Classics Books

I have been a big fan of the movie for years but had never read the book. Well, I have to say that the book is even better than the movie, and I still love the movie. If you have seen the movie It will be hard not to imagine Bogie and walter Huston in the main roles. And this is not just because they are already planted in your mind, I think director John Huston did an excellent job of casting the movie. Anyway, I highly recommend this book!

This book is the basis for John Huston's film of the same name. Both author and director share a love of Mexico and it's people. Having seen the movie many times it was interesting to come to many familiar parts of the story knowing what was going to happen and enjoy on the page verbatim bits of dialogue. The story takes awhile to get going as Traven sets up his characters but it builds to a powerful ending proving once and for all that man's greed destroys his soul. There are some who have criticized Traven's socialistic leanings but I don't think they get in the way of the story at all...in fact, I think they prove his point that unregulated capitalism is the bane of western civilization. But enough of that - this is a timeless story that meanders a bit so it won't appeal to casual readers. If your reading tastes lean to anything recent, this book will probably be too slow; in that case, watch the movie - you will get the same point in less than 2 hours. However, if you like Literature you will appreciate Traven's insights to human nature and his excellent story-telling method. I myself couldn't read this without putting the movie out of my mind...if someone tells you not to think of pink elephants...well, you get the idea. All in all, this novel is well written but could've been a bit shorter.

If you have seen and enjoyed the John Huston film of the same name, and believe it to be one of the greatest films ever produced, then it is mandatory to procure and read this book.

This review is written from the perspective of someone who has seen the film at least a half dozen times before reading the novel for the first time. The film is mostly faithful to the novel, so no nasty surprises await those weaned on the film. While less dramatic in some ways, the book provides a better explanation for the motivations of the characters. This necessarily leads to significant, though not unpleasant, changes in some of their fates compared to the film (or perhaps, better said, vice-versa). Some of the more interesting scenes also are expanded, such as the encounter with the bandits at the camp, and more background is provided about the bandits themselves and the efficient and clever way that they are ultimately dealt with by the local people.

Though a little slow going at first, once accustomed to Traven's writing style and well into the meat of the story, the feeling of the realization that a very special experience is in store for you simply builds and builds and continues doing so until the satisfying conclusion of the book is reached. This is a masterpiece, a gourmet treat for the soul, a book to relish during a lazy morning spent in a soft bed, or sitting by a cozy fireplace.

As in many screen adaptations, seemingly ancillary elements were culled for the film. However, those elements, namely the description of the factors which led to the oppression of the native peoples of Mexico, provides a pervasive, unifying theme throughout the novel. This lends an enriching, interesting counterpoint to the story of the central characters.

There is a tiny bit of information given about the mysterious B. Traven, just enough to make you want to learn more. A speculative look at his identity is presented in the extras which are included with the newly-released reissue of the film on DVD.

The stirring and adventurous novel, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" was penned by enigmatic author B. Traven. Traven a political anarchist active in the 20's and 30's was thought to be of German descent and was purported to be the illegitimate son of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Nonetheless he lived for many years in Mexico and as seen by his most celebrated work, had an excellent working knowledge of Mexican culture and society.

His novel which served as the framework for the John Huston classic film starring Bogey and Walter Huston, greatly embellished the story seen on the screen. His tale of adventure, hardship and greed was admixed with political commentary as Mexico was emerging from years of colonial rule and subsequent exploitation by big industry. The oil business was seen ruling the economics of the region described in the book.

Traven's ingenious blending of the gripping tale of his main characters, Dobbs, Curtin and Howard braving the wilds of unexplored jungle regions of Mexico in quest for gold with social commentary was very effective. He was thereby able to expose his points concerning the Mexican social and political climate. He also didactically pointed out that life's riches are not solely based on precious metals but also on the fellowship, relationships and respect among mankind.

I bought the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre at a small used bookstore that was moving across town so that they marked all of their fiction half off (half off of used prices - awesome). So I left with about 20 books for about $20 - $25. I was grabbing things at random that looked at all interesting or at all slightly familiar. One of those books was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

I had seen parts of the movie years ago on TV, but not enough to remember any plot points. My dad had a tendency to habitually switch channels between five movies all at once so for the longest time I thought John Wayne and the scene where they blow up the bridge during "Bridge over the River Kwai" were scenes in EVERY movie.

