Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me

Customer Reviews:

Marlon Brando: A Beautiful Man..........2007-09-09

Marlon Brando was the greatest and most versatile actor ever to grace the stage or screen, but he was also a great human being whose heaviness of heart over the suffering of others in the world drove him to do what he could to alleviate that suffering and to shed light on inhumanity and social injustice.

In reading "Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me" by Marlon Brando (with Robert Lindsey), my emotions ran the gamut. I laughed. I cried. I longed for Marlon's presence among us once again. I felt some anger that this person - this wonderful man who gave us so much - this man who stood by the convictions of his heart to help others and who changed the lives of many for the better was scorned and criticized for his activities on behalf of those living in misery and despairing among us in the world. People called him "radical" and otherwise labeled him. And, he felt their contempt and was affected by it. How unfair it was. While so many people merely paid lip service to such causes, Marlon actually did something to bring about positive change and peoples' lives were changed positively as a direct result of this. So, if this was "radical," then I would wish to be so honorably labeled, myself.

Marlon's seemed a painful and lonely childhood filled with abandonment, insecurity, and heartache. He was a prankster - a fact that reminds me of something I learned years ago when I was in nursing school about children whose needs are not met in life - that they are the "clowns" or pranksters in a group, laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside. Marlon said he had difficulty trusting women until very late in his life and that this was the reason he had multiple relationships simultaneously. If one woman left or rejected him, the pain would be more bearable, knowing there were still others. He would not have to feel so alone and abandoned and rejected as he had at times during his childhood like when his nanny left him and when his mother whom he loved so much was not emotionally available to him due to her dependence on alcohol.

As for Marlon's relationship with the public, it is apparent that society held Marlon Brando to its own unattainable expectations. This is a shameful societal legacy. No person on earth remains who they were at twenty years old when they are fifty or seventy or eighty. People praised Marlon when he was meeting their personal expectations of him. But, then, when he did what was natural by growing older (and wiser, more seasoned, and more socially responsible) and some people felt he was no longer meeting their personal expectations, they became contemptuous or indifferent toward and about him. Marlon discussed this with Lawrence Grobel in Grobel's book, "Conversations With Brando." Marlon talked about how he was received when he had a new hit film out compared to when he did not. He said something to the effect that he could "see it in the eyes of the airline hostesses" and other people how, when he had a new hit film out, he received a "full thirty-two teeth" greeting and that when he did not have a new hit film out, they would talk to him like he was a has-been. This is so ridiculous to me. It seems the memories of some are as short as the last breath they took - either that or perhaps they have not actually reviewed the incomparable and timeless work of Marlon Brando.

Having said that, there is definitely no shortage of love, respect, and admiration for Marlon Brando in the world of movies and among other artists, among his fans, and among those whose lives he helped bring improvement to over the years through his activism, his kindness, and his friendship. This is not to mention the love for him expressed by his children in interviews since his passing.

There was no better actor that ever lived and no film better than those Marlon made - and there were so many: "On The Waterfront" and "The Godfather" both bringing Marlon Brando Academy Awards, "One-Eyed Jacks," a masterpiece in which Marlon acted and which he directed, "Mutiny On The Bounty," among the best films of all time, in my opinion; "Last Tango In Paris" in which Marlon allowed us into his private pain and thoughts and which contained a gutwrenching monologue by Marlon over the body of his character's dead wife; "Apocalypse Now," a film in which Marlon performs a beautiful recitation of T.S. Eliot's, "The Hollow Men," and in which he plays a role that is truly heart-stopping; "A Streetcar Named Desire," in the role of Stanley Kowalski which he acted in such a way that there would be no other that came after him that could come close to matching his performance; "Burn," a film whose subject became somewhat a reality on the set, causing Marlon to take a stand, "The Young Lions" a dramatic and moving film and one of my favorites, "Julius Caesar" in which Marlon proved himself a consummate Shakespearean actor; "The Fugitive Kind," "The Wild One," "The Appaloosa," and, so many others.

