The beginning of "Under a Black Flag" is promising but thereafter, it really begins to fall apart.

What's great about this book is, for a casual beginner student of pirate history, there's a mountain of facts and data regarding a great variety of pirates, not just the top names. Keep in mind that's just what it is, straight facts based on his research, a bit like high school history textbooks - this happened on this date, this happened here,... Etc. It gets pretty dry but there's a lot of info. Cordingly covers everything from ships, weaponry, women, trials, punishments, assaults, and areas of the map that was infested with piracy. However, the undoing of this book is that there is SO MUCH data and unfortunately a complete absence of organization of that data. There's no real cataloging or separation of topics whether it be event, people, location, or time based. Cordingly jumps back and forth through the piracy age that you really have no idea of which sea rovers were alive when or if they overlapped other well known buccaneers/privateers without creating your own timeline.

Like many other books covering this topic, you'd think Cordingly would have given the likes of Blackbeard, Kidd, Calico Jack, Henry Avery, Drake, and Morgan their own chapters in which the relevant facts are presented. He does so with a few of the above mentioned but he doesn't give the entire history of those ones within that chapter. Instead, it's spread out almost haphazardly and the author ends up continuously repeating himself. There also could have been a division of locales covering the Carribean, African coast/Indian Ocean, and China Sea piracy.

It's a real shame because based on the information factor, this book would get 5 stars, but the repetitiveness, choppy sentences, and lack of organization hamper the book so much it drops it down to only 2 stars. I still recommend the book, but be prepared to take notes and make your own timeline as you are going through it. The Appendixes are good, the locale maps are splendid, seafaring terminology helps out, but where are the pictures of the great variety of pirate flags at? So much potential but organization is the downfall of this otherwise high information text.

I want to be a pirate..........2007-07-06

..noo, I am just "Kidding". I must agree with the opinion that book is a bit "dry". However it covers probably all "big" pirate/privateer names and related stories of plundering, chasing, battles and punishments. So this work is like a small compendium of the piracy, great starter for further learning; well written and read with pleasure and interest. Inquisitive reader may go from here into more narrative and colorful books devoted to specific chosen characters like Kidd, Dumpiere, Blackbeard, Drake etc.
"Under the Black Flag" will definitely intensify your zest for extra "sailing" across plethora of other publishings.

Readable But Dry and Disorganized.......2007-06-21

I had hoped to find an interesting and thorough book on the history of piracy that is accessible to a layperson with limited knowledge of nautical history, but that doesn't simply repeat inaccurate cliches and stereotypes. I somehow doubt that this one would have even caught my attention had it not been so heavily promoted at various bookstores to cash in on the third "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. I'm disappointed that a book about such a lively subject is so surprisingly lifeless. Cordingly essentially presents a bunch of facts (names, dates, places and figures) without providing much detail or historical context. I realize that much information about pirates is sketchy at best, but simply providing me with the names of a pirate captain and his ship and the dates and places on which island an incident occurred does not make for interesting reading. Cordingly also seems to wander from subject to subject and often repeats himself. This makes me wonder if this book was actually a collection of essays or articles about piracy compiled into one volume. His main points seem to be that pirates are glamorized in fiction but in reality were cruel, sociopathic former Navy or merchant sailors who organized themselves into a democratic society. I appreciate his research and the points that he does make, but overall I found this to be a slow read and not terribly informative or entertaining.

They Plundered The Seas, Now They Plunder The Page.......2007-06-15

David Cordingly has compiled a wonderful stash of pirate fact and fiction with "Under The Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates." He covers the day-to-day comings and goings of pirates and those who loved and hated them. He fleshes out a number of the most famous pirates such as Henry Morgan, William Kidd, Bartholomew (Black Bart) Roberts and Edward (Blackbeard) Teach, giving some of them there own chapters. Specific campaigns created to wipe pirates from the seas are also given excellently documented attention. Cordingly also gives an editorial on the potential reasoning behind mankind's fascination with such vile and cruel men (and women) who called themselves "pyrate."

Cordingly backs up all of his findings with an extensive bibliography, five appendices, notes, and a very helpful glossary of sea terms. His writing style, while full of wonderful information and historical facts, never grows boring or drawn out. In fact, you could argue that "Under the Black Flag" reads a lot like a fictional novel. It's both educational and fun.

Fans of pirate history or those with just a passing fancy for the swashbuckler will want to read this book. I also recommend "The Pirate Hunter" by Richard Zacks. It covers with great detail the life and politically tainted execution of William Kidd. It's all delivered with a writing style that is easy to digest but still full of information.

From ship to shore, "Under the Black Flag" is worth a read.

The Best Book on Pirates.......2007-05-29

This is a really great book and one of my all-time favorites--unless you're looking for artwork. If it's illustrations you want, try Pirates: Predators of the Sea. If you read this and love it and want another great read, try If a Pirate I Must Be by Richard Saunders. It's terrific, though also no illustrations.

UNDER THE BLACK FLAG; The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates

Average customer rating:

Romping Over the Seven Seas with a Patched Eye!

UNDER THE BLACK FLAG; The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates
David Cordingly
Manufacturer: Harvest House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RRYRKU

Customer Reviews:

Romping Over the Seven Seas with a Patched Eye!.......2007-09-04

"Under the Black Flag" is a real pirate's treasure. For all those who want to know what was "real" and what "romance", here's your book.

Mr. Cordingly has performed a deep research on the subject and presents it in a very readable and interesting form. He has taken diaries, contemporary newspaper articles, personal letters and memoirs as a solid foundation for his book.
His study is centered mainly in the Caribbean theater, the East coast of North America and the Indian Ocean. He also gives glimpses of the Chinese pirates leaded by Ms. Cheng.

Every main issue is described: weaponry, tactics, vessels, flags, everyday life, treasures, pets and battles.
In its pages you'll find the life and deeds of famous characters as Henry Morgan, "Blackbeard", Captain Kidd, L'Ollonais, Calico Jack and many others not so well known.
A whole chapter is dedicated to women pirates including the adventures and misadventures of Mary Read and Anne Bonny.
Finally "romance" is addressed taking into account mainly movies on the subject.

As a bonus the book includes six maps of the different scenarios of pirate's campaigns; a glossary of sea terms; an extensive bibliography and several appendixes on relevant matters.

So brace yourselves and come aboard!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Life Among the Pirates (aka Under the Black Flag ) The Romance and the Reality

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Life Among the Pirates (aka Under the Black Flag ) The Romance and the Reality
David Cordingly
Manufacturer: Abacus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KEPWMC

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Life Among the Pirates (aka Under the Black Flag ) The Romance and the Reality
David Cordingly
Manufacturer: Abacus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KET7NM

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Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates
David; Random House Cordingly
Manufacturer: Random House Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JJZBLU

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Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I1DVPW

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