The book was slow going at first. The characters are introduced and they take their time to finally get to the part where they're prospecting. As I read it I thought, "yes. There's lots of social inference in here." But then continued to read on taking it all at face value instead of trying to over analyze everything. It's more fun to think about it for a month later and think, "Man, that's so true. We'll all turn against each other in an instant if money is involved. tsk."

I enjoyed the characters, I felt frustrated for them as they fell into paranoia and insanity. I kept thinking, "Which one is Bogart? Is that Bogart?" And when the one guy **spoiler** gets his head cut off, I was like 'Whaa? For real? That's pretty intense." I've been reading a lot of Beat writers a lot lately, and the Mexico that Traven describes is a lot different from Kerouac's or Burroughs' Mexico - they tend to romanticize the poverty, where the guys in this book are actually living the miner hardships. Mexico's a lot better when you have a trust fund, huh, Burroughs?

And yes. I was so happy that the famous `badges' line is actually in the text. I pictured Micky Dolenz saying it from a skit in the Monkees TV show that I used to watch after school on Nickelodeon. I laughed and laughed.

I read this about 6 years ago when it was assigned in one of my undergrad classes. There are enough online reviews for you to read about the plot and like. Rather I want to tell you how her voice has stuck with me. I think of her ability to see the slivering when everything is just gray, and her amazing capacity to keep going. Whenever I think I can't go on, this death/or lost/ or series of unfortunate events as shattered the very last of my will I remember her words. I highly recommend it. I regally give this as a gift, I know I'm not just giving someone a powerful story, but really I'm giving someone a packet of extra strength for when they need it most in life.

This is a well-written, quick read. Heda's 27 years of suffering - first at the hands of the Nazis & then under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia - is heart rending. It's a book that should be part of high school curriculums to raise awareness of what too many people had to endure in the middle of the last century. It would be much more effective than relying on a history textbook that deals only with the 'facts.'

I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you think you don't like reading about history, you'll like this book. In fact, it is books like these that are the reason I love history so much, and why I'm majoring in it. It isn't about the politics or the wars or whatever else (although those are certainly important), it is the story of a woman trying to survive through a hell most of us cannot even imagine has existed on this earth, especially not in the last 50 years. Peoples' lives are what connect us to the past, and what make it relevant to the future. It gives a little meaning and heart behind all the dates and events that you have to memorize in class...make them more personal. And furthermore, you will be inspired by this woman. Her strength and character is admirable, to say the very least. Actually, I don't think even a fictional writer could invent a heroine more honorable than this one.

So please, read it. stories like these deserve to be shared.

it is a great book use in my world civ class, and highly recommmand by my professor and TAs.

Clive James, in "Cultural Amnsia' - his magesterial review of literature and totalitarianism - said: "Given thirty seconds to recommend a single book that might start a serious young student on the hard road to understanding of the political tragedies of the twentieth century, I would choose this one". It tells a remarkable personal tale of a Jewish girl in Prague caught up by the Nazis and going to Auschwitz, then her escape and return to her beloved Prague, and subsequent worse sufferings under the communist government in the 1950s and 1960s. Her husband was a high ranking government official but later was put on a show trial and killed.

"Under a Cruel Star" (also called "Prague Farewell" in some editions) is not as bleak as the story sounds. It is a slim volume of hope and understanding, written elegantly by a woman who later in life worked as a translator from English and finished her working life in the Harvard Law School library.

Masterfully crafted novel. Expressive, satirical, explores postmodernity. Dark, confused story that's both enlightening and depressing.

De Lillo's White Noise is a modern classic. What I especially like about this edition (Viking Critical Library) is the extra material: articles and critical essays on the novel. Reading it was like taking a small course in cultural studies, or something... recommended!

The text is great. Some of the essays are questionable but this may be helpful when teaching how to write a critical essay.

