English Books

Some of us like it rough. This dame plays the way we used to play in the streets of Philly. There is elegance, there is subtle intelligence, yes, all that, but the best part is that when the ball hits you, it stings like hell. She writes of life and living, but also of eternity and death. She is somber, but never depressing. The language itself is encouraging, even when her message is not. This is a 20th century poet who has seen it all and isn't afraid to remind us of what man is capable of. The techniques are modern, too, but the love of language surely belongs to the old world. This is the kind of poetry we all used to love to read. She plays hard ball.

This book was and still is my first poetry book; not because I haven't read anyone else's, but it's the first compilation that I was really willing to pay the often outrageous prices for. (LOL) I am not an avid poetry reader, nor am I familiar with the current favorite contemporary poets, but I find that she really does succinctly portray "life's improbability as well as its transient beauty" quite well.

As a younger reader , I do have a bit of a problem identifying with the poetry that she writes pre-1972 (that is, the first few sections before the 'Could Have' section), because I don't really know much about it. As a note though, I probably should say that 'Nothing Twice,' which is about the probabilities of chance, from the pre-1972 section has been a real gem. Anyhow, the travelogues, the places, the books are things that frankly, I'd ask my parents and they probably wouldn't know either, or know very little about. I suppose if I researched enough, I would have no trouble understanding her message, but the stuff I really bought this book for was the pro-1972 sections. I can identify the issues because they're fairly general knowledge and have a certain mocking humor to some of them, but the words do just pull you in. The poems are addressed to one, and to all, and you feel like you're part of the whole. There are instances in which you feel like she's writing about you and the instances you've gone through, and that's what makes you feel amazed at the depth of understanding she has on these matters.

I first discovered her poetry in my high school English class and was surprised to find this book as the only book available in my favorite bookstore (and costing almost triple the cost of a volume of poetry that must have been 600 pages long, with of course long-dead, long-cherished poets). Oh, wait--I did find another book containing her work (that I don't remember the name of) but I bought this one because there were simply more poems that I liked. After a month or two of muddling around and waiting for the price drop (which it didn't), I just gave up and bought it. I can't say that I've regretted that decision.

And...if you still have trouble deciding, the Nobel Prize for Literature she won should be more than enough of a pull to help you decide. It wasn't as much of a deciding factor for me, but it's always nice to know that somewhere in the depths of the blackhole that is my room, I actually have nobel prize literature that I understand and can recommend to others...

My favorite poems from her have been 'Could Have,' 'The Onion,' 'Discovery,' 'True love,' 'Under One Small Star,' 'Pi,' of course 'View with a grain of Sand' because of wordplay, but I find that every time I re-read it, I uncover more about the poems and so that favorites list keeps on getting longer and longer.

It may sound a little strange, but I keep it with me when I travel for long periods of time away from home and turn to it when I have that rare solitary moment to really think about life and what its inner workings are because it just gives such a realistic criticism that you sort of go...wow. Never really thought about it like that before.

Wisala Szymborska's poetry passes the test of intelligibility which is important to me. Virtually all of her poems are self contained in that they do not make arcane literary allusions. In other words, her poetry can be appreciated by the average reader which I consider myself to be. She does not limit herself in subject matter so her poetry contains something for everyone, and also with a subtle humor and an obvious understanding of the human condition. She does not require a lot of words or a lengthy poem to share her own unique insights. Reading this Nobel laureate one thinks how nice it wold be to meet this great lady. Although I devoured this collection the day I received this book, it is one which I will certainly read again.

The Nobel Laureate in Literature of 1996 was proudly bestowed on Wislawa Szymborska, the first Polish woman to receive the prize for literature. While they are other Polish recipients like poet Czeslaw Milosz, Wladyslaw Reymont, and Henry Sienkiewicz to have received the honor, Wislawa is the first woman. While she writes poetry mostly, she has written prose. My biggest problem with poetry is that when it's written in another language, I believe it gets lost in translation but rather the meaning is not lost among its readers. The translators have the arduous task of translating from Polish to English. If you anything about Polish, it's not an easy language to translate from especially to English. But Wislawa is worthy of receiving such top honors because she is now well-known, highly regarded and respected. She has not changed much since she was awarded the NObel prize. She still lives in the same three room apartment in Cracow, she still smokes, and she is still the same humble person who despite her own feelings is quite worthy of such a prize.

