Mozart’s music style and the late eighteenth century Classical era music are virtually synonymous. The goal of Classical era music was to conform to specific standards and forms, to be succinct, clear, and well balanced, but at the same time, to develop musical ideas to an emotionally satisfying fullness. As a quintessential Classicist, Mozart’s music has become universally extolled; his music represents an outpouring of memorable graceful melody that is combined with formal, contrapuntal ingenuity.
During the late eighteenth century, a musician’s livelihood depended solidly on patronage from royalty and the aristocracy. Mozart and his sister, Nannerl, a skilled harpsichord player, frequently toured Europe together and performed at the courts of Austria, England, France, and Holland. But in Mozart’s native Salzburg, Austria, he felt artistically oppressed by the Archbishop and decided to relocate to Vienna. There, he received first-rate appointments and financial security that emanated from the adoring support of both the Empress Maria Thèrése, and later her son, the Emperor Joseph II. Opera legend relates the story of a post-performance meeting between Emperor Joseph II and Mozart in which the Emperor commented: “Too beautiful for our ears and too many notes, my dear Mozart.” Mozart replied: “Exactly as many as necessary, Your Majesty.”
Mozart said: “Opera to me comes before everything else.” Mozart operas involve all of the existing genres and traditions: the Italian opera seria and opera buffa, and the German singspiel.
During Mozart’s time, the Italians set the international standards for opera: Italian was the universal language of music and opera, and Italian opera was what Mozart’s Austrian audiences and most of the rest of Europe wanted most. Therefore, even though Mozart was an Austrian, his country part of the German Holy Roman Empire, most of Mozart operas were written in Italian. In opera seria, Mozart recognized its excesses; their cardboard-style characters who were rigid and pretentious, and their scores saturated with florid da capo arias, few ensembles, and almost no chorus. He would follow Gluck’s guidelines and strive for more profound dramatic integrity; he parted from existing traditions and endowed his works with Continue reading Mozart and Opera History 2 » »
A historical understanding of the origin of opera is important if the music itself is to be enjoyed. Opera developed in England, Germany, France, and most importantly Italy in the beginning of the 16th century. In fact, the leading role in this development was played by Italy. A story in opera finds expression through musical instruments accompanied by voice.
Opera found its way into England and France through the use of musical instruments that became very popular with royal courts throughout Europe in the early 17th century. Elaborate costumes were orchestrated during these events and dances were accompanied by visual effects. Most of the stories told at this time had their origin in classical mythology. They were used as a manifestation of the grandeur with which kings ruled.
History of opera
The years before 1600 saw Italy become very famous for its elaborate musical conceptions that were identified through the use of opera performances. It was not long before the country started exporting opera music to the rest of Europe. Italyís greatest influence throughout Europe in the period between 1500 and 1700 was through music. This is how new genres such as Continue reading A brief history of Opera » »
It is not all operas that have a music setting from the beginning to the end. This basically means that there are many types of operas. The most common type of opera is grand opera. This type of opera is set in music only. The Opera Buffe which is of French origin and its Italian equivalent known as Opera Buffa, both are based on light-hearted stories.
Opera Comique is the reference term that denotes a French opera which contains spoken words in addition to music. It is surprising that the term does not denote any comic attributes. In fact, an opera such as Carmen which falls under this category is a tragedy by virtue of the spoken dialogue that is always used in the place of recitatives.
Various types of operas.
In Germany, the most common type of opera is Singspiel. In this variety, the storyline is filled with extreme fantasy and there are some spoken words in between various songs. Magic flute by Mozart is a very good example. An operetta is a very short opera that is rather light-hearted and which contains a few spoken words.
Many German courts were heavily influenced by both Italian and French opera traditions. The Habsburg Empire which had its headquarters in Vienna was also influenced in an equally significant manner. In fact, great German composers such as Handel and Johan Sebastian succeeded because of their synthesis of these two opera traditions.
Hamburg had time for opera that was composed in German. This scenario remained this way during Handelís brief stint in the opera performances. Emperor Joseph II tried in 1780 to introduce a German opera tradition. Through these attempts, Mozart was able to rise to fame but in the end the emperorís attempts did not bear any fruits.