This book provides a critical look at the world of postmodern culture. It gives perspective which is not easy to find and also provides a critique in non-academic language, a helpful addition to any library.

I've sometimes asked myself why I don't get a library card and save the money I spend buying books. This book answered that question, because the reviews and essays featured in this edition provided such insight and enlightenment that I was inspired to return to the novel again and again for a more penetrating read.

The novel itself is beautifully, brilliantly written; DeLillo is a master ironist. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the novel the first time, I highly recommend revisiting it after reading the critical essays (which were so informative that they were quite enjoyable reads themselves).

If you're going to read White Noise outside of a college class, this is the edition you should get.

This is a beautiful, timeless story, told in gorgeous prose, and charmingly decorated. I'm not the sort of person who gushes over books, but this one is true literary perfection, and not just for children. It's the kind of book that, no matter how old you are when you first read it, will stay with you for the rest of your life.

I read this as a child. It got stuck in my mind, but I could never remember the title, thinking of it only as the story of the Hunter and the Mermaid. I searched for it for years.

This is a beautiful story, one of my favorites for children.

This story by Jarrell is gentle, mythical, and stands the test of time. A short story about a solitary hunter on an island, who meets a mermaid, and together form a family with animals they meet. The tone is warm and soft, kind and at times bittersweet.

While perfect for bedtime, cold or rainy days, this book is appealing to me even as i grow older. The subtle lessons about companionship, newness, differences, loneliness, loss, and joy are not forced to the fore. Rather, an old-fashioned sense of creating an environment as a way to tell a story is key here. Inviting wilderness, homely relationships, and just enough magic and mystery to compel the story forward.

One of my most treasured books since i was a young child, the is a timeless and infinitely re-readable story.

Randall Jarrell (1914-65) is better known as a poet, although probably best known today for his poetry criticism. He also wrote a few children's book, most notably The Bat-Poet and The Animal Family, the later published the same year he died and winning the 1966 Newbery Honor. It is wonderfully illustrated by Maurice Sendak - of Where the Wild Things Are fame - in beautiful pen and ink drawings.

The story is a sort of fable along the lines of Hans Christian Andersen or Lewis Carroll, but updated with a 1960s message. It is about a lonely hunter who lives in a cabin by the sea who with time comes to gather around him a "family" of very different creatures, first a mermaid, and then a bear, lynx, and human boy. Each is an orphan whose parents have either died or somehow left the scene. They all are very different animals yet find comfort and eventually identity with one another. It is a story in the spirit of the Age of Aquarius, when songs such as Free to Be You and Me and Free to Be a Family resonated during a cultural revolution in which boundaries of class, race and, in this case, even species were being explored, when everyone was a "brother" and "sister".

My reading of the story in its 1960s context is only one interpretation, this is not a heavy handed preachy book by any measure, it is timeless in its message about toleration of differences, the power of love to overcome anything (including for a mermaid to live on land, in effect brining a happy ending to Hans Andersen's otherwise brutal The Little Mermaid), and in particular for those who seek out love and find it in the most un-expected places. It is a short book, easy to read, and poetically written. Over the past 40 years it has found a place close to the heart of many children and adults, I only wish I had discovered it sooner.

Every once in a while, an author manages to pull off a novel that carries with it the exact tone and magical feeling of a fairy tale. In the genre of The Last Unicorn and The Princess Bride, this beautiful story takes you into a peaceful world where a lonely hunter lives by the sea.
The story follows the hunter's efforts to make a family for himself, and to keep that family safe. I don't want to spoil any of the plot points, but I will say that this gentle fable is going to fill each reader with joy and contentment. The tale is universal, and is just perfect for a shared experience at bedtime.
The decorations by Maurice Sendak are also quite lovely, giving us detailed sketches of the landscapes that the hunter and his family occupy.

My granddaughter was having a very strong reaction to her new baby brother so I gave this book to her. We all about died laughing the day she announced she was moving to Florida, behind the rocking chair, with her 3 bags of toys. Not the dining room table that Frances moves to, but it seemed to do the trick and granddaughter is adjusting well. Seriously, this book really helped her with her feelings about another child coming in to the family. Thank you to the Hobans!

