Acing Your First Year of Law School: The Ten Steps to Success You Won't Learn in Class

Average customer rating:

Very useful

Just get it - great intro!

Good, but consider 'Law School Confidential' instead

Lots of fluff and little substance.

Not worth it

Acing Your First Year of Law School: The Ten Steps to Success You Won't Learn in Class
Shana Connell Noyes , and Henry S. Noyes
Manufacturer: Fred B. Rothman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Study Skills | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | College & University | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Legal Education | Law | Subjects | Books
College | By Level | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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Getting To Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams

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Starting Off Right in Law School

ASIN: 0837709121

Book Description

Most first-year law students waste a tremendous amount of time learning piles of information they don't need to know, because they have no one to guide them. This text, in ten easy-to read chapters, is the guide for students entering or contemplating law school. After reading the ten chapters, set up as lessons, student will know how to study the law.

Customer Reviews:

Very useful.......2007-01-07

One of the blogs I read in anticipation of my first year was authored by an obviously succesfull student and he recommended this book. Shame he is a commie. An outline on your first year with a solid emphasis on legal writing, outlining and exams. I found the legal writing section to be very useful because I didn't have a very good legal writing professor. Some cold hearted conservatives argue that academia is where professionals who couldn't hack it in the big times end up earning their bread. If law school professorships are where dejected high power attorneys get banished, then the dregs of this barrel of dejection are inhabited by your legal writing professor and probably your career placement director. The greatest academic surprise I encountered my first semester of law school was how much effort and time learning legal writing would take on my own. This book will help you learn the formula your whacky and/or drunk legal writing professor is looking for. Unfortunately, legal writing professors are zany and ineffective in their own individual ways so the help this book provides will be minimal. Legal writing's importance cannot be overrated, any help is good help. The glossary found at the end of this 130 page outline should supplement any need for a copy of Black's Law Dictionary but waste your money if you want; Westlaw has a copy online.
[...]

Just get it - great intro!.......2006-06-15

This book is great for someone who is just learning how to think while in law school. While some of the reviews claim that it lacks substance, this book is not trying to lay out for you everything you should do in law school. It is sensitive to the fact that different people learn differently and so some things are going to be different. However, the basic tools it is laying out for you are the necessary tools to have a head start. I found that each page was jammed packed with tid bits on what not to worry about, what to focus on, what little things mean that will just make it easier when you get your books and feel overwhelmed... basically, it is not a step-by-step guide on how to be the best law student possible - that is up to you, but it gives you the tools to understand what you are supposed to be looking for and what not to stress about.

Get it, if you are a worrisome person like me who likes to plan ahead, this book will help you create a clear vision of the basics, tell what not to worry about, and one of the most important things, show you how to write a brief. I found it very useful and am glad I read it!

p.s. I am only giving it 4 and not 5 because I would have liked for them to come up with more examples than they did, but if you are an intelligent person (and you obviously are if you are going to law school) then you will be able to figure these things out and remember them for yourself.

Good, but consider 'Law School Confidential' instead.......2006-04-16

This is a good book --- but as a current law student, the best book I've found was "Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students," written by Robert H. Miller; ISBN: 0312318812. That book covers every stage of law school. It is organized so students can read relevant topics at the precise period a student needs to know the information. For example, the middle of "Law School Confidential" addresses issues faced by readers in the second-year of their law school career.

Law school tips and advice can also be found numerous places on the web, including www.toplawstudent.com.

That said, this book has some great advice and is easy to read. As a gift to an incoming law student, it certainly wouldn't disappoint.

Lots of fluff and little substance........2006-03-04

This book is written on the level of People magazine and has a very trendy feel to it. I used this book at a top 25 law school and found it to be largely useless, if not detrimental.

Not worth it.......2006-02-06

At BEST this book will give you some idea as to what law school work will sorta maybe look like. Otherwise, I think there's absolutely nothing good in this thin volume that you can't get in more detail in a ten minute conversation with someone who's already in law school.

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Not "fired," but rather "dismissed"?

