Book Description
A survivor of personal trauma, Rhonda Britten understands the challenge of defeating fear. Her Fearless Living program has helped thousands let go of indecision, gain clarity of purpose, and take life-changing risks. With true stories, self-affirmations, and exercises, she exposes the roots of our fears and gives us the tools to move beyond them. The result is a blueprint for success, happiness, and a life without fear.
With her acclaimed Fearless Living program, Rhonda Britten has helped thousands of people let go of indecision, gain clarity of purpose, and take life-changing risks. With inspiring true stories, self-affirmations, and exercises, she exposes the roots of fear and gives the reader tools to move beyond them. The result is a practical step-by-step guide that gives the reader a world of unlimited possibilities.
"Rhonda Britten has risen from the ashes of genuine catastrophe. She has seen the deepest darkness, and found her way beyond it...What she has accomplished within herself, and now helps others to accomplish as well, is nothing short of miraculous."
"For those who haven't been truly educated and prepared for life, I suggest reading Fearless Living." (Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine, Miracles and Prescription for Living)
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic Role Model.......2007-09-26
Rhonda Britten is a role model for us all. I also had childhood trauma and have worked deeply to live outside the fear and in freedom. Her book and plan give me the tools and they work for me. Thank you Rhonda. You are a true angel.
Controling fear........2007-08-16
I think Rhonda Britten is a powerful author and probably a great coach and trainer for those who fit her description. However, this book combines a vision for living without fear with a need to both create controls in one's life and a sense that we all have the same patterns of reaction to life. Scary book. Although I can see this working for some people it will not work for most people I know. The cycle of fear is real, but the roads into and out of it are much more dynamic and varied. Life is at the same time more surprising, fascinating, complicated, tricky and unpredictable than this book portrays.
AN INSPIRATIONAL READ.......2007-04-17
Just telling her own story of loss, suffering and trauma would be enough --- but she overcomes her earlier childhood trauma and shares with the reader how they too can reclaim their lives. I was inspired by this book and the woman who wrote it. Pamela D. Blair, Author The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Mid-Life And Beyond
Fearless Living.......2007-03-22
This book absolutely transformed my life. Fearless Living taught me that life is about the process not the goal that really matters. This gave me permission to grow and change at my own pace. I am more content in my life, I have a ton more fun and I take risks that 3 years ago I would have never, ever, ever done. This book gives practical and easy steps to make the changes in your life you deeply desire. You will learn to appreciate and love yourself and the world around you. If you want your life to be different, read this book and invest in your life!
Excellent Book - I use it in my coaching practice all the time!.......2007-03-20
This book speaks to people. Its full of compassion and no-nonsense 'fearbusting' work. Rhonda Britten's approach says the only thing between you and where you want to be is fear and then she shows you how to begin to master that fear and move you past it into the life 'your soul intended' for you to live, not the one encumbered and choked off by fear.
Book Description
This elegant hardcover book-and-CD package introduces the sights and sounds of the orchestra. After listening to the sounds of each instrument on the CD--from mellow flutes to blazing trumpets--readers may turn to the accompanying book to learn more about the orchestra and its instruments. All are invited to tour each section--string, woodwind, brass, and percussion--to discover what makes classical music so universally expressive. “This is a great book for children of all ages.”--American Bookseller
Customer Reviews:
Great for Kids.......2007-07-12
I know this product is meant for older children, but my four-year-old loves this book and especially the recording. He can't get enough of the description of the elements of the orchestra and the fugues by Benjamin Britten. He asks to play this over and over in the car. I recommend introducing this to young children - they just might like it, and possibly learn something in the process.
Tremendously helpful as teaching tool, besides being fun!.......2006-02-19
This piece of music by Britten has always been, for me at least,the finest teaching tool in the world of classical music. Even for teaching oneself about the instruments of the orchestra (and especially using the CD alongside) it is just unbeatable. A superb and very easy piece of music to listen to, it is also ingenious, easy to follow and quite memorable to boot. The main theme is great and all the little solos show off the seperate instruments beautifully. You simply cannot get better than this anywhere.