I remember my mother reading Frances books to me when I was little, and I couldn't wait to read them to my daughter. The Frances books are wonderful children's stories.

When I was little, I used to love the Frances books. This is easily one of the best ones. In it, Frances has to deal with the fact that her mother and father are often too busy with Gloria the new baby, to speak to her at the moment. Frances just can't stand being ignored, so she tries all kinds of things. Finally, after there are no raisins for her oatmeal, and her mother didn't have a chance to iron her favorite dress, Frances decides to run away to the dining room. So she packs up her knapsack, and runs away to the dining room table with a box of prunes and five chocolate sandwich cookies. But after her food supply is exhausted, Frances realizes that you can't run away from your troubles! And so she runs back to her mother and father. But I really loved her marching song, which I used to annoy my parents with.

Frances was a favorite of mine as a child, so I bought the books for my daughter who is 2yrs old. She doesn't quite get it yet, but likes listening to it nonetheless, and I've discovered that these stories are fun for the grown-up reading them too.

The Francis series is a wonderful reminder of how parents "used" to parent! It's love, unsullied by the current trend to spoil our kids to death. I loved these books as a kid, and now my daughter loves them, too!

Back in the '70's when I was still delivering babies, before epidurals replaced empowered birthing, this was, and still is, the best set of directions for welcoming a baby into planet earth's atmosphere.

An unanticipated plus for me, was seeing the fathers connect with their new babies floating in body temperature water, while mom got tidied up.

Alot of these father's were carrying their newborns into the office for follow up the next days and weeks, too. Quite an approach, and I sent this book to friends expecting this summer. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Although I first read this book 30 years ago, its message is still as vital today. I highly recommend it to all expectant parents as well as those medical and mental health practitioners interested in a simple way to bring more peaceful and less traumatized children into the world. As a soon-to-be grandparent, Birth Without Violence topped the list of "must-haves" for my daughter.

This is such a calm and loving book to read. Seriously. I think all pregnant women should be given a copy. Simply lovely!

Heather mama of 5

This is the best book I have read on all the 20 or more pregnancy books I have read recently ! It is a masterpiece! This French man brought to the world an amazing, most touching, revolutionary way to honor the sacredness of childbirth. This book has brought to me reverence for the baby's needs, and has hlep me understand the importance to create a sacred space for the baby and the mother.

Thank you Frederick LeBoyer for your incredible contribution to this world!

There is no doubt that to call this book "revolutionary" is but an understatement, but the new translation doesn't quite capture the full effect of the original. This "revised" edition can be said to be a "re-translation" rather than a "revision."

Boricuas, an anthology edited by Roberto Santiago, should be in the classroom library of all high school English teachers. Although it is focused on the writings of Puerto Ricans, its universal themes transcend all barriers when included as part of a thoughtful curriculum.
I have been able to use pieces from this book in themes on Identity, Human Rights, American Identity, and Nationalism. I know of teachers who have used this book from high school classes to college courses. It is that versatile. I write this review in the hopes that Mr. Santiago will consider the following request in creating a second edition.
It would be most helpful if some biographical information was included about the authors. There have been some more "influential" writings since the book's publication, specifically "Changing Race" By Clara E. Rodriguez, my former professor, who is already included in the book. It would also be nice, perhaps as an addendum or a separate chapter, that some pieces of historical significance, such as En mi Viejo San Juan in Spanglish, by Pedro Pietri, or WTC by new contemporary poetess La Bruja, would be added. An overview of "scientific" journals and writings both controversial and insulting would be good in a chapter on how Puerto Ricans were "viewed" by the outside. This would be a good counter point and provide the context for the need for self identification and pride.

