English Classics Books

Handsomely produced, elegantly assembled, and consistently engrossing: these actors read the stories with appropriate sensitivity, wit, pathos, and distance. The detachment of Joyce in his "voice" on the page is re-created well. When I have taught students "Araby" or "The Boarding House," the chance to hear the language repeated as its author would have meant it to be rendered makes these stories come alive for a classroom six thousand miles and a century away from early 20c Dublin.

Although all of the stories succeed, those in the center of the book emerged when conveyed aloud most enlighteningly. Clay, A Mother, A Painful Case, and most of all Two Gallants, After the Race, and Counterparts all hit my ear with more force than they had when I had only read them. These stories are often overlooked compared to the others, but the skill that the actors brought to these more prosaic, less lively, and more nuanced examples of Joyce's careful craft deserve special acclaim. The packaging keeps the CDs securely in place, is itself compact and well-designed, fitting its outwardly austere & Edwardian yet subtly decorated and inviting contents.

Students, the curious newcomer, the experienced teacher, and those who read the book out of delight and not duty: all will benefit from the music on the page that by a technology Joyce himself spoke into at its early gramaphone stages is now digitally preserved so that those of us all over the world and a vastly changed world later can be entertained and instructed. I think JJ might have been pleased at this version of his pioneering, eloquent, yet accessible and moving, accounts of his imagined neighbors and municipal counterparts.

James Joyce was absorbed by music, people, languages, acting and actors, and though an exile from his native country and city, his literary consciousness was forever embedded in Dublin. He had an unerring ear for Dublin dialogue.
At night I turn out the lights and listen to these CD's, to the cadences of the people talking, and to me these Dubliners endlessly gossiping are in the room with me. Joyce's narrative adroitness, his choice of words, his lyrical descriptions, and above all, his sense of place are brilliant facets of a genius.
Stephen Rea's sensitive reading of "The Dead" is worth the price of this set of fifteen stories read by fifteen different mostly Irish personalities. The characters in the stories live and breathe, become real. Joyce was meant to be read aloud. It's good talk, conversations that you become a part of.
In these stories Joyce is very accessible. In Finnegan's Wake he became Jackson Pollock--obscure and difficult. In "The Dead" you can feel, touch, hear, and taste the snow that is falling outside the house while inside two old sisters are giving their annual bright and cheery party. It's a story of tenderness, love, regrets, and lost lovers, but it is mainly full of life, good times, fellowship, and above all humanity.

Nine Lives Too Many
The Daemon in Our Dreams
The Rice Queen Spy
Clawed Back from the Dead

A very fine presentation of the early work of Edna St. Vincent Millay, one of our finest American poets. I find her work to
be in a class of its own, reaching out to the human spirit.

The presentation in this book of her first three published works really exposes the reader to Millay at the top of her form.

For me, the notes and commentary of Editor Holly Peppe helped greatly. Dr. Peppe's analysis is extremely readable and shows
a wonderful understanding of her subject. In her introduction
Holly Peppe gives an excellent overview of Ms. Millay's life as well as her art. And I found her notes in this book on Millay's
writing to be interesting and insightful. HIGHLY recommended!

This book is a lovely way to return to Edna St. Vincent Millay's early radiant poetry or to read it for the first time. Editor Holly Peppe's important and knowlegable introduction answers many lingering questions about Millay's place as a poet, her experience as a woman, and her originality as an artist. Highly recommended!

This is one of the best New Critical Idiom titles: well-organized, clearly written, balanced and thoughtful, both comprehensive and comprehensible. If you need an introduction to the field of ecocriticism, this is the best place to start.

Contrary to what the previous reviewer claims, the book has well-informed discussions of both Christianity (in a chapter on Apocalypse, where he contrasts millenialist visions of the end of the world with Augustine's "comic" (i.e. unpredictable) eschatology) and of various eco-feminist and deep-ecological ideas of the Great Mother. Garrard is a generous reader, but does not hesitate to point out excesses and contradictions. His distinction between "problems in ecology" (which call for scientific analysis) and "ecological problems" (requiring social and cultural understanding) is worth the price of the book.

I got this book not expecting much. As I've seen it the ecocriticism field is just as rotten through with poor thought as most fields of literary criticism. But the book turned out to puncture many ecopieties and call into question almost every preconception but two.

One is that Christianity is destructive of the earth. Yes, he left that unquestioned on the table. The earth is a gift from God so to not respect it or to trash it as this book implies is just purely wrong for Christians.

