This classic book contains a wealth of information on the subject of musical interpretation; and is highly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest of the subject. Many of these earliest books; particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before; are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable; high quality; modern editions; using the original text and artwork.
#3103423 in eBooks 2013-01-08 2013-01-08File Name: B00AYTIWFM
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great bookBy queueThis essay is an entertaining and interesting read even if you havent seen most of the movies discussed. The author uses physics and animal physiology to explain why many movie monsters are not scientifically plausible. Along the way; youll learn a lot about how animals work - I found the description of insect lungs particularly fascinating. The physics invoked is explained simply and accurately. You do not need a strong science background to enjoy this book. Indeed; you may find that this book explains things more clearly than your high school science classes did. However; the ideas are novel enough that I still found it engrossing even though I have years of science education.This book is a great example of how reasoning based on simple physics and math can tell you surprising things about the world. The popular physics literature is full of books discussing the limits of physics as we know it - multiple universes; black holes; string theory; the big bang - but there is a lot of great science based on classical physics that is just as fascinating. Furthermore; the kind of quick and dirty; back-of-the-envelope reasoning demonstrated in this book is useful far beyond the world of movie monsters. If you apply this kind of reasoning to other things see in the media youll find that plenty of ideas people propose are wildly implausible.The short length and low price of this book are great. Too many popular non-fiction books are padded with repetition and large type so that they can be sold as a full book. This is a waste of the readers time and money. This book is just the right length for its subject and will cost you little more than a cup of coffee. Buy it!2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Interesting; accessible science. And giant octopuses. What more could you want?By ferretk4Whether youre a scientist; movie monster fan; or just wondering what happens if you shrink a person down really small; this short book will fascinate you. The concepts explored are real science--everything from scaling to spider anatomy--and the style is engaging and accessible. Even if youve never laughed at The Night Of The Lepus (giant rabbits! ...not so terrifying); even if youve never seen Jurassic Park or Alien or Lord of the Rings (but who hasnt?); youll come away with a better understanding of why the animals around you look and behave the way they do. And if you have seen the movies; Prof. LaBarbera reveals secrets about their creatures that even the moviemakers probably didnt know.The eminently practical advice on topics such as what to do if youre a shrunk person trying to climb furniture; or how to fight a 12-foot-high ant; will also definitely come in handy.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Even better than expected!By CaitiI was somewhat skeptical at first to see 3 5-star reviews on this; and nothing else. However; I have to agree. The science seems sound (I never studied much physics but the biology checks out); the examples are thoroughly explained; and the content itself is fascinating. Movie monsters and why they couldnt really work is always a fascinating subject; and this is an excellent analysis; without being so complex as to shut out inexperienced readers. I highly recommend this.A more detailed review can be found at opinionated-cheapskate.tumblr.com