Oliver Books

I have read Archibald Gracie's account of the sinking and while the tales of his survival and the aftermath are at times very interesting and useful, I feel that they pale in comparison to that of fellow Titanic passenger, Lawrence Beesley, a teacher by profession and a fine writer. Beesely's accounts are so well written and vividly drawn that you feel as if you are on the ship with him before and during the sinking, as well as in the lifeboats and later upon the Carpathia, heading for New York. His account of the entire Titanic tragedy is so complete that nearly 100 years later much of what he has written remains one of the most fact filled testimonies ever recorded. He writes with sensitivity and a gentileness; and he is masterful at describing visually what he and others saw and felt during that fateful night in April, 1912.

But whether you prefer Gracie or Beesely, you can get both in the book "The Story of the Titanic As Told by Its Survivors". A great read which offers the writings of other Titanic survivors as well, all in one volume.

Originally published in 1913 as The Truth About the Titanic, Titanic: A Survivor's Story was the first book by an actual Titanic survivor to appear in print. Colonel Archibald Gracie, a military historian who is treated really brutally by James Cameron in his film, was not only a brave man but an indefatigable historian of the disaster. In the months remaining to him after the sinking (Colonel Gracie died in December 1912, possibly of aftereffects from his harrowing escape), Gracie tracked down other survivors and was the first to make an attempt at putting each survivor into the boat he or she escaped from. Written with period charm, this is an important book about the disaster and will dispell any remaining images of Cameron's doofy "Archie."

Colonel Archibald Gracie is one of the few people who actually went down with the Titanic and lived to tell about it. First published in 1913, "Titanic" is his detailed account of the last day he spent aboard ship, the evacuation of passengers on the port side of the ship, and of his incredible survival on an overturned lifeboat after being plunged into the frigid ocean when the Titanic finally completely submerged. The first 113 pages of the book are dedicated to Colonel Gracie's firsthand account. In the remaining approximately 200 pages, Col. Gracie has compiled testimony from as many other eyewitnesses as he could find. These firsthand accounts of passengers and crew are taken from the official inquiries in the United States and Great Britain, personal correspondence and interviews with Col. Gracie, and occasionally from firsthand accounts that were published in books and magazines of the day. Taken together, they render a very detailed picture of what went on that fateful night and why more people were not saved. Colonel Gracie died 8 months after the Titanic sank, of illness possibly related to the prolonged exposure to cold that he endured the night the Titanic went down.

This is one of the most comprehensive and precise accounts of the Titanic disaster that you will find. Colonel Gracie is an engaging storyteller. I like his decision to organize the eyewitness accounts by lifeboat. The book also provides some interesting insights into the manners and social attitudes of the time.

Two of the most poignant survivor accounts of the Titanic sinking. Mr. Gracie, an elderly man with many social ties to others on the ship and Mr. Thayer, the 17 year old son of a prominent businessman were both first class passengers. Both nearly drowned as the Titanic plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic; but found refuge on the upside down collapsible lifeboat B. Mr. Gracie lost his best friend and Mr. Thayer lost his father. The grief each feels still calls out to us.

The style of each narrative is interesting to compare. Gracie, when describing his own experience or his impressions of the significance of the sinking, uses the flowing purple prose of the late 19th century (his style is more straightforward in his compilations of accounts of other passengers and he has even used their actual statements). Thayer, writing in 1940 about his own experience, is terser; but his reflection that the world seemed calm and his place in it assured before that night is poetic. Archibald Gracie died soon after he wrote his narrative. I'm unsure; but I believe Jack Thayer did not live long after he wrote his story. Since Mr. Thayer's account is not generally available in other sources, and Mr. Gracie was so thorough about who was in (or, in his case, on) each lifeboat, this book will be appreciated by any Titanic buff.

Colonel Archibald Gracie was on board the Titanic when it sank. He was one of the lucky men who was able to cling to a capsized boat for survival. He details his account of the crossing, both before and after the iceberg. He mentions many people that he spoke with on the voyage, hoping to bring comfort to any families whose loved ones he encountered. The book seems to have been a form of therapy for the man and also an attempt to help those with questions after the sinking.

The book is written in 1912 language, but it is still very readable and easy to understand. It is really an excellent resource for specific information; Gracie examines each lifeboat individually with passenger's names (except for the 3rd class) and relays incidents from each compiled from testimony from those in each boat. He uses official documents like the court trial transcripts for his book, making it very credible.

Also included is a short account of John Thayer from the 40s. He was only 17 when the ship sank and lost his father of the same name in the tragedy. Thayer was another of the men clinging to the capsized boat that saved Gracie's life. His testimony enforces many of the things said by Gracie.

I've sung chorally since early in grade school, quit during the graduate years and growing a family, and when "catastrophe" hit (job, marriage, home loss- simultaneously; like the author), I also found a deep grounding in knowing that there was "rehearsal on Monday nights".

I'd not previously drawn parallels between singing and life. I just didn't recognize the metaphors.

But I've learned from this author's ability to do so, and I am grateful for her insights. I feel enriched in that way.

I've spent a bunch of time in spiritual literature. meditation, and in prayer; I've dedicated time to singing (yes- auditioned choruses; semi-paid choir gigs) but the parallels never crytallized.

