Reviews for Zildjian The History of the Legendary Cymbal Markers

The average rating for Zildjian The History of the Legendary Cymbal Markers based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-09-09 00:00:00 Vladimir Stefanovic The story of Beautiful Jim Key is not just about a horse. As a matter of fact, at times it does not seem to have enough about the horse at all. Dr. William Key, the man who bred, raised and trained Jim, also gets sidelined for a great portion of the book by Albert R. Rogers, the promoter. He was annoying and to me seemed to be involved more for the money and fame to be won than for any other reason. Are promoters a necessary evil? I suppose so. Dr. Key and Jim were well-known locally before Rogers ever came along, but his work made them famous in a way they might never have been otherwise. However, I was still irked with how much space he was given in the story, by his greed and egotistical behavior, and by his twisting of the truth. The parts of the book that told about Dr. Key's life were much more compelling; so was the story of how Jim came into the world.I do have just one tiny nit to pick about the night Jim was born, though. Excuse me while I rant. First, most of the people who will read this review know I used to work on a horse farm, where we had as many as 18 foals born each year. I was present at a lot of these births, most easy, some not so much. But never, in the four years that I lived on the farm, never did I hear anything like what is described for the night Jim was born. "Lauretta frantically paced, then lay down, her whinnying crescendoing with the night-splitting universal cry of a female in hard labor . . . ." I have heard grunts, groans, and sighs. I have braced a mare while the vet used a come-along to drag a huge dead colt out into the world. That mare never made a sound. Now maybe Lauretta was a more delicate creature than the horses I worked with, but I still doubt that even an older delicate mare would split the night with a birth cry. Horses are prey animals. Their survival depends on the predators not being aware of any illness or injury. No mare in her right mind is going to draw such attention to herself. The instincts of thousands of years would prevent it, in my opinion. Okay, rant over. Jim was not a normal horse. From the time he was born, he was sickly looking and crooked, barely being able to walk. Dr. Key worked with him constantly, and this is most likely the secret to the connection they had. Jim seemed to think he was a dog, even to the point of living in the house for a time. The educating began after Jim had seen Dr. Key playing fetch with his dog. Jim took him a stick, wanting to play too. Everything developed from that point. Jim grew into a stunning animal who listened and learned as much as he could. I was not at all surprised about that ability, having had close relationships with many horses. I know they are much more intelligent than many people realize. And when anyone comes along who can 'think horse' many amazing things are possible. At first Dr. Key and Jim traveled with their own medicine show, but Rogers met them at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. They eventually performed in places such as Boston, New York, even the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. I did think it was more than a little ironic that the horse was touted as an example of what kindness towards animals could do. Rogers made deals with humane societies, using Jim's story as an educational device to prove that the cruelty towards animals that was so common in those days was not acceptable or necessary. But how much did Jim have to work to prove the point? At one exhibition he was on stage 12 hours a day! At the St. Louis World's Fair he and Dr. Key performed from nine in the morning to ten at night six days a week for seven months! That seems excessive to me, but then I am a shy wallflower type of person who would never be able to handle even one performance, let alone dozens per day. Jim and Dr. Key apparently thrived on their schedule, as long as the horse was able to get out and have a gallop every morning and the sugar supply held out. The book was good, but sad at the same time. Dr. Key was born a slave, fought in the Civil War, lived to see the world change, with the possibility open for equality between all people. But by the time Dr.Key passed away in 1909, he had also seen the fear and loathing take center stage again, and must have been disappointed, even though he surely knew that he had done what he could in his life to change attitudes. I just wish more people had paid attention.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-03-17 00:00:00 Tony Easa I was looking for a good wholesome family movie for movie night, someone had recommended 'Secretariat' to my husband, so I was looking at reviews for it on-line when I came across a picture book called 'Wonder Horse: The True Story of the World's Smarted Horse' by Emily Arnold McCully. It looked interesting. I borrowed it from my local library and read it to my children who are six and nine years old. We all loved it; I was fascinated and wanted to learn more about the man who trained the smartest horse in the world. McCully's author note from 'Wonder Horse' said that the horse's trainer and owner, Doc Key, was a former slave who followed his master's two sons into the Civil War where he saved their lives, after he was a free man he went on to pay off the mortgage on his master's house. Those two facts alone amazed me and I wanted to learn more about Doc Key. I was thrilled to find Mim Rivas's biography on both horse and man. The horse was "Beautiful, Jim Key", his owner and trainer, William "Doc" Key. They are two of the most endearing creatures I've ever read about. I loved learning all the things Jim could do and his attitude while doing them, I would recount his accomplishments and antics at dinner each night to the amusement of my family. I love the story about Jim sneaking in and stealing all the apples Doc stored in his desk drawer in the stables, how he ended up sleeping in the house every night with Doc and what happened when Jim got too big to sleep in the house. I was reminded of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan while I read how Doc taught Jim the alphabet and how to spell. Doc worked with Jim for years teaching Jim the alphabet and numbers, then how to spell, add, subtract, multiply, make change, use a cash register, tell time, sort mail and cite biblical passages. Jim and Doc eventually partnered with Albert Rogers and went on tour traveling the country spreading their message that 'anything is possible with kindness and patience.' They eventually joined forces with George Angell from the Massachusetts SPCA and the American Humane Education Society and took their message to millions of people especially encouraging school children to sign a pledge of kindness to all creatures. If you are an animal lover I strongly encourage you to read this book. I just loved it. It is one of the sweetest stories I have ever read.