Pietro Mascgni is a nineteenth century operatic composer whose works deserve recongnition! Mascagi was a composer whose strength was melody; whose oeuvre was extensive and whose career spanned over half a century. The talented son of humble folks he became famous when his first opera Cavalleria Rusticana made him rich and famous! Like Lord Byron he woke up to find himself famous! Mallach describes the salient plot lines and comments with his musical expertise on all of the many unknown Mascagni operas. Mascagni was much more than a one opera composer. His character was bipolar and he was complex. His affair with his only mistress as well as stormy times with friends and family are given attention. However, the real value of this book is in the details of the maestro's works. Opera fans will relish Mallach's years of research in this first English language biography.

Viva Verdi is the opera lover's response to this magisterial work by Phillips-Matz. Her years of research has produced a detailed life of Verd. The author traces the family lineage of Verdi in Bussetto, chronicles the genesis of his operatic masterpieces and delves into the private life of the greatest Italian opera composer of the nineteenth century.
I dove into this huge book during Christmas 2002. The book will immerse you in the life of the complicated composer detailing his relationships, his tragedies and triumphs. The book
is essential to anyone interested in knowing more about Verdi and his times. The book is not easy reading but is worthwhile for the time it takes to peruse it. Viva Phillips-Matz on a superb biography!

Last night I sat entranced with the words of Gordon C. Rhea as he enthralled a large audience at the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable regarding his new tome Cold Harbor. Rhea has a way
of being able to put complex tactical movements into understandable terms even lay folks like moi can follow. The
sanguinary chess game between Grant and Lee was filled with
surprises, tactical trickery and bloody assaults. The book
punches the life out of several myths such as;
1. Soldiers tied nametags on their uniforms in an early form of "dogtags." No! This first appeared in Horace Porter's post-war work Campaigining With Grant filled with inaccuracies.
2 The battle was the bloodiest assault of the war. Nope! It was fifteenth!
3 Grant was a butcher! Wrong. Rhea learned from modern military folk on a recent staff ride in the area that this was the best option for Grant to follow at this juncture of the campaign.
The book is beautifully written, based on years of solid primary source resourcin and includes many maps to help follow the action1. Highly recommended!!!!