They do for me in this book. I'm thankful for her awakening me to ways of relating singing to aspects of my daily life, enhancing my memories, and enriching my future in singing. And in looking for the parallels in life.

It is fun- to have my life's most significantly enjoyable times tied to how I was/am actually living; and see the relationships!

Before I go, in my view, the professional/commercial reviews of this book on Amazon and elsewhere were patronizing; assuming that the goal was a "professional" career and an apologetic for its failure.

Couldn't be further from the truth. There was not much, if any, recognition of the idea that this might have been a labor of genuine love and portrayal of amateur singing!

Or that any of the professional reviewers managed to find out the latin root of "amateur".

My typical reaction in situations when I didn't succeed, when I made mistakes, was to run away. I would stop doing the activity (change jobs, refuse to play softball again, etc.) Thus, I used to hide and pretend that I knew what I was doing in choir rehersal. But I came to realize that I couldn't sing out if I was afraid of making a mistake. And the best way to do that is to not hide my mistakes, but to try to learn from them, asking questions. That the point about rehersing is to practice - and that making mistakes is part of that (and part of life). Joan Oliver Goldsmith has been there, and has learned to learn from her mistakes. Reading her book helped me learn from mine.

This is a very good book, definitely worth reading. The writer manages to inspire readers to take passionate risks and never feel its to late to live one's dream. I recommend that anybody in the "seeking" mood check this book out!

I sing in the Minnesota Chorale with Joan, and she read part of her book to us tonight. To hear her speak with that much passion was an inspiration to us all - there were tears and thunderous applause. I just bought the book and so can't truly speak for the contents - but I can speak plenty about the woman who wrote the book, and that is recommendation in itself. I can't wait to get reading!

Perhaps I'm being too cruel. This was a "Nice" book. Ms Goldsmith has thoughtfuly considered the activity which gives her the most joy in life: emotionally, philisophically and even technically (from a layman's point-of-view). I felt as if I was reading her diary...that the diary had been written with me peering over her shoulder. I was very uncomfortable with that--as if she was waiting for my acknowlegement or approval.
The subtitle speaks of 'Music and the Passionate Life', but Ms Goldsmith's writing implies that she's seeking little more than comfort in life. Ho-hum.
Exploration of human experience or gooey sentiment? I prefer mine dry, I suppose. Make me laugh, make me cry, just don't expect for me to sit still when you rattle on....

Norman O. Brown says that Love's Body is a continuation of a voyage begun with Life Against Death: "It records a shaking of the foundations; and faintly foreshadows, like false dawn, the end". What end is he cryptically referring to here?

Love's Body is a loosely structured non-linear meditation on topics as far-ranging as Fire, Unity, Nature, Resurrection and Nothing. These are allegories wrapped up in aphoristic writing. The book is as enchantingly powerful as was its author. I listened to Brown speak several times in the mid-70's when I was studying philosophy at UC-Santa Cruz. The man was about as enigmatic and spellbinding as they come -

This book is already a classic and is one that insists on being re-read many times. The profundities are encased in crystalline little gems; should be required reading within the acadamies.

"Everything is only a metaphor; there is only poetry"

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

An exceedingly strange book. A shotgun wedding between psychoanalysis and Christian Mysticism. Philosophy as a fever dream. Brown's focus on the body, rooted as much in Blake's visionary poetry as in Freud, makes me realize what is wrong with so much postmodern criticism and philosophy: it is disembodied. Love's Body, written in the late sixties, and containing an attack on the literalism of both Protestant theology and modern humanistic criticism, sheds light on some avenues (and cul-de-sacs) postmodernism has left unexplored. Brown's book is highly suggestive, not instructive. It strives to unite unlike, even opposite, things. Extremes meet. The marriage of Heaven and Hell. He adopts an elliptical and incantatory style. Sentence fragments. Sentences repeated in different context. He eschews the linearity of a polemical work, separating loosely connected paragraphs from each other with empty space, as well as references to other books (the bibliography is integrated into the book proper, and it is not always clear why he lists certain works). These paragraphs are divided into sixteen chapters, the headings of which denote (abstract as Plato's Forms) aspects of experience: Liberty, Nature, Trinity, Unity, Person, Representative, Head, Boundary, Food, Fire, Fraction, Resurrection, Fulfillment, Judgment, Freedom, Nothing. It feels like a tentative (it would not work so well if it were exhaustive) exploration, a rough outline or foreshadowing, or, to use one of Brown's favorite words, an adumbration of a full-fledged Philosophy that never developed. Or an uncovering of one that has always been around, partially hidden. I often like to repeat this quote from the writer Charles Fort (whose books are even stranger than Brown's): "Every science is a mutilated octopus. If its tentacles were not clipped to stumps, it would feel its way into disturbing contacts . . . the unclipped ramifies away into all other things." Love's Body is one of the few books I've encountered that shows some of the disturbing contacts of unclipped (Brown might say "unrepressed" or "unsublimated") tentacles.

