Interviews Books

Lamb is just great at this kind of compilation. A great take-along or for kids who show an interest in American history.

What we have here are 79 condensations of one-hour interviews of eminent historians previously conducted by Lamb, founding CEO and host of the the C-SPAN "Booknotes" television series. ("My interview questions are omitted so that readers can focus on the author's words.") It is important to keep in mind that these are, literally, "stories from American history" rather than traditional academic briefs. That is to say, they are not dull and dry. On the contrary, their format, tone, and style are casual but at no time careless. Credit Lamb and his associates for a first-rate job of editing the material. Those interviewed are erudite raconteurs. Lamb organizes the essays within nine parts: Revolution and Founding (1776-1815), The Young Nation (1815-1850), Slavery and the Civil War (1850-1865), Rebuilding America and the Guided Age ((1865-1901), Progressive Era and Reaction (1901-1929), Depression and War (1929-1945), Early Cold War (1945-1957), Social Transformation (1957-1975), and The Culture Wars (1975-2000). I am especially grateful to Lamb for his headnotes for each chapter. Here is how he introduces Joyce Appleby and her comments on "The First Generation of Americans":

"The census of 1800 reported 1.1 million people living in the United States -- more than twice the number in the colonies at the beginning of the American Revolution. There were four cities with a population greater than 10,000 -- Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. Half of the population was under sixteen years of age. On June 18, 2000, Joyce Appleby, a U.C.L.A. professor and author of Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans, published in 2000 by Belnap Press, appeared on Booknotes to tell us about this era and how this `first generation' helped shape the young nation."

Headnotes such as these serve as appropriate introductions, of course, but also suggest additional sources which readers may wish to explore. It is also helpful to have the "Complete List of C-SPAN Booknotes (1989-2001)," then totaling 619. This is one of three books published thus far, based on 79 of those interviews. The other two, also edited by Lamb, are Booknotes: Life Stories, Notable Biographers on the People Who Shaped America and Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. If you have an especially strong appetite for American history, Lamb and his associates offer a "feast."

Bon Appetit!

If you've ever read any of the BOOKNOTES series by C-SPAN host, Brain Lamb, you already know their value. I personally find this volume, STORIES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY, to be the best of them all. As with all of Lamb's books, the list of contributing writers reads like a Hall of Fame roster.

This volume is divided into nine different time periods. Each one covers not just historic and political events, but also offers pieces on social events, biographic profiles and more. For example, in the chapter on the Gilded Age, you will find an essay on the building of Central Park, the first Transcontinental Railroad, the political career of Grover Cleveland, historian H. W. Brands on the events of the 1890's, a look at William Randolph Hearst and the rise of "yellow journalism" (so named for Hearst's introduction of one of the first colorized print cartoons, "The Yellow Kid"), and concludes with an essay on J.P. Morgan and the banking industry.

This is a wonderful addition to your library and critical for home-schoolers. The writing is superb and unbiased, allowing the reader to form their own conclusions to events of American History. This volume concludes with 23 pages of a complete list of C-SPAN Booknotes, where you are sure to find more to add to your reading list.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

Overall this is a great book -- engaging, insightful. The chapters are brief, easy to read, and the reader gets a wide range of viewpoints from the various authors feautred. The only criticism I have is that the last section, The Culture Wars, is deficient. It covers well the conservative end of things with chapters on neo-conservatives, Reagan & Bush. However, the book ignores Carter & Clinton. And except for race, the book ignores civil rights issues that have been so divisive in the "culture wars," such as feminism and gay rights.

I was watching the Don Imus Radio Program "Imus In the Morning" when he recommended to his listeners this book edited by Brian Lamb, the founder and current executive of C-SPAN. After hearing numerous recommendations from other viewers and notables on the Imus program, I decided to purchase the book myself and see if it was as good as others said it was. I was not disappointed in the least.

