Dante Books

I was a boy of about 11 or 12 when my mother ordered this book via a magazine article. I recall that it consisted mainly of black and white photos of pressure point strikes. In the back of the book was a picture of the supposed Count Dante delicatly touching the chin of a beautiful blonde. I think this book would be a good addition to those interested in pressure point attacks.

This is the author's first novel and it shows. He's a little too impressed with himself and that shows too, making it hard to take the narrative seriously at times. The murders were horrifyingly disgusting which is good or bad depending on your tastes (I liked it). This is a hard book to get into but it is fairly entertaining if you're not expecting too much. Coincidences abound. The solution made me think, "Wait, what? Really? That person? Well alright. I guess I can go with that." If you have a long commute it's good for passing the time. I basically enjoyed it once I put all the rave reviews out of my head.

As I college graduate with a BA in Literature, I found Matthew Pearl's book to be a fascinating blend of American Literary History and intriguing murder mystery fiction. Turning Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, J.T. Fields and Oliver Wendall Holmes Sr. into amature detectives, Pearl interweaves Longfellow's translation of Dante's Inferno, 19th Century immigration (which brought Catholicism to Boston), race relations, and the challenges of finding a serial murderer into a rich tapestry that appeals to all types of readers.

The descriptions of the murder victims are graphic, but necessarily so in order to imitate the punishments of hell that Dante's characters suffer in the epic poem that Longfellow and his friends (who call themselves "The Dante Club") are translating to be read in America for the first time. How has the murderer accessed Dante's writing? When the translation is published, will members of The Dante Club become suspects? What accounts for the detailed parallels between the murders and Dante's punishments?

I heard about The Dante Club while on a literary walking tour of Boston's Beacon Hill area. I thought it might be interesting. Little did I know that I'd be buying copies for my mom and my mother-in-law! It's a book I'd recommend to anyone.

For a popular fiction novel, it was quite good. At the beginning, I was really into the mystery and tried to solve it along with the heroes of the story.

The idea of having a killer copy Dante was intriguing, and the scenes where the bodies are found are full of detail and gruesome to imagine. I also liked the idea of having four of America's literary giants try and solve a mystery.

After a while, the story got kind of boring and I wanted it to be over. I kept reading because I wanted to know who the killer was. The killer was not at all who I suspected.

I thought some moments in the story unbelievable. Why would the rest of the Dante Club keep secrets from G.W. Greene, if only for the convenience of suspense?

So, the book loses momentum after the novelty of the situation wears off. Casual readers may enjoy this book, but I can't imagine true bibliophiles (especially fans of the Boston Brahmins) liking it.

This review's title isn't meant to imply that Matthew Pearl didn't do a wonderful job writing this book. I simply was unable to finish the book quickly. I typically place a lot of emphasis on how fast I read a book. If I can't put a book down for more than an hour at a time and finish it within a few days, I've obviously greatly enjoyed the book.

Now there are of course great books that one simply cannot finish in a matter of days. The Dante Club likely falls into this category. Period detail in this book is practically impeccable. Matthew Pearl was really able to portray old time Boston and Cambridge exactly how I have imagined them in my own mind.

The plot is intricately woven and completely enthralling, once you get past the first murder anyways. I felt the story started off a little slow, but picked up to a satisfactory pace within just a few chapters.

I did enjoy the book, though perhaps I was expecting something much more exciting with a lot more suspense.

There's been quite a few books lately that weave historical figures into fictional plots (Arcanum, the Poe Shadow, the List of 7, Not Quite Dead, the Terror). I admit to having a soft spot for them. I approached THE DANTE CLUB with great anticipation; the synopsis sounds like the movie SEVEN but set to gaslight. It does fulfil this premise in a surface way, however the execution of the novel come up short of great.

Most of my problem was the choices Pearl makes in unravelling the plot, and his protagonists. It advances in starts and stops, getting somewhere only to seemingly backpedal to a frustratingly leisure gait for long periods. This wouldn't be a problem if the set up of characters was as enjoyable as the 'whodunit' aspects, but after a while all the jolly old men in the story seem to blend into each other. They talk in the same colloquial Boston Elite way, have the same mannerisms, and (almost) all have the same sense of self-greatness (I understand these are respected and lauded men in their time, but none of them could know if they were going to be remembered by anyone. And as it turns out, for the most part their work is currently collecting dust on shelves while people still avidly read millenia-old Greek authors. Sorry fellas!)