High Quality, Educational and Fun Entertainment.......2005-09-23
Money well spent! Good quality music on the enclosed CD, nice explanations and illustrations in the book. This book will introduce you / your children to the instruments and history of orchestra music in an entertaining fashion.
The book was recommended in Susan Bauer's Well-Trained Mind (Classical Homeschool Education). A nice read-and-listen activity for the whole family even if you are not into homeschooling. Try it on a car trip ...
Book Description
Rhonda Britten, Life Coach on NBC's hit show Starting Over, guides readers on a 30-day step-by-step journey to help define goals and make extraordinary life changes in their lives, using practical insights, exercises, and inspiring wisdom.
For those who want to make a major life change but have been too locked in fear to start, the answers lie within this book.
Customer Reviews:
Change Your Life in 30 Days.......2007-08-18
IF you watched the show "Starting Over" then you know what Rhonda Britten can do for people. I actually listened to this book on CD on my commute to work and back first. By the second day, I knew I HAD to have the book.
There is so much valuable information for YOU in this book. There were sine points she made in this book, that turned the light bulb on for me, it gave me knew understanding, not only of myself, but my family and friends.
I commend Rhonda for the way she has changed her life, and the blessing she is to others!
It will change your life...........2007-06-04
Read all the other reviews that talk about how this changes your life. They are 100% accurate!!!
Generally, when I buy a used book on Amazon.com for just a few dollars, I have an expectation that it might just be so-so. I was 100% WRONG when it comes to this book! It has become my bible for changing my life: not just for 30 days, but forever.
Where to begin on how to describe what it does:
1) There is something to learn every day for 30 days. But, don't confine yourself to thinking you have to do this in 30 days or in the order shown necessarily. The best thing I did was read the introduction, then open the book to any chapter. I let the Universe steer me to what I needed to read for that day. And - without fail - the chapter I turned to was EXACTLY what I needed to read.
2) Each chapter has a combination of information, Rhonda's story, and stories from others. The balance is perfect. Some chapters have more of one than the other...but it's the right combination in every case.
3) You will wish that Rhonda was your best friend by the time you are done. I found that she touched parts of me that I didn't know existed, and other parts that were there but I was afraid to uncover.
A book of this type is always going to have "nay sayers" who don't like it. One guess why? Because this is hard work. You have to want to face who you are. You have to want to ask yourself the tough questions. You have to want to "upset the apple cart" in order to move forward. And for each of those reasons why you won't do something, Rhonda has an explanation, and a solution.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. In fact, I loved it so much, I'm going to buy more copies and give them to people I know who are lost...as I was...when I bought this book.
Thank you, Rhonda! I am grateful you wrote this book.
Change Your Life in 30 Days.......2007-03-22
Of all of Rhonda Britten's books this is my favorite. Each of the 30 days provides insightful information, detailed explanations of what action to take to change your life each day and real life examples of how it has worked for others. Every day builds on the previous and before you know it your life is even better than you ever dreamed possible. This book helped me to see where I was being my own worst enemy and what to do about it. This book doesn't just tell you to be confident it TEACHES you what to do to build your confidence and so much more.
I love this book.......2007-01-25
Big Rhonda Britten Fan. Owned a copy, gave it away to someone who needed it. I couldn't live without it so I purchased a new copy. It helped me!
Change your life in 30 days.......2006-12-02
I became skeptical and frustrated with case content presented without solid grounded logic and rather arguments steeped in forced word associations and benchmarking tactics that lack substative authority. The goals of this book are compelling, their methodology seemed flawed to use for acedemic purposes. The changing of a words common authoratative definition is serious issue and I think the editing in this area for authority purposes would discard this issue which gets in the way of a otherwise book that does offer some nice exercises in self exploration. I hope Rhonda gets a better editor.
