The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2008 (Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music) | 
| Authors: Ivan March, Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton
Creator: Paul Czajkowski
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $17.28
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New (26) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $15.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 25394
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1568
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.8 x 2.5
ISBN: 0141033363
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.680266
EAN: 9780141033365
ASIN: 0141033363
Publication Date: October 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 2.5 stars- Not worth buying anymore April 20, 2008
I'll make this short and sweet. This guide is not worth purchasing anymore because reissues of old recordings are rarely included, plus, a good many of brand new recordings are not included. I really thought the Penguin Guide was superb in the early 90's but no more. When they include the same old recordings they just use the review that they previously did and don't have to write anything new, so they look like they're a bit lazy. If they get their act together one of these days you might want to try them again but I'm sure that will be a good long time in the future.
A shadow of its former self ..... April 3, 2008
Sadly, I have to echo many of the comments above, e.g. those of Econpasha, Larry, etc.
The enthusiasm with which I grabbed the 2008 edition off the shelf (without detailed appraisal of the contents, buying as a previous satisfied customer) was soon displaced by disappointment about how the content has become lightweight. I have bought numerous editions since the 1980's (remember with the HMV dog/horn gramophone on the cover, one edition with a beige cover, another edition pale green?)and have the 2003/04 & 05/06 editions, 06/07 year book as well as this latest one all close at hand.
The improvements in layout and typography (welcome) appear to have been at the expense of serious and wide content. In some ways it seems to be a slightly more detailed clone of the Gramophone Guide. I now use this latest edition for browsing, and for more serious research use the 05/06 + 06/07 yearbook and online reviews at gramophone.co.uk.
All of the above said, I do still prefer the Penguin Guide to the others. Layton, March and Greenfield have provided many good recommendations over the years!!
 The best there is ..... February 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The 2008 edition of Penguin's Guide to Recorded Classical Music is the definitive guide on the market. No other guide comes close to the wealth of information regarding composers, artists, and quality recordings/DVD choices that are available in this book. The only competition this guide has is The All Music Guide to Classical Music, which possesses a greater degree of scholarship regarding biographical articles concerning the composers and the creative process they employed. The All Music Guide, although informative, is very limited on a range of quality recordings. Buy them both and you can't go wrong.
A worthy successor February 8, 2008
This edition of the Penguin guide to classical CDs is the latest in a long series. It's an excellent guide to what's currently available.
 Shame on Penguin Books!!! December 25, 2007
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
Like many others, I have been buying the Penguin Guide, and the Gramophone Guide, for many years. Usually I enjoy these CD reviews, even though they become repetitious sometimes. And the "New" listings are getting fewer and fewer.
There are several good reviews on this site, and I certainly enjoyed the reviews written by these knowledgeable people. Penguin Books should pay attention to comments posted by these people, especially regarding the four stars, rosettes, and now the "boxed" key recordings! Suddenly, almost everything has become top notch! It is an overkill. And it certainly diminishes the value of praise for some of these CDs and confuses the reader. Do the four stars trump the rosettes? Or is the other way around?
This is not a review like some of the previous ones on this site. It is simply a comment on what Penguin Books has done to us. First, there are four editors listed on the cover, three of whom are familiar to those of us who have been buying these guide books over a long period of time. The 2008 volume lists Paul Czajkowski on the cover as one of the four principal editors; in the past he had been listed as "Assistant Editor." Yet, inside this volume, while the three editors get lengthy paragraphs, poor Mr. Czajkowski does not merit even a single line until until the "Acknowledgements" section on page xi; and only a 1/2 line there. Who was the proof reader for this volume? Why elevate the man to the cover and not mention anything about his career?
More importantly, shame on Penguin Books for using incredibly cheap, thin paper!!! It is a real trial to read any page without the print on the back of that page protruding into your eyesight. For comparison, I went back to the 2003/2004 edition. Better paper without any print through. And the price was $25.00 then. Now, like the 2005/6 edition, it is $30.00. So for more, we get less!
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