The book is in overview exerpts of interviews of notable historians and other personalities who have written a book about a historical figure or event and was on the C-SPAN show "Booknotes" to talk about the book they have written. Such authors as James McPherson, the excellent Civil War Historian to NBC News Anchorman Tom Brokaw who talked about the World War II generation. The book starts with the American Revolution and ends with the year 2000. Each chapter is a brief overview of what the historians/authors on C-SPAN said during the show that they appeared and it is interesting and to the point.

The chapters are short 5 to 8 pages at the most, but they keep the reader's interest throughout. There is an introduction at the beginning of each chapter that tells the date that the historian/author appeared on Booknotes and what the name of the book was that they have written.

Each chapter is interesting and dare I say "fun" to read. From the founding of America, to the Civil War, to current day is fascinating reading. Such notable figures as U.S. Grant, J.P. Morgan, John F. Kennedy and so many others are discussed as well. From historical acts to controversy, this book has them all. It provides a "taste" of the individual book that is presented by the authors and also some tell the motivation to why they wanted to write about an event or historical figure.

This is easy to read and does not get bogged down in detail. If you want detail, then buy the actual book that the various authors have written about.

This is the kind of book that would be excellent for a upper level high school U.S. History Class or for College U.S. History Classes as well to use as a companion to the required textbooks assigned for the classes. This is also the perfect book for the "armchair" historian who enjoys a good read about interesting people and events, but dosent want to know the minute details involved in a huge biography or book on a historical event.

Highly Recommended!

These boatwomen are indeed remarkable, and superb ambassadors of the Grand Canyon Colorado River corridor. Sure, I'm biased: my first commercial river trip featured two of the profiled women plus another guide noted in the Acknowledgments. All were consummate storytellers, and gender was never an issue. Ms. Teal has an unfortunate habit of occasionally padding her descriptions with platitudes, but these lapses do not significantly diminish the value of this book.

A friend who is a river guide gave me this book. I never really understood the fasination with rafting until I read this. The writing leaves a little to be desired, but the subject matter and the information is very moving.

A friend told me about this book several years ago when I was raft guiding on the Colorado River a little north of the Grand Canyon. I bought the book, and absolutely loved it. As one of the rare breed of female white water rafting guides, it was amazing to read about other women who shared my passion for the river and for the wild places around us. Breaking into the Current is NOT a male-bashing book; it filled with stories that are waiting to be told--stories by and about interesting women who went into a career that few women would consider entering. I loved reading the stories about Lava Falls, the making of Crystal Rapid, and all the others. Each time I return to the book it makes me ache to be on the river yet again.

A few years back on my first trip through the Grand Canyon I was lucky enough to be in a group that included Louise Teal as one of the guides. I bought this book after the trip and read it on the drive home. I was blown away. Her love of the canyon, the river, the people...it all glows from every page. Rafting the Grand is a life-changing experience; and the elements that make it so are all here--captured and expressed by a woman who has become part of the river and vice versa. She tells the stories of the women who 'broke into the current' with humor, sensitivity, respect and love. On top of all that, she is a very talented writer and this book works purely on that basis. If you've ever run the canyon, buy this book. If you have ever wanted to run it, buy this book. If you've got no interest in the canyon or the Colordo river but enjoy good writing about real stuff, buy this book.

I recently travelled a rafting trip of the canyon and was totally enthralled by the experience. In many ways it changed my life. Reading this book brings back so many memories of what the trip there is really about. I felt a true connection with the women that travelled it before me. The descriptions are so beautiful. This book crosses genders and is simply about a wonderful place and some extrodinary women that have travelled there.

If you're intrigued at all by the work of John Cassavetes, this book is well worth your time. The book itself is a collection of interviews Cassavetes gave through his entire life, edited into chapters that correspond to the movies he talked about. The excerpts themselves are pretty interesting, but it is author Ray Carney's commentary in between quotes that really makes this book worthwhile. Carney gives us the back story, and fills in the missing parts, but he also sets things straight when John rambles into fiction. It's easy to see that Cassavetes liked to talk about his work. There are over 500 pages on roughly a dozen films.

