Anthology Sources Books

They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind--

--from William Carlos Williams's
Spring and All (1923)

Looking at Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)'s Birth Of Venus (ca. 1482), one can actually feel the fresh and fragrant breeze, the golden light, the bounty; the Italian painter is approaching 40 when he paints this. Reading Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)'s "The Paltry Nude Starts On A Spring Voyage" from Harmonium (1923), one senses a mind utterly quirky, brisk, assured; the American poet is in his early 40's.

This collection lacks 22 poems which appeared in "The Palm at the End of the Mind", Holly Stevens carefully edited selection highly approved of by Harold Bloom. Missing are "Of Mere Being", "A Child Asleep in Its Own Life" and "For an Old Woman in a Wig" to name but three. It leaves out the added lines of "The Man Whose Pharynx Was Bad". It lacks an index of first lines. If you're going to buy a book of Stevens' poems spend the extra $10 and get the magnificent Library of America "Collected Poetry and Prose" which contains EVERYTHING, is a huge bargain and will keep you occupied for the rest of your life. Or possibly get Holly Stevens "The Palm at the End of the Mind" which eliminates a lot of lesser poems which could confuse a newcomer to Stevens. The Vintage people have thrown this together without much thought. It's better than nothing, but the other two books I have named are the one's to get.

"Her terrace was the sand/And the palms and the twilight" -- and those are only the first two lines. Dipping into surrealism and imbued with spirituality, his poetry is compiled into "The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens," which includes seven compilations of his work.

Over his lifetime, Stevens wrote several books of poetry, but his exquisite poems are best taken by themselves: the lush grandeur of "Sunday Morning," the hymnlike "Le Monocle De Mon Oncle," and the humid grittiness of "O Florida, Venereal Soil." He takes multiple looks at "Thirteen Ways of Looking At A Blackbird," and the lush "Six Significant Landscapes."

In other poems, Stevens dips into outright surrealism, like in the delicate "Tattoo" ("There are filaments of your eyes/On the surface of the water/And in the edges of the snow"), and also adds a meditative bent into "The Snow Man" ("For the listener, who listens in the snow,/And, nothing himself, beholds/Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is").

If nothing else, Stevens' poetry can be read just because it is exquisitely beautiful. He lavished details all over almost every poem he wrote, and gave many of them the quality of a dream. His descriptions are simply written, but brilliantly laid out: "When my dream was near the moon,/The white folds of its gown/Filled with yellow light."

His style tends to be a bit on the ornate side -- Stevens freely uses the more exotic terms -- such as "opalescence," "pendentives" and "muleteers" -- wrapped up in complex verse, sometimes with a rhyme scheme and sometimes free-form. And lush detail is added to many of his poems, with descriptions of the moon, sun, plants and lighting, along with dazzling descriptions of the colors.

But his writing is more than beautiful. Stevens' work often poses questions about death, life, religion, and art, taking the conventional and turning it on its head. His belief in the importance of his art is reflected in poems like "Not Ideas About The Thing But The Thing Itself," which ends with the portentous lines: "Surrounded by its choral rings,/Still far away. It was like/A new knowledge of reality."

Wallace Stevens is one of the most unique poets of the 20th century, and the sprawling "Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens" is a wonderful read.

Wallace Stevens is my favorite poet. This collection was prepared late in his life and is in a sense definitive, though the excellent Library of America collection is to be preferred as including a number of additional poems (including the controversial long poem "Owl's Clover"), as well as alternate versions of some poems, juvenilia, and also Stevens's essays.

Stevens is known, it seems to me, in two separate ways. In the popular sense, he is known for a series of remarkable early poems, in most cases not terribly long, notable for striking images and quite beautiful prosody. Of these poems the most famous is surely "Sunday Morning" -- other examples are "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", "Peter Quince at the Clavier", "Sea Surface Full of Clouds", "Tea at the Palaz of Hoon", "The Emperor of Ice Cream", "The Idea of Order at Key West", "Of Modern Poetry". The great bulk of these come from his first collection, Harmonium, and indeed from the
first edition of Harmonium, published in 1923. These were certainly my favorite among his poems on first reading. And they remain favorites.

But his critical reputation rests strikingly on a completely different set of poems, all later than those mentioned above. (Though it must be acknowledged that at least "Sunday Morning" and "The Idea of Order at Key West" as well as two early long poems, "The Comedian as the Letter C" and "The Monocle de Mon Oncle", are in general highly regarded critically. And that most of his early work is certainly treated with respect.)

