Prose Books

Brilliant read, not as fundamental as Doctors or The Class, but still something worth occupying a book shelf.

Prizes is an truly terriffic book. It has a plot similar to that of a daytime soap opera, however, it is much more sophisticated and realistic. Although very exciting with many interesting twists and turns, the book displays a strong theme of man's selfish nature, and causes one to take a serious look at the ethics of the world today. The themes of great human achievment and perseverence are also prominent. I enjoyed "Prizes" thouroughly, and I strongly recommend it for readers seeking a well developed, entertaining story.

First, the characters are great. Their descriptions are very thorough. You can almost see them, as if they really are true persons. Second, the plot of the story is very well-defined. Third, the flow of the story is well-timed.

This is the second book I've read from Erich Segal, the first being "The Class", and all I can say is that its a very, very enjoyable book to read. I can't put it down. After this, I'm looking forward to buying his other books as well. Good work, Mr. Segal.

Erich Segal proved that he knows how to pull our emotional chains as well as any contemporary writer in Love Story and Oliver's Story. He may well just have done it again in Prizes, the engrossing tale of three brilliant individuals. Their professional quests plus their lives and romances make for rapt reading.

Child prodigy Isabel da Costa has made a significant discovery, creating a formula that Einstein was unable to piece together. Sandy Raven, his personal life bordering on destruction, has capped his dedication to research by reversing the aging process in cells, and Adam Coopersmith, a physician, has developed an almost miraculous drug to help women who have been unable to become pregnant. His already full life is further complicated by his marriage to a career-minded lawyer and his introduction to Anya, an irresistible Russian emigre. Beckoning all of them is the ultimate accolade, a Nobel Prize.

A compulsively readable tale.

- Gail Cooke

If you carry around a list of books you must find, if you've ever hidden new (or used) books from someone who thought money could be better spent (!) on food or electricity, if you've ever fantasized about meeting your favorite authors .... you will have found a kindred spirit in Michael Dirda, book lover and essayist, who has collected 46 of his Washington Post Book World articles here for you.

Wide-ranging but never overextended, Dirda impresses me not only for his erudite commentary but because he manages to rattle off titles and lists and names without ever seeming patronizing; he discusses a multitude of literary concepts without ever being condescending; and he relates a remarkable and far-reaching knowledge without ever sounding arrogant.

Dirda is knowledgeable and funny, intelligent and affectionate, as he considers Wodehouse, maxims, criminally-bad retention, Chesterton, Irish and French novelists, children's books, vacation reading, comedic novels, Beerbohm, Oulipo, the Internet, death, genre reading, Benson's Lucia, private clubs, teachers, autobiographies and getting in shape. And he reveals some interesting information about pre-presidential Jimmy Carter!

If you love books, you will thoroughly enjoy these observations. But beware! When you are finished you will have drawn up a LONG list of books that you did not know existed but which you cannot now live without.

Stimulating. Thought-provoking. Fun. All learning should be so enjoyable!

I spent the afternoon reading, smiling and occasionally laughing out loud. I have always imagined I was the most addicted reader I knew -- but, Dirda gets the prize.

He tells us about pouncing on a find like a "rabid marmoset" and sneaking books into the house to hide them from the "Beloved Spouse."

His taste is catholic and he is a good writer. I think any reader will enjoy his essays.

This is a wonderful book of short essays by Michael Dirda, book reviewer for the Washington Post. Dirda appears to have read everything ever written, from literary fiction to science fiction to history to books that are just plain funny.

One of the things I particularly like about him is his enthusiasm for all kinds of books and his love for making truly eclectic lists (e.g., the "100 funniest books ever written", but with no more than one book per author; otherwise he said the list would be little but books by P. G. Wodehouse). He is also an aficionado of lost treasures (e.g., "The Autobiography of Augustus Carp, Esq.," at once one the most humorous books ever written and devastating account of true hypocrite--a man who would give Pecksniff a run for his money--or "Ashenden," Somerset Maugham's interconnected stories of a British secret agent in WWI--and the inspiration for other writers in the spy genre). He's also big on the Lucia series by E. F. Benson, which are hilarious representations of the battles for social supremacy in small town Britain--they are comedies of manners that compare well to Jane Austen's incomparable novels. No one is as good as Austen, but Benson is very, very good.

Dirda has also re-introduced me to science fiction (in particular Jack Vance).

This is an entertaining and highly varied set of essays with one central theme--the love of reading good books.

I'm a life-long book lover and reader. To my wife's chagrin, Dirda has reinforced all of my antisocial tendencies. He's given me the names of a pile of new treasures to read. I loved the book and I appreciate Dirda's infectious love for books. Read it.

Dirda is a critic and editor at the Washington Post, notable for his erudition, his enthusiasm, and his wide-ranging reading--not just in respectable, "literary" fiction but in mystery and science fiction as well. It's common to make a distinction between "reviews" (ephemeral, plot-focused, intended to attract or warn off readers) and "criticism" (intellectual, in-depth, insightful, aimed at people already familiar with the works in question)--but Dirda's columns often blur this distinction in the most welcome way.

