5 comments about The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp.

1. "The Christmas that never was!" {Says my sister}. All because of Pearl Harbor, this happened. The story starts in April in 1942 and retraces back to December right about the time of the Pearl Harbor disaster. It gives you a full recount of the disaster.
   
   Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen 13559 Mirror Lake Internment Camp. {By: Barry Denenberg} is a great book for historical fiction fans. It's also a great book to tell you what life was like in the Internment Camps during the period of time after Pearl Harbor happened. The author has a superb way of giving details about people, places, and things. Barry has a way of making you feel your actually there.
   
   The theme of this book is: what life was like for a Japanese child in California after Pearl Harbor happened. Another is that if you were in an internment camp, then you didn't know where you were or where you would go, you were just told to get on a train with the belongings you could carry. You also had to share an apartment with another family and the apartment wasn't that big. You had to stand in line for everything like take a shower and get your food. Is the kind of life you want to live? I don't think so.
   
   So if you like World War 2 books this is a good book for you. It has mystery, friendship, and adventure. All the things a book in diary form and even any book should require. It also has some cliffhangers after some diary entries and you are always wondering what is going to happen next. To me it is a very good book.



2. The book The Journal of Ben Uchida by Barry Denenberg is about a boy named Ben Uchida who lives in San Francisco, California in the year 1942. Ben Uchida was a normal kid 13 year-old until the bombing of Pearl Harbor and everything changed, everyone around him started treating him different because he was Japanese. This is the story of Ben and his family having to go to a concentration camp and finding out about everything that is going to happen during his stay and everything that is wrong about.
   
   I recommend to young adults because it tells you what it was like to be that age back when people were being treated unfairly and it is in the point of view of a young adult.



3. This book called the Journal of Ben Uchida is based on a true story and talks about Ben Uchida, who is a prisoner of war basically in a detainee camp called Mirror Lake in the middle of nowhere near San Francisco. Throughout the book he is faced by many problems about what he is to do about the situation and how he should handle things. Some basic things he did not notice before, he now cherishes them for all they are worth. As the story progresses Ben makes new friends and enemies as well. One of the friends (or so it turns out) he made was Mike Masuda. He seemed nice at the start was very caring for them and even started a baseball league inside their camp area, but later on in the story there comes a point when he just snaps and is unkind to everyone else. At the end of the book many of the characters end up dieing in a miserable death, but Ben lives on to tell the story.
   
   I think the theme of this story is that even through hard times, you need to stand up for yourself and sometimes when life doesn't go your way you need to just wing it. The thing that drew me to this book the most was that just the thought of being stuck in an imprisonment camp along with all of your kind being disgraced and the government agrees with all the criticism, everything in your world would get turned upside down. Also according to this book, it was actually based on a true story! In the epilogue, Toyo Miyatake who took the pictures for the book did an excellent job of the visuals along with the story.



