The coal fields of West Virginia would seem an unlikely market for big band jazz during the Great Depression. That a prosperous African American audience dominated by those involved with the coal industry was there for jazz tours would seem equally improbable. "Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia, 1930-1942" shows that, contrary to expectations, black Mountaineers flocked to dances by the hundreds, in many instances traveling considerable distances to hear bands led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, and Chick Webb, among numerous others. Indeed, as one musician who toured the state would recall, "All the bands were goin' to West Virginia."

The comparative prosperity of the coal miners, thanks to New Deal industrial policies, was what attracted the bands to the state. This study discusses that prosperity as well as the larger political environment that provided black Mountaineers with a degree of autonomy not experienced further south. Author Christopher Wilkinson demonstrates the importance of radio and the black press both in introducing this music and in keeping black West Virginians up to date with its latest developments. The book explores connections between local entrepreneurs who staged the dances and the national management of the bands that played those engagements. In analyzing black audiences' aesthetic preferences, the author reveals that many black West Virginians preferred dancing to a variety of music, not just jazz. Finally, the book shows bands now associated almost exclusively with jazz were more than willing to satisfy those audience preferences with arrangements in other styles of dance music.

SBAs for the Final FRCR is an invaluable guide to the new Single Best Answer (SBA) paper for the Final FRCR examination, providing over 350 SBA-style questions and referenced answers written in the style of the Royal College of Radiologists. Each question is accompanied by a concise yet detailed model answer carrying references and additional notes. The answers also act as a useful reference source for many of the key topics found in the syllabus. Questions are categorised in the same six modules that compose the FRCR 2A: * Cardiothoracic and vascular * Musculoskeletal and trauma * Gastro-intestinal * Genito-urinary, adrenal, obstetrics and gynaecology, breast * Paediatric * Central nervous system, head and neck Written by a group of authors who have recently successfully completed the exams, SBAs for the Final FRCR is an essential revision aid for all candidates undertaking the FRCR Part 2A.

Dragpa Gyaltsan's writings in Tibetan fill four volumes of almost a thousand pages each. He was a statesman, a physician, an historian, and a poet, not to mention an adept in Buddhist practice, both exoteric and esoteric. The present volume of translations represents a mere sampling of his extraordinary literary acumen. I have made selections from his poetry and historical writings, an account of his dreams, and a few practice related works. These works will be interesting to many kinds of readers, depending on their personal inclinations. I have included one work written by his brother, Sonam Tsemo: The Six Dharmas of Guru Vajrasana. I present these to you as literature for you to enjoy. The practices that are described in some of the works are meant to be pursued under the instruction of a qualified teacher. Readers who find them intriguing are encouraged to seek out such guidance. My translation of a biography of Dragpa Gyaltsan, written by Sakya Pandita, is to be found in the first volume of the Sakya Kongma Series: Sakya Pandita's Poetic Wisdom. A Melody of Experience for Yeshe Dorje, included in this volume, was first published in Melody of Dharma, the official magazine of the Sakya Drolma Podrang.