Readings collects these columns, including pastiches of Wodehouse and Pepys, appreciations of comic masterpieces, articles on soft-core porn, hard-boiled thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, forgotten classics and not-quite-classics, The Tale of Genji, the obsession of bookcollecting, and much more. Reading the book felt like making a new friend: Dirda offers a delightful mix of appreciations on books I know and books I always meant to try and books I'd never even heard of. Above all, he manages to convey the heady *pleasure* of reading--that we do this, really, heretically, hedonistically, not for our greater good but because it's just plain fun.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael Dirda is one of the main reasons I read the Washington Post Book World every Sunday. In his book, "Readings: Essays and Literary Entertainments," Dirda assembles forty-six of his best essays (all of his Book World editorial columns are good) to delight the reader who, like him, is an incurable book aficionado.

Although the idea of reading a book about reading books may sound a bit redundant, Dirda's exciting, humorous, wide-ranging, and engaging narrative will not lose the reader's attention. He is a scholarly bibliophile in every sense of the term, minus any pretension. His love of books is infectious, and there is no escaping Dirda's charm and wit. The chapters "The Crime of His Life," "Listening to My Father," "Mr. Wright," "Commencement Advice," "Clubland," "Turning 50," and "Bookman's Saturday" are especially good.

For the reader who finds himself (or herself) swamped with reading wish-lists, tirelessly hunting for a first edition, obsessing over collecting all of a particular author's works, finding unparalleled solace in the library, and generally spending more time reading than doing anything else, this is the book for you. I have seen Mr. Dirda speak about this book on C-SPAN2's "Book TV" and on open university's "The Writing Life," and he is just as enthusiastic about reading in person as he is on paper. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves to read.

Back in 1990 on a rainy night (or maybe it wasn't) I happened across a book in a bookstore entitled: Puzzles of the Black Widowers. I thought it looked interesting...it was! In fact, it was awesome, and so are any of the Black Widower books you can lay your hands on.

Tales of the Black Widowers
More Tales of the Black Widowers
Casebook of the Black Widowers
Banquets of the Black Widowers
Puzzles of the Black Widowers, and now
The Return of the Black Widowers

Each story follows the same outline. A monthly meeting is held in a private room in an exclusive New York Restaurant. The members take turn bringing a guest. Over dinner a mystery is revealed. The members of the club try to work it out, but in the end, their faithful waiter, Henry, solves the mystery. Does the formula ever get old? Never! These are incredibly well written stories, each one being very different and unique. There are 12 stories per book. This book "The Return" is a posthumous volume. Asimov died in 1992 leaving only 6 unpublished Black Widower stories. These are collected here and grouped with 10 of his all-time classics. Also included are two, paying homage to Asimov. Although the book is paperback, it is larger in size than the standard paperback and a screaming buy at $10.

This was one of my favorite series when I was younger, as I have a thing for short mysteries. The last of the Black Widowers books, this one was a good as any I've read. A must-have for any true Asimov or mystery fan.

Of course I had to buy it! I love Asimov, I love his style and wit. He passed away in 1992, but that only slowed his output without stopping it.

There are 11 stories repeated from previous collections, six stories gathered for the first time, one Black Widower story by someone else, and an hommage to the Black Widowers also by someone else. There's an essay by Asimov and Harlan Ellison's forward.

Ellison's forward is the first thing wrong with the book. Asimov was famous for refusing to have anyone else write introductions to his books. In his story collections he also appended miniature essays to each story, often about how he came to think of a particular plot; obviously these essays are missing here. Further, the two stories by other writers just didn't belong in an Asimov collection, they're intruding. Finally, a few of the last stories were written when Asimov was dying and they are simply no good. I read and enjoyed them for sentimental reasons only; they would disappoint readers new to Asimov or the Black Widowers.

So if you are already a fan of the Good Doctor's fiction, indulge yourself and enjoy. Otherwise, do yourself a favour and pick up another of his 400+ books.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

Being an avid fan of Issac Asimov my whole life, I have read many to most of his fictional works including the casebooks of the Black Widowers. But this particular edition and its highly intense forward by the Doctor's dear friend is the best mystery collection by far. Any Issac Asimov fan will love it as much as I do and any reader of the genre will be highly gratified by the intelligence and plot twists the dear Doctor ingeniously supplies in his stories.

The Return of the Black Widowers


The Return of the Black Widowers (2003) contains:

The Acquisitive Chuckle

Early Sunday Morning

The Obvious Factor

The Iron Gem

To the Barest

Sixty Million Trillion Combinations

The Wrong House


The Redhead

Triple Devil

The Men Who Read Issaac Asimov

And some previously uncollected stories,including:

Northwestward

Yes, But Why

Lost In a Space Warp

Police at the Door

The Haunted Cabin

The Guest's Guest

The Woman in the Bar

The Last Story, by Charles Ardai

And an Afterword on the Birth of the Black Widowers







The Foreword by is by Asimov's Friend Harlan Ellison

If you've enjoyed The Black Widowers before or if you just enjoy a good mystery short story, I highly recommend this book.