4. Many people feel sorry for the Japanese Americans that were treated miserably, but they couldn't begin to imagine what they went through. Ben Uchida and his family knew exactly what the experience was like. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ben feared for his family knowing that the government would automatically point fingers at the Japanese Americans as being spies. The United States government thought it best to take innocent families away from their safe homes and quiet neighborhoods to very dirty and crowded interment camps. The Uchida family and his family were sent to Mirror Lake along with many families. They tiring journey began on a filthy, stained train to the middle of nowhere. Then they were greeted by the military forcing them off the train leaving there bags and things on the train. To make this day better, they realize that they must share an already too small room with another family. Mirror Lake was the name off the internment camp. After months, and months of living a terrible, miserable life, they are released and apologized to. Ben and his family were taken home only to find their house burned to the ground by angry neighbors. The My Name is America series is an excellent series to read if you enjoy to actually get inside the heads of the characters. The Journal of Ben Uchida is a great example of this.
   This is a great book because it involves many detailed events and settings. The room in which the Uchida family had to share with another family was described in depth from the cots filled with not enough sheets to the tiny range with the dangerous stove. The neighborhood that the Uchida lived in first was described incredibly as a nice neighborhood filled with many kids. The cafeteria at Mirror Lake was always occupied with a line that reached from one end to the other and most of the time trailing out the door. It also didn't have as many tables as were needed, or at least that was what it was described like.
   The Journal of Ben Uchida is a great book that gets you into the heads of the characters no matter what stand point you're in. First, you get into Ben's head. He is the one writing the journal. The author described his feelings just as a little brother would feel like. You also get into Robbie's, Ben's friend back home, head. He constantly writes Ben asking him questions like hows it going, are you playing any baseball, etc. He asks questions that many boys would wonder if their friend was forced to leave without their total consent, even if most of them are blacked out in the mail by the military. The reader also gets into the thoughts of the administration. They see how they are trying to make the best of a tough situation. The administration is doing their job, and well, but their is evidence that they are trying there best to let the people have a little freedom by doing things like starting a paper, starting a baseball league, etc.
   This book is clearly a great example of a real life journal from the 1940's. It is in the format of a real diary with dates at the top of each entry. It also has the real feelings of a kid living in that time. Ben has a real personality. It does not seem like an imaginary one. Ben has hate (toward bullies at home), friendship (towards Robbie and Mike), concern (toward his family and all Japanese Americans), and many other similar feelings. This book also has real historical facts from the attack on Pearl Harbor, to the internment camps, to the repent.
   There were people like Ben and his family in that time frame that felt the same way. This book is a good example of the life a Japanese American went through. Many people feel empathy for these poor people without really knowing what they went through or felt, but this book helps us see it and feel it. When ever a reader would like to go back in time and experience the pain and suffering that these innocent people went through, just open this book. Barry Denenberg did an excellent job portraying the life in the time of the 1940's. A. Elliott



5. Ben was twelve, living a pretty normal life as a Japanese-American in California when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Immediately his life became anything but normal. His parents, fearing what would happen to them, began by burning anything that had anything to do with Japan, including Ben's sister's dolls, books, and letters from their grandparents in Japan. Even these precautions didn't help them much, though. Ben's father, an optometrist who belonged to an association for Japanese American businessmen, was taken away by the government for questioning. His family had no idea when he would return, and most of his letters were blacked out for national security reasons. Then Ben and his sister and his mother were told that they would have to pack up and go somewhere to live for the rest of the war. They were told it was for their own protection.
   
   Ben's mother sold everything she could manage and put the rest of their belongings into storage, and she and her children boarded a train that took them out into the middle of nowhere, to a camp called Mirror Lake. In fact, there was no lake. It was a dusty group of wooden houses, thown together and poorly made, in the middle of the desert. The camp was surrounded by barbed wire, electric fences, and guard towers. This is where thousands of people were to live until the war was over and any danger was past.
   
   Ben and his family live in this internment camp for over a year, sharing a one-room apartment with another family and waiting in long lines for everything--meals, showers, toilets, and anything else they need. When they are finally able to return home, they find things there aren't so great, either.
   
   I liked the first-person account of the hardship faced in these camps. I also liked that Ben's best friend kept writing him letters to keep him updated on how things were on the outside.
   
   It was infuriating to read this book about the internment camps and to think that the rest of the country just allowed this to happen, instead of being outraged about it.

2 comments about Trumpet Technique.

1. Campos' book is an elegantly written, thoroughly researched, and well-organized volume on the pedagogy of the trumpet. He attacks every conceivable issue that trumpet players face including technical, motivational, mental and even physical problems and suggests solutions for all.
   
   This is a wonderful resource for interested players and teachers. Being a university teacher myself, I've made notes throughout the book of interesting techniques to try with my students and in my own playing.
   
   Highly recommended. Thank you, Mr. Campos, for putting together this badly-needed guide to teaching and playing our instrument!



2. This book is very deep yet it so easy to understand.HE Qutes and covers everything that you need to know not just to become a better trumpet player but a better instrumentalists. I myself hadn't finish the book yet but trying to take what I have learn so far and use it.The frist chapter along is very helpful because it bring you into a better understanding of skills and why some people fell when they lack the skills and bring into a place where they can see that there lack of skills are from a lack of understanding and show them how it's done.

3 comments about Mel Bay The Essential Tin Whistle Toolbox.

