Bookpedia : Library : Location : D

ISBN: 0836218221

ListPrice: $14.95

Dimensions: 0.50 by 8.50 by 10.75 in.

Summary: I am a Calvin & Hobbes fan, and I find Calvin a most amusing and imaginative boy. He imagines a lot especially the fact that Hobbes is a real tiger. In fact, I never knew that Hobbes was just a toy, until I read a few more Calvin & Hobbes comics. Thanx, www.amazon.com. and also to B.W. I loved reading this book!

ISBN: 0805061312

ListPrice: $19.95

Edition: rev. ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: A little darker than "The Book of Three", this amazing sequel deals with far more mature themes, including the death of a character and events that affect all of Prydain rather than just the immediate characters. Most second books are weak; this one, if anything, is far more multilayered and mature in its content. There is character death, and there is more political conflict.Princes and war leaders show up at Caer Dallben with a mission: find the Cauldron that supplies the dark lord Arawn with his deathless, lifeless soldiers. Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, is elated that he will be able to participate in his first real adventure (since the last one was because of a series of accidents) with a sword and the respect of his peers. This becomes something of a problem with the arrival of Ellidyr, Son of Pen-Llarcau - an obnoxious and arrogant prince who looks down on Taran, Eilonwy, and Gurgi. Taran, Ellidyr, Prince Gwydion, the dwarf Doli, the kindly warrior Adaon, bard-king Fflewddur Fflam and others ride off to infiltrate Annuvin, Arawn's lands. (They inadvertantly have to bring Eilonwy and Gurgi) But they soon find that the situation has become much more complex, as there are forces other than Arawn and Gwydion who want the Cauldron...The story becomes more Tolkienesque in this volume. The language becomes a little more formal, especially for Taran. And Alexander doesn't shrink away from battle and character death - none of it is graphic, but it is deeply saddening. His writing reflects this, as it is far stronger and more beautiful than in "Book of Three."The tempering of Taran, which comes to full in the last two books of the series, really begins here. At the beginning, Taran is an eager boy who wants to go out, fight, be a hero. Though he is called on to act heroically, he is a wiser and sadder young man; he's seen battle and death, and they aren't the glorious foe-slaying parade that he imagined. Gurgi's growing loyalty to Taran is demonstrated, as is Eilonwy and Gwydion's growing respect for him. Eilonwy, Gurgi and Fflewddur are all their irrepressible selves, no matter what.The supporting characters are also strong: we have the goodhearted bearlike king Smoit; the sinister Morgant; the arrogant, obnoxious Ellidyr who seems to secretly envy Taran; Gwystyl, the most depressed of the Hidden Folk; and, of course, the three weird witches living in the Marshes of Morva.Ignore the hideous animated movie, and read this delightful book. For adults and kids alike, those who have read Tolkien and want more...

ISBN: 0805061320

ListPrice: $19.95

Edition: rev. ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: I have often jokingly told people to read this before reading JRR Tolkein because it's "Hobbit"-lite. But my jest is with all affection. "The Book of Three" is the first of five books (not including the 6th of short stories) involving the fantasy world of Prydain. Lloyd Alexander borrows heavily from Gaelic and Welsh mythology to create the tale of Taran, Assistant Pig-keeper for the enchanter Dallben. In this book we are introduced to Taran, a boy on the cusp of manhood eager to take part in the adventures of the world. Dark forces under the direction of Awran, the Death-Lord threaten the lives of all in Prydain, and none is more feared that the gruesom "Horned King". After leaping "headfirst into a thorn bush" young Taran finds himself face to face with this dreaded champion of darkness who has come from Annuvuin in search of Hen-wen, the oracular pig under Taran's charge. I won't spoil any more of the story except to say that this book introduces many of the characters that appear later on in the rest of the series: the stubborn and lovely Princess Eilonwy, the king-who-wants-to-be-a-bard Fflewder Flam, the cantankerous Doli of the fairfolk, Coll- the warrior turned farmer, and more. Lloyd Alexander's fantasy tale, in my opinion, rivals that of Tolkein as a richly crafted work with wonderful images and a deep understanding and appreciation for the thoughts and feelings of a young man like Taran. The text is easy to read, and the story flows smoothly along. Each book can stand alone, but together create a magnificant epic tapestry. The names of the characters are a little hard to get used to, but not impossible. This is the kind of book you can read out loud at bed-time to young childern. The plot is engaging enough for the little ones and deep enough for adults to appreciate. I recommend this book to just about anyone, and especially for children who are old enough to be reading completely on their own and have reached that point where they are "into" adventures. The best thing about this book (and the series) is that what little violence there is is not glorified, there is no gratuitous sex, and there are morals espoused without sounding preachy. And its the kind of story that girls and boys can enjoy and its perfect for pre-teens and early teens. As the books progress, young teens can "grow" along with Taran, and understand some of his angst. All around, a most excellent novel, and only the begining of a fantastic story...

ISBN: 0805061339

ListPrice: $19.95

Edition: rev.ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: Lloyd Alexander's done it again with the third choronicle of
Prydain, and in my opinion, the best yet.Eilonwy is a
princess of Llyr and must leave Caer Dallben to become a
lady. Achren, the evil queen realizes Eilonwy has magic
powers and wants to capture her. Taran, Flewddur, Gurgi, and
Prince Rhun set out to rescue her. Action packed, this is
definetly a must read for young and old.

ISBN: 0740721135

ListPrice: $135.00

Edition: 1st ed.

Dimensions: 4.25 by 10.50 by 14.25 in.

Summary: Gary Larson calls The Complete Far Side, the massive two-volume collection of his Far Side cartoons, an "18-pound hernia giver." Sure to give any coffee table a solid workout, the handsome and heavy 1,272-page "legacy book" is a must for fervent fans; over 4,300 single-panel comics with more than half in color and 1,100 that have not appeared in any book form before (the popular--and far less weighty--paperback collections). Set in rough chronological order, the comics share pages with occasional letters from fans, detractors, editors, folks made famous by a particular cartoon, and those begging for explanations. Though few explanations are provided (Larson personally supplies merely one, plus a single apology), this collection helps answer the inevitable "how do you think up these things" conundrum. Before each year's cartoons, Larson provides insight with essays about his childhood, various travels, occupational hazards, and his official rules for dealing with bedtime monsters (which often turned out to be his older brother). Most wonderful is the first essay on how the comic started. (His longtime editor Jake Morrissey's long introduction is a must read on The Far Side's story). Despite no central characters, it's easy to spot patterns in Larson's wild and wacky cartoons. Animals, insects, and inanimate objects often exhibit all-too-human impulses. Larson's subjects are often in scenes of peril--disasters, visits to hell, and perhaps a hundred cartoons set on a one-palm tree deserted island. It is what Larson's fertile imagination mined from those situations that created fans and enemies for 14 years. (Larson retired at his peak and then went into jazz music). The comics are not indexed (how could they be--first lines? listings of cartoons with cows?); finding a favorite requires a great memory for its publication date. Best simply to peruse the pages of this beautiful collection in which you will certainly find more than a few new chuckles before landing on your beloved Larson sketch. --Doug Thomas

ISBN: 0446532681

ListPrice: $24.95

Edition: 1st warner books ed.

Dimensions: 0.50 by 8.50 by 10.75 in.

Summary: Offers tongue-in-cheek insight into American democracy with coverage of such topics as the republican qualities of ancient Rome, the antics of our nation's founders, and the ludicrous nature of today's media.

ISBN: 0836218051

ListPrice: $14.95

Dimensions: 0.75 by 8.50 by 11.25 in.

Summary: Bill Waterson is argudably one of the best comic writers out there. Even through his retirement, he has made great books of past comics featuring his Calvin and Hobbes characters. I laugh and laugh at these comics he creates and I sometimes wonder how he comes up with such brilliant ideas sometimes with the storylines of some of the strips.Calvin, one of his best known characters, is the trouble-making kid in the school. He is funny and imaginative and likes to make funa and games with his "real" pet friend Hobbes. Through the comics, you can see the relationship between a stuffed animal and a human.In this comic though, Hobbes "comes to life" in Calvins eyes. The things that Calvin can sometimes get involved in is so hilarious and sometimes out of this world.I guarantee that anyone that loves comics will fall in love with this one and should definitely buy this book to start their collection of classic comics.All of Bill Waterson's comic books are very well done and very professional. His work is his life and it shows the time and consideration it took to make these characters come to life. Thank you Mr. Waterson for creating such a great comic and thatnk you people for reading my review!

ISBN: 0805061304

ListPrice: $19.95

Summary: I've always loved reading the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. Filled with great adventures, the Prydain Chronicles tells the story of Taran, a lowly assistant pig-keeper, who grows up fighting evil with the comradship of numerous friends. His most beloved friends include the high-spirited and talkative Princess Eilowny, the faithful to the end Gurgi, and Fflewddur Fflam, a king who wants to be a bard. In the five books of the Prydain Chronicles, Alexander opened up the reader's eyes to a wonderful world of imagination.In "The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain", the reader is given a chance to explore more of Prydain, the world of adventure and magic. Altogether, there are eight enchanting tales in this book:"The Foundling": Learn about Dallben when he was young and find out how he came to be in possession of The Book of Three."The Stone": Read about the lovable yet still bad-tempered Doli of the Fair Folk and his magic stone."The True Enchanter": The story of how Princess Eilowny's mother, Princess Angharad of the Castle of Llyr, finds true love with a true enchanter."The Rascal Crow": As Medwyn, the ancient guardian and protector of animals, the rascal crow Kadwyir learns a valuable lesson in an Aesop's Fable type of story."The Sword": Learn the terrible and tragic story of Rhitta, the sword Durnwyn, and the Spiral Castle."The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper": Of the three, who was the wisest and became a hero as he faced evil?"The Truthful Harp": King Flewddur Fflam maybe getting a lot more than he expects when he receives a beautiful harp..."Coll and His White Pig": Finally, the story of brave Coll when he sets out to rescue Hen Wen, his white pig.A truly must-have book for the Prydain Chronicles fans, this book won't disappoint. Though this book is aimed mroe for Young Adults, teens and adults might probably enjoy this book, too. I love how the stories blend into the history of Prydain and how us readers can learn more about our favorite characters. Though it wouldn't matter whether you read this before or after the Prydain Series, I suggest that afterwards is better, I think this book will be better enjoyed that way. Don't forget to read the author's note! All-in-all, a short read full of terrific stories!

ISBN: 0805061355

ListPrice: $19.95

Edition: rev. ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: I've loved Lloyd Alexander's classic series ever since I read "The Book of Three" in elemantary school. A well-chosen Christmas gift from my parents ensured that I got my hands on the next four books, concluding with "The High King".One of the strengths of this series is that the characters learn and grow from one book to the next; it's great to see Taran from "The Book of Three", who reminds me rather of myself at that age (*grin*) grow up to take the responsibilities he has earned by the end of "The High King".Alexander's use of Welsh mythology is excellent and for the most part right on target, though Arawn isn't quite as malevolent a figure in myth as he is in the Chronicles of Prydain, and the Gwydion of the Mabinogion is as much a trickster as he is a hero. (This isn't really a criticism; these are books for children, and I know that making Arawn and Gwydion more ambiguous characters would have confused me when I was younger.) The Triple Goddess, the people of Twylyth Teg, the people of Llyr--they're all here, forming a seamless and very real-feeling backdrop to the main characters' adventures.Older readers may be interested in checking out the Mabinogion, the main body of Welsh myth that has survived the ages, after finishing this series. Gwyn Thomas and Kevin Crossley-Holland's "Tales from the Mabinogion" is an excellent edition to try, with beautiful illustrations.Overall, the Chronicles of Prydain remain among my favorite stories, with "The High King" the best of the lot. I highly recommend them.

ISBN: 0836218981

ListPrice: $14.95

Dimensions: 0.50 by 8.50 by 11 in.

Summary: It's another great Calvin and Hobbes treasury which includes cartoons from "The revenge of the baby-sat" and "Scientific progress goes boink". You'll love this book of cartoons which includes some of Bill Watterson's best voted strips like the comic strips "tiger food" and "Eenie Meenie..."! The things I love most of Watterson's comics are the jokes, sarcasm, character expressions, colourful drawings, and great backgrounds. In this book you'll be able to read lots of club strips, Rosalyn stories, and family trips to places like the museam! You'll also be able to read lots of Spaceman Spiff and dinosaur strips. This book would appeal to people of all ages from perhaps the age of eight to adult.------------------Ahmed Mashhood age 12-----------

ISBN: 1929090307

ListPrice: $9.95

Edition: graphic no

Dimensions: 18 cm

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ISBN: 0805072713

ListPrice: $19.95

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 0.75 by 6.50 by 9.75 in.

Summary: The Prydain Chronicles have become a fantasy classic, a collection of five novels and one short story collection that are considered by many to be up there just below J.R.R. Tolkien's works (which the Chronicles resemble, in their depth and use of mythology). Now Michael Tunnell's guide to the Prydain Chronicles has been rereleased, and it's definitely worth getting.It's in the form of an encyclopedia, with careful, detailed and well-cited entries for everything in Prydain. A lot of the entries include quotations from the books. What's more, Tunnell has done extensive research into the Mabinogion and other Celtic tales. As a result, the entries for characters like Math son of Mathonwy, Gwydion, Achren, the three witches of Morva, and many others include details about the mythological characters, adventures and legends that helped inspire the Chronicles. No character, however minor is denied attention to their mythical backgrounds.Aside from the content, this edition of the "Companion" is great. Henry Holt has rereleased the entire Chronicles series, and the "Companion" doesn't disappoint; it matches all the other hardcovers. The binding is good, the paper is nice, and the cover is glossy. While I wasn't too crazy about the colors in the cover illustration, the illustration is very well-done. Alexander has also provided a foreword in hich he praises Tunnell's work.This book (more than just an encyclopedia) is an invaluable tool for fans of the Prydain Chronicles and/or Welsh mythology. Fans of the book series should run to pick this up, and if you haven't read the novels, then do so and THEN pick this book up.

ISBN: 0805061347

ListPrice: $19.95

Summary: Taran Wanderer, the fourth book of the Prydain chronicles, is, in my opinion, the best book in a wonderful series. All four books focus on the character of Taran of Caer Dallben, an orphan who is raised by a wizard (Dallben). The plot of Taran Wanderer focuses on Taran's quest to find out who his parents were. Taran hopes that he will find that he has the "noble" blood that he believes would give him the right to ask the Princess Eilonwy to wed him. Needless to say, he does not have an easy time, wandering the length and breadth of Prydain searching for parents he does not know, who can barely remember him. The book's joy, however, does not lie only in its plot, but also in the development that Taran undergoes through the course of the book. In Taran Wanderer, more than any other book, Taran grows into manhood. The trials he passes through temper and shape him, as he journeys through both familiar and strange lands. His experiences teach him lessons, but he learns even more from the people he meets. Make no mistake. This is not a pure novel of character. Taran travels from one end of Prydain to the other, meeting kings and wizards, and also farmers and tradesmen. Along the way, he has many adventures and faces many hardships. As said earlier though, the solid plot is not the highlight of this book. The characters are. The myriad of people Taran meets in his travels provides a welcome break from the pattern of the other Prydain chronicles, where almost everyone seems to be either a king, a bard, or a magician (or some combination of the three). After so many books walking the heights, Taran finally returns to earth. For those who have read the earlier books, you will see many familiar faces, including faithful Gurgi, the (not quite) bard Fflewddur Fflam, King Smoit, and even three old friends from the Marshes of Morva. You'll also be intrigued by new characters, some of whom have had hidden influences on characters you already know. And through it all, the beautiful tapestry of plot that Lloyd Alexander has woven will captivate you. Taran Wanderer is a great book. I recommend it to readers of all ages.

ISBN: 3822812153

ListPrice: $39.99

Edition: illustrate, 03, 04

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ISBN: 0500976333

ListPrice: $22.50

Edition: 01

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ISBN: 0268006733

ListPrice: $7.00

Edition: revised

Dimensions: 0.50 by 4.25 by 7 in.