People seemed obsessed with Marlon's weight in his later years. I remember seeing him in "The Freshman" and thinking how good it would feel to be hugged by him then. I also remember thinking that he was such a handsome man with the same beautiful eyes, smile, and sense of humor. He was still Marlon - a sexy, beautiful, inspiring, sensitive man with a wonderfully expressive face and a brilliant mind - a beautiful soul - and among the most interesting people in the world, in my opinion. I would have loved to know him and to have spent time with him - listening to his ideas and theories about life and working with him on projects. I always thought his ideas and projects were inventive, creative, and often workable. One of the things that I was absolutely amazed to hear in a documentary about Marlon was someone talking about Marlon's idea to use the very cold sea water hundreds of feet below sea level and pumping it up to cool buildings above sea level. The person being interviewed said that this idea was actually put into use to air condition hotels in tropical places - and with an approximate energy savings of two-thirds. It amazes me every time I think about it.

Regarding "Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me," Marlon chose not to write about his children. I respect that. I think it would have been fine if he had written about his children, but I think that his love and his protective nature when it came to his children precluded his succumbing to any public pressure to subject his children to such scrutiny and exposure. It was obvious to anyone who knew anything about Marlon as a father that he stood by his children, anguished deeply over them, and made all of the sacrifices that a father whose children mean everything to him would make whenever his children were in crisis. In a documentary I once saw, Marlon's children spoke of him. Their love for their father was obvious and his love for them was obvious in their words as they spoke about the kind of father he was. Marlon, who had endured a difficult relationship with his own father obviously wanted to be a different kind of father to his own children - a gentler, more emotionally connected, and loving father - also a father with a great sense of humor and a playfulness about him.

Marlon writes about his father, his mother, and his sisters in this book. And, this book's title is so fitting when one reads how, despite his mother's struggles with her alcoholism, she still gave him so much, including his love of nature and his love of music and theatre. Marlon loved his mother beyond her problems and he took care of her as best he could, even during his younger years when he should have been the one being taken care of. He loved deeply and he grieved deeply and this was evident when he lost his mother, a woman he said "taught me how to die." Marlon also speaks lovingly of his sisters who seemed to have somehow given him a little of the approval, acceptance, and reassurances about himself that he was not receiving elsewhere in his childhood. In particular, in this book, he includes an inscription on the back of a photograph of him written by one of his sisters that said, "Bud - and is he a grand boy! Sweet and funny, idealistic and oh, so young." As for Marlon's relationship with his father, it seemed Marlon spent much of his life seeking his father's approval because his father was always so disapproving and critical of him. I was so pleased to realize through Marlon's words that he had come to terms with regard to he and his father's relationship and that there seemed to be some healing, forgiveness, and understanding on Marlon's part, not only of his father, but also of himself, in the latter part of his life.

Mere words are inadequate to express the way I feel about Marlon Brando. I love him. I miss him. My heart was broken when I learned of his passing and I still feel it now. If, but for the certainty I feel that Marlon is now in a place of complete peace and wholeness, I would wish for his presence back here among us again.

As for "Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me," I highly recommend this book. It is a book I literally could not put down once I started reading it. It is a very well written and poignant story of the life of a beautiful person who left his mark on the art of acting and on the world in so many ways.

Reflections from one of the greats.......2006-12-28

Marlon Brando's memoir reads like a breezy conversation thanks to the assistant (if not outright ghostwriter) Robert Lindsay, who was able to compile this material after who knows how much dribble. Brando was undeniably one of the greats, a brilliant craftsman and innovator on the stage and screen. After his cult of personality had been established with `Streetcar,' `On the Waterfront,' and `The Wild One,' Brando drifted to smaller projects, which Hollywood was quick to dismiss. However, during this time Brando performed in Burn! by Pontecervo, which he cites as his greatest performance. I would argue `Last Tango in Paris,' wherein Bertolucci really let Brando's improvisational talent flourish. This memoir is undeniably fluff; he even admits he agreed to do it for the money alone, but it's entertaining fluff. You get to learn about his peculiar politics which include: a visceral support for Zionism, support for the civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Vietnam, and extreme activism to support Native Americans. Brando was a devoted and complex individual. He admits that he enjoyed having affairs, that he often took projects for money, that he was often depressed, lonely, and hot-tempered. What also emerges here is a portrait of an artist trying to gain independence in an inauthentic industry; perhaps he was one of the few who refused to let it ever beat him.

This Song Best Left Unsung.......2006-10-06

The history of the book when it was published tells it all. After a media blitz and great anticipation with what would be written - due to Brando pocketing an absolutely huge advance - the sales were so abysmal that it was discounted by fifty-percent or more less than two weeks after sitting mostly unsold on store shelves.

It was supposed to be the reflections of arguably the greatest actor of his generation, but unfortunately Songs My Mother Taught Me is nothing but psycho-babble with a text that can be read (skimmed) very quickly.