There is also a point near the end when a plodding chapter of abbreviated backstory grinds the plot that was finally getting it's pace to a screeching, agonizing halt. Couldn't some of this stuff been worked in eariler, and still not given away the identity of the killer? If not, just drop it entirely, as it just doesn't work.

Still an interesting story that at the core tells a clever tale, but the construction of the novel could have been much improved. And I generally choose not to pick up on things like that unless they are staring me in the face.

The Dante Valentine series has not lacked for action so far and this book delivers. It's a bit whiney w/ more stupid, obvious mistakes but still a good read.

Saintcrow's latest Dante Valentine installment does not disappoint! The Devil's Right Hand is a visionary piece of futuristic urban fantasy that takes an in-depth look at good and evil.

Saintcrow doesn't paint a saintly protagonist, in fact, Dante is in love with a fallen demon. Dante struggles with herself realizing that sometimes she has an evil streak in her. And Japhrimel, the fallen angel, is a blend of good and evil as well. Within the plot, Saintcrow explores a realistic human nature, that all of us struggle to balance the forces of light and dark within ourselves.

Like Saintcrow's previous heroines, Dante is sexy, intelligent, fearless, and lethal. She is a refreshing look at a strong woman who struggles to allow herself vulnerable moments.

Saintcrow assumes her readers are intelligent, and she writes with a blend of history, mythology, and imagination that is derivative of nothing in the genre. Saintcrow's writing includes gorgeous passages like this one of Dante explaining the feeling of power: "It ran out my toes, a crackling tide of burning leaving me molten and shaken. I blinked several times, something fine and dusty falling from my eyelashes. Closed my eyes, still blind. Let my head tip back like a heavy fruit on my limp stem of a neck" (p227).

Though this is the third installment in the series of five, it can be read as a stand-alone book. Saintcrow balances backstory without being repetitive, and a glossary at the end of the book will clear up any questions a new reader might have. Saint City Sinners is book four, and To Hell and Back finishes the series.

The book started off with Dante and her demon in love, living in peace. Then the plot arrives and goes down hill from there. Seriously, chapter after chapter of a pathetic woman debating her relationship with her boyfriend. The previous book at least had a good story line mixed in with her miserable whining. This reminded me a lot of Laurell K. Hamilton's later books where the main character turns into a pathetic mess. I had hope for this author long term but not anymore. I am done...

This is the third book in the Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow. Thankfully it was much, much better than the second book.

The books starts with Danny living peacefully in Toscano with Japh by her side. Danny is finally getting to do some research into her half-demon nature and Japh remains silent about any information he could give her. The peaceful existence falls to pieces when a summons from Lucifer comes and Danny and Japh can no longer ignore it. Lucifer forces Danny to be his Right-Hand for seven years. Lucifer has 4 demons that he wants Danny to hunt down and kill. When Japh throws getting his demonic power returned to him into the bargain and leaves Danny alone with no explanation, she ends up in quite the fix.

There was a lot of action in this book and the return of the more self-sufficient Danny that we were introduced to in book one. I really liked the inclusions of other demons and the ending took a twist that I wasn't expecting. Really it was the ending that made this book for me and tied Danny into a mess so complicated that it was intensely interesting. I really liked this book it was fast paced and easy to read. Danny got a new sword and it is awesome to have her fighting how she likes to fight.

I still have a number of complaints. I *still* think Danny acts strange about Japh. She needs to stop being so obsessed over him. I was also disappointed at the pace of the storyline; the storyline didn't progress as far as I had expected. In fact the third and fourth book (which I am in the middle of) would have probably been more appropriate as one book. I was also frustrated with how Danny's half-demon nature is made a big deal of but we still don't know anything about it. Most of these things could be done intentionally by Saintcrow to take us by surprise later and I guess I will have to wait and see about that. At the end of this book I was glad I had the next one because there really isn't anything resolved in this book, just more questions.

