Book excerpt: The only rule I observed when selecting my fifty songs was that they should be interesting; interesting either for their intrinsic worth or for the problems they pose for the singer or the accompanist or both partners. The reader who is indulgent enough to imagine there is any benefit to be reaped by a study of this book, should dip into it rather than attempt to read it steadily from cover to cover. Let him see which of these songs he possesses and then-after numbering the bars on his score to help him follow me on my wanderings through the song-have his music beside him as he reads. He will thus be in a much better position to laugh with me or at me; to see how unerringly I hit the nail on the head or how lamentable is my aim. Many of the 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.