The only thing I determined was Brando very early in the writing process decided he was going to be as difficult on this "set" as he reportedly was with most of his film directors.

Next to Gerald Ford's brief and boring book published after his controversial presidency, Songs My Mother Taught Me is perhaps the most disappointing publication by a major public figure in the latter portion of the last century.

The one you need.......2006-04-27

After I read Marlon Brando's own memoirs, my view on him changed. That he was one of the most brilliant actors in history is a fact most people are aware of, but what fewer know is that he was a very intelligent man who helped discriminated folk groups more than many. I knew this even before I read this book, SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME. But what I was not aware of, was how sensitive and funny he could be when he felt comfortable. I believe much of his "tough" behavior simply was an image. Not all the time, of course, he was very masculine and could --which he admits in this book-- be brutal at times, but this side of him is obviously exaggerated by the press through the years.

After a four-page long introduction by Robert Lindsey, who put this book together with Brando, the actor opens chapter I with the sentence, "As I stumble back across the years of my life trying to recall what it was about, I find that nothing is really clear." I respectfully disagree with this. Brando tells his story with so many interesting, funny and sad details and comments that I can't do anything else. The sentence that follows, however, is more telling -- "I suppose the first memory I have was when I was too young to remember how young I was. I opened my eyes, looked around in the mouse-colored light and realized that Ermi was still asleep, so I dressed myself as best as I good and went down the stairs, left one foot first on each step."

Ermi was the childhood love of Marlon (or 'Bud,' as he was referred to at that time). She was his nurse maid, and he writes lovingly about how she took care of him during his earliest years. But only a few months after his first school year began, she married a man Marlon never got a chance to even see and left him. Although Marlon tells the story with understanding, there is a clear bitterness between the lines. At the time Ermi said good-bye, Marlon discovered a heart-breaking fact -- his parents were abused to alcohol. This did, of course, not make the situation more pleasant.

Marlon's picture of his mother, Dorothy is filled with bitter-sweet love, while his father, Marlon Sr., is described as a "brutal bar-fighter." He had his reasons. During his teens, he and his sisters (two and four years older than him) had to bring their mother home from the police station often once a week after a "night out." In these circumstances, it happened now and then that their father took his wife upstairs and beat her. One time when this was the case, Marlon ran up to the bed-room, put his teeth in a Goliat-position and said terrifying, "If you ever touch her again, I will kill you."

In spite of such unhappy memories, Brando's pre-acting years are also often described with much humor. Escpecially one episode impressed me. While he was in a military school --which he hated but his father had sent him there-- one thing annoyed him more than anything else -- a bell that rang every quarter. One night he stole the bell and buried it. The next day, the school had never been as quiet before. They finally had to use a tromphet to make the ring signals, and every time the instrument made a sound, Marlon fell on the ground with laughter.

When he was twenty, he went to New York to make a living as an actor (though "only to survive"). He began his career on Actor's Studios, where later many other great actors, James Dean among them, would start their careers. His "wonderful teacher Stella Adler" saw what she had between her hands, and after some small parts in a couple of so-so Broadway plays, he got his chance as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee William's masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947. Brando was praised from the beginning on. But Brando himself has several times --also in this book-- claimed that he don't care about Stanley Kowalski, a brutal bar-fighter (do you see the resemblances?). "He isn't impressed of anything, I detest the character," is Brando's words, which puzzled a whole world, myself included. Marlon Brando's portrait of Stanley Kowalski is --together with his portrait of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront and Don Corleone in The Godfather-- the best acting he ever did.

Streetcar was filmed in 1951, and was a huge hit. It made Brando world famous. But he admits in his autobiography that he truly would have been happier if he had not been a movie star.

Brando describes each film he appeared in with interesting and funny notes, how he became the characters he went into, etc. A deilightful surprise was that he actually co-wrote a lot on several of his movies, including Sayonara, The Young Lions, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, The Missouri Breaks and Apocalypse Now. The characters in these movies were his creations in every way.

Although he has left out information about his three marriages and comes out with only a little --actually very little-- stuff about his children, Brando's private life is tension and funny reading through the whole book. He tells shamelessly about a handful of his affairs with all kinds of women, about his love for animals, about his temperament --like when he knocked out the front windows of a bus with both fists-- and when he gradually learned to control this anger. The life on Teitora --the island where he had the happiest moments of his life-- are described with deep love and yet honesty for the Tahitian people.