Twenty years ago a friend told me to read Life Against Death. He said it changed his life. I read it and liked it but it didn't change my life. Recently I finally got around to reading this, his second book. I'm afraid I'm too old for any book to change my life, but I thoroughly enjoyed this provocative book. It is a series of meditations, inspired by a wide range of other thinkers who are referenced after each section,as opposed to the unified argument put forward in Life Against Death. As in that book, Freud is an influence, but so is Blake, Buddhism,Roheim, and Nietzsche, who may have provided the aphoristic format. Brown was one of the intellectual gurus of the Sixties, but unlike many others from that time, his ideas hold up thirty years later.

Your basic synthesis of history, literature, mythology, psychology and magic. In a voice that is poetic, accessible and provocative. Essential. Mind-expanding. Classic. It changed the way I think. I first read it in 1967. Many re-readings have only reinforced its power. I bought this copy as a present for my son who is now a student at UC Santa Cruz, where Brown once taught. I consider it required reading.

This is a profound and learned book that is experienced as much as read. It is a series of meditations, inspired by a wide range of other thinkers who are referenced after each section, as opposed to the unified argument put forward in Life Against Death. few of these aphorisms are enough to think about at one time. Among others Freud, Blake, Buddhism, Roheim, and Nietzsche are refered to.

Unfortunately, Brown is too wrapped up in religous mysticism and theistic nonesense. That's why I took off two stars; religous undertones aren't part of any ubiquitously coherent work and they're too prevalent here. If you can filter them out, this work is otherwise decent.

Brown was a a heavy influence on Jim Morrison and the music of The Doors, which is filled with Brownian imagery as are Morrison's books of poetry. "Crowds and Power" by Elias Canetti is another good book to read. It also has that typical Brownian style.

Average informatio that we all already have... save a few buck and just buy a thesaurus!

This book is a contemporary Thesaurus and handbook for those who write advertising or promotional copy, or want to jazz up their delivery. Anyone new to this kind of writing or is thinking of getting into it will certainly appreciate having this book at their fingertips.

Joyce Shafer
Author of "I Don't Want to be Your Guru, but I Have Something to Say" and "How to Have What You REALLY Want."

Recently, I was asked to help out Nantucket Community Sailing by writing and producing a video about the organization for prospective sponsors of Nantucket Race Week. I was asked because it's known that I have an (extremely modest) knowledge of how to operate a video camera, which made me an expert relative to everyone else.

I've never actually written a script before, or indeed, tried anything in marketing of this nature. "Power Sales Words" helped me figure out who our prospective sponsors were, what our pitch was, and how to frame the pitch appropriately.

Very glad to have found this book, because the resulting video is a huge improvement over what we did last year, and now that we've done it once, we know how to make it better next time.

Vicky Oliver's Power Sales Words is a valuable resource for professional and non-professional writers alike. Packed with useful synonyms and antonyms, creative phrases, do's and don'ts, instructive essays and more, Power Sales Words puts the words you need right at your fingertips. Whether you're brainstorming for ideas, searching for the perfect adjective or trying to punch up that closing paragraph, Power Sales Words can help. I keep it on my computer desk right next to the dictionary and thesaurus.

This book has superb advice on writing for anyone -- not just for those in sales and advertising. The author is very witty and provides a ton of specific words, phrases and ideas for jazzing up your writing. Get this book!

I was given this book as a gift, and although civil war history wasn't a topic I had a serious interest in, the story captured my attention right away. The author made the character very appealing and really brought him to life, including stories of his personal life and relationships with his wife, parents and children. It was a memorable book, and a good depiction of the hardships of the Civil War. The book brought tears to my eyes several times - he was really able to bring out the heart of the character. I'd recommend this to those with an avid interest in the war, as well as to those who love history as a novel instead of a textbook! I bought extra copies to pass along as gifts this season.

This is a great story for people who enjoy a look into our past, but are often put to sleep by normal history books. By focusing on the virtues of Joshua Chamberlain, the Author took me on a ride through the civil war like never before. Not only do I have a better understanding of the war and the time period in general, but Oliver did a wonderful job of reminding me what a hero really is. This book is a quick read and admittedly the first history book of its type that I couldn't put down. The author did a great job of mixing history with the personal struggles of one of our nations finest men. Oliver puts a human face on the war many of us have forgotten. A must read for anyone!

I enjoyed the book very much. It was easy reading and kept my interest. I found it hard to put the book down. If you like reading about the civil war you will find this book a must.

I had read much about the Civil War and much about Joshua Chamberlain. I though I knew the man and his life but Thomas Oliver taught me a lesson or two. Within his clear and precise prose he has brought a book which is a very pleasant experience. Oliver's style lends itself to "just turn another page" and before you know it you're far into it and unwilling to put it down. I read it in one evening. Chamberlain's life is a true American story: The sheltered professor who became a soldier and ultimately a hero at Gettysburg. A Medal of Honor winner, promoted to general and selected by Grant to accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The book is full of wonderful details, both historical and personal, and is guaranteed to keep your interest. I learned, for instance, that Chamberlain's medal was awarded decades after the fact and was actually mailed to him. Thanks, Mr. Oliver, for a fine historical effort and bring us more!

If you love American history but like hearing it or reading about it from a story teller and not a stuffy old professor, this is for you. I've taken up to a month to finish your typical long-winded popular American Hero biographies before and when I finally closed those books, I could appreciate the main character's endeavors but I've never literally sat in a chair afterward with a lump in my throat. This book gathers momentum quickly and because it's only a few hundred pages, it's simply almost impossible to put down. I challenge you to read this book and not want to run out and shake every American war veteran's hand.