Please be advised, it might be hard to put down.

Gunner April,2007

Robert Frost is a unique American voice that many people love. A few reject him, but the majority of those whom he was writing for still love and admire his poetry. His fans always have favorites and can quote lines and whole poems from memory. When a poet gets into people's memories and hearts it is not a sure sign of greatness, but it is a good indicator of something special.

In some ways his works have aged because they are about an America that has passed. One poem that I think catches a lot of the issues surround Frost is "The Literate Farmer and the Planet Venus". This piece is about the electrification of rural America and the strangeness of it all. It talks about the speeding up of life and wonders if the future will simply do away with beds because there won't be time to sleep. The poem is set in 1926, but was published in 1942 as part of "A Witness Tree". I don't know when it was written, but if it was written around the Second World War its nostalgia seems a bit more cynical to me (which I suspect to be the case). However, if it was written back in the late 1920s then it has more whimsy and an earnest wonder.

This poet does have a capacity for irony and bite as well as humor and whimsy. His words are more conversational than lyric and that is fine. They have less music, but a great deal of color and subtle observation. It really doesn't matter what any critic says about Frost. He will outlast all of them. What matters is what he says to you. He is certainly a more worthwhile read than most of what gets published nowadays, just expect to have to deal with some words and references to an America from a century ago.

This volume from the Library of America is terrific. The table of contents in the front refers to the whole volume. The Collected Poems is the reprint that takes up most of the book and has its own table of contents as well. There is also a chronology of Frost's life, notes on sources, and many very helpful notes that can help you understand certain references. There is an index of titles and first lines, and an index of prose titles.

I always feel grateful to the Library of America whenever I get a chance to read their volumes. Heck, they are simply great to hold and flip through!

For most of us most poets live through a few poems of theirs we have read in anthologies. It may be that in the case of a poet we especially love we have gone and read most of their poetry.
This volume presents a wonderful opportunity for the devotees of Frost to have in one book the work of a lifetime.
For me Frost is "The Road Not Taken" and "Birches" and "Mending Wall" and a host of scattered lines, " Good fences make good neighbors" and " The land was ours, before we were the land's".
Frost is also however, I must admit , for me the poet whose life casts a shadow on his work. Unfortunately perhaps I long ago read parts of the Thompson biography of Frost the central theme of which was his inveterate cruelty to all those around him.
All this has left me, you will excuse this, a bit 'cool toward Frost' and I personally prefer the more musical metrics of Wallace Stevens to the canny, often pithily wise lines of Frost.

I took a class last semester on Robert Frost, and it was quite an experience. Frost was truly a wonderful poet who deserves every bit of praise he gets (and who is unfairly ignored in academia it seems). His words are so often true and lifechanging and beautiful and honest. Nobody is fully educated until they have read Frost's classics: "The Death of the Hired Man," "Mending Wall," "Birches," "After Apple-Picking," "Storm Fear," "Meeting and Passing," etc. There are so many good ones.

The Library of America edition is a great way to be exposed to Frost's poetry. It's true that there are a lot of pretty bad poems since everything, good and bad, is included in the volume; the uncollected poems here were meant to stay uncollected. Nevertheless, that everything is here is really a great strength to the book. It's great being able to place a single poem in Frost's entire oevre. I also liked seeing how his command of the language and the forms of poetry. Seeing everything also helped to see how his conception of his role changed. Most importantly, I loved that Frost's prose and his plays were included here. There are a number of gems to be found there. I particularly enjoyed the "'Sermon' at the Rock Avenue Temple" and Frost's children's stories. The ability to read Frost's prose alongside his poetry really enhances the reading of both.

Overall, Frost was a magnificant poet who cannot be given less than five stars, and by reading everything in this edition, one can certainly gain a greater appreciation of the poet at his finest.

Are you someone who buys for the art of the book as much for the art of the contents? If so, you can't do better than any of the stellar titles from the Library Of America series of books... This splendid collection of Frost will not dissapoint...One of the many treats of this volume as is virtually true with all of the Library Of America volumes is the ease with which you can hold it comfortably in your hand...Exclusively thin acid free paper is the secret and this volume packs in a two inch thick volume what normal paper would weigh you down with five or six inches of...

What nice unedited and thorough Frost you get here!...Speaking of editing, the true Frost afficionado will want to be sure to avoid items edited by an Edward Latham...This edition is Latham free and contains Frost's work as he originally wrote it...Unfortunately, from the late sixties on, several editions of Frost went forward with unnecessary "clean up" editing by this very punctuation weilding word meister...He added to many editions extra commas and punctuation in places Frost never originally put it...If you'd like to read a much more thorough analysis of this than I can describe here, be sure to pick up a copy of writer Donald Hall's " Breakfast Served Anytime" and read the article he wrote exposing Latham and his added cleansing of Frost's work...This Library Of America edition captures Frost unedited and at his purest and best...