German Dresden Opernhaus
German Singspiel is the one that has a much longer history. It parallels well with the Italian and French popular comedy. This genre led to the diminishing between serious and comedic opera in Germany. German language opera soon emerged, sometimes in spoken form, covering various topics. A classical example is the Zauberflote or The Magic Flute of Mozart.
Mozart Amadeus Wolfgang was a famous Austrian composer who many opera commentators rank in the same category with the likes of Wagner Verdi. He was a child prodigy whose first works were performed when he was only 11. Germans who were successful at this time were Don Giovanni who was an instant success in Germany but Continue reading A Long Journey of German Opera through History » »
France has always maintained a highly operatic tradition since Jean Baptiste Lully, an Italian, set foot into the country. While it is true that Italian opera maintained a strong influence on French Opera, the French variety of this form of composition maintained the much-valued principles of classical French drama.
The linguistic traditions of French Opera have always remained a strong force in Europe due to their strong influence. Lully, the Italian was a boy when he came into France. His leading positions as a lead singer enabled him improve his skills as well as build his opera performance career. French Tragedie Lyrique that was composed as a result of this collaboration had five acts, borrowed heavily from earlier forms which the average Frenchman understood very well. Lully soon became a very influential force and soon dominated music in French theatres. An element of dance play was introduced in most of the plays that were played here.
Opera comique.
OpÈra Comique was a form of opera that developed from highly popular scenes of ways of life during the18th century. One of the best known venues of this type of operas was the Paris Fair Theaters. Existing tunes helped form lyrical compositions that quickly became popular throughout France. Many traveling companies made up of players from Italy made Continue reading French Opera and Its Italian Influences » »
Italian opera combines both the aspects of opera as an art and opera is part of the repository of the Italian language. Opera was in Italy in the late 1500ís and continues to play a dormant role in the cultural fabric of the country. Some of the most influential opera performances in Italy during this time were composed by foreigners.
Some of most famous foreigners who shaped Italian opera include Gluck, Handel, and Mozart. The best Italian opera compositions of all time credited to Italians were composed by famous people like Bellini, Verdi, Puccini and Donizetti. Today, the performances continue to grace opera houses all over the world.
Although Dafne music is no longer in existence, its influence during the 17th century was remarkable. It was performed during Henry IV’s wedding to Marie de Medici in Florence. Some memorable operas that made history as opera continued to grow include Euridice, which recounted vividly the story of Eurydice and Orpheus. The singing style was a form of a heightening natural speech which was accompanied by dramatic recitatives which were offered by strong string music.
Italian Opera
Soon it became a custom to include instrumental interludes as well as separate songs during the spans of time when the voices became very silent. One common feature of Continue reading The Early Face of Italian Opera » »
Comic opera originated from a strand of opera that was characterized by short but highly entertaining scenes which in most cases had funny servants. The comic opera tradition remains to this day. During the 16th century, these comical scenes came in between various acts that constituted serious opera.
Comic opera existed prior to the 17th century. In Italy, it was referred to as Opera Buffa. This Italian version became an outgrowth that of the comic tradition before finally developing into an independent genre. Other various varieties of comic opera apart from this Italian variant are the French Opera Comique, the German Singspiel and the English Ballad Opera.
In its original meaning, comic opera is used to denote a dramatic work of drama that is light or comic in nature, which is often sung and has a very a very happy ending. These forms were introduced into world opera through Italian performances before quickly spreading to other European countries.
Different roles in opera are performed using particular voice types. Each is designed for different types of singers and the differential in vocal range in performance is the secret behind the richness of variety and distinctiveness in every classical opera performance.
Opera voices can therefore be classified into different types that fall into either the masculine or feminine category. Of course there is always some certain degree of succinct overlaps. Baritone is the most common singing voice that is used predominantly by men. It is far lower in term of range than tenor and is often accompanied by a dark hue. Although some Mozart pieces such as Papageno and Count Almaviva are considered predominantly as of the baritone variety, no major distinction is drawn between baritone and bass.
Enrico Caruso.
Verdi always used his peculiar baritone voice to display various dramatic qualities. Many music commentators today consider “Verdi baritone” as a distinct type of voice. Such a voice must be of highly dynamic quality, the kind of quality that enables one to perform lyrical performances with relative ease.