I think it's fair to say that "late Stevens" begins with "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction", perhaps his most highly regarded work. Of course the terms "late" and "early" are odd
applied to Stevens. His first successful poems appeared in 1915
(including "Sunday Morning"), when he was 36. He was 44 when the first edition of Harmonium came out. That's pretty late for "early"! And by the 1942 publication of "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction" he was 63. Indeed, his production from 1942 through his death in 1955 was remarkable: two major collections each with several long poems as well as at least another full collection worth of late poems, some included in this _Collected Poems_ but quite a few more not collected until after his death.

What to say about late Stevens? The most obvious adjective is
"austere". But that doesn't always apply -- he could also be quite playful. However, there is never the lushness of a "Sunday Morning" or "Sea Surface Full of Clouds" in the late works. The sentences tend to extraordinary length, but the internal rhythms are involving. The poems are all quite philosophical, much concerned with the importance of poetry, the nature of reality versus perceptions of reality, and, perhaps more simply, with growing old. (A Stevens theme, to be sure, that can be traced at least back to "The Monocle de Mon Oncle".)

So: Stevens is an impossibly wonderful, remarkable, poet, either early or late. His lush and imagist early work remains a delight, and his philosophically involving late work rewards rereading and concentration. He is a poet to whom you can return again and again, and he will always be new.

Stevens is for me the great American poet of the twentieth century.
His music is the supreme music of poetry . Not since Keats is there anyone as rich in the most elaborate kind of longworded poetry.
His metaphysical meanderings may confuse but somehow find themselves justified by the memorableness of the great lines- and again the music.
No one comes close to him in the kind of deep and complicated beauty he presents- and again the music.
The meanings he makes are musical meanings, and the sounds of his lines sing in us ever more strongly , the more we read and reread.
Stevens is the kind of poet we want to memorize and always have with us inside, so wherever we go , we can stop and to ourselves recite lines of beauty in joy.
I may be wrong but I simply hear his poetry as the greatest America has had in the twentieth century - though lesser than Whitman and Dickinson.

"Every Man Will Do His Duty" is an anthology of 22 excerpts from actual diaries and journals of men who served in the the British and American navies during the late 18th century and early 19th century.

I loved this book. Each selection was entertaining and well chosen, both for the glimpses the provide into the lives of the officers and men who served on such ships, and for their historical context (Such as Dr. William Beatty's account of the death of Horatio Nelson).

I'd suggest it to anyone who enjoys Naval History, or historical fiction (Such as Forrester or O'Brian) on the subject.

I bought this book because I started down the slippery slope which begins with Patrick O'Brian's *Master* *and* *Commander* and ends with a wall covered with naval prints and trips to Nelson-phile conventions.

This book is an anthology of first hand accounts of naval life in the age of sail. The stories are dramatic and gripping, though I wished the they were longer. The editors have helpfully added some diagrams and maps, though I would have prefered even more.

It is very interesting to see the overlap with the O'Brian books. As O'Brian points out in one of his forwards, at least sometimes he did not need to invent the plot, but merely re-arrange and sort out the pacing.

"Every Man Will Do His Duty" is an anthology of 22 excerpts from actual diaries and journals of men who served in the the British and American navies during the late 18th century and early 19th century.

I loved this book. Each selection was entertaining and well chosen, both for the glimpses the provide into the lives of the officers and men who served on such ships, and for their historical context (Such as Dr. William Beatty's account of the death of Horatio Nelson).

I'd strongly suggest it to anyone who enjoys Naval History, or historical fiction (Such as Forrester or O'Brian) on the subject. Give it a read, it's worth it.

For anyone who is interested in naval warfare in the age of sail in general, or in the Napoleonic period, this book is a must. It is simply superb.

This anthology of first hand accounts covers events in both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, including the War of 1812, in which the Royal Navy getting some very nasty surprises, and even nastier defeats, at the hands of the small, but expert United States Navy.

Some of the subjects covered are the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797, the sea fight between HMS Macedonian and the USS United States in 1812, the cruise into the Pacific of the USS Essex, and such esoteric subject as 'the noted pimp of Lisbon' and Bermuda in time of peace.

This book is an enjoyable read, an outstanding primary source, and one of the best books available on this often neglected subject.