The reader can choose here from a smorgasbord of outstanding selections and offerings...Poetry, prose, plays...there is quite a variety of choice fare offered here...

In the words of Mr. Frost.." I'm going up to the meadow to check the newborn calf,...I shan't be long...You come too!"

Very attractive, solid and sturdy, materials are very well organized. Not the cheapest, but well worth it -- especially at the discount Amazon provides... And then there's the content -- top notch stuff, perfect.

It is entirely possible to read and enjoy Jane Austen's novels without appreciating her standing as a literary pioneer, but you shouldn't. 2004's "Searching for Jane Austen", by University of Wisconsin Professor of English Emily Auerbach reads a bit like university lecture, but what excellent lectures they must be! Auerbach provides an entirely readable and enjoyable survey of the perceptions of Jane Austen as an author and of her pioneering work as a novelist.

Jane Austen's family, in the years after her early death in 1817, went to some lengths to create an image of her as a demure, sheltered, and almost saintly maiden aunt that conformed with then-current standards of lady-like behavior. Some more recent biography has suggested that she was sexually frustrated and unhappy. In fact, as Auerbach documents, both these images are a put-down that hide a fascinating and surprisingly modern person from our literary acquaintance. Miss Jane Austen, in life, was very likely a confident, capable, and ambitious author with a keen and even subversive sense of wit, who, if she was unfortunate in never marrying, managed to carve out a satisfying life nonetheless.

Auerbach initially describes how Austen's image has been manipulated over the years, then plunges into an extended examination of her works. The Juvenalia and each of the published novels are dealt with in the likely order of composition. This approach allows Auerbach to bring out the unique highlights of each individual novel and to emphasize the growth in Austen's literary technique. Auerbach pays particular attention to the heroine of each novel and how their personal growth drives the various outcomes.

The general reader may tend to avoid literary criticism, but Auerbach's is well worth reading. For example, Mansfield Park's Fanny Price is perhaps the least honored of Austen's heroines, but Auerbach establishes her place in Austen's thinking about morality and manages to make her far more interesting as a character. As another example, Auerbach's discussion of the leading character of "Emma" gets well beyond the obvious romantic comedy aspects of the novel to investigate some subtle role reversal.

"Searching for Jane Austen" is very highly recommended to fans of Jane Austen, who will find a vigorous discussion of her literary abilities and some fresh insights into her novels.

"Searching for Jane Austen" is a wonderful read for any (even casual) Austen enthusiast. My first contact with this work was at a literary festival where Emily Auerbach spoke about her research--and her lecture was so compelling that I read the book quickly, and it encouraged me to learn more about Jane Austen's works.

The book manages to shed light on both biographical/historical/cultural subjects (how the Austen family tried to mute the image of the writer after her death, and how some (male) scholars have denigrated Austen's work throughout the decades) while also discussing interesting themes and interpretations of Austen's cannon. [Each Austen heroine, hero, and villain gets proper time and scrunity.]

"Searching for Jane Austen" is well-organized, with each of the six novels getting its own chapter, in addition to beginning and concluding sections about Austen's life and legacy. The book made me appreciate each of her novels in new ways (even ones that are often underappreciated or not discussed, such as Northanger Abbey), and even though this work is scholarly, it was fun reading. Auerbach dissects her subject fairly, but she treats Jane Austen's works with such admiration and care that you want to read Pride and Prejudice (or Emma, or Persuasion) all over again.

I got this book from the public library, read it, and felt I had to have it, though I already have shelves of Jane Austen materials. The censoring and shaping of Jane Austen and her writings started after her death, and continues today. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Northanger Abbey.

Emily Auerbach may be in danger of being drummed out of academia for writing a book that is so well-researched and so detailed, and yet so readable. Auerbach's concern is the attempts by Austen's relatives and earlier literary critics to present Austen as a meek and mild cardboard saint. There is nothing particularly new in this idea, but it is very well and thoroughly done. While several biographers have made similar arguments, none is a thorough and convincing as this specialized monograph.

Auerbach pays particular attention to the representations of Austen. She seems to feel that the portrait by Austen's sister Cassandra is the only valid image. Well, arguably it is the only portrait that shows her face. Auerbach does not examine other representations of doubtful authenticity. While I see what she is driving at, I think this is perhaps a trifle overdone. Cassandra's portrait is rough and unfinished, and I wonder whether it would have been used prior to some of the aesthetic changes of "modern art", even if JA looked timid and pious. The two most commonly reproduced engravings really don't strike me as such terrible revisions of Cassandra's portrait, with the significant exception of removing the lines around the mouth, and in one case, adding a wedding ring. I don't think the ruffles are a serious distortion: it's not like JA was in the habit of dressing like a man or a particularly no-nonsense Puritan. She may have had ruffles: CA's portrait is too unfinished to assert that she didn't. At least she is still wearing her habitual cap, unlike the portrait that shows her with her hair fashionably dressed. The issues of the lines around the mouth does reveal one tension in the book (and in several recent works about JA): Auerbach is rather annoyed that Valerie Myers describes JA as looking like a peevish hamster in CA's portrait. I would have said guinea pig was more like it, but what if she does? One the one hand, Auerbach seems to want warts and all, and on the other she seems to want to insist that there were no warts. I am not certain what Auerbach is saying about the picture that represents JA sitting by a Hollywood swimming pool talking on her cell phone, but I love that particular picture -- I think it's a hoot.