Operetta is one of the many genres of performance arts that has a very close relationship with opera in terms of both theme and music sequences. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between operetta and opera. The term was used for the first time to describe opera stage performances that were shorter and less ambitious efforts during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Operettas have since then maintained a very strong influence in the western culture.
They are very readily available to mass audiences and are extremely enjoyable. This style of music has lately brought about profound influences to Broadway music, which originated in New York. Broadway music has even outstripped operas and operettas in terms of popularity throughout the world.
Operetta
In a typical operetta, some of the libretto has to be spoken and not sung. Singers are given an opportunity for dialogue which marks the transitory point between a musical number and the other. During these dialogues, there is no form of accompaniment. Sometimes quiet musical themes may be used to enrich the background. In some operettas, recitative styles are used. These styles flow in a rhythm that appears to be with equal range to Continue reading Operetta from Contemporary Opera Performances » »
To people who have never been to a live opera performance, the experience of a grand opera may be rather mysterious. However, everyone in the real world is always exposed to opera music without even realizing it. It is not uncommon to hear music in TV commercials that can only be described as operatic in nature
The modern communication technology presents us with many avenues through which we can share fun through opera music. Whether the communication channel is email or flag articles, opera music has a way of spreading the message of love to every corner of the world.
If you visit any library, you are going to be amazed at the richness of variety in terms of opera music collection search efforts. In the case of those libraries that are owned by consortiums, one can easily order a CD or DVD containing nothing but operatic performances. Once you have bought and turned on the music, donít listen to it as if it were a philosophy lecture. Just put it on in such way that it appears like background music.
Enjoy Opera
A tuneful work is ideal at the beginning. A tune that bears a close semblance to the modern reality is the best option. Verdi’s “Rigoretto” is a typical opera performance that is just the one to Continue reading How to Enjoy Opera » »
Many opera lovers today are the transition from classical opera to modern opera that occurred concomitantly with the death of Puccini in 1924. There are epitaphs that can easily be spotted in Little Italy as well as Lincoln Center in New York. A change in operatic repertoire has been noticed since the turn of the 21st century.
Most of the decisive advancements that have taken place in contemporary times are yet to be fully acknowledged. The operas that were performed in between the two world wars are twice as many as those that were performed during the period that many people prefer to refer to as the Golden age.
The period between 1900 and 1918 saw the introduction of operas such as Pelleas et Melisande, Salome, Rosenkavalier, Bluebeardís Castle, Plestrina Elektra, among many others. During this time, the greatest pointer of the future was Leos Jefuna, although he was not given any recognition at the time. Jefuna made it to the Prague performance and gained wide international exposure.
Opera House
Many post-war changes in operatic performances took the form of a wave. Some of the greatest names that rode in this wave were the elderly legends of opera such as Janacek who premiered in 1921 and the Cunning Little Vixen who hit the premiere stage three years after Vixen. Opera at this time was characterized by simple emotional overloads that were unlike anything witnessed during neo-classical times.
Aida backgrounds all successful operas of the 20th Century. It has been recorded and translated into many editions, putting it on a class of its own as a basic operatic repertoire. Aida is indeed the standard measure of opera composition and has a legendary performance history to affirm it.
The first misconception of Aida arises on the original intent of the opera. It is commonly known that the opera was composed by Giuseppe Verdi in around 1871, meant for a performance in December of that year. It was not meant for the inaugural opening of the Suez Canal as is said in some quarters. Indeed, when Verdi was requested to compose a celebratory ode for the opening of Suez Canal, his reply was, “I do not oblige to writing occasional pieces.” It was Ismail Pasha, the art-loving Khedive of Ancient Egypt who commissioned it, purely for pleasure purposes.
