Robert Burns Books

My journey to "better eating and exercise" is one baby step at a time. This book moves in that same manner. You are not overwhelmed with all the things you SHOULD do. It's written in simple steps. You can choose any one at a time until you're ready for the next. There is not too much new under the sun but this book documents the latest in simple terms.

Sandra Wilkes

I found good ideas for losing weight in this book. The research was interesting. But the book is so expensive. I looked it over at the library and would like to buy it. I will have to budget the cost, however.

I like this book a lot in that it really does explain the reasons behind weight gain and weight loss. A lot of the meta-stat raising suggestions make sense. I am the type that likes to know the why behind the exercise and diet. You will like it too if you are curious about the physiology of metabolism.

This book was so not worth it. There is nothing new in the book. Also it was a little on the boring side.

This is the most common sense approach to health and weight loss I have come across in years of reading, dieting, Weight Watchers, etc. The tips for boosting metabolism with simple body movements are easy to follow. The scientific explanations are understandable and logical. My big "aha" moment was using their recommendations to figure the percent of my daily calories I should be getting from protein, carbs, fat and fiber and realizing I was getting way too little protein (and too many carbs.) I have now been counting calories and balancing the nutrients correctly for about 6 weeks. I am eating smaller meals and several snacks every day. I have lost 8 pounds so far and feel great because I am in control of this program. I don't need to pay someone to tell me what to eat and to applaud me when I succeed! I haven't used the recipes, except for the protein shakes (yummy) and the recommended snacks.

This is an excellent compilation of Burns' work, including many poems that were previously unpublished, unpublished in English language compilations or published under Burns' pseudonyms. The annotations, translations, and commentary are both helpful in understanding and interpreting this evocative and beautiful cornerstone of modern Scottish culture

This is an excellent compilation of Burns' work, including many poems that were previously unpublished, unpublished in English language compilations or published under Burns' pseudonyms. The annotations, translations, and commentary are both helpful in understanding and interpreting this evocative and beautiful cornerstone of modern Scottish culture

One of the reviewers below suggests the general level of critics of this book in apparently not knowing how to spell the name of the press.

The Canongate Burns has many typographical errors and should not be used as the only source one has of Burns's texts. It has, however, admirable notes outlining Burns's political writings of his last years. Several probable new works by Burns have been uncovered by the authors (and they are clearly labeled as works that appeared anonymously or under pseudonyms in newspapers).

In bringing Burns out of the shadows of "Holy Willie" self-righteousness and bardolatry, this edition is much to be commended. James Kinsley (The Oxford Standard authors) is to be preferred as your popular text of the poems, but if you want to know more and are truly interested in Burns and the political contexts in which he wrote, the Canongate Burns is an inimitable gloss on Burns as a person and on the ideas behind the poetry.

This is an exciting edition which I, as a beginning reader of Burns, find myself picking up again and again. In offering the reader a radical Burns, rather than the folksy popular bard, editors Noble and Hogg bring clarity to the image of the poet, though I sometimes worry that it's a false clarity. Their desire to replace the porchiness of the old image with one of radical potency comes through in a sentence like this, describing Burns's challenge to the conservative pro-Hanoverian establishment: "They were faced with someone hyper-literate, fecundly allusive to a degree far beyond their powers in canonical literary and biblical tradition, who could not only talk their pants off but, it was feared, those of their wives and daughters as well" (lii). Burns thereby gets turned into a Jacobinic superhero who had the aristocracy secretly shaking in their boots. This seems like a bit of critical wish-fulfillment. Though hardly unknown, Burns did not have the celebrity that Scott would later have.

Perhaps just as problematic, their repeated aligning of Burns with Romantic poets like Wordsworth implies that Burns was a self-originating genius. While Noble and Hogg offer a magisterial indictment of Burns's posthumous de-politicization which anyone interested in the period should read, they spend far less time commenting on his much more obscure 18th-century sources. While they discuss the contemporary historical situation of Scotland well, they offer no information at all about dialect verse, a tradition which after all Burns did not invent in that country. Beneath it all seems to be an almost impossible desire to define Burns as a "national" poet while avoiding anything that might wall him into an "ethnic" tradition.

Despite these Romantic overtones, Noble and Hogg want to position Burns as part of the radical Enlightenment. And the editors' resuscitation of this legacy restores a sense of excitement not only to Burns, but also to the entire period. It's hard not to relish the combative tone with which they hold up Byron's Jacobinism for comparison, even though it seems facile and perhaps wrong: "Was the mine-owning self-dramatizing aristocrat ever under the cosh in the way Burns was? Is individual nihilism of the Byron, Baudelaire variety the necessary prelude to utopian change?" (xci) Their editorial strategies are also innovative; I appreciate the bold decision to append their interpretations after each poem, rather than in the traditional hard-to-reach, tiny-font footnote, or in the old headnote that meekly pretends to "frame" the ensuing poem. These discussions helped to clarify some of the difficult poems, as well as offering something to contend with. All in all, this is among my favorite editions of a major poet, even though I might question some of its methods.