But, forget trivial cavils. The most important distortions are in the written record; Auerbach has obviously done heroic research and thoroughly supports her opinions about written materials. The critiques that she has made of certain books that I liked make me want to rush back and reread them in the light of her remarks. At one point, Auerbach begins an indepth analysis of the poem from which a quote is taken. I was originally somewhat dubious about this: sometimes when I quote a line out of context, I mean it to be understood out of context, but she carefully show how the quotes throughout the book complement and support one another. I was converted to her point of view.

Auerbach believes in my favorite Jane Austen; almost terrifyingly perceptive and well aware that life is complex and there are few simple answers. Auerbach seems to have a thorough understanding of the literature and was very taken with most of her arguments.

The book has numerous blank-and-white illustrations.

I would recommend this to any Jane Austen collection.

I have read so many essays and articles and books re Austen's works-- talk about searching for Jane Austen. Auerbach's book is not only more comprehensive, but, to paraphrase Elizabeth Bennett, 5 TIMES as spot on as any of them. Really more like 100 times. I feel that for the first time someone really understands her. It is such a tremendous relief and such a great pleasure to read, when I can relax and know I'm in the right hands. Get this book if you love Jane Austen.

This book makes a great gift for any expecting mother--it's illustrated with beautiful nature photographs, and Rachel Carson's historic essay is inspirational. Young parents, you can learn a lot about how to introduce your child to nature.

This is a wonderful book about children and nature, but more deeply, about maintaining for yourself and the others in your life the delight, suprise and awe one feels when seeing things as a child does for the first time - a sense of wonder. It is written in lovely prose that really creates the feeling that you are being made privy to the spontaneous thoughts of the author as she traversed the natural world with her little nephew. The photographs are beautiful renderings of found still lives and landscapes, well-photographed by Nick Kelsh. I did think that the prints of the photographs were a little lurid in spots, but it doesn't distract too much from the beauty of the overall product. This book was written by Rachel Carson before she died, and never truly finished. There is an older version of this book, again, with photographs that "Rachel Carson would have wanted" and it's interesting to compare the two. I recommend this book highly for anyone who loves children and nature, and values the powers of observation of the world around them.

Rachel Carson reveals the world through her interactions with her young nephew. Our role as educators, parents and caregivers of the young child is to give the young mind as many quality experiences where both can revisit, relive and relearn the many wonders of the world around us. The photographs in this edition are a wonderful compliment to the message of Carson's writing.

In continuation of my relentless search for better understanding of perceptual sensitivity & sensory acuity, I am very glad to be able to lay my hands on this wonderful book.

To me, I have found it to be an excellent companion to another good book - 'Everyday Wonders: Encountering with the Astonishing World Around Us' - which I have reviewed earlier.

Trust me: Once you have read this timeless volume, you will be really inspired, and not only that, you will never be the same again in looking at the world around you.

We live by the sea and I bought this book with my grandsons (eldest 4) in mind. The photos are excellent and the text is inspiring, but written with an adult reader (parents) in mind. The book has inspired us to try and show our grandchildren more of nature's wonders both on the beach and in the woods, fields and our garden. However they will be a little older before they can appreciate the book for themselves.

Being interested in speculative reality and philosophy, this was a must read. I was not disappointed.
Philip K Dick writes, "All responsible writers, to some degree, have become involuntary criers of doom, because doom is in the wind...and the doom stories are intended to call attention to reality."
This is made all the more relevant by the fact that the human folly that gave way to encroaching doom(war) ~ as the interviews and essays complied for this book run anywhere from twenty five to fifty five years ago ~ is far more manifest and pervasive in our own perceived time. That much closer.

Part five: Essays and Speeches, deals with schizophrenia, LSD and Gnosticism. He delves into the Jungian concept of synchronicity regarding his own life, and the inexplicable coincidences in his novel, "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said"...(also see the movie, "Waking Life")..of "fiction mimicking truth, and truth mimicking fiction."
What he refers to as "a dangerous overlap, a dangerous blur." Take a look with *open* eyes at the society we've created and you realize that the "dangerous blur" is scarcely acknowledged it is so routine, so deeply solidified. 'Entertainment'(of the mindless sort) has proven to be the ultimate vehicle for Big Brother totalitarianism, so to speak.