Customer Reviews:
Social contract.......2007-02-15
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book after reading a review in a magazine and honestly, the sensual cover added to my curiosity. I should mention that the title could be misleading. The book is not for "girls," in the sense "children". The photos inside are of stylish women (mid 20s to mid 30s), which I guess might suggest that the content is to instruct young women/"girls" on the more adult matters of etiquette. But the book is not written in that tone, it really could be used throughout a woman's life.
Now after having read through most sections, I am very happy with the purchase. It's a very stylish and fun reference that I've enjoyed reading. And I'm very glad that as expected and hoped, the mudane and the pleasant and not so pleasant possible realities of life are covered. There is a light and gentle sophistication to the style that keeps the reading from becoming smug or arrogrant. I don't thinking anyone would go wrong using this book as a reminder or instruction on how best to treat others well.
Fascinating.......2007-02-07
I love this book. I am amazed at how polite I am already, and love what I've learned.
What manners?.......2007-01-19
I have not read the book; it was intended as a gift. I did scan through it, and it looked quite interesting.
Book Description
Words from the Missa pro defunctis and the poems of Wilfred Owen. Other scores available: Vocal (48009029), SATB Choral (48009030), Boy's Chorus (48009031). Orchestral performance materials available on rental from Boosey and Hawkes.
Book Description
New from the host of the daily NBC show "Starting Over"...
Rhonda Britten continues to share her wisdom on achieving our full potential-by ridding ourselves of the fears and doubts that just get in the way. Shattering many of the conventional myths about relationships, Rhonda Britten illuminates eight basic truths of fulfilling love, and her step-by-step advice and renowned "fearbuster" exercises will show how to use those truths to transform love and life.
Customer Reviews:
truth truth truth.......2004-04-06
ok, i only first heard of Rhonda by watching the TV reality show "starting over" + then got hooked onto watching the amazing clarity with which she brought women from all walks of life to.
so my roomate bought this book to assist her from dating another jerk, and boy, is this book stellar! its not thick, not complicated, but really packs an emotional + mental punch. i have even more respect for this woman, who has been through so much + has found a way to positively help others. i've been telling all open-minded pals of mine who really do want to change any "failures" they have to read this. its really good stuff!
The best book about love.......2004-02-10
Rhonda Britten just gets it. This book is so wonderful. She can guide you along your path to loving in a way you never thought you could, but always wanted to. The most poignant truth for me is that everyone is innocent. That's so hard to think and act on, but she's so right about it. I would have everyone believe me innocent until proven guily, so it only seems fair for me to believe that about everyone else. This book will help you with understanding any type of love and how to do it best! She never coaches you to be someone you're not, and even highly discourages behaving as if you were playing a game. She teaches you how to test your prospective partner, or current partner so you can hear what they're not saying (which is more insightful than what they are saying). Rhonda will fill you full of courage and you will feel that you can love confidently without ever sacrificing who you are, or ever compromising what you need from a loving relationship.
Fearless Loving, by Rhonda Britten.......2003-04-12
If you are interested in developing new skills in how to do the relationship dance, this is the book for you. Fearless Loving is a must read. It doesn't matter whether you're currently in relationship, whether you would like to be in a relationship, married, single, recently split up, or divorced. Rhonda has a talent for bringing together concepts and distilling them into bit size, chewable skills for taking action, which most any one of us can implement, given our commitment.
This book is a valuable tool for me, personally and for my sixteen year marriage/partnership. I'm finding new ways to really listen, communicate, to set boundaries, to clarify perceptions, to honor my feelings and to play.
Fearless Loving also offers an insightful and helpful protocol for people who are interested in a new way to date. I highly recommend this book to my friends and anyone interested in Love.