The teachers were NOT fired

The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis
Jerald E. Podair
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Labor & Industrial Relations | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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The Great School Wars: A History of the New York City Public Schools

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Brownsville, Brooklyn: Blacks, Jews, and the Changing Face of the Ghetto (Historical Studies of Urban America)

ASIN: 0300109407

Book Description

On May 9, 1968, junior high school teacher Fred Nauman received a letter that would change the history of New York City. It informed him that he had been fired from his job. Eighteen other educators in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville area of Brooklyn received similar letters that day. The dismissed educators were white. The local school board that fired them was predominantly black. The crisis that the firings provoked became the most racially divisive moment in the city in more than a century, sparking three teachers' strikes and increasingly angry confrontations between black and white New Yorkers at bargaining tables, on picket lines, and in the streets.

This superb book revisits the Ocean Hill-Brownsville crisis -- a watershed in New York City race relations. Jerald E. Podair connects the conflict with the sociocultural history of the city and explores its legacy. The book is a powerful, sobering tale of racial misunderstanding and fear, a New York story with national implications.

Customer Reviews:

Not "fired," but rather "dismissed"?.......2003-09-26

The review below shows the passion this episode created and can still evoke. To argue that Nauman wasn't "fired" is rather disingenuous. The letter he received stated "The Governing Board of the Ocean Hill Brownsville Demonstration School District has voted to end your employment in the schools of this district." Sounds like a pink slip to me.

More importantly, as the reviewer below notes, is that "community control" was seen as as the last-ditch solution to the persistent problems faced by African-Americans in the school system. They were (and are) getting third-rate educations. The argument was (and is): why? "Cultural" reasons? Racism? If the African-American community ran its own schools, the argument went, black children would learn better. For various reasons, many of them political, it didn't turn out that way. The most important result was to divide the city by race--especially the Jews from the blacks.

One of the key points made by this book is that the Ocean Hill-Brownsville strike had the effect of making New York Jews "white" in the sense that they joined with their Italian and Irish outer-borough neighbors against the blacks. This seismic shift has largely remained intact.

You can easily get by with reading only chapters 1-3, 5-6.

Read this book if you have an interest in New York City history, politics of the "white backlash", and/or the rise of conservatism in the 1970s.

The teachers were NOT fired.......2003-04-14

Fred Nauman and the other teachers were NOT fired by the Oceanhill-Browsville local school district. They were dismissed from that district and reassigned to the Board of Education'sain office. From there, they would have been reassigned to another local district, with no loss of pay or seniority.

However, Albert Shanker and the American Federation of Teachers used this as an excuse to strike the entire district. Their goal was to cripple NYC's attempt to given local communities some control over their schools. The strike was totally devoid of any progressive content that unionists and their supports could be proud of. It was a racist strike, aimed at African-Americans in Oceanhill, Puerto Ricans in East Harlem, and a multicultered district on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Shanker, it might be remembered, was cited in Woody Allen's movie, "Sleeper." The hero awoke to a world that had, at one time, been laid waste by nuclear weapons. When asked how the war started, he was told, "It all started when a man named Albert Shanker got The Bomb."

I was a student teacher in Oceanhill in 1969, the spring following the strike. I was also a member of the AFT for the five years I taught public school. This was a period just after the civil rights struggle had passed its peak. Community control was an effort to counteract the historical racial inequities that plague public school in this country.

Readers who want a feel for a successful desegregation fight should try Davidson Douglas, Reading, Writing and Race: The Desegregation of the Charlotte (NC) Schools. I taught kindergarten there for two years during the height of the bussing controversy. See also The Battle of Boston, by Jon Hillson.

Average customer rating:
Race, class, and teachers' unions.(Book Review): An article from: Radical Teacher
Daniel Opler
Manufacturer: Center for Critical Education, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00096Z3S4
Release Date: 2005-07-13

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Radical Teacher, published by Center for Critical Education, Inc. on December 22, 2004. The length of the article is 2878 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Race, class, and teachers' unions.(Book Review)
Author: Daniel Opler
Publication: Radical Teacher (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2004
Publisher: Center for Critical Education, Inc.
Issue: 71 Page: 4(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis.(Book Review): An article from: American Jewish History

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The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis.(Book Review): An article from: American Jewish History
Deborah Dash Moore
Manufacturer: American Jewish Historical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Jewish History, published by American Jewish Historical Society on March 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1842 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis.(Book Review)
Author: Deborah Dash Moore
Publication: American Jewish History (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2003
Publisher: American Jewish Historical Society
Volume: 91 Issue: 1 Page: 176(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Strike that Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis.(Book Review): An article from: The Journal of African American History