Aida Opera
The first performance of the opera, conducted by Giovanni Bottesini, was at the Khedivial Opera House, although not to celebrate its opening as is commonly believed. Again, the four acts of Aida were based on a unique scenario origin written by Auguste Mariette, the French Egyptologist. Mariette was actually the designer of most of the performance costumes for the premiere of the opera. It is a misinformation to document the scenario on which Verdi based the opera as originally done by Temistocle Solera. The inaugural reception was great and by the next morning, 25th December 1871, Aida was acclaimed by all critics as the best of its kind. The premiere performance had starred, especially Continue reading Aida in the Real Perspective of Opera » »
The lyric tragedy Anna Bolena is a two–act Italian opera composed by Gaetano Donizetti on an Italian libretto by Felice Romani. The opera’s libretto was largely based on two plays with accounts of the life and times of Queen Anne Boleyn. One account was by Marie-Joseph Chénier in Henry VIII while the second was by Alessandro Pepoli in Anna Bolena. The opera was first premiered in Milan’s Teatro Carcano on 26th December 1830. What made and maintains the opera among the greatest of all time is the duet between Anna and Jane Seymour in soprano and mezzo soprano respectively. None like it has ever been achieved to date in the operatic repertoire.
Anna Bolena gained wide acclaim and recognition in Europe at that time and was performed, though irregularly, from the 1850’s to the early 20th century. But it was not until after the Second World War that the opera was revived and placed forever on the global opera scene. When on 30th December 1947, the Gaetano Donizetti’s opera was performed in Barcelona to celebrate the centennial of Gran Teatre del Liceu, the audience shed tears of joy. The theatre had actually been opened back in 1847 with the same opera, Anna Bolena. During this performance, the lead cast included Sara Scuderi (Anna Bolena), Giulietta Simionato (Jane Seymour) and Cesare Siepi (Henry VIII).
Anna Bolena - Queen Anne Boleyn
After that, Luchino Visconti directed a lavish production of the opera performed on the April of 1957 at La Scala for Maria Callas. This was to be one of Luchino’s greatest moments of triumph. From there on, Anna Bolena opera gained worldwide support in opera theatres, thereby earning regular performances and even numerous recordings.
Verdi mastered the art of opera perhaps better than any other composer has in history. Nabucco was actually his third opera and one that experts regard as his stepping stone to world popularity. The success of this third opera elevated and permanently solidified his reputation as a master composer. Before that, he had already composed Luisa Miller and Ernani, with a relatively good reception.
The premiere performance of the opera was in Teatro alla Scala, Milan on 9th March, 1842. At this performance, the opera carried its original name of Nabucodonosor, before it was translated to English, Nebuchadnezzar, in subsequent revision. Actually, the first time the English name was used was during the performance at San Giacomo Theatre of Corfu on September 1844. Most of the numbers in the opera lacked the encores that have been added in modern performances. Especially renown is the number ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ and ‘Fly, Thought, On Golden Wings’, today made even more beautiful by additional encores.
Teatro alla Scala - Milan
Such flexible compositions are notable with most of Giuseppe Verdi’s operas. Another key feature of Nabucco, which is repeatedly used by many of Verdi’s opera, is the soprano role with a downfall vocal of several singers. This is notable in the role of Abigaille in Nabucco. It was Anita Cerquetti and Elena Souliotis who sang this role very poorly during some performances before Maria Callas took it for three consecutive performances. But the real exponents of the role in the period 1941 to 2005 have been both Jadranka Jovanovic and Ghena Dimitrova.
The original Grease title song for the 1978 motion picture was sung by Frankie Valli in combination with John Travolta who was at his musical prime.
This included the two most successful songs; ‘You’re the One That I Want’ and the Grease title song, ‘Grease’, both of which made it to number one on the billboards. The other song nominated for the Academy Awards was ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’. When the album with these songs was released in the summer of 1978, the Grease soundtrack album immediately hit the top of the US charts replacing The Rolling Stones hit, ‘Some Girls’. Within three years of its release, the album sold over 28 million units worldwide.
Grease Music From Broadway
The 1950’s performances of the Grease musical provided a momentum from which the film was to take off from. Even before the release, the film was a popular topic of discourse, with people guessing how effective the film could recapture the musical artistry of the Broadway release. John Travolta in Danny Zuko’s role did not disappoint, just as he had not in the successful ‘Travolta in Saturday Night Fever’. Frankie Valli sung the amazing Grease title song, written by Barry Gibb.