Much more needs to be written about the Brown v. Board of Education era. Patterson indeed does a good service of describing the "trouble legacy" of Brown. For while school integregation and the end to seperate but equal laws were a major revolution of sorts in this country, Brown left unresolved significant questions and problems concerning the education of African descended students and other minorities. For example, while Brown focused on legal and structural changes in public education, which led to the desegregation of schools, it did not address issues of integrating school curriculum and preparing teachers and school officials for a multicultural transformation of schooling. It simply assumed that the solution to racism in this society was to provide a way for Blacks to assimilate in the larger White society instead of empowering themselves to respect and build their own culture and institutions. While Patterson deals with the legal aspects Brown, he too avoids or overlooks the pedagogical and cultural issues that went unaddressed in Brown. Thus, Patterson's work doesn't add significantly anything new to the history of Brown that is not dealt with in J. Harvie Wilkson's From Brown to Bakke or Kluger's Simple Justice.

James T. Patterson's Brown v. Board of Education is an exceedingly well researched historical work on the pivotal cases faced on all judicial levels in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s regarding segregation in our nation's schools. Professor Patterson masterfully writes on not just the legal implications of the landmark decision(s) in Brown but also in regard to their social impact. He puts into a greater racial and societal context not only the meaning of Brown but also the strategies of Thurgood Marshall and his associates in deciding to bring before the Court when many other challenges to Jim Crow could have been argued with much legal and moral merit.

Patterson tirelessly, but interestingly, cites case after case and puts each before the reader in the context of a broader societal consequence. He dispassionately argues the merit and challenges of desegregation as society was changing at a precipitous rate with "white flight" from our urban centers to affluence and the ability to "avoid" integration with the availability of private schools obviously not covered by Brown or the 14th Amendment. A theme seemingly in most, if not all, of Patterson's writings on the American 20th Century is the effect of expectations of the populous. Indeed his wonderful contribution to the Oxford Series of United States History is entitled "Grand Expectations". It is interesting how he weaves that theme into this much more specific narrative. "This is another way of reiterating an essential truth about Brown: so many larger postwar forces- rising expectations and restlessness among blacks; slowly changing white attitudes about racial segregation; the Cold War, which left Jim Crow America vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy when it claimed to lead the Free World - were impelling the nation townard liberalization of its racial practices.

This is a great book and is part of the Oxford Series of Pivotal Moments in American History. To state the utter obvious, the reader should be aware that this "moment" is still very much ongoing and, as such, this book is much broader, out of intellectual necessity, than one, or really two, Supreme Court decisions.

This is really a must read book for anyone interested in the issues surround desegregation and the efforts by Thurgood Marshall and others to end such practices in America's schools. It also is a very vivid reminder that courts and lawsuits can only go so far, and in the end it is people and their institutions that must be changed as well. Did Brown achieve all that it was hoped that it would - the author argues that it didn't, but that it did lay the foundation for tremendous change in racial relations during the last century. The author also helps to place the decision of Brown in context with other legal and political events that help the reader understand what was the source of resistence in various parts of the US to school desegregation and subsequent busing endeavors. Well worth reading and keeping on your shelves.

Having grown up during the 1950's I wanted to familiarize myself in regard to civil rights, in particular as it applied to the historic 1954 Supreme Court ruling "Brown vs. the Board of Education." I found that President Eisenhower was not in favor of getting involved in civil rights for African Americans. He is quoted as saying that appointing Earl Warren as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court was the "biggest damn fool mistake I ever made." Roy Wilkins of the NAACP is quoted as saying if Eisenhower fought World War II as he did for civil rights, "We'd all be speaking German today." I was disappointed in Eisenhower's approach to civil rights for African Americans. Ten years after the 1954 Brown ruling, things hadn't changed regarding civil rights. The heroes in the book are those workers who fought in the trenches for civil rights, particularly during the 1960's. Most of them are not remembered, but their contributions remain, nonetheless. President Johnson's greatest legacy remains getting the government behind racial justice. The 1954 Brown ruling hasn't had the effect it may have desired regarding schools, but by the 20th anniversary of Brown, America had been brought kicking and screaming forward for civil rights for African Americans. The book lists a number of cases and studies with their results and I have concluded we don't really know whether integration has improved test scores in schools. Having been a teacher myself for 32 years I do know that children are not bigoted as were some children and adults I knew as a kid. Kids often reflect their parents behavior. This is a book that is definitely worthy of your time. I did find one error in the book. The author said Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg were executed in July of 1953 when actually it was on June 19, 1953.

Patterson succeeds in writing a very different book than Kruger's unequaled "Simple Justice." While Simple Justice told the story of how Brown v. Board of Education came to be, Paterson asks whether Brown should have been.

After giving a brief history of Brown (covering, in summary fashion, much of the ground covered by Kruger), Patterson examines the aftermath of Brown. The question Patterson addresses throughout the book is whether Brown marked a step forward in civil rights.