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The Strike that Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis.(Book Review): An article from: The Journal of African American History
Clarence Taylor
Manufacturer: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Journal of African American History, published by Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. on September 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1340 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Strike that Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis.(Book Review)
Author: Clarence Taylor
Publication: The Journal of African American History (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2004
Publisher: Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc.
Volume: 89 Issue: 4 Page: 376(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, And The Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis

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The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, And The Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis
Jerald E. Podair
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSGJPI

Average customer rating:

The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis
Jerald E. Podair
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OROG68

Book Description

Food and Drink Sevice will help everyone working in what is the industry's fastest growing, most dynamic sector and those preparing for a career in food and drink service. By focusing on customer and workplace needs, Roy Hayter enables the skills and knowledge which underpin today's successful food service operators to be applied in a meaningful context whatever the style or type of restaurant. The text covers food and drink service units at NVQ/SVQ levels 1 and 2, as well as table/tray, counter and take-away service (level 1) and restaurant service (level 2). The free-standing unit on silver service is also included. The approach is practical and relevant to the needs of the industry today. Activities such as quizzes, case studies and role plays encourage readers to gain useful workplace information and the ability to adapt this to changing circumstances. The book is suitable for work and college-based training, as well as for open learning and self-study. This revised second edition includes: practice questions aimed at the main method of assessment for this level of student; more practical activities; coverage of counter and take-away service, drink and food service in licenced premises, and trolley and vending operations; and particular emphasis on health and safety issues, relating hygiene, safety and security to good customer service

Book Description

Why do modern Americans believe in something called a sense of humor and how did they come to that belief? Daniel Wickberg traces the cultural history of the concept from its British origins as a way to explore new conceptions of the self and social order in modern America. More than simply the history of an idea, Wickberg's study provides new insights into a peculiarly modern cultural sensibility.

The expression "sense of humor" was first coined in the 1840s and the idea that such a sense was a personality trait to be valued developed only in the 1870s. What is the relationship between Medieval humoral medicine and this distinctively modern idea of the sense of humor? What has it meant in the past 125 years to declare that someone lacks a sense of humor? How is the joke, as a twentieth-century quasi-literary form, different from the traditional folktale? Wickberg addresses these questions, among others, using the history of ideas to throw new light on the way contemporary Americans think and speak. Specifically British meanings of humor and laughter from the sixteenth century forward provide the framework for understanding American cultural values in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Book Description

"Danny Goldberg's new book is a stirring, brilliant, last-chance plea to Democrats that if they are unwilling to do their job-be a voice for working people, young people, women, the elderly, the poor and people of color, (in other words, for the MAJORITY of the country)-then their days as a party are numbered. Years from now, if the Democrats have long faded from American memory, anthropologists and historians will ask, 'Didn't any of them read this book by Danny Goldberg?'"-Michael Moore

"Danny Goldberg has written with pinpoint accuracy an important memoir filled with fascinating insights. His searing insights should be required reading for anyone concerned with the state of democratic politics in this country."-Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

"If Lester Bangs and Maureen Dowd had a love child, he'd have written this book."-Arianna Huffington

"Danny Goldberg's memoir contains the powerful reflections of the most progressive activist in the recording industry. His candor, vision and sense of humor is infectious."-Cornel West

When did American government become the enemy of American pop culture? Music insider and progressive activist Danny Goldberg has spent decades tuning in to the rhythms and voices that speak straight to the hearts and desires of America's youth. In that time, one fact has become increasingly clear: our venerable political leaders are tone deaf. In this startling, provocative book, Goldberg shows how today's professional public servants have managed to achieve nothing less than the indefensible, wholesale alienation of an entire generation.

Customer Reviews:

My, my! We should all be reviewed ... .......2006-03-05

in one area of our lives for our actions/mistakes in other areas of our lives.

Everyone would come out looking badly, not just all authors!

I'm a big fan of Air America but I understand "paying the bills". If a radio show (or TV show for that matter) is not getting the kind of ratings advertisers are willing to pay sustainable rates for, I think it is far better to cut the show than to go into bankrupcy and disolve the network.

The reviewers I read (above? below? Who knows how this shows up on Amazon!? )... if they were doctors, they would have let the patient die to save his gangrened arm.