Summary: I was required to read Body and Mind for my undergraduate cognitive science class. This book presents a very good, but sometimes dated, introduction to the classical mind-body problem of philosophy. It outlines the paradox of mind-body reasoning and goes over most of the potential solutions. His conclusion at the end is probably a bit presumptuous and unreasonable (he favors epiphenomenalism), but his critical discussion of the various theories is very good. I would very highly recommend this book for an introduction to the mind-body problem.

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ISBN: B0006AUQXU

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ISBN: 0801669030

ListPrice: $118.05

Edition: 2nd, 02

Dimensions: 1.50 by 8.75 by 11.25 in.

Summary: As a medical student, sometimes the details of what I need to know are missing from this sort of broad-scope survey text. However, for most of what I need now, and all I ever needed as an undergradute student, this text rocks. It's unfortunate that it is no longer in print -- I have not found a hardcover book that I like better as a physiology reference. It boils complex concepts down to understandable ideas, which is fantastic as a brand-new introduction to the material or as a quick refresh once you've mastered the material. Compare this to the newer texts out there -- for the minimal amount of "outdated" material and the wealth of clear diagrams and well-explained principles, it's still a marvelous book.

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Edition: 1996 Fall

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ISBN: 0226816257

ListPrice: $9.95

Edition: 5th

Dimensions: 0.50 by 5.50 by 8.50 in.

Summary: This is one of my favorite books. Okay, yes, I admit it, I'm a nerd. But I'm a nerd that did very well on all of my college papers because I knew the proper tabulation of a footnote.It is essentially an abridged version of the Chicago Manual of Style, for prose writing. Most of the CMS is pretty useless for what most people deal with, and I personally think it's hard to find anything in. Turabian, on the other hand, is a concise little paperback that offers information that no online service can compete with.If you're going to buy one reference book for college, this should be it. Forget the dictionary, forget the thesaurus: they come with Microsoft and you can find perfectly good ones online. Turabian is all you'll need in life. Call it "Turabian" too, as in "I was looking through my Turabian last night, and it says to use the Oxford comma" and you'll instantly impress all of your professors, graduate with honors, and be accepted to the med school of your choice.

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ISBN: 0815316194

ListPrice: $88.95

Edition: 3rd, 02

Dimensions: 2 by 8.75 by 11.25 in.

Summary: Most people, when commenting about this book, tend to compare it to Lodish's Molecular Cell Biology. I own both, and I must say that they are quite similar in their content but different in the way of explaining concepts. Although Lodish's book is a little more up-to-date, it's just a matter of time until a new edition of MBoC is published. In fact, a great number of concepts are clearer in Molecular Biology of the Cell... and vice-versa. About the book, it is the authoritative text of molecular biology for beginners and a reference guide to all fields of cell biology. The chapters concerning the structure of the cell and of the organelles are amazing and include in-depth explanations. It also comprehends the best revision chapters on macromolecules compared to Lodish's. The team of authors was accurate to compose one of the best books in molecular biology for students of all biological and biomedical sciences.

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Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"

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ISBN: 0201093553

ListPrice: $59.13

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 0.75 by 6.50 by 9.50 in.

Summary: This book was the required textbook for my undergraduate Aritificial Intelligence course. I felt at the time (and still do) that it was quite dense and that it is more appropriate for the graduate level. The author knows his stuff, and co-founded a still successfull company whose products are based on neural nets. I just can't find a better word then dense to describe it.

ISBN: 0262510480

ListPrice: $39.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 1.75 by 8.75 by 11 in.

Summary: Neurocomputing is a collection of reprints of classic papers in neural networks. This volume provides a great background for reading recent literature. It's extremely convenient to have them collected like this, each with an introduction to put the paper in context. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Best physics book I've read yet. (College Freshmen/Sophomore level). The questions at the end of the chapters are fantastic the examples are relevant and easy to understand. THEY MUST REPRINT THIS BOOK!!!!!

ISBN: 0205081363

ListPrice: $47.67

Edition: bk&kit

Dimensions: 1.50 by 6.75 by 9.50 in.

Summary: I would recommend this kit to anyone who is taking organic chemistry. I found it very useful in learning organic chemistry mechanisms and structures. The high price is reflected in the high quality of the product!In other reviews there were a couple of complaints about the kit not being realistic. However, the bond stiffness and design are surprisingly realistic (molecules aren't all that flimsy). The kit is perfect for create virtually any small organic molecule. It is excellent for seeing the difference between a chair and boat conformation, provided that it is put together appropriately. (My organic book and the directions were useful in arriving at the right conformation when I had problems.) The kit may just take a little bit of time to get used to, but it definitely is worth the work and time to see molecules in 3-D!

ISBN: 0071379460

ListPrice: $39.95

Edition: 5th, 02

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: The concept of this book is good-cut to the chase and give lots of relevent examples. However, the book has innumerable typos which can make it very dificult to follow the text. Some sections are just incomprehensible such as the section on power calculations for the chi square test. Most of the exercises at the end of the chapter are heavy on arithmetic and light on conceptual issues. Often the answers to the exercises are wrong. All these typos are really unacceptable for a fifth edition. I am at Amazon looking for another text to keep as a reference. By way of disclaimer, I am taking the author's course on introductory biostatistics and am doing average.

ISBN: 0673521710

Edition: 3rd

Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"

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ISBN: 038071115X

ListPrice: $12.50

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.50 by 8.25 in.

Summary: If they gave out awards for books, this one would have tons of them... (oops, it already does). But really, it is a masterpiece. I, as a computer engineer myself have read this book at least six times. It is a great book because it is so easy to follow and it shows you the inside perspective of a bygone era. Even those of the world who have little to no experience with computers can read this book without worrying about getting lost. It is a real look inside of the way computers were born.

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Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"

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ISBN: 0130257508

ListPrice: $38.55

Edition: Concise ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

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ISBN: 0813527260

ListPrice: $25.00

Dimensions: 27 cm

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ISBN: 067398561X

ListPrice: $103.00

Edition: A brief ed.

Dimensions: 26 cm

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ISBN: 0312100752

ListPrice: $20.60

Dimensions: 25 cm

Summary: This book is a great overview of all things Shakespeare. It intorduces the man himself, the language of the works, the culture of the Elizabethans and the theatre, sosurces, and basic scholarly criticism and ideas. A wonderful foundational text with primary documents which greatly enhance the reading and give the subject a new life.

ISBN: 0072456795

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ISBN: 0030475821

ListPrice: $97.95

Edition: 3rd, 02

Dimensions: 1 by 8 by 9.75 in.

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ISBN: 0226439631

ListPrice: $50.00

Edition: 2nd, 02

Dimensions: 1.75 by 7.50 by 10.50 in.

Summary: about geology, anthropology and paleantology. This book gives minutely detailed information about everything from history to bones. It should really be used as a reference. There is probably no better book on the subject, it was recommended to me by an anthropologist

ISBN: 0536024065

ListPrice: $52.00

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ISBN: 0395290317

ListPrice: $80.36

Edition: 3rd, 02

Dimensions: 2.25 by 8.75 by 10.50 in.

Summary: The Riverside Chaucer has managed to do the impossible- preserve the pristine vigor of the original texts, while providing informative glosses for those readers unfamiliar with Middle English. I have read several editions of Chaucer's various works, both in the original dialect, and in translation, and this is by far the best text available for both the casual reader who wishes to appreciate the vitality of the author's repertoire, and the serious student of literature.

ISBN: 0393970833

ListPrice: $113.60

Edition: 3rd, 02

Dimensions: 1.50 by 7.25 by 10.50 in.

Summary: This book is a rare gem. You can find piles of books with Statistics symbols/equations and hard-core problems, but how many of them really teach you the meaning of what you're doing?Statistics is a kind of data-compression - you start off with with a bag of data and you extract certain "features" such as averages, standard deviations etc... ...this allows you to say general things about the entire dataset (avg/SD, etc.) or claim associations between multiple datasets with varying degrees of confidence (correlations) or even predict the value of one variable if you know the other (regressions).The dangerous thing is, if you are not careful about how you "compress" this data or about what you do or don't do with the dataset (like dealing with outliers), your conclusions may be ENTIRELY INVALID! By using specific examples, this book teaches you to look at what are you doing before you do the analysis and then how to look at your results after you do your compression (running statistical studies).I was reluctant to buy this book at the bookstore at first, but after having read the entire text, I believe this investment was money well spent. If you don't believe me, check it out in a bookstore before you buy the book.Good luck!

ISBN: 1891304933

ListPrice: $55.00

Summary: The fact that I seem to be statistically challenged may be the cause of a clouded review; however, I feel that this book leaves out a great deal of information pertinent to finding your way from point A to B. The layout also leaves much to be desired. Examples frequently correspond to other examples in previous pages so that you are constantly flipping pages and trying to sort out what's what. I am now halfway through this book (and still clueless) and between all members of my class, we have found multiple typo errors. The errors are not just simple misspellings- most of them have been major errors in formulas. I had hoped to learn and understand much more of what's in the book- granted part of that is the instructor's responsibility, but the book truly seems lacking.

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Edition: 7th

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ISBN: 0520076877

ListPrice: $19.95

Dimensions: p. cm

Summary: Green writes like a pompous ass. He throws in whatever tropes will push the academic buttons but he totally misses Apollonius. A truly excellent translation has yet to be written.

ISBN: 0395904315

ListPrice: $117.96

Edition: 6th ed.

Dimensions: 27 cm

Summary: History is one of my favorite subjects, and I have read quite a few textbooks in the area, and I have never found one with the perfect combination of being readable yet comprehensive.I must admit, I found the chapters covering 1200-1800 to be much more interesting than the last few chapters, but even the last chapters had all the characters and events that you need to know.One point that recommends this book is that it acknowledges point of view, something very important on the APEH exam or in any history analysis. Most textbooks force you to extrapolate their point of view and shift your interpretation. I found that McKay and his co-authors present a very neutral account of history, rarely passing judgment on history's actors.The organization worked for me also. It is loosely chronological, but bends for continuity. It adequately covers almost all areas, from the Renaissance to the Thirty Years' War to the Industrial Revolution. Something about the style of writing and the organization helped my memory retention magnificently.I took Euro sophomore year, US junior year, and as a senior I remember about twice as many things from Euro as I remember from US. I largely owe that to this book.Remember to give yourself enough time to read the chapters, which are long and moderately dense. They take a few hours to read them really well, and you wouldn't want to read any of this book too fast or without your full attention.Anyway, buy it, read it, enjoy it! = deeper understanding of Euro History and a 5 on the AP test.

ISBN: 0140275363

ListPrice: $15.95

Edition: reissue, 03, 04

Dimensions: 2 by 6 by 8.50 in.

Summary: Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words, and the translation exhibits a fairly regular rhythmic beat. But Homer's Greek was chanted, and the set passages were like refrains in which listeners could, if they chose, join in as a chorus. In English, the repetitions sometimes become tedious, especially when the same speech is given three times in two pages, as in the relay of Zeus's orders in Book II. Especially noteworthy is Bernard Knox's long and fascinating Introduction, a masterpiece of literary criticism and scholarship which conveys Homer's grim attitude toward war, the interplay of divine and human will, and the ancient concepts of honor, courage, and virility in the face of the stark finality of death. Knox also includes a succinct explanation of the quantitative, rather than accentual, basis of Greek (and Latin) verse. For easy readability, Fagles's translation is without rival. For elegance and poetry, however, I recommend Richmond Lattimore's older but still gripping and fluent translation.

ISBN: 0451456521

ListPrice: $15.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 1 by 6.25 by 9 in.

Summary: Having recently read this amazing book, I wish to share my thoughts with those who have not yet been lucky enough to read it.
There are few authours in the same class as MZB, and this book was well worth its pricetag.
The book begins by contuning the story of Callean, priestess of the "Forest House".
Bradley does well to weave this book in to her cloth of Avalon tales, and it fits snugly into place between the "Forest House" and "The Mists of Avalon". This book comes highly recommended to any fan of her work, and is a fantastic means of escapism.
The characters are deeply rooted in Celtic and Roman beliefs and come to life before your eyes on the pages of magically worded text.
This trilogy of books is sure to be regarded as some of the best writing of this gendre.

ISBN: 039395871X

ListPrice: $61.10

Edition: 5th ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: The Norton anthology is the definitive collection of American literature. Its selections range from the letters of Christopher Columbus to quintessential American works like Whitman's "Song of Myself" and inherently American movements such as beat poetry. The collection offers a wide spread selection of works, some of which fall outside of your typical definition of "literature." All, however, have been important parts of our artistic tradition and provide literary examples of the coming of age of America. Literature has truly helped to define the American identity. This book is a history lesson, a journey through some of the most beautiful poetry and prose ever written and a testament to the kind of intelligent, passionate people that have formed our country.

ISBN: 0140268863

ListPrice: $14.95

Dimensions: 1.50 by 5.75 by 8.25 in.

Summary: Ever since I started learning Koine Greek I keep having the thought that I must at some point pick up Classical Greek in order to read Homer in the original. Thoreau said that all men must read Homer in the original. Maybe he is right. I don't know.If Homer is half the poet that Robert Fagles's translation makes him out to be--it will be well worth the effort. In his book "How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry," Edward Hirsch says that poems are like messages in bottles that make their way unseen across oceans of time and culture to unforeseen readers. When I uncorked this bottle I was blown away by the song it sang. Fagles has impeccable descriptive power, which he blends with stunning imagery and timing. I recommend this book highly...come, be swept along on the heroic tides of this wine-dark sea. Experience the Odyssey the way it was meant to be.

ISBN: 0684857960

ListPrice: $17.00

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: It's difficult to review a book with fifthy authors and their short stories. But I can tell you this: I read a lot of anthologies and usualy only a few stories are really good. In this Scribner Anthology however every single story is outstanding and to me that's extraordinary.Let me give you the list of the authors and their stories:Alexie, Sherman: This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona.Atwood, Margaret: Death by Landscape.Bambara, Toni Cade: Raymond's Run.Banks, Russell: Sarah Cole:A Type of Love Story.Barth, John: Click.Barthelme, Donald: The School.Bass, Rick: Wild Horses.Bausch, Richard: The Man Who Knew Belle Starr.Baxter, Charles: Gryphon.Bell, Madison Smartt: Customs of the Country.Bloom, Amy: Silver Water.Braverman, Kate: Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta.Butler, Robert Olen: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.Canin, Ethan: The Year of Getting to Know Us.Carver, Raymond: Errand.Cisneros, Sandra: Woman Hollering Creek.Cunningham, Michael: White Angel.Diaz, Junot: Fiesta 1980.Dybek, Stuart: Pet Milk.Earley,Tony: The Prophet from Jupiter.Erdrich, Louise: Saint Marie.Ford, Richard: Rock Springs.Gates, David: The Mail Lady.Gautreaux, Tim: Same Place, Same Things.Hansen, Ron: Nebraska.Hempel, Amy: In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried.Johnson, Denis: Emergency.Jones, Edward P.: Marie.Jones, Thom: Cold Snap.Kaplan, David Michael: Doe Season.Kauffman, Janet: Patriotic.Kincaid, Jamaica: Girl.Leavitt, David: Territory.McKnight, Reginald: The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas.Moore, Lorrie: You're Ugly, Too.Mukherjee, Bharati: The Management of Grief.Munro, Alice: Meneseteung.Oates, Joyce Carol: Ghost Girls.O'Brien, Tim: The Things They Carried.Ozick, Cynthia: The Shawl.Proulx, Annie: Brokeback Mountain.Richard, Mark: Strays.Smith, Lee: Intensive Care.Sontag, Susan: The Way We Live Now.Tan Amy: Two Kinds.Thon, Melanie Rae: First, Body.Vaughn, Stephanie: Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog.Walker, Alice: Nineteen Fifty-Five.Wideman, John Edgar: Fever.Williams, Joy: Taking Care.

ISBN: 015508089X

ListPrice: $25.95

Edition: 2nd, 02

Dimensions: 0.25 by 6.50 by 9.25 in.

Summary: Chavez provides a clear unbiased look at the harsh and often dangerous life of undocumented immigrants mainly in Southern California. Chavez engages the reader through accurate portrayals of people who remain on the fringes of American society for fear of deportation. Their stories are moving; their tenacity amazing. North American readers will be reminded of just how protected and sheltered they are by the virture of living in America. A must read for anyone trying to understand the complexities of illegal immigration or in the postion to make policy on the topic.

