All the famous composers in music history are skewered in this outrageous look at music from the cavemen to the modern era. Clever, delightfully funny, and surprisingly enough, it's all true!

Here is one of the most enjoyable and illuminating books ever published for the music lover. There are stories of appetites (Handel eating dinner for three), embarrassments (Brahms falling asleep as Liszt plays), oddities (Bruckner's dog being trained to howl at Wagner), and devotions (a lovely admirer disrobing in tribute to Puccini). There are memorable accounts of Stravinsky telling Proust how much he hates Beethoven, of Tchaikovsky's first bewildering telephone call, of Dvorak's strange love of pigeons, and of Verdi's intricate maneuvering to keep the now-famous melody of La donna e mobile top secret. Collected from thousands of books, articles and unpublished manuscripts, these anecdotes appear in their original form, throwing fresh light on familiar figures in the musical hall of fame. Author Norman Lebrecht writes on music and other arts for the London Sunday Times. 382 p.

Abridged, revised edition. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Reduced Shakespeare Company's classic farce, two of its original writer/performers have thoroughly revised the show to bring it up to date for 21st century audiences, incorporating some of the funniest material from the numerous amateur and professional productions that have been performed around the world. Included in the book are stage directions and numerous amusing footnotes, making the reader aware of the subtler humor in the text. Featured are all 37 of Shakespeare's plays, meant to be performed in 97 minutes, by three actors. Fast paced, witty, and physical, it's full of laughter for Shakespeare lovers and haters alike. Paperback, 80 p.

This valuable collection of quick-to-read yet deeply insightful strategies is like finding expert trade secrets all placed in one convenient source. Contributors to the book were even eager to get a look at each other's ideas! With outstanding records of performance, workshop clinics, recordings, research, composition, leadership and teaching, the 57 authors provide their favorite recipes that cover an extreme range of topics from rudiments to rock, drum set to symphonic playing, and keyboard percussion to interpretation. There is something for everyone in this unique publication that will inspire all levels and types of teachers, ensembles and performers. 162 p.

Jean Shepherd (1921-1999), master humorist, is best known for his creation A Christmas Story, the popular movie about the child who wants a BB gun for Christmas and nearly shoots his eye out. What else did Shepherd do? He is considered by many to be the Mark Twain and James Thurber of his day. For many thousands of fans, for decades, Shep talked on the radio late at night, keeping them up way past their bedtimes. He entertained without a script, improvising like a jazz musician, on any and every subject you can imagine. He invented and remains the master of talk radio. Shepherd perpetrated one of the great literary hoaxes of all time, promoting a nonexistent book and author, and then brought the book into existence. He wrote 23 short stories for Playboy, four times winning their humor of the year award, and also interviewed The Beatles for the magazine. He authored several popular books of humor and satire, created several television series and acted in several plays. He is the model for the character played by Jason Robards in the play and movie A Thousand Clowns, as well as the inspiration for the Shel Silverstein song made famous by Johnny Cash, A Boy Named Sue. Readers will learn the significance of innumerable Shepherd words and phrases, such as Excelsior, you fathead, and observe his constant confrontations with the America he loved. They will get to know and understand this multitalented genius by peeking behind the wall he built for himself - a wall to hide a different and less agreeable persona. Through interviews with his friends, co-workers and creative associates, such as musician David Amram, cartoonist and playwright Jules Feiffer, publisher and broadcaster Paul Krassner, and author Norman Mailer, the book explains a complex and unique genius of our time. Shepherd pretty much invented talk radio ... What I got of him was a wonder at the world one man could create. I am as awed now by his achievement as I was then. - Richard Corliss, Time magazine online 496 p.