Patterson successfully debunks the argument that Brown was a step backwards. As he says, anyone who thinks that the country was better off before Brown had better buy a two way ticket if he wants to go back in time, because he will want to turn right around and come back. Before Brown, most black children were educated in tarpaper shacks, by grossly underpaid teachers, with no supplies, and even less respect.

Did Brown solve all problems? Of course not. As Patterson notes, what Brown does do is prove that there are limits to the power of the courts to accomplish social change. However, the Supreme Court did set an unequivocal moral tone, which set the stage for the civil rights movement, which (building on the constitutional foundation built by Brown) changed the world we all live in.

Has racism ended? No. But no one should expect any Supreme Court decision (or even a series of decisions spanning less than 25 years) to undo the racial history of this country which had taken 400 years to build. The real shame is that beginning in the late 70's, the courts, Congress, and the President have all worked to reverse the moral tone set in Brown. Unfortunately, they have succeeded all too well. But one can not fairly blame that on the Supreme Court's decision in Brown.

A thought provoking book which should be read by anyone who is interested in the history of race relations in the second half of the 20th Century.

I've long been a student and a collector of information on the personalities of Restoration England, growing out of a desire to know more about the background in literature classes. The Restoration crowd loved life, and in this volume (and presumably the next) you see how tenuous their lives were -- 5000 a week in the City of London dying of plague, two fleets of 100 ships each at war in a narrow sea, everyone so intent on feathering their nest and getting their next place, and an honest man rarest commodity of all. I love all these diaries. I've learned to ignore a lot of the textural (not text) notes that tell you if there was a blot on the page, or the symbol was not quite clear, but the footnotes are amazing and so is the information. Love Sam; he could have done pretty much as he pleased with me, I fear. But in his daily strolls of 5 miles and more I fear I could never have kept up as he went up and down the town, up and down the river. I've been to London and took the boat tour on the Thames from the houses of Parliament down to Greenwich to see the naval museum and Queen's house -- and he would walk, day or night, from London to Depworth, to Woolwich, to Greenwich (though he'd borrow the boat if he could) and pay attention to all he passed. What a companion!

Unfortunately for my budget's sake I started buying these in 3s and am now having trouble filling up 1666-1669. I will persevere, though, and anticipate a re-read of all or part probably every summer (while TV takes a dive and there's good light to read by until long into the evening). The only thing I have wished for is more portraits of the people he is speaking of--and the portraits by Huysmans and Lely that he reports having seen fresh painted. However, financially that may not have been doable. Will have to keep searching for a companion Restoration Portraits volume to keep me happy.

Great reading - do start from the beginning to get into the swing of things. A random paragraph doesn't put you "in the life" like the unrolling panorama does. A better map of London at your elbow (though there is one in the back of each volume) will also increase your pleasure.

It is kind of hard to match up these reviews of the Pepys' Diary with specific volumes, probably due to the nature of ISBN numbers. However, this review is about Volume 10, the Companion to the 10 vol. set of paperbacks (complete edition) by the University of California Press. IT IS a valuable book indeed, being 1700 entries, alphabetically arranged, on the details about the people and places mentioned in the Diary. It has 626 numbered pages and genealogical tables and maps.

When I started reading the diary, I expected it to be extremely boring and very old fashioned (seeing how it was written in the 1600's) - how wrong I was!!!
Samuel Pepys (pronounced 'peeps') is a human, funny, moody man who has his ups and downs like the rest of us. His narrative during the plague records his concern about neighbors, and his real sorrow when people he knows succumb to it. He also records his experiences during the great fire of London in 1666 and his first mention of it strikes me as entirely human - he says that his maids wake him as they have heard of the fire and as it is not near his doorstep he simply goes back to bed as he's tired. He has arguments with his wife, and has cast a lusty eye upon the kings mistress for years! He also has, what I call 'mini affairs' where he kisses and fondles women quite regularly, (including his own maids) and seems to have no guilt about this whatsoever. Most mornings he 'drinks' his breakfast and at one point is outraged that his new wig is teeming with nits! An historical and very human read. Makes me realise that after 450 years we are all no different at all........

Pepys' secret diary, kept in cryptic shorthand to shield it from prying eyes, covers the years 1660 to 1669, starting with the return of Charles II from exile and ending when the writer's failing eyesight made writing difficult. He was 27 years old when he began this work, and quite impecunious. Through the patronage of his kin, Edward Montagu (later Earl of Sandwich) he rose from humble beginnings to a respected position (Clerk of the Acts in the navy office). Educated at Cambridge, he was ill prepared for the job: while he read Latin and French, he did not know the multiplication tables and had to be taught basic mechanics. However, he seems to have applied himself to his work with diligence and persistence. During the naval war with Holland (1665-67) he was surveyor of victualling. In this capacity, he gained the confidence of the lord high admiral, the Duke of York (later King James II). After the war, he defended the navy office in Parliament against charges of mismanagement with a speech that seems to have been the high point of his career.

His eyewitness accounts of the Plague (1665) and the Great Fire (1666) in London are riveting. But it is the description of quotidian events that sheds light on how the people lived. Moving easily among different social classes, he recorded their moods and diversions. He attended public executions of regicides (complete with display of heads and organs to a cheering crowd), and noted when initial enthusiasm for the restoration of the monarchy gave way to disillusionment; when anger at the King's debauchery and neglect of state business bred nostalgia for the reign of Oliver Cromwell.