ISBN: 0070380694

ListPrice: $88.05

Edition: 7th ed.

Dimensions: 26 cm

Summary: They sell this book at a cheaper price at our colleg

ISBN: 0312171587

ListPrice: $56.10

Edition: 5th, 02

Dimensions: 1.75 by 6.25 by 9.50 in.

Summary: This is such a great book -- one of the most valuable on my shelves. Amy Charters has made wonderful choices here -- she's managed to create an anthology that simultaneously does justice to the classics while remaining hip and accessible. For those who like background information, there's a handy appendix filled with writers either talking about their own work or commenting on a selection in the book. For those who have not "taken" to short stories, I suggest you consider The Story and its Writer. For teachers, this is simply a great resource -- I use it all the time.

ISBN: 0312134126

Edition: 2nd ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: As an English teacher, I have searched for the definitive argumentation text for my Advanced Placement English classes. I have found it! The Structure of Argument is a book that works not only for students but also for anyone who is interested in understanding critical and anlytical thinking. The arrangement of the book makes a sometimes difficult topic easy to grasp. The author explains the terminology and follows with specific and interesting examples. Even my junior students are interested in the reading selections. There are no groans and yawns. They are wide-eyed and ready to discuss and write. This text has brought argument to the forefront and helped me help my students understand the nature of Real Thinking. For advanced students, the example research styles, both MLA and APA, are helpful and provide the step-by-step process. For my personal reading, I found this slection to be as important and interesting as a classic novel. Strange to say, but it is a "page turner." I am totally sold on this book. For anyone interested in understanding clear thinking, this book provides the way through the fog of fallacies.

ISBN: 0070380724

ListPrice: $28.05

Summary:

ISBN: 0030120195

ListPrice: $23.95

Summary:

ISBN: 0070648441

ListPrice: $52.18

Edition: 2nd, 02

Dimensions: 0.75 by 6.50 by 9.50 in.

Summary:

ISBN: 0679783334

ListPrice: $7.95

Edition: 2000 Modern Library pbk. ed.

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: This book is certainly not for the illiterate dime novel crowd. It is a story of one woman's struggle to find herself within the narrow confines of Victorian society. The situations and characters are well developed and some literacy in French is helpful but not required. If you read a bit about Kate Chopin the main character seems to be fairly autobiographical at least where rebellion from female conformity was concerned. The book is not a new idea, a person finding their wings and learning to fly. But the idea of a female doing this in Victorian society was brand new. The book was considered obscene and subversive at the time and that alone makes it worth reading.

ISBN: 0312062354

ListPrice: $12.10

Dimensions: 22 cm

Summary: This book has a lot of literary elements in it which in some cases can be identified very easily when being discussed in class. This book is a much easier book to read and understand because the text and the wording is easy, but not too easy. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about romance and how men see women duting that period of time.

ISBN: 0300059256

ListPrice: $20.00

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 1 by 6 by 9.25 in.

Summary: This is an excellent read, combining many aspects of 18th Century British society. Colley advances the view that the English aristocracy incorporated fellow Protestant from Scotland, Wales and to some extent Ireland in the aftermath of the loss of the American War. This re-invention, combined with the expansion of the mercantile class spurred the re-emergence of an renewed Empire. As the Century turned this Empire viewed itself as morally correct by abolishing slavery, reforming Parliamentary electoral politics and eventually re-incorporating Catholics into the political class. Along the way she gives convincing descriptions of the waning of Protestantism as a political force, the emergence of the Hanoverian dynasty and its(successful) efforts to achieve mass popularity in Britain, the status of women in society among other things. All this is achieved with an accessible style.I think the books great strengths are its description of the aristocracy, and the early Hanoverian kings (George I,II and III), it goes into great depth about Protestantism and the growth of trade. I believe the weaknesses of the book are in its dealings with the post 1800 years - the reign of George IV and William are glanced over, and sometimes contradictorily. The Regency period is described as a period in which public morality became a concern of the ascendancy classes, however, George IV's behaviour would seem to contradict this.Overall an exceptional read, a tremendous summary of the times, very thought provoking and well worth the time spent.

ISBN: 0486281965

ListPrice: $2.00

Dimensions: 0.25 by 5.25 by 8.25 in.

Summary: A collection of quiet "sketches," this volume is a reminder of the fine writing produced by some of the earliest American realists. Critics have recently revised their first opinions of the book as a "small success" and now consider it a classic of American literature. The stories revolve around a young writer who goes to the coastal town of Dunnet Landing, Maine. In the company of Mrs. Todd, a venerable and locally revered herbalist who gives her lodging, the writer comes to know and write about the people of the area. The result is a fascinating look into personalities shaped and distilled by life on that severe coast into persons of rare character. This edition also contains eight of Jewett's best short stories, including "A White Heron" and "The Queen's Twin."

No plot devices or car chases here--this is a book to read on a rainy afternoon when nostalgia and melancholy threaten to overwhelm. It's comfort food like grandma used to make--reassuring, soul-fortifying, and full of the capacity to cheer. It's also addictive--once you take a bite out of Pointed Firs, you can't stop.

Similar author: Mary Wilkins Freeman

ISBN: 007238932X

ListPrice: $59.06

Edition: 6th pkg

Dimensions: 0.75 by 8.25 by 10 in.

Summary: this is a wonderful textbook! it was completely revised and actually redesigned for the 6th edition. it includes an online learning center available to all owners of the book, and includes a "how to watch films and write an effective essay" guide. this is not to mention the hundreds of b+w and full color photos, and the clear easy to understand text. film art is fully indexed with a bibliography and glossary. it even features an internet resources section with selected reference sites from the web. i suggest the other reviewer get a cinemagraphic education, and review this again. their ignorance shows!

ISBN: 0292701853

ListPrice: $29.95

Summary:

ISBN: 0072388242

ListPrice: $7.81

Edition: 6th

Dimensions: 0.25 by 6 by 8.75 in.

Summary:

ISBN: 0851707173

ListPrice: $22.50

Summary: One man's opinions blown up to textbook proportions is what this book is centered on. Altman assumes an ignorant reader in his spotty descriptions of genre and its development and subsequently deluges the reader with bizarre references and highly conservative opinions presented as well-understood fact. Genre history is touched upon but never developed, and chapter divisions are somewhat random. What Altman chooses to develop is never fully realized and his reasoning is less than understood.

ISBN: 0590325450

ListPrice: $1.95

Summary:

ISBN: 0393316777

ListPrice: $15.95

Edition: 1st American ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary: Kenneth Branagh's first try at directing was magic. Not only did he bring his visual thoughts to the screen, but he also brought his acting talents. The few who got the chance to see this young man on stage knew the talent was there. For the millions who had not even heard the name Kenneth Branagh, Henry V was our first meeting with this brilliant man. Watching Kenneth bring King Henry to life again was magical. Through this movie, you cry, laugh, and are hopefully deeply moved by the threat of war between England and France, the wit of Falstaff and Henry himself, the moving speeches Henry gives the day and the night before the battle, and beautiful wooing scene between Henry and Princess Katherine. Being one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, and having one the greatest actors of our time play the leading role, makes Henry V a masterpiece that will be enjoyed by millions for many years to come. END

ISBN: 0132064839

ListPrice: $59.00

Edition: 4th ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary:

ISBN: 0075536234

ListPrice: $44.50

Dimensions: 0.50 by 7.50 by 9.50 in.

Summary: A well written book which explores Hollywood genres with easy to read examples of classic Hollywood movies, and their effect on the movie-going public of the day. Comprehensive and absorbing.

ISBN: 0486220125

ListPrice: $14.95

Dimensions: p. illus. 20 x 26 cm

Summary: For all intents and purposes, Jacob Riis' HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES is the birth of photojournalism. And this new genre, like the first movies and radio programs, fascinated its audience. Riis' sharp essays are matched only by his sharp eye for photography. I don't know which made more of an impact on me: the text or the pictures of unspeakable misery. But I think it's a safe bet to say that Riis' contemporaries were fixated more on the photographs. (After all, Riis turned to photography AFTER his published essays seemed to have little effect.) In any event, the result, then as now, is a provocative, compassionate, and angry work that exposed to the middle and upper classes of his time the effects of their indifference, at best, or the effects of their roles as slumlords and sweatshop owners, at worst.The only jarring aspect of the book is Riis' use of ethnic stereotyping. He makes several not-nice remarks about Jews, Chinamen, Italians, etc. However, we must not impose our early 21st Century values on a late 19th Century man. These types of remarks were commonplace back in the pre-politically correct times. In any event, Riis' overall intention was to help these people get out of their horrid conditions and not to slur their heritages.One last note, Luc Sante's introduction is brilliant and serves the book very well.Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points Concluded, a Novel

ISBN: 0345370775

ListPrice: $7.99

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 1 by 4.25 by 7.25 in.

Summary: Unless your species evolved sometime after 1993 when Jurassic Park hit theaters, you're no doubt familiar with this dinosaur-bites-man disaster tale set on an island theme park gone terribly wrong. But if Speilberg's amped-up CGI creation left you longing for more scientific background and ... well, character development, check out the original Michael Crichton novel. Although not his best book (get ahold of sci-fi classic The Andromeda Strain for that), Jurassic Park fills out the film version's kinetic story line with additional scenes, dialogue, and explanations while still maintaining Crichton's trademark thrills-'n'-chills pacing. As ever, the book really is better than the movie. --Paul Hughes

ISBN: 0072878762

ListPrice: $95.63

Edition: 9th pkg, 02

Dimensions: 1.25 by 8.75 by 10.50 in.

Summary: This book describes the very essence of life in a definite and distinctive way. There are no underlying factors or confusing verbage. The reader can simply investigate a topic of interest while receiving the information in its complete totality.The format of this book is simply wonderful. Santrock does an excellent job in allowing the reader to not only expand upon early life-span development . . . But he also introduces the reader to the various theories that helped shaped life-span development. In this book you learn of Vygotsky, Erickson, and Piaget and many, many others.I personally found this book to be of great help during my graduate studies. It provided me with practically everything that I needed on the subject of "development" and was a #1 source of reference in all practicums and papers. I am exceedingly happy that this book has renewed another edition and look forward to adding this updated version to my already sprawling collection.

ISBN: 0618001018

ListPrice: $45.56

Edition: 8th ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary:

ISBN: 0809323095

ListPrice: $23.50

Summary: OK, this book has generated about as much hubbub as a poetry anthology is likely to generate. Everyone wants their say about who the next generation of poets is . . . and everyone will have a gripe with at least a couple of the people included here. Fact is, though, this is a very carefully put together selection of solid -- sometimes terrific -- poems by many of the most talented poets writing today. It's discerningly edited with a good ear for both the sense and the music of the poems.Of course, if you want a truly democratic anthology, you'll have to go elsewhere. But why the hell should an anthology be democratic? Good anthologies have editors who enforce their own aesthetic values and tastes on the book--who select poems THEY like. In a way, good anthologies are anti-democratic. They go for range, of course, but ultimately have one person in making the decisions. Bad anthologies are often democratic, though. It takes no skill, after all, to include everyone . . . to merely survey the field.I recommend this effort wholeheartedly. It'll inspire you or make you mad -- but there's a mind at work putting it together and lots of talent in the poems.

ISBN: 0393977943

ListPrice: $66.75

Edition: 6th, 02

Dimensions: 4 by 6 by 9 in.

Summary: The Norton anthology is the definitive collection of American literature. Its selections range from the letters of Christopher Columbus to quintessential American works like Whitman's "Song of Myself" and inherently American movements such as beat poetry. The collection offers a wide spread selection of works, some of which fall outside of your typical definition of "literature." All, however, have been important parts of our artistic tradition and provide literary examples of the coming of age of America. Literature has truly helped to define the American identity. This book is a history lesson, a journey through some of the most beautiful poetry and prose ever written and a testament to the kind of intelligent, passionate people that have formed our country.

ISBN: 0393034267

ListPrice: $29.95

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 1.75 by 6 by 9.25 in.

Summary: This anthology stands head and shoulders above the competition, such as the Portable Greek and Roman readers for a number of reasons, not the least of which are the fresh, modern translations of these very well-chosen ancient works. Others include its size (ca. 850 large pages) and high quality as a book, and, of course, its contents, which range from Homer to Augustine.About 2/3 of the volume is devoted to Greek literature, with about 200 pages of that being Homer and Hesiod. Early poets are well represented from Sappho to the obscure. A complete translation of "Antigone" is included, as well as a generous sampling of other plays by Aechylus, Euripides, etc. Herodotus, Thucidides, Plato, Aristotle and many little known Hellenistic items appear. From Rome, Vergil, Lucretius, Marcus Aurelius, and various poetic and theatrical works. The book does leave you wanting more. Fortunately, after reading this, you will have a much better idea about what you want more of!

ISBN: 0669246026

ListPrice: $53.16

Edition: 2nd ed.

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary:

ISBN: 0669246018

ListPrice: $50.76

Summary: This volume, and volume II, make an excellent compainion piece for a servey look at British history. The chapters are arrainged to give a good over view of comtemporary ideas and issues and the excerps of documents are an excellent choise. I have used both volumes in survey courses of British history in college. One extra benefit is a chapter dedicated to the Irish question giving a wide variety of views. Many of the picks Prof. Arnstein has made are excellent choices as they are definatly not mainstream documents, yet are historicaly well known or give interesting views that are often overlooked.

ISBN: 067483318X

ListPrice: $24.50

Summary:

ISBN: 0814329187

ListPrice: $25.95

Dimensions: 24 cm

Summary:

ISBN: 0553298186

ListPrice: $5.99

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 0.75 by 4.25 by 7 in.

Summary: Wilson Rawls (author of WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS)has done it again, in this delightful tale of a poor family from rural Oklahoma in the early 1900's. Fourteen-year-old Jay Berry Lee lives through incredible events and a rollercoaster of emotions as he comes of age, during one unforgettable summer near the river bottoms in former Cherokee territory. Much more than a kid-and-his-dog story, this book will make you chuckle and groan with frustration, as Jay and his smart-as-a-coot Grandpa wrack their brains to catch some 30 monkeys which have escaped the circus after a train wreck. Lured on by the generous reward offer, Jay becomes obsessed with trapping the little fellows--in order to achieve a country boy's dream of his own pony and .22 gun. But those simian rascals prove too human-savvy to be caught; time and again they outsmart the best laid plans--all because they are protected by a fiendishly clever chimpanzee. Then there is Jay's twin sister, Daisy--crippled since birth. Nevertheless she is always cheerful, has a way with animals, tells great stories and teases him mercilessly. Woe to all who fall under her nurturing care, as she dons her Red Cross "uniform" and goes into high nursing mode! Hey, is there really an Old Man of the Mountains, who can cause good or bad luck to a family? This is a warm and fascinating read about setting goals, not giving up easily and the value of family relationships. For kids of all ages, especially if you believe in Fairy Rings...

ISBN: 0618001026

ListPrice: $45.56

Edition: 8th

Dimensions: 0.75 by 6.50 by 9 in.

Summary: What can I say? I wasn't impressed by this so-called "textbook." It doesn't seem matter-of-fact enough to be an actual textbook, yet isn't interesting enough to be considered a decent historical work. There is surprisingly little detail about the events here depicted.I had to use this book for a class, but I found that I got about ten times more out of my instructor's lectures than this text. There really is very little to boast about here--it's basically just a mundane, watered-down history of England.I hate to say it, but I was disappointed. I haven't studied much of English history, but even my limited knowledge was enough to know that this book is but a scratch on the surface. If you have to have this for a class, there's not much you can do, but if you're looking for a good history of England, keep looking.

ISBN: 0140390464

ListPrice: $5.95

Dimensions: 18 cm

Summary: Mark Twain's classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, tells the story of a teenaged misfit who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet adventure, danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often hilarious. Though some of the situations in Huckleberry Finn are funny in themselves (the cockeyed Shakespeare production in Chapter 21 leaps instantly to mind), this book's humor is found mostly in Huck's unique worldview and his way of expressing himself. Describing his brief sojourn with the Widow Douglas after she adopts him, Huck says: "After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people." Underlying Twain's good humor is a dark subcurrent of Antebellum cruelty and injustice that makes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn a frequently funny book with a serious message.

