This is a great book for those who do not have the time to plod through the de La Grange tomes on the life of Mahler. Carr shows another face of Mahler, and that while he was a giant in the late 19th century music world, he had extremely poor taste in women! Carr's writing style is interesting and engaging. The only criticism is that he gives short schrift to the Ninth Symphony, including only 1 paragraph of analysis for such an important work!!