No More Relationship Roulette!.......2003-04-10
If you've ever been through divorce -- if you've ever had a failed relationship and aren't quite sure why things couldn't have worked out better -- if you're tired of playing relationship roulette -- READ THIS BOOK!! It's the guidebook for finding and keeping love that you've been looking for. And don't forget to read Fearless Living, too! It's your ticket to freedom and to the real YOU!
Serious About Love!.......2003-03-06
Fearless Loving is well-written and packed full of useful tools that if followed will send you on your way to building new love relationships, enhancing the one's you already have and uncovering and discovering the ways in which we block or deny ourselves love. The author jumps into the trenches with you as she reveals her own personal experiences. This approach made it feel real and tangible. The best self-help book I've read in a long time!!
Average customer rating:
- Good Narrative; Weaker Analysis
- A must read....with caution
- Britten bio almost great.
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Benjamin Britten: A Biography
Humphrey Carpenter
Manufacturer: Scribner
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The Music of Benjamin Britten (Clarendon Paperbacks)
ASIN: 0684195690 |
Customer Reviews:
Good Narrative; Weaker Analysis.......2005-01-16
This is a good but not outstanding biography of the great Benjamin Britten. Carpenter was well equipped to tackle Britten's life. An experienced biographer, some of his prior work, like his very good biography of Auden, covers the same period and some of the same aspects of British artistic life as this book. Carpenter had the cooperation of the Britten estate and a wide variety of Britten's friends and associates. It is based on a wide variety of documentary material and interviews. This book is thorough, well written, and organized well. As a narrative of Britten's personal and professional lives, it is very strong and unlikely to be surpassed. The book shows very well Britten's remarkable creativity. A disciplined worker, Britten produced a large volume of outstanding music while also performing and working as a major force in the development of British musical life. Carpenter also shows, though implicitly, that Britten was a charismatic figure. He had a remarkable ability to attract the services of other talented individuals, allowing him to realize very ambitious projects such as his operas and the development of the Aldeburgh festival. Carpenter is fair in this treatment of Britten, showing both the attractive and unfortunate aspects of his personality, such as his tendency to callously discard co-workers when he felt he could work more productively with others.
Carpenter is less good in dealing with Britten's music. This is true both for Britten's output in general and specific works. Nowhere in this book do we get any sense of why Britten chose to focus on vocal music. Britten did produce important orchestral and chamber work, but his most important output was opera, less conventional music theater like his church parables, choral music, and songs. Britten's ability to set text to music was truly remarkable. Did Britten see this as his great strength as a composer or were there other reasons for the focus of his career? Carpenter tends also to interpret individual works, particularly the operas, in light of very specific aspects of Britten's life, especially his sexuality. In many cases, such as the operas Peter Grimes and Death in Venice, this makes good sense. With these interpretations, Carpenter seems also to be following the lead of some other scholars who have studied Britten. This approach, however, seems not so much wrong as excessively reductive. For example, Carpenter's discussion of Britten's underappreciated opera Gloriana, composed for the coronation of Elizabeth II, focuses on the character of the Earl of Essex, who Carpenter sees as embodying some of Britten's preoccupations about his life as public artist. The main figure of the opera, however, is Elizabeth I, and an important theme of the work is the collision of private needs and public responsibilities in the exercise of power. Surely, this was not lost on the premiere audience, which included the young Elizabeth II, who later became something of a patron of Britten. Carpenter gives no real sense of the position that Britten occupies in the history of 20th century music, probably because he doesn't have the musicological knowledge necessary to establish this kind of context. Less understandably, Carpenter misses an opportunity to discuss Britten's important role in the professionalization and expansion of post-war British musical and artistic life. Carpenter's own narrative shows the somewhat amateurish quality of pre-war British musical life and its remarkable evolution in the post-war period, a process in which Britten was a important creative figure.
This book is a useful source for those interested in Britten specifically, 20th century music, opera, and the history of British intellectual life. There is still an opportunity to write a first rate biography of Britten.