...Containing over eighty poems from seven original collections, this book serves as a well-rounded and pleasant introduction to Szymborska's work. This is a good choice for anyone interested in good poetry, women under communist regimes, or Polish literature.

Nancy Dean's book is a welcome addition for those of us who teach AP English Language and want to provide a valuable resource and strategies for passing the AP Exam.

I must admit that I was reticent to purchase this item because most books designed to help students become better writers have unnecessary or unusable activities. _Voice Lessons_, however, is different: organized by technique (diction, imagery, detail, etc.), each lesson begins with a passage from prose or poetry, moves into analytical questions, and finishes with applied practice. From there, it's easier for students to incorporate these techniques in their writing.

I teach grades 10-12 (including AP Language), and _Voice Lessons_ has helped all students in these grade levels improve their writing. They seemed to enjoy the activities as well.

I just got this Voice Lessons book, and, as I hoped, it is jam packed with reproducibles! Each lesson could take one class period or less, and there is a lot of variety. I was glad it wasn't primarily a book about theory. This is a take it to the photocopier and you have a lesson for the day book.

I teach a pre-AP class, and one of the major skills the kids practice is learning to recognize an author's tone through diction, syntax, etc. This book is a collection of excellent warm-up exercises that develop close reading and writing skills. I would highly recommend it; my copy is, in fact, loaned out at the moment to one of my colleagues!

This title was recommended to me by our AP English teacher and she was right. A few simple lessons from each section and my high school students had a much better understanding of voice.

Morris is the early master of "modern" heroic fantasy.
At the same time, Morris was a socialist and there are many political overtones to his last prose romances. These subthemes are subtle but elevate him above most others in genre. Tolkien and his one-dimensional, and somewhat puerile characters are a far cry from Morris, his literary grandfather.

Check out his other prose romances if you can find them esp. "The Water of the Wondrous Isles"

I read this book when I was 15, in 1975. I still have the 1st paperback edition from Ballantine Books. It was a bit of a daunting read when I was a teenager. After reading this book I was hooked. I have never looked back, and have been reading this type of literature ever since. I remember spending hours in the forbidden alcove in the back of the local bookstore perusing all of Ballantine's Adult Fantasy series: E.R.Eddison, Lord Dunsany, James Branch Cabell, Tolkien, H.P.Lovecraft. My mother cut off my allowance because I spent too much money on these types of books. So I got a job. As a teenage artist I spent many days and nights depicting scenes from this gorgeous work of imaginative fiction. I even started writing my own fantasy. This is a work of the highest order and tradition. This is not for everyone being as how this book was penned in the 19th Century. But for those who are patient readers looking for romantic fantasy, I highly recommend this book and other books by authors I have mentioned in this article. BE WARNED: This is not your usual swords and sorcery fare. THIS IS LITERATURE. I'm ordering a copy as soon as possible because I'm still reading my dog-eared 1st Edition. I can't believe these marvels are being reprinted again! Thank The Gods someone is reviving this seemingly dying genre. THERE IS STILL A LIGHT IN THE WORLD!

I first ran into this book by accident in 1975 - it still remains one of my absolute favorites and I encourage anyone interested even remotely in fantasy or heroic romanticism to read it.

However, some caveats should be observed. The ORIGINAL story was published by Kelmscott Press which used "gothic" fonts and unconventional design. Ballentine used this as the source for the 1970 edition and a lot of textual errors crept in - not all of which have been corrected in this new version. (For example "A garth of pound" should read "A garth OR pound.")

But this does not excuse the omission of several paragraphs which are dropped from the bottom of page 308. It looks almost as though a whole page is missing.

I still highly recommend this book regardless. But if a better edition makes its way into the market I would buy that one instead.