Wow!

Once Air America is much more financially stable as an enterprise, Mr Goldberg can give more latitude to struggling shows.

As for the reviewers above(?) ... I'd like to introduce them to the planet Earth and show 'em around some. They should think of me as their planetary tour guide.

As for my '3' ... I didn't read the book ... just as the reviewers I'm dissing right now didn't. But I thought a neutral '3' would be far fairer than their '1's.

This is the same idiot.......2006-01-01

who (as CEO of Air America Radio) cancelled the best show in radio today (Morning Sedition) because he didn't get the jokes. A total moron.

Same old stuff, regurgitated and with new cover/title.......2005-12-19

Just go and read the reviews of Goldberg's other garbage. If you consider managing "Nirvana" a credential making you an expert on American culture, then this is for you. But then, if you think that, you probably don't read. Catch-22 (that's a book, BTW, and a very good one). Don't bother with this tripe, it's just more Danny showing off how In Touch HE is with the youth of today and how YOU aren't. If there ever was a book written purely for egotistical reasons or to pump up one's own resume/career, this is it.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: How the Left Lost Teen Spirit

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Name-droppers R Us
Moronic - this guy has no clue as to what the "left's values" really are
A thoughtful critique and an idealistic agenda
Dispatched from the Culture Wars
Problems with political parties

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: How the Left Lost Teen Spirit
Danny Goldberg
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0786868961

Book Description

At a time when the American left is foundering, Danny Goldberg stands tall. A maverick champion of First Amendment rights, he has also been pop culture's most vocal defender against assault by anyone who uses entertainment as a scapegoat for social problems, from violence to lousy test scores. In Dispatches from the Culture Wars, Goldberg takes a hard look at what has happened to American cultural politics since the turbulent sixties, particularly in the area of censorship. Goldberg's vantage point is fascinating. As a journalist, publicist, manager, producer, and, ultimately, head of four different major record companies, he has nurtured some of the most signicant musical artists of his time, from Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young to KISS, Madonna, Sonic Youth, and Nirvana. He has made audio recordings of such controversial intellectuals as Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary and has gone head-to-head with every politician from Ronald Reagan to Ralph Nader to Joseph Lieberman and John McCain. A lively, totally original, no-holds-barred commentary on the cultural state of the union from the 1960s to the present, Dispatches from the Culture Wars speaks to those disenfranchised by today's tepid, cautious liberal elite.

Customer Reviews:

Name-droppers R Us.......2005-11-04

If you want a book that's all name-dropping with nothing of value to say, then buy this book NOW!

Moronic - this guy has no clue as to what the "left's values" really are.......2005-11-02

It is American pop culture which continues the horrible trend in the United States of idolizing consumerism and placing materialistic goals and possessions in front of human beings and how they are treated individually and collectively. He would have us believe that bands like Nirvana communicate through their music some type of hippster leftist ideal (for kids). This coming from a music exec, an individual who on a daily basis worked in a business segment which regularly abuses the naivete of its consumers (teenagers), all in the name of making a buck (or rather, millions of them). It's disgusting. I'm not going to waste more time on this trash, I already feel violated after reading 2/3 of the book (at which point I admittedly gave up and moved on -- there's no way the last 1/3 was going to save it, I guarantee it).

A thoughtful critique and an idealistic agenda.......2004-10-31

Goldberg, a record executive and longtime ACLU activist, delivers a blistering criticism of the Democratic Party. Too many politicians, he says, are woefully out of touch with music and the broader popular culture. What's worse is the trend of politicians on the left who assail popular artists to score political points. At the same time, Republicans are in some cases actually better at embracing pop culture and its denizens, especially where it helps their images.

The author recalls a conversation in which liberal U.S. Senator Charles Schumer confessed to not even knowing who Eminem was. He criticizes then-candidate Bill Clinton for lambasting rapper Sister Souljah on the campaign trail. He spends ample time on Tipper Gore's campaign against dirty song lyrics. Little wonder, says Goldberg, that those who represent us seem so totally out of touch. The author believes that liberal politicians have missed the opportunity to tie the ideas of popular music and progressive government into a marketable whole for young people. To me, the idea seems too vague and dreamy for our time. Still, Goldberg makes a number of good points here.