The final section, Exegesis, at times feels like listening in on a discussion, a contemplation, within his own conscience, on the matter of God/Cosmos: "Creator: time past. Holy Spirit: time is. Christ: time completed."
Overall, a fascinating and unique read.

THE SHIFTING REALITIES OF PKD is a perfect title for this material. It was in his speeches to college students that PKD exposed his mental terrain--holding little back. Here he discussed his two obsessions: What is reality? & What constitutes an authentic human? This material shows how Dick used his sci-fi novels to poke holes in simpler cosmologies. Dick made the universe his own sandbox.

In THE ANDROID & THE HUMAN he says that free will may be an illusion. Were humans also controlled by tropisms that are so evident in the growth of plants? He sounded out his greatest fear as ýThe reduction of humans to mere use--men made into machines, ... what I regard as the greatest evil imaginable.ý Dick saw the time to come when a writer would be stopped not by unplugging his electric keyboard but by someone unplugging the man himself.

In MAN, ANDROID & MACHINE Dick found a hopeful theory at the end of his dark tunnel. In this essay he discussed Teilhard De Chardinýs Noosphere, ýcomposed of holographic & informational projections in a unified and continually processed Gestalt,ý--a summation of the globeýs intelligence. Dick never worried about the label ýmade in a laboratory.... the entire universe is one vast laboratory,ý he writes. Here he also lays bare his own reality--one composed of a series of crystallized dreams. He cites Ursula Le Guinýs THE LATHE OF HEAVEN as his model for ýunderstanding the nature of our worldý. He adds: ýI myself have derived much of the material for my writing from dreams.ý PKD challenged the reader to pry beneath the facade of daily existence and knead the silly putty of the dream world into some recognized shape.

While I've read this entire book cover-to-cover, I have probably read the last half (Part Five: Essays and Speeches, and Part Six: Selections from the Exegesis) at least four times. That's where the real philosophy is. Or perhaps I should say the real mysticism. Actually, P.D.K.'s thought was a combination of philosophy and mysticism, not unlike the works of Pythagoras or Plato. Indeed, I would not hesitate to place him in such exalted company.

Dick's Gnosticism is the Gnostisism of true revelation, of epiphany and theogony (of union with the divine.) Yes, some people arrogantly write this off as the rantings of a "schizophenic", but then they would no doubt apply that same meaningless, garbage diagnosis to every great mystic teacher or shaman.

Here you get the revelations of his novel ,_Valis_, developed and fleshed out in a much more satisfying manner. Indeed, unless you are fortunate enough to track down a copy of his mythical _Exegesis_ this is the best expression of his thought that you will find.

One last note, as much as I agree with the gnostic idea of a transcedent God (or Logos, or Tao) breaking through into our material "Black Iron Prison", I do have a problem with his concept of a Yaldaboath (i.e. deranged, lesser, creator god.) You see, human materialistic, hyper-rational, civilization functions as such a lesser "god." Have we not made money, science, and ego into idols that are worshipped in their own right to the exclusion of the the true transcendant God? You simply do not need to posit the existance of such a supernatural demiurge, devil, or "Moloch" (as Ginsberg called it.) Human ignorance and evil are quite up to the role.

(...)

This book is a gathering of eclectic, mostly non-fictional, writings by one of my favourite authors -Philip K. Dick. I have given it a five star rating in spite of the fact that the material is of uneven quality. Dick can't talk to us anymore since he died in 1982, and so it is wonderful and special to come across these writings. From a literary point of view they are invaluable as spotlights on the mind of the author of such brilliant, disturbing and important works such as The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Ubik, The Man In the High Castle, Faith of Our Fathers, etc. But these works also stand on their own for their intelligent, creative and transcendent analysis of what it is to be human. If you have any interest in Gnosticism, you are in for a treat, since Dick is a kind of Gnostic warrior, and offers up many fascinating, and at times, profoundly uplifting Gnostic thoughts and speculations. There is much more -biographical material, thoughts on SF as a genre, comments on other SF works and writers, political commentary, musical musings, two excellent completed chapters from an abandoned sequel to The Man In the High Castle, and even a brilliant pitch for a never-made television sit-com about angels visiting earth on commission to help clients out of tight jams. Some of this material is frightening, since Dick is constantly challenging the very concept of reality. As with all of Dick's writing -fiction and non-fiction -there is a mind expanding effect. Your universe is never the same after reading him -it will be enlarged or even multiplied, as well as being rendered a lot stranger. All P.K. Dick fans should have this book, but anyone wanting to learn more about the views of one of the brightest, most intriguing minds of the past century will find it an invaluable and entertaining book to read. Lawrence Sutin has done us all a wonderful service by making these pieces available, some of them for the first time. These are peculiar and magical writings from a 20th Century savant. Read it. It could change your life.