ISBN: 0226307786

ListPrice: $10.00

Dimensions: 0.25 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: Aeschylus I (the Oresteia) probably best epitomized Greek tragedy. This compelling trilogy told the stories of endless cycles of violence in the House of Atreus that stretched across generations and only ended when peace and harmony took its place.In "Agamemnon", the king had just returned from Troy when he is murdered in his bath by his wife and lover. Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes, sought revenge for his father, whom his brother, Atreus, killed two of his sons and fed him to Thyestes. Aegisthus, the surviving son returned to Argos to marry the queen after Agamenon left for Troy. This would make Aegisthus the ruler of Argos. Clytemnestra agreed to this because she hated her husband for sacrificing their oldest daughter, Iphegenia, to appease Artemis. After Agamenon's death Orestes, only a child at the time, received a decree from the oracle to kill his mother to take revenge on behalf of his father. This is the theme of the "Libation Bearers." But when Orestes kills his mother it unleashes the Furies, primordial goddesses, who avenge Clytemnestra.In the third play, "The Eumenides" Orestes is put on trial by Athene and is acquitted of the murder of his mother but the Furies are not satisfied. Only a peace-making offer from the goddess to the Furies ended the endless avenging approaches to justice.The Oresteia centered on the concept of justice. How should a wrong be punished? What Aeschylus pointed out in his plays was that there were always two sides to every story. But it seemed man's fate to only see one side. Neither Orestes nor his sister, Electra, could see the anguish their mother experienced. They could not understand how she could slay their father because they saw no justification for such a brutal act. It was the same argument the Furies made to Athene when they concluded that the slaying of a mother by her son could not be justified. Yet, each time justice was meted out a new need for justice was its outgrowth. We are faced today with issues much the same as the characters in Aeschylus' plays faced. Is an "eye for an eye" really a valid form of justice. In our own look at terrorism today could Greek tragedy point the way out of the endless cycles of violence?

ISBN: 0300084935

ListPrice: $15.95

Edition: Updated ed.

Dimensions: 20 cm

Summary: Thomas Martin has provided the general reader with an excellent historical survey of ancient Greece, which emphasizes not only the political history, but also the cultural and social developments through the ages.The purpose of this work is to give the reader a brief overview, and then to allow him/her to choose what topics to study in more detail. In this regard, "Ancient Greece" does a brilliant job. In this situation, having a good bibliography is critical, and "Ancient Greece" does not fail. In my opinion, the annotated biliography at the end of the book is quite extensive and was designed for the general reader in mind. Thus, given this excellent feature of the book, the author effectively designed this book for a general audience. Additionally, I thought that the timelines and maps that were provided in the book were outstanding aids in helping to learn the material in the text. Hooray for Thomas Martin!

ISBN: 0380002450

ListPrice: $4.50

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 0.50 by 4.25 by 7 in.

Summary: The novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, takes place in Grand Isle, Louisiana and portrays the Creole culture in vivid detail. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is a strong and beautiful character who believes that she is equal to a man and does not have to go around taking orders from her husband, which was almost unheard of at that point in time. The thought that a woman would ever think of such a thing was considered morally wrong which gives this charater the excitment that would have been greatly missed if she had been left out. The main antagonists are Edna's husband, Leonce Pontellier and a friend who visits the Grand Isle in summers, Robert Lebrun. The struggle over Edna and her feelings are between these two charaters. Either Leonce is treating his wife with great disrespect or Robeart is messing with Edna's feelings, which causes conflict betweeen Enda and her husband. Kate Chopin uses a lot of foreshadowing, using an array of things, from the weather to the background to the tone of voice used. Chopin gives hints throughout the book to what could be approaching in the future. This novel is not a book that you can sit down and read for just a few minutes at a time. It is a book that to be able to get into, you have to relax and take your time and spend good amounts of time on reading. If you do it any other way your won't enjot it as much.If you enjoy reading about women activisits you will enjoy reading The Awakening because within the story that is what it is really about, a women who is trying to live her own, independent life through an environment which is made up of men and their thoughts which, at that time in history, made up the bulk and greatly overruled women.

ISBN: 0393317641

ListPrice: $10.95

Dimensions: 0.50 by 5.50 by 8 in.

Summary: Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major novel, The Blithedale Romance (1852), is a faster moving and more colorful novel than his second, 1851's bloodless The House Of The Seven Gables, but, sadly, that it the best that can be said for it. Like a vaguely - conceived puzzle with several essential pieces missing, the book ambles uncertainly along, thematically a little bit about everything but finally about nothing in particular. As with all Hawthorne's novels and many of his shorter works, there is a barely a paragraph or chapter that is not triply overwritten, and obfuscation, rather than clarity, is the order of the day throughout. Depth of any kind is not one of the novel's strengths, and stilted language ("Lip of man will never touch my hand again") abounds. Hawthorne's cast - introverted, voyeuristic narrator Miles Coverdale, apparent utopist visionary Hollingsworth, wealthy feminist crusader Zenobia, and guileless ingenue Priscilla - are more like glittering but partially - carved mannequins than substantial characters capable of sustaining a novel. The Blithedale Romance has historically been promoted as a novel about an experimental socialist utopia, but as Brenda Wineapple outlined in the excellent Hawthorne: A Life (2003), Hawthorne himself was unsure of what the genuine focus of the book was. Earlier titles considered were "Hollingsworth," "Hollingsworth: A Romance," "Miles Coverdale's Three Friends," "Zenobia," and simply "Priscilla." For lack of anything better, "The Blithedale Romance" was chosen; upon publication, the novel was praised by Washington Irving and Herman Melville, but panned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who thought it "unworthy of Hawthorne's talent." Reviews were generally negative, and James T. Fields, Hawthorne's publisher, said, "let us hope there will be no more Blithedales." A socialist experiment in creating a utopia - Blithedale - does figure in the background, and acts as the novel's primary setting, but, except for some very occasional blather, the complex concerns of bringing a functional, working utopia into existence are entirely ignored and have nothing to do with the real impetus of the novel. For most of the book, only the primary characters seem to be claustrophobically present at Blithedale. Caught up in an incestuous tangle, the four are enclosed and cut off from the rest of humanity by the potentially shattering world of nature that lies inherent in the farm itself. Nothing emphasizes this more than the existence of Coverdale's own hidden tree-top bower and surrogate womb, where he finds escape and solace from the explosive emotional realities bubbling under the brittle social surface; a late pagan masquerade, straight out of 'The May - Pole Of Merry Mount' solidifies Blithedale as a liminal space where anything might happen, including free love in all its hetero-, homo-, and bisexual aspects. But caught up instead in a sudsy melodrama of vaunted idealism, unconscious egotism, shrewdly - enacted treachery, and unrequited love, the characters shuffle through a hazy, uneven plot that is little more than an undisguised 19th century soap opera. The Blithedale Romance is also a shaky indictment of Protestant hypocrisy, as its characters are uncomfortably snared between dueling impulses of wishful altruism and a wolfish desire for the absolute triumph of individual will. As presented, the noble society of man is a fragile sham, a frail plywood structure eternally dissolving at the edges, visibly or otherwise. Neurotic temptress Zenobia (a character primarily based on Hawthorne's friend Margaret Fuller) is the only partially successful character, though her ridiculous, syrupy, and embarrassingly off - center platitudes about struggling womanhood ("in the battlefield of life, the downright stroke, that would fall only on a man's steel head - piece, is sure to light on a woman's heart, over which she wears no breastplate...," "I am a woman - with every fault, it may be, that a woman ever had, weak, vain, unprincipled (like most of my sex; for our virtues, when we have any, are merely impulsive and intuitive,) passionate, too...") virtually guarantee her absurdist martyrdom on a wayward altar of feminist suffering. As the story draws to a conclusion, a series of extraordinary and crudely executed coincidences attempt, and fail, to tie the torpid plot into a neat bundle. Hawthorne finally allows semi - warrior, quasi - vampire, and arch hypocrite Zenobia to go the way of masochistic Ophelia, gurgling brook, brisk current, emerald moss, reeds, rushes, and all. Far from shedding light on the inferior status of women in American society in the 1850s, Hawthorne presents the subject like a mocking and garish caricature. Since Hawthorne wanly satirizes everything and everyone, including his narrator, himself (as the author of the book, who is not to be confused with the narrator), and his style, and as his attempts at satire and irony are uniformly without edge, the book sinks, as Ophelia did, like a stone.

ISBN: 0156148501

ListPrice: $13.00

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: Imagine crossing E.M. Forster with Jane Austen. Stir in a bit of socialist doctrine, a sprig of satire, strong Indian curry, and a couple quarts of good English gin and you get something close to the flavor of George Orwell's intensely readable and deftly plotted Burmese Days. In 1930, Kyauktada, Upper Burma, is one of the least auspicious postings in the ailing British Empire--and then the order comes that the European Club, previously for whites only, must elect one token native member. This edict brings out the worst in this woefully enclosed society, not to mention among the natives who would become the One. Orwell mines his own Anglo-Indian background to evoke both the suffocating heat and the stifling pettiness that are the central facts of colonial life: "Mr. MacGregor told his anecdote about Prome, which could be produced in almost any context. And then the conversation veered back to the old, never-palling subject--the insolence of the natives, the supineness of the Government, the dear dead days when the British Raj was the Raj and please give the bearer fifteen lashes. The topic was never let alone for long, partly because of Ellis's obsession. Besides, you could forgive the Europeans a great deal of their bitterness. Living and working among Orientals would try the temper of a saint." Protagonist James Flory is a timber merchant, whose facial birthmark serves as an outward expression of the ironic and left-leaning habits of mind that make him inwardly different from his coevals. Flory appreciates the local culture, has native allegiances, and detests the racist machinations of his fellow Club members. Alas, he doesn't always possess the moral courage, or the energy, to stand against them. His almost embarrassingly Anglophile friend, Dr. Veraswami, the highest-ranking native official, seems a shoo-in for Club membership, until Machiavellian magistrate U Po Kyin launches a campaign to discredit him that results, ultimately, in the loss not just of reputations but of lives. Whether to endorse Veraswami or to betray him becomes a kind of litmus test of Flory's character. Against this backdrop of politics and ethics, Orwell throws the shadow of romance. The arrival of the bobbed blonde, marriageable, and resolutely anti-intellectual Elizabeth Lackersteen not only casts Flory as hapless suitor but gives Orwell the chance to show that he's as astute a reporter of nuanced social interactions as he is of political intrigues. In fact, his combination of an astringently populist sensibility, dead-on observations of human behavior, formidable conjuring skills, and no-frills prose make for historical fiction that stands triumphantly outside of time. --Joyce Thompson

ISBN: 0684833395

ListPrice: $15.00

Edition: reprint, 04

Dimensions: 1.25 by 5.25 by 8.50 in.

Summary: There was a time when reading Joseph Heller's classic satire on the murderous insanity of war was nothing less than a rite of passage. Echoes of Yossarian, the wise-ass bombardier who was too smart to die but not smart enough to find a way out of his predicament, could be heard throughout the counterculture. As a result, it's impossible not to consider Catch-22 to be something of a period piece. But 40 years on, the novel's undiminished strength is its looking-glass logic. Again and again, Heller's characters demonstrate that what is commonly held to be good, is bad; what is sensible, is nonsense. Yossarian says, "You're talking about winning the war, and I am talking about winning the war and keeping alive." "Exactly," Clevinger snapped smugly. "And which do you think is more important?" "To whom?" Yossarian shot back. "It doesn't make a damn bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead." "I can't think of another attitude that could be depended upon to give greater comfort to the enemy." "The enemy," retorted Yossarian with weighted precision, "is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." Mirabile dictu, the book holds up post-Reagan, post-Gulf War. It's a good thing, too. As long as there's a military, that engine of lethal authority, Catch-22 will shine as a handbook for smart-alecky pacifists. It's an utterly serious and sad, but damn funny book.

ISBN: 059030271X

ListPrice: $4.50

Dimensions: 0.50 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: This book was about girl name Fern and her pet Wilbur, the pig. I liked this book and it's the best book I read this year that I understand the most. The story was good and interesting and you just want to keep reading until a new chapter. It all starded when a lot of pigs were born in their farm and dad said that he will kill the smallest one, but Fern stoped him and that pig became hers. She named him Wilbur. After 6 monyhs Wilbur was big, so Fern had to give him away to her aunt, Mr. Zuckerman. Wilbur was bored and alone until he meets Charllote, the spider, and they became good friends. They play and teach each other different things. Then Wilbur got to meet all the animals on a farm and some animal tells him that Mr. Zuckerman will kill him when winter comes. Wilbur asked Charllote if thats true and Charllote said that it's true, so know they were thinking how to save Wilburs life.All long days passed and it seems impossible to save Willbur, but soon there will be a Country Fair. Wilbur talks to Charllote that if he can do tricks on the fair then maybe Mr.Zuckerman will keep him. Next morning when Wilbur was practicing his tricks Mr. Zuckerman came and saw them and thought maybe I'll win prizes if I go to the fair with him.Then he took Wilbur to the Fair. After the fair Wilbur came home proudly with a metal and a ribbon saying, Zuckerman's famous pig. Then Mr. Zucherman talked to his wife about taking good care of Wilbur and keeping him, so they did. Everyone was happy even the animals. Wilbur and Charllote lived there for long time and had a lot og fun together.

ISBN: 0802134904

ListPrice: $16.00

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 1 by 5.75 by 8.25 in.

Summary: Although Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) is best-known for his novels, such as the Molloy series, and his still frequently-performed plays like Waiting for Godot and Endgame, he is rarely thought of as a writer of short fiction and prose. Yet he wrote short works devotedly throughout his life; many critics count various Beckett short stories as masterpieces of the form, central to an appreciation of the writer's oeuvre. The Complete Short Prose, 1929-1989, as the title suggests, collects all of the Nobel Prize-winner's shorter works, such as "First Love," and "The Lost Ones."

ISBN: 0385093799

ListPrice: $13.95

Summary: I am a Chinese student. Dream of the Red Chamber is my favorite novel, and it is definitely one of the greatest novel in the world. I've read the English version of this book as well, but I think the Chinese version is much better than the English one. Because this is a story happened in ancient China, 1700s, many of the poems in it can never exactly translate into English. The meanings of most characters' names can never show in the English version, either. For example, Chia Pao-yu, Chia means false in Chinese, yu means jade, Lin Tai-yu, Lin means forest and so on. If you don't know the special meanings of the characters' names, you can never understand the relationship between them. However, in the English version of this book, the names of the charaters are only the pronunciations. So if you really want to understand this fantastic story, the only advice I can give you is learning Chinese!

ISBN: 0684859785

ListPrice: $13.00

Dimensions: 0.75 by 4.75 by 8.25 in.

Summary: Let me begin by stating that I have read very little science fiction in my life. I picked up Thomas Disch's "The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of" primarily because I had read and immensely enjoyed "The Castle of Indolence", his superb collection of essays on "poetry, poets and poetasters". I also was aware of Disch's reputation as a "literary" writer of science fiction, an author who reputedly stood above the pulpy cauldron of a genre often castigated as "low brow", and was interested in his opinion of the significance of science fiction-a significance which is strongly suggested by the subtitle of this book: "How Science Fiction Conquered the World""The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of" is a wide ranging, opinionated romp through science fiction, a book which keeps you turning the pages with an avidity more typical of a horror or suspense novel. Beginning with the claim that science fiction is, at its root, an American genre that originated with Edgar Allen Poe ("our embarrassing ancestor"), Disch propels the reader through nearly two centuries of writing, showing how science fiction has been able to combine genuine visionary power with the most irrational, "lumpen-literature" characteristics of the black-print-screaming tabloid headlines about UFO abductees. In chapter after chapter, Disch renders strong opinions and insightful observations on how science fiction has evolved over the years, how that evolution has affected our view of the world and its possible futures, and how science fiction has been able to appropriate and define political, religious and social perspectives on the world. Along the way, Disch takes on feminism ("Can Girls Play Too? Feminizing Science Fiction"), Republicans ("Republicans on Mars-Science Fiction as Military Strategy"), and, not surprisingly, the unmitigated xenophobic need for an "other" ("The Third World and Other Alien Nations"). The most compelling thing about "The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of", however, is that it makes you want to sit down and read some of these science fiction writers-at least if you're like me, and haven't already.