I, like many others, came to read this through the influence of C. S. Lewis. Lewis said, and rightly so, that no book could match the titles which William Morris gave to his books, but that he came closer than anyone else could have. This and The Wood Beyond the World are both spectacular, and I look forward to reading his other literature when I get the chance.

This particular book weaves the story of Ralph of Upmeads, the youngest son of the king of a small nation, who runs away from home to seek adventure. He hears of the fabled Well at the World's End, and decides to seek this Well. On the way he encounters numerous smaller adventures, built into what became the first truly epic fantasy book. Morris was the first to ever create a new world as his setting. Sure, there had been fictional books written before his, but he was the first to leave behind conventional countries and lands as his setting and create new lands and new countries in which to place his story. Tolkien, Lewis, etc. all simply went farther down the path that Morris had begun to blaze before them.

As far as the actual writing goes, I find it superb (for the most part). Many dislike his archaic English, but I very much enjoy it. I actually prefer to read books written like that, as I find that it adds greatly to the general feel of the story. The archaic English makes it really feel old, as if it really did take place ages ago. Morris does not use it quite so skillfully as someone like Howard Pyle, but it is very good, and does not fall flat like it tends to do when many less skilled modern authors try to use it. The only part of his writing style that I disliked is his odd manor of switching back and forth between past and present language. For example, he will be going along writing things like "Ralph looked around and knew not where he was" and then suddenly go a few pages writing things like "Ralph looks around and knows not where he is" for no reason at all. It simply makes no sense to me, and I found it rather annoying. This happened in only a few places, so it is not a major issue or anything. For the most part, Morris' writing is superb.

In all, I highly recommend reading this, as it is one of the most important fictional books ever written. Make sure you get Volume 1 and 2, as it was originally one volume but simply had to be split up when they re-printed it so as not to be so bulky. It is long, but well worth the time. If you like it, I recommend checking out The Wood Beyond the World, as well as Howard Pyle's material.

Overall grade: A+

As C.S. Lewis claimed, a story cannot match the wonder and expectation that comes from a title "The Well at the World's End." Indeed, my expectations of a spiritual grail-type quest, the joy of finding another George MacDonald, got in my way of enjoying a fascinating recreation of the medieval romance, an experiment in archaic English, and a materialistic examination of the relativity of culture structure.

Like reading the "Faerie Queene," the characters are shadowy forms whose presence goes beyond simple characterization. Do not look for deep psychosis. Ralph, the hero of this romance, is just that, a hero. Like Ivanhoe or Galahad, Ralph is a luck child and is less interesting than his supporting cast. For example, "the Lady", his first romantic encounter, is a mysterious character, existing beyond good and evil, almost half goddess, a combination of Faerie Queene and Le Belle Dame Sans Merci. Unfortunately, she does not inhabit the whole quest, and her replacement, Ursula, who is confused with "the Lady," is lifeless mirror image her.

The difference between the Well quest and a Grail quest is that the Well quest is attainable. While the Grail lies outside of reach, a spiritual mystery to be claimed at the end of life, more spirit than body, the Well is a material mystery connected to life not death, body as well as somewhat spirit. Being a material possession "The Well at the World's End" is less concerned with spiritual transformation as it is cultural transformation. Therefore, the climax is not the drinking of the well, but the in the life that follows. The relativity of the divergent cultures that Ralph eludes aligning himself with, becomes more black and white after the well. Morris's Marxist optimism shows himself as Ralph retraces his steps and like a revolutionary transform what was a cultural mixed bag into wholly good.

I think my disappointment was a mater of preference and personal expectation. Perhaps my desire for a climax at the end of life reveals my lack of living.

Quick note: this is only part 1. Part 2 is in orange.

So funny. Quick, light reading. Very enjoyable

This book is great. I'm still laughing. This one is on my highly recommended list. I started reading it at 6:00 in the evening and didn't put it down until it was complete, around 2:00. I went back and re-read several of the letters. Visualizing the look on some of the adressees faces was really funny. Can you image what some of these people must have thought?