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There’s more than ever on pregnancy matters practical (including an expanded section on workplace concerns), physical (with more symptoms, more solutions), emotional (more advice on riding the mood roller coaster), nutritional (from low-carb to vegan, from junk food–dependent to caffeine-addicted), and sexual (what’s hot and what’s not in pregnant lovemaking), as well as much more support for that very important partner in parenting, the dad-to-be. Overflowing with tips, helpful hints, and humor (a pregnant woman’s best friend), this new edition is more accessible and easier to use than ever before. It’s everything parents-to-be have come to expect from What to Expect. . . only better?. Amazon. com ReviewAnnouncing a brand new, cover-to-cover revision of America’s pregnancy bible. What to Expect When You’re Expecting is a perennial New York Times bestseller and one of USA Today’s 25 most influential books of the past 25 years. It’s read by more than 90% of pregnant women who read a pregnancy book–the most iconic, must-have book for parents-to-be, with over 14. 5 million copies in print. Now comes the Fourth Edition, a new book for a new generation of expectant moms–featuring a new look, a fresh perspective, and a friendlier-than-ever voice. It’s filled with the most up-to-date information reflecting not only what’s new in pregnancy, but what’s relevant to pregnant women. Heidi Murkoff has rewritten every section of the book, answering dozens of new questions and including loads of new asked-for material, such as a detailed week-by-week fetal development section in each of the monthly chapters, an expanded chapter on pre-conception, and a brand new one on carrying multiples. 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More geared to in-the-moment, find-it-in-a-flash reading. Most important of all, the fourth edition celebrates pregnancy. I have a passion for pregnancy, and always have. I love moms, I love dads, and I love babies. But everything about this fourth edition from the happy, excited mom-to-be on the cover, proudly caressing her beautiful belly and its even more beautiful contents, to the adorable week-by-week description of the making of your baby, to the positive (yet realistic), mom-to-mom tone throughout–this fourth edition is not just an explanation of those 9 amazing (though often bewildering) months you have ahead of you. It’s a celebration of them. What to Expect When You’re Expecting fourth edition is everything moms and dads have come to expect from What to Expect. . . only better. And I can’t wait to start sharing it with you. 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Product DescriptionKatniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games. ” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat’s sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.
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Product DescriptionIn the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII’s court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king’s favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death. Amazon. com ReviewAmazon Best of the Month, October 2009: No character in the canon has been writ larger than Henry VIII, but that didn’t stop Hilary Mantel. She strides through centuries, past acres of novels, histories, biographies, and plays–even past Henry himself–confident in the knowledge that to recast history’s most mercurial sovereign, it’s not the King she needs to see, but one of the King’s most mysterious agents. Enter Thomas Cromwell, a self-made man and remarkable polymath who ascends to the King’s right hand. Rigorously pragmatic and forward-thinking, Cromwell has little interest in what motivates his Majesty, and although he makes way for Henry’s marriage to the infamous Anne Boleyn, it’s the future of a free England that he honors above all else and hopes to secure. Mantel plots with a sleight of hand, making full use of her masterful grasp on the facts without weighing down her prose. The opening cast of characters and family trees may give initial pause to some readers, but persevere: the witty, whip-smart lines volleying the action forward may convince you a short stay in the Tower of London might not be so bad. . . provided you could bring a copy of Wolf Hall along. –Anne Bartholomew
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Product Description”Sometimes I feel like when I make decisions that are remotely biblical, people who call themselves Christians are the first to criticize and say I’m crazy, that I’m taking the Bible too literally, or that I’m not thinking about my family’s well-being. . . When people gladly sacrifice their time or comfort or home, it is obvious that they trust in the promises of God. Why is it that the story of someone who has actually done what Jesus commands resonates deeply with us, but we then assume we could never do anything so radical or intense? Or why do we call it radical when, to Jesus, it is simply the way it is? The way it should be?”