This was a good book. I enjoyed it, much better than the second book. Hopefully in the fourth book some of the plot-lines will find some resolution.

http://karissabooks.blogspot.com/

What happened to the Dante from the first two books? Now she just acts like a petulant child. I love the other characters but Dante is beginning to annoy me.

The first near-half of this books was fascinating: an analysis of how the concept of "space" developed in the West as Europe moved from the medieval era and into the Renaissance. Wertheim examines the concept of space as perceived through the art, science, and philosophies of the era in enough depth have been worth the read, if not as much depth as one might desire.

The second half is something of a loss. The chapters on 20th-century science read like nothing more than a condensed re-hash of most popular physics books of the last 10 years. The final chapters -- where we reach the long-promised "cyberspace" -- say nothing more than her introduction: that there are similarities between utopian visions of the digital future and the Christian conception of heaven. Similarities between a utopia and heaven? Not exactly a shocking thesis and even less shocking as a conclusion.

Even if the world needed a book on this theme, this is not the one!

One thread of this book is the notion of collision between scientific thinking and theology--a collision which in my view is not forced by anything observable or reasonably thinkable.

In early chapters, the author makes dogmatic statements about what was on the minds of numerous famous authors--statements for which no justification is given, and for thoughts which arguably have milder and more flattering interpretations: e.g., that Dante and other mediaevals took a certain spatial view of heaven and hell literally. In this case, the milder interpretation might recognize that writing anything likely to offend certain Churchmen risked persecution--so that what authors expressed might often left out subtle and careful thinking.

The chapters on what's going on since the mid-1980's read like a journalist's hasty pastiche of things written and thought by others, with little acknowledgement and even less discernable new thought.

However, my main objection is that this author has set up a flimsy strawman to knock down with many words, viz., that the coincidence of the syllable "space" in "cyberspace" implies a serious analogy to metric spaces. This analogy might play a roll in hoi poloi minds, but that Wertheim's middle chapters talk of the work of several well-known scientists seems to imply that serious scientists take such an analogy seriously. In many years of listening to scientific colleagues, I heard nothing to suggest such a view.

In contrast, Wertheim ignores all social thinking that is a reasonable precursor to today's views and actions around cyberspace. Recall the notion that "a university is a community centered on a library", and many, many related works about how communities work and about domains of ideas.

Furthermore, in discussing science Wertheim ignores the most important factor that drove philosophical and scientific thinkers to their views of metric spaces--symmetry and simple forms in differential equations.

On the positive side, I learned a few obscure and very interesting names--those of thinkers before their time. E.g., Nicolas of Cusa (13th century), Kaluza (19th century). I'll dig into those.

Summary: for any careful thinker, this book is a distraction and waste of time.

I certainly enjoyed reading this book, and found some of the material in the earlier chapters very interesting, for example, about the development of the theory of perspective in art.

However,I felt that the bridge into the cyberspace stuff was rather strained and unconvincing. Certainly, the whole internet thing is of great significance to human development, but it didn't seem to fit comfortably into the space that Wertheim wants to put it.

virtual connections to the holy space traced in this historic survey is an interesting perspective worth reading.

I am the author of this book and I would like to agree with the gist of many of the reviews here. The first half of the book - which traces the cultural history of Western concepts of space - is the real meat of the text and is by far the strongest part. The final part of the book, which deals with cyberspace, is weak by comparison. Actually when I wrote the book, I only wanted to write the first part, with a final short and tentative reflection on the then emerging realm of cyberspace. But the publisher - who thought cyberspace was a hip topic - pressed me to make cyberspace a bigger part of the exercise. I too feel that these final chapters have to a large degree been superceded by the development of the Net since 2000. But the real story of the book is the first 5 chapters which trace a critical transition in Western culture's conception of what it means to be a human embedded in a wider spatial scheme. It is this part of the book - which the European reviewers especially praised - that stands as the real achievement and that I would still urge apon readers.