Dispatched from the Culture Wars.......2004-01-05

I originally grabbed this book because I am a politics junkie. I am in my mid-30s and have often been struck by the contrast between the Democrat and Republican parties of my youth and their current incarnations. As the son of Democrat union member, I have seen significant changes in the Democratic party of my youth and the one of today that I can no longer uncritically support.

That being said, I was hopeful to gain some insight from Mr. Goldberg's book, but I am afraid I was disappointed. My biggest concern with this novel is that the vast majority of his arguments are anecdotal in nature. He offers extremely little background to back up some of his claims and no real research or footnotes. Now, as a collection of personal experience and stories, this is a fine book. Mr. Goldberg has an engaging writing style and did drawn me in, however I did find much of the book, and its arguments, to be superficial. The admitted lack of introspection on his political views made it difficult for me give much credibility to the author's analysis.

Probably, the biggest problem I have is the ultimate contradiction in the book. While Mr. Goldberg spends considerable time lauding the effect of music and media on the political discourse in the 60s and 70s, he does a complete 180 degree turn when he later argues that gangster rap cannot have an impact on the the coarsening of our culture and inner city violence. It seems to me that it is difficult to have it both ways. Of course, perhaps the fact that he is making a considerable amount of money in the music industry contributes to his new enlightened attitude.

Personally, I do not think that rap music makes the huge impact on people that the Leibermans and Gores of the world would have us believe, but Mr. Goldberg presents little in the way of a cohesive argument.

Perhaps that brings me to my underlying problem with the book. For all his complaints about the Democratic Party, Mr. Goldberg does not seem to realize that he is part of the problem. He complains of the money that influences politics, but drops names of all the people he has gotten to contribute time and money to political causes. He take jibes at the special interest businesses that he alleges influence the Republican party, while completely missing the fact that he is part of several special interest groups. And for a person in a business which exploits struggling artists for massive profits to not realize he is in a special interest group is a particularly myopic view.

Mr. Goldberg was in a position to make a truly impactful novel. I feel that he has missed his mark. More's the shame because the topic is one that really deserves serious attention.

Problems with political parties.......2003-12-09

I identify myself as a liberal. I refuse to accept any politcal party affiliation and have the same disllisionment with the Democrats as Goldberg. Call it preaching to the converted, but Goldberg is right. The party that was once the party of the little guy is no longer. The political process of this democratic republic (that's right kids: the US is not a true democracy) has become one of choosing the lesser of two evils for many people. The political parties of which we were warned over 200 years ago are more alike than different.

Book Description

Over 30 songs from the era of big productions like Phantom of the Opera, Evita, La Cage Aux Folles, Les Miserables, Me and My Girl, A Chorus Line, Cats, and more. Songs include: All I Ask of You * Don't Cry for Me Argentina * I Am What I Am * I Dreamed a Dream * The Lambeth Walk * Memory * The Music of the Night * On My Own * Send in the Clowns * Tomorrow * What I Did for Love * and more.

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Account.......2000-05-12

I thought that this book was a fantastic account of broadway musicals that have graced the New York City Stages during the years 1972 - 1988. One of the more informative books i have read, I was pleased to see that this book gave specifics on the shows as well as a brief description. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of broday shows during a particular period. Enjoy!

321. Broadway Musicals Show by Show - 1972-1988 (E-Z Play Today)

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321. Broadway Musicals Show by Show - 1972-1988 (E-Z Play Today)

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0793510538

Book Description

Book Description

This book recounts the author's hilarious (and sometimes serious) experiences as network censor on "Saturday Night Live, " the most controversial program on television. Bill Murray, Billy Crystal, Mike Myers, even Eddie Murphy--he said "NO!!" to all of them.

Customer Reviews:

Such a jumbled pseudo memoir.......2004-08-31

I chosed this book because I was looking for a behind-the-scenes look at network sensors. Instead what I got was a jubled pseudo memoir of one WASP's (his self-description) ranting about morals.

If, however, you're looking for some behind-the-scenes SNL gossip, this may be your book.