Product Description· The Final Fantasy XIII collector’s edition guide will be a pristine coffee table book, printed on highest-quality, 100# paper and encased in a hard cover. It will be limited to just one print run and each copy will be sequentially numbered. · Exclusive additional 16-page section featuring an overview and analysis of the Final Fantasy XIII story· The 100% complete guide to FINAL FANTASY XIII· Every secret, every side-quest, every mini-game, every bonus, every Achievement and every Trophy revealed and explained in a dedicated Extras chapter · Dedicated walkthrough charts the most rewarding path through this epic adventure · Strategy & Analysis chapter exposes hidden mechanics, advanced battle tactics and techniques for obtaining optimal rewards · All-encompassing Inventory and Bestiary chapters feature exhaustive lists and tables covering all enemies, weapons and shops · Bears all the hallmarks of a Piggyback guide, including annotated maps, hi-res screenshots and a wealth of exclusive, official artwork · Carefully designed to avoid unnecessary story spoilers
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product DescriptionThis celebrated New York Times bestsellernow poised to reach an even wider audience in paperbackis a book that is changing the way North Americans think about selling products and disseminating ideas. Gladwells new afterword to this edition describes how readers can constructively apply the tipping point principle in their own lives and work. Widely hailed as an important work that offers not only a road map to business success but also a profoundly encouraging approach to solving social problems. Amazon. com Review”The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life,” writes Malcolm Gladwell, “is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do. ” Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell’s The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject. For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a “Connector”: he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere “wasn’t just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston,” he was also a “Maven” who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day–think of how often you’ve received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you. Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the “stickiness” of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell’s closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that “tipping point,” like “future shock” or “chaos theory,” will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows–or at least knows by name. –Ron Hogan
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product DescriptionThe New York Times bestselling author of Better and Complications reveals the surprising power of the ordinary checklistWe live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U. S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third. In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds. An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right. Atul Gawande is the author of Better and Complications. He is also a MacArthur Fellow, a general surgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He lives with his wife and three children in Newton, Massachusetts. Taxed with great and increasing complexity, even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy to this disquieting problem in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U. S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third. Gawande provides real testimonials in the form of riveting stories. In Austria, an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater. In Michigan, a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements to procedure and increase positive results, even under the most precarious circumstances. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds. Gawande shows how one simple idea can make a tremendous difference. The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right. Amazon. com ReviewAmazon Best Books of the Month, December 2009: With a title like The Checklist Manifesto, it would be natural to expect that Atul Gawande is bent on revolutionizing that most loved-hated activity of workers the world over: the to-do list. But it’s not the list itself he wants to change; there are no programmatic steps or tables here to help you reshuffle daily tasks. What you’ll find instead is a remarkably liberating and persuasive inquiry into what it takes to work successfully and with a personal sense of satisfaction. The first thing you’ll realize is that it takes more than just one person to do a job well. This is a toppling revelation made all the more powerful by Gawande’s skillful blend of anecdote and practical wisdom as he profiles his own experience as a surgeon and seeks out a wide range of other professions to show that a team is only as strong as its checklist–by his definition, a way of organizing that empowers people at all levels to put their best knowledge to use, communicate at crucial points, and get things done. Like no other book before it, The Checklist Manifesto is at once a restorative call to action and a welcome voice of reason. –Anne Bartholomew Amazon Exclusive: Malcolm Gladwell Reviews The Checklist Manifesto Malcolm Gladwell was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2005. He is most recently the author of What the Dog Saw (a collection of his writing from The New Yorker) as well as the New York Times bestsellers Outliers, The Tipping Point, and Blink. Read his exclusive Amazon guest review of The Checklist Manifesto: Over the past decade, through his writing in The New Yorker magazine and his books Complications and Better, Atul Gawande has made a