ISBN: 019515603X

ListPrice: $22.00

Dimensions: 22 cm

Summary:

ISBN: 0802150241

ListPrice: $11.00

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 0.25 by 5.25 by 8.25 in.

Summary: In "King Lear" Shakespeare asked far more questions than he could answer, and by the end of the play little was resolved: unfit leaders would perpetuate the march of folly. Shakespeare's work followed many themes from "Oedipus" and both spoke to the ethos of their times. If any twentieth century play deserves to be considered the heir to "Oedipus" and "Lear" then Beckett's "Endgame" should rank right along with the other two. In Beckett's finest theatrical work, he places a blind man in Job's world, but in this case there is no answer from the heavens; instead Hamm, Clov, Nagg and Nell have to invent their own worlds, reconstructing the past and deconstructing themselves while Beckett himself reconstructs and deconstructs theater. One line best sums up the play and provides probably the best motto for the twentieth century: "the end is in the beginning and yet you go on." Many have seen this play as a dar! k Kafkaesque nighmare, but I see it as a true existential affirmation of what Camus saw as acting in good faith--choosing to play the game and go on with life even though there is little reason to play on.

ISBN: 0380706504

ListPrice: $4.95

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 0.25 by 5 by 7.25 in.

Summary: I first read tis book years ago- literally! I was in a school library in Australia and I picked it up, and loved it at the age of 8. I never re-read it although I thought about it a few times when I got a litle older, and I actually tried to look for the book but had forgotten the name... Now that i've re-found it, let me tell all the potential readers out there that this is one of the most imaginative childrens books out there. Even if you don't believe in fairies, the story of Jan and Charlie who want a child- a wish granted by a jeans wearing rebelious fairy- is one that will entertain and amuse even an older audience. If you're 8 or 16, it's a book that should be read by children of all ages who need the spark of magic in their lives to flare up.

ISBN: 0140440844

ListPrice: $13.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: Plutarch is not a historian often seen in the diluted cirriculum of the modern American High School, but I would argue that his love of the dramatic, moving battle scenes,and relatively easy-to-comprehend style would do much do endear the modern student to ancient Rome. There are (justifiable) arguments, of course, that Plutarch too often put personal bias and a love of "storytelling" above historical fact. While this may be true, is what comes to us of Rome by way of the Pop Culture filter any better? The context in which most people think of Rome is either that of Biblical or Russell Crowe. Can Plutarch's approximations be any worse?Though this edition appears to have been hastily compiled at some points (very little reference/glossary material to speak of), I still reccomend this book to:1) Casual readers who wish to know more about an exciting period of history that has affected everything from our calendar to our way of government, and2) History/Humanities teachers tired of purely analytical views of Rome. Let your students know that Rome had IT'S editorialists, too.

ISBN: 0375753419

ListPrice: $7.95

Edition: Modern Library pbk. ed.

Dimensions: 19 cm

Summary: Mention the name "Frankenstein" and the first image to pop into people's minds is one of a big, dumb, green guy with bolts coming out of the sides of his neck. Anyone reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the first time may be surprised to learn that in the novel the creature is neither inarticulate nor ignorant. He is the product of a zealous doctor's quest to take life and death into his own hands. The creature is shunned by all mankind, including the one person who should feel some compassion or responsibility for him, his creator, Dr. Frankenstein. All the creature ever wants is to be accepted by society and to find companionship. With an intellect superior to that of the average human being, he learns to speak and read. It isn't until after he understands that he is doomed to a life of rejection that he seeks revenge, turning violent and murderous. The underlying question of the novel is, who is the real monster here, the formidable creature or the creator who abandoned him?Through the creature's own words, we hear of his confused awakening and search for understanding. From the start he recognizes that his appearance is so horrifying as to repulse anyone who sees him. Fittingly, once he has taught himself how to speak and read, his first attempt at communication is with a blind man. When he realizes the futility of his search for a friend, he focuses his efforts on another objective - revenge upon the one who brought him into this cruel world. The creature sets out to make Frankenstein's life the same sort of hell as his own.The scientist Frankenstein goes to great lengths to complete his experiment, realizing too late that there are consequences for interfering with the laws of nature. He brings to life a most unnatural beast, and flees in horror from the being he has created. Feeling no responsibility to comfort the creature in any way, he instead wishes to completely abandon it and forget that it even exits, leaving it to struggle single-handedly in a world where it does not belong. Is it any wonder that his creation becomes slightly incensed at his abandonment and seeks to create for Frankenstein a life equal to his own in misery and isolation? Who deserves the label of "monster"? First-time readers of Shelley's novel may have a hard time accepting that the creature is not a purely evil or demonic being; contrary to popular belief, he does not just wake up and start strangling people. The creature in the novel has qualities we more easily identify with, such as the desire to be loved and accepted. On the other hand, Dr. Frankenstein's actions are questionable at times. Is the creature justified in his revenge? Or does Frankenstein get the bad end of the deal, his originally well-intentioned experiment gone sour? Either way, reading Mary W. Shelley's novel presents to us the viewpoint of a very different "monster" than we expect.

ISBN: 0140434895

ListPrice: $8.00

Edition: reprint, 04

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5 by 8.25 in.

Summary: I don't think I'd be giving away much of the plot if I were to say that the story revolves around Pip, a young, middle class orphan who has dreams to be a wealthy, respected gentleman, but has no hope of this as he is a rural blacksmith apprentice. His prospecs change, however, when a mysterious, anonymous benefactor offers to make Pip's dream a reality. I won't give away the ending, but the novel supports Dickens' belief that the middle class is the class to which people should aspire.The plot of this story wasn't to my liking. Dickens' attempts towards the end to wrap all the subplots into one neat little package annoyed me...similar to plot twists in modern Hollywood movies--things so outrageously convienent that it makes one want to roll his eyes. The manner in which things are written, however is fantastic. While the main characters are rather boring, the minor characters, (especially Biddy, Herbert Pocket, and John Wemmick) were much more interesting. Thankfully, Dickens focused on them enough to flesh them out and make them memorable. I would recommend this book, not because I enjoy the plot, but because the writing style is superior and because I, being lower middle class, enjoyed the positive viewpoint Dickens extended concerning my class.

ISBN: 019283343X

ListPrice: $9.95

Edition: Rev. with a new introduction by Thomas Keymer.

Dimensions: 20 cm

Summary: So I was getting ready to reread Don Quijote (1605)(Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616) in the excellent Burton Raffel translation and as I was looking for information about the book and author, saw repeated references to Fielding's Joseph Andrews. I'd read his Tom Jones a couple of years ago and found it kind of tough sledding, but when I stumbled upon this one at a library book sale for a quarter, it seemed a stroke of destiny.The parallels with Don Quijote are readily apparent. First of all, the book consists of a series of humorous travel adventures; second, the travellers involved seem too innocent to survive in the harsh world that confronts them. When Joseph Andrews, the naive footman of Lady Booby, deflects the amorous advances of both her Ladyship and Slipslop, the Lady's servant, he is sent packing. Upon his dismissal, Joseph, along with his friend and mentor Parson Adams, an idealistic and good-hearted rural clergyman, who essentially takes the physical role of Sancho Panza but the moral role of Quijote, sets out to find his beloved but chaste enamorata, Fanny Goodwill, who had earlier been dismissed from Lady Booby's service as a result of Slipslop's jealousy. In their travels they are set upon repeatedly by robbers, continually run out of funds and Adams gets in numerous arguments, theological and otherwise. Meanwhile, Fanny, whom they meet up with along the way, is nearly raped any number of times and is eventually discovered to be Joseph's sister, or maybe not.. The whole thing concludes with a farcical night of musical beds, mistaken identities and astonishing revelations.I've seen this referred to as the first modern novel; I'm not sure why, in light of it's obvious debt to Cervantes. But it does combine those quixotic elements with a seemingly accurate portrayal of 18th Century English manners and the central concern with identity and status do place it squarely in the modern tradition.At any rate, it is very funny and, for whatever reason, seemed a much easier read than Tom Jones. I recommend it unreservedly.GRADE: B+

ISBN: 0393959015

ListPrice: $13.50

Edition: 1st ed.

Dimensions: 22 cm

Summary: High school students are often assigned Ethan Frome, and the Age of Innocence gained many readers because of the movie, but this is the Edith Wharton book that everyone should read. In many ways, this is similar to a Jane Austen book in which a member of the upper echelon of society has money problems and needs to marry well in order to stay at the same level of society. Forces and other people are contriving against her, but there seems to be at least one man who would be a good match for reasons of love. The first twist here is that the good match is not financially well off and therefore won't be able to support the heroine as she wants to be supported.Lily Bart was orphaned many years ago, and her family had been financially ruined before that. However, she is accustomed to beautiful things and wants to continue to live at the top level of society. Unfortunately, her heart and soul long for more than these creature comforts. She yearns for excitement, intellectual and emotional honesty and probably true love, although she is confused about that. As she has gotten towards her late 20s, her prospects are dwindling and the only person who has the resources to support her and is already a part of polite society is Percy Gryce, a singularly boring man.Lily rebels against Gryce just as she is about to marry him when she has a couple of heartfelt conversations with Lawrence Selden, a person she decides she might love, but who makes clear that he is not rich enough to support her as well as she should be supported. Her choices other than Gryce are slim. There is Simon Rosedale, who is portrayed as an upwardly mobile person and therefore undesirable. He is also Jewish, which Wharton never overtly says is a problem with him for Lily, but probably figures into Lily's calculus (Wharton mainly talks about his Jewishness in the context of saying that Rosedale is more patient and able to face disappointment than others in his position because of what his people have dealt with over the centuries).I have to admit that, unlike Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence, it took me a while to get into this book. Perhaps, I picked up this book to read a story of Old New York and manners and was not ready for such an intense character study. But once I got to page 100, the last 250 pages went by in a flash. It is beautiful and eminently interesting. You will be interested in every twist in the story.A couple of words of caution. If you buy this edition with the Anna Quindlen introduction, DON'T READ THE INTRODUCTION FIRST. It gives away too much in the first page--when I stopped reading it until after I finished--and the rest of the introduction gives away the rest of the plot. Finally, as with Jane Austen books, the actions of the male characters are often either inscrutable or irrational. It may be that men actually acted like this in the early 20th Century (or 19th for Austen). But I think it more likely that Wharton is misconstruing the male characters in ways that male authors almost always do with female characters. But this is a minor flaw, especially since Lily is so central to this book.

ISBN: 0140390057

ListPrice: $8.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 18 cm

Summary: I tried to read this book for the first time when I was in my late teens, but I couldn't stand it. The language was just too flowery and long-winded. After twelve years or so, I just tried to read it again. This time, I was able to get through the book.I thoroughly enjoyed Hawthorne's descriptive language. His ability to paint a picture through words is amazing; however, this same technique is what caused the book to move so slowly. Hawthorne took hundreds of words to say what could easily have been said in a couple of sentences. Yes, that is just the way American romantic novelists of the mid-nineteenth century wrote; still, for American readers of the twenty-first century who are used to fast-paced life, this sort of writing can be difficult at times.My biggest problem with this book was its ending. Everything was just too neatly wrapped up. The remainder of the Pyncheon clan and Holgrave had too happy an ending. With the background of the Pyncheons, they should not have had such an ideal ending! The ending should not have been so neatly tied up. There should have been loose ends and serious problems remaining for everyone. If you enjoy Hawthorne or just simply want to become more familiar with mid-nineteenth century American literature, read The House of the Seven Gables. If you cannot abide books that spend more time with setting, descriptions, etc., than actual movement of the plot, you might want to read another book.

ISBN: 0140436790

ListPrice: $9.95

Edition: reprint, 04

Summary: For all intents and purposes, Jacob Riis' HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES is the birth of photojournalism. And this new genre, like the first movies and radio programs, fascinated its audience. Riis' sharp essays are matched only by his sharp eye for photography. I don't know which made more of an impact on me: the text or the pictures of unspeakable misery. But I think it's a safe bet to say that Riis' contemporaries were fixated more on the photographs. (After all, Riis turned to photography AFTER his published essays seemed to have little effect.) In any event, the result, then as now, is a provocative, compassionate, and angry work that exposed to the middle and upper classes of his time the effects of their indifference, at best, or the effects of their roles as slumlords and sweatshop owners, at worst.The only jarring aspect of the book is Riis' use of ethnic stereotyping. He makes several not-nice remarks about Jews, Chinamen, Italians, etc. However, we must not impose our early 21st Century values on a late 19th Century man. These types of remarks were commonplace back in the pre-politically correct times. In any event, Riis' overall intention was to help these people get out of their horrid conditions and not to slur their heritages.One last note, Luc Sante's introduction is brilliant and serves the book very well.Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points Concluded, a Novel

ISBN: 0226469409

ListPrice: $14.00

Dimensions: 1.25 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: Perhaps one of the first anti-war works of literature, the Iliad stands as relevant for our world today as it has been for the Greeks of 3000 years ago. Lattimore has given us with a brilliant translation that makes this masterpiece accessible in all its beauty to modern-day English speakers. The introduction provides the necessary understanding of the background and translation scheme, adding to the appreciation of the poem, but concise and short enough to permit the reader to delve into the beauty of the Iliad without much further ado. The Iliad of course is the most famous classic Greek poem. In reading this translation, one vividly moves into the world of the gods and heroes. Though seemingly long, the Iliad is breathtaking in its action and plot sequences. It is easy to get lost imagining the conflicts between Achilleus, Agamemnon, and Hector, or reflecting on the fascinating intrigues of Athena and Zeus. There are many lessons in these tales for everyone today, for we humans still behave within the same parameters of pride, glory, anger, vengeance, and love. After reading it, I was left reflecting about th meaning of victory, and how Achilleus was unsatisfied after obtaining his revenge. Read it, and you will instantly recognized why this epic poem has been deemed a masterpiece.

ISBN: 0064405745

ListPrice: $5.99

Summary: In the Land of the Big Red Apple is a GREAT book! Rose begins to adjust to her new home in Missouri at Rocky Ridge Farm. She gets a new donkey named Spookendyke for her ninth birthday, a huge ice storm hits, she gets to celebrate her first real Christmas in the Ozarks, and her parents bulid a new house.

ISBN: 039592720X

ListPrice: $13.00

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: Mr. Kapasi, the protagonist of Jhumpa Lahiri's title story, would certainly have his work cut out for him if he were forced to interpret the maladies of all the characters in this eloquent debut collection. Take, for example, Shoba and Shukumar, the young couple in "A Temporary Matter" whose marriage is crumbling in the wake of a stillborn child. Or Miranda in "Sexy," who is involved in a hopeless affair with a married man. But Mr. Kapasi has problems enough of his own; in addition to his regular job working as an interpreter for a doctor who does not speak his patients' language, he also drives tourists to local sites of interest. His fare on this particular day is Mr. and Mrs. Das--first-generation Americans of Indian descent--and their children. During the course of the afternoon, Mr. Kapasi becomes enamored of Mrs. Das and then becomes her unwilling confidant when she reads too much into his profession. "I told you because of your talents," she informs him after divulging a startling secret. <blockquote> I'm tired of feeling so terrible all the time. Eight years, Mr. Kapasi, I've been in pain eight years. I was hoping you could help me feel better; say the right thing. Suggest some kind of remedy. </blockquote> Of course, Mr. Kapasi has no cure for what ails Mrs. Das--or himself. Lahiri's subtle, bittersweet ending is characteristic of the collection as a whole. Some of these nine tales are set in India, others in the United States, and most concern characters of Indian heritage. Yet the situations Lahiri's people face, from unhappy marriages to civil war, transcend ethnicity. As the narrator of the last story, "The Third and Final Continent," comments: "There are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept." In that single line Jhumpa Lahiri sums up a universal experience, one that applies to all who have grown up, left home, fallen in or out of love, and, above all, experienced what it means to be a foreigner, even within one's own family. --Alix Wilber

ISBN: 0140431950

ListPrice: $9.95

Dimensions: 1 by 4.25 by 7 in.