Lack of structure foils potential.......2002-02-21

It was with great anticipation that I awaited my copy of this book by former NBC censor William G. Clotworthy. However, I was quite disappointed. While the work is rife with information and anecdotes about Mr. Clotworthy's work at NBC, and in particular on Saturday Night Live, the lack of an index - or, for that matter, chapters - made it nearly impossible to navigate and rendered virtually worthless as a difinitive reference book. My advice is to invest in a pack of Post-It notes upon purchase. That said, the book is well written and a quick read. And a note of thanks to its publisher 1st Books for taking the care to get this book to the public. Without their help, it's quite possible that this book would have only existed in manuscript form in Mr. Clotworthy's desk drawer.

It was Great!.......2001-06-21

The book was ver informative and funny about all of SNL and its cast over the years. I strongly recommend it!!!!!

Book Description

Final Cut Pro 4, a professional video-editing tool, is a major upgrade of Apple's Emmy award-winning editing software for film, high-definition video, standard-definition video, and DV. Final Cut Pro 4, introduces RT Extreme for real-time compositing and effects, powerful new interface customization tools, new high-quality 8- and 10-bit uncompressed formats, and for the first time in an editing system costing less than $100,000, full 32-bit floating point per channel video processing. Final Cut Pro 4 also includes three completely new integrated applications: LiveType for advanced titling, Soundtrack for music creation and Compressor for full-featured batch transcoding. Video that's edited with the tool can be outputted to any professional video format: TV, VCR, computer monitor, or the Web (in the form of Web streaming media). Final Cut Pro 4 for Max OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide introduces video producers to the comprehensive set of tools available in the video-editing tool. Step-by-step instructions lead readers through the basics and quickly into more advanced projects in video editing. All the important features of the application are covered in detail: the easy-to-use interface, plug-and-play capability, as well as a host of other features and tools that enhance workflow and productivity.

Customer Reviews:

Final Cut Pro 4 for Mac OS X (Visual QuickPro Guide).......2006-12-15

I have been cutting on FCP now for 4 years and this has been my goto FCP reference guide book. This book definitely has a lot of good information in it, however I have found quite a few of the procedures I am looking for to not be outlined clear enough that you can read that section and accomplish what you had hoped to do on the first try. (quite a few procedures require a bit of trial-and-error) I have also found it difficult to look in the index for certain topics and been able to find what I was looking for easily. This book is better than the manual which comes with FCP, but if you are looking for clear, simple instructions that are easy to find and follow, I would look to another book.

complete disappointment.......2006-07-25

It seems that the author does not understand what someone getting this book would want. To begin editing. I am not a rank amateur, but this book made me feel like one. The process of actually beginning did not start until chapter five - (page 159) and even then you don't really have a clue what's going on. Finally in Chapter 9 (page 281) you start Basic Editing. It was too complicated, but my thought was to start with Chapter 9 and then go back and put together what I might need to know. I found this book to be a disaster. Swimming through a lot of information I would only need if I were editing Star Wars X, instead of trying to organize a documentary with six hours of interviews.

Great Book.......2005-08-28

Great great complete readible and easy to understand book. It's become my BIBLE along with the FCP manuals..but it's condensed all into one book where as FCP has five. This is good for the beginner as well as the advanced user.

A great guide to Final Cut Pro.......2004-12-01

I think that J. Ewing, who wrote the negative review, is on crack (metaphorically J.Ewing, not literally, chill - don't try to sue me for slander. Geez, you need to relax J. Ewing, you need to relax). This book is a definitive guide to Final Cut Pro 4 just as all of Lisa Brenneis' previous version have been for previous versions of FCP. Check out the rest of the amazing reviews for this book. Then, if you too are on crack, listen to J. Ewing. If not, buy this readable, helpful, insightful, and concise guide to FCP 4.

Look Elsewhere.......2004-11-16

Beware, I have been editing on FCP4 for 12 months and this was the book I bought when I first started-I found it totally incomprehensible for a beginner. After a year of relatively sophisticated editing I still find the book virtually useless. Although packed with 700+ pages of writing, Lisa Brenneis somehow manages to turn simple concepts into mush. If you deliberately tried to write the most confusing description of each FCP operation it would be difficult to achieve Brenneis' level of mind-spinning prose. When she does not over-complicate an operation she glosses over the practical steps for implementation. We had a whole class abandon this book last fall. There could be a few very advanced users out there who actually fathom her illustrations and explanations but they would have no need for this monster. I suggest either the "Dummies" book or Apples training series.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

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