There is something for everyone here, but personally, I found the chapters where he confirms his political opinions and his views on human nature most interesting. I agreed with almost everything. It helped me a lot to understand human behavior and it was a very good source to a school test I was forced to do while I still was reading the book.

No doubt. Marlon Brando was one of the greatest actors in history, we know that. But besides, he was also one of the greatest storytellers in history. Buy, rent or steal this book (personally I bought it here on Amazon.com), read it, and then you know everything you need to know about the genius Marlon Brando. You don't need to be a fan of him already to enjoy this book, but it is doubtful that you can read it through without becoming it.

Peter Manso's mammoth-book might be filled with information, but it's cynically written and dwells on names and incidents over and over again, without very many conclusions. SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME is a wonderfully told biography which reads like one of the most affecting novels I've ever put my hands on.

Forget the ridiculous gossip-books -- this is the one you need.

MARLON BRANDO.......2006-03-26

I HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK AS IT WAS A PRESENT TO MY MOTHER. I HEARD GOOD REVIEWS ABOUT IT ON THE WBAI RADIO HERE IN NEW YORK.

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BRANDO SONGS MY MOTHER NEVER TAUGHT ME

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H1UPN4

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BRANDO SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME
Robert Lindsey
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H1ZNWW

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Brando Songs My Mother Taught Me
Brando Marlon
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LB41Y4

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BRANDO: SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME.
Marlon & Robert Lindsay. Brando
Manufacturer: BCA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O8SMBW

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Songs My Mother Taught Me
Brando and Robert Lindsey
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0712660127

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BRANDO SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME
BRANDO MARLO & LINDSEY ROBERT
Manufacturer: RANDOM HOUSE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PGKBS0

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Songs My Mother Taught Me
Marlon Brando
Manufacturer: ARROW (RAND)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0099436914

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As society has always seen it........

Tell It Like It Is, Or Was!

why does it smell like something is burning?

~ "Those poor trees" ~

Interesting premise but ultimately fails

Midnight Lightning: Jimi Hendrix and the Black Experience
Greg Tate
Manufacturer: Lawrence Hill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description

Jimi Hendrix's social meaning, his sexual mystery, and his scientific explorations in the field of sound are here addressed from a black perspective. This unique introduction to a man who, despite his popular appeal, has never made it into the pantheon of 20th-century black icons, incorporates extensive interviews with black Americans who shed light on Hendrix's complicated racial relationships. Midnight Lightning explores how Hendrix exploded the complacently segregated world to emerge as an icon for white boys, why his songs were not heard on black radio, and why black people once viewed him as a hippie Uncle Tom. Also explored are his connection to the Black Power movement, how he electrified soul music and made the electric guitar supplant the human voice, how he revolutionized the use of technology in popular music, and how black his music really was. His sex appeal-especially for black women-is discussed, as are how he redefined rock fashion, why nobody was really mad at him for sleeping with white women (at the same time as Sammy Davis, Jr. was being harassed and threatened for kissing a white woman onstage), and how he was marketed as a white performer. Explained are the ways in which Hendrix subverted and destabilized black masculine stereotypes, changing the way black music and black identity are perceived.

Customer Reviews:

As society has always seen it...............2005-02-19

Jimi was African American Period. The white american society today as well as then always viewed anyone mixed black as being black. There were scores of african american people who were mixed with other races that america still see's them as just being black....that is how it has always been. THIS BOOK SPEAKS THE TRUTH, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

America, particularly back then didn't have a problem with Hendrix because his musical genius overshadowed his race. Had Hendrix played strictly soul music then. His treatment and his fame would have been virtually unheard of and he would have not been such an icon that he is now.

on a persone note: I remember growing up in the 1970's in new york and watching white teen age kids use the -N- word while walking around wearing a Jimi Hendrix t-shirt. This the type of experience the author is trying to express and/or convey to the audience. The Black Experience and everything it embodied throughout the turbulent 1960's when Hendrix came on the scene.