While critical of the King's and the Court's incessant "gambling and whoring", Pepys himself was no paragon of virtue. His dalliances with maidservants and accommodating ladies of his acquaintance caused bitter quarrels with his wife. He seems to have lusted after every pretty girl who crossed his path. Repeated vows to mend his ways generally came to naught. Some of the racier passages in his diary are written in fractured French or Latin.

Pepys was an avid theater-goer: he loved Macbeth and Henry IV, but thought Midsummer Night's Dream silly and inane. There was a lot of music in his life: he played the lute, the flageolet, and the violin, and missed no opportunity to join in singing, dancing, drinking and merry-making. He carefully noted, however, how much these diversions cost him. He also conscientiously recorded the bribes and kickbacks paid him by suppliers. Forever curious, he attended lectures and observed experiments, read voraciously and enjoyed a good discourse.

If he often appears vain and foolish, it is because he portrays himself as vain and foolish. His naive enjoyment of even the most mundane things ("this pleased me mightily" is an oft-repeated phrase) cannot fail to strike a sympathetic chord in the reader. He comments on fashion trends (powdered wigs, beauty spots, wearing of masks and male riding habit by court ladies, etc.). When he yielded to fashion and had a periwig made for himself, it was delivered full of nits. New servants had to be deloused and fitted with clean garments, but once domesticated, they were part of the household; they received music lessons and, in some cases, lessons in Latin and Greek. When they misbehaved, he beat them until his arm hurt.

The parallel career of his wife deserves some reflection: the "poor wretch" who, early in their marriage, used to wash his dirty clothes by hand, graduated to lace gowns, powdered wigs and a coach of her own; but discontent increased in proportion to luxury. "I have to find her something to do", mused Sam. Dancing and painting lessons, theater visits and parties filled the void. The couple had no children.

The Modern Library Edition is, of course, a greatly abridged version of the six-volume original. One may quibble with the selection or deplore the lack of notes; but the hefty original is available to all who want to know more.

There are on the Amazon site two excellent, informative reviews of the Pepys' diaries. They say far more than my own contribution.
I have read in and out of the Pepys' diary more than once. I did this in part because I have read many times that they are the ' best diaries' ever written. Without contending with that I found that they were not for me the most interesting. This probably shows more about my own shortcomings than it does about the work of Pepys.
Pepys' work is filled with description of the life of the time. It is rich in perception of the great city of London in Restoration times. It is filled with personal anecdote, gossip including that relating to his prodigious sexual appetite and activity. It is a busy, businesslike work. And it tells more about a world outside than a world in.
In the diaries I most love there is the quest of the soul to deeply understand itself and its relation to other people, and God. I find that the flurry of activity in the life of Pepys does not lead to this kind of reflectiveness. And thus for me the 'diary' is not a highly significant work personally.

John Webster will probably never be as popular as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, or even Cliff Marlowe. Nevertheless, his writing is quite impressive. His plays came out about the time Shakespeare was putting out his final plays. As the play begins, we meet Bosola. While he is a murderer, he offers several intersting passages, and he is not quite a 2d villain. Bosola expresses his dislike for Duke Ferdinand and his brother the Cardinal. This opinion is shared by the Duchess's eventual husband Antonio. This allows Webster to prepare the villains of this story. The wicked Ferdinand expresses his wish for his sister (the Duchess) not to marry. Eventually, we will learn that he wants control over her estates. (How unheard of! Especially today!) He asks Bosola to spy on the Duchess. Bosola is a bit hesitant, but he proceeds. Well, the Duchess against her wicked brother's request marries Antonio secretly. Some time passes, and Bosola suspects that the Duchess is pregnant. While Antonio suspects the foul play of Bosola, he is basically a loving, but not so able man. Ferdinand of course finds out that his request has been disregarded. Interestingly, the cardinal comes off a little better when his cautious side contrasts with Ferdinand's rages. Onto Act 3. The Duchess and Antonio now have children. While Ferdinand knows the Duchess has married, he does NOT know Antonio is the husband. The poor Duchess makes the mistake of appealing to Bosola for help, and of course all is found out. Antonio is banished to Ancona. The parting between Antonio and the Duchess is quite sad. But all is not lost. Antonio flees to Milan and they may still be together. Sadly, hope disappears as the Duchess is arrested. Ferdinand orders Bosola to murder her, and while Bosola does hesitate, he performs the cruel murder of the Duchess. It is interesting that Bosola's evil deeds are often accompanied by hesitation and regret, as well as some interesting passages on the harsh truths of the human condition. But Webster does not stop here. Ferdinand's cruelty gives way to insanity and he taunts Bosola for carrying out his orders. Onto the final act. Poor Antonio (not knowing his wife is dead) has heard of Ferdinand's insanity. He thinks perhaps he can reconcile with the Cardinal. Soon we see that the cardinal is not quite an accomplished psychopath. With Ferdinand gone, he sinks further and further into panic trying to cover the bloody mess. In a well done scene, fragments of Antonio's echo foreshadow his downfall. Bosola accidentally kills Antonio and is filled with regret. The final scene begins with the cardinal giving a passage on fear of damnation. In a brutal massacre, Bosola, Ferdinand, and the Cardinal all die. The play ends with a restoration to order by the son of Antonio and the Duchess, but like Shakespeare's "King Lear," it doesn't take away the sadness of the play. Overall, it's a good play that combines an interesting variety of villains, romance, tragedy, suspense, horror, and dark comedy.