1. To the previous reviewer: It's called a "Toolbox" for a reason.
   
   Clearly this book was not intended to be a songbook. There are _plenty_ of songbooks, and they all have one shortcoming; they rarely give the player an adequate indication of "how" to execute the ornaments or address other often asked questions such as whether or not dynamics are possible. Even the better song/method books out there that come with recordings usually aren't organized well enough to follow the curriculum outlined in the book (i.e. they give you an example and then follow it with a song that poorly illustrates the concept put forth, OR the recorded song comes in one speed: blindly fast for you to appreciate by ear but frustrate the heck out of the beginning student).
   
   As one who has been teaching music (and penny whistle specifically) for a while now, I can't tell you how many students I've had that express dismay and confusion over the "how to's" of the expressive part of whistle playing. Yes you can show them in a lesson but between lessons it's helpful to have a good, thorough book to guide you, help you advance quickly, and keep you motivated.
   
   Music (on any instrument, including the voice) is a language. Despite the other reviewers negative attitude toward music theory, many people find it helpful because it explains the concepts and "rules" for that language, which gives you the ability to "intentionally" communicate your ideas AND understand them when you hear them played by someone else so that you can reproduce them yourself . As one who makes their living professionally playing and teaching music, I have found that people that say they don't "like/need" to know music theory have had the misfortune of having it taught in a non-relevant, dry way.
   
   
   As to the author not providing audio recordings of the tunes cited, there are plenty of sources for one to find them. It is very expensive to gain the rights to use those songs in publications. If you think this book is expensive already, how'd like to pay the added cost that would be passed on to you were they (the songs cited) to be included.
   
   I am thrilled to finally have found a book like this to supplement a grossly neglected area of whistle playing. I would highly recommend this book for teachers and especially self-taught players. Use it as a supplement to the method and songbooks you have that don't (or poorly) cover the aspects of whistle playing that make the difference between you sounding like an perpetual beginner and a more seasoned player.
   
   Hats off to Mr Larsen for such a fine bit of work. If you really want to play with ease and SOUND great, this book is a must have in your collection!



2. OK, so I have only tried three. But this one fits my style. If you don't have a live instructor available, the best option, then this book can help you understand the real basics: how to hold the whistle, basic fingering options, breathing. Stuff other tutorials tend to assume you already know.
   
   Of course, there is plenty here for more advanced students too. I do suggest you look elsewhere for a supplemental tune book and consider purchasing other tutorials, but this is an excellent place to start.



3. I have to admit im extremely impressed. Their aren't many Tinwhistle learning books out their that teach you everything you need to know, but so far this book has been truly remarkable. He goes through really in-depth lessons slowly so that their easy to follow, and as you progress you meet new challenges within the book.
   In conclusion, if you want to learn how to play the tinwhistle GET THIS BOOK!

5 comments about Universal Method for Saxophone.

1. Back when I was playing every night, we referred to this as "The Bible." Anyone who aspires to play the sax should have a copy, even if it is "old school" by today's standards. This and a couple of "cheat books", with a good album collection, is all you need to learn to play the right way. Join a band and listen to everyone else, and hit a few licks when the time is right.



2. This is a great thing for students who have a hard time finding something to practice site reading with. As a student myself, I find myself excelling at improvisation only because I have all of the recourses at hand to do so. I used to faulter a little with my sight reading a while ago, but this new book has really helped me. I have already recommended it to many friends; I also recommend it to you!



3. This is an excellent book for the serious saxophone student. It covers all the major technical aspects of playing the saxophone in the normal range of Bb below to F above the staff: scales and arpeggios, breath control (if you follow the breath marks in the early exercises), phrasing, mastering the low range, mastering the high range, intervals, trills and embellishments, difficult fingering combinations, alternate fingerings, time signatures and syncopation, and all the keys(although the majority of exercises are in the common keys,especially C). The problem is the book is made up of mostly dry technical studies. No popular or folk tunes. No simplified classical themes or classic etudes. Just a few operatic arias, classical airs, and concert pieces for the intermediate/advanced player and beyond (maybe 60 out of 290 pages of music). That's why I think it's only for the serious student. Also, it's probably too difficult for most beginners with no experience learning on their own without a teacher.