I didnt even get halfway through this book because it was too confusing. There are too many plots going on at once, and I couldnt find out who was a "good" guy and was a "bad" guy. Plus her boyfriend is now a ghost, or at least he was when I stopped reading it. And can there be that much romance with a ghost? Well I didnt have the patience to find out.

To me this book was not a well written one at all. Of course that is my own opinion, but it is true for me.

This book was amazing. It only took me a few days to read because I really could not put it down once I read the first page. The plot is well put together and keeps the reader starving for more; the metaphors are perfectly portrayed to give the readers a sense of presence in the scenes. You can almost feel the emotions of each character. Rhodes gives a complex personality and individual spirit to each of her characters.

I love how some of the scenes were as erotic as a romance novel, yet, the plot itself isn't "mushy" like most other romance novels. Romantic and sexy, yes; Sweet enough to give a toothache, no.(if I wanted that, I would've chose the book with Fabio on the cover)It really has a good balance of humane, tender love and devotion with animalistic, passionate lust.

I must also point out that I loved the dark, mysterious, and almost taboo beauty of the book's cover (which I must confess was really what compelled me to get this book); I think it captures the overall tone of the book impeccably.

In short, this book was more than just a novel, but a true work of art from cover to cover. I recommend it to any fans of the macabre, smart, and witty, or to anyone who'd just enjoy a well-written action/fantasy/romance.

When Kayla's boyfriend is brutally murdered, she soon finds herself chased by the same killers. And she begins to realize that he kept a lot of secrets. When Kayla decides to track down his killers, she soon discovers a world of monsters that she never knew existed. Kayla decides to team up with the Hunters, but there's a traitor in the midst.

This was a fast-paced, action-packed, fun beginning to an exciting series. With more violence than most vampire/werewolf novels laced with romance, I thoroughly enjoyed the complex storyline and intriguing characters. I recommend this one to all fans of darker fantasy, action, and horror genres.

Natasha Rhodes' DANTE'S GIRL blends fantasy and horror as it tells of one Kayla Steele, trying to hold down a job and learn the Dark Arts so she can avenge her boyfriend's death and thwart the supernatural beings stalking Los Angeles. And she's still having a relationship - with the dead boyfriend himself. A fine tale of supernatural horror evolves with a satisfying mystery kick.

Too much going on to keep track of; character development jumps around as if the author is not sure which direction to move (does Kayla have supernatural powers? how do the Hunters manage to go toe-to-toe with everything and not come out as worm-food?)

Also, some basic proofing mistakes (punctuation misplaced; tenses switched in mid sentence; there/their/they're mistakes).

I actually liked the writing style when the scene was running, but I kept getting bumped from the story by confusing events. I would be interested in seeing a second effort.

Very easy to maneuver around the book finding what I need to know and ignoring the usual Dummies blather.

If this is for dummies, then I need the one for idiots! Seriously! This is not a book for beginners. (I'm still looking for that one, I'll keep you posted) It reminds me of the software books written by people who are so knowledgeable about the subject that they've lost their ability to "break it down" for the common folk. Hard to find some of the most basic information. Very, very frustrating and disappointing. If you're new to the berry - don't start here.

I think the book gives a great overview of BlackBerry and many details into common applications!! If you are expecting an advanced book on topics like "hacking tips" then that is out of scope. The content does provide a lot of insight and it's a great read.

You don't have to be a CEO of a start-up IT company to own a blackberry now-a-days. This technology has become very popular and affordable and this book is a great way to learn the product and experience the technological revolution that's happening now in front of us by puting powerful tools literally at the palm of your hand. The book breaks down the main concepts into simple steps and shows how to become an expert user. This is a great buy. Highly recommended to users of all levels.

When I purchased my BlackBerry ("BB") 8830 and turned it on, I knew I was in trouble. The "Getting Started Guide" that comes with the 8830 is GROSSLY inadequate for first-time BB users. With the help of the staff at the Sprint Store (they were very helpful and friendly), I was able to get the basic functions going and use them. But, I knew that to maximize the use of my 8830 that I would have to find a way to better self-educate myself on how to setup and use my new BB.