Second, that matriarchy is a good thing. The notion of a primitive matriarchy that preexisted patriarchy is shaky and based on wish-fulfillment. The very definition of matriarchy is hard to pin down, and doesn't turn out to mean anything. Feminist scholars have turned the idea upside down and inside out and find that it's largely a 70s feminist idea that is based purely on the essentialism of that era.

But those are small blemishes. The prose is sharp, and the ideas are otherwise fairly sound throughout the book. There is a great bibliography, and many new ideas. It is also fairly simple and easy to read. I only had to look up one word.

I recommend this book to anyone who would like an overview of ecocriticism. Not only does this book provide that, it provides a fairly sound drubbing to most of ecocriticism. At 20 dollars this book is a very sound investment. It's probably the best book of literary criticism I've read in a long time. I'm glad I have it. I'm going to read it two or three times. The mind here is playful and expansive and erudite. Couldn't ask for anything more.

This is just about the finest bibliography of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs ever compliled. Close attention is paid to all editions and the illustrators. A necessity for anyone seriously interested in Mr. Burroughs' work.

Bob Zeuschner has produced the best bibliography of the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs since Henry Heins. A constant and often accessed resource, it is my most utilitized ERB reference. Even more special, I have an autographed edition!!!

this book is a cultural treasure, but then i am a long-time admirer of russell page, his sensitivity to site and his knowledge as a plantsman. while he tried to make good garden design accessible to more people conceptually, aesthetically, and financially, there remain some recommendations that are clearly out of reach of the ordinary person. however, his approach can be adapted to any any size of garden and any budget. recommended for its beautiful prose alone, i will read this book again and again for its depth of understanding of all aspects of garden design.

There's been no better book written about the art of designing a beautiful landscape, IMO. While few of us can relate to mansions on the Riveria or expansive town gardens in Paris, the principles Mr. Page talks about are an accessible distillation of a lifetime of intense planting, looking and thinking. If nothing else, experiencing this rigorous and disciplined artist is an incredible inspiration.

This is one of the funniest novels I've ever read. The basic story is simple: Sir Willoughby Patterne's betrothal to the young Clara Middleton is threatened when she realizes his enormous love of himself. The novel consists of Clara's efforts to get out of the engagement without doing something so scandalous as eloping with someone else.

The characters are drawn vividly and with depth. The incidents are both amusing and realistic. Clara Middleton is one of the great witty heroines of English literature, perhaps the wittiest Victorian heroine.

The beginning can be slow going. Meredith likes to use twenty words when other people might use ten. He also likes to play verbal games. As you proceed in the novel and get used to the style, you can have a lot of fun picking out the puns, allusions, etc.

This is Meredith's best novel. The plot is tightly controlled and the ending is pure comedy in the tradition of Fielding, Austen and Thackeray. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who feels comfortable reading Victorian English and likes a good love-comedy.

Meredith's masterpiece is woefully underread, and it is a sad truth that the Norton scholarly edition is the only edition of THE EGOIST now in print. This is not an easy read, however: Meredith's caustic dialogue foreshadows henry James's in its mastery of ambiguities, and his witty paradoxes surpass even Oscar Wilde (who admitted his debt to Meredith). The plot is a simple one: the wealthy handsome and titled Sir Willoughby Patterne, having been jilted by one fiancée, proposes to another young woman, the intelligent and intensely likeable Clara Middleton, who accepts him; before very long, Clara has realized what a monstrous egoist Sir Willoughby is, but not after it seems too late for her to go back on her word. This is one of the most brilliant studies of mortification ever accomplished, and what makes it all the more amazing is that Meredith clearly modelled Sir Willoughby in part on himself and the extraordinarily sympathetic Clara on his wife, Mary Ellen Peacock, who deserted Meredith for another man. This book is funny, thought-provoking, and exceptionally poignant: there are moments when you read it that your heart will go into your stomach as you sympathize with Clara's appalling plight.

Anton Chekhov is considered the master of the Russian short story. Yet, truth to be told, I find Ivan Bunin to have more soul and courage than the famous Russian doctor turned writer. Sinking into the world of Bunin is quite easy, there is a lush, albeit rustic elegance to his descriptions of the Russian countryside. His women are often ideals, distinguished by their distance, their beauty, charm and distinct resolve. Still, I found myself falling in love with them.

I don't understand why Chekhov is so important. After reading "The Elagin Affair" and "Sunstroke" (both of them masterfully translated), reading Chekhov seemed almost unnecessary. Bunin is an author warmly in love with his fading world; Chekhov nervous and jittery. Bunin is heart and his stories reflect his compassion and tenderness.

