Book Description
This piece was written for and premiered by the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Frank Epstein, in April 2003. ... Read more

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This is Joan Tower's first string quartet. First performed in 1994 by the Muir String Quartet. ... Read more

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Joan Tower gives the viola plenty to say with Wild Purple, her first solo work written for violist Paul Neubauer. The work gives violists an opportunity to show the expressive and technical capabilities of their instrument, as well as explore its range of color. ... Read more

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Tower's Rain Waves, which musically explores the motion of a wave form, was written in 1997 as a commission by Michigan State University for the Verdehr Trio. A recording is available on compact disc: Verdehr Trio, The Making of a Medium, Vol. 13 Crystal Records CD 943. ... Read more

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For flute and orchestra (piano reduction). ... Read more

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Challenge your chamber group with this fascinating work by one of our most important contemporary composers. The title refers to the way in which other instruments expand upon and transform the colors of the solo piano. Scored for piano with flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and 2 percussion. Duration ca. 13 minutes. ... Read more

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Full Score of Sequoia ... Read more

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Four works from a popular series of brass and percussion pieces that celebrate the achievements of extraordinary American women. Includes Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, and Celebration Fanfare, arranged by Daniel Forlano. Instrumental parts available on rental. Total duration ca. 16 minutes. ... Read more

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17 songs, including: Apache Rose Peacock * Big Fat Funky Booty * But It's Alright * Free Ride * Funk #49 * It's Your Thing * Love Rears Its Ugly Head * Shining Star * and more. ... Read more

Book Description
Slide guitar is more popular than ever in blues, rock, and country music.This book tells the slide story with bios and photos of the past and present bottleneck masters, technique lessons, and transcriptions of old and new benchmark tunes like:Dust My Broom (Elmore James) * Honey Bee (Muddy Waters) * Layla (Duane Allman) * Thing Called Love (Bonnie Raitt) * Love In Vain (Mick Taylor with the Rolling Stones) * Running On Faith (Eric Clapton) and more.Special bonus:slide lessons from blues master Roy Rogers, country picker/producer Pete Anderson, and guitar educator Fred Sokolow.Includes standard and open tunings.64 pages. ... Read more

Book Description
Unforgettable stories from the England of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and beyond-the rich second volume of great tales by a master of British popular history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The Second in the Great English History storybooks
The second of three volumes, this narrative continues the history of the British Isles.The tales begin with the story of Geoffrey Chaucer and end with the story of Isaac Newton, spanning the years of 1387 to 1687.This history begins with stories of England and ends with the unification of Scotland, England, Wales and part of Ireland.

Lacey intersperses stories of famous royals with little known people, which makes this a truly unique book.I really like learning stories that explain various parts of the English culture.

I highly recommend this series!

A real treat as an audiobook (a history teacher's review)
Robert Lacey has done something that many writers have failed to do (unfortunately) - he has written history in a fun, accessible, easy to grasp manner. After all, as Lacey points out in his introduction to Volume 1, the "history" and "story" come from the same Latin root word. Essentially, history should be the simple story of how things happened, to the best of the teller's knowledge.

Lacey's power as a storyteller is highlighted here in spades. He narrates his audiobook as well so there is the added bonus of hearing the author add nuance to the reading - essentially reading it the way he meant it to be heard.

The stories are short and entertaining. Only a couple of times in nearly six hours of listening did I find my attention wandering. This is a terrificly fun experience for any history lover. Full of interesting tidbits but not lacking in the larger themes or commentaries.

I am going to look for volume 3 and hopefully he has written or is writing his promised volumes on Scotland and Ireland as well.

Bravo!

I give this one an enthusiastic A+.

volume 2 as fun as volume 1.
i read the first volume of "great tales from english history," and had to immediately dive into the 2nd volume. this book covers the years 1387 to 1689, and is every bit as fun as its predecessor. these books are completely addicting. I just got the 3rd volume and having it here in the house waiting to be read has made life seem worth living a bit longer. buy all 3 of them and read them. you really should.

History in Shorts
Great Tales from English History Volume II, written by Robert Lacey, covers a wide section of history.Starting in the year 1387 with Geoffry Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales, Lacey continues until the year 1687.He includes smaller stories about various topics such as the first children's book.In Great Tales, Lacey also writes about the Plague, the London Fire, beheading, and burning traders.

Great Tales from English History Volume II covers all of the Kings ranging from Richard to James.It includes their multiple wives (especially in King Henry VIII) and children (King Charles II's 14 illegitimate children) who fought over the chance to become the next king or queen.Lacey also writes about the number of wars, both with other countries and the civil war.Religion also plays a big role in the book.

Robert Lacey's Great Tales from English History Volume II isdefinitely a nonfiction history book but he keeps a cheerful story telling prospective.Lacey manages to keep interest by including several smaller sections in between wars and kings.He includes smaller incidents and people to add to a person's understanding of history.Not a history person, I learned plenty about the history, most which is not taught in school.

Accessible history
I first discovered Robert Lacey as an author from his book 'The Year 1000'.Interesting, accessible, easy to follow, with a good balance of detail and breadth (always a tricky task when writing a popular history), that book was one of my favourites around the turn of the second millennium.I discovered this book on the shelves of my local library, and have found it equally worthwhile and fun to read.

This book concentrates on the late Middle Ages to the post-Reformation era in English history - in royal terms, the times of the end of the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Interregnum and Glorious Revolution (which a history professor of mine once intoned dramatically, 'was neither glorious nor a revolution').In years, this goes from the late 1300s to the late 1600s.

One of the things that I like a lot about this particular history is that the stories are brief and self-contained while being part of the overall flow of the history of England.They make for good bed-time reading (the longest of the stories is barely seven pages long, in easy print and easy, storytelling language).Many of the characters are already familiar figures even to those who aren't Anglophiles - Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth the First, Shakespeare, King James and the English Bible.Then there will be figures that are lesser known but just as interesting - the Roundheads and Cavaliers, Rabbi Manasseh, Titus Oates, the Bloody Assizes.These are tales told in a simplified but memorable manner, and could serve for younger and older readers as a stimulus for further reading and investigation about topics brought up in the text.

There are a few maps, royal lineage charts, and woodcut/line art drawings throughout the text.Lacey includes a bibliography for further reading (this contains a good number of website addresses for making further research very easy).There is also an index, which many popular histories forget, but Lacey is to be highly praised for including one here, making looking up particular names, places and events very easy.

... Read more