4. Some interesting exercises and etudes. However the book is very dated. This book has not changed since 1929. I have an original 1929 version and the new book is an exact copy. The saxophone has evolved since 1929, and so should this book.
   
   There is no mention of any of modern saxophone technique. For example the book still refers to an archaic saxophone with right hand low Bb,B and C#keys, there are even has exercises based on this ancient key system. No modern saxophone have these keys. I have never seen a sax with these keys, although the idea is interesting.
   
   The book covers only your basic scales, major, and melodic minor. There is no mention of pentatonics, altered scales, whole tone, harmonics, multiphonics, altissimo etc.
   
   This is not a bad book to have in your collection, but you will need more than this Universal Method to become the next Michael Brecker.
   
   The title Universal Saxophone method may have been appropriate in 1929, it is certainly not appropriate for the year 2006.



5. Starts with a short but very good introduction into music reading. Good saxo use introduction (again quite short). And dedicates the rest of the book on musical partitures of learning and practicing exersises.

No comments about 100 Solos: Clarinet.

5 comments about The Devil's Horn: The Story of the Saxophone, from Noisy Novelty to King of Cool.

1. This was a very enjoyable book to read. It brought out, in a way I had not read before, the very human quality of voice of the saxophone. Now I can smile even more when I hear angels sing through the "Devil's Horn".



2. A great book about the history of the Saxophone. Was recommended to me by others.



3. Michael Segell's book on the story of the instrument I play, the saxophone, is a real page-turner, like a good novel that you can't put down. Unlike other tomes on the saxophone, Segell has taken more of a chatty, non-academic approach and interspersed between the fascinating study and interviews with some of the greats on the saxophone, is his own story of learning to play himself. This adds an extra dimension to the study and Segell comes across like your best friend, you really care how his playing is going and you feel by the end of the book that you know him personally.
   
   Segell's section on the trials and tribulations of Adolphe Sax, although much already known by this reviewer is nevertheless interesting and comes across like a report in a newspaper, getting to the nitty gritty of the atempted murder of Sax.
   
   I have no hesitation in recommnending this book to my fellow musicians.



4. A fabulously enjoyable read! Terrific research and journalism!
   
   If I may suggest... anyone who finds this book flawed should presently consider completing their union with Sigurd Rascher and Marcel Mule in body and spirit.
   
   Great job, Mr. Segell! Thank you!



5. I bought a hardcover book a few years ago and read it during my holiday. I now bought it as a gift to surprise a sick colleage.
   It's a book that is written in a flexibel style and holds a lot of historic facts that I did not yet now....... a must have !

2 comments about Library Of Flute Classics (Library of Series).

1. I am a music educator. The flute solos are wonderful. I love the fact that the book can be used for both solo and duet playing since it comes with a second separate solo book for flute. I am primarily a pianist and enjoy all of the accompaniment parts to the solo flute. This collection is outstanding. There are 55 duet pieces by 29 different composers. Included in this collection are some of most well-known compositions from Bach, Mozart, Bizet, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, etc. I recommend this book highly to all of my advanced students - those playing at least 3-4 years. These selections range from intermediate to a bit more challenging. There are a few unfamiliar melodies which are absolutely delightful. I would also like to add that this book is bound together with a durable spiral binding which makes it stay firm on the piano or music stand. The print is also quite legible and easy on the eyes. This book is a very good value.



2. Great selection of intermediate songs for the flute with beautiful piano part as well. Very convenient spiral-bound accompaniment book. Would definitely recommend for any flute player to add to their collection.

2 comments about Play Clarinet Today! Beginner's Pack: Book/CD/DVD Pack.

1. Rather late in life, I decided to learn clarinet. After reviewing all the method books on Amazonm I selected this and it's Level 2. I found the books not for the serious student. There is very little material on scales or arpeggios or on things like using the register key. Mostly the teach you how to play songs. If you don't read music, it gives you lots of material on this. If you do read music (I do) then what is left is not much. The Level 2 is more of the same. The most worthwhile part is the DVD, which shows you how to assemble the instrument, put the reed in, and how to hold it. You also get some visuals on embouchure. I eventually bout Gustave Langenus' 'Complete Method for the Clarinet'. Part one is available from Amazon. It expects you to read music.