name for himself as a writer of exquisitely crafted meditations on the problems and challenges of modern medicine. His latest book, The Checklist Manifesto, begins on familiar ground, with his experiences as a surgeon. But before long it becomes clear that he is really interested in a problem that afflicts virtually every aspect of the modern world–and that is how professionals deal with the increasing complexity of their responsibilities. It has been years since I read a book so powerful and so thought-provoking. Gawande begins by making a distinction between errors of ignorance (mistakes we make because we don’t know enough), and errors of ineptitude (mistakes we made because we don’t make proper use of what we know). Failure in the modern world, he writes, is really about the second of these errors, and he walks us through a series of examples from medicine showing how the routine tasks of surgeons have now become so incredibly complicated that mistakes of one kind or another are virtually inevitable: it’s just too easy for an otherwise competent doctor to miss a step, or forget to ask a key question or, in the stress and pressure of the moment, to fail to plan properly for every eventuality. Gawande then visits with pilots and the people who build skyscrapers and comes back with a solution. Experts need checklists–literally–written guides that walk them through the key steps in any complex procedure. In the last section of the book, Gawande shows how his research team has taken this idea, developed a safe surgery checklist, and applied it around the world, with staggering success. The danger, in a review as short as this, is that it makes Gawande’s book seem narrow in focus or prosaic in its conclusions. It is neither. Gawande is a gorgeous writer and storyteller, and the aims of this book are ambitious. Gawande thinks that the modern world requires us to revisit what we mean by expertise: that experts need help, and that progress depends on experts having the humility to concede that they need help. –Malcolm Gladwell
everything we think we know about what motivates us is wrong
Riverhead Hardcover
1594488843
Daniel H. Pink
Product DescriptionForget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people–at work, at school, at home. It’s wrong. As Daniel H. Pink explains in his new and paradigm- shattering book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today’s world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does–and how that affects every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates that while the old-fashioned carrot-and-stick approach worked successfully in the 20th century, it’s precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today’s challenges. In Drive, he reveals the three elements of true motivation: *Autonomy- the desire to direct our own lives *Mastery- the urge to get better and better at something that matters *Purpose- the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward. Drive is bursting with big ideas– the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live.
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product DescriptionMarriage should be based on love, right? But does it seem as though you and your spouse are speaking two different languages? New York Times bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman guides couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse’s primary love language—quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with specific, simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction. A newly designed love languages assessment will help you understand and strengthen your relationship. You can build a lasting, loving marriage together. Gary Chapman hosts a nationally syndicated daily radio program called A Love Language Minute that can be heard on more than 150 radio stations as well as the weekly syndicated program Building Relationships with Gary Chapman, which can both be heard on fivelovelanguages. com. The Five Love Languages is a consistent new York Times bestseller – with over 5 million copies sold and translated into 38 languages. This book is a sales phenomenon, with each year outselling the prior for 16 years running! Includes a promotional code to gain exclusive online access to the new comprehensive love languages assessment. Amazon. com Review Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause: we speak different love languages, believes Dr. Gary Chapman. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. In a friendly, often humorous style, he unpacks each one. Some husbands or wives may crave focused attention; another needs regular praise. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their “love tank. ” Some partners might find physical touch makes them feel valued: holding hands, giving back rubs, and sexual contact. Chapman illustrates each love language with real-life examples from his counseling practice. How do you discover your spouse’s – and your own – love language? Chapman’s short questionnaires are one of several ways to find out. Throughout the book, he also includes application questions that can be answered more extensively in the beautifully detailed companion leather journal (an exclusive Amazon. com set). Each section of the journal corresponds with a chapter from the book, offering opportunities for deeper reflection on your marriage. Although some readers may find choosing to love a spouse that they no longer even like –hoping the feelings of affection will follow later– a difficult concept to swallow, Chapman promises that the results will be worth the effort. “Love is a choice,” says Chapman. “And either partner can start the process today. ” –Cindy Crosby. This text refers to the Amazon. com Exclusive Journal & Paperback Book Set.