Because I have used the "Dummies" books for several years with great success, I ordered this book. Unfortunately, this is the first really bad Dummies book I have ever used. Here are my reasons for this assessment.
1. The omissions (tethering, robust use of the internet, etc) are significant.
2. The book spends too much time on concepts that are fundamental and actually covered in the Getting Started Guide and too little time on the next level of sophistication that the average user will find helpful.
3. The instructions are often confusing, contain too few illustrations, and use descriptions with multiple meanings. (I have long believed that persons who write technical manuals come from a pool of US citizens who could greatly benefit from ESL training; this book proves the point!)

The more I learn about my new BB, the more convinced I am of its capabilities and how useful they will be in my daily life. But, my recommendation is to let the staff know at the store at which you purchase your BB that you will need help and get their commitment to spending more than a few minutes with you when it is delivered and for a couple of weeks thereafter.

Confessing incompetence and asking for help is a much better choice than buying this book.

On a recent trip to Italy, I took along Dante in Love and got an amazing course in art and history that helped me see deep into the Tuscan artistic soul. I got a grounding in the ideas and visions that inspired Michelangelo to create his sculptures. Michelangelo considered Dante his master and the greatest artist who ever lived. Walking through the Uffizi Gallery, I could see through the paintings and into the painters' heads, because Dante gave them their subject matter and symbolism. I recommend this book highly. Once you read it, you'll see how Italy has barely changed in the last 700 years. Your trips to the "mother country" will be enriched.

This book was highly recommended by a friend. I was, therefore, especially disappointed to discover an unfocused, unbalanced series of digressions presented as an analysis of one of literature's great works. At times, the book reads like some sort of touchy-feely self-help work. Also, there are glaring contradictions in the book which are a good indication of the level of care that seems to have been exercised in writing this clinker. If you are interested in Dante, look elsewhere.

As Amazon reviewer Michael Corrado notes, *Dante in Love* contains so much confusion and outright error, it is hardly worth reading. Nevertheless I did read the whole thing and I want to offer a response because Harriet Rubin is someone who both shapes and illustrates popular culture. She is a best selling author and is on the board of USA Today. Her attempt to shoehorn Dante into contemporary prejudices illustrates our society's inability to engage great literature on its own terms.

A major example of this shoehorning is the way Ms. Rubin bends Dante's words to fit current views on the nature of love. In her chapter on *Purgatorio* she opens with this statement: "Dante is about to discover that good and evil, genius and stupidity, have one and the same source which is love." That is hardly an adequate summary of Dante's doctrine. He in fact held the solid Thomistic notion that evil is the absence of good. If we are going to understand Dante, we must fix that concept in our mind.

It is easy for us to fall into the modern notion that good and evil are subjective: "You have your truth and I have my truth, you have your good and I have my good, but there is nothing which we can call `good' or `evil' in itself." This subjective view of good and evil fits with Ms. Rubin's assertion that Dante was a secret Cathar! They were a medieval Gnostic sect which considered good and evil to be equal and competing powers. This stands against the Christian belief that evil is parasitic; its existence comes from what it can leach off the good.

At one point Ms. Rubin states: "Eros - desire, possession leads toward God, not away." She has half of the truth, but I would suggest she read Pope Benedict's encyclical on *Eros and Agape* to get the complete picture. It would help her understand Dante, who by the way, is one of the pope's favorite authors. Dante explicitly rejects Rubin's interpretation:

"It should be clear to you by no how blind
to truth those people are who make the claims
that every love is, in itself, laudable." (Purgatorio XVIII, 34-36)

Regarding how Eros can lead us away from God, I encourage Amazon patrons to read Dorothy L. Sayers' magisterial work on the Divine Comedy. Commenting on the verse "all love is laudable," she remarks: "It is interesting to see that the prevalent sentimental heresy was not unknown even in Dante's day."

Now, I am not saying Ms. Rubin is a heretic. You have to be a believer before you can fall into heresy. I see her, rather, as a cultural imperialist. Instead of appreciating works like the *Comedy* which represent a culture foreign to our own, she tries conquer it, make it conform to our cultural biases. Consciously or unconsciously, she "Americanizes" the Divine Comedy. I will, however, grant Ms. Rubin this: she does not carry cultural imperialism to extreme of others such as Dan Brown in a novel some people call the Duh Vinci Code.