2. This is a bad deal. The DVD and the documentation teach one the first four notes of the clarinet, but what about the rest?
   
   DON'T GET SUCKERED INTO THIS BAD DEAL.

No comments about Keyboard Strategies: A Piano Series For Group or Private Instruction Created For the Older Beginner, Master Text II.

5 comments about Lord of the Rings Instrumental Solos: Flute (Book & CD) (The Lord of the Rings; the Motion Picture Trilogy).

1. Well, i find this flute book completely wonderful, yet too easy. I suppose that would be because the whole flute concept comes easily to me (after two months of puffing along with no sound at first) But as a whole I would highly reccomend this as a flutist, Lotr fanatic and music lover. if you enjoy this, you MUST buy the sound track aswell. It is wonderfully written, and as a whole, just .. wonderful!



2. I was completely impressed with the Lord of the Rings Instrumental Solos for flute.
   I have been playing flute for about two years now after taking music classes both inside school and outside for additional advice. I was able to master this beautiful instrument in no time. And I hope to keep up my talent for it.
   
   Now, the features you will expect of this book are:
   - 12 featured pieces from each of the three films. These are "The Prophecy", "in Dreams", "Concerning Hobbits", "Many Meetings", "The Black Rider", "Gollum's Song", "Rohan", "Even Star", "Forth Eorlingas", "Into the West", "Steward of Gondor", and the great "Minas Tirith".
   - Each piece ranges from at least one page to two; however repeats, rests, and Codas may make the piece longer.
   - The book contains full sized pictures of screenshots from the movie.
   - A level of playing that is challenging enough for a person of nearly any level.
   - Well organized pieces that are easy to understand and read.
   - A flute fingering chart at the back to make sure you are able to look up every note.
   - A wonderful CD to listen to with full orchestral backup or to play along with. In my case, the demos on my CD feature a professional flutist who plays each piece. When you wish to know the tempo and speed of each piece, this really improves the experience. In fact, the CD is amazing enough to be sold as a sound track for the films by itself.
   - This book is available for Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Horn in F, and Trombone. This means that if any concert bands are interested in playing familiar Lord of the Rings music, the pieces will always be in key for each instrument.
   
   In my opinion, this amazing book has completely brought me on to a new level of playing. If any of you are musicians, reading this, you know the feeling you get when you create such a soul-full, emotional piece of music that your mind and audience is touched by every note that weave themselves through each melody? This is what I felt during getting to know each piece in this book.
   Howard Shore, this music is brilliant! Thank you to you and your full orchestra and team to putting this together to give musicians wonderful music to play from an inspiring trilogy of films!
   
   :.Midnight's Mist



3. I recieved this book and CD as a gift for my birthday. I really enjoy having this in my library. Here's your chance to be in a symphony and play along to one of the greatest movie soundtracks! -The music is clear and easy to read.
   -The CD has a demo track and a play along track which has the solo removed because you are the soloist!
   -This compilation will challenge and entertain any playing abilites.
   -There are some nice color photos from the movie, although personally there could have been more sheet music added instead of the photos.
   -The CD is fully orchestrated, and it is very pleasant to listen to.
   -There is a fingering chart in the back for beginner players.
   -One drawback...The CD needs tempo clicks at the begining to give you the beat of the song-especially the slower parts. Plus you don't know when to start counting, the track just suddenly starts and you can miss a beat or two and get lost if you are not an experierencd player. Also some of the music is complex to listen to and it is difficult to find the beats.
   -The reasonable price gives you no excuse to not have this in your library.



4. I got this book just for fun, and I absolutely love it! I was worried that it would be too easy since I've been playing for years, but it's perfect. The songs are all great and sound beautiful with the CD playalongs. The only complaint I have is that there is a page turn in the middle of "Into the West" which is impossible to do while playing the flute. But aside from that, I'm very satisfied with this book!



5. This was a nice bit of music. There were very few songs and they filled up the small book mostly with pictures, which were nice but I was hoping for a little more substance.