I love this book! Its got lots of different stories and poems that can fit any Puerto Rican. It really is worth it

Art, Poetry, Short Stories, Drawings. Stories of Religion, from Catholic, to Santeria. From growing up in hungry in the streets of Spanish Harlem, to growing up in the rural areas of La Isla. From being a street hood, to being a Chico and The Man Tv Star. Boricuas, is destined to be a classic. In this collection you get only the best, from the best Puerto Rican writers and poets. Piri Thomas, Esmeralda Santiago, Judith Cofer, Nicholasa Mohr, just to name a few of these talented writters. What I love the most about this book is that it will introduce many Puerto Ricans as well as the rest of the world to the many talented Boricua authors there are. This book will fill you with pride and joy, if you are ever thinking of that perfect gift for that young adult Boricua in your life, this is it.

This book has enlightened me. I know I am not alone in my thoughts. All the feelings I have towards the Puerto Rican struggle for recognition and respect have been expressed and shared throughout this book. Every word brought about different ideas and views on what has been taken away from Puerto Rico. Every Puerto rican should read this and learn about our past and opinions of fellow latinos. This book has opened up and filled a void at once.TO Piri Thomas, Edwin Torres, Pedro Albizu Campos, Esmeralda Santiago and Even Freddie Prinze, I thank you. I feel as if I have discovered I do have a past and yet there is so much more I need to learn. Thank you.
This book should be used in school. Latinos have be deprived of our hertiage along with every other minority. Give it to your children, as a matter of fact READ IT WITH YOUR KIDS.

This book contains a splendid collection of stories about Puerto Rican life by Puerto Ricans. It is an insightful reference tool and an eye operner for the many who may not know much less understand their roots.

Puerto Rico's existence has been a complex one and it is still evolving. By collecting the voices of so many talented observers in a single volume, Roberto Santiago provides a living record for those who want to learn, to ponder, to think. A must read!

Everything Ms. Engdahl writes is gold. Not only does this book have a great storyline and characters, it also is thought provoking. She centers around themes about the importance of spacetravel and innovations in science. Even if you aren't usually a fan of science fiction, you will love this book!

This was one of the most capitvating books I've ever read. Though Noren's world initially seems far removed from our own, his struggle is profoundly relevant. What is faith, is it positive or negative, and why? If these questions interest you, I strongly urge you to read this book. It helped me find a resolution to such questions after struggling with them most of my life.

When I originally read the first book (on its own; this volume is a collection of all three books in the trilogy), the revelation at the end had me opening the book again the moment I finished it to read it over again. Another point left me feeling so betrayed and angry that it was like it had actually happened to me in the real world. The stakes were set so high that I wondered how it could all possibly come together, but then it comes to a masterful conclusion.

It's a shame that this book did not get more attention. I certainly will tell everyone I can about it. It's true that it's not an action-packed book, but if you enjoy thought-provoking stories of great moral and emotional complexity, definitely give this one a try.

I first read these books (now book) over 10 years ago. They have remained among my favorite books. The book is appealing to people young and old. Ms Engdahl's writings have a way of staying with one always.

This trilogy serves as a thought provoking journey through the relationship between society, religion, and science. It starts out with one man challenging the foundation of his society, to him embracing it, and back to him challenging it yet again, but for a completely different and selfless reason. Ms. Engdahl paints a wonderful picture of a futuristic and simultaneously primitive world whose advances and way pique the imagination.

Ms. Engdahl throws a taste of her intergalactic society into the final installment, but no one recognizable from Enchantress from the Stars or The Far Side of Evil.

Overall, I was really impressed with this book. At times it goes a little slow, but Engdahl made up for it in the wonderful plot of the book. The surprising things, is that Noran, the main character, would actually be considered a static character, which is not typical of an engaging main character. His views do not change, nor does his personality or goals throughout the entire book. What keeps the reading turning the pages is the strangeness, and the fact that this sci-fi book could in fact be based on events that could happen one day. Another aspect of the book that was really engaging was the originality of the ideas used. It was not the typical sci-fi book that included space-crafts, aliens and the like. The ideas were extremely original, and fact-based. The other reason I enjoyed the book so much was that throughout the entire thing there was a mixture of sci-fi writing, and science. Sections of the book were devoted to explaining the concept of genetic engineering, which if you are interested in, is used very well in this book. The fact that a good book can incorporate aspects of reality, in the form of genetic engineering, is amazing, and makes the novel that much more notable.