In spite of my criticisms, I give the book two stars because Ms. Rubin does cite significant portions of the *Comedy* in both Italian and English translation - and she does make a few thought-provoking observations, for example, her comments on the "architecture" of the poem. If her book spurs someone to read Dante's masterpiece, that will be a laudable result.

I am so sorry I spent the money for this book. It is badly written, but the more important point is that it is full of factual errors. For example, she says that the Guelfs and the Ghibellines can trace their roots to two brothers name Guelf and Ghibel (page 9 and footnote)! She calls Limbo the circle of the heretics, and places it either in Circle Six or just before it (page 81). She says that Guido Cavalcanti was dead already when Dante encounters his father in hell, and therefore Dante lied in telling the father that Guido was alive (page 83). Guido was in fact alive; he died later in 1300. She says that Charles Singleton taught T.S. Eliot the Comedy at Harvard (page 33); when Eliot was at Harvard Singleton was an infant. These are some of the most glaring errors, and they bespeak such sloppiness that even if the book were well written you could not trust it. There are countless little errors as well. Many readers apparently think they got something out of it; I think they have been misled.

This book should be avoided for anyone looking for a good primer or companion book to Dante. The poem may have inspired the author to publish her own experiences and revelations of Dante's Comedy, but this book will not inspire you to step into Dante's world. I suggest as a good primer the short biography put out by Penguin, and to read the translator's introduction and notes before opening up to Canto 1.

This book is a mishmash of sweeping generalizations whose theme seems to be that what is worthwhile in Catholicism is characterized by the celebration of poverty and the tolerance of sexual peccadilloes. After making the point that medievals did not think like moderns in many places, the author strives to disprove his own thesis by citing outre' and mostly ill justified examples (among others the idea that St Clare was sexually attracted to St Francis). When the author delves into history, he is abysmally ignorant, perpetuating islamist apologias of the variety characterized by judgmental excoriations of the Crusades and the idea that since Islam won't change the West must. His credulous belief in the hatchet job of the Byzantine author Procopius shows that he must believe that the National Enquirer constitutes journalism. His dismissal of the Children's Crusade and acceptance of the Marco Polo story whole quill are further examples of revisionist history and lamentable judgement. I would give this effort zero stars but the book itself is extremely well produced with interesting and well done illustrations of some of the less well known gems of Italian art - so one star it is.

Thomas Cahill has written another fantastic history book. He has the abiltiy to unlock mysteries and bring together themes in a very readable manner. This book especially is assisted by excellent photography and drawings.

Highly recommended and can't wait for the next book in the series.

I'm sorely dissapointed that Mr. Cahill refused to acknowledge Spain and the Islamic contribution to the Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern World. His refusal to mention Cordoba and Seville as great cities of Europe during this period shows his bias. Louis L'Amour did better research for his novel "The Walking Drum." I suggest you read that if you want a more complete history of this period.The Walking Drum

Although I enjoyed many of the Cahill's anecdotes, I did not get the sense that The Mysteries of the Middle Ages had a central point. Cahill bounces from Hildegard of Bingen, to Francis of Assisi, and then to Eleanor of Aquitaine, but does little to connect them to what he says is point of his book--that they somehow set the stage for the modern world. Granted, Eleanor of Aquitaine had power and apparently was sexually liberated, but I fail to see how these qualities set the stage for the modern world. Perhaps this is the great failing of Cahill's book: he reduces extremely complex issues to rather simplistic observations. For example, when Cahill says that "Islamic society and Christian society have been generally bad neighbors," he ignores the nuanced thinking of scholars such as Bernard Lewis, Amin Saikal, and Edward Said. In short, Cahill is a popularizer, not a scholar, and because of this, he has a tendency to reduce complex issues to sound bites. Most annoying, however, is Cahill's constant criticism of the Bush administration and the Iraq war, both of which he obviously abhors. Most of the time these intrusions are gratuitous and extremely distracting. Cahill should understand that people buy his book to learn about the middle ages, not to be subjected to harangues against the president. Although there is much to recommend Cahill's book, I think that the book's shortcomings more than outweigh it more entertaining aspects.