John Webster's play "The Duchess of Malfi" is a violent play that presents a dark, disturbing portrait of the human condition. According to the introductory note in the Dover edition, the play was first presented in 1613 or 1614.

The title character is a widow with two brothers: Ferdinand and the Cardinal. In the play's opening act, the brothers try to persuade their sister not to seek a new husband. Her resistance to their wishes sets in motion a chain of secrecy, plotting, and violence.

The relationship between Ferdinand and the Duchess is probably one of the most unsettling brother-sister relationships in literature. The play is full of both onstage killings and great lines. The title character is one of stage history's intriguing female characters; she is a woman whose desires lead her to defy familial pressure. Another fascinating and complex character is Bosola, who early in the play is enlisted to act as a spy. Overall, a compelling and well-written tragedy.

This is a review of the New Mermaids edition of The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster. Elisabeth M. Brennan edits this edition (ISBN: 0393900665.) I mention this incase it is cross-posted under some other editor's edition.

I bought this after reading snippets of it in other books. I do not recall having to learn this in school. Only now do I intend to read "The White Devil" in anticipation of it being encountered in other works.

Well what do you know? This animal is based on a true story of the Duchess of Amalfi. Evidentially there were several books written on this and he picked one for the outline of the play.

This edition is almost as good as taking a class in its self. The introduction gives you a back ground and the basic story that the play was based on. You get some information on John Webster and some of his other plays. There is even a further Reading List. There are even notes on the text and how to read the notes for the different versions of the play its self. By the time you get to the play you are well prepared to read it.

The play its self has stanzas, line numbers and notes to help you through the difficulty of understanding what the words mean in context. It is almost like reading a bible. You soon pickup speed and then actually get intrigued in the writing and story.

Now I desperately want some local theater to present "The duchess of Malfi"

I do not feel Webster's "Duchess of Malfi" quite matches his "The White Devil." Nevertheless, it is still an excellent play. Only Webster could combine this much violence and beauty so well! Webster starts the play well when Antonio and Delio make comments on questionable characters. (Bosola and the Cardinal) Bosola is drawn well as the hired hand reluctant to join the demonic Ferdinand. 2.5 is captivating when Ferdinand explodes with fury upon discovering that the Duchess has married. The cardinal shows an interesting foil to Ferdinand when he tries to encourage caution. The fury exchanged between Ferdinand and the Duchess in 3.2 is memorable. Bosola offers a striking passage on politicians in 3.2. The tragic ceremony in 3.4 is sorrowful and yet beautiful. The parting of Antonio and the Duchess in 3.5 is very lamentable. 4.1 allows us to see that Ferdinand is not only evil, but demented as well. This paves the way for his final insanity. Bosola's hesitation to carry out the murder is well constructed. Ferdinand's final torture of the Duchess reminds us that he is not simply cruel, but psychotic as well. The Duchess is memorable when she faces her death with dignity. Webster DOES NOT stop here! Ferdinand actually taunts the hired killer and this paves the way for the final act. 5.3 is a scene that not even Marlowe or Shakespeare ever used. Fragments of Antonio's own echo foreshadow his death. Bosola's accidental murder of Antonio and his remorse pave the way for the final massacre! Even here, Webster keeps his efforts up. The cardinal's passage on fear of damnation keeps us in chills. Bosola's death and passage of remorse is a fitting end for this excellent work. My only complaint about this play is that the Cardinal could have been more complex.

Of the "popular" editions of this play that by John Russell Brown (Revels Student Editions) and Elizabeth Brennan (New Mermaids) are both useful, though it must be said that no edition as yet does adequate justice to Webster's compexity - notably his presentation of Ferdinand. The play is both a tour de force and profoundly searching. It is perhaps the first major feminist play in England, with the Duchess presented as an outstandingly noble even if fallible character, the victim of her two evil "partriarchal" brothers. Of these, her twin brother Ferdinand is among the most intelligently conceived characters to appear on the Jacobean stage. Unknowingly (i.e. in his "unconscious") he is incestuously in love with his sister. Unable to cope with this "taboo" feeling, he tries to "repress" it unsuccessfully, and finally his ... "libido" comes to express itself in a violent wish to destroy her if he cannot ... own her, and he ends up believing himself to be a wolf, attempting to dig up her grave after he has had her killed. Obviously, then, this is a very Freudian work - anticipating Freud's insights brilliantly by some four centuries, and without lapsing into Freud's extravagantly improbable claims about such matters as the Oedipus complex. It is the working of the unconcious, as a reservoir of what we do not understand and cannot control, which is quite central in this play, and Ferdinand's ... confusion is potently contrasted with his sister's openminded, acknowledged and generous ... health. An outstanding play, recommended as among the best of its time (comparable in quality and interest to e.g. *Othello* or *The Changeling*). - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

Ms. Oliver has a feel for making a story flow and build to an ending that you want to not come so quickly. The story starts mysteriously and then builds up with an eye on the layers of classes inherent in Japan of this era. Though listed as a "Young Adult", it was engaging and entertaining for most age groups. A gentle read that will acquaint a Western reader with a number of Eastern traditions. Try it.