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If all you read in this book is "The Audacious Cruise of the Speedy", you will have gotten your money's worth.

If the only stories you read are the two chapters from the Nagle Journel, "For the Good of My Soul, 1795," and "Mad Dickey's Amusement, 1798-1800", you will have gotten your money's worth.

But you get more than this. You get a total of 22 stories picked from many to capture the history and character of the times.

If you like Patrick O'Brien, and C.S. Forester, you will enjoy the history that gave seed to these stories. You will recognize the events of Lucky Jack Aubrey's fiirst cruise in the cruise of the Speedy, and be amazed.

Index of stories:

1. In the King's Service, 1793-1794

2. Commence the Work of Destruction: The Glorious First of June, 1794

3. The Noted Pimp of Lisbon and an Unwanted Promotion in Bull Bay, 1794

4. For the Good of My Own Soul, 1795

5. The Would as Soon Have Faced the Devil Himself as Nelson, 1796

6. The Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1797

7. Mad Diskey's Amusement, 1798-1800

8. The Fortune of War, 1799

9. The Audacious Cruise of the Speedy, 1800-1801

10. Bermuda in the Peace, 1802-1803

11. The Battle of Trafalgar, 1805

12. The Death of Lord Nelson, 1805

13. An Unequal Match, 1807-1808

14. With Stopford in the Basque Roads, 1808-1809

15. When I Beheld These Men Spring from the Ground, 1809

16. "Damn'em, Jackson, They've Spoilt My Dancing," 1809-1812

17. The Woodwind Is Mightier than the Sword, 1809-1812

18. HMS Macedonian vs. USS United States, 1812

19. An Unjustifiable and Outrageous Pursuit, 1812-1813

20. A Yankee Cruiser in the South Pacific, 1813

21. Showdown at Valparaiso, 1814

22. We Discussed a Bottle of Chateau Margot Together, 1812-1815

The commentary for each selection is informative and clear, and the translations are lucid and lively reading. A complete version of Beowulf is here along with the Anglo-Saxon Elegies and bits of Venerable Bede, Pope Gregory, a story of Caedmon's conversion, and other hallowed texts. I wish this book had been longer--more letters, more entries of the Chronicle, etc.--but as an author I know how size is often constrained by decision of the publisher; still, I would have paid ten times the cover for five times more. Here's to a second volume by the same translator.

This is the book that got me hooked on the Oxford World Classics series, which has not yet failed to provide beautiful translations where even the densest language becomes clearly understandable, all the while still keeping the integrity of the original work. The Anglo-Saxon World gives a sweeping introduction into the literature of the Anglo-Saxons while providing short commentary that places each work into historical perspective. While the information is unfortunately is not in depth, it is adequate enough for those unfamiliar with the history of the period to see the works in the proper context.

Found here are the major works: the epic Beowulf, "The Seafarer," "The Wanderer," and the works of Bede. But also found are the more obscure and, perhaps, more telling examples of their written culture, including (sometimes bawdy) riddles and even the amusing remedy for a woman's chatter: "eat a radish at night, while fasting; that day the chatter cannot harm you" (276). The texts range from deep pathos and solemn wisdom to the light, humorous and superstitious. Most significantly, this collection makes an ancient and foreign culture both easily approachable and readily accessible. For those with even a passing interest in Anglo-Saxon history, this book is well worth the time and money.

I'm a homeschooled student (in 10th grade). I read this book as part of a course on early European history, and have also referred to it while studying the history of the English language. Most of the translations are very accessible to the modern reader on their own, and Mr. Crossley-Holland's insightful commentary clears up those which are more difficult or obscure. Anyone who has a serious interest in the literature and culture of the Anglo-Saxons will not be disappointed in this book.

I bought this book in an old edition paperback form in Dublin because it contained the major elegies such as the Wanderer and the Seafarer. I ended up being extremely satisifed not only with the beautiful translation of the Wanderer, but with all of the selections and with Crossley-Holland's comments. I was very thrilled to meet him recently at a reading in Seattle, where he was promoting his Arthur trilogy. I'll have to check that out.

This book is easily one of the best collections of Anglo Saxxon period texts and as well is a great begining spot for anyone seeking further interest in the subject. As well with the epic Beowulf and Bede's writings this book is easily worth every cent and provides a wealth of additional information from religious writings to epic battle hymns.

