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OPINION: When I was just a child, I always loved reading story books with big pictures and large words that really caught my attention and made me think about the amount of creativity it took to compose such brilliant and unique characters and scenery I consistently witnessed after turning each page from the beginning until the very end.

BOOK REVIEW: The first of a two-part biography of Charlie 'Yardbird' Parker, Stanley Crouch's  “Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker” (ISBN: 9780062005595) is as multi-layered and exciting as many of Bird's great alto sax solos.

ADSP Chapter 25: God can be found inside many things: The sun, moon, and stars; a child's simple wisdom; a lover's kiss. And at one nightclub on one sultry summer evening in Southern California, god was in the fingers of Derek Trucks.

The post Truckloads of Soul (Aspects of The Blues) appeared first on MuseWire.

BOOK REVIEW: The inside story of the woman poised to become the next U.S. President, "HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton" (ISBN: 978-0-8041-3675-4; Crown Publishers) by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes is a delightful rarity: a serious book that is fun to read.

BOOK REVIEW: In the most important American book of the year so far, Ian Haney Lopez presents a ton of facts and a mountain of logical deductions about race, politics and the nation's future in 'Dog Whistle Politics' (ISBN: 9780199964277). Reading it is like pulling off a scab.

BOOK REVIEW: It isn't easy getting a handle on a genre that ranges from the smooth swing of a Benny Goodman to the jagged edges of an Ornette Coleman but Gary Giddins' 'Visions of Jazz' (ISBN: 0-19-507675-3) is a beautiful book that makes delightful reading for any jazz lover.

BOOK REVIEW: Reading even a few pages of “Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming” (ISBN: 9781594204012) reveals heretofore hidden facts about the business aspects of climate change. Author McKenzie Funk takes you around the globe to reveal the gnarled hand of the marketplace at work.

BOOK REVIEW: Considering the filth-in-human-form known as Roger Ailes, the despicable lead character in "The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News -- and Divided a Country" (ISBN: 978-0-8129-9285-4), you might expect to come away from each chapter feeling demeaned. Instead, author Gabriel Sherman just leaves you shaking your head in shock and shame.

BOOK REVIEW: Books about World War II rarely discuss probability theory, mathematics, and observation of logistics procedures, which makes "Blackett's War: The Men Who Defeated the Nazi U-Boats and Brought Science to the Art of Warfare" (ISBN-13: 978-0307595966) by Stephen Budiansky, a refreshing change. But the horrors of combat are not overlooked (warning; graphic descriptions ahead).

BOOK REVIEW: With the soul of America at stake, Teddy Roosevelt formed a rough alliance with crusading journalists to battle for workers’ rights and a better nation for everyone. Their foes were a familiar group: the vested interests of big corporations and their trusts. In Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism" (ISBN: 9781416547860), the skirmishes are exciting even if the writing is tepid.

BOOK REVIEW: When seeking a book about careers in music, you will find plenty of choices. Many of them seem to have titles similar to "The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business" (ISBN-13: 9781608325788), but Loren Weisman's volume emphasizes the practical things over which you can exercise some control.

BOOK REVIEW: Was FDR a great president or the greatest president? That's one of the questions dealt with by Conrad Black in his lengthy (500,000+ words) biography of FDR -- “Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom” (ISBN: 978158648184) -- a man who even today is known just by his initials.

Being published in a newspaper is a fantastic way to reach your readers, both locally and state/nationwide, but never can it be compared to...

BOOK REVIEW: Recent events are made to feel like a Hollywood thrill-ride movie in “Double Down: Game Change 2012” (ISBN 9781594204401) a look at the 2012 presidential election from "Game Change" authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Spoiler Alert: the book has a happy ending.

ADSP Chapter 24: The blues will never die. Here's one reason: Audiences have a visceral response to the music, even if it's done merely adequately. And when it's done well, the audience reaction can be amazing. Either way, when somebody is playin' da blooze it means that guys will be drinking and girls will be dancing. In other words, a good time will be had by all.

The post Stone Solid Hooks (Reflections on Da Blooze) appeared first on MuseWire.

If you are looking to acquire an endorsement for your book from prolific authors such as Stephen King, James Patterson, or E.L. James, you can cease your efforts immediately, for that fantasy will never come true. The mandatory requirements that must be met in order to simply place your book before a celebrity are so astronomically vast to the average author, but to those who are wealthy, inviting Stephenie Meyer over for dinner isn't an issue.

BOOK REVIEW: Techno thrillers have got nothing on this true-life account of the United States' misadventures with nuclear weaponry. There is genuine heart-in-your-throat suspense in Eric Schlosser's accounting of the big hits and near-misses during the past half-century of the nuclear age. Just a few pages into "Command and Control" (ISBN 978-1-59420-227-8) a Titan II missile begins leaking fuel inside its launch silo and The Scare begins to wrap itself around you.

You may acquire a chance to compose a work of beauty and release it into marketplaces around the world, making it available to people whom of which have never seen the likes of your work ever before, but how exactly are going to promote this event?

ADSP Chapter 23: When hired guns go solo, the results can be "meh" or "yowza," but studio great Carl Verheyen ("ver-HIGH-un") consistently wows the crowds. Los Angeles is full of guitar aces for hire and one of the best has a name you can't pronounce. You have heard quite a lot of the work of Carl Verheyen even though you may not be aware of it.

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BOOK REVIEW: Perhaps nothing could have lived up to the anticipation for Malcolm Gladwell's new book but unfortunately "David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants" (ISBN: 9780316204361) is limp, frivolous, a little silly, and unnecessary. The only saving grace is that it is written with a fluid style so it won't take you too long to read.