I loved this story!!!!! The exotic locale is refreshing and the worldbuilding is great. The characters are noble and driven. It reminded me of old Japanese ghost stories and ghost flicks I've seen. Full of folklore that just pulls you into the character's world. It's just a great little book. -C

In a medieval Japanese village, a powerful samurai kidnaps a fifteen-year-old mapmaker. The hapless young boy, Chizuson Toshiro, is thereby thrust into a world honeycombed with riddles and undergirded with darkness. Virtually everyone Toshi meets for the next 300 pages of this novel is a ghost.

In Service of the Samurai is a neatly spun fantasy in which a young boy comes of age in the midst of an extraordinary journey. As the masked geisha, Miro, slowly gets a grip on Toshi's heart, he finds himself beginning to care about his captors. Stockholm syndrome or not, they redeem themselves by giving Toshi a chance to choose his own path and make his own life.

At its core, In Service of the Samurai is a classic mythic story about a hero's journey. It is a minutely imagined fantasy that transports readers to a highly nuanced world. The pacing is not for those who like a plot that whisks along. But for my money, this is a story worth the reading.


Review by Cheryl Swanson, Author of Death Game and reviewer with Gotta Read

reviewed by Angela Wilds for fantasynovelreview.com

Imagine being bought into slavery for a group of undead Samurai! This is exactly what befalls Toshi the young slave mapmaker. One night Asaka Ietsugu comes to the master's shop, drops some money and a note on the counter, and takes Toshi away. Toshi is shanghaied aboard a ghostly vessel to help the doomed Samurai complete the mission they failed to do during life.

And so begins an adventure that has Toshi sailing the high seas; having tea with the beautiful undead geisha, Akiuji Miko; and battling ghosts, undead ninjas and demons to recover the object his new master must find to win eternal peace for the entire crew. Toshi learns that appearances aren't always what they seem, that sometimes you can't take things at face value. You need to take a closer look. For Toshi the adventure is also a journey into manhood.

Gloria Oliver has written a delightful tale of a young boy's triumphs over adversity. She brings to life characters who have you first hating them and then she turns it around and plays on your sympathy for them. In the Service of Samurai is a terrific novel set in the land of the rising sun. If Japanese animation is your bag, you'll enjoy this novel!

This a wonderfully crafted tale of a young man forced into an extreme situation. While the magic of the adventure is fully brought out, the story never lifts to become fanciful. The full weight of the challenges and the seriousness of the constraints placed on the participants is kept ever alive keeping the reader from ever doubting the reality of the story.

There is nothing new about a story of undead needing to fulfill a mission. What raises this story above the norm is the clarity of the characters. The strengths and weaknesses of those in the story are stated then held consistent. The youth through which the undead seek to restore their honor, named Toshi, is not a bumbling idiot, but presented from the first as having certain skills and some intelligence. The reader thus enters the story with a sense that the story will remain credible and not need to rely on some amazing twist of fate to meet its objective.

Some might consider the pacing of the story to be slow. There is not a constant injection of action powering the novel. The author wisely allows the uniqueness of the setting to amaze the reader, and trusts in the wonder of the characters to hold one's attention. Truthfully, Toshi is not a character that would appear credible facing a number of opponents. While the main character does some amazing things, the settings are made clear with the methods of survival kept very credible.

The author does a magnificent job of bringing out all important characters even as the literary focus stays on Toshi. Those undead and those living that have an influence on the story are fully presented. The adventure does not stay in one place, but each scene is brought completely to life.

There should be no doubt that this novel earns all five stars. The genre is fantasy with an intention for the book to be for young adults. It however is not a childish tale and was fully enjoyed by the writer of this review.

Unless you have prior knowledge of currency trading or the international finance world you won't understand a damn thing after the 5th or 6th chapter. The author goes in depth about these complex theories and mathematical equations that can be exceptionally difficult to follow ESPECIALLY if you are NEW to the subject.

This book is terrible period, I would recommend if you take International Finance (class), to buy a book (dummies guide er something) to go along with this to make it a little easier to understand. I don't know who this guy is trying to impress but I was throughly pissed off that I paid over a hundred bucks for this USELESS book. The author teaches it way over everybody's head.....

I bought this book to use in an undergraduate business class (International Finance)

Two of my teachers have commented on the fact that it is primarily used for graduate courses, however the concepts are explained clearly enough for a undergraduate to understand.

I recibed the Instructor's edition book, but there is a note in the back cover of the text:"NOT FOR SALE EDITION" and I paid for it $128 USD. I hope will exist more retailer`s control.

The Book arrived on time, and was brand new just as stated.

I have had many textbooks over the years and this is one of the best I have had. Some textbooks I have not even bothered to read but this one clearly explained the concepts it presented and was a great addition to my instructor's lectures. It gave a lot of real life examples in order to show applicablility and I actually didn't mind reading the chapters. The key learning objectives were really good as well as the questions at the end in order to meet educational needs. The online tools available with this book were also essential to passing exams with good grades. It was worth having to buy for my class.