Recently, I've been reading a lot of the prank letter books that have been released. From Ted L. Nancy, to Paul Rosa, and others.

Wilber Winkle was one of the last in the series I picked up. To be honest, after a couple of lesser books, I thought the genre was dead. It isn't. Wilber Winkle is actually one of the best, up there with Nancy, only more serious.

The thing that is so good about this is that the letters seem more real. They aren't jokey like some of the others. So, they are taken more seriously.

And, even better, he continues his quest with several letters, even at times sending money orders to make his letter stand out (and help with researching the questions he asked).

His letters to Hershey's over several years to find out why they left out the almond in the Fifth Avenue bar are wonderful. He continues on and on, even sending Christmas greetings to them asking how their project is going.

Also, he becoomes a pen pal with Ronald McDonald himself!!

Great stuff.

I only wish there was another volume, or it was longer.

I enjoyed the "Letters from a Nut" series of books. But this book is even better. The author not only writes with his strange requests/questions, but he continues to reply over and over. It's almost unbelieveable how some of his letters are responded to. He puts a lot of thought into his letters, making them outright hilarious. Letter's from a Nut is good, but Wilber Winkle is great!

One of the better books of this genre and suprisingly intelligent and witty. Winkle tackles targets that legitmately annoy him (and us, his readers) and doesn't give up until he gets a satisfactory resolution to his complaints. For some authors in this genre, simply getting an answer to a stupid letter is the punchline. Not so for Winkle, who demands real answers to his complaints. It's his targets' own unwillingness to co-operate that makes them look foolish (and reveals their real attitude toward consumers) and this provides much of the humor for the book.

This is less a "prank" letter book than it is a manual on the art of effective consumer complaining, but this doesn't detract at all from its laugh-out-loud humor. Winkle is an odd and wonderful mixture of consumer crusader and merry prankster.

I agree with the other reviews and found it a great, easy-to-read, realistic read. However, I found the advice on negotiation overly simplistic and optimistic. In corporate America one can't expect to meekly ask for a small amount like $3000 and expect to get a nice "yes" in return. According to other sources I've read, employers often budget 20-30% more for candidates than they initially offer, but hiring managers have no incentive to give that money away unless the candidate convinces them otherwise. This should be done in a cordial manner, but it takes backing up your argument with facts and a list of qualifications. It might take time and will be uncomfortable. This book doesn't provide guidance that will help many job seekers get the salary they want or deserve.

I recently reconnected with the author, an executive recruiter who placed me in my most recent executive position back in the year 2000. Alan had made a lasting impression on me, so it was natural to contact him now as I started my new career search. After all, I have never been better coached and prepared by an executive recruiter to win a desired opportunity. So when Alan let me know that he had written a book, I ran right out and picked up a copy. It was an excellent refresher of the extraordinary one-on-one personal coaching I had received in the past from Mr. Neirenberg. I highly recommend this book to everyone seeking a career move. You, too, can benefit from the advice of this consummate professional.

In this concise and insightful book, Alan shares his vast insights and practical experiences that will assist anyone prepare for and win at interviewing. It is a terrific and informative read!

This is a very concise book that is easy to pick up to brush up on an interviewing topic. Alan covers all of the basics and beyond.

I used Winning the Interview Game extensively during my recent (and successful) job search. Its key points about preparation, practice, and 'day of interview' routine all are spot on. The book brings out a lot of intuitive and common sense points, but arranges them in a coherent and logical fashion that will resonate with almost anyone interviewing for a job or promotion. Bravo !!!

The interelinear portion of this book is great and many of the other reviews have done a fine job of explaining why. I would just like to add how awesome the concordance is that comes along with it. It is arranged by strongs number (rather than the english word) and thus makes it a much more useful tool for finding relevant cross-references. I definitely prefer it to a Strongs concordance and consider it to be my favorite concordance bar none. This book is just an incredible tool for the serious studant of the Bible.

I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a bit of insight into the original wording of the scriptures. I'd prefer an Aramaic interlinear, but this one is a good buy until that comes along.