If you are new to Cassavetes and read this book, you'll want to view his films. I have only seen a handful myself, but his total commitment to getting them made is so impressive that I feel ashamed to have not seen more. I saw my first Cassavetes film in college and felt that it was interesting, but a little over the top in places. As I get older, I think that real-life might be more over the top than I first realized.

John Cassavetes passion for making movies shines through in this volume. Ray Carney's insight tells the rest of the story. If you are interested in independent film making, this book is a must.

Absolutely necessary reading for those interested in American alternative cinema and not only. The book gives a brilliant picture of USA's one of the best directors ever.
Highly recommended for everyone. No other book shows Cassavetes in this light. Packed with interesting material, as good as Cassavetas' cinema itself.

Ray Carney's "Cassavetes on Cassavetes" is a wonderful introduction to Cassavetes' work. I found it to be a great read - amazingly free of academic jargon or fancy terminology. It was hard to put down! And with incredible photos of the wild-man at work. A must for every fan of indie film as well as aspiring directors and artists - and also for students of life! If you want to know even more, I'd also recommend Ray Carney's massive web site devoted to Cassavetes and indie film. Any search engine will take you there. It has wonderful behind-the-scenes information about the making of Cassavetes' work. If you want a volume to provide ongoing daily inspiration and encouragement regarding the artistic process, buy this book. It is a book you will go back to again and again and again...

Ray Carney's done a great service to film fans by bringing Cassavetes' scattered talks and interviews together into a coherent statement on art. Carney shows how Cassavetes' whole process of filmmaking was tied to his outlook on life. Combative, spontaneous and deliberately amateur, he aimed for situations where writer, actor and viewer are all left without direction, forced to respond to the story as individuals rather than reach for pre-approved 'social codes'. He savagely edited his films to defy audience expectations, usually rejecting versions that the studios, his collaborators and even his wife liked best. Some of Cassavetes' statements made me wonder if he did this to edit some part of himself--the Greek immigrant son made good, with the blonde wife and kids and Hollywood home. In some ways he was an insider desperate to stay on the outside. Conflict was fun for him, he thought America needed more of it, and the messy collaborative 'families' he built around each film were his alternative to the button-down corporate society he fought against all his life.

As Carney presents him, Cassavetes wasn't out for the money, the glory, the ego or ultimately maybe even the art. He wanted fun, he wanted friends and he wanted people to really live as individuals. Are there folks like this around anymore? We need them more than ever.

My half-hearted browser's interest in Cassavetes needed a kick in the seat of the pants, I now realize, and reading this book shows me how much I failed to appreciate him while we were lucky enough to have him around. The format is eye-opening. Cassavetes speaks, and then the author. The constantly shifting P.O.V., and the frisson between the truth Cassavetes himself presented, and the unvarnished truth as discovered by the author, makes this book constantly stimulating and endlessly arguable.

Cassavetes life and films are worth a serious look-see -- and this book is an EXCELLENT place to begin that-- if only because he is that rare individual who absolutely refused to accept mediocrity in himself and others, both as an artist and a committed liver of life. He went for the burn every time out, and could often be an ornery s.o.b. when he detected that people were simply going through the motions in their life or art. (The book is rife with anecdotes that literally make you wince and leave you wondering "Could I have long tolerated this behavior in a friend or family member?") He seems never to have thought "I'd better not burn my bridges here", or practiced any of the other forms of incremental, over-thought cowardice that most of us do.

Cassavetes was driven like no one else; he never made a lazy, easy commercial film. He let his life and films commingle, letting the cameras roll for hours, shooting thousands of feet more film than he could use, afterward sculpting it into a shape that could be released. (He said film stock was the one part of his film making on which he would never scrimp.) His films were, probably more than any other director's, explorations of life.

