Rating: 
Summary: Great for beginners who feel threatened by Opera
Review: Overall, a bang for one's buck
Rating: 
Summary: Would have earned 5 stars except for the crass commercialism
Review: Pogue and Speck provide a wonderful, humorous, and accessible text in "Opera for Dummies." I just wish they or IDG (publishers) would stop pumping the "free CD" on every page. Readers don't need reminding, after the dozenth time, that a CD is included with the book ... besides at [$$] (retail) for book and CD, it's NOT free, we paid for it. Also the multiple reminders of their "Classical Music for Dummies" is nearly as annoying. That said, I found the book highly entertaining and educational.
Rating:
Summary: Not What You'd Think...
Review: This is a great book. But there's nothing "dumb" or "for dummies" about it. Any person who is bright and has a sense of humor and who is just beginning to be interested in opera will find this funny, clever, irreverent book to be fascinating. Plus, the included CD is of high quality and has a great selection of tracks. In sum, this book (while being not as hefty or as chock full of information as competing introduction-to-opera guides) is an intelligant, useful, user-friendly welcome to the universe of opera. The genuine passion of the authors shines through, a trait not found in many of the more traditional guides. All in all, "Opera for Dummies" is not at all for dummies, and is a "must-have" item for the opera beginner.
Rating:
Summary: Not What You'd Think...
Review: This is a great book. But there's nothing "dumb" or "for dummies" about it. Any person who is bright and has a sense of humor and who is just beginning to be interested in opera will find this funny, clever, irreverent book to be fascinating. Plus, the included CD is of high quality and has a great selection of tracks. In sum, this book (while being not as hefty or as chock full of information as competing introduction-to-opera guides) is an intelligant, useful, user-friendly welcome to the universe of opera. The genuine passion of the authors shines through, a trait not found in many of the more traditional guides. All in all, "Opera for Dummies" is not at all for dummies, and is a "must-have" item for the opera beginner.
Rating:
Summary: Not What You'd Think...
Review: This is a great book. But there's nothing "dumb" or "for dummies" about it. Any person who is bright and has a sense of humor and who is just beginning to be interested in opera will find this funny, clever, irreverent book to be fascinating. Plus, the included CD is of high quality and has a great selection of tracks. In sum, this book (while being not as hefty or as chock full of information as competing introduction-to-opera guides) is an intelligant, useful, user-friendly welcome to the universe of opera. The genuine passion of the authors shines through, a trait not found in many of the more traditional guides. All in all, "Opera for Dummies" is not at all for dummies, and is a "must-have" item for the opera beginner.
Rating:
Summary: Would have earned 5 stars except for the crass commercialism
Review: WARNING: I made the mistake of installing the software that came with this book. It managed to override my recently installed version 5 of Quicktime with an antique version. Now, neither works and the uninstall feature won't remove the offending software. Save yourself trouble. Use the CD as a coaster. Better still, throw it away.
Rating: 
Summary: Book is Amusing but the CDrom is destructive
Review: WARNING: I made the mistake of installing the software that came with this book. It managed to override my recently installed version 5 of Quicktime with an antique version. Now, neither works and the uninstall feature won't remove the offending software. Save yourself trouble. Use the CD as a coaster. Better still, throw it away.
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