Tell It Like It Is, Or Was!.......2003-11-18

Jimi Hendrix is an African American musician who excelled at his craft; he was discovered by several would be managers and producers who obviosly didn't know what to make of him. The last to 'discover' him was graced by luck on having Hendrix relocate to another muisic, and cultural, climate. This gave Hendrix the 'void' he needed to be heard. In the US, New York, in particular, Hendrix confronted the gatekeepers of 'Black Music'(blues, jazz, R&B) tradition (the way it is, the way it works)and philosophy (how a certain music should be played)- nothing bad in and of itself it gave us Howlin' Wolf, Coltrane, James Brown, and others. Unless he was playing in the tradition and philosophy of guitarist Charlie Christian or Wes Montgomery, Hendrix was told there was no room for him to be heard. He was to far removed (advanced, different, or what have you) for them to understand.

The relocation to England where there was no blues, jazz, or R&B gate-keepers to be confronted with proved successful for his being heard. However this incident, a stroke of fate, has caused more misunderstanding and mis-interpretation (some deliberate) of Hendrix than one could imagine.

It is this misunderstanding and mis-information that Greg Tate tackles head-on - The Race Issue and Jimi Hendrix.

This is the first serious indept effort at this explosive subject. Tate makes it very clear that a plane ride to Europe did not transform Hendrix from that of an African American (a Black man), with American-made racial baggage, to something other. Interestingly, if not unwittingly, he demonstrates how it is that White people changed if only to let Hendrix in. These, would-be white fans, associates and lovers, are the sames Whites (speaking in general terms) from whom Black people were demanding civil rights, human rights, an end to colonization, oppression, racism, etc. (Remember the 1960's?). Tate shows that whites were/are willing to let Hendrix in because he 'appeared different' - different than their stereotypes and myths that defined Black people as dangerous and other-worldly (I'm being nice here.) - and, for what they could extract from him for themselves.

Tate exposes racism at work in the shaping of the Jimi Hendrix myth. How white people defined him for themselves ("He's abscent of race and politics"), and projected that image to themselves and to others - including Black people. Yet we get to see Hendrix for who he was, an artist, more concerned with his art than politics, though he did mature politically - 'Machine Gun', 'Earth Blues', 'Power Of Soul', 'Star Spangled Banner' ('nuf said). However he, Hendrix, comes to his own defense once back in the US as he reconnects with the community that birthed and nurtured him. This to became a matter of contention for those that wanted him to be something else. Hence, attacking the 'Gypsys Suns and Rainbows', and 'Band Or Gypsys'. (see my book on the subject - 2004)

The only short comming with this book is it's too brief where this subject deserves more indepth examination and explaination; and contrary to Tate's assertion that this is a "Primer For Blackfolks", this book it too advanced for most people unaware of Hendrix. The book is number 3 on my list of must read after 1). David Henderson's - Voodoo child of the Aquarian Age (Biography of Jimi Hendrix), 2). Charles Sharr Murray - Crosstown Traffic (biography of Jimi Hendrix.

Midnight Lighting is a must read for both honest and dishonest people; it is a must read for truth. It is a must read in getting to know a bit more about Jimi Hendrix the human being than the myth-makers would rather make of him.

Tate should be commended and commissioned to do a fuller treatment of this exciting and agitating subject.

why does it smell like something is burning?.......2003-09-27

lighter fluid + this book (saying its name is more than it deserves) + lighter = godsend

this is sadder than the Band of Gypsys movie. a complete waste of paper, ink, time, and not to mention oxygen pointlessly fueling this author. i can't get into how angry this makes me and how disrespectful it is to Jimi- am i alone in this?

yes he was African.

but gasp!

yes he was Irish.

yes he was Native American.

where are the ill-thought out shrines to the other pieces of His heritage? why are musicians of any other ethnicity scolded for playing "black" music but for some reason its another thing for Jimi to play rock n' roll music "in that way only Jimi could"?

songs like "Cherokee Mist," and "I Don't Live Today" feature Native American influences. where's the gossip mill spitting that fact up?

its just as bad as all the hoopla made over what The Beatles or who ever were talking about in their songs. in actuality they would just mix and match words with no metaphorical intent at all.

buddy miles was called in to play drums because Jimi had to honor a contractual obligation that was signed "Jimmy Hendrix." Mitch Mitchell, who played AFTER the band of gypsys shows (sorry Mitch, but you BUTCHERED machine gun as far as recorded evidence shows) was not in new york when the fillmore dates were played. Noel Redding LEFT the band causing Jimi to turn to help from an OLD FRIEND (they were in the army together, played in bands together, etc. etc.). Billy Cox was called in because he was an old friend- not because he was black. buddy miles had sat-in with Jimi in various studio sessions and was a friend from the chitlin circuit.

read the above and save yourself from the rubbish that is this book.

i suggest you read "Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy" to get the full story.