Cassavetes lived life so completely that it might be truthful to say he did something the average person would call foolhardy nearly every day of his life, in some way or other. But in spite of this, or because of it, it's impossible to come away from this book without an awakened admiration for him.

...and quite possibly the best collection of quotes from the broadest range of leaders in the field that I have ever devoured. I started reading it with a highlighter to cover the best advice. Excluding the front and back covers and the title page, the book is now entirely yellow. From veterans to fresh meat on the hook, this is the bloody book to read if you want to take your craft seriously. What more can I say to rave about this? Buy it. Read it. Then read it again. Keep it within reach of your desk for inspiration when the words just don't seem to flow. It's like a horror convention in your brain!

This book is so inspirational it amazes me. It is quote after quote by famous authors on different topics that apply to horror writing. I think this is one of the most inspirational books on horror writing. I love this book!

Do you wonder what scares your favorite horror writers? Would you like to know who influenced them, or where they get their ideas? Wonder no longer--the answers to these and other intriguing questions can be found in Dark Thoughts On Writing. Editor Wiater, drawing on interviews he's conducted with fifty writers of horror and suspense, presents their responses to these questions and their opinions on censorship, the affect of fame and fortune, and why they choose to write in the genre. The result is a plethora of colorful opinions, surprising anecdotes, and useful advice from a wide selection of horror writers, including Stephen King, Anne Rice, Jack Ketchum, Ira Levin, Clive Barker, Matthew Costello, Charles L. Grant, Nancy A. Collins, F. Paul Wilson and Richard Matheson. Must reading for horror fans and aspiring writers in all genres.

This is a book that will be of interest to the struggling writer and the devoted fan alike: the author culls thought-provoking, helpful, and at times highly amusing quotes from his series of interviews with the giants of dark fiction and distills them into one handy volume.

As a writer, one topic I found particularly interesting was the matter of influences: discovering who inspired the authors and artists who inspire me was fascinating.

As an aspiring writer, I was especially interested in these writers' basic influences, fears, and drives. After the first chapter, I was glued to this book, absorbing the thoughts of writers such as Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Anne Rice, and many others. This is a great gift for a horror fan.

This is a great book for young black males. It has short biographys of several different black males who made it in spite of their challenges in life. It was positive.

Now, here's something we don't get everyday: a handsomely-presented portrait of several young Black men whose backgrounds vary in profession, background, region, and sexual orientation. We're treated to crisp, black-and-white photographs of these men accompanied by a few autobiographical notes. The stories they have to tell never fail to intrigue. I bought this on a whim a few years back, and it's been a nice addition to my library. Definitely recommended.

this book prove that all young black guys aren't how the media try to make them out to be.

The personal narratives and excellent photography make this book the perfect gift for any young African American. It is truly inspiring to read the words of the next generation and learn how they are coping with success in spite of the racism and negativity that is so prevalent in the 21st century. It is a perfect companion to AS I AM. The only draw back is that Mr. Okwu didn't provide contact information for these talented, handsome young men.M-E-O-W!

In a time and age when young, african-american men are not portrayed in the best light, J. Okwu provides an illuminating and insightful look into the lives of 40 of these men. Not only is his writing superb, but his artistic eye and layout design are quite impressive. I have passed along the book to a number of young, african-american men in my life. I hope Face Forward will inspire them as much as it did me.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE FOR EVERY FATHER. EVERY FATHER WILL BENEFIT FROM IT. FIFTY-FIVE FATHERS FLOWS WITH EASE. EVERY NEW STORY IS FILLED WITH GREAT EMOTION.

I ONLY WISH MY DAD HAD THIS BOOK BEFORE I WAS BORN - I KNOW THINGS WOULD HAVE VERY DIFFERENT!

IF YOUR A DAD, DONT BE ASSHAMED TO BUY THIS BOOK. THIS COULD BE THE BEST BOOK YOU BUY IN YOUR LIFE - YOUR KIDS WILL THANK YOU WITH TONS LOVE!