Product DescriptionIn the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII’s court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king’s favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death. Hilary Mantel is the author of nine previous novels, including A Change of Climate, A Place of Greater Safety, and Eight Months on Ghazzah Street. She has also written a memoir, Giving Up the Ghost. Winner of the Hawthornden Prize, she reviews for The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and the London Review of Books. She lives in England. A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change. England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? In Mantel’s 16th century monarchy, individuals must fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death. “A brilliant historical novel focused on the rise to power of a figure exceedingly unlikely, on the face of things, to arouse any sympathy at all . . . This is a novel too in which nothing is wasted, and nothing completely disappears. ”—Stephen Greenblatt, The New York Review of Books“Whether we accept Ms Mantel’s reading of history or not, her characters have a lifeblood of their own . . . a Shakespearean vigour. Stylistically, her fly-on-the-wall approach is achieved through the present tense, of which she is a master. Her prose is muscular, avoiding cod Tudor dialogue and going for direct modern English. The result is Ms Mantel’s best novel yet. ”—The Economist“A novel both fresh and finely wrought: a brilliant portrait of a society in the throes of disorienting change, anchored by a penetrating character study of Henry’s formidable advisor, Thomas Cromwell. It’s no wonder that her masterful book just won this year’s Booker Prize . . . [Mantel’s prose is] extraordinarily flexible, subtle, and shrewd. ”—Wendy Smith, The Washington Post“[Mantel’s] interest is in the question of good and evil as it applies to people who wield great power. That means anguish, exultation, deals, spies, decapitations, and fabulous clothes . . . She always goes for color, richness, music. She has read Shakespeare closely. One also hears the accents of the young James Joyce. ”—Joan Acocella, The New Yorker“Thomas Cromwell remains a controversial and mysterious figure. Mantel has filled in the blanks plausibly, brilliantly. Wolf Hall has epic scale but lyric texture. Its 500-plus pages turn quickly, winged and falconlike . . . both spellbinding and believable. ”—Christopher Benfey, The New York Times Book Review“Mantel’s abilities to channel the life and lexicon of the past are nothing short of astonishing. She burrows down through the historical record to uncover the tiniest, most telling details, evoking the minutiae of history as vividly as its grand sweep. The dialogue is so convincing that she seems to have been, in another life, a stenographer taking notes in the taverns and palaces of England. ”—Ross King, Los Angeles Times“Instead of bringing the past to us, [Mantel's] writing, brilliant and black, launches us disconcertingly into the past. We are space-time travelers landed in an alien world . . . history is a feast whose various and vital excitements and intrigues make the book a long and complex pleasure. ”—Richard Eder, The Boston Globe“Arch, elegant, richly detailed . . . [Wolf Hall’s] main characters are scorchingly well rendered. And their sharp-clawed machinations are presented with nonstop verve in a book that can compress a wealth of incisiveness into a very few well-chosen words . . . Deft and diabolical as they are, Ms. Mantel’s slyly malicious turns of phrase . . . succinctly capture the important struggles that have set her characters talking. ”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times“The essential Mantel element . . . is a style—of writing and of thinking—that combines steely-eyed intelligence with intense yet wide-ranging sympathy. This style implies enormous respect for her readers, as if she believes that we are as intelligent and empathetic as she is, and one of the acute pleasures of reading her books is that we sometimes find ourselves living up to those expectations. . . . If you are anything like me, you will finish Wolf Hall wishing it were twice as long as its 560 pages. Torn away from this sixteenth-century world, in which you have come to know the engaging, pragmatic Cromwell as if he were your own brother—as if he were yourself—you will turn to the Internet to find out more about him . . . But none of this, however instructive will make up for your feeling of loss, because none of this additional material will come clothed in the seductive, inimitable language of Mantel’s great fiction. ”—Wendy Lesser, Bookforum“Mantel sets a new standard for historical fiction with her latest novel Wolf Hall, a riveting portrait of Thomas Cromwell . . . Mantel’s crystalline style, piercing eye and interest in, shall we say, the darker side of human nature, together with a real respect for historical accuAmazon. com ReviewAmazon Best of the Month, October 2009: No character in the canon has been writ larger than Henry VIII, but that didn’t stop Hilary Mantel. She strides through centuries, past acres of novels, histories, biographies, and plays–even past Henry himself–confident in the knowledge that to recast history’s most mercurial sovereign, it’s not the King she needs to see, but one of the King’s most mysterious agents. Enter Thomas Cromwell, a self-made man and remarkable polymath who ascends to the King’s right hand. Rigorously pragmatic and forward-thinking, Cromwell has little interest in what motivates his Majesty, and although he makes way for Henry’s marriage to the infamous Anne Boleyn, it’s the future of a free England that he honors above all else and hopes to secure. Mantel plots with a sleight of hand, making full use of her masterful grasp on the facts without weighing down her prose. The opening cast of characters and family trees may give initial pause to some readers, but persevere: the witty, whip-smart lines volleying the action forward may convince you a short stay in the Tower of London might not be so bad. . . provided you could bring a copy of Wolf Hall along. –Anne Bartholomew