I'm not sure what to make of this book. It is highly readable, delightfully written (for the most part) and has brought to life, for me, the contributions of Dante, Hildegard, Giotto (my favorite chapter), Thomas Aquinas, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Francis of Assisi, to name just a few. Cahill brings the same appealing and conversational tone that I found so agreeable in How the Irish Saved Civilization, but at times his good humor seems to give way to a bit too much soapbox scholarship, diverging from his narrative to rail against the warmongering of the Bush/Blair administrations (we know already) and an unseemly tirade, at the end, against the modern Catholic church. It almost (but note quite) spoils the book for me. Further, his attack on William Manchester seems churlish (and where were the citations in his notes to indicate the source of Manchester's quotes?) Overall, I give this book an A- for presentation and readability, but a C for going off the reservation at times in ways that were decidedly distracting.

These study guides provide pointers to materials that will be covered, but don't look to them to be the actual questions and answers. You should still research and study material.

The other DANTES review books may be good, but this one is completely useless. There are plenty of ball-busting questions, but virtually no review of the content. The book I used for the course I took was excellent, but it does not cover the material well enough to pass the exam. However, this book is good enough to show you how difficult the real exam will be. The key is to find the book that provides adequate review preparation for the exam. I have no idea which is the best book to prepare for the exam, but this one is not the one to buy.

The book is mostly all tests, but it did help me study and helped me understand what to expect.

Unlike Comex's excellent CLEP study guides, the amateurish study guide for the DANTES Principles of Public Speaking test was hardly useful at all. Essentially, this "guide" is a bunch of practice tests spiral bound together. There's no rhyme or reason to the order of questions, no grouping by subjects, heavy repetition of questions, and it even changes fonts from test to test.

I could look over the sloppy presentation if there was some useful information inside, but unlike the CLEP guide, which gave an overview of the fundamentals of the subject, the DANTES guide has nothing but questions and answers. If you want to know why you got an answer right or wrong, you have to do your own research. If they had made that clear up front, I probably wouldn't have bothered buying this so-called guide.

The guide is probably useful in that you're bound to pick up some answers by sheer repetition, but if you buy it expecting to dominate the actual DANTES test or actually learn something, you're going to be sadly disappointed.

FOLLOW UP: I finally got my test results back, and I passed by a pretty decent margin. I suppose that means this guide is a success, but I still think it's pretty shabby.

My buddy recommended this DANTES study book, and it is definitely worth picking up if you are looking for a good way to pick up credits.

I really enjoyed this book - I felt it was particularly haunting at the end when I realized it was based on a true story (afraid I never took art appreciation). To me the story was appealing partly due to the "Ugly Duckling" beauty is in the eye of the beholder theme but tragic at the end in a sort of Gone with the Wind way too. I felt that the story was believable and interesting at the same time. I noticed that the cover art didn't match the content but just goes to show you once again that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Hickey is to be commended for trodding a road less traveled, focusing on the seldom-talked-about-in-popular-culture painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his favorite model, Jane Burden Morris. Told in third person from Jane's perspective, Hickey's story is well-paced and well-researched. She does what good historical novel authors should: start with the facts but veer into fictional territory in order to flesh things out. Her prose is lean and spare, which suits Jane's character. Most importantly, she does these colorful characters justice by capturing their essence. The fictional characters mesh convincingly with what we know of the historical ones.

I read Painted Kiss last year, and thought Wayward Muse better. The author seems to have really found her groove with this one!

Not the author's fault at all, but the publisher should have put a Rossetti painting on the cover.

(Historical fiction)

The artiste world of 19th Century London is shown in lush colors, the brush strokes of Dante Gabriel Rosetti and his muse, a poor Oxford girl who is tall, willowy and plain according to her drunken mother. Rosetti discovers Jane Burden, and with the promise of payment, she becomes his model for a painting of Guinevere. His vision is that of Lancelot and the Holy Grail, the knights Galahad, Bors, and Percival receiving the precious Grail and Sir Lancelot in the Queen's chambers.