I loved this book. Bunin's lush stories reveal a Russia that even the great geniuses of Russian literature have never quite depicted. His descriptions of physical experience are almost intoxicating, and his careful attention to the vivid details of Russian culture and customs reveal a new side of that country to English langauge readers. I have read Bunin in other translations, but they, by comparison to this one, were awkward and stiff. Here Bunin's sentences move with true elegance.

This book is quite brilliant, and I would recommend this before Leviathan to most people that would want to get to know Hobbes' writing. It's a "lighter" text all over as far as I'm concerned, and it still gets most of it's points across in a great manner. The two books are also very similar, and for me, having read Leviathan beforehand, this was much of the same, only a little easier to read, as the translater has removed the capitalization etc that made the version I read of Leviathan a little archaic.

Think what you want of Hobbes suggestions, I can fully understand why many shrink from his authoritative prescriptions, but read him nevertheless, because the foundations of his writing is incredibly fascinating and fun to read, and that part (About human nature etc.) should be interesting regardless of political views, contrary to his politics.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote "Leviathan" in 1651, it was his most important philosophical work. I think you should know something of Hobbes to understand how his thinking was influenced by his experiences. He was born 2 months prematurely on the day the Spanish Armada approaches the English coast. His mother's fear of invasion caused the premature birth. Hobbes remarked late in life, "his mother brought forth twins-myself and fear." Fear seems to be Hobbes life long companion and the key passion in his political system, which uses human passions as its foundation. He was a child prodigy reading Latin and Greek at the age of six years old. At fifteen, he entered Oxford University and hated his educational experience there. He thought the curriculum was too immersed in the ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle. He called them "erroneous doctrines," and throughout his life he railed against English universities for there stodgy curriculum.

At the age of 22, he graduates and takes a job to tutor the son of the Earl of Devonshire. It gives him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe where he meets with Galileo in Florence and Descartes in Paris. Descartes calls Hobbes the greatest political philosopher of his day. During the British civil war, Hobbes flees to Paris because he is a well-known monarchist sympathizer. In 1651, he publishes his monumental work "Leviathan." He returns to England, submits to Cromwell's government, and withdraws from politics. He is on friendly terms with Charles II when the Stuart's are restored to the throne.

Hobbes philosophy is "materialistic"; he is greatly influenced by Galileo's mechanistic approach to science, and Euclidian geometry. His ambition was to explain all phenomena, man, and government with mathematical precision. In "Leviathan," he explains human conduct is a product of human passions. The most dominant passions are fear of violent death and desire for power, both are manifestations of man's most basic impulse, "self preservation." Hobbes asserts that the basic impulse is the right of the individual; he calls it a "natural right." All men process this natural right equally. This theory leads Hobbes to believe man's natural state to be one of constant conflict with each other. This leads him to write the following quote he is most known for: "men's lives are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." So as not to have to live in constant state of fear or conflict, men make a contract for protection with the state. Hobbes believes that the best state is one led by a single sovereign whose power must be unrestricted with all three branches of government devolving to him. A single sovereign who has absolute power and cannot be replaced by the people.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influences other philosophers like Spinoza, Hutcheson, Locke, and Hume. Hobbes is the first man to write about political philosophy in such methodical terms. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must start with reading Hobbes "Leviathan."

Reading through this volume I find it difficult to become deeply engaged. Something in the archaic, quaint language of much of the poetry deters.
Yet there is a poem, the poem of all the anthologies that is a great and memorable one, one that justifies a life- work.
" How do I love thee , Let me count the ways" is one of the most beautiful and inspiring love- poems ever written.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry, especially the "Sonnets from the Portuguese," is beautiful, intelligent, and honest love poetry. Anyone who has experienced the doubts, fears, and transformation of love will recognize the truth of the poet's struggle to trust and to love.

Ms. McDowell is a delightful writer. Her book on Emily Dickinson's Gardens kept me reassuring company this spring as I worried my way through my first seed growing experiments. I kept it next to my seed growing trays by my computer where I sat and worked everyday. Her conversational style was reassuring, informative and entertaining. Somehow her book managed to say the right thing at the moment when I needed to read it.

The wonder of this book is that the author has done a fabulous job of conmbining biography, poetry and gardening into one terrific volume.

The descriptions of Dickinson's life are intimate and homey; reading it, you feel like you're spending a few hours with a friend.

And McDowell does a great job of helping us understand the role that gardening played in both Emily's life and her poetry by providing a lot of specific details that bring Emily and her home to life.

As a gardener myself, I was extremely impressed with McDowell's gardening knowledge. She's included a number of tips and techniques that will be useful to both novice and experienced gardeners.

Bottom line: this is just a wonderful book, and one that I'll be giving to many of my poetry and gardening friends.