Literature in Art Books

I've now used Taylor's book for two years in my class. The seminar explores race and the western literary aesthetic. Thanks to Clyde Taylor's deft analysis of how, why and where race is reified in American literature and film, I can spend less time detailing it in class.
Well-written and informative, the writings make for excellent discussions.

Michelle Lamb Discher

I confess that I know one of the editors of this book - which is how I came by it. Personal connections aside, it seemed to me that it deserves the attention of many, and that I should let people know...

As a pedagogical tool (for high school *and* college students) I have found it just excellent- not only when actually teaching texts such as Beowulf, but for a whole series of ways of thinking about films that seem, inevitably, to come up in my survey as well as medieval courses - Buffy for Dracula; Star Wars for any romance (Carl Grindley's chapter on weaponry here is especially fabulous, and hilarious, for this); ET for bindungsroman, etc. The last section of the book is actually devoted to teaching - and there is a great chapter on The Lord of the Rings trilogy on film, for those, like me, who would always rather teach the celluloid to the written version of that text (more exciting! pictures of NZ!)

But I would also recommend the book to those interested in things medieval, or things cinematic generally, and for students - the papers use theory of all sorts (narrative, feminist, queer, etc) in an accessible and interesting way, and they serve as an admirable 'how-to' for students about to write an essay on anything from Monty Python to the history of film.

This book really helped me find information on knights and jousting. It is simple and easy to read. It made my day a lot easier.

This book on dogs was written with heart and soul, but is also intellectually deep and well researched. It convinced me that animal studies is a serious and worthwhile discipline for historians and literary critics alike in our time.

Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Cold Mountain is an anthology of essays concerning fiction and cinema created about the American Civil War and events leading up to it, as well as the issue of human slavery. Writings include "Beyond 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'", "Of Saints and Sinners: Religion and the Civil War and Reconstruction Novel", "Hollywood Themes and Southern Myths: An Analysis of 'Gone with the Wind'", "Alex Haley's Roots: The Fiction of Fact" and much more. An index rounds out this scholarly and well-researched compilation, especially recommended for the insight it provides into the distortions that American popular culture impose upon history.

Menander remains a mystery for most theater-goers. This work, carefully put together by two outstanding exponents of the classical stage, gives a fine concise overview of the Greek theater and the playwright. If you love the stage and stage history you should find this book a worthwhile and even engrossing read. As you will discover, it's really true that there's very little new under the sun! Menander did indeed create modern comedy, and the examples covered bear this estimate out.
The book does not require a knowledge of either Greek or Latin, and the prose is that rara avis among academic tomes - fluent, natural and stylish. Although not an especially long work the chapters present a significant amount of material, well-organized and presented - on finishing you should know more about Menander and his works than all but the specialists!
After this work you will probably wish to read a full play - and two are now available - after 2,000 years of oblivion.
All in all an excellent book and most deserving to join any collection covering the Greek theater.

This series (Shakespeare Handbooks) is a new one with only a handful of plays covered. My only complaint is that they don't have more of the plays done!

This is an outstanding book that gives a sense of historical perspective, but spends the vast (and I mean VAST) majority of its pages discussing "The Merchant of Venice" as a PLAY. It doesn't focus on close reading or nudging some obscure reference to a historical event that has faded from view. Instead, it brings the text to life by offering some insights into how the scene may be presented on stage. It goes scene by scene, with a thorough, but not overwhelming, commentary into how the scene plays out in the theatre.

For those who want to approach Shakespeare as a playwright rather than simply as a poet, these are invaluable resources.

Just added this nifty little themed children's cookbook to my collection. I have all of Ms. Beery's books in this series and have given them as gifts with great success. The format is rather successfully designed to interest children in cooking.

All three of the books rely rather heavily on recipes for snacks and deserts. Things that kids are normally attracted to. However the "Mermaid Cookbook", third in the series includes more meal items such as salads and sandwiches and a greater use of fruit. Which gravitates more towards an awareness (albeit an unconcious one for many children.) of better eating habits.

Don't be mistaken or put off that these recipes aren't vegan or part of the trend of tricking kids into eating mystery veggies. Beery is catering towards flavor, so butter and sugar are used in her recipes. However she does suggest the replacement of honey for those moms out there who want to keep a handle on their childrens diets.

Another improvement from the Pink Princess Cookbook (still 5 stars by the way!) is that in both this and the Fairies Cookbook she includes metric and oven conversion charts.

This Cookbook is a Hit for children and adults.

This book is great for teaching kids about letter writing. It's written in a comicbook type style and really keeps the childrens attention.

It covers all the parts of a letter and also what happened to your letter after it leaves your home.

My son is 7 and he really learned alot and enjoyed this book.

I'm 15 and had to critique a book having to do with the Middle Ages. While other people chose The Prince and bigger books I sorta cheated and got this 30 page book with pictures. It had lots of informative facts and little cartoon drawings that helped me better understand the info. It took me 20 minutes to read so it was really easy but I actually learned alot.