Oscar Books

This play is the second I read in my life, but I am sure it is one of the best ever written!
It is witty and funny, a social satire everybody should read.
Wilde played with words and stereotypes in a wonderful manner.
Two thumbs up!

"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the first plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.

"The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People" is one of the few plays written in English since the works of Shakespeare that celebrates the language itself. Oscar Wilde's comedy has one advantage over the classic comedies of the Bard in that "The Importance of Being Earnest" is as funny today as it was when it was first performed at the St. Jame's Theater in London on February 14, 1895. After all, enjoying Shakespeare requires checking the bottom for footnotes explaining the meaning of those dozens of words that Shakespeare makes up in any one of his plays. But Wilde's brilliant wit, his humor and social satire, remain intact even though he was a writer of the Victorian era.

Wilde believed in art for art's own sake, which explains why he emphasized beauty while his contemporaries were dealing with the problems of industrial England. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is set among the upper class, making fun of their excesses and absurdities while imbuing them with witty banter providing a constant stream of epigrams. The play's situation is simple in its unraveling complexity. Algernon Moncrieff is an upper-class English bachelor who is visited by his friend Jack Worthing, who is known as "Ernest." Jack has come to town to propose to Gwendolen Fairfax, the daugher of the imposing Lady Bracknell and Algy's first cousin. Jack has a ward named Cecily who lives in the country while Algernon has an imaginary friend named "Bunbury" whom he uses as an excuse to get out of social engagements.

Jack proposes to Gwendolen but has two problems. First, Gwendolen is wiling to agree because his name is Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence," but which, of course, is not his true Christian name. Second, Lady Bracknell objects to Jack as a suitor when she learns he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag in Victoria Station by Mr. Thomas Cardew. Meanwhile, Algernon heads off to the country to check out Cecily, to whom he introduces himself as being her guardian Jack's brother Ernest. This meets with Ceclily's approval because in her diary she has been writing about her engagement to a man named Ernest. Then things get really interesting.

Wilde proves once and for all time that the pun can indeed be elevated to a high art form. Throughout the entire play we have the double meaning of the word "earnest," almost to the level of a conceit, since many of the play's twists and turns deal with the efforts of Jack and Algernon to be "Ernest," by lying, only to discover that circumstances makes honest men of them in the end (and of the women for that matter as well). There is every reason to believe that Wilde was making a point about earnestness being a key ideal of Victorian culture and one worthy of being thoroughly and completely mocked. Granted, some of the puns are really bad, and the discussion of "Bunburying" is so bad it is stands alone in that regard, but there is a sense in which the bad ones only make the good ones so glorious and emphasize that Wilde is at his best while playing games with the English language.

But if Wilde's puns are the low road then his epigrams represent the heights of his genius, especially when they are used by the characters in an ironic vein (e.g., "It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal" and "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance"). Jack is the male lead, but it is Algernon who represents the ideal Wilde character, who insists he is a rebel speaking out against the institutions of society, such as marriage, but with attacks that are so flamboyant and humorous that the cleverness of the humor ends up standing apart from the inherent point.

In the end, "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the wittiest play every written, in English or any other language, and I doubt that anything written in the future will come close. Wilde was essentially a stand-up comedian who managed to create a narrative in which he could get off dozens of classic one-liners given a high-class sheen by being labeled epigrams. Like a comedian he touches on several topics, from the aristocracy, marriage, and the literary world to English manners, women, love, religion, and anything else that came to his fertile mind. But because it is done with such a lighthearted tone that the barbs remain as timely today as they were at the end of the 19th-century and "The Importance of Being Earnest" will always be at the forefront of the plays of that time which will continue to be produced.

Infinite Wonderlands is a collection of short stories that falls within the Science fiction genre. At face value, the tales are engaging, enjoyable, and some are extremely amusing. However, there is more bubbling below the surface of Infinite Wonderlands than a casual analysis reveals.

De Los Santos and Mead craft stories that are not only satisfying, but also address contemporary issues such as (but not limited to) cloning, environmental hazards, and human depravity. In addition, many of the tales are incidiously comical, as the authors scoff with hilarity at elements of popular culture including total "drive through" makeovers and the intrusive influence of media on our society.

Throughout Infinite Wonderlands, the reader is treated to an outrageous brew of characters composed of an Elvis clone that cannot sing, super-sized Jack Russell terriers, and thinking clouds, to name a few!

As well as having an extensive knowlege of the Science fiction genre, De Los Santos exhibits expertise in the area of film and related media. In "Below the Depths", he names a space cruiser Tyrone Power in an obvious homage to an actor of the same name. The story "Black Auras" boasts a protagonist with the last name of Moreau, whose namesake is most certainly found in the H.G. Wells book, The Island of Dr. Moreau, as well as the 1996 movie of the same name.