Initially I thought this would be a book of warm stories that would be best read by a crackling fireplace before I turned in for the night. But as I read it I found that it had many lessons that would be useful to future fathers.

This book is written by the products of fatherhood, be they for the better or worse. All ages are included. There is a good contrast between the stories of the older contributors and the teenagers who talk about their fathers. I found myself sitting and contemplating the stories that I had read, wishing that I had read a book like this earlier in my life.

This book was better than I expected. Its stories are good; but its worth to future and present fathers is substantial. Consider it as a gift to your sons and daughters as they contemplate having their own families.

This is a great book about sons and their memories/relationships with their fathers. I really enjoyed it because it's easy to digest and teaches you so much about relationships between father and son. In the short time since I have read it, it has helped me understand what my son may need from me as a father. There is an obvious common thread that flows through each story. I wont give it away here though. :) I think as we grow older, we quickly forget what we expected from our fathers and this book brings that back into focus.

Christmas dinner dishes were being cleared by the females in our family, while the males remained at the table--old tradition. Fifty-five Fathers (my Christmas gift to my 65 year old brother) was brought to the table and opened to the ten questions. We started slowly responding to the questions, somewhat timidly.....Soon, three generations of fathers, sons, daughters, and grandaughters found their way back to the table to listen to and share new,never-heard before stories of their Dads and Grandads. Then, Moms and Grandmas. A new family tradition was born!

This book is touching and sentimental. It will get the reader to think about their own father and jog the memories of those times, bad and good, that bond a son and father.

One of the best books about firefighting by firefighters. Reading the stories of theses heros really brings their job into perspective.

I love this book! I am a volunteer firefighter and I am also going to college full time. I chose to read this book for my book report, and I must say that it has really touched my heart. I know where most of these people are comming from. I hope that everyone who reads this review will get the book and read it. Happy Reading!

In The Fire Inside Steve Delsohn got firefighters to candidly speak about their most dangerous job. They tell of the trauma of dealing with the victums of fire, the misery in the strret, but the comaraderie they find with other firefighters. Highly recommended to anyone interest in firefighting.

I have wanted to be a firefighter for a long time.When I started to read this book I thought It was good,but when I finished it I thought it was great.The Fire Inside realy inspired me to do the most I could to be a firefighter.I think everyone who whants to be a firefighter should by this book.

Fires and firefighters have fascinated people since the days of the bucket brigade. In this book, Steve Delsohn has taken the time to get behind the scenes, and talk to the men and women who do the backbreaking, dirty work that is firefighting.

This is a closed society, just because no one else can understand what it is we see day in and day out. Among us are the Samaritans wishing only to help others, the adrenaline junkies who groove on the rush you get going in to a burning building, and the guys who just like the days off.

A lot of people try to get on the job, and not many make it. This is your chance to see what it's like, and who the real people are who man (person?) the firestations around this country. After reading it, you'll understand why I'm proud to call all of them my brothers.

The item arrived on time and this web site was the ONLY place I could find this book as my daughter needed it for her English class at school!
Amazon really came through for me when we couldn't find the book anywhere else. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

THIS BOOK IS POWERFUL, ITS SHOCKING, AND IT IS ASPIRING. THERE IS NOTHING ON CHANNEL 11 THAT BRINGS THE HONEST, INSIGHTFUL, VERY REAL ACCOUNT THAT MR.DOUGLASS DOES IN HIS BOOK. FROM SLAVE TO FREE-MAN, THIS IS TRUELY AN AMERICAN SUCCESS. SKIP THE INTRO, AND JUMP INTO IT.

Douglass's second, and lengthier, narrative fills in many of the gaps left in his first autobiography: we learn about his mother, his siblings, and more details about his psychological transformation from brute to man. It's quite insightful, as Douglass is careful to relate each of his personal experiences to the innate evil of the peculiar instituition, for both the slave and the slave holder.

