Highly recommended is Shakespeare Alive: 2-Minute Speeches and Monologues for Study, Audition and Performance by Fredi Olster and Rick Hamilton, which is unusual in many respects. First, each monologue is presented in a side-by-side format, with the original on the left, and on the right a rewording in modern English to help the actor fully understand the meaning of the lines. Speeches in verse are grouped by thought, rather than with poetic line endings-again to help the actor understand and speak the lines appropriately. Olster and Hamilton, both veteran actors, also provide acting and auditioning advice, and the results makes this one of the best books of its kind.