A must read....with caution.......2003-04-13
Carpenter has given us a top rate book of Britten the man. He unfortunately sheds no light on Britten's actual music. By all means, read the book, but ignore his ... "analyses," and take his attempts psychology with a grain of salt.
Britten bio almost great........1997-07-14
Carpenter, through numerous quotes from colleagues, friends and written correspondence from the composer himself provides a rare and intimate view into Britten's creative mind and personality. The only tedious aspect of this in-depth biography is in Carpenter's descriptions of Britten's pieces. Carpenter tries to speculate about how much of Britten's real life went into his music. The result comes off as searching for Britten's homosexuality and lost innocense in tones. It is however an absorbing and educating read
Book Description
Crochet Jewelry takes crochet and beading in a whole new direction. The result is crocheted wire mesh and bead chokers that look like filigree, daisy chain necklaces, metallic yarns crocheted into arm cuffs, and pom pom brooches. The range is extraordinary (rings, hair barrettes, chokers, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, arm cuffs, bangles, brooches), the designs delightful and engaging. In addition to the 35 projects, there is an introductory section that covers, in step-by-step, photographically illustrated detail, all the crochet and jewelry-making techniques you need to know to complete these projects.
Customer Reviews:
Love love love this book!.......2007-06-26
I have several books for making crochet jewelry, but this is my favorite. Not only does it have projects with wire (like most of the books out there), but it also has many projects using metallic/specialty yarns. Another bonus, the majority of the projects are things you would actually wear. I've made many of the items, and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. And the 'how to' section has some of the best photos I've seen! I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to get into crocheting jewelry.
beautiful pieces for the beginner.......2007-02-07
Unlike the other crochet with wire books I've seen, this one is perfect for the beginner. It has 35 pieces to make including earrings, necklaces and bracelets plus some other items. 32 gauge silver wire seems to be the wire of choice along with #9 seed beads but she also uses other wires and threads and beads. Book begins with intro to crochet for the beginner and then helpful info for the new beader. She uses 2mm to 3.25mm crochet hooks. The items are attractive and by doing them, the reader should be able to move on to even nicer ones or maker his/her own designs. Each pattern has color illus, tips and other good information. End of book has lists of internet suppliers and stores. Crochet terms use Amer. terminology and the book seems sturdy with good print.
Book Description
February House is the uncovered story of an extraordinary experiment in communal living, one involving young but already iconic writers -- and the country's best-known burlesque performer -- in a house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn during 1940 and 1941. It was a fevered year-long party fueled by the appetites of youth and by the shared sense of urgency to take action as artists in the months before America entered the war. In spite of the sheer intensity of life at 7 Middagh, the house was for its residents a creative crucible. Carson McCullers's two masterpieces, The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, were born, bibulously, in Brooklyn. Gypsy Rose Lee, workman-like by day, party girl by night, wrote her book The G-String Murders in her Middagh Street bedroom. Auden -- who along with Britten was being excoriated at home in England for absenting himself from the war -- presided over the house like a peevish auntie, collecting rent money and dispensing romantic advice. And yet all the while he was composing some of the most important work of his career. Sherill Tippins's February House, enlivened by primary sources and an unforgettable story, masterfully recreates daily life at the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
What a great read!!!.......2007-07-18
A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!
That House on Middagh Street.......2006-09-03
Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.
One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.
Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.
The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.
In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.
George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."
There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.
The bump and grind of a literary bawdy house.......2005-10-14
Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.
Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).
Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.
I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.
Timely and beautifully written.......2005-09-08
Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.
Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.
A Marvelous trip down memory lane or, rather, Middagh Street.......2005-06-06
7 Middagh Street literally doesn't exist any longer. It was torn down to make way for an Expressway. During the last decade of his life the poet Frank O'Hara lived in four different apartments in Manhattan and at least one of them has a commemorative plague. If 7 Middagh Street were still standing the entire building would have to be bronzed. George Davis, the fiction editior for "Harper's Bizaar," rented and renovated the house with the assistance of friends W. H. Auden and Carson McCullers. Together they sought to create a kind of year round Yaddo - a boarding house for artists. They were joined by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, Jane and Paul Bowles, Gypsy Rose Lee, Oliver Smith and Klaus Mann (among others). This is their story. As you can imagine, life at 7 Middagh Street was anything but boring.