Having read a biography of Douglass many years ago, I thought I knew his story. Hearing through his pen was an entirely different matter. What a master of the language and insighful set of observations on human nature.

I am a man of many words, but words fail me in my endorsement of this book. The letter to his former master in the appendix is worth the price of the book by itself.

Standing in line at the Lincoln Memorial, a book beckoned to me that I previously hadn't seen before. The face of Frederick Douglas grabbed my attention; a man that I've respected for many years, encountering him mainly through my study of Abraham Lincoln. On the spur of the moment, I snatched up a copy of "My Bondage and My Freedom", and within a few days, my admiration in Frederick Douglass was transformed from interest to awe.

Frederick Douglass orginially penned his book as a response to people's accusations that someone as articulate and composed as he couldn't possibly be a former slave. With that goal in mind, Douglass wrote his memoirs, in a straight forward, powerful way. In the book, he painfully and honestly documents the path his early life took; the memories of being owned, how slaves coped during these times, and how he managed to pull himself out of it all.

While Douglass' life in itself is amazing, (as he describes the amazing process he undertook to learn how to read), what amazed me even more are Douglass' discourses that he sprinkles through the book, discussing relevant issues during the time. In one instance, he addresses the concern about why slaves simply didn't run away from their oppressive situations. It's almost as if you can actually hear the people talking to Douglass and he responding to them.

This book does not only tell the tale of a truly amazing American, but gives us a unique insight to the times. This book should be required reading in every high school in this country.

This survey of 100 women marrying after 40 highlights the perspectives of this particular age group on common marriage and relationship issues. Among the best features was the assurance given by the author and women surveyed that 40-plus women interested in marriage have the opportunity and can certainly afford to be choosy. Most interesting to me was that almost all of the women who married for the first time or after being single for a long time experienced some anxiety about sharing space and diminished independence. It was heartening to know that this concern, which I share in the abstract, is common and can be dealt with.

It's so good to read a book that makes me feel good about myself and my chances for finding a good man. There are lots of role models in this book, with lots of good advice on how to meet men and how to handle the special problems of mature relationships. If these women can find good men, so can I!!! The book is very uplifting.

Anyone getting married should read this book. Male or female, first, second, Young or old it doesn't matter, this book should be required reading. This book gives good inside into what to expect from marriage. The 1st person stories are great. There are so many things one never thinks of until its too late. This book points them out. For anyone getting married who is marrying someone with children this book is a must. I am giving copies to 3 different brides to be and 1 groom to be.

I purchased this book because one of my friends is depicted in the "Marriage 100" then found myself really drawn to the other women's stories as well. This book is a rare find because of its first-hand, honest portrayal of truly mature relationships! These are women like myself who have "been there, done that" and learned a lot along the way. I found myself wishing that I could sit arouund in a big circle with some of these women, just talking and sharing our ideas about men, relationships, and what makes our lives fulfilling. The next best thing to doing that is reading this book and identifying with so many of the stories therein. I like Carmen Anthony's style, because she truly lets these women's voices be heard. It's a great blend of good reporting and upbeat, worthwhile advice on finding the right kind of man to marry. I have already given this book as gifts to two of my friends and plan to gift it to a few others when their birthdays roll around.

Ever since a 1986 Newsweek article claimed that 40-year-old women have a better chance of being kidnapped by terrorists than finding a husband, many women in their 40s figures that they were fated for singlehood. If you're one of them, this book is here to tell you that's not so.

Rather than writing another "how to get your man" book, author Carmen Anthony put a different twist on that much maligned objec tive by offering some solid advice on the challenges one can fac e4 when marrying later in life.

She starts off with pep talks, telling single women to "get a live and then invite a man into it." And, because it's a vital step in the mating process, there's a chapter on where to find the buys, and quick reviews of the pros and cons of dating services, personals, the bar scene and other st6rategies for meeting men. But she also discusses the importance of being ready to marry, and offers ways to overcome the fears that prevent some women from taking the plunge.