Summary: When this book was first published in England, it is said, it was being burned in the streets. What inflamed peoples passion so, in this seventeenth century book? It was governement and religion, of course. Hobbes, who was a private tutor for a wealthy family for most of his career (until he fled the country, that is), picks apart both the why-to of government and its use of manipulations, and the nature of humanity and the mechanisms, he proponents, whereby it operates. And that is just the first hundred pages in this volume.It seems Hobbes intent was to refute the conscience, and instead say that everything was an opinion of the person wishing to act ever which way. This would be false however, because Hobbes himself is an exception to his rule for he has set himself up in the role of The Great Observer, or God.In any which way, it was an interesting read and I recommend it for those who are looking for Order within the chaos.I also recommmend in relation to this book is Joseph Butler's book Five Sermons, edited by Stephen Darwall, which stands as a refutation of some of Hobbes ideas and was written in the very ealry 1700s.

ISBN: 0451526902

ListPrice: $4.95

Dimensions: p. cm

Summary: Kenneth Branagh's first try at directing was magic. Not only did he bring his visual thoughts to the screen, but he also brought his acting talents. The few who got the chance to see this young man on stage knew the talent was there. For the millions who had not even heard the name Kenneth Branagh, Henry V was our first meeting with this brilliant man. Watching Kenneth bring King Henry to life again was magical. Through this movie, you cry, laugh, and are hopefully deeply moved by the threat of war between England and France, the wit of Falstaff and Henry himself, the moving speeches Henry gives the day and the night before the battle, and beautiful wooing scene between Henry and Princess Katherine. Being one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, and having one the greatest actors of our time play the leading role, makes Henry V a masterpiece that will be enjoyed by millions for many years to come. END

ISBN: 0064405109

ListPrice: $5.99

Summary: This is a great story telling of the early struggles that Rose had to face with her family to build up the farm.Anyone who says this story is poorly written,or things like that are freaks!It's just a childrens book!!These people need a life!

ISBN: 0064404781

ListPrice: $5.99

Summary: Only Laura Ingalls Wilder will ever write the way Laura did, and Little House fans who understand this will love this book and the rest of this new series. This book could stand alone as a portrait of a farm family driven off their land by greedy speculators in South Dakota and searching for a new home where the rain is plentiful. But it also works as a fascinating answer to the question many Little House fans have had: what happened to Laura, Almanzo and Rose after Laura's books ended? Mr. MacBride does an admirable job of following Laura's style as the family treks by covered wagon to Missouri where they must start life anew, with their old friends, the Cooleys. For those who don't know, this is a true story told in novel fashion. Rose is seven, and the book sees the world through her eyes. But the payoff comes from reading the whole series, through Bachelor Girl, when Rose is a grown woman making hard decisions to go out on her own when women were expected to marry or stay at home and become old maids. Aside from the portrait of Laura and Almanzo as mother and father, and Rose's point of view, these books tell the story of America at a time of tremendous technological change, just as today. Only instead of the Internet, it is the telegraph, telephone, and the like. Rose is a believable character, strong-willed like her mother, independent, and smart. Taken together, this series of eight books make a powerful impression on adults as well as children.

ISBN: 0140173269

ListPrice: $16.00

Edition: rep

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: Much has been said of the strumpets of yor, of wenches and bawdy house queens of the score...(from The Wicker Man, the Landlord's Daughter). Actually, much more have been written about the uptight, repressed era of Victoria's ton, were passions simmered just under the surface. This book goes into an area not mined, the views of sexuality and desire in the working-class men and women of 19th Century London. The Writer relied on first hand documents uncovered in the now-closed Archives of a London foundling hospital, love letters and first-hand testimonies in court cases, to details the views on rape, flirtation and prostitution to which many women of the period in London were driven to survive, and the inevitability of being pregnant and alone in this grinding poverty.The book contains cynicism, cruelty, yet is balanced with tenderness, dignity and generosity giving us a fascinating look behind the notions of Victoria's reign.A MUST for anyone interested in the period. Especially recommended for writers of Victorian romance.

ISBN: 0553214519

ListPrice: $5.95

Dimensions: 1 by 4.25 by 7 in.

Summary: Carol is a girl with big dreams. When she marries Kennicott, she moves from the Twin Cities where she has supported herself, to rural life in Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, where it is her dream to transform the sleepy town into something better. The ups and downs of Carrie Kennicott's life were felt by each member of our Family Book Club. Just when it seems things can't get any worse for Carrie, they can -- but sometimes they get better.This book has been subject to a lot of literary criticism. Surely, the story can be studied in many ways at many levels. However, one does not need to have a master's in English in order to get a lot of enjoyment out of Main Street.Set in the 1920s, Carrie's story -- her feelings, the changes she tries to make to Gopher Prairie, and all of the people she meets there -- could easily be told today with only minor changes. And, although this book is overall rather depressing in nature, there were quite a few places that it had me laughing out loud.Main Street really captures the aura of small town America, especially middle Minnesota. The real life Gopher Prairie is Sauk Centre, Minnesota. It's an interesting place to visit, as the main street there has now been renamed Sinclair Lewis Boulevard.

ISBN: 0679752927

ListPrice: $15.00

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 1.25 by 5.50 by 8 in.

Summary: As a physician who was just finishing training when AIDS burst on the scene in the 80's, the panic and fear among medical staff described in this book are actually tame to what I saw in my hospital. I am one of those "who would, " as Dr. Verghese categorized those who would or would not care for HIV infected patients, and this truly separated us from the vast majority of those at that time who let their fear rule over their intellect. Dr. Verghese tells this exciting story with great compassion for his patients and their families, and it is clear that his emotional connection to them, which is stongly discouraged in medical training, came at great personal cost. As someone who now lives and practices in East Tennessee, I feel he accurately described the people, the culture, and the region's great beauty. His yearning to fit in--to have a home--is poignantly obvious throughout the book even as he becomes more and more isolated from his family and his collegues. Several of my collegues trained under or worked with Dr. Verghese during this time, and they all attest to his brilliance as a diagnostician, his great empathy for his patients, his nonjudgemental approach to the gay lifestyle, and his decency and approachability as a person. This book, in their opinions, is an accurate portrayal of the AIDS story in the rural setting. I am drawn to medical writing, particularly when written by physicians themselves, and Dr. Verghese is a master. This book moved me to tears as the deaths of all of these patients began to add up toward the end of the book, and one can't help but to feel the great waste of life that this virus causes. As a hospice medical director, I was also touched by Dr. Verghese's struggle to understand the process of dying, moving from his all-out attempts to save lives at the beginning of the book to his hospice-oriented approach toward the end. This is a masterful telling of how AIDS affects everyone -- patients, families, and doctors alike.

ISBN: 0295955252

ListPrice: $12.89

Dimensions: 0.50 by 5.50 by 8.50 in.

Summary: In my AP English Literature class, I had a choice of reading any novel of "literary merit" I wanted, and to complete a 25 page analysis of the novel. Of the four books I analyzed in this way this year, No-No Boy was by far my favorite. I am caucasian, yet have always been interested in the dark side of America's role in World War II - the Japanese internment camps. This book is a vivid portrayal of one young man's suffering due to his decision not to swear loyalty to a country that had foresaken his rights as a citizen, and the consequences that result from this decision. Okada deals with a very touchy subject in this novel, for both the white and Japanese-American communities. Ichiro's self-inflicted punishment helps the reader to realize just how awful this experience was for the real No-no boys. This realistic portrayal is rather ironic, since Okada himself chose to serve the United States loyally in the army during World War II. Perhaps this novel was written from the side of him that related more to his Japanese roots than to his newfound American identity, and the guilt he himself must have carried when serving in the Pacific, telling Japanese to surrender in their own language. Okada also deals with a seemingly untouchable issue - that of the discrimination the Japanese-Americans themselves practiced toward other U.S. citizens, although they faced discrimination themselves. This adds to the truthfulness of the novel. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect to the novel is the all-American, happy ending that seems a little too contrived, although it must have been necessary for Okada to write the novel this way in order to gain any readers, because the novel's subject was so controversial at the time it was written. This novel should be taught in high schools and universities across the country, in American literature courses, and not just Asian-American literature courses. Now, multicultural education movements have succeeded in gaining the teaching of more women and African-American writers' novel, but Asian-American literature has still been neglected. The tolerance and understanding that students will gain from reading this novel should be evident immediately after one has read No-No Boy, even though the novel is enjoyable and is hardly preachy-sounding.

ISBN: 0156707004

ListPrice: $15.00

Dimensions: 1 by 5.25 by 8.25 in.

Summary: A story that could be typical of any Irish man or woman that lived during the famine. It traces the beginning of the famine, through the British mishandling of it, and finally the decision of a million Irish that a chance at survival in America was better than certain death in their homeland. It graphically details the deplorable conditions that were prevelant in Ireland during the famine. It is only after the realization of the conditions aboard the ships that traveled to America combined with sense of utter loss of one's family that one gets a sense of what a difficult choice so many people made to come to America. An excellent book for anyone with Irish heritage or just someone who seeks to begin to understand the hardships of the immigrants of the great Irish Migration.

ISBN: 0156724006

ListPrice: $13.00

Edition: 1st, 01

Dimensions: 0.50 by 5.50 by 8 in.

Summary: This slender guide by Mary Oliver deserves a place on the shelves of any budding poet. In clear, accessible prose, Oliver (winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for poetry) arms the reader with an understanding of the technical aspects of poetry writing. Her lessons on sound, line (length, meter, breaks), poetic forms (and lack thereof), tone, imagery, and revision are illustrated by a handful of wonderful poems (too bad Oliver was so modest as to not include her own). What could have been a dry account is infused throughout with Oliver's passion for her subject, which she describes as "a kind of possible love affair between something like the heart (that courageous but also shy factory of emotion) and the learned skills of the conscious mind." One comes away from this volume feeling both empowered and daunted. Writing poetry is good, hard work.

ISBN: 0393950271

ListPrice: $12.80

Edition: 1st ed.

Dimensions: 22 cm

Summary: Twain's novel Pudd'nhead Wilson can seem like an enigma at first, since it is a story about slavery written almost forty years after the end of the Civil War. Certainly race was still a pressing contemporary issue for Twain at the time: by 1893 Reconstruction had failed and race relations in the United States were a mess. Although a black man no longer had to fear being sold "down the river" as Roxy and Chambers do, extreme forms of violence were a distinct possibility. Part of the point here is that although the institutions surrounding race may have changed since 1850, the fundamental problems, even by 1893, had not. By featuring characters who are racially indeterminate--that is, characters who can "pass" or who are not immediately identifiable as black--Twain confuses the issue still further. When slavery was still legal, an individual's racial profile mattered on a concrete level: someone who is one-thirtysecondth black,like Chambers, could be owned as a slave, while someone with no known black ancestry could not. Racial identity, by the 1890's, had become a much more nebulous concept. Broader issues of identity are a compelling problem in this novel. Although this is by no means a carefully structured and polished piece of literature, Twain's multiple plots and thrown- together style do serve to inform a central set of issues, with the twins, Pudd'nhead, and Tom and Chambers all serving as variations on a theme. The coexistence of many characters and many localized plots mirrors the novel's setting. In its vacillation between the tiny town of Dawson's Landing and the metropolis of St. Louis, and in the centralized presence of the Mississippi River, with its possibilities for endless mobility, the novel offers both hope and despair: the world is too big a place for everyone to be known absolutely to their neighbors, yet one also has the ability to start over in a new place. The idea of being able to start over is continuously interrogated in American literature. Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, which appeared almost exactly one hundred years before Pudd'nhead Wilson, sketched out the ideals of self-determination and personal identity in American culture: a man can become whatever he wants, no matter what his background, as long as he has a plan and the work ethic to realize it. Echoes of Franklin can be seen in the eccentric, scientifically-minded Pudd'nhead Wilson, whose writings mirror Franklin's and whose careful analysis and re-categorization of the world around him is also reminiscent of the American icon. Pudd'nhead's self-realizations, though, are dark and socially unsuccessful. Twain's characters live in an America where social mores are largely fixed and one's success depends not on determination but on fitting into a pre-existing public space. Twain, like Franklin, was a celebrated public figure, immediately recognizable as a collection of carefully developed mannerisms and trademark items. Like Judge Driscoll in this novel, Twain somehow found himself high placed enough in society so as not to be bound by its rules. In Pudd'nhead Wilson, though, Twain looks at those who avoid constraints of reputation and public opinion by being so far beneath society as to be almost irrelevant. He also looks at those who, like the twins, get caught in the middle, in a mire of shifting opinions and speculations. The "plot" of this novel, if it can be said to have one, is a detective story, in which a series of identities--the judge's murderer, "Tom," "Chambers"--must be sorted out. This structure highlights the problem of identity and one's ability to determine one's own identity. The solution to the set of mysteries, though, is an incomplete and bleak one, in which determinations about identities have been made but the assigned identities do not correspond to viable positions in society. The seemingly objective scientific methods espoused by Pudd'nhead may have provided more "truthful" answers than public opinion, but they have not helped to better society. In the rapidly changing American culture of the 1890s, where race, celebrity, and publicity were confounding deeply ingrained cultural notions of self-determination, the depopulated ending of Pudd'nhead Wilson is a pessimistic assessment of one's ability to control one's identity. Twain's novel moves us from Franklin's comic world of possibility to a place where self- determination is Twain, like Franklin, was a celebrated public figure, immediately recognizable as a collection of carefully developed mannerisms and trademark items. Like Judge Driscoll in this novel, Twain somehow found himself high placed enough in society so as not to be bound by its rules. In Pudd'nhead Wilson, though, Twain looks at those who avoid constraints of reputation and public opinion by being so far beneath society as to be almost irrelevant. He also looks at those who,like the twins, get caught in the middle, in a mire of shifting opinions and speculations. The "plot" of this novel, if it can be said to have one, is a detective story, in which a series of identities--the judge's murderer, "Tom," "Chambers"--must be sorted out. This structure highlights the problem of identity and one's ability to determine one's own identity. The solution to the set of mysteries, though, is an incomplete and bleak one, in which determinations aboutidentities have been made but the assigned identities do not correspond to viable positions in society. The seemingly objective scientific methods espoused by Pudd'nhead may have provided more "truthful" answers than public opinion, but they have not helped to better society. In the rapidly changing American culture of the 1890s, where race, celebrity, and publicity were confounding deeply ingrained cultural notions of self-determination, the depopulated ending of Pudd'nhead Wilson is a pessimistic assessment of one's ability to control one's identity. Twain's novel moves us from Franklin's comic world of possibility to a place where self- determination is accompanied by tragic overtones, a place reminiscent of the world of another, later American novel about a self-made man that does not end well: Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

ISBN: 0813511704

ListPrice: $14.00

Dimensions: 23 cm

Summary: I haven't read Quicksand so I can't review it, but, as one other reviewer noted, it is really a shame Larsen isn't taught more often. Even uprooting the story (I hesitate to call it a novel) from its African-American/Feminist/Harlem Renaissance context, Passing is simply an important piece of American literature. In the span of 100 pages it competently grapples with some hefty themes - repression, oppression, homosexuality, hybridity, the 'technique' of racism (in the sense that it's a mutual act between the discrimator and the discriminated) and domesticity to name a few. 'Discovering' stories like this, you can't help becoming critical of the literary canon. In a course that deals with class issues or cultural studies (I'm thinking of Bordieu's 'distinction' as well) this would be a very complementary choice.

ISBN: 0460871773

ListPrice: $5.95

Summary: Romeo and Juliet are the two most known lovers created by William Shakespeare. Their love story is one to be cried for, and it really shows the true meaning of what love is. Many people have claimed and agreed it is the most sad but romantic play ever written, and it really is.They're a pair of star crossed lovers, who fall in love at first site. Their hopless love is denied from the very beginning: their families have an awful hatred towards each other which has been everlasting. They go through many tests for them to prove they really love each other: Romeo's best friend dying; Romeo's exile after murdering Mercutio, Juliet's cousin; and finally Romeo learning his dear lover's "death". Although it has a tragic ending, many people say this story is actually happy, for they both die at the same time, and their love is kept together, for eternity.

ISBN: 0415192056

ListPrice: $18.95

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5 by 7.75 in.

Summary:

ISBN: 0415938880

ListPrice: $20.95

Edition: 04

Dimensions: 1 by 5.50 by 8.25 in.