The Cannongate Burns has been thoroughly debunked as rubbish of the highest order by legitimate Burns scholars both in the US and Scotland. Three of the most predominate scholars of Burns who have disavowed not only the total lack of scholarship in the book but the obvious absolute disregard of research and validation of their facts by both Noble and Hogg are Ross Roy, Professor emeritus at The University of South Carolina and recognized as one of the world's most knowledgeable Burns scholars, Gerard Carruthers, member of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies (member of council); Scottish Catholic Historical Association; Newman Association (Chair of Glasgow Circle); and the Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society as well as a lecturing professor of English Studies at the University of Glasgow and Dr. James A. Mackay author of the 1992 Saltire Literary Award winning 'Burns' A biography of Robert Burns which is today recognized as the diffinative Burns biography of the 20th century and who is considered among world's foremost Burns Scholars. I am sorry that readers have been taken in by the trash called the Cannongate Burns but there it is. Shirley Kacmarik

this book is an interesting critique of the great Civil war series. I think the best essay was that done by Ken Burns himself. This book gives a fair and balanced look at the series through the eyes of different minded historians

This book is composed of historians' critiques on the PBS series, "The Civil War", the most widely watched PBS series. Most of the historians make good points in showing areas that Burns left out of the series but all of them need to recognize the fact that it wasn't possible for Burns to show everything they wanted. No series could do that. Moving on to individual historians, most are very fair with Burns but two were not in parts of their arguments. These two need to be taken to task. Firstly, Catherine Clinton attacked Burns for not showing enough females in his series. She then spends a large amount of space discussing women who disguised themselves as men in order to fight. I hate to rain on Clinton's parade (well, not really) but it is estimated that only a few hundred women both North and South did that. Compared to the males in the armies (something like 1.5 million), that is EXTREMELY tiny portion. Burns spent a lot of time with the males because the made up the VAST majority of soldiers, both USA and CSA. Period. Clinton is on firmer ground when she berates Burns for not giving more time to women on the home front who kept the war supplies moving. In reality, these women were really the precurser of Rosie the Riveter. Secondly, Leon Litwack attacks Burns for not concentrating on the legacy (at least, the legacy Litwack says) of the Civil War. Granted, the civil rights struggles could be mentioned. However, Burns should not be damned for going the "reunion" route with his documentary. Reunion is what happened between North and South and that should NOT be forgotten, especially since both sides were killing each other just a few years earlier. On another topic (and one of the faults I found with "The Civil War") Litwack keeps maintaining that the war was fought over slavery. That is simply not the case. The Northern states WERE NOT threatening slavery where it existed. Abe Lincoln wasn't threatening slavery where it existed. The Republican party platform of 1860 didn't threaten slavery where it existed. Abolitionists in the North were threatening slavery but they were a VERY small group and were thought of as kooks by fellow Northerners. Any sampling of these materials and the letters of Northern soldiers will reveal that they were not fighting for emancipation. They were for emancipation only if it helped destroy the South. Thus, the South's "peculiar institution" wasn't threatened. If the argument is made that the South's leaders felt that slavery was threatened, why didn't the Southern states go back into the Union when the Congress made enticements of legal protection of slavery? Economic factors (tariffs especially) was a larger part of the South's secession than slavery. It is curious, though, that Litwack's litmus test of a just cause, the American colonies shouldn't have been granted independence because they had slavery. America shouldn't have come out as well as it did during the War of 1812 because the British were granting freedom to slaves who turned against the US.

The premise behind Toplin's book is a very interesting one. When Ken Burns' epic documentary on the Civil War received the highest ratings in public television's history, historian's immediately began to comment on it. Toplin brought together, in this one volume, many of today's most notable Civil War Era historians to turn their comments into essays about the film's pros and cons. Unfortunately, the historians only seem to care about the cons. With "The Civil War", Burns was attempting to educate the public at large, not the academic historian. This fact seems to be lost upon the authors of these essays. The primary focus of the criticisms in this book do not deal with the film itself, but rather with what the film forgot. Most complaints are geared towards the treatment of women and blacks. This is because the authors of these essays are primarily social historians, with the exception of Prof. Gallagher and Prof. Boritt. It is no surprise then that the majority of the essays scathe Burns for not telling the whole story of slavery, or of women, or of Reconstruction. By doing this, these authors have missed the point that the film series is about war, not social change. Therefore, this book only gets three stars because the content is not of good quality. While each author is correct in their statements about what Burns left out, they do not grasp what Burns was attempting to do. The most interesting part of the book in fact is when Burns and his writer Ward respond to the historians responses, and I believe put them in their place. I suggest reading this after viewing the films, but take what they say with a grain of salt, and do not judge the film series by what is written in this book.