PKD is my number-one writer, both for style, but more particularly for ideas. There is so much in this book that shows the man was a thinker, an explorer of ideas not just for the novels and short stories he could generate from them. With PKD, ideas developed a unique philosophy which is why his fiction is founded on such a firm basis. Even when his ideas change and we can see the change (for example 'The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch' and 'A Scanner Darkly') there is no contradiction involved, just a clear evolution. For PKD fans who haven't yet read his non-SF novels I encourage you to do so - I would be surprised if you were disappointed.

PKD has also left a great legacy of pithy quotes - such as 'reality is what is left behind when you stop believing in something'. My favourite, however, he wrote in a forward to one of the anthologies of short stories. He said that science fiction is not about 'what if ......' it's about 'My God! what if .....'.

There is a lot of this in his philosophy too.

If you had a short time to live what would you do? This book has Silver Surfer answering this question in an introspective yet melancholy story. Taking place on Earth, crossing the universe and ending back in his home planet, this book raises questions about mortality, responsibility, and facing ones' limitations.
Too many times people say comics are for kids and there is no substance in the medium; but with this book not only are the nay-sayers proven wrong but it can sometimes show that comics can surpass visuals shown in movie and emotions expressed in books.

This is a piece of Literature that breaks down all assumptions of what a "super-hero" is. I am not at all ashamed to say that I cried a little at the end of this book. It is an amazingly powerful story told in amazingly vivid and arresting artwork. When I was a child, i loved the "idea" of Silver Surfer, but now that I am older and can presumably deal with more a more mature telling of a story, I have a newfound admiration for what Stan Lee started with Norrin Radd, and what is continued here in "Requiem." Surfer comics continue to be some of the bravest and most moving pieces of art in main stream comics.

The Silver Surfer is my favorite comic book character and this is my favorite story featuring him. Requiem has a lot of emotion. You really feel what the Surfer is going through. The writing is amazing. The art is amazing. This book is amazing. Stop what you're doing and READ THIS BOOK!

I really enjoyded the art of this book, and the story is the best way to say goodbye to a great, tormented and interesting character.

The Silver Surfer was one of Marvel's most under-used cosmic superdudes... He was also one of the most difficult to frame dramatically, and had a history of disappointing storylines, which may help to explain the motivation behind this Death-Of-The-Silver-Surfer mini-series.

Part of it may have been that he had a bit of a "Superman problem," since he was so super-ultra powerful compared to the rest of the characters in the Marvel universe -- indestructible, able to alter reality, faster and mightier than nearly any foe he could encounter. Initially, writers dealt with this by focusing on the soap opera-tinged alien-in-exile theme (after Galactus banished him from space and forced him to stay on the planet Earth) and later, when his banishment was broken, by sending him out into the stars where he could encounter all kinds of trippy, cosmic stuff. In between, there was his run as a more or less conventional super-hero in "The Defenders," and many random cameos in various space sagas. But for whatever reason, the Surfer never really clicked and the folks at Marvel decided to have him go out with a big bang in the four-part series, "Requiem."

Although I've considered myself a Silver Surfer fan, I have to admit I wasn't really wowed by this book. It felt rushed and there was just too much crammed into its pages, too many plot-points and too many marks to hit. (Perhaps a fifth issue would have helped?) Also, the tone was too melodramatic and too monochromatic -- reverence and awe for the Surfer; maudlin sorrow at his inevitable demise.

What was missing, more than anything else, was a sense of the cosmic majesty that the Surfer could experience. We are given this sense of wonder by proxy, when the Surfer zaps Spider-Man's wife and gives her cosmic consciousness and lets her trip out on the universe for a while, but the Surfer himself never basks in the beauty of the stars, which is something I imagine he might do, were he flying off to his own death. When he returns to his home planet to die, he simply goes from Point A to Point B (with a detour to end a pointless space war on the way). Personally, I would have enjoyed an entire issue just devoted to having him cruise through the cosmos, glorying in and saying goodbye to the unimaginable beauty that only he had the opportunity (and soulfulness) to appreciate. It would have been a nice artistic note to strike, but, alas, the moment has passed. As it was, this series felt functional, but little more, not unlike the late-1960s stories in his own short-lived series. And, I suppose, that is as fitting a tribute to this character as any. This book is worth checking out, but I wish it could have been more. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

I agree with those below who consider this Brautigran's best work. I'll add that SO THE WIND is among my favorite books of all time, fiction or nonfiction. It does take you to an absolutely singular emotional/geographic landscape. Each sentence feels like it's reeling you further and further into the truth. I first read the book when I was 23, on the advice of a friend. It blew me away. :) Still does.

he takes you in into his heart in this one. the lost that he feels innocense blown away the ache in its place. Its a very ERRIE placeBrautigan walks us through a vanishing america wistfuly he must recover a past thats alreay extinct. HE THINKS THRU BACKWARDS PLACE METAPHORS AND SYMBOLS OF REGRET.places like tombstones on his path to escape an unfortunate act.AS always theres the random wonder in .

he takes you in into his heart in this one. the lost that he feels innocense blown away the ache in its place. Its a very ERRIE placeBrautigan walks us through a vanishing america wistfuly he must recover a past thats alreay extinct. HE THINKS THRU BACKWARDS PLACE METAPHORS AND SYMBOLS OF REGRET.places like tombstones on his path to escape an unfortunate act.AS always theres the random wonder in .