Print is a little small but crisp and clear, binding is good.

If you really want to understand the New Testament you need an easy way to find the original Greek word behind the words you read in English and then, a list of quotations in English of all the contexts in the New Testament where that particular Greek word is employed. That is exactly what this book efficiently does. This is probably the most valuable "next book" beyond the New Testament itself.

This book has really helped me in my bible studies to get the most accurate translation, from the original spoken language of the bible to english. Example, Baptism is a translation of the true meaning immerse.

This interlinear is good in that each Greek word has a Strong's # above it, to easily find the word in a Greek dictionary that uses Strong's numbering system. However, if you are serious about delving into the Greek, it seems that you would eventually want to at least learn the Greek alphabet, in which case you would not need these numbers to look up Greek word definitions. Also, the type is easy to read. Also, the book contains a Greek concordance at the back, to quickly see where a particular Greek word is located in the NT.

First, let me preface this review by stating that I am an extreme novice, in the serious study of the scriptures, so don't regard my opion too highly.

I do not trust any one completely, when it comes to the matter of my own salvation, which is very much dependent on my understanding of scripture. I have what I regard as a healthy contempt for doctors of divinity, and conferred degrees; all people are subject to common human frailty, and are thus subject to being deceived, no matter what seminary they attend, whatever academic degrees they have obtained, and however sincere they may be. Once a concept is accepted as true, it generally is highly resistant to being rejected, even after the light of truth has revealed it to be error. What I am trying to say, is that generally, children in a Baptist Sunday School class, generally grow up to become Baptist theologians, and Lutheran children likewise usually grow up to become Lutheran theologians, and so on. I know that all theologians have their own particular set of presuppositions and biases, and these biases necessarily affect their interpretation of scripture, even though they may strive valiantly to resist all subjectivity, when called upon to perform the holy, sacred, and even frightening work of translating the scriptures.

McReynold's has chosen a scheme of scripture translation, which only renders a single English word, for each Greek word. That is, he has not sought to enter into speculation regarding which shade of meaning a Greek word has, depending on the context of the passage, nor I suppose, it's grammatical placement (where the word is placed in the sentence), as well as other factors that I am not seeing, due to my great ignorance. This may seem like a severe drawback, and to some extent it probably is. However, consider that it has the advantage of being relatively free from the theological presuppositions and biases of a translator, who sincerely tries to help along the scripture, to say what he believes it is trying to say, and you will then see that McReynold's translation is inherently more trustworthy in this respect. To my knowledge, no other interlinear, nor Bible version, is translated this way.

Being that I am so easily deceived, because I have virtually no background in Greek, I find this interlinear to be a preventive bulwark against the subtleties of man. Better yet--if I understood biblical Greek fluently, I could generally dispense with using interlinears; but for now, they are a necessary help, to bridge me over to the original writings, to some degree at least.

I have not completed this book after owning it for more then 6 months. I enjoyed the father-son interaction and contrast that the book provided. Me and my dad enjoy similar kind of back an forth as we both are MBA's who are total opposites in the way we work. For some reason i stopped reading it at some point and now i am not able to go back to it.
Might be best to read it at one go :)

A very good book on leadership. I liked the comparison of the two ages of the authors. They broke down leadership in a way that could be understood. I will probably re-read the book again.

The 100-Mile Walk contains a rather unique look at successful business. The authors are father and son with some very different views on these aspects. Sander, the father, thinks of business in a traditional Baby Boomer way. He has become an extremely successful business person by gradually climbing the cooperate ladder, making career his number one priority, and long hours of sacrifice. His son, Jonathan, is also a highly successful business person. However, this generation X-er's views on business on quite different from his father's. Jonathan believes that a healthy balance between a career he loves and a life outside of work allows him full use of his creative abilities that will ultimately lead to his success.

This book illustrates that the definitions of leadership and business success are changing. Once men spend much of their lives isolated from their families so that they could provide a financially comfortable living. Today, many individuals sacrifice that security to spend time with their family and friends. The 100-Mile Walk shows that there is value in both career paths and that individuals following either path can learn from the other.