Summary:

ISBN: 0415938872

ListPrice: $20.95

Summary:

ISBN: 0321096657

ListPrice: $34.20

Summary: One thing I can say is I enjoy a good film. O.K. if it moves I'll watch it. But until I read this book I really was just looking with out seeing. It is nice to have this guide confirm what one knows as common sense. Probably because the guide is designed to take you from ground zero to a level of appreciation and allow you to convey your opinion intelligently.If you have an earlier edition you will still get the essence of the book. Newer editions add different resources and research information.Some of the highlights are:'A shot-by shot analysis of a sequence from the film 'Potemkin''Suggestions on using the Internet'Sample student writingSome contents:Writing about the MoviesPreparing to Watch and Preparing to WriteFilm Terms and Topics Six Approaches to writing about FilmStyle and Structure in WritingResearching the MoviesManuscript FormThis guide is an eye opener.

ISBN: 0140432884

ListPrice: $10.95

Summary: I give this three stars in an internal world where 5 is James at his best. In comparison to most fiction the rating would be higher, but as a DEVOUT fan, I live in my own internal world. In that world, James who was more critical than any of us, would understand that in comparison to other later era work and even middle period work, Spoils does not live up to his best. It is fun and light, another reviewer mentioned obvious signs of a stylistic shift perhaps being too obvious here. That feels on the money to me. That said, if you've read almost everything, it is a light turn with the Master and that has something delicious in it no matter what.

ISBN: 0375411747

ListPrice: $18.00

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: The book is not meant to be like Plato's major philosophical works. It is about the nature of love, discussed with a frankness about homosexuality not seen until thousands of years later. For anyone interested in what the Greeks thought of love, it's all there. I found them interesting, also revealing the nature of Plato's writing that is more artistic than technical. Socrate's talk of love being a divine madness or the myth of man and woman once being one are beautiful. The Greeks had a tendency to discuss everything in rational terms or in relation to their mythology, so that some of their ideas seem nonsensical or naive, but that is just from the perspective of someone living centuries later.

ISBN: 0679763961

ListPrice: $12.95

Edition: 1st Vintage International ed.

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: Oneill, death death death, this is rereleased in vintage 1958,mourning becomes electra , strange interlude, required readingfor all playwrights of our era.

ISBN: 0872205894

ListPrice: $8.95

Edition: 03

Dimensions: 22 cm

Summary: Socrates has puzzled thinkers and historians for 2,400 years. Loved by some, lampooned by others, both revered and reviled, as an old man he was put to death. We know little for certain about Socrates because he never wrote down his philosophy. Most of what we do know comes from his star pupil, Plato, who wrote a couple dozen dialogues about his teacher's encounters with other Athenians. With The Trials of Socrates, editor C.D.C. Reeve has broadened our view of Socrates by adding the perspectives of Aristophanes and Xenophon to some of Plato's best-known writing on the great philosopher. In Plato's dialogues--Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, and a short excerpt of Phaedo--readers will find Socrates at his most moral, compelling, defiant, and wry. But other accounts of the famous philosopher, including Aristophanes' hit play The Clouds and Xenophon's Socrates' Defense to the Jury, cast the man in a different light. The Socrates of Aristophanes is a somewhat silly sophist (in fact, Socrates later referred to this play as his first trial in Athens). The Socrates of Xenophon, on the other hand, is practical and conservative. By including all three authors, Reeve has done a great service for those interested in Socrates. Reeve provides short but helpful interpretive pieces that will guide the reader through the book, and the translations and explanatory footnotes are exceptional. The Trials of Socrates is an excellent volume for readers just coming to Socrates, or for those wanting to broaden their understanding of him. --Eric de Place

ISBN: 0460875183

ListPrice: $3.95

Summary: . . . to really achieve its full potential, this play needs to be acted out on stage. Still, highly excellent, involving twins, cross-dressing, love tangles, sword-fighting, secret marriages, music, disguises, mistaken identities, high speech, and lowbrow humour. The entire play takes place in Illyria. In the main plot, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who unfortunately does not return his feelings. Viola is shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast, and dressed as a boy, comes to serve in Orsino's court, where she of course falls in love with Orsino. Meanwhile, in Olivia's court, some of her courtiers plan a cruel--but funny--practical joke against her pompous steward Malvolio. There is also a third plot later on involving Viola's twin brother Sebastian, who has been shipwrecked likewise. Naturally things get quite confusing, but, true to Shakespeare's comedic style, everything gets worked out in the end.This is an enjoyable book to read, and the notes are very helpful. However, it is still better as a performance.

ISBN: 1400030935

ListPrice: $17.00

Edition: 2nd ed., newly rev. and expanded ed.

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: You'd think that a new, second edition of this anthology would be truly updated? Well, if so, you'd be wrong. All that this adds to the first edition is a few young poets at the end. The poets who were included in the first edition and who have continued to write might as well have died in 1990 as far as this anthology is concerned. Mark Strand wrote his best work in the 90s; in this book, his career stops in 1980. Anthony Hecht and Richard Wilbur and John Hollander have written fine poems in the last decade, but you wouldn't know it from this book. The editor should have made room for this new work by cutting some of the poems by Robert Lowell (his reputation has shrunk for a good reason) and Theodore Roethke and other poets who have been dead for more than 25 years.

ISBN: 0140274987

ListPrice: $16.95

Edition: 01

Dimensions: 20 cm

Summary: White Noise is quite possibly the most enjoyable book I've ever read. Don DeLillo creates a humorous account of a middle-aged man (Jack Gladney) obsessed with death and its inevitability. In his writing, DeLillo suggests that Americans use consumerism as a way of warding of death, which is one of the novels running themes. The characters in the novel are oddly outrageous with their fanatic conversations about the recollection of trivial things like "Where were you the first time you brushed your teeth with your finger?" or "Where were you when James Dean died?" The dialogue throughout the novel is brilliant and at one point, a father-son conversation about rain coaxes the reader into questioning the validity of his or her own senses. The novel also shows how people are infatuated by televised disastrous events. White Noise reads like a demented sitcom, full of dark comedy, and unique neurotic characters that keep you entertained and interested through its entirety. If you enjoy comical and creative writing, then read this book!

ISBN: 0072435194

ListPrice: $12.80

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: ....it's bizarre. Mrs. Kingston's mother has a thing with viewing Americans as ghosts. It's just strange. However, it's a good book despite its' political correctness.

ISBN: 0140431217

ListPrice: $8.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 1 by 4.50 by 7 in.

Summary: ADAM BEDE is a thrilling read, though it may seem hard to believe given the unpromising setting and the stilted way Eliot introduces her story. But after the first few starchy chapters, abruptly, something wonderful happens: she gets wise to herself. It's as if you can see her realize that the upright characters she *thought* she was pinning her story on, dull Dinah and Mr Irwine, aren't really the stuff of which fiction is made -- so she shoves them aside and takes up the flawed characters of her triangle, who resonate with possibility at every turn. Suddenly, miraculously, with almost no warning, all Eliot's amazing gifts as a writer take center stage: Her psychological insight. Her phenomenal wit. The dramatizing genius that allows her, effortlessly, to plot the most intimate narrative developments against the gigantic backdrop of a county-wide feast or funeral. Her fearlessness and surefootedness in picking her way (and ours) through the tangle of social and class relationships of an entire village. In this embarrassment of riches, maybe most rewarding for a reader like me is Eliot's unerring ability to pay off her plots: here, ladies and gentlemen, is a writer who knows how to write the hell out of a climax -- George Eliot's big confrontation scenes never, ever disappoint. Too, some wizardry seems to keep her narrative touch both incomparably delicate and completely unflinching at the same time. At the heart of ADAM BEDE is a story so sordid I wonder whether it could be broadcast on network TV today, and Eliot tells it without vulgarity but without ever shying away from its ugliness. My most serious criticism of the book is that Eliot didn't quite trust herself enough not to tack an unconvincing (and, worse, uninteresting) happy ending onto her story. But the hair-raising drive of the middle two-thirds of the book is something you'll never forget.

ISBN: 0679729526

ListPrice: $10.00

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 1 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: Roman society was enamoured of Greek culture -- many of the best 'Roman' things were Greek; the major gods were derivative of the Greek pantheon; philosophy, literature, science, political ideals, architecture -- all this was adopted from the Greeks. It makes sense that, at the point of their ascendancy in the world, they would long for an epic history similar to the Homeric legends; the Iliad and the Odyssey, written some 500 years after the actual events they depict, tell of the heroism of the Greeks in their battle against Troy (Ilium). The Aeneid, written by Vergil 700 years after Homer, at the commission of Augustus (himself in the process of consolidating his authority over Rome), turns the heroic victory of the much-admired Greeks on its head by postulating a survivor from Troy, Aeneas, who undergoes as journey akin to the Odyssey, even further afield.Vergil constructs Aeneas, a very minor character in the Iliad, as the princely survivor and pilgrim from Troy, on a journey through the Mediterranean in search of a new home. According to Fitzgerald, who wrote a brief postscript to the poem, Vergil created a Homeric hero set in a Homeric age, purposefully following the Iliad and Odyssey as if they were formula, in the way that many a Hollywood director follows the formulaic pattern of past successful films. Vergil did not create the Trojan legend of Roman origins, but his poem solidified the notion in popular and scholarly sentiment.Vergil sets the seeds for future animosity between Carthage and Rome in the Aeneid, too -- the curse of queen Dido on the descendants of Aeneas of never-ending strife played into then-recent recollections of war in the Roman mind. Books I through VI are much more studied than VII through XII, but the whole of the Aeneid is a spectacular tale.Fitzgerald's modern and accessible translation makes the Aeneid really come to life for modern readers. It is a verse translation, not forced into word-by-word construction nor into false, flowery and stuffy structured verse that would seem formal and distant. This is a language familiar to modern readers, just as Vergil's Latin would have been readily accessible to the listeners and readers of his time. Vergil died before he could complete the story. He wished it to be burned; fortunately, Augustus had other ideas. Still, there are incomplete lines and thoughts, and occasional conflicts in the storyline that one assumes might have been worked out in the end, had more editing time been available. Despite these, the Aeneid remains a masterpiece, and Fitzgerald's translation will be a standard bearer for some time to come.

ISBN: 0517189585

ListPrice: $5.99

Dimensions: 0.75 by 6.25 by 8.50 in.

Summary: Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty is a timeless classic for readers of all ages, but has a main demographic of females from the age 9 to 16.The story takes place in 19th century England. IT follows the life and experience of a horse named Black Beauty. The horse is born on a farm and sold at the age of four. His first owner Squire Gordon is a great loving man. Black Beauty is treated with respect and dignity. The story follows the horse as he is then sold from owner to owner. He becomes neglected and abused by carriage owners. A loving and gentle man finally purchases Black Beauty. He cares about the horses and treats them well. Black Beauty is finally happy as a carriage horse when tragedy strikes. His owner is struck with illness and is forced to sell the horse. Black Beauty is sold to a poor owner and is neglected. He longs to go back home to squire Gordon's farm and live a happy life once again.The book is uniquely enough from the horse's point of view. This helps children connect with the horse, and makes the book more interesting and easy to follow along with. The heart breaking tale of a horse's life that will readers leave on the edge of their seat wanting to keep reading, dying to find out what happens next. The book goes into detail about how animal abuse used to be in the early 1900's. Older children have and will continue to enjoy this book for generations to come.

ISBN: 0192834428

ListPrice: $7.95

Edition: 04

Dimensions: 1 by 5 by 8 in.

Summary: Memorable duel of wills between 2 stubborn forces in control of a pliable public speaker... One of James' stonger pieces; every word counts so read them carefully. His narration is stuffed with swirling ideas, pinpoint social commentary and sly asides; all floating inside his trademark beautiful prose. Olive versus Basil: there's a literary wrestling match for the ages. Great stuff

ISBN: 0156141507

ListPrice: $13.00

Dimensions: 1 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: This book was written nearly 50 years ago in the 1950's, so naturally some of the stories are incomplete with todays hindsight, but I wish I'd read this book 20 years ago. It is extremely well written, and full of fascinating anecdotes. Although I am familiar with many of the characters & stories, there was something new for me in every chapter, for example the insights into Oppenheimer in Germany before WWII. It would be wonderful if a revised version could be published incorporating the story of the Soviet Atom Scientists.

ISBN: 0452011523

ListPrice: $13.95

Summary: It is an anthology of mythology I often use simply to look up the major myths, because it's easy to find things in Bulfinch. If I knew of a modern alternative which filled the same role as well, I might rank Bulfinch a 3. It's a fairly good reference for Greek, Roman and Arthurian legends. He pretty much paraphrases e.g. Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphisis. He also provides the basic Egyptian and Viking myths. But anything East of the Levant is given very short shrift, probably because at the time this was written, those myths were not so available in the West.There's no question he loved these stories, but I can't say I'm left with the feeling that he has been truly struck by the Myth, that the Myth has truly destabilized him the way it has Frazer, Jung or Joseph Campbell.And no doubt this collection would not have been published at all at that time were he not willing to leave out significant facts that the book might be readable by well-bred ladies. Any castrations are left out or (worse) revised. Cronos was deposed. Theseus slays the Minotaur, but the part about how the Minotaur came to be in the first place is omitted. Attis comes across as a romantic story. You find neither the factual story behind it as laid out by Heroditus nor any intimation about the nature of the fantastical cult which arose around it as described in Frazer.At the same time, although most major bookstores now have whole sections devoted to mythology, and hundreds of anthologies have come out, I've never quite found anything that takes the place of Bulfinch, and so I keep it on my shelf.

ISBN: 0465008089

ListPrice: $16.00

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.50 by 8.25 in.

Summary: This book was assigned to me as a reading for a book review in my cultural anthropology class at Mississippi State University. I thought that this book was a difficult one to read because the layout was hard to follow. The names began to get jumbled by the fourth chapter. The story line could be good if it was brought to the audience in a more typical and easy to read format. Less rambling on and on would be great. I have never read a book that took half a page to describe a creek...it would have been ok if the book was about the stream but it wasn't it was about like 50 people and eachof their life stories...It stunk!!

ISBN: 0140444866

ListPrice: $13.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 1 by 5 by 7.75 in.

Summary: Fabuous book. Engels wrote this when he was only 24- and what a tour de force. The work is detailed, beautifully observed and elegantly written. Despite the depressing nature of the subject matter, the tone is always possible about a better world beyond the evils of capitalism.Unfortunately 150 years after this masterpiece was written things dont seen to have gotten better under capitalism. Rather, the old evils of poverty, infectious diseases, starvation have been replaced by the modern evils of capitalism: obesity, alienation, mass materialism, depression, plunging fertility and marriage rates and so on...

ISBN: 0440415632

ListPrice: $5.99

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 0.25 by 5.25 by 7.75 in.

Summary: I really liked The Cricket in Times Square because there are lots of funny and unusual characters! It is about a small boy named Mario who finds a very unusual pet - a cricket! The cricket, Chester, ends up takinga subway to New York, and meets two other friends, Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat.This was a hilarious book as Chester tries to manage in the city,which is unlike his Conneticut home. This book is realistic fiction which means that everything in the book didn't happen, but it could happen. The author created many interesting characters at very unsual times. I like the way George Selden made the characters come to life. He described every character, so that I could visualize them in my mind, even without the pictures. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure stories.Younger kids,and most adults would like The Cricket in Times Square.

ISBN: 0140434275

ListPrice: $9.95

Edition: 04

Dimensions: 1.50 by 5.25 by 7.75 in.

Summary: George Eliot's final novel is both riveting and problematic. Many critics have called it "two books in one" -- some have even said that the two strands of the book should have been *separated*. One plotline follows Gwendolen Harleth, a spoiled and beautiful girl fallen on hard financial times, and what happens when she marries a soulless aristocrat...the other plotline concerns the title character, Daniel, who is drawn into the revelation of his true Jewish ancestry. George Eliot is a Novelist of the Mind...she dissects the motivations and psyches of her characters, setting them against the society they inhabit and examining interaction both with that society and with the other people it encompasses. This is a stirring novel, with sharply-etched characterizations : not a melodrama or a potboiler, yet still with the drive of a thriller.

ISBN: 0553265954

ListPrice: $6.99

Edition: reissue

Dimensions: 0.75 by 4.25 by 6.75 in.