I felt that this book did a great job as well as providing for understandable text and in most parts flowed easily enough that the writing proved both interesting and informative. The language is thick in some spots but overall the pure eloquence and spirit of the book compensates for this slight detail. The texts in this collection are as well very diverse so that almost any reader would find an interesting topic; and it proves a good book to read straight through or just pick up from time to time and read.

This text allows the reader to construct their own knowledge of the history of Blacks in America through the lens of the people themselves and their words and literature. Mullings and Marable have provided us with a rich document worth your time and money.

This Afro-American anthology provides accounts of civil rights reforms, history and resistance, gathering the most important political writings and testimonials from over three centuries. Activists like DuBois, Douglass and Malcolm X are joined by lesser-known names in this survey of how individual actions formed into a movement. Oral testimonies, interviews and essays blend in an important coverage.

This is an absolute must have. It is the cornerstone of my library collection. From "David Walker's Appeal" to Angela Davis' "I Am a Revolutionary Black Woman" to Mumia Abu-Jamal's "A Voice from Death Row" this book is pure genius. It is not a book to borrow but to be owned and cherished in any book collection!

As in my (rave) review for Ms. Kerper's PARIS book, I cannot say too much how much I love this series, and this title, in particular, is spectacular, in that it makes a region that is off-the-beaten-path so entirely enticing. I am planning an upcoming trip to Northern Spain, and unlike other the other (standard) travel guides for this area that I've seen, this book has TRULY helped shape how I wish to spend my time, all the while introducing me to a culture and history I am unfamiliar with (e.g. the long history of pilgrimage in Santiago di Compostela, and the endless seafood offerings of La Coruna and culinary indulgences to be found in San Sebastian). This is not the Spain of arid plains and bullfight arenas. Its a whole new world...to me!

I feel this book is the PERFECT starting point for travellers, ESPECIALLY those who enjoy planning, for it leads one in so many interesting directions. The different voices of the varied collected authors (along with Ms. Kerper's insights) offer a much richer perspective than most typical travel books, by virtue of the diversity (and careful choosing). The excellent bibliography will have you running to the library or bookstore to explore more, all in a much more focussed way.

Thia book is truly a resource (as titled) and a guide and companion in the fullests sense of these words. You are the beneficiary of insider knowledge from an avid traveller, and it all seems so personalized.

Without hesitation I say BUY THIS BOOK, and while you're at it check out the others in this series...honestly PARIS was indispensible to my last trip, and I can't wait to get my hands on VENICE!

This isn't a travel guide, per se, but an excellent descriptive collection of the regions, landscape, and culture of Northern Spain. While it does include some good practical info and some (limited) lodging and restaurant recommendations, what it does best is paint a picture of the region that isn't overly promotional. Just tells it like it is....you feel like you get a good idea of what it would like to be there. And the picture it paints will make you want to travel to Northern Spain -- it worked for us!

I loved this book!!! Having travelled to Spain several times and being interested in learning as much as I about this wonderful country, I found this book to be an extremely valuable resource. I loved the format, it was easy to pick up and put down with the short story format. I found the nature of the stories to be so personal that I felt I was actually travelling with the authors. A highly recommended travel guide!

This hefty volume doesn't waste any pages! From ancient Egyptian poetry & history to the modern origins of Kwanzaa, this one has it all. A tremendous resource for students or teachers of history, literature, culture, or religion. My only complaint is the omission of the prolific St. Augustine, but his work is widely available elsewhere.

The book is an excellent source of African and Diasporian thought, scholarship, and epistemology. The authors do and excellent job juxtaposing the various creation stories using content analysis to show the parallells between the various creation stories. In addition, the authors do an excellent job of highlighting the various talented African scholars across the globe. The book is appropriately named and the content in the book definately lends itself to erudition.

Here is an outstanding compilation of samples from ancient Greek and Roman myths. Samples a wide range of well known, and lesser known myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Intro's are given to the myth's author, time and related issues in brief.

A very helpful resource for students of ancient history, mythology or even the new testament, since the new testament was written in an environment wherein many were steeped in these very sorts of tales either orally or in writ.

Finally! There has been such need for a work like this and the editors/translators have done a fine job indeed. I teach live, online courses on mythology at The Lukeion Project and this year I will be developing a way to make this a required purchase for the fall 2008 session. Everything I need to teach a high quality course in mythology is availabe here (with the addition of my favorite translations of the epics and tragedies, of course). Any serious mythology educator must have this book.