This book is a riot. I have always thought Ken Burns' Civil War miniseries was a one of the best 12 hours of TV ever shown. The series recently aired again for the first time in a few years and it's just as good as I remembered, possibly even better. Granted, it's not perfect and one could probably nitpick it forever, but few TV shows have ever equaled it for sheer emotional impact. This book is not about nitpicking. It is about politically correct professors ripping it to shreads, and is it ever funny. In general, they whine about how the series devotes too much time talking about battles between dead white males, instead of the really important stuff, such as slavery, women's issues, class struggles, and the like. One (I think it was Eric Foner) has a bone up his kiester over the fact that the miniseries devotes almost nothing to Reconstruction (his speciality, by the way) and instead shows photos and movies of Confederate and Union veterans at a reunion picnic at Gettysburg. Another complains about the use of the term Rebel. Somebody whined about the fact that Shelby Foote, the white Southern popular writer got more airtime than Barbera Fields, the black female professor. And so on. If you want to know why liberal professors get so little attention outside their own circles and why, on the other hand, non-specialist Civil War history is so popular, you have to read this book. It's worth it for the laughs alone.

This book was fairly good in how it compiled complaints lodged by historians against the PBS series, "The Civil War". However, one critic (Leon Litwack) was extremely off base in his condemnation of Burns and Shelby Foote. Because they didn't think soldiers of the USCT were supermen, Litwack can't stand them. Litwack needs to plow through the accounts of battles in which the USCT participated. These soldiers could stand up to battle like white troops, but they weren't any better. Litwack is just in the thralls of PC-mania and refuses to acknowledge fact. Overall, though, the book is worth reading if one ignores the ignorance of certain critics.

They have been doing very good job of updating ever since Burns didn't involve hinself directly in recent editions. Adding, updating the content yet maintaining the unique tone of Burns writing.

But with 14th edition, they changed the layout to two-column page layout. And I absolutley hate two-column page in any textbook or any book for that matter.

This book arrived in fair condition. It arrived on time as promised. It was not bad for $7.00

This book, while I realise its a text book, has given me great insight into the latter portion of western culture. This book provides more verifiable references then any other book of this type I've read. Quality color pictures and easily followed footnotes, provides a respectable index and is very easily understood and appreciated.

This has to be the worst textbook I have ever used in my life. Terms are not in bold, there are no review questions, and the authors do not provide footnotes with there sources. The book is impossible to Outline or even take notes on since it follows no coherent structure. Sometimes it will talk about the consequences of things, before it discuss's there causes. It also has numerous historical mistakes. Our teacher points them out every class, but some even I cna see on my own.
The book filled with typos. It says that nationalism challenged neo-platonism. I think it means nominalism. Please do not use this as a main textbook for the course. You students will not do well.

There is good reason for this book being in it's fourteenth edition; it is comprehensive, balanced ,concise not overly laborious reading and a flat out good history book. I have a previous edition that I used to supplement teaching my students with and continue to use when helping my high school age son. The contributors are brainiacs, we're talking experts in their fields too. A couple of case in points, Lerner received his PH. D. from Princeton and is a professor who has authored several books. Meacham did his undergraduate work at Yale before doing his graduate work at Cambridge and Harvard. The book takes blocks of time like the Age of Absolutism, Intellectual Revolutions of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, The French Revolution and all the major developments of Western Civilization .There is just enough information to go in depth but not feel like you are overburdened with data. The modern world is also explored and contemporary Western Civilizations. There are aslo many colorful maps, pictures and illustrations to supplement the writing to enhance thelearning experience. A very helpful feature is subject titles along the sides of the paragraphs that correspond to the detailed information. This is helpful when you are seeking specific information on a subject and do not want to read pages and pages of information to find your facts. I would highly recommend this book to any student of history or teacher of advanced middle school or high school courses on world history.

Shaw's latest collection is a tough one to review. While there are no poems that stand out as horrible, none really stand out as that great. The longish poem, "An Exhumation" is fairly interesting, but the rest of the poems fall short. He has an impressive list of places where his poems have been published, which might be the most memorable thing about the book.