I would recommend this book for people who won't get frustrated with the sections that are very slow-paced, but who are dedicated to reading each and every page, because they all add to the entire meaning of the book as a whole. It is not a typical sci-fi book, so don't expect lots of space-ships and people from different planets, but instead look forward to a well written novel about a culture struggling to re-build its self. You will follow Noran as he struggles to find his place in a world that he feels is wrong, and corrupt. Be open to twists in plot, and strange themes brought up again and again throughout the book, and you may enjoy it as much as I did.

Noren is a young man who is frustrated about the class stratified society that he lives in. When he decides to challenge the system, he finds himself on a perilous journey . . . facing truth as he has never imagined. When I read this story many years ago in junior high, I realized for the first time that it was possible to have a perspective on life that did not encompass a large enough view of the truth. This story challenged my views on the limitations of my own perspectives. It is science fiction at its best. This book is a compilation of the trilogy that begins with "This Star Shall Abide".

"Consolation of Philosophy" was on the syllabus for a "History of Philosophy" class I took my senior year in college. To say that I loved it would be an understatement. I still have the copy I read back then (academic year 1980/1981) and I have re-read it several times over the years. I treasure this book like none other.

I looked through my copy to type out a passage that I find particularly inspiring, but found that I couldn't because there are so many. I've recommended it to literally dozens of people, and every one to took me up on my suggestion thanked me for it.

_Here you find the unequivocal declaration that not riches, not high position, not fame, not physical pleasure are worth pursuing in-and-of themselves. Such things are of value only if they are obtained in the pursuit of the highest Good. This highest Good is demonstrated to be God. Moreover, Boethius points out that when evil men succeed in obtaining such goals over the righteous, then they cease to truly be men- they are beasts and subhuman. This is a refreshing reminder in the modern world, a world not unlike that of late Roman times.

_All happiness, all worth, all reason for being, lies in the One and the Good. Even when we commit immoral acts, it is a result of ignorance on our part in seeking this ultimate goal. Indeed, to turn from the quest of finding the One is to cease to exist at any meaningful level. There is no "fire and brimstone", or talk of eternal torment in hell here. There doesn't need to be. As long as you willfully or ignorantly stray from the Path then you are in hell. And to not find reconnection with the One and the Good is to cease to exist. All of our earthly existence is for the purpose of reawakening to our true nature. This truth lies within all of us and it is only reached by personal introspection (Know thyself.) Only in this way will we return to the eternal Source that lies beyond time itself.

_The consolation of the Consolatio lies in the fact that suffering serves a purpose if it puts us back on the true Path. Moreover, earthly recognition of virtue is irrelevent. God always recognises the man of virtue if the masses do not.

Boethius, in his "Consolation" written in prison shortly before his death, turns to the pre-Christian philosophers and the tradition of Rome and Greece for aid and comfort. The work is one of the most historically important works ever written: it is through Boethius that we had knowledge of Aristotle during the middle ages.

The work takes the form of a Platonic dialogue, mixing prose and poetry as the author slowly convalesces with the aid of Philosophy, his "nurse." This literary style has been imitated many times since.

The work ought to be read not only for its historical and literary appeal, but for its arguments, which are as cogent as they were nearly two thousand years ago.

I don't read a lot of philosophy texts, but I read this one after my father died and was surprised to find it very meaningful and truly consoling.

The Consolation is a philosophical treatise written by Boethius (c. 480-524 A.D.) while awaiting his execution after being imprisoned by the Gothic emperor Theodoric. The first time I heard of Boethius and his most famous composition was, as so often is the case, when I was reading another work. The work in question is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole. The main character of O'Toole's novel, one Ignatius J. Reilly, had based his entire life and worldview around the philosophy of Boethius and his assessment of Fortune. A great work in its own right, A Confederacy of Dunces left a lasting impression in my mind and, when by chance I came across a copy of the Consolation in the used bookstore I jumped at the opportunity to see for myself what Boethius had to say.