I was pleasantly surprised at the different approachs to leadership shown by this father and son. This book reinforces the fact that things are changing in every aspect of our society. The older way of looking at the busines world suddenly seems lifeless and harsh even though the younger approach seems a bit naive. Perhaps, as usual, a blend of the two opposing ideas would be best.

Even though, as the authors state at the beginning, there are 250 books on leadership published every year, there don't seem to be many books on follower-ship, even though followers far outnumber leaders in this world. For followers, this book is quite effective as a wish list of ideal personality traits and management techniques by which they can gauge the effectiveness of their own leaders. Jonathon Flaum's sections are also useful for older employees who need to understand the values and perspectives of their younger supervisors.

Computer collages blend with private diaries to make for a stunning visual display of 20th century history. 20th Century Dreams provides an excellent, involving survey which will prove hard to put down, capturing in image and text the quirky high points of this century.

OK...I take my one chance to tell you how amazing this book is.The collages are something fabulous,and they're so intelligent.I really fell for this book and the texts are short but so true and smart.This is something to be seen, not just read about: SEE IT!

I found this book really intriguing and definitely interesting...It reminded me of Lachapelle's work but less glossy and kitsch. I recommend it to everyone in need of something new and funny.

Even though I think a few people are missing, I really enjoyed watching this phantasmagorical world of famous faces put together in a completely fictional way.I guess it's taken the artist many years of work to achieve something like that.There are about 80 pictures and not one seems to have been neglected! I didn't know the artist Guy Peellaert until I saw the article in Vanity Fair and I must say that his work fascinates me.

This is the kind of book that you'll want to keep proudly in your art books collection...I'm sure it's on its way to become a classic.

There is an Angoni tribal proverb that says, "The dust of Africa never leaves the soles of your feet." If this heartfelt paean to Ms. Jahme's mother country is any indication, that proverb must surely be true. In poems that range from inspiring beauty to deeply troubling, Susan Jahme shows her readers Africa as she knows it.

In an excerpt from "Gentle Giants", we clearly see the spirit and reality of Alrican elephants:
Infinite, unconditional love,
Enwrapped in wrinkled folds
Of harmless, wise old eyes,
Heavily fringed in silken lashes,
Shining benevolently at their kin.

African nights come alive in "Night Noises of the Veld":
A hollow quiet without a stir,
For an empty stop of time,
When man, beast and spirit
Jointly hold their collective breath,
Whilst the sun slides in solitude
Beyond Earth's horizon line.

A deep, reverent love of place and time is expressed in "Wistful Ache for Africa":
Wistful ache of the love
For the tawny plains
Surrounding highlands
That thrust up,
Touching the skies
Under hot sun clad days.

"Withered Africa" is a heartbreaking lament for the continent that has lost much of its glory:
She lies on her back,
A tired old sequinned ...,
Her once full ...
Lie flaccid and dry...
All youth expelled,
No longer
Proud races to suckle...

Ms. Jahme's prize winning poetry has raw power and quiet introspection. She extols the rivers, wonders, and people of Africa as they are now, and laments the proud tribes, treasures, and animals that used to be. Highly recommended.

I have known Susan Jahme, the author of "African Sunshine and Shadows" since she was a teen-age girl in Blantyre, Malawi. Consequently it was with a great deal of interest and anticipation that I awaited publication of this anthology. To us who have lived, loved and labored in Africa, and who have traveled the highways, by-ways and dusty foot paths of this great continent, camped in its great Game preserves and
listened to the roar of the lions at night, it conveys a profound
message.

In her own unique, interesting and powerful way, Susan
portrays the wonders, the beauty, the grandeur, the majesty of its unequalled scenery and wildlife and bird life. And then with fervent passion, she paints word pictures of the tragedies wrought by centuries of hatred and warfare between tribal factions that has plagued Africa since time immemorial. I was profoundly touched by "We Once Had A Farm In Africa" and "Withered Africa." both of which describe so well the
situation in much of southern Africa today.