Jimi Hendrix was beyond any color. He himself had his own perspective on color (purple with envy, red with passion, etc.)... so why would it be a big deal- the color of his skin? He was a member of the human race and he came from somewhere past outer-space.

THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN HAS/HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

an inquisition should be held to put people like this author on trial for blasphemous mutations of Jimi's life, music, and motives.

~ "Those poor trees" ~.......2003-09-19

That a few trees had to give their very all for this is a crying shame.

If the "Hendrix Family" are looking to sue someone, this "author" should be prime fodder for those lawyers to help buy their children braces.

A shame against the Hendrix name.

Interesting premise but ultimately fails.......2003-09-05

The chronicling of Jimi Hendrix's life and career has often been told from White writers who have failed to consider how his experiences on the chitlin circuit and in Harlem helped shape his style. Hendrix worked on the circuit for years but this period is often given short shift aside from swipes at Jimi's R&B colleagues for their apparent failure to appreciate his talent.

So I was hoping that Greg Tate's work would provide that perspective. Unfortunately, Tate's book reads like a hap hazard stream of consciousness with psuedo intellectual pretensions. I wasn't looking for a straight biography but I hoped that the author would present a clearer look of Hendrix's somewhat complex relationship with Black America during his lifetime and after death. He only touches briefly on how Black audiences seem to have a greater appreciation for Jimi's Band of Gypsies period than do White fans and writers. Why did Hendrix feel the need to hook up with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles? Why did he return to Harlem and re-establish contact with old friends? Was he trying to change his musical direction? The book doesn't go into these questions deeply enough.

Book Description

What is Sudoku? Its a global sensation! Sudoku is a hybrid: its name derives from Japanese (loosely translated it means number in an allotted place) and its form can be traced back to the magic squares invented in 18th century Switzerland. The result is a numerical brainteaser that is fiendish, compulsive, and, in the simplicity of its rules, sublimely beautiful. This collection, which ranges in difficulty from the gentle through the tough to the diabolical, is the most extensive on the market. Already a bestseller in Japan and England, Sudoku is now going global! This addictive puzzle is now sweeping the nation! Puzzles are now featured in many top newspapers across the country, including: The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star and the Calgary Heraldwith many more sure to follow. With every puzzle being completely different, Sudoku is sure to appeal to puzzle-fans of all levels.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully big grids.......2006-04-13

I love this one! Each puzzle is big, big, big -- one puzzle per 8 X 10 page. Lots of room to solve in. The quality of the paper is great. And there are 16 by 16 grids in the back -- my favorites. Buy this one, not the so-called "jumbo" puzzles by the same author.

Good format, but some puzzles not properly formed.......2006-03-25

This Sudoku book is both great and a major disappointment at the same time. The great part is that the puzzles are printed nice and big so that you have enough space in the number squares to write down the possibilities. And the paper is strong enough so that you don't make holes in the paper as you write and erase. I had other Sudoku books where I ended up making a copy of each page before working on it.

The disappointment is that some puzzles are not properly formed, and have more than one solution.

Definitely choose Total Sudoku.......2006-01-04

This is a fantastic book for sudoku starters everywhere. It has instructions that are really well written and a huge grid that is much easier to use and see than others. Another reviewer said that the levels are spread out, but that is so you can try different levels and work yourself up to levels. In a way it keeps you on a "roll." If you chose any sudoku book let this be the one.

Wonderful Way to Spend Your Time.......2005-11-12

If you like to sit and think for a long time this is the product for you. I really enjoy this book.... the only thing is the order. It jumbles around from easy to hard to medium ect. I would also like it more if it had more solution strategies. Overall this is a good first book of sudoku.

This is the perfect Sudoku book.......2005-11-04

I love that this book has such large grids. It makes it a lot easier to makes notes in the boxes and do erasing without making it a big mess. There are different levels of puzzles and some challenging circular and larger puzzles at the end. I definitely recomend this book for Sudoku addicts such as myself.

Total Sudoku Collection: Challenging Puzzles for All Players, Plus Sudoku Video Game, Featuring Multiple Levels of Difficulty

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Total Sudoku Collection: Challenging Puzzles for All Players, Plus Sudoku Video Game, Featuring Multiple Levels of Difficulty
Total Sudoku Collection
Manufacturer: Anderson News, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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