A Mighty Change is a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in Deaf history or, more broadly, the perspectives of early national and antebellum Americans who are generally overlooked in discussions of U.S. history. The anthology contains valuable documents that clearly demonstrate that the Deaf civil rights movement began during the early nineteenth century. Featured is the writing of well known deaf activists such as Laurent Clerc, John Carlin and Edmund Booth. The collection also introduces less (but soon to be) famous deaf activists like John Burnet, whose penetrating analysis of the of the rhetoric used by antebellum educators of deaf children remains instructive for critics of Deaf education today. Krentz's useful chapter introductions and helpful footnotes explain the context of the documents and provide interesting interpretations of the issues the authors debate. Many of the documents in the collection are not easily available to interested readers who should not miss the opportunity to own this fantastic collection!

A Mighty Change is a MUST HAVE for anyone interested in Deaf history or, more broadly, the perspectives of early national and antebellum Americans who are generally overlooked in discussions of U.S. history. The anthology contains valuable documents that clearly demonstrate that the Deaf civil rights movement began during the early nineteenth century. Featured is the writing of well known deaf activists such as Laurent Clerc, John Carlin and Edmund Booth. The collection also introduces less (but soon to be) famous deaf activists like John Burnet, whose penetrating analysis of the of the rhetoric used by antebellum educators of deaf children remains instructive for critics of Deaf education today. Krentz's useful chapter introductions and helpful footnotes explain the context of the documents and provide interesting interpretations of the issues the authors debate. Many of the documents in the collection are not easily available to interested readers who should not miss the opportunity to own this fantastic collection!

I used this anthology in the late 1990's for a course I was teaching in the history of modern philosophy. I will be teaching the same course in the Spring of 2009 and I will be using the same textbook. It is comprehensive. And students will appreciate the fact that it is relatively inexpensive. Hackett does it again!

Modern Philosophy -- full of writings from philosophers such as Locke, Kant or Spinoza -- can be seen as a daunting period of philosophy. I read this book as a text for a modern philosophy class, and found that it is a very competant editing of these difficult texts. The anthology begins with "premodern" writings of Galileo and others, goes through Descartes (with a selection of criticisms of Decartes' work from his contemporaries), and then goes through the work of other modern philosophers such as Locke, Berkeley, Spinoza, Libeniz, Kant, and others. The editor does a wonderful job arranging texts to illustrate the back and forth dialog and critisms among the philosophers. In addition to the selection of texts, there are wonderful notes scattered throughout the text to help alleviate much of the confusion that can arise after reading some of the quite lengthly writings of some (many! ) modern philosophers. Perhaps on an aesthetic (non-content) sidenote -- the book itself is excellent. When I was reading a section, I did not have to worry about pages flipping on me, because the binding is very flexible. In addition highlighters don't bleed through the page -- a wonderful plus to a great anthology! I would highly recommend it.

Stackelberg and Winkle do a magnificent job of accumulating important primary sources into one, easily accessible sourcebook. Whether you are writing a dissertation on a topic of Nazi Germany, or are just looking for extra reading material, this book is not only useful, but also intriguing. Over 150 primary sources are included within the text, each including an introductory paragraph or two, which means you are getting your moneys worth.

I initially bought this book for my Nazi Germany class, but found myself reading through it for fun. I had never been into the historical topic of Germany during the WWI and WWII period until I opened this book, but now its one of my favorite subjects. Many people think they know, at least in a moderate sense, about the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party, but questions about what influenced Hitler's radical anti-Semitism and how he was able to seize and use the emotions of one of the most intelligent nations in the world are answered. I recommend this book to anyone even vaguely interested in Nazi Germany or how one of the world's most devastating genocidal wars came about.

This book is long overdue for students of Nazi Germany that have not yet mastered the German language. Included in this book are chapter after chapter of important primary documents from the late 19th century and World War I to the Historians Debate concerning Nazism in the late 20th century.
Stackelberg includes a very readable introduction to each chapter that puts the documents in that chapter in their historical perspective. Most documents are ordered chronologically, however a few are thematically ordered because they're best viewed in that context.
This isn't a book of just dry Nazi government documents either, it includes works from others that were influential in the development of the Nazi ideology, such as Wagner.
In contrast to other books, such as the series by Nokes and Pridham, this book also includes an index, which prevents scholars from having to search through the entire book to find a document on a particular subject.
This book should be read by anyone that has a serious interest in Nazi Germany.