Infinite Wonderlands is constructed in three sections: Black Auras: Stories of Alien Contact and Invasion, Kaleidoscope Future, and Sailing the Seas of Chronos: Time Travel Tales. After each section, the authors include a well-written and illuminating Afterword that further addresses topics covered in the preceding fiction. The inclusion of this Afterword particularly assists the novice Science fiction reader with clarifying information.

In summary, Infinite Wonderlands contains all the elements of great Science fiction. The book offers entertainment and escapism, yet also raises the reader's consciousness regarding contemporary issues and themes of the future. This is literature that does double duty by harmonizing the witty with the profound. Nice work!

Inside Oscar" by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona, is a book I originally bought as a "refrence" book. I have a huge movie collection and I wanted to put my library in some kind of order. This book had all the Oscar winners by year, so I thought I would just be using it to look up dates, actors etc. Fahgettaboutit!

Once I opened it, it was all over, I couldn't put it down.
This book has a year by year, blow by blow account of the Academy Awards history. We get the stories behind the stories. The rivalries,the studio hub bub, the lobbying, poignant moments and a ton of good laughs.

Each chapter decribes a year in the life of Oscar. It starts out with the events leading up to the nominations,goes into "The Big Night" telling us who won, where it was held, who said what, and even who presented, and ends with "The Aftermath" goings ons.The second section of the book has detailed lists of every award won and all the nominations in every year. It goes from 1927-1994 ("Wings" to Forrest Gump".)

If you are a movie buff, if you want to impress your freinds with Hollywood history trivia, or you just like reading about the stars, this is the book for you. And like all good film achievements in Hollywood, there is a "sequel" that covers 1995-2000.Inside Oscar 2has even more of the hub bub even including those great fans that hang out in the bleachers! There are several editions of this first Oscar book. Enter title in book search for best prices, you may find one here: Inside Oscar, 10th Anniversary Edition

Ciao dahlings.........Laurie

This book is extremely well written and laid out. I like the easy explanations and diagrams, as well as the more technical boxes for those who wish to delve deeper. This is a great primer for AI. It should be required reading for those interested in learning about AI, to whet the appetite.

There are very few universities offering courses on acoustic transducers, especially on underwater applications. Therefore underwater (sonar) transducer design engineers generally start learning the basic principles from textbooks, while working in this field. These books, later, become valuable references. Oscar Bryan's book provides an excellent introduction to the "Theory and Design of Sonar Transducers", as the title of his book suggests.

It is concise but covers many topics, after an introduction, as can be seen in these chapters: Equivalent Circuits, Piezoelectric and Piezomagnetic Effects, Properties of Piezoelectric Materials, Simple Piezoelectric Vibrators, Composite and Low Frequency Projectors, Magnetostrictive Transducers, Hydrophones, Transducer Arrays and Beam Patterns and Problems of Transducer Design. The book can also be useful to system engineers who use transducers as a part of "sonar".

The reader will probably need some background in acoustics and electrical engineering to make the best out of this book, but any engineer will follow it without much difficulty. References and instructive problems have been provided at the end of each chapter; so it can be used as a classroom text as well, which it was originally intended for.

190 pp., 130 pp. of full color photographs, 16 pp of maps.
Slipcased. 10.75" x 12". Text and photos by Fernando Cervigon and Paolo Gasparini, Published by Fundacion Polar.

An astonishingly beautiful and expensively- produced book detailing the geography and life of the Caribbean Islands off the coast of Venezuela. There must be 250+ photographs, reproduced in the best possible color, probably half of them aerial.
The book shows life in the fishing villages, in the jungle, along the coast. An exhaustive survey of this little known area. It's a benchmark book of its type. Read this and you'll more about the area than anyone who lives there.

In this diary, Goethe describes his trip to 18th-century Italy, his impressions of the countryside and the people, his fascination with Roman culture and Italian art. Goethe considered Italy the inspiration for poets and returned many times.
His diary is more than a book about Italy. Goethe had many interests including biology, geology and archaeology, all of which show in his writing. Goethe also painted, and the 2-volume edition includes 40 of his original drawings and paintings.

IT IS WONDERFUL TO FIND A BOOK SO SPECIFIC TO THIS TOPIC, SINCE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC IS SO RARE. THE INFORMATION WAS SO USEFUL TO PLANNING A PERSONAL AND MEANINGFUL TRIP TO ITALY. IT REALLY INCREASED OUR ENTHUSIASM AND ANTICIPATION FOR OUR TRIP.