I've been following Robert B. Shaw's career for more than a quarter century now. I've read each of his books of poems multiple times. I believe that "Below the Surface" contains some of his best poems ever. For example, the poem "Frost" is one of my favorite poems--from any poet. It is deceptively simple on a first read, yet, as the title of the book implies, contains delightful complexities once you get below the surface. I had my Freshman Composition students write an explication of "Frost" this past Spring semester. They enjoyed discovering the hidden wonders that a master craftsman (such as Shaw) can create. Another one of my all-time favorite poems is "A Geode"...it's taped to my office door. Anybody who both loves poetry and is knowledgeable about what constitutes great poetry should love this book.

"Below the Surface" is a collection of about 35 short poems, mostly narrative. The poems show the author's superb sensitivity and power of observation that let him transform every-day events, in every-day life, into touching and poignant events. All the poems are worth reading and, even better, are worth reading again. To pick a few for mention is tough to do but there are several poems that touched me especially deeply. I love the color and imagery of 'On The Footbridge,' (I identify with the leaf perhaps) the telling yet humorous message of 'Time-Lapse Photography,' and the growing terror in the little girl playing 'Hide-And-Seek.' The strongest work, and the longest at three pages, is 'An Exhumation.' That is a must read. Get the book for yourself and then get another copy to share with someone far away. You won't want to lend out your copy.

This account of Catholics enduring persecution in Elizabethan England is filled with true events, only the central characters being fictional. I found the terror thru which the protagonists lived to be chilling, and the ending is unforgettable. While the book was published in 1912 it still resonates with anyone who opposes religious persecution, and inspires admiration for the heroic men who sought to serve the Catholics being subjected to the religious intolerance of Queen Elizabeth and her minions. A rewarding reading experience.

I originally gave this a rating of 3 stars because I had it confused with another book by the same author and thought somethign was missing from this edition. My apologies! It is a good book all on its own, about a sad period in Christendom when Protestants and Catholics were LITERALLY at each other's throats. These days we're pretty much satisfied with ripping each other's entrails out in virtual reality - those days they did it for real!!

If a boy sees his father as a castrating figure, is that boy really more likely to depict his father mowing the lawn? If a child is jealous of an academically successful sibling, is that child really more likely to depict that sibling on an A-frame swing set? In this book, we see many examples of these theories and others. Interesting examples indeed, but I would like to see statistics also.

Although the book is almost 300 pages, most of it is full-page illustrations and white space. I learned only a little bit, but that was because it took only a few hours to read the book.

I would advise obtaining a copy through your local library or through interlibrary loan, but not spending too much money on buying a copy.
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There is no doubt that Burns' most pressing reason for writing his book was to garner sympathy for himself. And for the most part, the book is well written and accomplishes the job of setting forth the harsh reality of life on a chain gang. There are a few spots in the book where, in my opinion, the author's words do not have the "ring of truth", but over all you will come away with the obvious conclusion that definite prison reform was needed in a drastic way. The institution of the chain gang was really nothing more than legalized slavery--only much harsher. In defense of the brutal chain gang system of Georgia, I simply say that every person in that time was aware of the harsh punishment that was meted out in the south and elsewhere; people knew that if they committed a crime, then there was the possibility of being consigned to a chain gang. So even though a person cannot help but to sympathize with Burns' experiences, it has to be said that ultimately he gambled and he lost.

R=This book is a comprehensive review of that ancient and lasting annaul geathering : the Burns Supper. The centerpiece of the event is the toast to the poet himself, known as the Immortal Memory. The speech takes the form of a special tribute and commentary as to why this 18th century poet farmer from an obscure corner of the globe remains so popular and relevant today.
This book is a superb aid to anyone invited to give this speech, and in fact to anyone who has fallen under the spell of Burns' magic ability to write poetry.

The "Lyric age", in this book, is the period that follows on the "epic age" - the age in which the poems of Homer and Hesiod took shape - and precedes the classical age of Herodotus, Sophocles and Plato. (What would one call this, then? The tragic age? The philosophical age?). This is a large, learned and judicious book, shedding light over a dubious period without ever underestimating the extent of the difficulties in reconstructing a historiography from sources that vary from the contentious to the downright mythological. As one would expect from the title, the work of the early lyrical poets feature largely, but Burn makes excellent use of every kind of evidence, from legends recorded by Herodotus and Pausanias, to archaeology. The overarching nature of this study means that there is no central outstanding issue to praise or blame, but the covering leaves throughout an impression of insight and real knowledge; and while archaeology and scholarship have moved on since 1960 (when this book was first published), this remains an excellent introduction to an important and foundational period of history.