Anthony, who married after the age of 40, doesn t do all the talking. She interv iewed 100 women who ranged in age fro m 40 to 73 when they married. They come from all walks of live and use their own personal stories to aqddress everything from coping with well-intentioned relatives to the b est ways to deal with finances and pre-nuptial agreements and how to successfully fold his and y our children into the picture.

And rather than leaving her readers at the altar, Anthony offers encouragement on the most important aspect of all: the first year of marriage. The women she interviewed struggled with admustment too, and their stories tell those who have been on their own what they can expect when they join their lives with another. Since they've been there, they know that carv ing out personal space, learning to live with, for example, different perceptions of c leanliness, and the age-old problem of communication between the sexes are just some of the road blocks newlyweds of all ages will encopunter.

In the academic landscape of victimization theories, deconstruction and post-modernism, here arises a singular voice that cuts to an all encompassing generative theory of civilization. It is a theory that explains why we buy Nike, why we go to war, and how we achieve peace. It would be better known in academia except this poor soul has the unfortunate timing of discovering a theory that objectively validates the truth of Catholicism, when Christianity (and even worse Catholicism) is out of vogue.

His theories have been described as "among the most profound intellectual discoveries of our time" and "a comprehensive vision of the psychological, sociological, political, and religious processes of sin and redemption"

If you are a thinker interested in social critique and a theory that has the power to restore Western Civilization - buy this book.

I don't think there is any doubt that Rene Girard is the most profoud thinker in the past 2500 years. I go back that far to include his transcendence of both Plato and Aristotle. Translate his insight into the human condition into the waning years of the 20th century--the most murderous century in human history--and we may yet survive the 21st century with some measure of humanity. Thank God we have a thinker who empathizes the human condition and has the ability to articulate it. Right now, he is as close to the "second coming"`as we have.As one of Shakespeare's characters put it: "I thank God for you, sir!"

One of the most interesting aspects of this good general introduction to the brilliant work of Rene Girard is the interview with editor James G. Williams, which touches on Girard's biography and his conversion to Catholicism. The other texts included here span the entirety of his long career as literary critic, groundbreaking anthropologist, and Biblical exegete. The texts address all facets of mimetic theory, from triangular desire to scapegoating, sacrifice, Satan, and the paradoxical place of Nietzsche in the history of mimetic anthropology.

This is one book that takes time to fully digest. I first encountered Girard in 1998, and his work becomes more significant for me with each passing year. The basic ideas are pretty easy to grasp, but they have a nasty habit of reorienting any context you place them in. His scapegoat theory has something urgent to say to many disciplines: literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, and ultimately anthropology--Girard engages them all. His analysis of the Judeo-Christian scriptures is definitely the most illuminating that I have read, and there is evidence that his influence is spreading.

If you are looking for a thoughtful book that takes the Bible seriously without the tired liberal/conservative food-fight, this one won't disappoint.

This is a remarkably complete introduction to Rene Girard's ideas. His key theory has the clarity and simplicity of a mathematical proof--desire is not an innate drive but a behavior we learn through imitation (mimesis). When we mimic our model's desire for the same object, violence breaks out. Through ritual scapegoating, human communities manage to divert this violence by directing it at a random victim (thus hiding its real source in mimetic rivalry). According to Girard, this mechanism is at work across all times and cultures, and shapes the plot of nearly every major novel. For those with a suspicion of grand unifying theories, his idea raises many questions. Even more controversial is his belief that Christianity brings an end to myth by exposing the scapegoat's innocence. Christ doesn't die as a sacrifice to God for human sin; instead, the crucifixion reveals the fiction at the root of all sacrifice--the victim's culpability. This helps to humanize one of Christianity's more troubling doctrines, but it also asks us to believe that the authors of the New Testament understood the workings of mimetic desire 2000 years before Girard articulated the theory. Read the book and come to your own conclusions. Whatever you decide, after reading Girard you'll look at myth and religion with new eyes.