This is the kind of biographical history I most enjoy reading. It focuses on a very specific period of time, communicating brilliantly the personal and professional triumphs and failures, as well as the ravaging effects of current world events these artists were dealing with while living together. It provides just the right balance of background material on each resident without ever becoming bogged down in trivial details that interrupt the natural progression of the story. Yes, there is a certain amount of "dirt." The spats between Auden and Paul Bowles are well documented, and the endless parade of sailors, the parties that lasted until dawn, the battling McCullers. Most of the residents, even those who were married, were either homosexual or bisexual. The book, and this history, is simply fascinating. If you care at all about 20th century art - literature and music especially - this is a book you shouldn't miss.
Book Description
The author of Change Your Life in 30 Days and Fearless Living confronts that nagging question from the inside out.
As a Life Coach on the Emmy Award-winning daytime reality show Starting Over, Rhonda Britten has helped countless women befriend their bodies-first by encouraging them to face and accept what they see in the mirror, and then by empowering them to make healthier decisions about their weight.
In Do I Look Fat in This?, Rhonda shares her personal story of body confidence and the stories of many of the women who have reached out to her. With Rhonda's encouragement and advice, people can find the courage and inspiration they need to move from disliking their bodies to celebrating them, from seeing them as objects of shame to considering them their own best friends.
Customer Reviews:
Do I Look Fat in This?: Get Over Your Body and On With Your Life.......2007-04-11
Fast shipping and perfect condition.
Do I Look Fat In This? Get Over Your Body and On With Your Life.......2007-03-22
This powerful book helps to change the way you look at and feel about your body. This is not a diet and nutrition book. It is a book to help you love your body as it is, right now, TODAY! It helped me to finally see that my body is my friend not my enemy. Rhonda gives real life examples of how this works and why it is important to love your body and stop using it as an excuse to keep you from doing the things you want to do and living the life you so deeply desire. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is challenged to love their body or use it as an excuse.
An unsatisfying mix of memoir and advice.......2006-08-14
I believe this book would have worked better if the author had written a more personal book, or a more traditional advice book. As is , it is an unsatisfying mixture of both, with neither aspect very fulfilling.
The goal of the book is admirable, but I found the advice to be overly simplistic and often repetitive. The personal parts of the book frequently come off as being a plug for the author's tv show and and I found this annoying. Whenever specific people from the show are brought up, it is with so little context that these anecdotes contribute little to the book.
The most interesting part of the book is the photos of women with brief comments on their attitudes about their bodies. These women barely figure in the text of the book, I'd have liked the book more if the focus was more on these women than the author's personal experiences. This focus on the personal might have worked in a different kind of book, but in this case it limits the usefulness of the book to others.
GREAT BOOK!.......2006-05-29
Finally...a book for someone like me!
I'm not overweight, not looking for a diet or exercise plan like so many other body books give. I have body image issues and God Bless Rhonda for writing a book that speaks to accepting and loving our bodies!
I loved every page, it was so helpful.
Rhonda writes in honesty, and from her heart. She shares her own feelings and experiences...I find courage in that!
It is a great read and a book I will refer back to often!
Do yourself a favor and buy it!
ENJOY!
If you don't read this book I will be SAD for you!!.......2006-05-20
All I have to say is: If you have EVER had body image issues (who doesn't?) this book is for YOU! :)
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Change Your Life in 30 Days: A Journey to Finding Your True Self
Fearless Loving
Do I Look Fat in This? : Get Over Your Body and On With Your Life
Living Through the Meantime : Learning to Break the Patterns of the Past and Begin the Healing Process
Change Your Life in 30 Days