I heartily recommend the book to anyone who enjoys unique, passionate and deeply profound poetry of a type rarely seen today. Those who have dreamed of seeing this great continent with its wildlife and majestic scenery, and those who want to know what Africa is really like, with all its beauty and its tragedy, should read it.

Jahme definitely has a gift for poetry. I personally liked the poems that told a story best. She has keen insight into the details and struggles of life in Africa. One special touch in the book that I haven't often seen elsewhere are short definitions and explanations following certain poems. Some of the place names, events and people were unfamiliar to me and these short definitions really brought me closer to what she was talking about. As for the poems with the explanations, I felt as though I understood where her inspiration came from, which in turn inspired me. For example, one poem that is good in itself becomes great when you realize that it was inspired by looking at a child in Cape Town who was homeless due to his parents dying from AIDS.

African Sunshine And Shadows showcases the work of South African poet Susan Jahme and thoroughly documents her as an outstanding new poet. This debut collection offers up beautiful and rhythmic verse painting a word portrait of Africa in the twenty-first century. Oh Africa!/Fruitful woman,/Now laid to wast/With misguided misuse.../Once supplying Nations/The milk and honey of your core,/That starve now.//No virtue had you then,/Nor do you now.../But oh, sweet symphony,/Your body was lush,/Ripe and Firm!//Every man wanted/To make his home on your/Welcoming, rolling plains,/Sowing seed to be cultivated,/Then harvested/By his daughters,/And sons.//Open your eyes,/Looking over the endless stretch/Of this fickle woman, Africa,/See what is happening before you,/As back to ancient tribalism/She turns her people,/One by one.//Eating one another/With tribal hatred/That no foreigner can understand,/Now.../Nor could they when they first came,/Settling this sensual woman's/Eruptive, secret places.//Beneath the endless blue/Of her skies,/Ethnic tribes clash,/As in long ago times,/Before the missionary and adventurer/Arrived to lay claim to this woman,/And the men of her lands.

African Sunshine and Shadows is beautiful inside and out Among other rare abilities, Susan Jahme shows rather than tells. Before we know it we are in Africa. . .and we want to stay. If not forever, long enough to get to know her. Her people! Be prepared to grieve as well as celebrate. Because of Susan Jahme, Margaret Collingswood's The Poisonwood Bible and my latest find, Alexandra Fuller's, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, I find myself hunting avidly for African histories. Which could not be more fitting for a poet. One of many debts we owe to the vast and fascinating and beleaguered continent is her strong and lasting influence on music and poetry. Susan Jahme lives in Africa, and she knows. Reading her carefully-crafted poems is both joy and eye-opener. Brava!!
Phyllis Jean Green {aka Phyllis J. D. Green}, Author/Editor/Educator...

A lot of stories in here for a collection, 39 all told. When it says it is a collection of his short fiction, they really mean it. Most of the tales here are of around the ten page variety. The majority are done in a similar style and structure, barring his Mythos story to start.

He definitely goes in for succinct titles.

A lot of school stories and book industry related, as well, so obviously that is on his mind a lot. Apparently we can thank the horrors of those toffy pommie schools for some of this stuff.

Alone with the Horrors : The Room In the Castle - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Cold Print - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Scar - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Interloper - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Guy - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The End of a Summer's Day - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Man in the Underpass - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Companion - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Call First - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Heading Home - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : In the Bag - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Baby - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Chimney - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Stages - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Brood - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Loveman's Comeback - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Gap - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Voice of the Beach - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Out of Copyright - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Above the World - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Mackintosh Willy - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Show Goes On - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Ferries - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Midnight Hobo - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Depths - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Down There - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Fit - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Hearing Is Believing - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Hands - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Again - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Just Waiting - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Seeing the World - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Old Clothes - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Apples - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : The Other Side - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Where the Heart Is - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Boiled Alive - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : Another World - Ramsey Campbell
Alone with the Horrors : End of the Line - Ramsey Campbell


Byatis is bloody big.