Rosetti becomes enamored of Burden and takes her virginity while on the scaffolding in the Debating Hall. He proclaims his love and Burden thinks she shall marry him, but he leaves Oxford the next day for London because his first love is ill with consumption. This leaves William Morris to finish the paintings in Oxford. Morris is overweight, but Burden's mother, a town gossip, finds out he is wealthy and receives an allowance from copper mines. Morris falls deeply in love with Burden, but her muse-like powers exert themselves over him poetically. He begs for her hand in marriage and her mother gives her an ultimatum, marry Morris or you will be kicked out of the house.

Still longing for her dark horse, Rosetti, she marries Morris hoping she will eventually love him. After two years they move to "Red House," a stunning brick home that Morris has built for his wife. Her life is full of artists of all persuasions: painters, tapestry makers, poets and others. Burden is the talk of London, designing her own clothes for her figure, and she often sits for Rosetti and his paintings. They begin an illicit affair that whispers its way through their circle of friends and those that find them interesting. But Burden is happiest in the company of Rosetti. As he falls into the throes of mental illness, Burden goes back to her husband, Morris, and takes care of her two children, maintaining a life-long friendship with Rosetti.

A must read for the voluptuousness of Hickey's writing and the casualties of love and desire.

Armchair Interviews says: A richly descriptive book of the life and times of the mid to late 1800s.

Perhaps because the actual lives of the Pre-Raphaelites were so over the top, most attempts to create their lives in fiction have been failures. Nonetheless, having spent decades of my academic career teaching Victorian literature and art, I ordinarily welcome any attempt to give fictional life to Rossetti and his circle. I had thought that Nerina Shute's "A Victorian Love Story" was destined to be the nadir of these failures, but Hickey here out-nerinas Nerina. "The Wayward Muse" reads like the worst of romance novels. The situations Hickey sets up are ludicrous: Rossetti deflowers Jane high up on the scaffolding in the Oxford Union, in full sight of the other painters; Morris in bed doesn't know where to put "it" and pokes around for awhile before finding Jane's "most sensitive part"; George Eliot asks about Morris's table manners. I find no evidence that Hickey read the many, many, many available primary sources (not to mention such secondary sources as Violet Hunt and Hall Caine): they might have helped her better plot this silly novel. Hickey additionally messes with the facts. For instance, she screws up the exhumation of Lizzie's body. One of Hickey's basic problems is that she doesn't seem to know who her audience is. She drops surnames with neither first names nor identification. She hints at the founding of the Kelmscott Press and meanders around the highlands of Scotland with Ruskin and the Millais'. For better use of your time read "The French Lieutenant's Woman" or watch Ken Russell's "Dante's Inferno."

Jane Burden knows she is ugly having heard that from her mother as well as family, friends, and neighbors. She is too tall, with a freakishly long neck, arms and legs that belong on someone even taller, which leads to clumsiness and dresses that just never fit right. Adding to her being considered the ugliest female in the Oxford slums is that at seventeen she has no breasts. She expects to wed physically abusive Tom Barnstable as her mother reminds her that he is the best she will ever have.

Everything abruptly changes when noted artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti sees Jane and thinks she is a rare beauty he must paint as his Guinevere in a mural. Her mother agrees to allow her to pose because of the fee Rossetti provides. Jane enjoys her short time each week with the painter and his colleagues. She soon realizes she loves Rosetti, but is heartbroken when he weds his ailing fiancée Lizzie. Jane accepts wealthy William Morris' proposal mostly because he as Rossetti's friend and protégé will enable her to remain near her true love. Over the next few years Jane gives birth to two children, but when Lizzie dies, Rossetti makes it clear how he feels about his Guinevere, which upsets her spouse William, who has always known he was a second choice.

The key to this terrific historical biographical tale is the ability of Elizabeth Hickey to bring to life four real people from the latter half of the nineteenth century. The story line is driven mostly by the heroine who thanks to the artist turns from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan considered the ideal of pre-Raphaelite beauty and the muse for her spouse and the artist. Fans of period pieces will enjoy this deep rich Victorian Era tale starring real persona.

Harriet Klausner