Summary: DARKNESS AT NOON remains one of the 20th Century's most incisive political allegories because of its ironic, literal historicism. The title refers to the hour when Christ, whom Christians revere and worship as personal Savior and Redeemer of Fallen Man in history, dies a criminal's death. Rome and people he came to serve are the instruments of execution wherein THE DELIVERER is delivered to abandonment and ultimate shame. Koestler's Rubashov is no Christ. On the contrary, he is a consummate liar and has lived his life ruthlessly pursuing POWER in guise of "deliverer" and friend of freedom. Arthur Koestler...former communist who witnessed The(first)Great Betrayal incarnated in Stalinist Purge Trials of the late 1930's...writes his novel in form of "anti-Augustinian" confession.Its banal, un-melodramatic narrative of a politcal revolutionary's life as idealogue, spy and terrorist is anti-Gospel..."bad news"...that would enslave and murder millions in the cause of secular salvation. Rubashov stands for ruthless men...would be self-apotheosized gods...promising land, bread and end to tyranny.History shows what their Darkness at Noon brought. The novel...along with Czeslaw Milosz'essay THE CAPTIVE MIND...is recommended to readers needing refresher in psychology of political deceit. Americans who believe Political Correctness serves anything but a "Judas Project" might find Koestler's closing chapter of DARKNESS AT NOON ("The Grammatical Fiction") particularly illuminating/unnerving. Koestler's Rubashov is neither hero nor anti-hero. He is totalitarian bureaucrat; a secular demon serving a secular Hell.DARKNESS AT NOON is portrait of a dedicated liar following the Political Primer of the Father of Lies......

ISBN: 0679745203

ListPrice: $13.00

Edition: 1st Vintage International ed.

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: Patience is an attribute, essential for those interested in reading The English Patient. This piece of literature is difficult to follow; However, it is well worth the endeavor. Pictures are drawn by the prolific words of the author, Michael Ondaatje. The English Patient is a portrayal of life during and after World War II, through the eyes of four unique individuals. This motley quartet consists of a young, Canadian nurse; a relatively young Sikh, serving the British as a sapper (a mine-disarmer); a middle age 'thief by nature, turned spy by the war'; and a charred patient. During their time together, congregated in a deserted Italian villa, their stories unravel, revealing past circumstances, existing emotions, and unfolding ambitions. Enfolded in the plot of this fictional narrative, are several fine points of relevancy, pertaining to war. Ondaatje intertwined pertinent pieces of information, which served as substantial grounds from which the setting was contrived. In numerous cases, the author succeeded in evoking an empathetic point of view from the reader. The tactics are convincing, and the theme is not devoted to a complete genial complexion. The English Patient is one I will have to read again, in favor of my understanding.

ISBN: 006092229X

ListPrice: $14.00

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: One aspect of Rubin's work that is disappointing is the deficiency of any plausible solutions to all of the problems she presents. While she does challenge the institutions that assist in keeping these invisible Americans at the bottom, she simply neglects to give any examples of institutions or policies that might benefit the lower classes, such as a childcare system that is safe, cost-efficient, does not deteriorate family values, and so forth. That becomes frustrating for readers who quickly tire of complaining about and pointing out problems without presenting any pathways to a solution.Nevertheless, Families on the Fault Line has a pretty broad audience, as shown through her word choice and sentence complexity. This book is a fast and interesting read for anyone interested in learning about the reality of being poor. Moreover, people in the middle and upper classes should read this book in order to get a better understanding of just how unglamorous being poor can be, and what a luxury it is to have job security, some extra money, be able to buy new clothes, afford a higher education for one's children. I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned about his or her future, because while the economy may look good now, a person cannot predict how it will be in another two decades.

ISBN: 0060938455

ListPrice: $14.95

Edition: 1st Perennial ed.

Dimensions: 21 cm

Summary: Fast Food Nation is a book that is very disturbing to read and which will create deep discomfort in the reader. Despite its title, the books focuses as much on the fast food industry itself as its suppliers and for my money, the latter are the real problem. Sure, fast food has nutritional implications, and additives are quite a scam, but nobody is forcing you to eat it all the time. If you want to live on burgers, well that is your choice. The story of the meat industry however is sickening. I am not referring to the early days of the meatpackers; bad as matters were in those days, that was no different from the robber baron mentality of that age. The shocker is that the meatpacking industry (beef, chicken, whatever) even today has no compunctions about its terrible practices. The shame of America today is that corporates can buy off regulatory oversight of their activities by political donations. The USDA has been so hamstrung today that even when it knows of rules being traduced, it can do precious little. It is scary and disgusting to read just what we are eating in the name of meat products. It is even more frightening to read how the industry in a standard knee-jerk reaction resists safety measures not only in production but even in product recalls when all else fails. As for its treatment of its workforce, all I can say is that the sweat shop is alive and well in the US of A. From ever increasing line speeds that induce injuries, to inhumane treatment of injured workers, this is an industry that has lost all tough with humanity as it chases profits. Sure profits are essential and of course the investors must get a return on their capital. But do they know the human cost (to workers, to customers, to the very fabric of society) of generating this return? Thank you Eric for an eye opening book.

ISBN: 0140434356

ListPrice: $14.00

Edition: 04

Dimensions: 1 by 5.25 by 8 in.

Summary: George Eliot is an acquired taste. If one were to pick up only one of her books it would probably be "The Mill on the Floss", "Silas Marner" or "Middlemarch" and with any one of those might come frustration with Eliot's myriad of plots (not to mention her tendency for being a bit wordy). But I found "Felix Holt", for all its political twists and turns, to be the most accessible of Eliot's books. This accessibility can be attributed to two of the finest characters ever created: Mrs. Transome and Ester Lyon. I would say that the character of Mrs. Transome ranks up there with Emma Bovary in terms of literary creation and chapters 42 and 49 (I don't want to give away the story) are absolutely cinematic. I truly love this book.

ISBN: 1573228281

ListPrice: $14.00

Dimensions: 1 by 5.75 by 8 in.

Summary: Having lived in Asia for 14 years (Korea for 10 years), I am an avid reader of English language books by Asian authors.However, I was disappointed in A Gesture Life. It was so bogged down in describing in detail the everyday emotions of the main character that is was quite boring at times. It certainly did not move fast enough to hold much of my interest. As a single American who also adopted a Korean child (my son, when he was only 3 years old), I could empathize with Franklin Hata's frustrations in trying to overcome the barriers between he and Sunny. The experiences in that regard gave me insight to my own ongoing struggle to help my son adjust.To be fair to Mr. Lee, the author, I believe I will read his first book, Native Speaker, and see if I will be more impressed.

ISBN: 0140010270

ListPrice: $9.95

Edition: reprint

Dimensions: 1 by 4.50 by 7 in.

Summary: Robert Graves' THE GREEK MYTHS falls between the Victorian bombast of Bulfinch and the popular style of Edith Hamilton, less stylistically intimidating than the former and more scholarly than the latter. Originally published as a two volume set in 1955 with author revisions in 1957 and 1960, this single volume text does not abridge the original text but merely confines it to a single binding.One's reaction to THE GREEK MYTHS will depend to some extent on one's purpose in acquiring it. This is an exhaustive collection of Greek mythology that far outstrips any other modern anthology that I have encountered, including myths both better known and extremely obscure. Each myth is presented in concise, graceful prose, and where possible Graves includes genealogies of the characters and major variations of each myth; an interpretive essay also follows each myth.While Graves' retelling of the myths themselves have been widely praised, his interpretations of the myths have been somewhat criticized--and justly so. Graves tends to see incarnations of the "White Goddess" and the "Sacrificial King" in every third story; more dangerously, he tends to tie the myths to historical events in a highly speculative way. While this does not undercut the interest of his interpretations, it does hold a number of traps for the casual reader, who may assume that Graves' essays offer standard, scholastically unbiased interpretations based on proven historical events.For myself, I use Graves' THE GREEK MYTHS as both reference and pleasure-reading, and I enjoy it a great deal; it is an indispensable purchase for any one with a serious interest in Greek mythology for any one who must frequently reference the same for scholarly purposes, and I strongly recommend it to them. At the same time, however, I would hesitate to recommend it to readers who have not previously been exposed to Greek mythology or who wish only a general knowledge of the major Greek myths; in such cases I would instead recommend Edith Hamilton's MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS AND HEROES.

ISBN: 0226307905

ListPrice: $8.61

Edition: 2nd, 02

Dimensions: 0.50 by 5.50 by 8 in.

Summary: Lattimore does a good translation of several greek tragedies in this book. The book is great in terms of the stories that are presented, especially Oedipus the King. Oedipus is THE example of the perfect Greek tragedy. It is moving, ironic, and sad combined into a play. However, the same could not be said for Agamemnon; which is not only dull in reading, but also long and pointless in plot and storyline. Any sense of emotions and feeling is completly deprived in Aeschylus's play. Overall, it is a good book and reflects upon the early writers and their beliefs of tragedy.

ISBN: 0226307751

ListPrice: $8.95

Summary: Lattimore does a good translation of several greek tragedies in this book. The book is great in terms of the stories that are presented, especially Oedipus the King. Oedipus is THE example of the perfect Greek tragedy. It is moving, ironic, and sad combined into a play. However, the same could not be said for Agamemnon; which is not only dull in reading, but also long and pointless in plot and storyline. Any sense of emotions and feeling is completly deprived in Aeschylus's play. Overall, it is a good book and reflects upon the early writers and their beliefs of tragedy.

ISBN: 0226307913

ListPrice: $8.62

Edition: 2nd ed.

Dimensions: ;1, 3 > ; 21 cm

Summary: Lattimore does a good translation of several greek tragedies in this book. The book is great in terms of the stories that are presented, especially Oedipus the King. Oedipus is THE example of the perfect Greek tragedy. It is moving, ironic, and sad combined into a play. However, the same could not be said for Agamemnon; which is not only dull in reading, but also long and pointless in plot and storyline. Any sense of emotions and feeling is completly deprived in Aeschylus's play. Overall, it is a good book and reflects upon the early writers and their beliefs of tragedy.

ISBN: 0451526929

ListPrice: $3.95

Edition: 2nd rev

Dimensions: 0.75 by 4.25 by 6.75 in.

Summary: Readers should note that this site does not distinguish between the various editions of Shakespeare, so the reviews you read may be for audiotapes, modern translations, etc. I am reviewing the Kenneth Branaugh BBC Radio recording of Hamlet. It is adequate, which I consider high praise for this challenging play. Like Branaugh's movie a few years later, it includes the entire text of the play, which is a nice way to remind yourself of some issues you may have forgotten. The performances are pretty good, and include Branaugh (of course) as Hamlet and Derek Jacobi as Claudius, giving us a hint of the performances they would later give in the movie. No one's performance really blew me away, although Jacobi was excellent. Ultimately, the play loses quite a bit when transferred to audio only. There's a lot to be conveyed with stage placement, physican action, expression, etc. Somehow, listening to the play limited my imagination on those issues, preventing my from using my "mind's eye" to the fullest.

ISBN: 0393955524

ListPrice: $11.40

Edition: 3rd, 01

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.25 by 8.50 in.

Summary: Many people call this novella, published in 1902, the first real book of the 20th century, in that it deals with loss of innocence, moral ambiguity, exploration of the subconscious - all issues that factored prominently into the past hundred years.In college I tried to read "Heart of Darkness," but couldn't make it through, despite its small size. Conrad's thick prose just put me to sleep. But I recently read "King Leopold's Ghost," a gut-wrenching book about the exploitation of the Congo around the turn of the century. With that book as factual background, I took another shot at "Heart of Darkness," and this time I tore through it.The book works at a purely surface level, as an exotic adventure, but it's even more powerful when read as a symbolic journey - either to the core of an individual psyche or to the mysterious heart of the human condition. And what Marlow, the narrator, discovers there is enough to convince him that truly letting go - as Kurtz did - is to become immersed in a spiritual darkness that cannot be explained or escaped."Apocalypse Now" (based loosely on "Heart of Darkness") introduced me to the phrase "The horror! The horror!" - but reading it in Condrad's book was far more chilling.

ISBN: 0395071224

ListPrice: $16.00

Dimensions: 0.75 by 5.75 by 8.25 in.

Summary: During the course of our English Independent Reading Project, I have read the book, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is a fantasy story about a group of dwarves, Thorin Oakenshield, and Bilbo Baggins that must journey to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the land of the dwarves. The group must be very courageous to overcome the dangers of their trip as they encounter goblins, trolls, and giant spiders. It is the teamwork and courage that finally gets them to Smaug, the great golden-red fire dragon, who is terrorizing the entire countryside.In The Hobbit, Smaug is controlling the land of the dwarves, finally the dwarves decided to take back their land and restore their homeland. They needed a little help, Gandalf had decided Bilbo Baggins was the perfect hobbit for the job, he would be the thief. Bilbo Baggins was a quiet peaceful little hobbit. All he wanted was to be left alone to his beautiful hobbit hole where he could eat lots of meals and smoke his pipe. Bilbo heard a knock on the door and before long he had thirteen dwarves and one wizard sitting at his table and eating all his food, it was then, without a choice, that Bilbo was the final man for the trip. As the journey started it seemed so simple because the great wizard, Gandalf was along. As soon as they were left to travel alone, they got themselves in a bit of trouble. They worked together to find their way and save each other from dangers. They met trolls who wanted to eat them, goblins who ate their horses and wanted them dead. Giant spiders that wrapped them up in a web so fast that only Bilbo had enough courage to fight them off. It was also Bilbo alone that had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of the countryside.As expected, there is a lot of action that goes on in The Hobbit-such as when giant spiders became very angry because they could not see Bilbo, due to the ring, but could hear him making fun of them, calling the spiders "attercops". Bilbo is fearful of these spiders but he still finds the courage to sing "Old fat spider spinning in a tree! Old fat spider can't see me! Attercop! Attercop! Won't you stop, stop you spinning and look for me?" Bilbo found himself running around being chased, singing songs to get the spiders away from the dwarves, who are hanging on a limb of a tree from a web, cutting down the webs that the spiders are wrapping around the trees to trap Bilbo in, and killing these spiders all at the same time. Practically all the spiders in the place came after him: some dropped to the ground, others raced along the branches, swung from tree to tree, or cast new ropes across dark spaces. Not only that, but as soon as Bilbo had managed to cut down one of the dwarves, who at this point is very weak, the dwarf uses the rest of his strength to help get the others and stop the spiders. The Hobbit uses great detail. J.R.R. Tolkien really knew how to explain action seens so that a person could visually imagine them, probably almost to what the author wanted them to be portrayed as. Tolkien, gets you right into the story in the first chapter, introducing main characters and explaining the conflict. Tolkien starts his action off simple, with a confrontation with trolls, and ends with big action, like the big fight with Smaug. I believe that while Tolkien is wrote these fantasies, he somewhat relates the ideas of these actions to his life, real life. The Hobbit is a book that really kept my attention, so much was always happening and I didn't want to put the book away. You can see as you read this book, Tolkien wanted the courage of man to stick out, that bravery can get you very far. Don't hold back even is the fear is killing you. Work as a team and never leave anyone behind. Bringing peace and security will be your ultimate reward.

ISBN: 0451627237

ListPrice: $5.99

Summary: This is an amazing book. The story of Achilles and his fellow Greeks is an amazing tale of pride, love, greed, anger, rage, and human emotion. This book is a wealth of wisdom and philosophy of the ancient Greeks told in the form of an epic. In this book, we see how the pride of Achilles nearly destroys the entire Greek army, how the greed of Agamemnon and his pride cause incalculable losses to the Greeks, and how the cowardly Paris steals a man's wife and lets everyone else fight for him. This is more than a mere story, but a book of ancient wisdom second only to the Bible. The story is amazing... but it is the demonstration of the evils of life and their consequences that make this book truly great. The feelings of the characters, and the ability to identify with their thoughts, feelings, and emotions really turn a war story into a story of the human psyche. 5 stars also go to the translator who has made this book as easy to read as any piece of modern literature.

ISBN: 0393955893

ListPrice: $14.20

Edition: 2nd, 01

Dimensions: 1 by 5.25 by 8.25 in.

Summary: Uncommon story for the era. Imagine... an INDEPENDANT woman!