From a survey of reviews of Brautigan's work here at Amazon, it seems he is lost to Gen X or whatever they're calling "youth" these days. They don't "get" him, but maybe they should avoid "Trout Fishing in America" which is supposed to be his all-time classic. The three that truly deserve a place in the canon are "The Hawkline Monster," "Willard and his Bowling Trophies" (both written while Brautigan was in the ascendant) and this one, "So the Wind Won't Blow it All Away," his semi-autobiographical elegy to a lost America; not sentimental or maudlin, but mournful and challenging. I have never forgotten the scene of Brautigan and another soaking-wet ragamuffin shooting apples with .22s in an abandoned orchard, while the rain poured. "We were Pacific Northwest kids!" he shouts with defiant joy. The terminal scene, with the couple who take their couch with them fishing, teaches that living one's dreams necessarily entails exhibiting one's "eccenctricity" (actually authenticity). Brautigan did away with himself in his 40s due to a wife who fled, along with a career on the skids and alcohol (allegedly), but readers of this book know there was more to it than those merely contributing factors. Brautigan didn't want to pick up the pieces of his self after it had been homogenized and processed as we are now, in an age where we spend so much time staring at TV sets and video screens, and being stared at in return by "security" cameras. Suicide is a terrible wrong, but this little volume shows that Brautigan did not wish to endure the torments of a 21st century-style modernity, for fear of how he would be diminished by it. I liked him for many disparate and "crazy" reasons, including the fact that he was a true Oregonian westerner, Montana transplant and disparager of everything for which Woody Allen stands. Bruatigan and Keoruac could only have been Americans...The wind has blown a lot of it away, but maybe not all.

Richard Brautigan's story of a young boy whose life is forever changed by the decision not to eat a hamburger is simultaneously sweetly amusing and heartbreakingly tragic. That this novel is out of print, especially in light of his death in 1984, is equally tragic. If you read no other Brautigan work, read this novel.

I enjoyed the book start to finish and the mystery bit at the end was a nice edition to an already funny parody of the typical travel memoir. I think my favorite character in the book was the prince. The accidental confrontation between him and Haverford made me laugh.

this book is fantastic. the masterpiece theatre production was awesome too. i would like to buy a copy of the video if anyone has one. this is definitely worth reading - and watching too!

The book is set in Tuscauny, where an English family is renting a home. Odd things happen, water disappears, and then someone dies. The mother, Molly Partiger, becomes obsesses with getting to the heart of these mysteries, and with meeting her mysterious landlord. It is a particular pleasure to see Mortimer's love of Shakespeare come through in Molly's Falstaff of a father, and the Hamlet-like play-within-a-play which gives Molly the final clue to the murder. Interwoven with the plot is an homage to Piero della Francesca (although it has been written that Mortimer gets everything wrong about Piero's Flagellation). The book ends with typical Mortimer poigniancy. Summer's Lease is light in the way that a Tom Stoppard play is light -- an intelligent guilty pleasure.

This is a quaint and entertaining novel. The characters are interesting and carry the story well. The plot is simple, but not boring and certainly not bad. The introspective thoughts and actions of Molly the forty year old protaganist who looks for love in all the wrong places, Hugh her "successful" attorney husband and Havorford Downs, Molly's rogue father are most captivating.

It's a lighthearted mystery in which the writer allows the reader to participate at any depth the latter prefers.

Descriptions of Tuscany are well done to the point that this reader could almost see lines of slim cypress lining a dirt road and smell the pungent aroma of a bottle of black rooster labeled Chianti. There were times while reading that I couldn't help but laugh out loud. There are some really funny moments in the tale.

Brits who read the novel will, I feel certain, fall right in line with the story. We Yanks, on the other hand, need a little time to acclimate ourselves to British verbal nuances. Surprisingly, though, it didn't hinder the reading enjoyment even a little bit.

This novel is one for a summer's day, with a glass of tea (forgive me, but iced tea) in hand. While the book will not be ranked with the geat ones of western civilization, it is fun. Truly a delightful experience.

I read this book because I saw the Masterpiece Theatre production on TV in the early nineties and fell in love with the characters and the story. This is the type of detective mystery novel where one can truly relate to the detective as she is an average person with a highly developed sense of curiosity. While I shared Molly's intense curiosity about her absent landlord and her outrage at the so called "water racket", I would not have gone as far as she did to satisfy that curiosity. Molly is rather reckless (if not stupid) towards the end and doesn't realize the consequences of her actions until too late - and even then chalks it up to coincidence. All in all the book is a quick and delightful read that will have you longing to travel to those Tuscan hills. I wish Masterpiece Theatre would rerun the film or make it available on video. You've got to see the film. The cast was so well chosen and the locations are beautiful, especially the terrace on La Felicita.