3.5 out of 5


Whacker Revelations.

4 out of 5


Bricked.

3 out of 5


Poetry boy punishment.

3.5 out of 5


That's no dummy?

4 out of 5


Lost hubbie.

3.5 out of 5


Mouse sacrifice.

3.5 out of 5


Ghost train surprise.

3.5 out of 5


Skeletal nailer woman.

3 out of 5


Where's me noggin, then?

4 out of 5


Plastic stranger.

3.5 out of 5


Pram devil.

3 out of 5


Santa scare.

3.5 out of 5


It's a trip to not do it by myself.

3.5 out of 5


Moth problem.

3.5 out of 5


S3xual summoning.

4 out of 5


Blind alley.

3 out of 5


Transformation not looked forward to.

3.5 out of 5


Editorial summoning.

4 out of 5


Prefer indoors.

3 out of 5


No shelter left.

3.5 out of 5


Own advice no use.

3.5 out of 5


Very wet message in a bottle.

4 out of 5


Radio echo.

3 out of 5


True crime.

3 out of 5


Rattypuffs.

3.5 out of 5


Nekkid aunt will put you off for life.

3.5 out of 5


Greek daydream scare.

2.5 out of 5


Nun not handy.

3 out of 5


Flyblown Bungalow punishment.

4 out of 5


Wish the olds were gone.

3.5 out of 5


Sunken entertainment.

3 out of 5


Get jewellery with no appendages.

3.5 out of 5


Bobbing with the wrong crowd.

3.5 out of 5


Clown double axed.

4 out of 5


Home memories.

3 out of 5


Movie phone number pain.

3 out of 5


No Kingdom of God.

3 out of 5


Many voices.

2.5 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

This is my all time favorite book. It is an anthology of several stories written by Ramsey Campbell from the sixties up to 1991. All of the stories are good but ones like Down There, Just Waiting, The Voice of the Beach, The Scar, and The Brood are truly brilliant. Mr. Campbell writes with a very surrealistic dream-like quality that is unique and compelling. There are Lovecraftian tales, ghost stories, and many that can't be put into any category but there own. Ramsey Campbell should be considered amoung the all time greats in horror fiction history, along with the likes of M.R. James, H.P. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood. You can't go wrong with this book if you like horror.

Ramsey Campbell has produced some of the greatest short horror stories ever written. Most of them are in this volumn.
Mostly Campbell is influenced by H P Lovecraft rather than explicit gore or gratuitous violence - although there are always exceptions! So his writing style is completely different from say Stephen King, but both are masters of short horror fiction in their different ways.

The stories within are as scary as horror fiction can get. Amongst my favourites are "In the Bag", and perhaps best of all "The Companion". You know how with some novels (King on occasions is an example) after reading through hundreds of pages you get to the end and think - is that it? I.e. the ending never quite leaves you satisfied despite the brilliance of the story telling before (again King). Well you won't get this with Campbell's short stories, his end with a punch, metaphorically a knock-out one to your head...

Another splendid volumn to get if this one becomes unavailable is Dark Companions which contains many of the same stories. You'll probably only get this 2nd hand but its worth searching out.

I love these types of horrors, this book is wonderfully written and provides page after page of chilling accounts. a horror I could really get into from first page to the last. I found to be very chilling and creepy and in likness to "12345 Are You Dead Or Still Alive?"

I bought this book on a whim, never having read anything by Ramsey Campbell before, and I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY with his writing style.

Campbell has a way of penning each of his stories in such a way that you literally feel like you're trapped in the story--trapped in a terrible nightmare that you can't wake up from! There is not a bad story in this book, and I soon found that I preferred Campbell over King and other hack-and-slash writers for two reasons: 1) There is not a lot of blood-and-guts gore in any of these stories, in most cases none at all, and 2) Campbell does not use a lot of four-letter words in his writings, something I found very appealing and refreshing. And yet every story is absolutely terrifying!

This collection is an absolute must for any serious horror fan. I highly recommend it to anyone who has never read Campbell before.