The work is composed of five books beginning with Boethius struggling to make sense of his imprisonment and pending execution. Confronted with a fate that is seemingly at odds with the virtue and faith with which he has conducted his life, Boethius is about to succumb to the sorrow that is filling his thoughts. Just then he notices the presence of a woman in his cell, the awe-inspiring Philosophy. She bemoans that Boethius, once such an avid student of hers, is now about to abandon all that he had previously gained. Thus begins a journey of reason and contemplation between the two until Boethius in the end finds the consolation that he had almost given up upon. Interspersed between the dialogues of Boethius and Philosophy are a number of poems that range in subject matter and content. More numerous at the beginning of the work, the poems often times serve as transitions between arguments or help to put difficult concepts into a clearer light. Thus a remarkable harmony is reached between prose and poetry that can be appreciated even in an English translation, a rare feat indeed.



It is perhaps significant to understand the time in which Boethius lived a bit better to gain a more accurate reading of his work. Living long after Constantine's conversion to Christianity in the 4th century A.D., it is widely accepted that Boethius was a Christian and believer of the tenants of the Catholic Church (at a time when the Gothic emperor Theodoric, also a Christian but belonging like all Goths to the heretical Arian sect that believed that the father and son were not of one substance). One must find it a bit peculiar than that at no point in Boethius' text is Christianity mentioned in any overt context. To find a believer in his last days before death turning not to theology for comfort, as one might expect, but rather to philosophy has raised many questions about the nature of Boethius' belief. But one only has to look to the title of the work to see that Boethius is choosing philosophy for the subject of his work and could very well indeed have thought theology a better consolation, although one that would be and should be treated in an altogether separate treatise. With this in mind, Boethius draws on the works of the great philosophers and thinkers of antiquity; Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, St. Augustine, the Stoics, and the Neo-Platonists. This feat being all the more remarkable because Boethius apparently relied on his own memory to produce the arguments and passages seeing as he had no access to any literary sources while imprisoned.



Boethius has rightly been called the last classical man. Indeed his thoughts and works can be seen as forming a bridge etween the classical world and the Middle Ages. The Consolation influenced countless numbers of theologians throughout the Middle Ages and direct references are to be found in the works of masters such as Dante and Chaucer. His lonely contemplation of good and evil, fate and free will, fortune and the nature of happiness certainly still have an allure to inquisitive minds to this day.

I bought this book for one story but it turned out all of the stories were great.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings always makes me cry. The other reviews of this book here describe it so eloquently and throughly that I don't feel the need to add to that aspect. The book has a strong emotional pull that made me cry and made long to go to Cross Creek and see it for myself. Rawlings is one of my all-time favorite writers, ever since my seventh-grade teacher read the newly published book The Yearling to her class, a chapter or two each day after lunch.

Wonderful view of an isolated place in FL (near Gainesville) circa 1930 written by a brave, independent woman.

Cross Creek is a series of entertaining if perhaps embellished anecdotes relating to Florida in the years preceding World War II told from the perspective of a educated emigré from the North. Some of the language, which was typical of the times, would no longer be considered politically correct and might be offensive to some. The book, however is totally delightful and gives some insight into life in rural Florida at the time. An excellent companion read is Tom Glisson's The Creek, which gives a native's view of the same time and area. Both books are a must read if you live or are interested in North Central FL.

Rawlings explores the lives and interations of the odd assortment of people living in Cross Creek, Florida in the early 1900s. It is often assigned reading for teens, but I doubt that most of them can appreciate it. Her accounts of neighbors feuding and subsistance living gives us many lessons in human behavior.
The lyrical descriptions of wildlife and the orange groves and wild landscape are very appealing. Your mouth waters as you read her essays on downhome foods like hush puppies. She turned those into a cookbook which I'll have to try out.
Modern readers squirm uncomfortably at her use of the N----- word and her characterization of blacks as irresponsible, drunken, immoral, etc. It is probably a faithful representation of common thinking at the time it was written, so recognize it as a snapshot of the times. Then move past that to luxuriate in the beautiful passages in the book. (I deducted 1 star for this)
The reader becomes absorbed in Rawlings' love of the land and the creation of a home. It gives much the same feelings as A Year in Provence or Under a Tuscan Sun.